A.N. - A shorter chapter this time. The next one will be the final part of the story!

As Kurogane and Syaoran travelled further to the edges of the Golden Forest, the aura around them dampened, the sky darkened, the wind grew colder and the animals began to become increasingly scarce.

"This is the end," said Syaoran at last. They now were at the very edge of the forest. There was a large sea of grey fields ahead of them. Further out, by a boulder, stood the last enchanted tree. It was large and gnarled. It wore a proud crown of rich, golden leaves. It was surely the oldest and most grand tree of all the Golden Forest, despite being so separate from its kin.

"I've heard that it is here that the witch resides," said the boy heavily.

Kurogane's red eyes looked up at the heavens. It was grey and cold. Surely they were re-entering the world of Winter. Being part of a small village centred in the mountains Kurogane was no stranger to winter. He knew it was a cruel mistress, many died in her wake, animal and human and plant alike.

"Then let's go," he said, "for we need strength against this Queen of Snow."

"I've never been this far from home before," said Syaoran. It sounded as though he needed comfort, but Kurogane was only a boy when he left his own village, and he had left without any thought or regret or fears. He supposed he should offer some wise words to the boy, but words were not his forte (they had always belonged to Fai) and so he said nothing, but encouraged Mokona out of the forest and into the Moorland.

Syaoran followed thereafter, feeling a little silly for being so scared and so homesick.

"Everything is so green and grey," he muttered as his horse stepped out of the forest. The atmosphere was wet, and it felt strange and foreign against his skin (though not unpleasant.) The chestnut horse he was riding shook its head a little and looked at the ground- it was used to crisp leaves, never before had it walked on the soft, dewy material of moss and grass.

Kurogane was no stranger to this type of land and after all his travels, nothing surprised him anymore. Mokona too walked with ease, she came from the land of Ice and Snow and so like Kurogane she was a traveller. Her dark eyes were filled with even more knowledge than the boys possessed.

They all moved cautiously up to the golden tree. Underneath the large, heavy boughs, behind the large boulder, lay a glamourous woman upon a silken sheet. She was in robes of blue and white, large swirling patterns decorated upon them. Her robes were so lose that her breasts could almost be seen. Whilst Syaoran blushed and glanced away, Kurogane paid them no mind. He did not care. He just wanted Fai. His single-mindedness of saving his friend was now less frenzied but more focused.

"Are you the witch?" He asked.

"I am," she took a long smoke of her cigarette.

Kurogane climbed off his horse and knelt on one knee in front of her. He looked right at her, hiding nothing.

"My my," she muttered, "what blazing, fiery eyes you have."

"I wish to find my friend. He was stolen by the Snow Queen; for what end I know not. I have been told by the Spirits of Autumn and the good Poet here that you have knowledge that will help me defeat the Queen and deliver my friend."

"I have seen your friend. He was the blank-eyed, golden haired child. She stroked his head as if he were some sort of pet."

Kurogane grit his teeth, "he is not a pet and he is not blank eyed!"

"He is now. Whatever your friend was before he has been changed. It is her way. She likes everything to be uniform. She likes everything to be still and empty. No one can be a friend of what he is now, never mind love him, as you do."

"Is there a way to save him? Perhaps a potion to restore his senses? I will pay any price!"

"There is a way to save him, but it is nothing to do with potions and the like. It is a cure of the heart, the mind and the soul. You will need those things to save him."

"But how?" Kurogane didn't understand at all. He didn't like that the witch was getting all metaphysical and philosophical, when he just wanted to physically and mentally rescue his friend.

She smiled mysteriously, "you will understand when you get there. In the meantime, you shall need something to fight with."

He nodded, feeling a little better; this was safer ground.

"This sword is called Ginyru. I have kept her for many centuries, waiting for you to come and claim her."

Kurogane looked at the sword that she had pulled out of the base of the tree, seemingly with no effort at all and without damaging the tree. It's hilt was black with red threading, It was weaved into a complicated pattern that ended with all the metal strands forming into the head of a dragon. The blade itself was as white and as sharp as a wolf's tooth. It shone with power and Kurogane found himself being drawn to it.

"You must pay a price," said Yuko, moving the sword away from him as he reached out to grab it.

"Didn't you say you had been waiting centuries for me to claim it!" he argued, "it is mine surely!"

"Time is all relative to me," she sneered with a heavy amount of ambivalence. He frowned and noted how strongly she smelt of alcohol. "Everything needs to be paid for. That's how the universe works. Nothing is free."

"Well I already said I would pay whatever I needed to!"

"What I want is what is most precious to you."

He blanked out for a moment before cautiously looking back at Mokona.

"Most precious…well there's the food. No? How about Mokona? No? Then what do you want?!"

"What is most precious," she insisted calmly.

Kurogane stood, feeling frustrated. He hadn't anything of particular value on him, nothing worthy of that sword.

At that moment a cool hand touched his arm. He looked down to see the Poet looking up at him with big brown eyes. What Syaoran said next made Kurogane wonder if he was psychic or if he really was that easy to read.

"Do not think of monetary value Kurogane. Think of what is precious to you. Something you have carried for a long time. Something you love."

Kurogane grimaced slightly. He knew of one thing. But he didn't want to get it out. Firstly there was his feeling of shame. It was embarrassing that he had kept a token of his friend for so long. It spoke of something more than friendship, which while not embarrassing was certainly something he had not previously known about his feelings for Fai. The other reason he didn't want to take it out was the fact that he would have to hand it over. The token was the only thing he had of Fai, and despite all his bravado and determination, Kurogane wasn't sure he was going to defeat the Queen and get her back. n fact he knew that the odds were against him. This token may be the only thing he would ever have o Fai and if he was to die fighting the Queen he had always hoped that he could at least die whilst clutching the token in his hand.

With a quiet sigh, Kurogane reached into his breast pocket and took out a small locket of blond hair. It had been the piece he had found when he had searched through the mountains- the piece of Fai that alerted him to the fact that the boy had been spirited away out of the village via a sleigh.

The witch snatched it out of his hands and gave him a small smile before handing over the sword. It felt right holding the sword in his hands, even if it had cost him the one possession he truly loved. He glanced at the hair, now in the witch's hand, and felt foolish for longing for something like that.

'This just needs to make me more determined to defeat the Queen and get back Fai,' he decided.

Syaoran helped him fasten the blade into his back safely before they both mounted their horses again.

"One last thing" Kurogane asked, keen to get on with finding Fai, "why did the Snow Queen steal Fai?"

The witch stood up, her long pale limbs matched in length by her flowing, jet-black hair. With heavy lidded eyes she gazed at Kurogane before answering, "because, the Snow Queen wishes to be loved."

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