Sorry this took so long to get out, but school kept everything really
tied up, and left little time for writing. Most of this was done over Christmas
Break.
All these ppl belong to Clamp, Kodansha, Yu Watase, etc, except for the places and the original characters, which belong to us. Haha - finally something we don't have to make disclaimers for.
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CARMINA BURANA ~ CHAPTER 3
ECCE GRATUM
(BEHOLD THE SPRING)
By Sorceress Elcyion and *Aeris *
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A six-year-old Li looked up at his new guardian, Mitsukake. "Winter Festival?" he asked. They were making their way to the center of Lea Field, where most of the festivities were taking place.
"Yes," the blacksmith answered. He smiled down at Li. "You've never been to the Winter Festival of Amour, have you?"
Li shook his head. "No...I used to live north of New Chalice, in Porce...Porce..." he scrunched his adorable face up in deep thought.
Mitsukake laughed softly. "Porcelain...I know. Your mother told me."
"Where is my mommy?" Li asked.
"She..." Mitsukake paused. He didn't know how to explain it to him. "She went away to..." he looked down again at the young boy, who was staring up at him expectantly. "She'll be back, don't worry," Mitsukake finished, and patted Li on the head.
The field was bustling with laughter and fun. The nobles, even, were getting caught up in the excitement. "Look, Li. Those children over there could use an extra playmate," the large man urged, pointing to a group of kids, a mixture of nobles and villagers. Li shrugged and darted off in that direction. He craned his neck to wave to Mitsukake. "Bye bye!" he called out cheerfully. Mitsukake chuckled and waved back. "See you later, Li," he answered.
As soon as Li reached the others children, it had started to snow. "Lookit!" a young girl with long, black hair called out. "Snowflakes!"
The young and old ones alike were equally fascinated by the falling snow. It rarely snowed in Amour, much less ever felt like a real winter there.
Overcome with excitement, the black haired little girl ran off to explore more of the newly fallen snow, laughing merrily. She twirled and danced, for she thought snow was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She skipped out of sight, unaware of the fact she was getting farther away from the crowd than her father wanted her to be.
Li, meanwhile, was also enjoying the snow. He felt a breeze as that girl he saw earlier sprinted past him. He noticed that a shiny object fell from her wrist. It seemed to be valuable and not a good thing to lose, so Li went over to pick it up. It was a bracelet. It was beautifully crafted, swirls of floral patterns bordering the glittery jewels that embellished the silvery- golden bangle. If Li himself lost something he treasured, he would be extremely upset...and he didn't like people to be sad.
A few minutes had gone by, and Li was having a harder and harder time locating the girl. He could hardly see through the flurries now, since it was falling faster, and he didn't know where he was. Lea was a gigantic place, and in a situation like this, he could be lost for days. The festival and Mitsukake were probably half a mile away from him. He was cold and wanted to be snuggled up by the fire in his warm home. Yet he kept walking. He didn't know why...maybe it was to find the girl, or maybe it was in desperation of finding warmth. Feeling weak and dizzy, Li wobbled a little, and then finally collapsed into a faint, all the while, his fist still closed around the bracelet.
He woke up sometime later. It was still incredibly chilly. He figured he wouldn't have been able to see his mother or his guardian again, so he didn't have any idea why awoke unharmed. He looked at the bracelet and started trudging through the blizzard.
"Oh, what's the use?!" he finally cried after half an hour of walking. "I'm never gonna see them again!" "Mitsukake!" he cried, dropping to his knees into the snow. Tears sprang from his eyes. "Where are you?!" Without thinking, Li laid himself face down in the snow and cried into the cold, white ground. "I want to go home!" he sobbed. "Mommy! Mitsukake!"
"Daddy!" cried a shrill voice.
Li looked up to where that voice was coming from. It sounded so close.
"DADDY!" the voice called again. Li faced his immediate left and saw the same black haired girl from before, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She was shivering slightly. Li squinted his eyes more to make sure it was really another person and that he wasn't alone anymore.
Li thought about what Mitsukake would've done in this situation. He would've kept the girl warm and try to take her home. Always the one to look up to his guardian, Li tried his best to crawl over to the girl.
"Hi," he said, trying to speak over the loud winds that accompanied the snow.
The girl blinked her crimson eyes, trying to get rid of her tears. "Hi..."
"I think you lost this," he said, extending his hand to reveal the bracelet.
"I didn't even know it was missing! Thanks!" she exclaimed, temporarily forgetting the storm.
"I'm going to get you out of this, okay?" Li wrapped his arm around her. The girl smiled a little, now remembering the situation.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Meilin," she sniffed. "What's yours?"
"Li," he said, and smiled at her.
Looking all around, Li noticed that it wasn't snowing so hard now, and he could see some of the tracks he had made in his wanderings. He thought he must have been all over the place by now, so he would head in the direction where there were no footprints, and that surely would be the way to safety.
"Li?" Meilin asked
"What?"
"Do you think they'd be Underground by now?"
"I hope so, I think I know the way there," he replied
"I think I do too! Now we know the way home!" Meilin said happily
So the two children trekked on, unsure of exactly where they were going, but they knew they would keep walking through the storm until they reached the Underground passage.
After half an hour of walking, Li's face lit up and he began to yell. "There it is! Mitsukake told me that was the sign for it!" he said as he pointed to a metal sign with a unicorn on it.
Meilin began to jump up and down in excitement. "Come on, Li! Let's go!" she laughed. The two ran towards the entrance, a door carved into the face of a huge boulder, one of Lea's many. They both laid hands on the handle and pulled it hard, but they didn't know it was locked form the inside. Since they couldn't open it, they started to pound on it with their fists, which achieved the desired result, for the door was flung open , and standing there was an appointed door warden from Enigma, but better yet - Mitsukake!
Li threw himself at the man, hanging on to his legs, while Meilin stayed back, until the door warden recognized her as the Summit man's missing daughter. He went to his station nearby to send for her father, followed by Mitsukake. The young pair was left standing by the door
"Thanks for helping me, Li." Meilin said. "Here, since you gave me back my bracelet I'll give you something too." Reaching to the back of her neck, she unfastened a small, intricately carved pendant that was shaped like a star. The glass it was made of sparkled, reflecting the light. "Here, this is for you." Li stiffened and turned a bright red as she wrapped her arms around his neck and clasped the chain together.
Li thought about what he should do now. What would Mitsukake do? He didn't know, because his master had no wife. "Alright, what would any grownup do?" he asked himself. He had seen couples before, so he did what they did. He kissed her.
After a second of two , he stepped back, and Meilin did the same, her eyes wide, but smiling....
The sparkling ruby red of her eyes began to fade, and Li found himself staring up at the white cloth of the hospital tent's ceiling. He turned on his side and wished he could stay in the dream of his youth, until he remembered the Princess. She was almost the total opposite of Meilin. Sakura's short brown hair opposed Meilin's long black ponytails. Deep green eyes as compared to piercing red ones. Fragility and a sheltered state counteracted independence and strength. It puzzled him how he could fall for them both. But Sakura was taken, engaged to the Prince of Summit. Li guessed it was just as well, for he did not think he could choose between the two girls. But then again... Sakura did seem interested in him at their meeting back home. Nothing could come of it though, he knew Sakura would not break her promise to the Prince. Li closed his eyes and sighed.
* * *
In the morning, Emperor Hikitsu called for his courier. "Terada. I want you to take a group of your men and go on a reconnaissance mission. Ride out to the battlegrounds, and report back what you see." he instructed
"Yessir." Terada replied.
Upon emerging from the tunnel on the Summit side, the eyes of the group were met with a strange sight. With the one exception of Pinnacle Palace, visible from afar, their beloved kingdom, the towns, their homes...had all been burned. Not to the ground, mind you, but enough so as it make them unsuited for living in. Far in the distance, the trees of Enigma could be seen. They too, had sustained damage. But again, what could be seen of Sanctuary Palace was untouched.
The men looked from side to side in confusion. What sort of Macabre magic could have reached back so far as to affect the kingdoms? If such a force was being used, then there was probably not much hope for the army. Hikitsu's men knew this, and bowed their heads in honor of the terrible loss. But Terada did not want to believe it. He was going to prove right now that the army was still alive and well!
A determined shout rang throughout the air, and responding pounding hoofs were heard from the front. The mourners raised theirs heads to see Terada's horse racing forward, the rider spurring him on. The rest rallied around this inspirational figure and followed suit with a uproarious noise likened to what they today call the Rebel Yell.
In the distance, the soldiers heard something strange. It seemed to be the howling of a hundred demons coming rapidly towards them. Could this be yet another Macabre attack? Everyone tensed as the cries came ever nearer. Julian sprinted towards the sound, ready to defend his troops. As the horsemen came into sight, however, it soon became clear that no demons were these, but angels, come to show them the way home!
"Halloa, Sire!" Terada yelled excitedly to the young prince. Julian smiled as the men drew to a halt in front of him. Tetsuya had arrived on the scene by this time and he bowed. "Welcome to His Majesty's humble abode," he said with a mock air of sincerity. Everyone laughed, while aside to Julian, Terada asked to see what casualties had resulted. Julian nodded and headed to the grave sites first. Better to get this over with now.
* * *
Later on, inside the hospital tents, Terada spotted a nurse with flowing red hair speaking to a young, brown haired soldier. This scene looked vaguely familiar to him somehow, but he couldn't remember where from. He could almost swear that nurse had lived in Summit years ago.
"When are you to report back, sir?" Julian asked. Terada shook his head to forget the feeling, and turned his attention back towards the prince.
"As soon as possible," he answered.
"Then go, and tell my father of what you have seen this day."
Terada saluted and went out of the tent, whereupon, Hotohori jogged up to him, and began to walk alongside.
"Leaving, Terada?" he queried.
"Yes."
"Then I will come with you. I would like to report to his Majesty myself, " the knight stated.
"As you wish" Terada replied distractedly. He kept thinking about that nurse. Where had he seen her before?
"Wait, I have a better idea," Hotohori said, "don't you think we will make an impressive sight if all the men who are still able come riding triumphantly back into the kingdoms? Especially since the Enigmans have not sent out any couriers - we can surprise them!" he suggested, his eager eyes shining
The other man rubbed his chin and nodded.
"Don't leave just yet, Terada. I'll be back," Hotohori called, already some distance away. He ran to find Julian to tell him of the new plans. The prince apparently agreed, because the knight came running back almost at once
"Gather the men, we're leaving at once!" he shouted excitedly.
"But what about the wounded?"
"We can use the supply wagons to help move them!" Turning from side to side, Hotohori continued shouting. "Pack up, troops! We're going home today!"
Soldiers appeared from inside various tents all over camp. Tasuki appeared and decided to help Hotohori out. He sprinted directly towards the opposite side of the camp, all the while heralding the good news. Soon, an excited buzz hovered over the entire place as men gathered their belongings and prepared to go home. But they did not yet know what it was they would find.
* * *
A merry party it was that left the Amourite encampment that day. All the soldiers were joking and laughing. Even the ones who were hurt, and being transported by the wagons. It was sort of crowded, though. Nobody expected the war to be over so soon, so several week's worth of supplies were packed, causing a limit on space. Despite this, the general morale was high. Comments about wives and sweethearts abounded, as if the men had been gone for months instead of a few days. An individual with a pair of field glasses made a loud comment. "There in the distance lies the river Halcyon, beckoning us homeward." Anyone close enough to hear this told someone else, since everyone was getting anxious to be home. The warriors all craned their necks in an attempt to see the river. They did not even notice the singed state of their surroundings. Suboshi suddenly looked up, and saw all of it in an instant. "Terada!" he gasped, "Why did you not tell us? What happened here?"
"I figured you would know. You must have seen something that could have caused this." Terada replied. "It's much better than we expected, at least, Sir," he went on "We could feel the repercussions of whatever it was all the way underground. I did not expect the settlements to have sustained so little damage."
"There was a great explosion of Macabre magic, but I did not think it could have reached so far back into our homes." Suboshi mused. "Now who was it that Sir Tasuki said caused it? Ah yes, a woman named Soi!" he exclaimed at last. By this time, everyone had seen the damage, and had heard Suboshi's recollection and Tasuki's reaffirmation to the common soldiers, since all the knights already knew. The name Soi, and Tasuki's vivid descriptions circulated like rumors of some dread disease, but at least she was gone now, or so they thought.
* * *
"Mother! Mother!" shouted a ruby-eyed girl as she burst through the door of her temporary underground home. Her waist-length black hair swished as she moved. " I went outside to Lea Field this morning, and the warriors have returned from battle!"
Her mother, with her black hair tied up in a bun, rushed to where the girl was standing. "Meilin? Did I hear you say that the soldiers have come home?" she asked excitedly. "Yes," Meilin nodded quickly, "and my cousin Julian leads the brave knights." she proudly added.
Meilin's family normally lived in Massif, the main city of Summit, because Pinnacle Palace was situated at its head. Breata, her mother, was Emperor Hikitsu's sister. Her father was Anton Cavill, the son of Massif's major domo. Consequently, Meilin frequented the castle. She had always looked up to her cousin, who was two years her senior. But she was somewhat scared of her uncle, since whenever she was at the palace, he was usually angry at Julian for some thing or another.
Meilin remembered the time she was watching Julian practice his sword fighting. They were outside the stables, and a six year old Meilin was perched on a sawhorse. Julian and Tetsuya, another youth of noble birth, were using their best moves to try and defeat the other.
Of course, this was all in good fun, but Emperor Hikitsu either did not know that, or he did not care. He came thundering around the corner, marched up to his son, and grabbed his arm so forcefully that Julian's sword fell from his hand. "Stop that this instant!!!" the emperor yelled. Tetsuya slowly backed up a few steps, his eyes wide with shock, as were Julian's.
"Go and help Chichiri." Hikitsu barked the instructions to Julian as he pushed him towards the castle.
"Help him do what?" Julian asked innocently. "YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT!!!!!!" Hikitsu roared. Meilin covered her ears, and Tetsuya cringed against a stable door. Julian however, gathered himself to his full height and stood looking bravely at his father.
"Now go!!" Hikitsu ordered, raising his hand threateningly.
This treatment of her beloved cousin was too much for Meilin to take. She jumped off the sawhorse and ran between Julian and her uncle. "Stop it!" she cried, her arms spread defensively in front of Julian. "Julian wasn't doing anything wrong. We were just having fun. And how is Julian supposed to know what you want him to do if you won't even tell him?" she scolded rapid-fire, trying to fit all she had to say in before she could be interrupted.
"Stay out of this, Meilin." Hikitsu threatened in a strangely quiet voice. "No, I won't stay out of it, and I won't stop. You need to stop," Meilin said defiantly, her eyes blazing.
Just when it looked like the situation was going to get violent, Chichiri, the court advisor, and Breata appeared from around the corner. "She's right here, Madame." Chichiri said to Breata, who was obviously wondering where her daughter was....
....Her father's words "And what of Li?" snapped Meilin back into the present. Blushing slightly, she answered "I was just about to go watch for him," a small smile played on her face as she thought of the boy she'd met so long ago.
* * *
Nikki tried desperately to regain her concentration. She was reading a book on spirits, but she always got distracted due to her two giggling roommates, Madison and Rita. She hardly got along with them. And since now Madison and Rita know about her origins, there will probably be more tension in the room. She thought the Underground version of the school would be more
peaceful, but she could always hear the echo in the room whenever their voices rose in volume.
Nikki caught the two girls giving her a strange look and as soon as Nikki turned to look at them back, they smirked and giggled again. All three were interrupted by an urgent knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, it swung open, revealing an excited Chiriko. "You guys!" he yelled, panting. "They're back! Everyone's back! We won! There's not a single Macabre warrior left!"
"Really?" Madison asked. She turned to face Rita and said "Come on! Let's go see them!" Rita nodded and the two sprinted past Chiriko and out the door. Nikki slowly closed her book and stood up from the bed. She hadn't noticed that Chiriko was still there, staring at her.
"Not so happy you guys lost?" Chiriko jeered. He leaned against the door's frame.
Nikki jumped at the sound of his voice. "Y-you are still here?!"
"Yeah," he said, rolling his eyes. "Get a clue, Nikki..."
She just ignored him and pushed past him. She was halfway down the hallway when Chiriko called out to her. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Where do you think?" Nikki answered, not turning around.
"You don't know, do you?" he asked, his voice softer.
Nikki whirled around. Something in his tone didn't sound good. "What do you mean?"
For the first time, Chiriko looked sympathetic. "You know how Crag Alps is always siding with Macabre..." Nikki nodded slowly, wondering what he was getting at.
"Well, when everyone was evacuated here, Macabre wasn't aware and Crag Alps refused to go along with us..."
Nikki shook her head. "You...you can't be saying..."
Chiriko went on. "That explosion above us, that was the strongest sorcery Macabre is able to use. It can kill the entire empire..."
"Stop!" Nikki covered her ears. "I don't believe you!"
"Nikki! I'm being serious for once!" Chiriko protested. He grabbed her arms and pulled them away from her head. He leaned in until their noses almost touched. "They are all DEAD."
She pushed him away and Chiriko landed on his rear. "What was that for?!" he asked crossly.
"Why would I believe a horrible piece of scum like you?!" Nikki yelled. "First you insult my family and then you try to be nice to me?! I don't know what kind of game you are playing on me, but I will never be a part of it!" Nikki turned and ran down the hall. Chiriko watched her disappear. Again, he had that feeling of regret, but forced it out of his system. He pulled himself off the floor, and started trudging down the opposite direction.
* * *
All the villagers came out of hiding shortly after Sir Hotohori ran, holding the reins of his pinto horse, Siren, into the tunnel of the Underground. They were aghast at what the mysterious explosion had done to their home, but this was expected, because from underneath, they felt a shaking from the collision of that energy blast to the ground and the loud rumble of the fire overtaking the Amour Empire. Yet, they were all joyous to see many of the troops alive! Chelsea was the only villager not emerging from the Underground, because she had passed herself off as a nurse and hitched a ride on one of the vehicles. She could see the living soldiers embracing their family and friends, she also noticed other townspeople standing off to the side, smiling and waiting for their loved ones to arrive. Chelsea had to feel sorry for them, for she knew that the warriors they were looking for had perished in the day-long battle. She turned to see the Lady Miaka jump into Sir Tasuki's arms, and he swung her around, the two so happy to be together again.
"Li!!" shouted the tailor's daughter. Her dress of baby blue silk flowed out behind her as she flew down the path. Li cried out for joy, and caught the girl up in his arms. After only a moment or two, he tossed her up in Echo's direction. "Catch her, Echo!" he cried happily. Meilin performed some choice aerobatics, and gracefully landed in the ladylike position for riding a horse. Li laughed and remounted behind her just as quickly as he had dismounted. Meilin looked up into his face. Although he was covered in dust, as he beamed down at her, she couldn't imagine anyone being more handsome. Resting her head against his shoulder, she caught a glimpse of her pendant, the one she had given him those many years ago, back when all of this started. As for Li, his thoughts of the Princess are forgotten for now.
* * *
Soi stared teary-eyed at the ruins of Macabre. Her home...it was gone. At that very moment, her abhorration for Enigma and Summit grew stronger. Because of them, her army lost, her beloved had perished, and her kingdom was destroyed.
So what will she do now?
Soi smiled devilishly. Plot for vengeance, that's what. Kill those two neighboring kingdoms. Make them feel what she felt now. Unbearable pain. And it was time for her to start planning now. The Amourites would never let her live for that explosion. She needed to put up an act. In the distance, she spotted the first person she saw come out of the Underground passage. Chichiri, the humble advisor of Emperor Hikitsu. Her plan will start now.
"Help me," Soi cried out pitifully. She dragged herself to Chichiri. The blue-haired man looked at her, surprised. "Yes?" he asked.
"I...I don't remember..." she held her head. "What am I doing here? What is this place?"
"Don't worry," Chichiri replied, oblivious to the fact that she caused the tragedy to Amour. "I will talk t--"
"Chichiri!" Julian cried, suddenly coming up beside him. At his side was Princess Sakura. "You dare let this murderer near the rest of us?!"
Soi put a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Murderer? I was a murderer?"
Julian nodded, his expression hard. "You destroyed Amour. You even devastated your own king--"
"Wait a second, Julian," Sakura said. "She doesn't even look like she knew of this..."
"Are you saying she lost her memory of the war?" Chichiri questioned.
"If she doesn't remember, then we can forgive her this one time," Sakura replied. She turned to her future husband. "You needn't call out a search for Mistress Soi of Macabre and execute her. It seems that she will no longer be around, just this woman with no knowledge of her past."
"She might be faking it," Chichiri pointed out.
"Faking what?" Soi inquired innocently. "I don't understand..."
"How about we give her a chance now, and if anything suspicious happens, we'll do something about it," Sakura suggested, causing Julian to shrug. "I guess you're right. We'll notify the others. I trust you on this choice, Sakura."
Soi silently thanked Sakura for being so naive and smiled.
A few minutes later, Soi was sitting in a chair next to Chichiri underneath the Emperor's canopy. She looked around at the people milling about in the bright sunshine. She watched them complacently enough, until from the corner of her eye, she saw the infernal creature named Tasuki. Why couldn't he have died from the explosion? Soi thought it wasn't fair that everyone from her homeland died, but the most arrogant of knights could have escaped her grasp so easily. But besides the fact that he was such a hothead, it was part of her destiny. She had to destroy him. Folding her hands in her lap, she wiped those thoughts from her mind in order to keep her supposed peaceful, innocent state. She could wait, and she planned on doing just that.
***
"It was never in the Carmina," Tetsuya spoke up suddenly from behind Julian, holding up a copy of the sacred text.
"What?" Julian responded, staring into the distance.
"That thing your father declared years ago," Tetsuya answered, extending his arm over Julian's shoulder and holding the Carmina out in front of his nose. "About magic being forbidden. I read the entire thing front to back. There's nothing in there that says it's forbidden. I figured someone besides the Royal Families would've gone in depth into this, but I think I'm the only one..."
"Oh, you're here too, Tetsuya" Julian noted, oblivious to what the other had been saying. He turned around to face the knight.
Tetsuya laughed and slapped the prince on the back. "You were always slow, Julian. Oops - I mean...Your Highness," he said good-heartedly.
Julian grinned. "Sorry. I was so focused on seeing Sakura. Now, what were you telling me?"
"Well," Tetsuya began, tucking the small book in a pouch on his belt, "I have been meaning to tell you this for some time, but you know how forgetful I am, eh? See, I recently finished reading the book, and there was no mention of Fortuna declaring magic evil. In fact, she considered magic users special in a way, you know?"
Julian nodded, his eyes narrowed. "My father has been lying all this time. That damn bastard..."
Tetsuya looked at his best friend sharply. Never would he have thought Julian was capable of swearing. "Sire!"
"Give me that book," Julian ordered. Tetsuya was ready to hand it to him, but Julian waved it away. "Never mind, I have one of my own. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a word with my father. Goodbye." Julian said curtly, spinning around and heading away.
Tetsuya blinked. "So, how was the battle? I heard you really nailed Nakago. I killed a couple of people myself..." Tetsuya rambled on sarcastically, as if Julian was still there and in victory mood. He sighed wearily and walked off.
* * *
"Tasuki! Tasuki, my love!" Miaka jumped happily in the knight's arms, armor and all. Tasuki dropped his sword to the ground and hugged the maiden back. "We gave them what they deserved, that's for sure," he replied with a wide grin.
"I am called Soi, Master Tasuki." she replied mockingly. He wondered how she knew his name. "How do you like my Ragnarok? I think it holds quite well against the Rune, don't you? It was certainly too strong for your friend there, wasn't it?" Tasuki was baffled as to how she could not only know his name, but how she knew about his weapon. Of course, he wasn't going to let this Soi person know that. At this, Soi laughed. "Oh, Master Tasuki. Hiding it from me won't help. I know all about you, so it's useless to even try." With these words, she leaped back and lifted her right hand to sky. Electricity crackled around it and the clouds grew ominously dark. "Oh, and by the way, how's the little magicker doing these days?" She brought her hand down with tremendous force. A deafening clap of thunder cracked through the air like a whip as lightning danced across the sky. Tasuki looked up for a brief moment, and when he looked back to his opponent, she was gone.
"Magicker," Tasuki murmured. Who was Soi talking about? He didn't know any mages, for sorcery was banned in both Enigma and Summit. The only magic permitted were miracles from the Goddess of the Moon herself, Fortuna.
He felt Miaka stiffen. "What did you say?" she asked, her voice almost panicked.
"Nothing," he said, letting her go. He picked up his sword and sheathed it.
"Oh, Master Tasuki. Hiding it from me won't help. I know all about you, so it's useless to even try."
How did she know about him? The knight was definitely sure he had never met this woman before...
"Oh, and by the way, how's the little magicker doing these days?"
Soi was saying he knew a magic maker. He shot a look at his beloved. Would Miaka practice magic and keep it from him?
"Tasuki? What's wrong?" she questioned him, concerned. "You seem distracted."
She wouldn't. Tasuki shook his head. Miaka wouldn't break Fortuna's commandment of using magic. Never.
"Tasuki?" Miaka's hands cupped his face gently. "Did something happen out there? Tell me."
"Do..." the fiery-haired man started. "Do you know anyone who practices magic?"
The maiden immediately backed up. "M-magic?" she stammered. "No! Why would you bring up a subject like that? You know I wouldn't do that...and surely I wouldn't know anyone who would..."
"I'm...just making sure..." he muttered. He knew she was hiding something, but didn't pressure her to tell him. It was probably nothing. Miaka was a good, chaste person. Maybe talking about something evil like this scared her.
"Lady Miaka."
The knight and lady turned around and found Sir Tori upon Gaea. He was holding reins to Tamahome's horse Shapeshifter, who had been galloping next to Gaea. Hanging from Shapeshifter's saddle was the Heaven's Cloud.
"Sir Tori!" Miaka exclaimed.
"Tamahome..." he said solemnly, still recovering from the shock of finding his best friend dead, "He's..." He lowered his eyes.
"No..." Tasuki murmured. "No way..." He looked at Miaka. He knew how much the knight meant to her. He touched her shoulder.
As she stood unmoving, just staring into space, it was all coming back to her. All the emotions she felt back in her bedroom when she first found out Tamahome died came back to her. Her eyes widened and tears welled up in them. "He...he didn't..." She pleaded, searching Tori's face for an answer she already knew, but still didn't want to believe. She'd tried to block that one night from her memory, but it was no use now.
Miaka felt Tasuki's warm arms encircle her, comforting her shaky, pained soul. "It's okay..." he whispered into her ear. "Go on and cry. Don't hold it in."
Tori jumped down from his horse and, holding Shapeshifter's reins, slowly moved toward the couple. "He was still in love with you, you know," he murmured. "He talked about you every day. He never moved on from the day you two broke up..."
Miaka hid her swollen eyes from view and into Tasuki's neck. She wished Tori would just stop. All this talk about Tamahome loving her was making her more and more guilty, more resentful toward herself for falling in love with another.
Tori handed Shapeshifter's reins to Tasuki. "Our honored knight would have wanted Miaka to have the horse and the sword." Tasuki hesitantly took the horse from Tori. The dark-haired knight patted him on the back and smiled. "And he would've wanted her to be treated well. Take care of her." Tasuki nodded slowly. He watched as Tori climbed upon Gaea and rode off.
"Tasuki?" Miaka ventured, her voice muffled
"What is it, Miaka?"
"I can't marry you," she said, although she still had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
"What?!" Tasuki asked, surprised.
Miaka lifted her head. "Not right now, anyway. It would dishonor Tamahome to do it so soon."
They couldn't have gotten married now even if they wanted to. The cities were still being restored, and there was no chapel in the Underground. Tasuki said nothing of this, though, and the two continued to stand in silence.
* * *
In the meantime, Nikki had finally arrived home, only to find utter ruin staring her in the face. With her breath caught in her throat, she ran down the still navigable paths. Everything was still exactly where it was supposed to be, only now all the structures were in ashes. So, she was able to find the way to her house as if nothing was changed. But in fact, everything was. This became even more painfully evident as she reached her once-dear home. At the sight of it, Nikki collapsed on the spot. Crumpled on the barren ground, she wished she was the type that would just faint dead away, at least then she wouldn't feel anything. But sadly, she was not that kind. She had to stay conscious, and consciousness meant dealing with the sight of the remains. Four bodies lay twisted among the rubble. Through blurred vision, Nikki could make out her mother, and the three corpses around her. The decay had started to progress, so parts of their bodies were really just skeletons, with shreds of flesh hanging off some of the exposed bones. All this was really too much for the bespectacled young girl, and it was all she could do to keep from getting sick.
"Those would be Tokiko, Chuei, and Yuiren " Nikki thought grimly to herself. Tokiko was her beautiful older sister, who had already been through the private school Nikki was attending now. Chuei, and Yuiren were her younger brother and sister, who would have gone to school soon, too.
But where was her father? Why wasn't he with the rest of the family? "Maybe he was outside, or at a store somewhere." Nikki thought to herself. She thought it would be a dreadfully lonely way to...die. But then again, maybe it was so quick he didn't even know what happened. Nikki hoped that was the case.
She stared far ahead of her. Nothing but ruins. Dirt, dust, ugly garbage that was once beautiful landscape...there was no one for miles...for many thousands of miles, perhaps. Nikki wasn't surprised. She never doubted the power of Macabre.
The tavern her father usually hung around in wasn't too far from her house. He usually walked there if he was bored around the house, or if he felt like being with his friends. Nikki stood up weakly and ran to where it was, despite the fact that her legs had lost all feeling in them.
He wasn't there either. The girl stood there for a little more, contemplating the wreckage of the formerly popular place. Its outer walls had been a bright orange color, making it stand out in the Alps. The inside was just as decorated. There was bright red velvet everywhere. The walls, the curtains, the tablecloth too...one of the back rooms had been completely covered with mirrors, wall to floor to ceiling. It had been used for private parties, mostly used by the nobles, during the few times they ever visited Crag Alps.
Now it looked like that gallant place never existed. None of the neon orange could be made out of the debris. Nothing but grey ash, and bits and pieces of glass and clay. There were plenty of the shards of the shattered mirrors from that one room, sitting all in a pile a couple feet away. She found no sight of any velvet, and she probably wouldn't. It had most likeley been turned black from the soot.
Nikki really hoped that her father wasn't beneath the rubble. The tavern was a huge place despite its population, and no one would have survived underneath all of the ruins of its collapse.
She slowly made her way to the pile of mirror shards and picked up one of the bigger pieces. She stared at her disfigured reflection in it, bursting into tears again and wondering why she had to lose everything she loved.
****************************************
OK, so the ending was a little dark, but it was necessary to end it this way. You'll see why in the future.
All these ppl belong to Clamp, Kodansha, Yu Watase, etc, except for the places and the original characters, which belong to us. Haha - finally something we don't have to make disclaimers for.
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CARMINA BURANA ~ CHAPTER 3
ECCE GRATUM
(BEHOLD THE SPRING)
By Sorceress Elcyion and *Aeris *
**********************************
A six-year-old Li looked up at his new guardian, Mitsukake. "Winter Festival?" he asked. They were making their way to the center of Lea Field, where most of the festivities were taking place.
"Yes," the blacksmith answered. He smiled down at Li. "You've never been to the Winter Festival of Amour, have you?"
Li shook his head. "No...I used to live north of New Chalice, in Porce...Porce..." he scrunched his adorable face up in deep thought.
Mitsukake laughed softly. "Porcelain...I know. Your mother told me."
"Where is my mommy?" Li asked.
"She..." Mitsukake paused. He didn't know how to explain it to him. "She went away to..." he looked down again at the young boy, who was staring up at him expectantly. "She'll be back, don't worry," Mitsukake finished, and patted Li on the head.
The field was bustling with laughter and fun. The nobles, even, were getting caught up in the excitement. "Look, Li. Those children over there could use an extra playmate," the large man urged, pointing to a group of kids, a mixture of nobles and villagers. Li shrugged and darted off in that direction. He craned his neck to wave to Mitsukake. "Bye bye!" he called out cheerfully. Mitsukake chuckled and waved back. "See you later, Li," he answered.
As soon as Li reached the others children, it had started to snow. "Lookit!" a young girl with long, black hair called out. "Snowflakes!"
The young and old ones alike were equally fascinated by the falling snow. It rarely snowed in Amour, much less ever felt like a real winter there.
Overcome with excitement, the black haired little girl ran off to explore more of the newly fallen snow, laughing merrily. She twirled and danced, for she thought snow was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She skipped out of sight, unaware of the fact she was getting farther away from the crowd than her father wanted her to be.
Li, meanwhile, was also enjoying the snow. He felt a breeze as that girl he saw earlier sprinted past him. He noticed that a shiny object fell from her wrist. It seemed to be valuable and not a good thing to lose, so Li went over to pick it up. It was a bracelet. It was beautifully crafted, swirls of floral patterns bordering the glittery jewels that embellished the silvery- golden bangle. If Li himself lost something he treasured, he would be extremely upset...and he didn't like people to be sad.
A few minutes had gone by, and Li was having a harder and harder time locating the girl. He could hardly see through the flurries now, since it was falling faster, and he didn't know where he was. Lea was a gigantic place, and in a situation like this, he could be lost for days. The festival and Mitsukake were probably half a mile away from him. He was cold and wanted to be snuggled up by the fire in his warm home. Yet he kept walking. He didn't know why...maybe it was to find the girl, or maybe it was in desperation of finding warmth. Feeling weak and dizzy, Li wobbled a little, and then finally collapsed into a faint, all the while, his fist still closed around the bracelet.
He woke up sometime later. It was still incredibly chilly. He figured he wouldn't have been able to see his mother or his guardian again, so he didn't have any idea why awoke unharmed. He looked at the bracelet and started trudging through the blizzard.
"Oh, what's the use?!" he finally cried after half an hour of walking. "I'm never gonna see them again!" "Mitsukake!" he cried, dropping to his knees into the snow. Tears sprang from his eyes. "Where are you?!" Without thinking, Li laid himself face down in the snow and cried into the cold, white ground. "I want to go home!" he sobbed. "Mommy! Mitsukake!"
"Daddy!" cried a shrill voice.
Li looked up to where that voice was coming from. It sounded so close.
"DADDY!" the voice called again. Li faced his immediate left and saw the same black haired girl from before, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She was shivering slightly. Li squinted his eyes more to make sure it was really another person and that he wasn't alone anymore.
Li thought about what Mitsukake would've done in this situation. He would've kept the girl warm and try to take her home. Always the one to look up to his guardian, Li tried his best to crawl over to the girl.
"Hi," he said, trying to speak over the loud winds that accompanied the snow.
The girl blinked her crimson eyes, trying to get rid of her tears. "Hi..."
"I think you lost this," he said, extending his hand to reveal the bracelet.
"I didn't even know it was missing! Thanks!" she exclaimed, temporarily forgetting the storm.
"I'm going to get you out of this, okay?" Li wrapped his arm around her. The girl smiled a little, now remembering the situation.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Meilin," she sniffed. "What's yours?"
"Li," he said, and smiled at her.
Looking all around, Li noticed that it wasn't snowing so hard now, and he could see some of the tracks he had made in his wanderings. He thought he must have been all over the place by now, so he would head in the direction where there were no footprints, and that surely would be the way to safety.
"Li?" Meilin asked
"What?"
"Do you think they'd be Underground by now?"
"I hope so, I think I know the way there," he replied
"I think I do too! Now we know the way home!" Meilin said happily
So the two children trekked on, unsure of exactly where they were going, but they knew they would keep walking through the storm until they reached the Underground passage.
After half an hour of walking, Li's face lit up and he began to yell. "There it is! Mitsukake told me that was the sign for it!" he said as he pointed to a metal sign with a unicorn on it.
Meilin began to jump up and down in excitement. "Come on, Li! Let's go!" she laughed. The two ran towards the entrance, a door carved into the face of a huge boulder, one of Lea's many. They both laid hands on the handle and pulled it hard, but they didn't know it was locked form the inside. Since they couldn't open it, they started to pound on it with their fists, which achieved the desired result, for the door was flung open , and standing there was an appointed door warden from Enigma, but better yet - Mitsukake!
Li threw himself at the man, hanging on to his legs, while Meilin stayed back, until the door warden recognized her as the Summit man's missing daughter. He went to his station nearby to send for her father, followed by Mitsukake. The young pair was left standing by the door
"Thanks for helping me, Li." Meilin said. "Here, since you gave me back my bracelet I'll give you something too." Reaching to the back of her neck, she unfastened a small, intricately carved pendant that was shaped like a star. The glass it was made of sparkled, reflecting the light. "Here, this is for you." Li stiffened and turned a bright red as she wrapped her arms around his neck and clasped the chain together.
Li thought about what he should do now. What would Mitsukake do? He didn't know, because his master had no wife. "Alright, what would any grownup do?" he asked himself. He had seen couples before, so he did what they did. He kissed her.
After a second of two , he stepped back, and Meilin did the same, her eyes wide, but smiling....
The sparkling ruby red of her eyes began to fade, and Li found himself staring up at the white cloth of the hospital tent's ceiling. He turned on his side and wished he could stay in the dream of his youth, until he remembered the Princess. She was almost the total opposite of Meilin. Sakura's short brown hair opposed Meilin's long black ponytails. Deep green eyes as compared to piercing red ones. Fragility and a sheltered state counteracted independence and strength. It puzzled him how he could fall for them both. But Sakura was taken, engaged to the Prince of Summit. Li guessed it was just as well, for he did not think he could choose between the two girls. But then again... Sakura did seem interested in him at their meeting back home. Nothing could come of it though, he knew Sakura would not break her promise to the Prince. Li closed his eyes and sighed.
* * *
In the morning, Emperor Hikitsu called for his courier. "Terada. I want you to take a group of your men and go on a reconnaissance mission. Ride out to the battlegrounds, and report back what you see." he instructed
"Yessir." Terada replied.
Upon emerging from the tunnel on the Summit side, the eyes of the group were met with a strange sight. With the one exception of Pinnacle Palace, visible from afar, their beloved kingdom, the towns, their homes...had all been burned. Not to the ground, mind you, but enough so as it make them unsuited for living in. Far in the distance, the trees of Enigma could be seen. They too, had sustained damage. But again, what could be seen of Sanctuary Palace was untouched.
The men looked from side to side in confusion. What sort of Macabre magic could have reached back so far as to affect the kingdoms? If such a force was being used, then there was probably not much hope for the army. Hikitsu's men knew this, and bowed their heads in honor of the terrible loss. But Terada did not want to believe it. He was going to prove right now that the army was still alive and well!
A determined shout rang throughout the air, and responding pounding hoofs were heard from the front. The mourners raised theirs heads to see Terada's horse racing forward, the rider spurring him on. The rest rallied around this inspirational figure and followed suit with a uproarious noise likened to what they today call the Rebel Yell.
In the distance, the soldiers heard something strange. It seemed to be the howling of a hundred demons coming rapidly towards them. Could this be yet another Macabre attack? Everyone tensed as the cries came ever nearer. Julian sprinted towards the sound, ready to defend his troops. As the horsemen came into sight, however, it soon became clear that no demons were these, but angels, come to show them the way home!
"Halloa, Sire!" Terada yelled excitedly to the young prince. Julian smiled as the men drew to a halt in front of him. Tetsuya had arrived on the scene by this time and he bowed. "Welcome to His Majesty's humble abode," he said with a mock air of sincerity. Everyone laughed, while aside to Julian, Terada asked to see what casualties had resulted. Julian nodded and headed to the grave sites first. Better to get this over with now.
* * *
Later on, inside the hospital tents, Terada spotted a nurse with flowing red hair speaking to a young, brown haired soldier. This scene looked vaguely familiar to him somehow, but he couldn't remember where from. He could almost swear that nurse had lived in Summit years ago.
"When are you to report back, sir?" Julian asked. Terada shook his head to forget the feeling, and turned his attention back towards the prince.
"As soon as possible," he answered.
"Then go, and tell my father of what you have seen this day."
Terada saluted and went out of the tent, whereupon, Hotohori jogged up to him, and began to walk alongside.
"Leaving, Terada?" he queried.
"Yes."
"Then I will come with you. I would like to report to his Majesty myself, " the knight stated.
"As you wish" Terada replied distractedly. He kept thinking about that nurse. Where had he seen her before?
"Wait, I have a better idea," Hotohori said, "don't you think we will make an impressive sight if all the men who are still able come riding triumphantly back into the kingdoms? Especially since the Enigmans have not sent out any couriers - we can surprise them!" he suggested, his eager eyes shining
The other man rubbed his chin and nodded.
"Don't leave just yet, Terada. I'll be back," Hotohori called, already some distance away. He ran to find Julian to tell him of the new plans. The prince apparently agreed, because the knight came running back almost at once
"Gather the men, we're leaving at once!" he shouted excitedly.
"But what about the wounded?"
"We can use the supply wagons to help move them!" Turning from side to side, Hotohori continued shouting. "Pack up, troops! We're going home today!"
Soldiers appeared from inside various tents all over camp. Tasuki appeared and decided to help Hotohori out. He sprinted directly towards the opposite side of the camp, all the while heralding the good news. Soon, an excited buzz hovered over the entire place as men gathered their belongings and prepared to go home. But they did not yet know what it was they would find.
* * *
A merry party it was that left the Amourite encampment that day. All the soldiers were joking and laughing. Even the ones who were hurt, and being transported by the wagons. It was sort of crowded, though. Nobody expected the war to be over so soon, so several week's worth of supplies were packed, causing a limit on space. Despite this, the general morale was high. Comments about wives and sweethearts abounded, as if the men had been gone for months instead of a few days. An individual with a pair of field glasses made a loud comment. "There in the distance lies the river Halcyon, beckoning us homeward." Anyone close enough to hear this told someone else, since everyone was getting anxious to be home. The warriors all craned their necks in an attempt to see the river. They did not even notice the singed state of their surroundings. Suboshi suddenly looked up, and saw all of it in an instant. "Terada!" he gasped, "Why did you not tell us? What happened here?"
"I figured you would know. You must have seen something that could have caused this." Terada replied. "It's much better than we expected, at least, Sir," he went on "We could feel the repercussions of whatever it was all the way underground. I did not expect the settlements to have sustained so little damage."
"There was a great explosion of Macabre magic, but I did not think it could have reached so far back into our homes." Suboshi mused. "Now who was it that Sir Tasuki said caused it? Ah yes, a woman named Soi!" he exclaimed at last. By this time, everyone had seen the damage, and had heard Suboshi's recollection and Tasuki's reaffirmation to the common soldiers, since all the knights already knew. The name Soi, and Tasuki's vivid descriptions circulated like rumors of some dread disease, but at least she was gone now, or so they thought.
* * *
"Mother! Mother!" shouted a ruby-eyed girl as she burst through the door of her temporary underground home. Her waist-length black hair swished as she moved. " I went outside to Lea Field this morning, and the warriors have returned from battle!"
Her mother, with her black hair tied up in a bun, rushed to where the girl was standing. "Meilin? Did I hear you say that the soldiers have come home?" she asked excitedly. "Yes," Meilin nodded quickly, "and my cousin Julian leads the brave knights." she proudly added.
Meilin's family normally lived in Massif, the main city of Summit, because Pinnacle Palace was situated at its head. Breata, her mother, was Emperor Hikitsu's sister. Her father was Anton Cavill, the son of Massif's major domo. Consequently, Meilin frequented the castle. She had always looked up to her cousin, who was two years her senior. But she was somewhat scared of her uncle, since whenever she was at the palace, he was usually angry at Julian for some thing or another.
Meilin remembered the time she was watching Julian practice his sword fighting. They were outside the stables, and a six year old Meilin was perched on a sawhorse. Julian and Tetsuya, another youth of noble birth, were using their best moves to try and defeat the other.
Of course, this was all in good fun, but Emperor Hikitsu either did not know that, or he did not care. He came thundering around the corner, marched up to his son, and grabbed his arm so forcefully that Julian's sword fell from his hand. "Stop that this instant!!!" the emperor yelled. Tetsuya slowly backed up a few steps, his eyes wide with shock, as were Julian's.
"Go and help Chichiri." Hikitsu barked the instructions to Julian as he pushed him towards the castle.
"Help him do what?" Julian asked innocently. "YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT!!!!!!" Hikitsu roared. Meilin covered her ears, and Tetsuya cringed against a stable door. Julian however, gathered himself to his full height and stood looking bravely at his father.
"Now go!!" Hikitsu ordered, raising his hand threateningly.
This treatment of her beloved cousin was too much for Meilin to take. She jumped off the sawhorse and ran between Julian and her uncle. "Stop it!" she cried, her arms spread defensively in front of Julian. "Julian wasn't doing anything wrong. We were just having fun. And how is Julian supposed to know what you want him to do if you won't even tell him?" she scolded rapid-fire, trying to fit all she had to say in before she could be interrupted.
"Stay out of this, Meilin." Hikitsu threatened in a strangely quiet voice. "No, I won't stay out of it, and I won't stop. You need to stop," Meilin said defiantly, her eyes blazing.
Just when it looked like the situation was going to get violent, Chichiri, the court advisor, and Breata appeared from around the corner. "She's right here, Madame." Chichiri said to Breata, who was obviously wondering where her daughter was....
....Her father's words "And what of Li?" snapped Meilin back into the present. Blushing slightly, she answered "I was just about to go watch for him," a small smile played on her face as she thought of the boy she'd met so long ago.
* * *
Nikki tried desperately to regain her concentration. She was reading a book on spirits, but she always got distracted due to her two giggling roommates, Madison and Rita. She hardly got along with them. And since now Madison and Rita know about her origins, there will probably be more tension in the room. She thought the Underground version of the school would be more
peaceful, but she could always hear the echo in the room whenever their voices rose in volume.
Nikki caught the two girls giving her a strange look and as soon as Nikki turned to look at them back, they smirked and giggled again. All three were interrupted by an urgent knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, it swung open, revealing an excited Chiriko. "You guys!" he yelled, panting. "They're back! Everyone's back! We won! There's not a single Macabre warrior left!"
"Really?" Madison asked. She turned to face Rita and said "Come on! Let's go see them!" Rita nodded and the two sprinted past Chiriko and out the door. Nikki slowly closed her book and stood up from the bed. She hadn't noticed that Chiriko was still there, staring at her.
"Not so happy you guys lost?" Chiriko jeered. He leaned against the door's frame.
Nikki jumped at the sound of his voice. "Y-you are still here?!"
"Yeah," he said, rolling his eyes. "Get a clue, Nikki..."
She just ignored him and pushed past him. She was halfway down the hallway when Chiriko called out to her. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Where do you think?" Nikki answered, not turning around.
"You don't know, do you?" he asked, his voice softer.
Nikki whirled around. Something in his tone didn't sound good. "What do you mean?"
For the first time, Chiriko looked sympathetic. "You know how Crag Alps is always siding with Macabre..." Nikki nodded slowly, wondering what he was getting at.
"Well, when everyone was evacuated here, Macabre wasn't aware and Crag Alps refused to go along with us..."
Nikki shook her head. "You...you can't be saying..."
Chiriko went on. "That explosion above us, that was the strongest sorcery Macabre is able to use. It can kill the entire empire..."
"Stop!" Nikki covered her ears. "I don't believe you!"
"Nikki! I'm being serious for once!" Chiriko protested. He grabbed her arms and pulled them away from her head. He leaned in until their noses almost touched. "They are all DEAD."
She pushed him away and Chiriko landed on his rear. "What was that for?!" he asked crossly.
"Why would I believe a horrible piece of scum like you?!" Nikki yelled. "First you insult my family and then you try to be nice to me?! I don't know what kind of game you are playing on me, but I will never be a part of it!" Nikki turned and ran down the hall. Chiriko watched her disappear. Again, he had that feeling of regret, but forced it out of his system. He pulled himself off the floor, and started trudging down the opposite direction.
* * *
All the villagers came out of hiding shortly after Sir Hotohori ran, holding the reins of his pinto horse, Siren, into the tunnel of the Underground. They were aghast at what the mysterious explosion had done to their home, but this was expected, because from underneath, they felt a shaking from the collision of that energy blast to the ground and the loud rumble of the fire overtaking the Amour Empire. Yet, they were all joyous to see many of the troops alive! Chelsea was the only villager not emerging from the Underground, because she had passed herself off as a nurse and hitched a ride on one of the vehicles. She could see the living soldiers embracing their family and friends, she also noticed other townspeople standing off to the side, smiling and waiting for their loved ones to arrive. Chelsea had to feel sorry for them, for she knew that the warriors they were looking for had perished in the day-long battle. She turned to see the Lady Miaka jump into Sir Tasuki's arms, and he swung her around, the two so happy to be together again.
"Li!!" shouted the tailor's daughter. Her dress of baby blue silk flowed out behind her as she flew down the path. Li cried out for joy, and caught the girl up in his arms. After only a moment or two, he tossed her up in Echo's direction. "Catch her, Echo!" he cried happily. Meilin performed some choice aerobatics, and gracefully landed in the ladylike position for riding a horse. Li laughed and remounted behind her just as quickly as he had dismounted. Meilin looked up into his face. Although he was covered in dust, as he beamed down at her, she couldn't imagine anyone being more handsome. Resting her head against his shoulder, she caught a glimpse of her pendant, the one she had given him those many years ago, back when all of this started. As for Li, his thoughts of the Princess are forgotten for now.
* * *
Soi stared teary-eyed at the ruins of Macabre. Her home...it was gone. At that very moment, her abhorration for Enigma and Summit grew stronger. Because of them, her army lost, her beloved had perished, and her kingdom was destroyed.
So what will she do now?
Soi smiled devilishly. Plot for vengeance, that's what. Kill those two neighboring kingdoms. Make them feel what she felt now. Unbearable pain. And it was time for her to start planning now. The Amourites would never let her live for that explosion. She needed to put up an act. In the distance, she spotted the first person she saw come out of the Underground passage. Chichiri, the humble advisor of Emperor Hikitsu. Her plan will start now.
"Help me," Soi cried out pitifully. She dragged herself to Chichiri. The blue-haired man looked at her, surprised. "Yes?" he asked.
"I...I don't remember..." she held her head. "What am I doing here? What is this place?"
"Don't worry," Chichiri replied, oblivious to the fact that she caused the tragedy to Amour. "I will talk t--"
"Chichiri!" Julian cried, suddenly coming up beside him. At his side was Princess Sakura. "You dare let this murderer near the rest of us?!"
Soi put a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Murderer? I was a murderer?"
Julian nodded, his expression hard. "You destroyed Amour. You even devastated your own king--"
"Wait a second, Julian," Sakura said. "She doesn't even look like she knew of this..."
"Are you saying she lost her memory of the war?" Chichiri questioned.
"If she doesn't remember, then we can forgive her this one time," Sakura replied. She turned to her future husband. "You needn't call out a search for Mistress Soi of Macabre and execute her. It seems that she will no longer be around, just this woman with no knowledge of her past."
"She might be faking it," Chichiri pointed out.
"Faking what?" Soi inquired innocently. "I don't understand..."
"How about we give her a chance now, and if anything suspicious happens, we'll do something about it," Sakura suggested, causing Julian to shrug. "I guess you're right. We'll notify the others. I trust you on this choice, Sakura."
Soi silently thanked Sakura for being so naive and smiled.
A few minutes later, Soi was sitting in a chair next to Chichiri underneath the Emperor's canopy. She looked around at the people milling about in the bright sunshine. She watched them complacently enough, until from the corner of her eye, she saw the infernal creature named Tasuki. Why couldn't he have died from the explosion? Soi thought it wasn't fair that everyone from her homeland died, but the most arrogant of knights could have escaped her grasp so easily. But besides the fact that he was such a hothead, it was part of her destiny. She had to destroy him. Folding her hands in her lap, she wiped those thoughts from her mind in order to keep her supposed peaceful, innocent state. She could wait, and she planned on doing just that.
***
"It was never in the Carmina," Tetsuya spoke up suddenly from behind Julian, holding up a copy of the sacred text.
"What?" Julian responded, staring into the distance.
"That thing your father declared years ago," Tetsuya answered, extending his arm over Julian's shoulder and holding the Carmina out in front of his nose. "About magic being forbidden. I read the entire thing front to back. There's nothing in there that says it's forbidden. I figured someone besides the Royal Families would've gone in depth into this, but I think I'm the only one..."
"Oh, you're here too, Tetsuya" Julian noted, oblivious to what the other had been saying. He turned around to face the knight.
Tetsuya laughed and slapped the prince on the back. "You were always slow, Julian. Oops - I mean...Your Highness," he said good-heartedly.
Julian grinned. "Sorry. I was so focused on seeing Sakura. Now, what were you telling me?"
"Well," Tetsuya began, tucking the small book in a pouch on his belt, "I have been meaning to tell you this for some time, but you know how forgetful I am, eh? See, I recently finished reading the book, and there was no mention of Fortuna declaring magic evil. In fact, she considered magic users special in a way, you know?"
Julian nodded, his eyes narrowed. "My father has been lying all this time. That damn bastard..."
Tetsuya looked at his best friend sharply. Never would he have thought Julian was capable of swearing. "Sire!"
"Give me that book," Julian ordered. Tetsuya was ready to hand it to him, but Julian waved it away. "Never mind, I have one of my own. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a word with my father. Goodbye." Julian said curtly, spinning around and heading away.
Tetsuya blinked. "So, how was the battle? I heard you really nailed Nakago. I killed a couple of people myself..." Tetsuya rambled on sarcastically, as if Julian was still there and in victory mood. He sighed wearily and walked off.
* * *
"Tasuki! Tasuki, my love!" Miaka jumped happily in the knight's arms, armor and all. Tasuki dropped his sword to the ground and hugged the maiden back. "We gave them what they deserved, that's for sure," he replied with a wide grin.
"I am called Soi, Master Tasuki." she replied mockingly. He wondered how she knew his name. "How do you like my Ragnarok? I think it holds quite well against the Rune, don't you? It was certainly too strong for your friend there, wasn't it?" Tasuki was baffled as to how she could not only know his name, but how she knew about his weapon. Of course, he wasn't going to let this Soi person know that. At this, Soi laughed. "Oh, Master Tasuki. Hiding it from me won't help. I know all about you, so it's useless to even try." With these words, she leaped back and lifted her right hand to sky. Electricity crackled around it and the clouds grew ominously dark. "Oh, and by the way, how's the little magicker doing these days?" She brought her hand down with tremendous force. A deafening clap of thunder cracked through the air like a whip as lightning danced across the sky. Tasuki looked up for a brief moment, and when he looked back to his opponent, she was gone.
"Magicker," Tasuki murmured. Who was Soi talking about? He didn't know any mages, for sorcery was banned in both Enigma and Summit. The only magic permitted were miracles from the Goddess of the Moon herself, Fortuna.
He felt Miaka stiffen. "What did you say?" she asked, her voice almost panicked.
"Nothing," he said, letting her go. He picked up his sword and sheathed it.
"Oh, Master Tasuki. Hiding it from me won't help. I know all about you, so it's useless to even try."
How did she know about him? The knight was definitely sure he had never met this woman before...
"Oh, and by the way, how's the little magicker doing these days?"
Soi was saying he knew a magic maker. He shot a look at his beloved. Would Miaka practice magic and keep it from him?
"Tasuki? What's wrong?" she questioned him, concerned. "You seem distracted."
She wouldn't. Tasuki shook his head. Miaka wouldn't break Fortuna's commandment of using magic. Never.
"Tasuki?" Miaka's hands cupped his face gently. "Did something happen out there? Tell me."
"Do..." the fiery-haired man started. "Do you know anyone who practices magic?"
The maiden immediately backed up. "M-magic?" she stammered. "No! Why would you bring up a subject like that? You know I wouldn't do that...and surely I wouldn't know anyone who would..."
"I'm...just making sure..." he muttered. He knew she was hiding something, but didn't pressure her to tell him. It was probably nothing. Miaka was a good, chaste person. Maybe talking about something evil like this scared her.
"Lady Miaka."
The knight and lady turned around and found Sir Tori upon Gaea. He was holding reins to Tamahome's horse Shapeshifter, who had been galloping next to Gaea. Hanging from Shapeshifter's saddle was the Heaven's Cloud.
"Sir Tori!" Miaka exclaimed.
"Tamahome..." he said solemnly, still recovering from the shock of finding his best friend dead, "He's..." He lowered his eyes.
"No..." Tasuki murmured. "No way..." He looked at Miaka. He knew how much the knight meant to her. He touched her shoulder.
As she stood unmoving, just staring into space, it was all coming back to her. All the emotions she felt back in her bedroom when she first found out Tamahome died came back to her. Her eyes widened and tears welled up in them. "He...he didn't..." She pleaded, searching Tori's face for an answer she already knew, but still didn't want to believe. She'd tried to block that one night from her memory, but it was no use now.
Miaka felt Tasuki's warm arms encircle her, comforting her shaky, pained soul. "It's okay..." he whispered into her ear. "Go on and cry. Don't hold it in."
Tori jumped down from his horse and, holding Shapeshifter's reins, slowly moved toward the couple. "He was still in love with you, you know," he murmured. "He talked about you every day. He never moved on from the day you two broke up..."
Miaka hid her swollen eyes from view and into Tasuki's neck. She wished Tori would just stop. All this talk about Tamahome loving her was making her more and more guilty, more resentful toward herself for falling in love with another.
Tori handed Shapeshifter's reins to Tasuki. "Our honored knight would have wanted Miaka to have the horse and the sword." Tasuki hesitantly took the horse from Tori. The dark-haired knight patted him on the back and smiled. "And he would've wanted her to be treated well. Take care of her." Tasuki nodded slowly. He watched as Tori climbed upon Gaea and rode off.
"Tasuki?" Miaka ventured, her voice muffled
"What is it, Miaka?"
"I can't marry you," she said, although she still had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
"What?!" Tasuki asked, surprised.
Miaka lifted her head. "Not right now, anyway. It would dishonor Tamahome to do it so soon."
They couldn't have gotten married now even if they wanted to. The cities were still being restored, and there was no chapel in the Underground. Tasuki said nothing of this, though, and the two continued to stand in silence.
* * *
In the meantime, Nikki had finally arrived home, only to find utter ruin staring her in the face. With her breath caught in her throat, she ran down the still navigable paths. Everything was still exactly where it was supposed to be, only now all the structures were in ashes. So, she was able to find the way to her house as if nothing was changed. But in fact, everything was. This became even more painfully evident as she reached her once-dear home. At the sight of it, Nikki collapsed on the spot. Crumpled on the barren ground, she wished she was the type that would just faint dead away, at least then she wouldn't feel anything. But sadly, she was not that kind. She had to stay conscious, and consciousness meant dealing with the sight of the remains. Four bodies lay twisted among the rubble. Through blurred vision, Nikki could make out her mother, and the three corpses around her. The decay had started to progress, so parts of their bodies were really just skeletons, with shreds of flesh hanging off some of the exposed bones. All this was really too much for the bespectacled young girl, and it was all she could do to keep from getting sick.
"Those would be Tokiko, Chuei, and Yuiren " Nikki thought grimly to herself. Tokiko was her beautiful older sister, who had already been through the private school Nikki was attending now. Chuei, and Yuiren were her younger brother and sister, who would have gone to school soon, too.
But where was her father? Why wasn't he with the rest of the family? "Maybe he was outside, or at a store somewhere." Nikki thought to herself. She thought it would be a dreadfully lonely way to...die. But then again, maybe it was so quick he didn't even know what happened. Nikki hoped that was the case.
She stared far ahead of her. Nothing but ruins. Dirt, dust, ugly garbage that was once beautiful landscape...there was no one for miles...for many thousands of miles, perhaps. Nikki wasn't surprised. She never doubted the power of Macabre.
The tavern her father usually hung around in wasn't too far from her house. He usually walked there if he was bored around the house, or if he felt like being with his friends. Nikki stood up weakly and ran to where it was, despite the fact that her legs had lost all feeling in them.
He wasn't there either. The girl stood there for a little more, contemplating the wreckage of the formerly popular place. Its outer walls had been a bright orange color, making it stand out in the Alps. The inside was just as decorated. There was bright red velvet everywhere. The walls, the curtains, the tablecloth too...one of the back rooms had been completely covered with mirrors, wall to floor to ceiling. It had been used for private parties, mostly used by the nobles, during the few times they ever visited Crag Alps.
Now it looked like that gallant place never existed. None of the neon orange could be made out of the debris. Nothing but grey ash, and bits and pieces of glass and clay. There were plenty of the shards of the shattered mirrors from that one room, sitting all in a pile a couple feet away. She found no sight of any velvet, and she probably wouldn't. It had most likeley been turned black from the soot.
Nikki really hoped that her father wasn't beneath the rubble. The tavern was a huge place despite its population, and no one would have survived underneath all of the ruins of its collapse.
She slowly made her way to the pile of mirror shards and picked up one of the bigger pieces. She stared at her disfigured reflection in it, bursting into tears again and wondering why she had to lose everything she loved.
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OK, so the ending was a little dark, but it was necessary to end it this way. You'll see why in the future.