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Return to the Labyrinth	By : Capitalist Category: +. to F > Card Captor Sakura Views: 8619 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, nor any of the characters from it, nor do I own Labyrinth. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter 14

‘fighter’

The labyrinth, Syaoran and Rai and all the gargoyles, and the sky disappeared in an instant. It happened so fast that Sakura’s mouth didn’t even open to scream until she’d already dropped down into the darkness. Her first thought was that she was going to die, and out of sheer, useless panic she clawed at the walls of the pit to save herself.

Only to discover, to her even greater panic, that the walls of the pit were clawing right back. Hands, hundreds of horrible disembodied hands, lined the walls and she could feel them grasping at her, slowing her freefall, and finally grabbing her arms and ankles firmly enough to stop her completely.

“Let me go, let me go!” Sakura shrieked, out of her mind with fear, and thrashed wildly against their grip.

“Okay!” one of them unexpectedly, quite cheerfully, replied, and promptly they all released her. Sakura screamed again when she plummeted into the black.

“No, wait! Wait! Help me, please!”

“Should we?”

“She said please!”

“And she’s pretty!”

Again hundreds of hands slithered over her skin, yanking short her descent with a suddenness that made her gasp. Hands were all over her, flexing, living hands touching her in a way that made Sakura’s stomach churn with discomfort. But at least she’d stopped falling to her death.

“Wh-what are you?” she quavered. “What do you want?”

“We’re Hands, of course!” Now that she’d stopped falling, and her vision had adjusted to the darkness a little, she could see all of them flapping and waving on the opposite wall. Several of them arranged themselves to mimic a face, hands clapping open and shut like a mouth. “We’re Helping Hands. All we ever want is to help!”

“You like to help? You can help me! Please, help me go back up to the top, Syaoran is there and he -”

“Little Wolf?” some of the hands asked.

“Little Wolf,” others confirmed, from higher up. “And he’s not alone!”

“Fighting?”

“Not winning.”

“So the princess is she?”

“Must be.”

“He wants her to flee?”

“Certainly.”

“Did you say he’s not winning?” Sakura asked. “Is he in danger? Please, help me get back up there, I can’t leave him behind!”

“Sorry, your highness, no can do.”

“The enemy’s looking for you!”

“We won’t let them in here, though.”

“We’ll help you escape to below!”

“But I don’t want to escape, I want to help him!”

“Helping is our job,” one of them tsked.

“Your job is but one.”

“And that is to run!”

Sakura tried to protest but the Helping Hands ignored her, passing her down like a parcel from one dozen hands to another. She tried to fight it, tried to pull herself higher, she even tried to summon the wings she’d just learned she possessed. But she did not know the trick of bringing them out at will, or perhaps the tight confines of the pit prevented it, but either way she was flightless. Syaoran, who had sacrificed himself to get her away from Rai, was up there all by himself and Sakura knew he would not win.

“Syaoran!” she sobbed, but the Hands were deaf to her misery. The last of them dumped her on the cold stone floor of a cave and folded themselves back against the pit walls. She was trapped, in a horrible dark place, and she was all alone.

- - - - - - - -

Li woke up in a seizure of panic, gasping for air, hands instinctively pushing away the enemy he’d been fighting. But Rai wasn’t really there, only a lurking memory that dissolved when he tried to put his fist through that face. The labyrinth wasn’t there anymore either, the labyrinth that he’d woken up in every day of his life. Instead he was in some other place, everything around him strange, new, and threatening. Some soft material underneath him was pushing up from below, threatening to swallow him, and something hovered above waiting to drop down and smother him.

“Good, you’re awake. I was worried.”

Someone spoke right next to his shoulder and Li’s panic catapulted him up onto his feet. Or rather, not so much, because he couldn’t find his balance on this plush and unstable surface and promptly fell back again. Frantically he tried to scramble backwards, but his hands had been chained together with heavy manacles and limited his movement.

The girl that had spoken looked pretty startled herself, wide-eyed and hovering nervously by the edge of this peculiar construction. “It’s alright!” she hurried to say. “Don’t be afraid; I’m not here to hurt you. I was just tending to your injuries.”

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“My name is Tomoyo, and you’re in the castle. More specifically, you’re in Sakura’s room. Your father was just going to leave you lying on the floor of the throne room, but I told his gargoyles to bring you up here. I thought it would be easier on you if you could sleep in a bed.”

So he was in the castle, after all. Li tugged his hands apart, hating the heavy weight of the cuffs around each wrist. “So it did happen. I lost.”

“I’m afraid so,” Tomoyo said softly. “Please, will you tell me what’s happened to Sakura? I didn’t dare ask him. Is she safe?”

Twice now she’d said Sakura’s name, and Li looked her over more carefully. “You know her?”

“Yes, I attended to her when Yue brought her here once before. Sakura is my friend.”

Li let himself relax a little, at least ready to believe that this girl presented no threat. “She’s safe,” he told her, “at least for now. She’s still out in the labyrinth; I managed to get her away before Rai could grab her.”

“That’s good.” Tomoyo smiled, but it wasn’t a smile that reached her fearful eyes. “He’s so angry, Little Wolf. I have never seen anyone so angry; the sky has not been quiet since he brought you back.” She looked over her shoulder, at a balcony doorway through which Li could see a blackening sky, brilliant bolts of lightning dancing from one cloud to the next. “Everyone is afraid. Me, his soldiers, the city people. But I think you should be most afraid, because you brought him to this state.”

“His problem, not mine.” Li scowled at the restless sky. “I’m not afraid of him.”

“But he’s going to hurt you!”

“Not if I can help it. I’m getting out of here.”

Li rolled off the edge of the bed-thing, immediately relieved when his feet hit the smooth and solid floor.

“What do you mean, getting out of here?” Tomoyo echoed, flabbergasted. “You can’t leave.”

“Oh yeah?” He marched to the doors and reached for a handle.

“Wait, don’t, there are guards -”

He yanked open one of the two doors and looped the chain of his cuffs around the nearest gargoyle’s neck, locking his ankle around its ankle and slamming the head forward into the door. Tomoyo shrieked and jumped backwards onto the bed. The second guard tried to hit him and Li twisted to the side, trapping the gargoyle’s arm, then swiveled and brought it straight down to the floor. It opened its mouth to scream and Li knelt on its neck, crushing its windpipe. Then he turned back to the other and broke its neck, before it came to.

“What were you saying about guards?”

She had a hand clapped over her mouth, plainly shocked and horrified. “Oh my… what did you do? Why did you do that?”

“Because I’m getting out of here.” Unsuccessfully he checked both guards and the floor around them for a key. “Where’s the key to these cuffs?”

“Your father has it. Now he’ll only be angrier -”

“Perfect,” Li snarled. “I’ll have to get them off later then, somehow. How do I get out of this castle? Is it that staircase down that way?” Without waiting for an answer he started running lightly down the grand hall, keeping his footsteps quiet and the chain pulled taut so it would not jangle.

“What? Wait!” Tomoyo scrambled after him and pulled at his elbow.

“Do you mind? I’m in a hurry.”

“But you can’t leave, you can’t escape! I helped Sakura’s brother escape this castle and the king could have killed me, but he didn’t. If he thinks I helped you escape him, I can’t expect him to be so generous again.”

“Then come with me already, just do it quietly.” Impatiently Li tugged at her grasp, but she shook her head.

“No, I can’t leave him, I -” She hesitated and bit her lip. “I don’t want to leave him. Please, I’d so hoped to not be put in this position.”

“Don’t want to… I thought you said you were Sakura’s friend!”

“I am! I don’t want anything bad to happen to her, I swear, but I can’t leave your father. Too many people have left him already; I won’t hurt him.”

“Hurt him?” Li repeated incredulously. “The Storm King? What do you care if- wait. Are you… in love with him or something? No, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know.” Nausea turned in his stomach and he turned to go again, only for Tomoyo to move around and block his path. “Wait, please. I know that you don’t like him very much right now, but your father really isn’t a bad person. If you knew how excited he was to find you, how happy he was when he thought you would join him -”

“I – do – not – care.” She backed up when he advanced, but the persistent girl would not get out of his way.

“You should have had to watch it, when he realized you were not coming to the castle. He was so crushed. Your father -”

“Stop calling him that,” Li nearly shouted, exasperated. “Stop saying it like it means something, like he could be anything to me but an enemy who’s put me in chains and threatened to kill my princess. I don’t owe him anything for sleeping with my mother. You want to take her place? I don’t care. But do us both a favor and pick a side, because you’re not doing anything but wasting time trying to convince me to kneel before the Storm King. It won’t happen. I know where I belong. You figure out where you do.”

He pushed her aside and ran lightly to the grand staircase, checking in all directions for sentries before he started down the steps. The castle was silent and unmoving, however, Li and that servant the only signs of life. She was still following him, he was irritated to notice, but at least she was keeping several steps behind and quiet.

Down the stairs he descended, rapidly as he could without making too much noise, and still he saw no one. Rai must have kept most of his gargoyles out in the labyrinth to continue the search for Sakura. He would realize his mistake in underestimating Li soon enough, but Li fully intended to be back out in the labyrinth before that happened.

“Little Wolf?”

“Quiet.”

“Please, you should turn back now, this is a bad idea.”

“I said, quiet. Can’t you see I’m trying to escape?”

“But your father is a very careful man, and I know he sees you a good fighter. I don’t think he’d let it be this easy for you.”

“I told you to stop calling him that. Go curl up in his lap and distract him if you’re worried he’ll catch me.”

Past the throne room with its doors closed and down a final flight of stairs he went; Li recognized this part of the castle from those few minutes here with Touya, five years ago. He was so close now, freedom just a few steps away.

Tomoyo followed him to the ground floor but stopped there, going no further. “You really know nothing about him, Little Wolf.”

“And I hope that never changes. Bye.” He turned and dashed around the corner into the front hall, only to get knocked to the floor by a hard punch.

“Trying to run away already, boy? You disappoint me. You must want even worse punishment than I thought.”

A dozen gargoyles bellowed with laughter, scattered around the hall. Clearly they’d all been waiting.

His head was ringing, but Li braced his hands against the floor and pushed himself back onto his knees. “Just going back home, your majesty, that’s all.”

“Your home is with me from now on,” Rai informed him tersely. “And you’ll do well to remember it. You will go where I tell you to go. You will do what I tell you to do. If it takes years, you will learn to obey your father and then, maybe, we can talk about removing your chains.”

“You expect me to beg for these to come off?” Li got back on his feet, fists clenched. “You actually think I’d take orders from you? I don’t belong to you. You don’t tell me to do anything.”

“Oh but you do, and I will. With force if I have to, just to get it through your thick head that you don’t have any choice in the matter.”

“I would die before I took any order from you,” Li snarled. “I am nobody’s slave.” He lunged at Rai with a furious kick but the king sidestepped him neatly, and dealt him a severe backhand that nearly knocked him to the floor again.

“How dare you defy me, son. How dare you refuse me! You take Yue’s orders easily enough, and after everything he’s done to you. How can you choose to serve him and not me, your own father?”

Again he clouted Li on the head, and he stumbled to keep his balance. “You’re deluded if you think I do anything for Yue. Everything that I do is for my princess.”

“Your princess?” Fury crackled in those eyes and Rai hit him so hard Li went flying, and landed hard on his back. Distantly, through the noise of all those gargoyles jeering, he heard Tomoyo cry out. “Your princess? When will you understand that you do not even belong in this kingdom, have never belonged in it? Your princess is just a girl that would have been your enemy had you been raised properly in my castle. I would have ordered you to kill her and you would have done the deed without second thought.”

“Then I am so glad my mother left you. I’d rather scrape to live in the wildest corner of the labyrinth than be any prince of yours.”

Thunder crashed and nearly everyone jumped, everyone but father and son. Li had vowed not to be afraid of this man, but it was hard to face that seething, furious king of storms and not want to swallow. Carefully he picked himself up, tensely waiting for the next blow.

Rai did not move to hit him, however. He only spoke, his voice tightly controlled in comparison to the echoes of thunder around them. “I have heard about this habit of yours, Little Wolf. You never could keep yourself from mouthing off to Yue, and it seems little has changed in five years. I’ve also heard how he punished this habit, apparently not often enough. I even heard, through a rumor here and there, that it’s how you picked up your so-called name. I’ll choose a new name for you soon enough, but for now it’s time you were reminded what the punishment is for disrespect.”

Li tried to bolt but Rai got to him first, snagging his shirt in an iron grip and half-pushing, half-dragging him out of the castle. “You cut it down, the city people say, but don’t worry; I’ve had my soldiers put up a new one since we arrived. It’s about time my new subjects saw it being used.”

The doors flew open and Rai hurled Li off the castle steps with such force that he hit the ground and rolled a few times. Those few city folk that were out, doing their chores, dropped anything they were carrying and stared.

“Take a good look, people of the Labyrinth,” Rai announced, voice loud and clear. “That’s right, I’ve caught him – your hero, your precious Little Wolf. You didn’t really think he could evade me forever, did you? That he could whittle away at my army and drive me out, all by himself? No, he is just a boy after all.”

Li tried to push himself up on his hands and knees, only for Rai to kick him swiftly in the gut. “String him up,” he ordered curtly. “And fetch me a whip.”

No no no! A new surge of terror boiled up inside Li, unreasoning fear tied to that day of his greatest humiliation. When a pair of gargoyles tried to grab him he reacted with the hysterical panic of a wild animal, clawing and kicking. He did not even know what he did, but something must have worked because he heard a scream of pain and felt the release of the grip around his arm. He sprinted to the huts of the city, but there were too many to stop him, too close. He hadn’t made it more than five steps before he was tackled to the earth by several gargoyles, all of them slamming him into the ground so hard his breath was knocked out of him. Struggling for all he was worth, Li was dragged to the whipping post and thrown face-first against it. One of them latched his cuffs into the link on the post, and another shredded his shirt apart down the back.

Over his frantic, ragged breathing he heard Rai’s quiet hiss of anger. “Rumors were not exaggerated in the least, I see. He punished you well.” A finger traced one of his scars down the length of his back and Li thrashed. “Don’t worry, son, I’ll cover them soon enough with my own marks. Then you really will be mine.”

He moved away, and Li gripped the manacles chain with both fists, gritting his teeth in preparation. Last time, for Yue, he screamed. This time he would not scream.

“Wait! Please!”

Tomoyo did not know what propelled her to throw herself between the king and his son, and she was as shocked as every spectator there at what she’d done. Heart knocking at her throat, she spread her arms out and trembled before Rai’s stunned and enraged stare.

“Please,” she repeated, hardly more than a whisper. “Your majesty, please do not do this.”

“Get out of the way, little sparrow, this does not concern you.”

“I know that.” Tomoyo could hear her voice shaking along with the rest of her. “But your majesty, I will beg you to reconsider. You don’t want to do this.”

“You will learn,” Rai said coldly, “what a very bad idea it is to tell me what I want. Also to get in my way.”

“Your majesty, please…” Timidly she took a step forward, all too aware of the long whip in his hand and the fresh storm gathering in his eyes. Dropping her voice to a murmur so low that no one else could possibly hear them, she said, “You cannot do this to your son. You will never be able to undo it, and he will hate you forever.”

“I do not care if he hates me, I care that he fears and obeys me!” He cracked the whip against his leg impatiently and Tomoyo jumped. “That is the duty of a son, the duty of a prince.”

“Maybe so. But if he does learn to fear you, and obey you, and he never gives you anything more than that, you will be sad. I say that because I know that you love him. I also know,” she added quickly, when he opened his mouth, “that you will never admit it. You are a king, and to love is a weakness. You told me that. But I don’t have to hear you say it out loud, I know it because I can see it in you, all around you. How could I not, when I love you so much? Your son means more to you than anyone in this world. Give him time, and he could see the side of you that I have seen, and learn to respect the good qualities that I have come to respect. But it won’t happen if you do this. He will never see you as a father, only a monster.”

She watched his eyes – indeed, she could not have looked away from them if she wanted. The lightning flickering within them eased off, giving way to the human part of him. She flinched when he took her chin in his hand, but there was a smile tugging at his lips.

“You keep surprising me, little sparrow, it’s rather fascinating. Whatever may happen after I’ve conquered this Labyrinth, I do intend to keep you. Prepare yourself for that, and don’t put up a big fuss like my son has. My tolerance will only go so far. Now move aside, before I have to make you.”

“But -”

“You’ve spoken your piece, and I was gracious enough to allow you. Now get out of the way, for I have decided to punish my son. And nobody changes my mind but me.”

With casual effort he swept her aside, and raised his arm. Tomoyo covered her ears and cringed, just before the whip bit into the Little Wolf’s back.

- - - - - - -

Tears of frustration and terror welled up in Sakura’s eyes, constantly blurring her vision, not that it mattered because there was nothing to see but endless black tunnels everywhere. She had been running for what felt like forever, hopelessly lost and all alone; she would die down here and never see Syaoran again, never see anyone again. They would never even know what happened to her.

“Help!” she cried, not for the first time. “Please, anyone! Help me! I’m so lost…” She wiped away more tears and kept on running, on the theory that if there was any way out of this place, at least running could get her there a little faster. But she was so tired, and the hard stone tunnels were not kind to her feet. By now she was really just limping along very quickly, and it didn’t seem to be getting her anywhere at all.

“Somebody,” she pleaded, with only her lonely echo to reply. “Anybody. Please help me.”

Perhaps she should not have begged for just ‘anyone’, but that was a point that would only occur to her when she turned a new corner and came face to face with a party of trolls. She froze, petrified, and they stood just as still as they stared dumbly.

“Princess?” one of them asked.

“Princess!” another confirmed, and pointed his sword at her. “King says to kill.”

Sakura screamed and bolted in the opposite direction, adrenaline lending new strength to her legs. The trolls thundered after her, nearly shaking the walls by their heavy stampede and yelling for her blood. She ran blindly, not knowing or caring which turn she took so long as she kept ahead of the pursuers. She was faster but they were fresher, and it would not be long before they caught up. She had to find some way to lose them, but how? Syaoran would know, he knew everything about the labyrinth…

She dashed around a new corner and glimpsed a pillar that had been designed to blend against the wall behind it, so well-camouflaged it was nearly invisible. Could she hide behind it? Sakura hesitated, sure that the trolls would see it and guess, but then she remembered what Eriol had said. The labyrinth’s optical illusions were more plain to her, others couldn’t see them so easily. It was worth a try, anyway, because she had no more time to think about it. Just before the first of them puffed around the bend, Sakura dove behind the pillar and froze.

At once the first troll stopped, and consequently his comrades bumped into him from behind.

“Oy!”

“Watch it!”

“Where is she?”

“Don’t know, can’t see her.”

“She went up?”

“Had to, she’s not here.”

“We were told to stay down here.”

“We were told to hunt the princess,” another argued. “She went up. We go up. We get her, we get reward.”

This logic impressed the rest of his group, and Sakura heard some shuffling. Timidly she peeked around the edge of her cover and saw one of the trolls pressing his big hand against a flat rock in the wall. It sank back out of sight, and some kind of mechanical noise like whirring gears echoed around them. Much to Sakura’s amazement, an entire section of the wall swung back and in. With some shoving and swearing, the trolls all filed through, and in a few minutes the wall had shut itself back up.

She waited for a while, both to get her breath back and let the trolls get well away. When she finally felt rested, and safe, enough, she emerged from her hiding spot and pressed the same rock. Nothing happened at first, but then Sakura remembered how even the heavy-set troll had really pushed. She braced one hand on top of another, dug her heel into the ground, and shoved all her weight against the rock. This time it responded, and the wall opened for her.

Yes! On the other side was a small round shaft, like the bottom of a well, and against one wall hung a rickety ladder. Sakura couldn’t believe such a thing really supported a troll’s weight, but then, things were not always what they seemed in this place. Eagerly she scrambled up it, lifting the trap door overhead just a little so she might peek out first.

She neither saw nor heard anything moving. Slowly, moving as quietly as possible, Sakura lifted the lid completely and checked all around her. She was back on the surface, surrounded by the walls of the labyrinth – still lost, but at least she was under the sky again.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Sakura whispered reverently, and pulled herself out of the innocuous vase. Imagine that a bunch of trolls trying to kill her had actually saved her! But now what?

Sakura tiptoed to the exit of the courtyard very quietly, sure that the four trolls couldn’t have gone too far. But all thoughts of silence and caution flew out of her head when she saw a familiar pink creature bouncing along on the far side of the wall, its top half reappearing with every bounce.

“Oh! It’s you, Jump! Do you remember me? Wait, don’t go so fast!” She broke into a run, sprinting along the passage to keep pace. “Please, don’t run away. You remember me, right? I helped save you yesterday from those trolls – well, I didn’t really save you but I was friends with the ones that did and we helped you escape… don’t you remember me? Slow down! Please, I need your help, if you could just listen to me -”

She reached the end of the passage and stopped short, sure she had run into a dead end. She didn’t even have the chance to groan in disappointment, however, before Jump leapt over the top of the wall and landed directly in front of her.

“Oh! Hello again. Does this mean you do remember me?” Jump bounced up and down a few times, which she took to mean yes. “Do you know that I am the princess of the Labyrinth?”

Again it bounced, even more excitedly. “Good. I need to get to the Wisdom, it’s very important. Can you show me the way?”

It bounced a frantic affirmative and started springing away in long, high leaps. “Wait, a little slower, please!”

Sakura had to run again to keep up, but now her energy had been fired with hope. She was not alone anymore. The labyrinth was helping her after all.

- - - - - - -

“I hate this labyrinth,” Touya muttered, and slumped down onto the edge of an inviting fountain. “I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I quit. I’m not playing this stupid hide-n-seek game anymore. Do you hear me, Yue? I bet you do. I QUIT.”

With a groan he fell over and lay on his back, relishing the reprieve for his tired feet. The sky was looking a little more fretful than usual, lightning constantly flickering between the clouds. He wondered if a major storm was about to break. Getting drenched by rain did not appeal to him, but neither did getting up.

He plucked his mysterious project out of the bag and held it up, idly examining it again – for all the good it would do. The shard from the ghost had fit into the puzzle perfectly, and once it had so did Touya’s last separate shard. Going by the size each one had been so far, and the size of the remaining gap, he thought there was only one left. It was nearly complete, whatever it was, and so close to taking its final shape that Touya couldn’t believe he still didn’t know what it was. It was on the tip of his tongue when he studied it, the shape so familiar that it made his brain itch, but no matter how hard he tried to think the answer just wouldn’t come.

“A beautiful jewel,” someone commented. He rolled his head slightly to the left without bothering to lift it, and saw he wasn’t alone at the fountain. A peacock had jumped up onto the stone edge as well, directly across from him, and was admiring her splayed tail feathers in the water’s reflection.

“Thanks. Nice, um, feathers.”

“You are too kind.”

“This jewel isn’t finished, though,” Touya sighed. “One more piece to go and then I’ll be done, finally. I don’t know what happens after that, but it’s got to be better than this.”

“Are you looking for this last piece?”

“I was, but not anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m tired, and I don’t feel like it. Everywhere I go in this fucked-up maze, I always manage to just ‘happen’ onto another piece. There’s always just the right coincidence to put it in my hands. So why make the effort to keep walking when I can just wait right here for it to come to me?”

“There are no coincidences,” the peacock said thoughtfully, “only inevitabilities.”

“Whatever.”

“Such a long way you’ve traveled, Touya. No one could blame you for being weary, for the path wasn’t an easy one. Such paths were meant for those few that have the strength to walk them.”

The peacock knew his name. Touya turned his head to look at her again, and noticed the reflection she was admiring wasn’t actually her reflection at all. In the water he could see a beautiful redheaded woman leaning over to see herself.

“Yeah, I know. Never what they seem. I’ve got it down by heart now. Your path is pretty rough too, I’m guessing.”

“Love makes it easier,” she replied frankly, “as it does so many other things.”

“You think so? I think it makes things harder. Someone fell in love with me once, for no good reason that I can tell, and I wound up going through hell for a night because of it.”

“Did you return this love?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” Touya turned the crystal one way and another, trying to get a rainbow out of it, but the sky was too darkly clouded. “At first I didn’t. He made me so nervous, just being around him, I didn’t know what to think. And he did horrible things to me. But when I finally had the chance to tell him no, I had a surprisingly hard time doing it. And when I did, it hurt. If that means I loved him, then love just made things that much harder. Love is a pain.”

“Have you ever stepped on something sharp without shoes?”

“All the time, lately.”

“Without the pain, you would not know to move your foot and prevent an injury. If something hurts, it hurts for a reason.”

“Are you going to tell me I’m still in love with him too? Everyone else in this kingdom seems to think so.”

“Not at all,” she replied silkily. “We both know perfectly well that you love him. The mystery is what you’ll choose to do because of it – or in spite of it. Fate carried you this far, but soon enough it will be time to make decisions.”

At last Touya sat up, and he frowned at the peacock. “What do you mean, ‘this far’? And what kind of decisions?”

“Follow me, please.”

She lowered her tail and gracefully hopped off the fountain. Touya had, just minutes earlier, made an adamant declaration that he would move no further, but now he found himself rolling back onto his feet and following the peacock. She led him around a few twists and turns in the labyrinth, strutting with the grace and poise of a queen that he had a feeling she probably once was. Eventually she led him into a secluded glade, a nice enough place with a little waterfall and Vivaldi playing somewhere in the background. A boy in Chinese robes was sitting at a table in the center of it, studying a chessboard. He looked up at their arrival and smiled.

“Welcome, Kinomoto Touya, brother of the princess, consort of the king.”

“I get the feeling I’m going to really dislike you.”

“Well, what do you know.” He was toying with a chess piece, a white knight, and after some deliberation placed it on the board. If anything, he looked amused. “Sometimes in the labyrinth, things are what they seem. Please, sit. I know you are tired. Kaho darling, thank you for fetching him.”

“With pleasure, my love.”

They exchanged a simpering look that made Touya more than a little uncomfortable, and he kept his eyes on the board as he sat. It was an elegant piece of work, checkered with black and white marble, and pieces carved from obsidian or ivory. They were scattered all over the board, the match well under way.

“The game intrigues you. Are you a chess man, Touya?”

“Not so much. I don’t have time for it.”

“But you do know something about it.”

“Enough to see the white player is losing.”

“You would think, wouldn’t you? Things certainly look bad for him.”

“Is that you?”

“Me? No, I’m not either of the players. I’m just watching from the sidelines, more’s the pity. Still, I might find a way to exert some influence here or there. A helpful nudge, say.”

“Uh-huh. And just who are you, exactly?”

“Question, but many know this answer and I’ll give it to you for free. My name is Eriol, the living embodiment of the labyrinth’s mind. Some call me the Wisdom of the labyrinth. I know practically everything there is to know in the world, and I am a genius.”

“That’s some resumé.”

“I try.”

“And what do you want with me?”

“Question, answer not so readily known. I won’t give that one away for free. For now let’s just start with tea. Have a cup?”

Touya looked down and saw a cup of steaming green tea by his elbow; it hadn’t been there a second earlier. An identical cup was in front of Eriol.

“Thanks. I guess.” He took a cautious sip, but it tasted like perfectly ordinary – if very high quality – green tea.

“Lovely pick-me-up, tea. It’s one of my favorite aspects of your world, after violin music and books, of course.”

“You know a lot about my world.”

“I am a product of the man that came from it, after all. I share many of Clow’s tastes.”

“Not all of them, I hope.”

“Ah, perceptively spoken. Do I detect a little jealousy? You needn’t fear; Kaho is the jewel of my world. In any case, I am not Yue’s type. He seems to prefer…” Those sharp blue eyes studied him over the rim of a teacup. “Fighters.”

“Good to know,” Touya remarked, heavy on the sarcasm. “Doesn’t seem to be working out too well for him, lately, does it?”

“Doesn’t seem to be at all,” Eriol agreed.

“I beat him at his own game and left him curled up in hiding for five years. Rai – hell, I don’t even want to know what he and Yue went through, but now he’s gone and invaded Yue’s kingdom. Maybe Yue likes to play with fire just a little too much.”

“Maybe.”

“Well, he deserves what he gets; I’m not about to feel sorry for him. I just wish my sister and I hadn’t been dragged into the mess. Especially Sakura, she’s just a little girl. She shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“I wouldn’t worry about her. She’s done a remarkable job growing up in a very short amount of time.” He grinned at the alarm that flashed across Touya’s face. “Oh, did you not want her to? Mm, can’t be helped now, I suppose.”

“What do you mean, ‘growing up’?”

“Question. How much is that one worth to you, I wonder?”

“Worth?” Touya repeated, baffled and annoyed. “What?”

“I told you, I am the Wisdom of the Labyrinth and I know practically everything. Ask me any question, but be prepared to pay a suitable price for the answer. I’ll give no knowledge to one who’s not willing to sacrifice something for it.”

“You expect me to pay you to tell me whether or not that brat’s violated my sister? Are you fucking kidding me?” Touya nearly jumped out of his seat, slapping his hands against the table and causing one or two chess pieces to topple over.

“Question, but rhetoricals are free. No, I’m not.” Patiently he rearranged a few fallen pawns. “To think, it’s physical activity that worries you. And here I thought you’d be more concerned about whether she loves him.”

“Does she?”

“Question.”

Touya would have jumped over the table to strangle the kid, Wisdom or not, if the peacock hadn’t spoken up at that moment.

“Giving in to your dark temper will not undo it, Touya, no matter what your sister has learned these past three days. You know that this fierce protectiveness is only an echo of your guilt. Time to end it. Last time you came to the Labyrinth, you learned how to hold on to what was most precious. Now, you’ll have to learn to let her go.”

“It’s too soon.”

“Tell that to her, and see if she thinks so.”

“Oh, I’d love to tell her, if only I knew…” Touya’s voice trailed off, and he looked Eriol over in a new light. “You know everything, you say. You know where she is?”

Eriol lifted his eyebrows and nodded toward a wooden box on a table by the wall. There was a slot in the lid for payment.

“Um…” Of course he didn’t have any money on him. Unhappily he looked at his watch. It was a nice watch, his father’s gift to him when he graduated high school. It was the first gift from his dad after their relationship healed, and Touya had worn it every day since. He hated to give it up, but it was all he had. “I guess this will cover it.”

“It will. If you’re sure that’s what you want to ask.”

“I’m sure.”

Touya crossed the distance, unbuckling the strap, and dropped it in the slot before he could work up too much guilt over it. “There. How can I find my sist- no, wait. You say you know everything. How can I find Yue, and Sakura?”

Eriol lounged against the back of his chair, a lazy smile playing across his features. “Ah. Unfortunately, one payment limits me to one question. You will have to choose which of them you want to find.”

Damn it. Touya bit back a curse and looked away, needing some privacy from those piercing blue eyes in order to think. Sakura, of course he should choose Sakura. She was weak and unable to protect herself, most of all from that brat; he was responsible for her safety. Yue needed no help for his own safety, Touya was more than certain of that. Like Li said, he’d probably show up when things were most convenient for him and once that happened, the whole mess would be ended.

Unless… he really was hiding because he was dying. In which case, there was still nothing Touya could do for him and so what was the point? He was better off sticking by Sakura’s side.

What if he never saw Yue again?

“Yue.” The word left his mouth on its own accord, without direction. He blinked and double-checked, but now that he’d said it, he couldn’t quite bring himself to correct it. “How can I find Yue?”

“A wise decision,” Eriol commented, and tossed something small his way. Touya caught it reflexively, opened his hand, and looked at it. It was the final crystal shard.

“What is it, really? Why was I the one finding its pieces everywhere?”

“You broke it, you get to put it back together. It’s only fair, don’t you think?”

Touya tipped the nearly-finished product out of the bag and into his hand, and for the first time he saw what he hadn’t quite been able to see all this time. The answer seemed so obvious now.

“It’s his heart. I actually broke his heart.”

“These things happen.”

Cautiously he hovered the last shard over the gap, not quite ready to push it into place. “What happens when I finish this?”

“Question,” Eriol reminded him. “But truthfully… even I don’t know exactly. Only one way to find out.”

Only one way indeed. Touya took a deep breath, and slipped in the final piece. It clicked, the puzzle complete, the heart smooth and hard in his hands. In the same second the labyrinth vanished, stranding him alone in darkness. Everywhere, around him and above and below, blazed thousands of brilliant stars, stars he’d nearly forgotten existed after all this time under storm clouds. The intense brightness made him blink.

Well. He wasn’t quite alone.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these characters

Heh. If you guys knew where I lived, you could storm the front door and throw bricks for leaving you hanging like this… but you don’t, and you can’t. It’s only another week to wait, right? In the meantime, I need to pick a title. I was going to go with ‘return of the king’, but apparently that’s been taken.

Also, prize for Clairvoyant Reader of the Year goes to Absinthe, who guessed it waaay back in chapter four. I totally kicked myself after reading it, because it was like you’d peeked at my secret notes. Not that I’m holding it against you, or anything. No. Just… bowled over. Darn you, Absinthe!
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