Author's Notes: I'm almost afraid to ask for so many reviews before posting the next chapter. I'm starting to wonder if people are enjoying it, or reading it at all. Anyway, getting back to it...

Sadame no Tsubasa : Wings of Destiny

Chapter 3: Bleeding Shadows

The morning came with the quiet rustle of light rain from the skies above the Crystal Palace, creating as a soothing lullaby of pitter-pattering as the morning wore on..

The few servants up and around to do their duties paused to see Touya hurrying towards his little sister's room. The servants he passed looked on in surprise. It was usually the younger princess who would be hurrying-- or in Sakura's case running--off to wherever her family was. The morning was still young, although by now it was usual for her to already be at the breakfast room.

'She's never this late.' Touya glanced up at the rainy skies. 'If she's just sleeping due to the rain, I'll fix that real fast.' Just before her door, Touya walked up to one of the servants.

"Sasaki. Have you seen Sakura?"

Sasaki Rika looked up to see Touya, his face almost set into a worried frown. Her brown locks hid her face as she bowed her head and set her gaze towards the floor. "I... I did. Sakura-hime entered her room without a word last night. She looked rather pale, so I didn't try to wake her up yet."

"Okay. Thank you, Sasaki." Touya nodded, then turned to the door, then started banging on it, causing Rika to jump in surprise. "Sakura! Wake up! If I miss breakfast because of you...!"

Sakura shivered slightly, lying stomach down on the bed. Groaning mentally, she reached over to grab more layers, only to snatch nothing but the sheet covering her. She grabbed a handful of blanket and turned onto her right side, only for her eyes to shoot open as a wave of pain wracked her body.

'Wh-whaa...' She immediately sat up and let go of the linen sheet, the pain subsiding a bit. She looked behind her to see the cause of the pain. She frowned in confusion, both at her wings not fading away, as well as the sudden disappearance of her clothes.

'My wings? Itte...' She winced again, and tried to dispel her wings with a thought. The pain remained, as did her now slightly aching wings. She tried again, but to no avail.

'What's going on?' she thought, as she looked around. Dim reddish light came through the window, barely illuminating her familiar, yet not, surroundings. What was her cozy warmly colored room now felt chilling-- both unconsciously and in actuality-- most of the colors changing to varying shades of dark crimson. The sheet that fell to her lap was almost black in appearance. The fireplace which would've had its fire still burning was dark and empty, save for some black coals. Her table was void of everything, save for a stack of blood red parchment and a black quill. The bookshelves themselves were empty. 'This must be another dream.' Sakura thought determinedly, despite the small voice in her head asking about the pain. 'It'll just go away after awhile.'

Sakura nodded, then got up and gingerly made her way to the chest at the foot of her bed. Pulling out her training outfit, she shivered at the changes here as well. The tunic was a deeper blood red in the light, all of the whites becoming a darker crimson color-- also almost black. She smiled in relief as her favorite sword seemed to be relatively unchanged. Putting on everything, after making impromptu cuts to make room for her wings, Sakura stood up and stared outside the window. As far as her eyes could see there was a similarly crimson landscape, familiar in every way save for its color.

Touya's patience steadily grew thinner as he pounded. 'I know she's a deep sleeper, but this is ridiculous.' "Sakura! I'm coming in!"

He opened the door, despite Rika's loud insistence of not entering the princess' room. He hid his relief at seeing her safe and sound behind a smirk, as she jumped in surprise. But, as she fully turned around, he paled at the sight. A ghostly image of Sakura cowering before him, wearing an outfit he didn't recall her ever having, screaming soundlessly. Then, her translucent form flickered and disappeared from his view.

Sakura shuddered involuntarily as she looked around her again. 'No ghosts. Please? Especially not blood... red... ' Sakura screamed as her door suddenly slammed open, her form slowly curling into a little ball. After a few soundless moments, Sakura cracked open an eye. A large crimson shadow loomed overhead. Screaming again, she bolted past the shadow and fled in terror to the right..
Touya regained his senses and walked into the room, looking around wildly, while Rika merely peeked in from doorway. The usually warm room was cold and looked relatively untouched, the bed not slept in. He frowned. 'Something is not right here.'

"Sakura-hime slept in her room last night, I swear it." Rika piped in.

"I believe you, Sasaki." Turning to leave the room, he saw a flash of black turn right. Rika gave off a "Kya!" as Touya dashed out of the room past her and to the right where the flash dashed off to.

'Where did that girl go...' He grit his teeth. Pausing at the first intersection, he looked in all directions, before dashing down the east corridor. A scream moments later had him rushing back and to the south.

Acting on instinct alone, Sakura tightly closed her eyes and swung her quickly drawn sword wildly at the slightly smaller shadow that suddenly appeared before her. Gasping for breath, she slowly opened her right eye to find nothing. The shadow had disappeared without a trace.

"What's with this place!" she cried, all composure gone out the window. She looked all around her, then down at her sword. The blade dripped with a thick, viscous liquid.

Sakura shuddered, and took a couple of deep breaths. She wiped her sword with her cloak, grimacing all the way, before moving towards the brightest place she knew – the throne room. Shadows be damned, they're not going to be catching her off-guard again... dream or not.

Touya ran as quickly as he could, stopping when he saw one of the servants... Yanagisawa Naoko, he vaguely remembered... on the ground, a small pool of blood on the floor beside her body. He knelt down and gently lifted her up.

"Oi, hold yourself together!" His look of worry lessened when she slowly turned her head and looked at him.

"T... Touya-oji..."

"Are you okay?" he inquired, resting her head on his lap while he tore the cut sleeve off to bandage her arm."What happened?"

"Hai... " Naoko winced, clutching at her arm when Touya tied it tightly. "I was just going to the baths when a shadowy ghost came out of nowhere and... attacked me. That's it, no more ghost stories for me." She laughed weakly.

"You're okay, if you can joke like that." He looked up upon hearing a rush of footsteps to see Yukito running towards him, robes fluttering behind him.

"Touya-kun. What happened?" Touya started scowling.

"A shadow who briefly looked like Sakura hurt Yanagisawa." Touya explained. "Where the hell were the guards?"

"They're out patrolling the outer walls. It's highly unlikely that they'll... wait. Like Sakura-chan? Where is she?" Yukito gently, but firmly, took Naoko from Touya, then set her down on the ground. Summoning his moon staff, he started muttering a few words, healing Naoko.

"I don't know..." He trailed off as a small dark flashes started moving down the hallway, towards the throne. "It's headed for the throne room! Dad!"

The two stood up and ran after the shadow. "Whatever it is, it's faster than us..." 'Let us make it in time.'

Sakura stood before the oak double doors that led to the throne room. Looking behind her and seeing nothing save for the dark crimson light and shadows, she slowly opened the door to her right.

The throne room looked like normal, save for the crimson light coming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, which was reflected everywhere by the crystalline walls and pillars. A flash of golden light caught her attention, however, as a small table slowly rose through the red marble floor in the very center of the room. On top of it was a small wooden box with the figurine of a golden winged lion adorning the lid.

Walking closer to it, she examined the box with a look of surprise. The box, along with the table, seemd to be colored normally, the three jewels set in the lid flashing crimson red, a brownish green, and a pinkish magenta in the light. She slowly reached for the lid, her short sword still held in her right hand. Her left hand brushed the figurine, and a tired voice suddenly entered her head.

'Chosen o...r not... open the box...'

Sakura recoiled, as if burnt. Then, slowly, she followed what the voice told her mentally. She opened the box. The figurine toppled over and disappeared, a full grown lion appearing before her, as three cracks echoed in her ears. "I told you not to open the box!"

"... ra! Sakura!"

'Onii-chan?' She turned around to see two large shadows floating towards her.

Touya and Yukito looked into the throne room, the right door slightly ajar. There, in the middle of the room, looking significantly more solid, was that shadow. As it slowly made its way to the center of the room, the two of them frowned.

"Does it only attack if provoked?" Touya whispered.

Yukito replied, "I don't... " 'No!'

"..what?" Yukito froze at the mental exclamation.

Touya shielded his eyes, his mentor suddenly growing enormous, bright white wings which enveloped his entire body. When the wings finally retracted, Touya looked extremely confused.

"Who are you!" Touya put his hands to his sword, only to grasp nothing but air. He cursed.

"Yue." Came the short, almost monotone reply. Touya glared at Yue, before looking again into the room. For a moment, the dark red shadow resolidified, becoming recognizable as Sakura, as she reached out for something in the middle of the chamber.

"No. Not that." Yue slammed the staff into the ground, completely sealing the back half of the throne room, and flying towards the shadowy girl.

Touya looked bewildered, then dashed towards Sakura as well. "Sakura! Sakura!"

The shadowy Sakura turned around, her brightening face contorting into one of surprise and fear. Suddenly, before either guardian or brother could get to her, the shadowy figure was falling right through the ground, leaving only smooth white marble behind.

"SAKURA!".

The hole was pitch black, with no way to tell just how wide or how far she had left to go. Sakura looked up dispassionately as she fell, staring up at the point, which soon faded away into darkness. She then realized 'I have wings!' Soon, her speed was considerably lessened... but it did little to change the darkness.

After what seemed like a small eternity, her feet touched what seemed like solid ground. Looking around, she noticed a small point of red light in the darkness. Then a second, right next to it. As a second pair appeared to her left, Sakura took a small trembling step backwards. A third pair slowly opened their own eyes. Soon, all around her, in the darkness, dozens of red eyes stared unblinkingly at her. Sakura could only fall to her knees and hug herself tightly.

Finally, a voice echoed in Sakura's head-- or was it from the surrounding darkness? Sakura couldn't tell-- sounding exactly like her own, caused a lone teardrop to slide down her face.

'You're mine.'

Tsuzuku

Post Author's Notes:

This was probably the largest pain I've had as far as creative writing is concerned. Hopefully, turned out well enough. In any case, it's 2:30 in the morning and I need my sleep, 'lest I suddenly get more crazy ideas. Again, thanks to Diana-senpai for pre-reading, and being a wonderful person to toss ideas at. She tosses them back hard. ;

Japanese Dictionary of Used Terms:

-hime : Princess

Itte: slang-ish form of 'itai', or "it hurts"

"Kya!" - an exclamation of surprise, if anything.

-oji: Prince

Side-thoughts:

Windflight: I'll leave the detective work to you. What do you think, given this chapter?

Signing off for now...

Eni Li'Nave