Nee XD Another cliffie last chapter… so sorry! (Well, sorta - Gomen!) The letter from Sephiria finally arrives. Did Sakura's capture turn into a murder? What will the gang do now? There's more to this legend than is being told…
Note: I do not own any of the characters! They are copyright of CLAMP and I do not take credit for any EXISTING characters, though I will create a few of my own for the purpose of this story. My fic is basically a new world that Syaoran and the gang go to next. Note that it takes place after they leave the Oûto world (where they were actually inside a game). Enjoy!
What happened last time:
On the lid, written in what looked like fresh blood, were the words, "A crueler fate awaits the heroes who resist." Unwillingly, Syaoran looked down into the contents of the box. The light crept on, trying to reach the table.
But even in the dull light, Syaoran could recognize the contents. A pile of ashes, created from human remains filled the box, bulging to a round top. A sudden draft blew again, pushing bits of ash off the top of the lump, just as a ray of sunshine finally broke through the window and landed on the table, lighting up the box. Protruding from the middle of the ashes was a white beaded hair ornament, charred black almost beyond recognition. But Syaoran still knew what it was… it had sat mere hours ago in Sakura's soft brown hair.
Chapter 4: Prison of Ice
Fye and Kurogane stood at Syaoran's doorway, both solemn. Kurogane was leaning against the dark wood frame with his eyes closed, as Fye glanced silently outside.
A window at the end of the hallway let an orange sun seep through its tainted glass, spraying the opposite wall in radiant colours. It was sometime in the afternoon; Syaoran had been in his room for hours. In 7 more hours, Sephiria would arrive.
After the wooden box and revealed Sakura's charred hairpin amongst the pile of black ashes, Syaoran had closed the box amid the eerie silence in the hall, and went and shut himself in his room. He'd been in there, cooped up for almost a full day.
Fye let out a deep sigh and turned to his silent companion. "What do you supposed we do now?"
"Depends on the kid." Kurogane simply replied. "His head will be thinking, not sulking all this time. He'll listen to his heart."
Just then, the bolt on the door unlocked with a soft click, and a small rustle of air sped through the crack as Syaoran stepped out of his room. He did not seem surprised to see Fye and Kurogane standing outside his doorway, but instead gave them a fiery stare, full of ambition and passion.
"We're going." He stated shortly as Mokona hopped out of the room behind him just before Syaoran closed the door. Somehow, a tinge of relief could be seen through Mokona's apprehensive expression.
Fye's alluring blue eyes followed Syaoran as he continued down the hall past him, "To where, Syaoran-kun?"
He stopped in his tracks, his back facing his companions. "The sorceress's castle." He turned around, a flame lit in his eyes. "I refuse to believe Sakura is dead." Syaoran reached into his cape and withdrew the wooden box containing the ashes.
"I know we saw the ashes and the hair ornament; I know the evidence points to her being dead; but I refuse to believe it. Sephiria could've set this up to make us leave, because we're the only ones standing between her and her vengeance. She'll do anything to take what she believes is rightfully hers… including a faked death." Syaoran glanced from the wooden box to his friends. "These ashes… might not even be hers. This may as well be a diversion, so until I see solid proof that Sakura's gone, I refuse to believe it. No matter how long it takes, I'll search this entire kingdom and every world for her. Every day of my life until I die. The last thing I'll do is give up on her; she's too important to me for me to do that."
The gathering was silent in the hall.
Syaoran was the first to break the silence, his valour expression softening into a meek smile. "What, do I sound crazy?"
Kurogane pushed off the grey stone wall he'd been leaning against and clasped his hand on Syaoran's shoulder as an affectionate gesture. A grin spread across the tall man's face.
"No, you've finally learned to use your head to think things through."
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An icy cold spread up her spine as she lay half awake on a rigid surface. A cool wetness rubbed against her nose as she began to regain consciousness.
Slowly, opening her eyes, a crystal world of ice fleetingly greeted her, distant walls of floe and frost surrounding her like a frozen dungeon. A baby polar bear sat in front of her face, still rubbing its nose against hers.
She gently pushed her hand against the cold surface and sat up, the polar bear began running joyfully around her, slightly skidding on the ice now and then.
A clammy loneliness seeped deep in Sakura's skin, and she shivered. The temperature of the air wasn't frigid cold, though she was surrounded entirely by layers of ice.
Where am I? Sakura thought. And where's – her thoughts flashed suddenly on the memory of Princess Esmerelda with her arms around Syaoran's neck. No… he'll be worried about the girl he likes… not me. A miserable pain slashed through across her heart as Sakura dwelled unwillingly on the thought. The little polar bear leapt into Sakura's lap, but lost its footing in the dress's many folds and layers, tumbling towards the ice again. Sakura gently caught the bear, cupping it in her hands like a big white fluff ball.
She gave a gentle smile. "Hello there." The polar bear's lips turned slightly up at the corners, giving a little smile in return and reached its paw towards Sakura's face. It gave a small grunt of concern and tilted its head at Sakura, as if asking a question.
Sakura reached up one hand and wiped her cold fingers across her rosy cheeks, feeling a trail of liquid flowing down her face.
Tears.
"Oh, silly me." Sakura hastily wiped them away with her free hand as she placed the little white bear safely on top of her dress. "I'm just sad that… that I'm lost. Are you lost too?"
The little bear shook its head from side to side and let out a light groan.
"No?" Then, do you know where we are?"
This time, the bear drooped its head a little as if thinking; it then turned up to stare into her emerald eyes with a solemn gaze.
"Don't know how to say it, hm?" Sakura smiled kindly and stroked the bear's soft head. "I'm not sure if you have a name, but I'll call you Snow for now ok? Because your fur is as white and as soft as fresh fallen snow."
"The bear gave a content, short grunt of approval, and rubbed its head against her hand, obviously pleased.
Sakura beamed happily. It was nice to have company in this lonely cold chamber.
"How long have you been here, Snow? A long time?" Sakura asked the little bear, who was now rolling around playfully on her dress. It paused only to give her the slightest of nods, then tumbled all the way down her dress like a ramp and landed on the ice. Snow scuttled a little to get closer to Sakura again. She gave a small laugh as Snow tripped as it made its way to her.
"You must've been so lonely before… it isn't that fun then, is it?" Sakura said absent-mindedly. "It's really sad… to feel alone." Snow stopped playing and gave a soft whine, sensing her sadness. The bear cocked its head, waiting for her to continue. Sakura tried to force a meek smile, glancing off into the distance. It didn't work.
"See, there's as boy who I've been travelling with, and no matter how many memories I get back, I can't seem to remember him. At first, I didn't seem to care much about who he was… he was just another stranger, like Fye and Kurogane were. But little by little, he's grown into my heart, and he's become so important to me. Yet, I still don't understand so many things about him… why he sticks by me and tries so hard to get my feathers back, risking his life in the process. Perhaps he's just being kind; his heart's so caring and warm. But, when I saw him a while before, holding hands with another girl, and that girl with her arms around him, I felt something I've never remembered feeling before…" She looked back down at the polar bear sitting intently before her. "Snow, do you think I'm a horrible person to feel this way?"
Snow shook it's white head furiously and hugged her knee, since it was the only part of Sakura he was tall enough to reach.
"Do I have a right… to love him at all?" Sakura breathed desolately into the empty prison.
"As hard as I try, I still can't remember him… Somehow, I feel so alone when he's not around, and I long to see his face again. After that incident in the gardens, I've realized that I can't bear the thought of him with another girl. Hoe can I feel this way, when I don't remember anything about him? Syaoran's already done so much for me, I can't ask any more of him. And if he's happy with Princess Esmerelda, then I should let him be, right?"
Sakura looked at Snow, sitting quietly on the ice. "I'm sorry, I'm dumping all my troubles on a cute little bear like you. It just… came out of me. Now," she stood up gently, testing out the ice. To her surprise, it was not as slippery as she imagined. "Let's find a way out of this strange room for starters, shall we?'
Skidding slightly in her white slippers, Sakura looked around the room as Snow stared quietly at her with its light grey eyes. He then stared up towards the clear patch of ice near the high ceiling, where rays of light slightly filtered through to keep the room from residing in darkness.
A wall of ice suddenly creaked apart like a door at the far end of the iced room. Sakura stooped to let Snow hop into her hands, then stood to face the one who had just entered. As the doors closed again, Sakura wondered if anyone had come in at all, but the she saw a shimmer in the frosty air. The person was perfectly camouflaged with the frozen room. Slowly, the figure drew closer until it was a mere few feet from Sakura. Snow twitched slightly in her hands.
A beautiful being stood majestically before Sakura, tall and cloaked in a silver-white robe, her face hidden in the shadows of her upturned hood. In her left hand, a long staff pitched below the surface of the ice, one end the shape of a spearhead. On the other end, a large diamond-shaped block of ice encaged…
"My feather…" Sakura whispered to herself in surprise. Syaoran was right… there is a feather in this world. She continued to stare at her feather, trapped in the ice.
"My power is mine alone." A taunting voice hissed coldly from the shadows of the figure's hood, as the individual sensed Sakura looking at her memory. She pulled her staff upwards, uprooting the spearhead from the ice, leaving a whole in the ice floor. Tipping the balance of the staff, the woman tilted the end with the feather towards Sakura. "No commoner will freely see my treasure."
A sudden pain ran through Sakura's body, a stabbing cold pricking her every cell like thousands of tiny needles. A chilling cold spread through her veins, stinging her ever nerve. Then all suddenly seized and the pain was gone, leaving Sakura in a gasping heap on the ice. The feather quivered in its cage of ice.
Snow growled angrily and jumped between Sakura and the cloaked figure.
"Oh, pathetic little worm. Do you really want the same fate as your parents?"
Snow's anger intensified, and it bared its front teeth at the woman.
"N-no, please don't harm Snow!" Sakura got to her knees, a lingering pain still in her body. She pulled Snow away from the woman.
The lady lowered the staff, and jabbed the spear tip back into the ice, the shiny blue coating of the staff glimmering a reflection of the ice around them.
" Girl, you will work for me now. My followers have brought a fine individual this time." The voice was harsh, but still seemed less cruel than before.
"Followers… so you must be the might sorceress, Sephiria." Sakura implored.
"Yes." The head tilted upwards a bit, the hood slightly sliding off but the face was still cast in darkness. Sakura saw a glisten of rouge lips. "Girl," the voice continued. "Do you believe your companions will come for you?"
"Yes…" Sakura hesitated. The question had caught her by surprise. "If they knew I was still alive, of course they'll come for me still."
"And what if they don't? What if they thought that you were dead?"
"They wouldn't believe it so easily! Syaoran-kun would think things through! I know he would." Sakura pressed urgently. …Wouldn't he? A sudden horror spread to Sakura's face. She hurried to her feet, Snow cuddled in her arms.
"Y-you didn't… trick them?"
Sephiria was silent, but Sakura saw, in the darkness under the hood, a faint smile stretched across the sorceress' face.
"You made them think I was dead?"
When Sephiria answered, her voice was chilling in tone, enough to combat the cold ice around them. "Well honestly, I think I did them a favour."
Seeing' Sakura's confused expression, the sorceress ventured on. "I've watched you all for a while… And now, they seem to be much happier without worrying about you all the time. No more worrying about your feather, about getting it back and restoring your memories, and keeping you safe. Because in their eyes, you are gone… dead. They're no longer burdened by you and can roam free and fulfill their own wishes."
Sakura's mind began to whirl. That's true… we're always in danger, always in one world so long… because of me. I'm holding everyone back…
If Sakura was gone… Fye could continue roving, and not worry about staying in one place for too long, just in case the people from his world were pursuing him. He could continue to flee. Kurogane… he'd find his own world far faster if they never searched for her feathers. He'd be back home to his own princess. Mokona would be able to finish his job faster and return to the Dimension Witch sooner… the poor little white bun wouldn't always be put in danger with us all. And…
Syaoran.
He'd still be travelling or doing what he loves best: Fulfilling his passion and dreams of archaeology and ruins. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be so far away from home… yet he's here searching worlds for something of hers that is so hard to get, to fulfill his duty to Sakura, the princess of his land. Perhaps, he might even have a happy-
"Marriage." The cold voice interrupted Sakura's thoughts. It sounded strained, as if the sorceress felt pained to mention it. "There is a marriage that has just been planned and announced. Princess Esmerelda is marrying a boy… one that fell from the sky." Sakura fell to her knees.
Syaoran-kun…
"It seems to me you're already out of their minds. Your companions… are much better off without you. You were just a burden to them, child."
"N-no… they said once before!" Sakura searched hard for an answer in her mind, to keep the sorceress's words out. "When I said I should be the one searching for my feathers, they all smiled and told me they didn't mind." Her mind began to split in two, arguing with the other side. Was Sephiria right? Was she just a burden? She… couldn't be… could she?
"Do you really believe that the worlds and humans are perfect?" This statement brought Sakura's attention back to the sorceress. "People lie and deceive all they want. Some to gain what they desire, others to keep another from being emotionally hurt. Humans speak nothing but filth, and their lies pile up until they're buried in their own webs of impurity, and they drown in their own creations. That's all humans are. Liars with pretty masks on, deceit running rampage like a deadly virus. There isn't a world you can believe."
The ice cracked her staff, spreading from the point where the sorceress' spear penetrated the ice floor. Sakura looked back down the ice, Snow was sitting quietly in her lap. Sephiria is right… I am a burden to them, and they've only stuck by me, and said and did all those nice things because they didn't want ot hurt me… I was like an empty shell, no memories to let me say, "I'm a victim of life's paths and torments. I know how hard life is." They won't come for me, they've only sympathized for me… they won't come… they won't come…
"They won't come…" The 3 words issued out of Sakura's mouth in a bare whisper, her head still tilted to the floor.
"Your choices are these. Stay with me, or die by your own feather. I have no use for someone who won't help me." The voice then suddenly softened a touch. "Child, they may have treated you badly, but I can give you a new life. A fresh new start… you can, perhaps, love again. I will be back in an hour, so make your choice by then."
Sakura heard Sephiria's words in a strange blur, not even noticing her leave the iced room and lock the door tightly behind her. She didn't even hear Snow's worried whines, or the little bear's small hug to her waist. Only one thought echoed dryly through her mind.
I'm truly…all alone.
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Sephiria entered her chambers, striding to the large mirror standing upright in the centre of the room. The surface flashed in the soft light cast from the surrounding candles. As she approached, the mirror began to protrude an image of a man on a dark throne, tapping his finger impatiently on his armrest. His monocles shone as it rested on his right eye.
"Ah, Sorceress." He pronounced, raising his hand towards her. "And?"
"It went well." Sephiria answered shortly. She noticed another figure this time, standing in the shadows behind.
"So she believes in the tale? You made is as short and to the point as possible? We're pressed for time." The man prodded again, his voice growing slightly urgent.
"Of course. But I do not see why we must interfere in their love. Instead of slashing that girl's heart with betrayal, you could've told her he died, could you not? Either way, it does not affect my revenge, nor do I see how it helps you."
A sudden glimmer of light from the world on the other side of the mirror flashed across their faces. Slight as it was, Sephiria still saw who the figure beside the throne was… or at least, whom it resembled.
A boy, very much like the traveller who had arrived in Silan. There was the same chocolate hair, and fiery glint in the brown eyes. But an eye patch was slung over his left eye, and red markings ran down the boy's slender arms.
"Th-that boy! Is that the same Syaor-" Sephiria gasped in shock.
"This boy is none of your concern, at least not yet. And you have no business knowing my intentions and plans for that group of travellers. Now, do not forget, Sephiria. I freed you in exchange for a price. And that price-"
"I know my price, there's no need for you to repeat it again. However, I do not agree with your methods. I do not believe in destroying love."
The man chuckled deeply as if amused. "Of course, of course, Sephiria. Especially considering your dreary past, which-"
"SILENCE!" Sephiria's voice echoed coldly around the iced chamber. "I do not need a cold-hearted man like you telling me about my own past." Her voice was dim, barely a whisper, but radiated a strong power in its tone. The feather in her staff shook slightly.
"Hm." The man sneered. "So the angel has an angry side too. No matter if you like my methods or not, Sephiria, it was your price. A small price in my opinion, for what I gave you. Freedom. By helping you, I'm killing two birds with one stone, and that's all you need t know. I've tried many times now to gain that girl's power, and this may be my chance, especially with him awake now." The man gave a casual wave towards the boy resembling Syaoran behind him. "So follow the plan Sephiria. You owe me that much for your freedom."
The image of the man and the boy faded, to be replaced with a mirage of Sephiria herself. The mirror was once again, just an ordinary mirror.
"Fowl beast." Sephiria muttered with rage, her grip shaking as she held her staff. She breathed in a shaking breath to calm her nerves. She strode slowly towards the wall behind the mirror, where a large portrait hung upon the ice wall was cast in shadows. Her voice suddenly grew soft and hollow, as if she was another person. "Will their love end like ours, defiled by the selfishness of another?"Author's Notes:
Yay! XD Another chapter up and done! Sakura's alive, but now she's been cast into depression by Sephiria's words, and it seems there's definitely something about the sorceress we still don't know about. But what? How will Sakura answer Sephiria, and will Syaoran reach Sakura?