I'm so sorry! Last weekend I was participating in a recital with some friends and it took up WAY more time than I thought it would. Here's last week's chapter as well as this week's.

Enjoy!


It was well after midday on his third day in the woods before Syaoran's fury subsided. But then, he had only been awake for a day and a half of that time.

After collapsing to sleep against a tree-trunk late into the night the same day he had sent Sakura away from the castle to protect her, he had fallen into a deep, dreamless slumber. For all Syaoran's courage and his skill with his own magic, however, he had underestimated how much he had drained himself in the battle against Madoushi. Syaoran's magic had been dangerously depleted, and, as he only realized when he woke later, he had not been far from death when he had used the last spark of his power to cast the night's protection around himself.

So Syaoran's body, without his permission, had slipped into a healing sleep from which it refused to awaken until the boy was out of danger. It was a trick and a gift common to those with great magic, even if it operated without the person's willing permission. Thus, he had slept until the third dawn after the battle, unmoving and unaware while his young magical strength recovered itself.

But this also meant that precious time had been lost.

When Syaoran first woke and stretched, feeling wonderfully fit and refreshed, he had not realized just how much time had passed. However, within moments of full awareness, he could see the piles of leaves and the deadened grass beneath him, grass that had been denied sunlight for days. It was then that Syaoran drew a quick divination circle in the dirt before him, finding his magic answering him easily as he used it to determine how much time had passed.

"Two days!" he had shouted with such sudden anger that every bird within hearing rose into the air in alarm. "Sakura's been alone out here for two days!"

And he had charged into the forest at his best run, desperate to make up for lost time.

But with the noon hour long passed and Syaoran having made good time heading deeper into the dense forest, his anger at last abated. He supposed it did no good to be angry at himself, for he had dearly needed the rest - indeed, he would have been ill-equipped to help Sakura at all had he come upon her in that state. The sleep might have condemned Sakura to struggle alone in the woods longer, but at least it ensured Syaoran would have some ability to protect her when he found her.

However, for Syaoran to truly protect Sakura, he needed more than just restored energy; he needed his sword.

"At least I've got the strength to do this," he said to himself. "Some good comes of sleeping so much, I guess."

Not long after, Syaoran reached a little glade free of trees and whose underbrush was not so densely packed. It was likely the best place he would find in the woods for what he knew he must do to summon his blade without the pendant he had left behind.

First, Syaoran moved to the center of the clearing and drew an ofuda of fire. Without his sword to direct it, the flames spiralled around him, falling in waves to the ground. Syaoran watched the fire burn carefully, strengthening the spell as needed until the undergrowth in the glade had been burned away. Then he drew another ofuda, this one of water, to ensure no damage spread beyond his little area. The water also washed away the ash and debris of the burned greenery and cleared the air of smoke, leaving Syaoran a fair-sized circle of raw earth unencumbered by anything growing.

Here, Syaoran sat, his eyes closed, quieting his mind and his soul for what was to come.

Syaoran had learned the magic he was about to perform from his mother before he had left the lands of the Li Clan for the Kingdom of Clow. She had warned him that it was a dangerous feat and that he must not undertake it unless he was calm and strong, his powers at their peak. She had also cautioned Syaoran that, for the invocation to work, Syaoran would have to give up something of his own. She had bade him vow never to use this ritual except that it be truly necessary.

Syaoran had not understood then why his mother had looked so sad while she instilled this knowledge into her young son, but now he did; Li Yelan was a fortune-teller of some strength herself, and she had clearly known the fate that awaited her son even so many years in the future.

Syaoran let out a deep breath and opened his eyes. "I hope your faith in me is not mislaid, Mother," he whispered.

Then, Syaoran began to draw an intricate magic circle.

All users of great magic had a distinctive circle that helped them concentrate and control their powers. Clow Reed's circle had been dominated with the image of a Sun in the center, a Moon in orbit around it, and symbols in many languages anchoring the points of the complex shapes and sigils interwoven with both. The circle of the Li Clan had been taught to every child born in the bloodline even before Syaoran had shown himself to be magically gifted. It was far easier to draw than Clow Reed's, as it was more shaped like two squares overlapping than a geometric design; each point of the squares was marked with symbols for the elements, directions, seasons, and the powers of the universe. Its center bore a symbol of balance between Light and Dark.

All of this Syaoran drew in the moist, warm earth while keeping his mind clear and his emotions untroubled. He was reaching into the very heart of his own magic now - any ripple of feeling or break in concentration could do unimaginable damage to his spirit.

When all was ready, he changed into the ceremonial robe Sakura had made for him, sat down, and closed his eyes once more. The spell came to him easily, and he called it with all the conviction in his soul.

"Imperial king of gods,
Your divinity watches over the four corners:
Metal, wood, water, fire, earth,
Thunder, wind, lightning,
Hear my command and release the seal!
"

The explosion of power almost killed him.

It was, of course, not really Syaoran's fault. This particular magic was difficult to master even for a grown magician, and Syaoran was still not yet fourteen years old. The sword that had been bound to the pendant was a literal and magical manifestation of Syaoran's own powers. It was not and never had been a thing of the earth - it was only of spirit. To create a physical, durable item from one's own heart was impossible for most magicians; that was why the pendant had been left behind in the Li Clan. It was a focus, a prism through which the powers of one gifted in magic could more easily manifest.

But now Syaoran was trying to teach his body to serve as that prism, that focus. He had removed the protection of the pendant and was relying only upon his own powers and force of will to do the work without any sort of reserve to support him.

Syaoran screamed wordlessly, pain and agony burning along every nerve. He could not move - the magic held him still - but if he could, he would have torn his skin open to try to release the bubbling torrent that was his very blood. He would have clawed at his eyes to stop their pain.

Even as he screamed, however, he clung to his goal. He could not let himself forget the point of it, even as it drove him to the edge of madness.

And then, all at once, every sensation winked out.

Syaoran blinked to find himself in a dark void lit only by the golden magical circle that spun beneath him. Before him, his jian appeared.

Syaoran stretched a hand to grip it, but found he could not reach it; he discovered threads spinning away from his arms as delicate as gossamer that held him just short of his goal. He glanced around at himself and found many more, threads that stretched in all directions. Syaoran followed a particularly solid thread into the darkness with his eyes and, to his surprise, an image appeared.

"Sakura."

Breathing her name made the thread glow.

Syaoran touched another and watched it vanish into darkness which then was lit up with another image. "Mother."

And then another and another. All the ties of his life held him in place and kept him from reaching his sword.

"There will be a price," his mother had warned. "Choose it carefully."

Syaoran understood. He must break one of the threads that bound him in order to release the seal of his sword and draw it into himself. And it must be a thread of some worth - he could not break the thread that bound him to the serving boys in the castle, for he cared little for them. It must be a price of weight. Of equal pain.

Syaoran was reaching for a thread of some significance with an ache in his heart when he stopped. Waited. Could it be that simple?

His fingers settled on a thread that stretched from his chest, from the very core of himself.

"Forgive me, Mother."

And Syaoran ripped free his standing as heir to the Li Clan.

He could have severed the bond between himself and his family entirely - that had been of similar magnitude. But his mother's warning had reminded him that, perhaps, there was something else of worth that he could sacrifice without tearing himself from that which he had already lost once. Now, he could still honestly claim to be of the Li Clan, but no longer would he stand as its heir. It meant he could return home to visit, but never to remain. That he could be his mother's son but never could she be mother to the Head of the Clan.

It was a blow against his honor and his family, but it was a far easier sacrifice to make than one against his heart.

"On the other hand," Syaoran looked at the thread that he knew led him to Sakura, "being Head of the Clan would only make it harder for me to stay at her side. And that is one promise I will never break."

The sword before Syaoran began to glow. He reached for it, and this time nothing impeded him as he wrapped his fingers around the familiar grip.

Syaoran's eyes opened and he found his jian stretched across his knees. His body was shaking, he was covered with sweat, and his breathing was ragged. But the sword had come to him and Syaoran knew that he could dismiss and summon it from his own body now as easily as he ever had from the pendant. The sword was his, and with it all the power of his soul was within his reach, for the pendant would no longer regulate and control it.

But he was exhausted.

Syaoran managed to drag himself to the edge of the trees before he curled up beneath the sheltering arms that blocked out the hot sun.

"I'll rest...just a little. And then...I'll find you, Sakura."

And he fell asleep once more.

-==OOO==-

Madoushi's threat had not been idle.

By the time Fujitaka emerged from his office, listening with every step for the voice of the false queen, three more guards had been cursed, paralyzed where they stood even as they offered Madoushi anything that would please her.

Fujitaka had intended to head into the kitchens, to warn the servants of Madoushi's foul disposition, but instead his feet carried him to the door to the tower that had been Nadeshiko's. It was a door he had not approached since the day of her death.

Fujitaka placed a hand on the smooth grain of the wood. "What would you do, I wonder? How would you protect those whose only crime is their loyalty to that which has bent their minds?"

Suddenly, the lock on the door, the lock that had no key and could only be opened by the power of a true High Priestess, clicked open.

Fujitaka took the sign for an invitation and stepped into his wife's once place of power, shutting the door behind him reverently. For not the first time, Fujitaka lamented that he shared no magic like Touya's or even Sakura's little power; if Fujitaka had held the magic of his son, he knew somehow he would have been able to perceive Nadeshiko once more - for he knew that her spirit must be nearby.

But just because he could not see nor sense her did not mean she was similarly blind to him. Fujitaka smiled in the dimness of the room. "Hello, my dear Nadeshiko."

Was that a faint breeze?

Fujitaka moved into the chamber, undisturbed for so long, and navigated to the nearest lantern to light it with quick familiarity. Though the light revealed dust, it made the forgotten, impenetrable room feel infinitely warmer and more welcoming.

Higher in the tower were the holy spaces, chambers inlaid with patterns and sigils by Clow Reed's own hands for working great magic. Fujitaka knew a person with enough magic could stand in the highest room of the tower and could use the crystalline mirrors set in a ring around the dais to see any corner of the Kingdom without leaving the castle. But such power had been beyond even Nadeshiko - she had tended the room, but could not use it herself. She had confined her work to the chambers between that and this simplest study and repository of Clow Reed's many books and writings.

How Madoushi had never found the tower, nor attempted to use it, Fujitaka could not guess. He could only assume that it was another protection laid down by High Priests and Priestesses long past. Or perhaps Clow Reed himself.

The tower and so many of its secrets, like so much else, were waiting for Clow Reed's true heir.

Fujitaka became aware of the breeze again. "Nadeshiko?" he spoke to the air.

He felt the slightest of tugs, like a sparrow pulling on the hem of his tunic. However, he was paying keen attention and allowed the sensation to draw him farther into the room, his eyes straying to that particular chair where Nadeshiko had often studied, or that that particular seat beneath the now-shuttered window where she would look into the sky with such a faraway expression. But even as he moved through the room that had once been filled with light and laughter and kindness, Fujitaka did not stop smiling gently, nor did he shed a tear. He had promised his wife he would not let sadness stay in his heart, and even amidst so many reminders of her, he would keep that promise.

It was only when he reached the seat against the window that he noticed something amiss in the room that had been so long undisturbed. The heavy cushion on which Nadeshiko and many High Priests and Priestesses before her had passed so many hours was askew. And in the dim light, Fujitaka could see something.

With the gentlest of hands, Fujitaka eased the cushion to one side. The seat had been built against the stone wall of the castle under the shuttered window, but indeed there were wooden planks beneath the cushion, not stone. Fujitaka brushed his fingers against them and felt air moving.

"After all this time, and still you surprise me," he said softly. Fujitaka reached to the candle that stood proud and unused beside the window nook and lit it. With the cushion moved aside and the light clear and bright, Fujitaka could clearly see a space beneath the wide seat.

And in one of the planks of wood, a metal ring. Like a latch.

"I understand," Fujitaka said. "Thank you, Nadeshiko."

He did not need to explore beyond the secret door, did not need to know where the obvious passageway led. Nadeshiko had brought him here; wherever the hidden path traveled, he knew it would be safe, or she would never have guided him so far. Fujitaka had no doubt at all in Nadeshiko's goodwill or wisdom.

He extinguished both the candle and the lantern, hesitating on the threshold of the room before leaving it - and he was not surprised when it did locked behind him.

Madoushi was still raging throughout the castle, her fury audible even so far from her own chambers.

Fujitaka gathered his courage and set off for the kitchens. If any of the servants or other inhabitants of the castle could be saved from her ravages, he would not hesitate to lead them to this secret and protected escape.

-==OOO==-

Above, unaware of the actions of Kinomoto Fujitaka, Madoushi kicked one of her cursed guards to the side, uncaring where he fell.

"That girl," she seethed, too furious even to maintain human form; instead, she flowed like a stormcloud. "That girl and her Key of Clow! She is the one who is responsible for this! No magic but Clow's own can contain me! And she still bears his Key!"

She glanced with disdain to the cursed members of the castle guard. "The mortals are useless to me. They will only hinder me."

Madoushi stopped her frantic motion and glided to the ruined window that looked down over an equally ruined garden. "I will find that girl myself. Now that I know of the Key, I can find her anywhere. And when I find her, I will take the Key from her lifeless hand!"

Madoushi spread her arms, their very forms unraveling into streamers of cloud and water that spun upward. She smiled and sighed with joy at the release; she had not left her human form since arriving so long ago, and the touch of the wind and the freedom from a mortal body were blissful.

But only for a moment.

As Madoushi rose into the sky like a cyclone, she hit a barrier - invisible to even her keenest senses. It surrounded the entire castle by a wide margin, enough so that she had never even approached its edge before. But now it held her more firmly even than the binding spell had, an impenetrable shield keeping her from leaving the castle.

Madoushi screamed in anger, a blast of lightning striking the garden below in her rage.

For the barrier bore the signature of one Madoushi remembered, one she had defeated.

"That Priestess! She has imprisoned me here! How DARE she?"

But the power was not absolute, and Madoushi could sense its weakness. After all, her birds, heralds of her power, had been freely able to roam the kingdom without constraint. Madoushi knew there must be a method by which she could outdo the power that bound her, though it must come with a cost.

"I can be free only if I leave most of my power behind. If I go from here locked in a form that is weakened and vulnerable. Little better than a mortal myself. Clever and troublesome. I should not have killed that Priestess so quickly. I would like to make her suffer for this insult."

Madoushi considered her options before drawing away from the barrier and returning to her broken window.

"Very well. I will not exhaust myself needlessly just yet. There are other ways to reach and destroy that girl. And my anger at the Priestess shall be borne by her as well, for her impudence is no less an insult!"

Returning herself to mortal form, Madoushi opened her hands to the air and summoned her birds.

"Go! Find the girl who has that which I desire! She bears Clow's magic but not his wisdom, and therefore she will be vulnerable to my rage. Twist her mind and cloud her heart until she is yours. And when she is dead, take the Key from her body and bring it to me!"

The birds, their eyes glowing red, took to the air and Madoushi's cruel laughter followed them into the sky.

-==OOO==-

"So, my Mother left a barrier in place with the last of her power to try to contain Madoushi," Touya said, unable to set down the scroll even after having read it three or four times through.

"Yes."

"And she told you that she intended as much before her death?"

Kaho nodded. "You know better than I that your mother bore a powerful gift of foresight. She knew long before Madoushi ever arrived how that battle would end. She did what she could to try to ensure the best possible future for you and your kingdom."

Yue ducked close to Touya's shoulder and crossed his arms. "None of this explains why you are here now, nor how you acquired the book we used to bind Madoushi."

Kaho dipped her head slightly. "You are correct. And I am sworn not to tell you much more than I have until the time comes."

"And when will that be?" Touya asked.

"When you reach the border."

Yue's eyes narrowed. "You are working for the Prince of the White Jade Throne."

At this, Kaho gave a slight smile. "Correct."

"Will he help us?" Touya asked with sharp intensity.

"That depends entirely upon how matters stand when we reach him," Kaho said. "He is one who knows far more than he has told even I, and sees much farther than I ever could. His plans are always his own. And yet I believe he would be your ally in this."

"Then why wouldn't he help us?" Touya was rapidly losing patience. "If he sees the future so well, why didn't he send us support and assistance when Madoushi came? Or since? Why send only you and only now with a binding that will certainly fail?"

Kaho serenely ignored Touya's tone and heeded only the words. "There is no such thing as coincidence in this world. There is only necessity. What the Prince has done has been only for the sake of all, even if in balance some things have been unfair to you."

She gestured to the dense treeline along both sides of the road. "A fire may sweep through a forest like this and cause great destruction. But from that fire, a new, healthier, stronger forest will grow. And yet lives will be lost, homes to countless creatures burned. The destruction is a necessary step forward that happens always at the right time, even if we might all wish it had never come."

Touya froze. Floating beside him, Yue looked on in perplexed silence as Touya's face fell from his anger to an almost fearfulness.

"What is it?" Yue asked.

But Touya was looking only at Kaho. "It's happening, isn't it? The forest is about to be reborn?"

"Yes."

Touya surged to his horse and mounted. "Yue, you're going to have to fly. I assume she will take Yukito's horse."

Indeed, Kaho was springing into the other horse's saddle ably. "I can show you a quicker path."

"Lead on."

As Kaho urged her horse forward, Touya falling in behind, Yue hovered in the air beside him. "What does this mean?"

Touya grit his teeth as he answered, "It means Sakura has never been in as much danger as she is now."

-==OOO==-

By her third day in the forest beneath the towering cherry tree, Sakura was beginning to feel safe again. She never forgot about the plight of the people of the kingdom or her family, but the threat of Madoushi seemed very far away. And where her life had once been filled with fearful chores beneath the watching eyes of those loyal to Madoushi, now the easy days with her seven friends were restoring her spirits and her faith.

What Sakura could not have guessed was that the nights spent cradled beneath the cherry tree were healing more than her weary spirit; the tree itself was restoring something Sakura had lost long ago. She did not notice it in herself, but Cakey did - and he watched it with interest.

That morning, while Sakura was replacing the ferns and other bedding in the two nests beneath the tree - for as the greenery wilted it became less comfortable - Cakey gathered the others around the fire at the edge of the clearing.

"Shouldn't we be helping?" Rabbit asked.

"Sakura can handle it," Alligator said, sighing happily as it curled up on a flat rock warmed by the fire. "Besides, she's taller than us. It's easier for her to reach. We'd just be underfoot."

"And there's something I need to tell you all," Cakey said. "Something I remember."

"I thought you remembered lots of things," Cat pointed out.

"Yes, but this one is something you have to know, and if none of you have remembered then I'll just tell you," Cakey said by way of explanation. The other six looked at him with interest.

Cakey glanced back to the tree to make sure Sakura was nowhere in sight before he continued.

"We all know we weren't always this way," Cakey said. "We all know something changed and when we first woke up this way, it seemed strange."

The others were nodding, remembering acutely the wrongness of the feeling of waking up in the bodies they now had.

"That Key Sakura has, the Key that the evil queen she was telling us about wants. You need to know that the Key has a spell on it. And if that spell ever breaks, we'll get all our memories back as well as our real bodies."

Penguin chittered with excitement. "How can we break it? Can we break it soon?"

But it was Goose who said, "No."

Cakey nodded at Goose. "If any but myself would remember that much, it would be you."

"I don't remember, not exactly." Goose shook its head. "But it just seems like the right answer."

"Well, it is," Cakey told it.

"Wait." That was Bear holding up a paw. "Cakey, does this mean you remember us? Our real names?"

Cakey sighed before closing his eyes and nodding his head.

"Tell us!" Rabbit bounced. "Tell us!"

"I can't," Cakey did not open his eyes. "If you knew, if you remembered, you might let it slip to Sakura. And it's really important that she figure it out for herself. She has to realize it on her own without help from us."

"But why?" Cat wanted to know.

Cakey looked up and met Cat's eyes with his own golden ones. "Just like there's a spell on Sakura's Key, there's a spell on Sakura, too. But she's the only one who can break it. If she doesn't find her own way of understanding, she'll never be able to break either spell, and we'll never be restored."

"Poor Sakura." Rabbit sniffled. Alligator, beside Rabbit, made a suspicious noise deep in its throat that sounded almost sad.

"She doesn't even know she's under a spell, does she?" Penguin asked.

Cakey shook his head. "No. And it's a much more troublesome spell than the one on the Key. But no one will be able to do anything about us or the Key unless Sakura breaks the spell on herself first."

"So how do we help?" Goose asked.

"First of all, I think we need to see if we can find this friend of Sakura's who should be in the woods. It's been long enough that she'll start to worry if we don't find him soon. And if Sakura is worried about her friend, she won't be able to break the spells."

"But we can't leave her alone," Cat said. "She could be in danger."

"I think we have to risk it," Cakey said. "I don't want us separating to go looking, either. But she'll be safer here and we can move faster by ourselves."

"We could tell her to wait in the tree," Bear suggested. "The tree will protect her better than we can."

Cakey gave a heavy nod and his voice was sad. "That's true."

Cat patted Cakey's shoulder. "Don't worry. Someday I'm sure we'll be able to protect her properly."

"We will." Cakey's head came up and his eyes blazed. "We'll get strong again and we'll definitely keep Sakura safe. For now, though, we'll have to count on our tree."

"But what happens after we find this friend?" Rabbit asked.

"I'll talk to him," Cakey said. "He might know how to break the spell on Sakura better than me, and he might be able to help her do it, too."

"Why?" Alligator rumbled. "What makes some human boy better than us?"

"That." Cakey pointed.

Sakura had emerged from the roots of the cherry tree and was staring into the distance, her arms full of rushes but clearly they had been forgotten. There was a longing sorrow in her expression, and even across the clearing her friends could see the hope and fear in her eyes.

"Sakura cares about us," Goose said softly, "but her heart is with her friend."

"And that's what will help her the most," Cat added.

"Okay." Cakey took to the air. "Let's get going."

Sakura was startled from her thoughts by the approach of her friends. She remembered that her arms were full of wilted bedding. "Oh! I'm sorry! I was just…"

"It's okay," Rabbit said. "We didn't mean to surprise you, either!"

"Sakura." Cakey fluttered to face her. "We need to go into the woods for a while today. Will you please stay in the tree while we're gone?"

At Sakura's expression, Cat rubbed against her ankle. "We're just worried about you. We want you to be safe."

"Can't I come with you?"

It was Goose who said, "We can move through the trees faster than you can. We promise to be back before nightfall. Is that all right?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes. Is there something I can do to help while you're gone?"

Cat suddenly tugged at Sakura's skirt. "I have an idea. Come with me, please!"

The pair left the others wondering while Cat led the way towards the firepit. While Sakura set her drying brush aside to serve as kindling later and carefully banked up the fire with coals and ashes so it would be protected and would not spread, Cat explained its idea. Sakura agreed and took just a few minutes to seek out exactly the right stones to serve as her tools for her secret surprise.

"Okay," Sakura said, returning to the tree with two stones wrapped carefully in her skirts. "I'll stay inside the tree while you're gone. Be safe!" She bent down to hug each of her friends goodbye.

"And you stay in the tree, Sakura," Cakey said. "You'll be safe there."

"I will."

While her friends headed out into the woods on whatever journey had seized them so suddenly, Sakura climbed down beneath the cherry tree to the clear space in the roots. It was still full daylight, so she didn't need the magic of the tree to light the area for her.

"Cakey will be so surprised! Cat's idea is perfect!"

With a cheerful heart, Sakura picked through the little stores of food the eight of them had gathered in the last few days until she had all the acorns and similar nuts. Most of them had not yet been shelled, so Sakura carefully broke open each nut and picked the meat from the hard outside. When she had a nice pile of nuts ready, then she unwrapped the stones Cat had helped her find.

One was flattish, with a sort of indent that made it resemble a rather coarse saucer or plate. The other was oblong and blunt at one end, narrow enough around for her to grip. With this makeshift mortar and pestle, then, Sakura began carefully grinding the nuts into powder.

It was an incredibly exhausting and labor-intensive process. The nuts tended to roll or shatter, and it took many strikes and a long time grating the rocks together with the nut pieces in between before she could get even a pinch of powder. But Sakura persevered, focusing on her task.

"I don't have any flour," she said as she carefully poured a few palm-fulls of the powder to bowl she had made by lashing a large leaf between a few springy roots, "but this should be close enough. They may not be quite right, but I'm sure Cakey will appreciate even one pancake!"

Hours passed. Eventually even Sakura could not go on without a break; her hands were raw and sore and her shoulders hurt from the tension of the work. She carefully saved every grain of her nut powder and covered her leaf bowl with another leaf to keep her powder from being blown away in a breeze.

Sakura peered at her hands.

"I know I said I wouldn't leave the tree, but I'm thirsty and I need to wash. I'm sure they won't mind if I only go to the brook. I won't even lose sight of the tree."

When Sakura climbed out of the nest of roots below the cherry tree, she was surprised how much time she had been working. There were still nuts to crack and she did not yet have enough flour for pancakes for Cakey, but the sky had gone a vibrant yellow as dusk crept nearer, the clouds orange and pink high above. Beneath the long shadow of the cherry tree, Sakura shivered.

"The water will be cold, but it will probably feel good after all that work!"

Sakura hummed cheerfully to herself as she set across the clearing to the narrow strip of woods that divided the cherry tree's domain from the river. Even before she reached the first of the trees, she could see the water shining like a golden ribbon before her.

"How pretty!"

But Sakura paused at the edge of the river, looking downstream. She couldn't tell from here which way the water flowed, if it headed towards the castle or farther away - Sakura had never been quite sure, after waking up under the pine tree surrounded by Cakey and the others, which way would have led her home. She had asked Cakey, but even when he flew above the treetops, he always said he couldn't quite see the castle she described and didn't know which way to look to find it.

Or from which direction Syaoran might come someday.

"Syaoran." Sakura folded her hands and held them against her heart. "Please be okay. And Father and Big Brother and Yukito and everyone else, too. Please be okay."

Sakura raised her head to look into the brightly lit sky. "I'm not giving up. I'm sure you'll keep your promise and find me. I'll never give up."

And yet…

A tear trickled down Sakura's cheek, warm in the slight chill of the approaching evening.

"But it's just like at the castle. The only thing I can do is wait. Syaoran might be hurt. Or lost. And I don't have any way of helping. Somehow...being cheerful doesn't seem to be enough…"

Sakura rarely let her happy demeanor slip around her friends, but standing at the edge of the river alone made her feel suddenly quite small and helpless. It was a feeling that had haunted her every day after the arrival of Madoushi; even though she had been entrusted with the Key of Clow, there had been nothing at all she could do other than remain cheerful to help her father or Syaoran or Touya or Yukito or anyone else.

And if Sakura was honest with herself, that smallness had begun even earlier than Madoushi, for Sakura had always known - could not remember a time she had not known - that she was not powerful enough to help her people. She didn't have Touya's amazing magic, or the potent power of her mother. She had always been just Sakura.

And now, when magic might have helped so much, it was a lonely, sad feeling indeed.

Sakura wrapped her arms around herself as a few more tears fell. She wished for Syaoran more than ever, for he was the only one who seemed to understand how awful it was to feel powerless, how sad it made her that she could not help her family. He had never needed her to be more than what she could be, even when they had been children together. He had never thought she was less than Touya - although that could have been because he and Touya never got along no matter how long Syaoran had lived in the Kingdom of Clow.

Since the first year of Madoushi's reign, Syaoran was the only one Sakura allowed to see her cry. And she missed him so terribly now.

But after a moment or two of sorrow, Sakura shook herself. "Nothing comes from crying," she told herself shakily. "Syaoran is counting on me. Everyone is counting on me. I won't give up."

She shook her head as though to banish the dark feelings that crowded at the edge of her heart. When she looked up again, the sky had shifted in color again to a vibrant, fiery hue with clouds painted brilliantly.

"They'll be back soon. I have to hurry."

She knelt beside the river. The water rushed happily along, though it was neither terribly fast nor deep. In fact, Sakura knew she could cross the river almost by walking, though it was far easier to move from rock to rock and didn't wet her so much. Farther downstream, the river widened out into a larger waterway, wide enough to need a boat to cross, and it rushed much faster as other streams poured into it. But here the water was tranquil.

Sakura splashed some water on her hands and arms, rubbing dirt and sweat from her skin. Then she cupped some water in her hands to drink before pouring a bit over her face as well.

It was when she blinked her eyes through the last drips of the cold water that she saw them.

"Birds?"

Sakura felt certain she should remember them. They were so pretty. A pair of white songbirds looping gracefully through the air, almost dancing. They began to draw near to her.

Sakura wondered if they would let her touch them. They looked so soft.

She never felt the water rush over her shoes as she stepped into the river.

In a daze, her eyes unblinking, Sakura followed the birds as they led her out into the river. The water pulled at her skirt and came up higher than her knees, but she never looked away from them nor seemed aware of anything besides them. They flew so mesmerizingly, always hauntingly just out of reach.

If Sakura had been aware of anything but the birds, she might have also felt the warm, golden glow of the Key. But even that could not wake her from the birds' power.

She never felt when one of the birds ducked behind her to snip her sash from around her waist.

She never noticed when the sash, held between the pair of birds, coiled around her outstretched wrists.

The birds beckoned and the water grew deeper and deeper and Sakura felt herself led into darkness.

-==OOO==-

Cakey floated dejectedly back towards the cherry tree. "So much for that," he said grumpily.

"Don't give up," Cat said. "We'll look again tomorrow."

"For how long?" Alligator wanted to know. "What if the boy never comes? What if he breaks his promise?"

"He won't," Goose said. "Sakura believes in him and we should too."

Rabbit paused, then surged ahead of the others into the clearing. "Speaking of Sakura… Hello Sakura! We're back!"

Bear moved forward more cautiously. "Sakura?"

It was not like Sakura to fail to answer. The seven little creatures exchanged worried glances and then raced towards the tree calling for Sakura.

Cakey, because he could fly, was the quickest, though Rabbit and Cat were right behind him on the ground below. Cakey ducked into the tree long enough to see that it was empty.

"She's gone! Quick! Find her!"

-==OOO==-

It was dark. Cool. Tranquil. Sakura felt as though she were asleep, though something was amiss.

Water is a thing that flows.

The voice was gentle, yet stern.

Water is a thing that must flow.

The words felt warm and safe and Sakura slipped into them, vanishing between them like a dream into clouds.

-==OOO==-

"I found her!" came a thin cry. The seven little creatures had spread out in a panic through the forest calling for Sakura and searching frantically. It seemed like it had been forever, but the sun had not even yet set when Goose's voice echoed through the quiet trees.

After a moment, Goose added, "Hurry! She's in trouble!"

Everyone raced at their best speed towards Goose, particularly Cakey, who flew as though made of wind and light himself, all the while muttering.

"It's my fault. I'm her Guardian. I should have protected her. I'm coming, Sakura!"

They converged at the edge of the shore far downstream from their tree. At first, no one could see what Goose saw. Goose had taken to the river and was circling urgently in the center of the expanse of water.

And then a cloud shifted and a bit of the last daylight illuminated a shadowy form below.

Penguin, the best swimmer, dove into the water. It surfaced with a gasp.

"It's Sakura! Her eyes are closed and I don't think she's breathing! Her feet are all tangled in weeds and her hands are tied in her sash!"

"Cut her loose!" Cakey shouted.

Penguin dove again, but surfaced only moments later. "I can't! I can't get near!"

Cakey flew out over the water and, gathering his energy and strength, threw himself into the river. The current was strong, but as Penguin joined him and helped him navigate, he could see that water alone wasn't what kept them from reaching Sakura. He returned to the surface and leaped back into the air.

"It's magic! Something is trying to keep us from helping her!"

Goose looked up at Cakey. "I think we can do it if we all work together."

"Come on!" Cakey waved at the others. Alligator gamely took to the water, but Bear and Rabbit and Cat paused.

"We're not really good at swimming," Rabbit said.

Cakey bellowed at them, "I don't care! Try! Or Sakura will die!"

Cat looked shocked by that, but nodded and led the other two out into the frigid waves. It was true that Rabbit was clearly not made for swimming and eventually had to cling to Alligator to keep moving in the right direction. It took them several long minutes to reach the center of the river.

Cakey ducked low to them. "All together now. You four," he gestured to Alligator, Penguin, Bear, and Rabbit, "try to get to Sakura's side. I think the magic will break if you all try it together. I'll go and get her feet out as soon as the barrier is gone. Then Cat and Goose can start pulling her to the shore and the rest of you can help. Okay?" Let's go!

Cakey was certain he had not been so frightened in a long, long time as he was diving into that cold, unforgiving water. He could sense the barrier keeping him from reaching Sakura, so he made sure to focus on getting low, almost into the mud of the riverbed, while he waited for the others.

On one side, Penguin helped Rabbit get under the water and dove expertly. Rabbit clung to Penguin as they fought to get close to Sakura. On the other side, Alligator charged through the water with Bear holding onto its tail. Cat and Goose hovered worriedly above, Goose bobbing downward to watch their efforts.

When the four little creatures reached the barrier surrounding Sakura, Cakey could feel it buck and struggle, but finally it gave way under their combined presences. He did not waste an instant, diving instead for Sakura's feet and plowing through the weeds and craggy sunken branches that were tangled around her legs.

As he did so, he saw the Key was glowing. Cakey only hoped that meant what he prayed it did.

Suddenly Sakura was adrift and began to move with the current. But Alligator and Penguin latched onto her outstretched arms and started to pull her towards the surface. Bear and Rabbit could only hang on, but Cakey got a firm grip on the back of Sakura's dress and added his strength.

A moment later, Sakura's head broke into air.

"Hurry!" Cat cried before latching its teeth onto the ribbon around Sakura's wrists and starting to paddle for shore. Goose did the same, and Cakey took to the air where he could hold Sakura's dress and keep her head and mouth from falling back into the water. Bear and Rabbit hung onto Sakura while Penguin and Alligator pushed her unmoving body from underwater.

It was a long way to shore, and Cakey's fear only grew when he realized Sakura's eyes had fallen shut and she was not breathing. That fear doubled when he spotted a pair of birds with red eyes watching them from above - birds Cakey knew all too well.

They dragged her up onto the embankment, all seven of them whimpering and sniffling as grief began to take hold. But Cakey had not yet lost hope.

"Cat!" he said, swooping low. "You and Alligator unravel that ribbon!"

"How will that help?" Bear asked, voice heavy with misery. "She's not breathing."

"Trust me!"

Cat and Alligator were willing to try anything, so they bent to Sakura's bound wrists, the slick cold of her skin making them cringe as they pulled at the sash.

"Rabbit, get right next to Sakura's throat and think about breathing!"

Rabbit did as asked, begging Sakura to take a breath between hiccuping sobs.

Then Cakey fluttered to land on Sakura's chest. He looked at the Key still glowing sluggishly. He closed his eyes and whispered something so low even Goose who was leaning against Sakura's cheek practically beside him could not hear.

"One more miracle, Clow. Please."

And Cakey took the Key in his paws and remembered his true name, his true form, with all his power.

At first, nothing happened.

Then, as Cat and Alligator pulled the sash free and Sakura's limp arms flopped to the grass, Cakey felt the slightest pulse of warmth from the Key.

"Come on, Sakura!" he whispered fiercely with tears in his eyes. "You're stronger than this curse. I know you are!"

The Key pulsed again.

Rabbit was still nuzzled close to Sakura's throat, and Alligator and Cat had been rubbing urgently on one of her hands each, but the others suddenly wanted to be near, too. Goose ducked its head against Sakura's temple. Bear put its little hands on Sakura's pale arm. Penguin huddled against her side.

"Come on, Sakura!" Cakey begged again. "Don't give up!"

And then Cakey heard - not with this ears, but inside his soul - an achingly familiar voice. Water is a thing that must flow.

Cakey ducked his head and pressed it against Sakura's forehead. "We all love you, Sakura. We'll stay with you if you wake up. None of us will be alone anymore if you wake up."

When the other six glowed very, very slightly, they didn't notice, so intent were they on Sakura - but Cakey did.

The Key pulsed warmly.

And Sakura's eyes blinked open.

Her friends all cried out in relief and joy, helping her to sit up while she coughed and relearned how to breathe, cuddling against her and babbling almost nonsensically. And Sakura wound her arms around as many as she could as she began to cry.

But Cakey watched the pair of red-eyed white birds fly away and knew that this was only the beginning.