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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
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter 17

‘still is the night’

Li knew he was waking up and tried to fight it. Just this side of consciousness, he could already feel the dull ache of bruises peppered across his body, including his head. A sharper pain raced back and forth across his backside when he shifted, prompting him to swallow a groan. He knew that pain, knew it from many years ago, and knew it was going to get worse before it got better. He should go back to sleep, and not wake up for days.

The murmur of voices sent a prickle of wariness down the back of his neck, though, and inwardly Li tensed. This surface he was lying on, he remembered this soft plush feel. He must be in the castle again. Nervously he opened his eyes, dreading what he would see, but found only Sakura. She was sitting in a chair next to the bed, but turned away, speaking softly to someone else that he couldn’t see. Was he still asleep and dreaming? She looked too alive and too close to be real.

“Sakura,” he croaked, and she whipped around to face him.

“Syaoran! You’re awake, thank goodness. How do you feel? You must be in terrible pain. Don’t try to move too much.”

She clasped one of his hands, and tenderly brushed aside a few strands of hair. He could feel the softness of her touch, and knew she was real. Contrary to her instructions, he lifted his head and promptly winced.

“What happened?” he mumbled. “Are we both his prisoners now?”

“Prisoners? No, of course not. Don’t you remember anything?”

Suddenly he did, and it was not pleasant. Li let his head fall back against the sheets, not bothering to swallow the groan this time. “Yue came back. Didn’t he?”

“Yes. He saved you, saved all of us.”

“Wouldn’t have needed saving if he hadn’t disappeared in the first place.”

“What matters is that it’s over, and you’re alive. God, Syaoran, you don’t know how close it was. You almost died a horrible death, I was so scared.” She clutched at his hand a little more tightly and he tried not to flinch.

“Happens all the time. Don’t cry!”

Hastily she wiped away a few threatening tears and tried to smile at his panicky look. “Sorry, I won’t. I did enough of that while you were asleep anyway; you’ve been out for a few hours.”

“That long?” Annoyed with himself, Li tried to move again. “Well, that’s enough rest, I can get up now.”

“Syaoran, you shouldn’t, what your father did to you -”

“Don’t talk about it,” he said sharply, and Sakura withdrew, biting her lip. “I’m sorry,” he added quickly, “I didn’t mean to snap at you. Just… don’t talk about it.”

Carefully Sakura nodded. “I won’t. But Syaoran, you really shouldn’t move. There’s no need. It’s all over now.”

“I just want to sit up. I hate lying on my stomach.” It was true, even on this abnormally soft surface that they called a bed. To lie face-down was the most defenseless, vulnerable position to be in, and Li could not physically tolerate it any longer. Putting aside her misgivings, Sakura did her best to help him up onto his knees and then to swivel his legs forward over the edge of the bed. He was breathing heavily by the end of the task, and in considerable more pain, but he did not pass out again and that was good enough for him.

“Oh, I think I dropped it.” Sakura sank to her knees on the rug, peering underneath the bed for something, but before he could ask what Tomoyo appeared in a doorway.

“Sakura? Do you want to bathe now? I’ve warmed up the water again.”

Sakura looked from Li back to Tomoyo. “But I should stay with Syaoran, he just -”

“You promised me you would, once he woke up and you knew he’d be alright,” Tomoyo reminded her gently. “And it’s just in the next room. Please, you know you’ll feel so much better.”

“It’s fine, Sakura,” Li spoke up. “Go on.” Tears had left obvious streaks on her dirty face, and Li wanted them gone. “I’m alright.”

“If you’re sure… oh, here it is!” She plucked up a smile and straightened, proudly holding forth his mother’s jade pendant. “We found it when Onii-chan was bringing you up here. I’ve been holding onto it all this time, because I was sure it was important to you. It’s very pretty. I’m sorry, but the chain had already broken; we can get another one, though.”

She tried to give it to him, but Li just closed her hand over it and shook his head. “Keep it.”

“Syaoran, it’s yours. I couldn’t.”

“It’s not mine; it was my mother’s. I think it would make her happy if you wore it.” In a softer voice he added, “It would make me happy too.”

Sakura blushed and smiled shyly, a sight that made his heart jump with delight. Tomoyo moved closer, nodding as she placed a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “Yes, that’s a good idea. The jade will look beautiful with your eyes, Sakura. I’ll find a new chain for it while you wash up.”

This time Sakura put up no argument. She gave Li another small smile, which had his heart pattering away inside his chest again, before vanishing through the curtained doorway.

“It’s a nice look in your eyes,” Tomoyo said quietly, settling herself in the chair in front of him.

“Huh? What?” Li tore his gaze away from the curtains, only just now paying the girl any attention.

“The way you’re looking at her, it’s nice. It’s an improvement. Sakura has been raving about you nonstop all night, and after my first impression of you I honestly couldn’t understand why. But now that I’ve seen you smile at her, I do.”

She dabbed a washcloth into a porcelain bowl on her lap, wetting it, and reached for his face. Reflexively he jerked back. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning your face. I’m sorry that you can’t bathe, but I spent a long time dressing and bandaging the sc- your back. You shouldn’t get wet. But I can at least wash your face, and then maybe you’ll feel a little better too.”

Again he leaned away when she tried to touch his face. “Don’t. I can do it.”

“You,” Tomoyo said firmly, “cannot see the cuts and scratches on your face. I can. I want to help you, Little Wolf. Please let me.” She did not ask that last part so much as order it, and before he could wriggle away she was lightly patting the warm cloth to his face. The heat felt nice, and the water had some kind of floral scent clinging to it. Unwillingly Li felt himself relax into the touch. Her movements were deft but gentle.

“It was stupid,” he muttered after a while, “what you did. Coming between him and me, like that. You shouldn’t have done it.” He caught her eye and quickly looked away. “But I- I didn’t hate it. You tried to help me. So, thank you.”

Tomoyo wiped away some grit and a smudge of blood from his cheek. “You’re welcome. I only wish he had listened.”

“I’m just glad you picked a side.”

“No,” she corrected, unhesitatingly. “That was not about sides, or even the war. I only wanted to protect him.”

“Protect him?”

“From future heartbreak. I couldn’t, though, and now I’m sure it’s too late.” She had a sad smile on her face as she dropped the cloth back in the basin, and began wiping away at his mother’s pendant. It didn’t look to Li like it needed cleaning, but Tomoyo was very carefully scrubbing it over and over.

“What did you ever see in him?”

“Many things, most of which I’m sure you wouldn’t want to hear about.” Her eyes twinkled suggestively, and Li wrinkled his nose. “But mostly sadness. When you see such sadness from a close angle, it’s difficult to hate it. We were both very lonely, when he found me. The difference is that I was just a servant hiding in a castle, and no one had ever deserted me.”

Something unpleasant twisted inside Li’s stomach, a feeling he would have rather ignored but for some reason could not. Sakura reappeared in the doorway just then, clean and fresh, and tugging at the bodice lace of her new dress.

“I’m done,” she announced. “It fits great, Tomoyo-chan, I love it.”

“Thank goodness, I’m so relieved; I was estimating your size all this time. And you look beautiful, a real princess!”

Sakura turned a little pink, but didn’t demur. While Tomoyo fussed with the hem of a filmy sleeve, she looked expectantly his way. “Syaoran? What do you think? Do you like it?”

Li looked at Sakura without really seeing her. “How did he die?”

“Huh? Who?”

“Rai. How did he- how did Yue kill him? Was it quick?”

Sakura and Tomoyo exchanged surprised looks. “Syaoran, Yue never killed him. Your father stopped fighting so he could save your life, and Yue took him prisoner. He’s still here in the castle.”

No trace of storm clouds were left in the sky. Rai stood at the window, looking out at the brilliant swathe of stars, and thought it strange that this view had never changed. So many years had come and gone, and he was not the same as he once was, but at least this much was and would always be.

“Something on your mind?” asked Yue, somewhere behind him. Rai did not turn around.

“I was thinking about a conversation we once had. You told me, in that… condescending way of yours, that one day I would know real love, and that I would give up everything I had to keep it. I never believed you. I was a king that nearly died in the process of earning my crown, and thought no person could ever be more important to me than my power and ambitions.”

Rai breathed in and exhaled slowly, conscious of his body’s weary fatigue. His wrists were locked together in a cuff of Yue’s unmelting ice, but the restraint probably wasn’t even necessary. It would be a full day or more before he could tap into his magic.

“But I did not even stop to think, when I saw he was about to die. I turned away from my chance to defeat you so I could save his life. How could I not? He is my son… and I love him. You were right in the end.”

“I am always right.”

Rai snorted quietly. “You are a manipulative bastard who took advantage of a man’s desperation to save his own child. You used my distraction to cheat a victory.”

“And what, in our history together, gave you any indication to think I was above doing such a thing?”

“Touché,” Rai muttered. At last he turned around to face Yue and his irritatingly haughty expression. “So you’ve confirmed it again; the Angel King really is a devil in white. I honestly never doubted it. But answer me this, Yue. I know your heart is carved from ice and I know you take sadistic delight in the torment of those around you… but things between us did not end so terribly. I had never wronged you. You know about the curse on my family, that I could never have another son. Why did you do it? Why did you take my child from me?”

“You might remember, Rai, that he was not just your child. His mother pleaded so desperately for refuge. I took pity on her.”

“That’s a lie,” Rai said flatly. “You don’t take pity on anyone, Yue, you don’t know how. Tell me the truth.”

“Hmm… the truth.” Yue tipped his head slightly, appearing to mull that one over. “Would you believe that I, Angel King with the heart of ice, missed my former lover? That I missed him enough to indulge in an act of selfishness and keep his son close to me, like a souvenir? If that was my answer, if that is what I told you, would you believe it?”

A fingertip traced lightly up his chest and stopped under his chin, directing Rai to look straight at Yue. A thoughtful gleam in those otherworldly eyes flustered Rai, and he cleared his throat and turned aside.

“Not for a second, no.”

“Your choice, I suppose.”

“What are you doing, Yue?” Rai growled. “Stop playing with me and let me see my son.”

“Make no demands of me, Storm King. Why do you think I took you prisoner? To let that beautiful body of yours go untouched? What a waste.”

Unwillingly Rai shivered when Yue combed fingers through his hair, triggering urges he had not felt in years. Damn it but he hated that Yue could still do this to him, and so effortlessly.

“If I give you what you want, will you let me see him?”

“Perhaps.”

“Yes or no, Yue.”

“Very well, yes. Please me, and I will allow you to see him.”

Allow. Rai seethed with humiliation, but he did not resist anymore. He let Yue turn him around, and stood compliantly still as Yue leaned forward and kissed him. He parted his lips for Yue’s tongue, closed his eyes, let himself be kissed for as long as Yue wanted it. But when Yue finally withdrew, he shook his head.

“You don’t want this.”

“Don’t I?”

“Yue. I have kissed you often enough to know how it feels when you want me, and I know that you don’t. Who is it you really want in your bed? Where is that prideful toy of yours?”

Yue’s eyes frosted over with cold silver. “Do not speak about him.”

Rai almost backed away, startled, but behind the coldness he glimpsed sorrow and heartbreak. And those were feelings he knew something about.

“Poor Yue,” he whispered, running his palms lightly up along Yue’s chest. “So it finally happened; someone had the strength to tell you no. I envy him. It’s not something I could ever do.”

“I told you not to -”

“It must have been very difficult for him,” Rai murmured, his lips brushing against Yue’s cheek. “Considering how passionately he defended you to me, the first time we met. That one, he burns for you, I could see it. Why else would I try to take him for myself?”

“That’s enough from you.” Yue pushed him clear with a not-so-gentle nudge to the chest. “You are my prisoner. Try acting like it.”

He turned aside and vanished, leaving Rai alone in the starlit room. “Yue? What about my son? Yue!”

Not really sure why, Touya stood still in the shadows of the corridor and watched them. For a defeated and imprisoned king, Rai did not look very upset or angry. Apparently at ease in Yue’s company, he just looked out the window and talked for a while, though Touya could not hear about what. But then Yue started fondling Rai’s hair, and kissing him, and Touya could not watch anymore. Silently and invisibly, he backed away and retreated up the nearest flight of stairs he could find. With a heavy sigh he slumped down on the top step.

“Hey, Touya!” Kero said brightly, right in his ear. “You were spying too, huh? Yeah, time to get out. Yuck.”

“I was not spying. I was just… looking.”

“And that’s different how?”

“I wanted to see what they were like, around each other. Since they had that history and everything. Didn’t look like it was history to me.”

“Well, that’s Yue for you. A few hours ago they were ready to kill each other, now they’re just plain on each other. That’s how twisted his personality is.”

“You really don’t have to talk about it, Kero.” Touya let his head drop forward, pressing the heel of his palm between his eyes.

“Are you jealous?”

“No. Yue and I are over. Scratch that – we never were. There is nothing between us, past, present, or future. End of story.”

“Which brings me to ask why you were, um, ‘looking’.”

“Well I’m not anymore! I’m just waiting for Yue to send me and my sister back home; is it my fault I’ve got nothing else to do? What’s taking him so long, anyway? I’m fine, Sakura’s fine, and he can’t keep us here against our will. He should send us back home now.”

Kero laughed and waved his paw. “Send someone to the other world? As if he could do something like that on the new moon.”

“What?”

“And on top of that fight? Forget it. You and Sakura are most definitely here for the night.”

Touya swallowed but Kero didn’t seem to notice, his ears suddenly pricked up as if listening for something. “Ah, that was Yue. I’ve been ordered to ‘summon the Little Wolf’ to him, promptly. Isn’t that just typical? Haven’t seen him for five years and I don’t get so much as a ‘Hello, Keroberos’. ‘I’ve missed you, Keroberos.’ Or even ‘Thanks for helping keep order in my kingdom while I was selfishly hiding, Keroberos.’ No, all I get is a lot of terse orders and messenger duty. Sheesh. It makes me wonder what people like you and Rai even see in my brother.” He shook his head, and flitted away into the shadows.

It occurred to Touya to point out, “I don’t see anything in him now,” but by then Kero was already gone.

Li had managed to gingerly pull a shirt on over his bandages, and eventually even to tackle standing. Eager to prove to Sakura that he was fine, and not some invalid to be pitied, he left the room with her a little while later. Hand in hand, he slowly walked off his soreness while Sakura led him to a windowed corridor that looked over Yue’s private garden.

“Look, there it is! Isn’t it beautiful? When I was here before, that was my favorite place that he showed me.” She studied it a little more carefully and sighed. “I guess it doesn’t look at its best right now, actually. Too bad. But now that Yue’s come back, I’m sure it will become very pretty again. I’d like to visit it with you.”

“Anything you want,” Li agreed softly, paying more attention to Sakura’s profile than the shadowy garden below. She must have felt his stare, because she started blushing even before she turned to look at him. After what felt like weeks apart, the two of them drew closer for a kiss.

“Here you are!” Kero crowed triumphantly, startling Sakura into jumping away. Li growled low in his throat. “Thanks for making me search half the castle, by the way.”

“You didn’t need to find us,” Li muttered, directing a very meaningful look at Kero. “We were fine alone.”

Kero refused to get the hint. “Fraid I did, kid. You’ve been summoned. Yue wants to see you.”

Li’s heart promptly dropped into his stomach. “What? Me? Already?”

“So he says.”

Sakura’s free hand gently covered his, which made him aware that he’d been squeezing hers too hard. Hastily he let go. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Syaoran. I’ll come with you.”

“Ooh, sorry, Sakura, but no can do. Yue asked for the Little Wolf, and no one else. Don’t worry; I’m sure your chance is coming.”

“But…” Sakura’s worried gaze fell back on Li, and quickly he straightened his back.

“No, don’t worry about it, Sakura. It’s nothing. You should, uh, go back to Tomoyo. Find something to eat, you must be hungry.”

“Dinner!” Kero immediately cheered, just like Li knew he would. “Good idea, kid. I’ll escort you to the kitchens, Sakura. Li can catch up with us later.” He waved aside Sakura’s attempted protests. “Now, now, no point in arguing, Yue’s orders are Yue’s orders.” To Li, he added, “In the throne room, and don’t delay. Good luck.”

Something about the way he said that last part made Li wince, because Kero looked like he believed Li would need it.

And so began his quiet dread, which had balled up hard and heavy in Li’s stomach by the time he was standing in front of the throne room doors. When he reached to push one open, he saw his hand was shaking. Stupid, he scolded himself, but it still didn’t stop. He wished Sakura had been summoned along with him; even Kero’s company would have been preferable to facing the king alone.

The throne room was vast, and mostly in shadows. Starlight streamed through the windows, silver on Yue’s hair. At his throne he waited, silent and impassive while Li shuffled closer. Five steps away and Li stopped, not daring to go any closer, and still Yue did not speak. Nervously he fidgeted, swallowed a few times, and waited for Yue to say something.

At last he did.

“Did I give you permission to stand?”

Li flinched and dropped to his knees. “That’s better. Good to know five years of wanton freedom did not go completely to your head. I’m sure there’s still considerable damage to undo. My kingdom’s people, for example, who’ve learned from you what it is to pick a weapon and defend themselves with it.”

“But -”

“Silence. I want you to understand, Little Wolf, exactly how close you were to a quick, icy death the day you drew your sword and returned to help him get past my army and into the castle. Your silly attack of conscience cost me what I had painstakingly worked for years to capture. I want you to understand, and appreciate how tempted I was to end your life.”

His eyes glittered dangerously and Li could feel himself shaking again. He managed a nod.

“I didn’t hear that.”

“Y-yes, your majesty.”

“You’re lucky I had the foresight to stay my hand. Just because you’d failed me miserably once, did not mean you couldn’t be of some use later on. And you did, surprisingly, carry out the new task rather well. You kept the princess alive and well, at least for a while, though I was not pleased to see her so near the castle when I returned tonight. You fought off considerable forces in the process. You even displayed some impressive trickery to get her away from the enemy, which I did not think you capable of. It was an… adequate enough performance to redeem yourself for that ill-fated decision five years ago.”

He paused and Li exhaled, but Yue was not yet finished. “Of course, there is the matter of your behavior with the princess.”

Li’s heart skipped a beat and he froze, under Yue’s very knowing stare. “I had thought I myself clear, when I gave my orders. I delivered them using that specific memory, because I thought if anything would hold your attention, it would be that. And what did you do? You ignored me, and put your filthy hands all over my princess. You presumed to kiss her, the future ruler of this kingdom. Do you have anything to say for yourself, Little Wolf?”

“I…” Li whispered hoarsely, but could get no further.

“What was that? Speak up, I cannot hear you.”

“I- I kissed her. I tried not to but- it was too hard. I love her. You knew that.”

“Does that excuse your actions? Do you think your feelings give you license to do whatever you like?”

“No.” Li swallowed again. “Your majesty. I was wrong to do it. But she kissed me back. She told me she loves me too.”

“Do you think for one second that changes what you are? I told you often enough, didn’t I? She is the princess. You are nothing.”

“That’s not true!” Li shouted, and promptly clapped a hand over his mouth. Too late. Yue’s eyebrows went up fractionally.

“Repeat that, Little Wolf.”

Well, he was dead anyway. “It’s not true,” he muttered. “And you know that too. I am not nothing.”

“Ah, of course. You are a prince.”

“No! I mean- I’m not. That isn’t what I meant. I am the Little Wolf, and I know how to fight. And I know the labyrinth. When Rai attacked Sakura, you sent me to save her because you knew no one else could. Even Kero could not protect her at nights. I found the princess, and guided her through the labyrinth, and kept her safe and alive for three days, and that is not nothing. Rai offered me the chance to betray you and bring her in as a prisoner; I could have changed the fate of this kingdom if I said yes, but I didn’t and that is not nothing. I fought this war for you, when even your own soldiers abandoned you, I risked my life and shed my blood to save this kingdom and that is not nothing! I wasn’t just ‘useful’ to you, Yue; no matter how you look at it, you needed me. And that is not nothing.”

Li was on his feet without any recollection of standing, fists clenched, unable to make himself care what Yue might do to him.

“You say I don’t deserve the princess but you’re wrong. At least I didn’t use her and break her heart like you did. I am not nothing, I am the Little Wolf, and I love Sakura. And you cannot stop me.”

Silence.

Terrible, yawning, unending silence in which Li became acutely aware of his own heavy breathing and the way it echoed around them. It seemed forever before Yue spoke.

“Whatever makes you think I would want to stop you?”

“Wha-what?”

“I have no interest in curtailing the romance between you and my princess. On the contrary, I have plans for the two of you and this kingdom.”

Li thought he might fall over. “But you said… all those times…”

“Yes, well, as you’ve pointed out several times, you are the Little Wolf. You live to disobey me. Ordering you not to touch her seemed the most effective method to ensure that you would. I was surprised that you held out as long as you did.”

Li felt himself sinking back to the floor, like his bones were melting. “I hate you,” he mumbled. “I will always hate you.”

“I know. It doesn’t particularly trouble me, as you’ve proved you are loyal enough when it really counts. Call it patriotism, right?”

Yue stood, and vaguely Li realized he didn’t seem so tall as he remembered. Of course, Li had spent the past five years growing. But it wasn’t just his height that changed; Li felt stronger for his outburst, his spine a little straighter. He did not have to be terrified of Yue any more.

Wary, of course. But not terrified.

“Now that you’ve gotten all that off your chest, it’s time you saw your father. He’s been agitating for it.”

Li’s head snapped up. “What? No!”

“Oh dear, Little Wolf,” Yue tsked. “Did you think I was asking?”

“I won’t. You can’t make me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense; I can and I will. Are you frightened?”

“No!” he said quickly, hating that hint of a smirk on Yue’s lips. “But why should I? He’s the enemy. He invaded the Labyrinth! Why didn’t you kill him?”

“It is not your place to question how I conduct the affairs of my kingdom. It is your place to accept who and what you are, and meet the man responsible for your existence. It doesn’t concern me what you say to him, but you will face him and say something. If nothing else, he has your precious sword and I’m sure you want it back.”

“Well, according to the Wisdom, it isn’t my sword,” Li said bitterly. “Is it? It’s yours. I don’t want it anymore.”

Yue was starting to look just a little impatient. “I don’t know why you insist on telling me all these things that you want and don’t want. I thought I’d made it abundantly clear over the course of your lifetime that I do not care about your feelings. Unless, of course, they serve my ends. So you will meet with your father, and you will recover the weapon I was generous enough to provide to you. You’ll be needing it if you intend to protect your princess at all, in the future.”

That was exactly the moment, while Li’s mouth hung open and he tried to find some reply, that Kero pushed open one of the doors and Rai stepped through. Li froze, right there on the floor, every line of blood on his back crawling with fresh horror. Rai looked from him to Yue, his expression visibly darkening even from across the room.

“Yue, why are you making my son kneel before you?”

“Because it irritates both of you so very much,” Yue drawled maliciously, “and I always have two reasons for everything I do. That will be all, Keroberos.”

Kero stuck his tongue out at Yue and left the room. Li was aware he’d begun to shake again, no matter how frantically he ordered his body to stop it. “Yue, no,” he whispered. “Please…”

It was the first time he’d ever said please to Yue. The king just looked down at him, rather dryly. “Consider hearing him out, Syaoran. His relationship with his own father was somewhat… mm, how shall I put it? Strained.” He raised his voice to address Rai again. “I’ll leave you two alone now. Don’t let it become too much of a disaster.”

He snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Li felt it the second Rai’s gaze was back on him, and he scrambled to his feet with a growl in his throat. “Get away from me. Get away now.”

Rai took a step forward instead, which prompted Li to back up. “I know that you must hate me -”

“You don’t know anything about me!”

“But you don’t need to panic. Do you actually think I would hurt you, now? Or that I even could?” He gestured with his hands, pinioned by Yue’s ice, which Li barely registered.

“I don’t care,” he snarled. “Just stay away from me. I’ll kill you if you come any closer.”

Rai stopped moving forward, not so much in obedience as to pause and appraise. “It is so quick to bare its fangs.” He took in Li’s clenched fists, and perpetual snarls. “If you’re trying to convince me that you are not afraid, you’re doing a terrible job.”

“I am not afraid of you, I just hate you and want you gone!”

Rai actually winced, and looked away. “I suppose I deserve that.”

“You deserve death,” Li said flatly.

“I saved your life tonight. Does that count for nothing?”

“I was unconscious and needed saving because of what you did!”

“Nothing worse than what Yue’s done to you on several occasions. I don’t see you growling and snapping at him.”

“It’s different,” Li said coldly. He didn’t know quite how, he just knew that it was. For one thing, Sakura had seen it and that was a humiliation that burned deeper than any lash of the whip.

“You’re right. I am your father, after all. She did try to tell me, that little sparrow, but I was just so… determined. We kings are accustomed to taking what we want by force. After fifteen years of keening for my lost son, I just wanted you back so badly…” Rai took another step forward and Li jumped back.

“I said stay away!”

“What would you have me do?” Rai snapped. “I can’t take away the scars on your back. I swear I will not do it again. Tell me what I have to do to win you back to my side.”

“You don’t. Not ever.”

“I won’t accept that. I am your father.”

“So what? That just makes you something I never had and never needed, and I don’t need it now.”

“Don’t you understand that you’re next in line for my crown? That you’re a prince?”

“Keep your crown,” Li spat. “I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“Idiot boy. What will you do instead, remain here in the Labyrinth? A serf under Yue’s heel for the rest of your life?”

“The Labyrinth is my home.”

Rai strangled a snarl of frustration deep in his throat and twisted away, looking very much like he wanted to kick something. Li tensed, instinctively ready to defend himself, but Rai did not attack.

“No. No. I will not let Yue win this time – he always wins but I will not let him keep you. I need you more than he does. My kingdom… our kingdom has been through too much war, and will see more of it if I die with no heir in waiting.”

“Not my problem.”

“I will give you anything -”

“Do you think I have the kind of life that lets me care about things? That I’ve ever even had a ‘home’ to keep them in?”

“I will give you a home, in my castle!”

“I’d rather sleep under the trees of the labyrinth than any roof of yours.”

“But you could be king!”

“Why would I want to be a king?” Li shouted. “What makes you think I’d want to be anything like you? Or Yue? I hate every king I’ve ever met. I don’t want anything to do with them. I am the Little Wolf, the people in this city call me their hero. I’m happy with that. I don’t want anything more.”

“You really are a simple creature. Do you actually think the rest of the world will be content to leave you alone so you can play at being swordsman? Not a chance. The word is out now, son, and it’s going to spread like wildfire. When they hear the lost son of the Storm King has reappeared, every king and queen with an eye to seizing my kingdom will be hunting you. You’re a strong warrior, a natural prodigy, but you won’t last a minute against the assassins that will come for you.”

Dread licked at Li’s throat and he swallowed it back, careful to keep his chin up. “You’re not scaring me.”

“I am not trying to,” the king replied calmly. “I’m just telling you. If you think the wilderness of the labyrinth is rough, wait until you see politics.”

“Yue won’t let foreigners trespass onto his kingdom.”

“You’re trusting in Yue?” The mild lift of Rai’s eyebrows was enough to make Li squirm with embarrassment. “I should hope we both know better than that. And anyway, you don’t need to hide behind his white wings. With proper training, you can be unbeatable. The magic and power running through your veins is mine, I can teach you real combat. You want to be stronger, don’t you? You’re my son; I know you do.”

He was closing in again, and Li bristled. “Not enough to make myself have anything to do with you.”

The sheer venom in that last word actually made Rai flinch, as if Li had just slapped him. Something almost like guilt skittered through Li, but he quickly forced it away by concentrating on the raw pain still rippling across his back.

“No matter how much you hate me, I won’t give up. It’s not easy to listen to, but our kingdom is what’s most important. It deserves its crown prince.”

“Stop calling it our kingdom! It isn’t mine! I don’t have anything to do with it, or you, and I never will!”

“You might at least come see it, before you decide that. I can wait. Whether it’s to drink tea with me, or assassinate me and take the crown, I will wait for you to come.”

Li opened his mouth to inform Rai that he would die waiting, if that was the case, but then suddenly Rai was directly in front of him and Li found he couldn’t speak at all. Too damned fast for him to even see moving, and now he was too close for Li to defend himself. Every hair on his body shrieked with panic, his instincts clamored at him to bolt, but Rai’s nearness paralyzed him.

“I think you’ll consider it,” he murmured, almost right in Li’s ear. “There are four princesses back home in my castle that would, I think, very much like to meet their little brother.”

Princesses. Little brother.

The words and what they meant – sisters – shot straight into Li’s lungs without warning, forcing him to gulp for air before he fell over on the floor. Rai was still standing right in front of him, with an ever so quiet chuckle under his breath, and now Li couldn’t even bring himself to care. The king was pressing his sword amulet into his hand now, closing his fingers over it, and numbly Li accepted it. A mind that he was so sure had been made up was suddenly swirling.

“That’s not fair,” he whispered.

“I know. I’m good.” Rai was already walking away, and didn’t even look back as he spoke. “I learned from the master.”

Yue was looking over a balcony rail, staring rather vacantly out over the city, when Kero caught up with him. It was much quieter now; the mass cheering had finally dropped off around midnight and the weary people retired to their beds. All of the gargoyles had fled. Rai had ordered them out of the kingdom, and Ruby and Spinel had flown along behind just to make sure they actually left. No sign yet of any of Yue’s trolls or goblin forces, all of whom were probably hiding in terror. Kero wondered if Yue intended to punish any of the defectors. He hoped Yue would let him help, if he did.

“Are you sure this is okay? Leaving the kid alone with that guy?”

Yue did not look up. “It is something that had to be done.”

“But what if he decides to join his father after all? Aren’t you worried he’ll follow in his father’s footsteps, become king, and one day return to wage war upon you in your vulnerable old age? Hell, I’d do it.”

“Not in the least,” Yue replied calmly. “I have Sakura. Whether Li Syaoran decides to take his father’s crown or not – and I expect he will – he is as faithful and loyal to her as his animal namesake. He’ll do nothing against her or this kingdom.”

Kero squinted carefully at Yue. “You always planned for this, didn’t you?”

“Naturally.”

“Yue, you are one twisted bastard.”

“I do what’s necessary to ensure the security of this kingdom.”

“Like I want to hear that from the guy that spent years hiding from it! Some king you are. So, now will you tell me where you hid?”

“No.”

“Pleeeease?”

“No.”

“I looked for you for five years!”

“It is not my fault you are an idiot who does not know when to quit.”

Kero ground his teeth. “Stuck-up, condescending, moody moon child! Why can’t you just tell me? Aren’t we brothers?”

“Which seemed to matter very little to you when you betrayed me five years ago.”

He still didn’t look up, but there was just enough ice in his voice to make Kero gulp, and flutter back some. “Heh heh, it was just a bit of a prank, that. All in good fun, right?”

No reply.

“He probably would have won anyway, you know. That kid is smart.”

Pause, silence.

“And I only helped him because you’d stuck me in the Ripariat. So it’s really all your fault.”

Still no response.

“Don’t you use that annoying silent treatment on me! It’s not like it’s my nasty personality that chased him away!”

Yue shot Kero a look as cold and dark as death, and Kero hastily put more distance between the two of them. “Er, guess I’ll go find Sakura now.” He turned to swoop away, but then Yue spoke again.

“Better yet, fetch her for me. And Keroberos… you need not return with her.”

“Mm, thank you, Tomoyo-chan.” Sakura accepted the steaming cup of tea Tomoyo offered, greedily inhaling its delicate floral scent. Here toward the back of the castle, the damage to the kitchens had not been great and Tomoyo was able to fix up a snack of dried meat and bread and cheese. What the frayed and worn-out princess really needed, however, was the warmth and solace of hot tea. She took a sip and savored the taste of comfort.

“Perfect. It’s delicious.”

“I’m happy to do anything I can.” Tomoyo settled back into the chair across from her, unabashedly staring while Sakura sipped.

“What is it?” she asked eventually, knowing she was blushing under the scrutiny. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m sorry – I just can’t make myself look away, now that I can finally see you again after all this time. You were so cute before, but now you’re all grown up and you’ve become beautiful.”

“I’m not,” Sakura mumbled into her cup, blush deepening. “And anyway, you’ve grown up too. I think you’re much prettier than I am.”

Tomoyo smiled and shook her head. “You shouldn’t say things like that to a servant, Sakura. I mean, your highness.”

“Sakura,” the princess corrected firmly. “Remember? You must always just call me Sakura.”

“If that is your command.” Dreamily Tomoyo watched her drink her tea. “I wonder if the king will formally present you to the people. I’ll get to make a new gown for you if he does. They will love you, you know.”

“I don’t know about that…”

“No, they will,” Tomoyo insisted. “Everyone saw you, how you came to rescue the Little Wolf. How could anyone not love a princess so brave? They’ll write songs and poems about you.”

“Actually, I was terrified on the inside,” Sakura confessed. “I’m not brave at all, but I couldn’t leave Syaoran alone with someone like Rai.”

She bit her tongue too late when she saw Tomoyo’s smile wilt, and her gaze drop to the table.

“Oh, that is, I mean -”

“It’s alright, Sakura. I know what you meant, and I can’t even say you’re wrong for thinking it.” She darted a quick, cautious glance her way. “You must hate him, after everything that’s happened. You must be angry at me, for loving him. You should say so; I am your servant.”

“I’m not angry at you, Tomoyo-chan. I would never be angry at someone for being in love.”

“But what he did tonight… to the Little Wolf of all people, and I know you love him. It was an awful thing and I begged him not to do it, but he’s not an awful person, not really…”

Sakura reached across the table to put her hand on Tomoyo’s, when she saw it had begun to tremble.

“It’s okay, Tomoyo-chan. It’s alright. I don’t hate him, not anymore.”

“Why?”

“I saw him, when he saved Syaoran’s life. Believe me, I couldn’t look away. Rai nearly died himself, it was such a close call. He was trying to save his son’s life, and how can I hate a person like that?”

“Even though he did such a cruel thing to the Little Wolf earlier?”

“He made a mistake.” Sakura studied the last dregs of tea in her cup. “Syaoran made a mistake once, too. I still love him. So I won’t tell you not to love anyone, no matter who it is or what he’s done.”

Tomoyo’s violet eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’m lucky to have such a kind princess.”

“Don’t cry,” Sakura begged her. “Please don’t cry, because I am so tired and I know I’ll cry too.”

“You’re right.” Hastily Tomoyo sniffled and plucked up a smile. “A smile is what suits you best, Sakura. And you should be smiling when you present yourself to the king.”

Sakura wondered if she would be able to do that. She wondered if he would even call for her at all. All these hours she’d been here, and he hadn’t; he’d called for Syaoran first even though Syaoran was barely walking. After the battle, after forcing Rai’s surrender and taking him prisoner, Yue did not look at her so much as once.

“Sakura, that jerk they call the king wants you,” Kero announced, breezing into the kitchen. Without pausing he zeroed in on the food Tomoyo had left out. Her heart skipped a beat and she had to catch her breath.

“He wants to see me? Really?”

“Why wouldn’t he?” With a deftness one wouldn’t expect from a creature with such tiny arms, Kero assembled himself a sandwich and consumed half of it in one bite. “Arentchu the princesh?”

“Well… yes.”

“Best get going, then, he’s in the corridor by the throne room. You can take her, Tomoyo, because I’m sure not doing it. He’s in one of those moods.”

Sakura swallowed, a little, but Kero did not seem altogether concerned and neither did Tomoyo. Looking pleased and excited that Sakura had been summoned at last, she stood and held out her hand.

“Come on then, your- Sakura. It’s finally time.”

Finally time indeed.

For five years, Sakura had fantasized about this moment, when she could reunite with Yue. A thousand different times she’d rescripted it in her mind, pictured what she would wear and do and say. More mature and graceful now than when she was ten, she would begin with a perfect royal curtsy. To which Yue would nod, with just a hint of a smile in his eyes, extend his hand and welcome her back to his kingdom. He would draw her close, lower his head, and kiss her tenderly.

Now she knew that wouldn’t happen, but as Tomoyo led her around a bend in a corridor and she saw Yue waiting by the balcony rail, she could not imagine what would. Everything had changed so fast.

He said nothing, simply watching her as she approached him and attempted her perfect curtsy. Yue let the silence hang in the air for a moment, all the better to hear her own thumping heart, but then he looked at Tomoyo and spoke to her first.

“Dismissed. Show my prisoner the Storm King to a suitable room for the night, and attend to any of his needs. You don’t mind, I’m sure.”

Tomoyo flushed, but dropped into a low curtsy – one far more graceful than hers, Sakura noticed with chagrin – and retreated in silence. This left Sakura alone with Yue, and he was watching her again. She was starting to panic that he expected her to speak first, and she had no idea what to say.

“Greetings, your highness,” he said at last, startling her. “Though I’m sorry it is so delayed, I am pleased to welcome you back to the Labyrinth.”

“Thank you,” Sakura replied softly, “your majesty.”

“You’ve been through terrible hardship these past few days. For that also, I will apologize. Out of all those caught up in this conflict, you are the only one I never wanted to be hurt.”

“No, I’m fine. Syaoran worked hard to keep me safe.”

“Physical danger is not completely what I meant.” There was genuine regret in his eyes as he looked her over, and Sakura thought about sobbing under the ivy. Was it only one day ago? So much had happened.

“It was hard,” she admitted. “But I’m okay now. Syaoran is… very special to me.”

“So I see.” His gaze lingered on the droplet of jade hanging around her neck, where his diamond necklace used to be. “He treats you well?”

“Oh, yes. He’s very kind, and gentle, and he risked his own life so often to protect me. He’s wonderful.”

“I am glad to hear it. You are princess of the Labyrinth, and you deserve someone who will cherish you above all else. Certainly, you deserve better than your scheming, manipulative king.”

“No, that’s not true!” Sakura was quick to object. “You’re not scheming and manipulative, and you’re not a bad person. I understand now why you did the things you did to Syaoran, keeping him out of the city and using your trolls to teach him how to fight. I think he does too, even if he won’t admit it. You did those things because you wanted to help protect him, and that’s a kind thing to do. Maybe you’re a little shy about showing it, but I know that you’re very good on the inside.”

Yue looked almost amused. “You are an innocent child, aren’t you?”

“I like to see the good in people. Only…” She hesitated, which did not escape Yue’s notice.

“Only what?”

“After Eriol-san explained it, I could understand your reasons for what you did to Syaoran. But I still don’t know about me. I was so happy that you made me your princess, because I thought it meant you returned my feelings. Now I know that’s not true, and I just can’t understand why you did it. Will you please tell me?”

“Yes. I did have reasons, two of them, as I always do. The first was a selfish one. I wanted you to like my castle here in the Labyrinth, Sakura, and I thought if I gave you everything you wanted, and made you my princess, you would never want to leave. If you refused to go with your brother when he came for you, he would fail to win and be trapped in my castle forever. That was what I wanted more than anything.”

Sakura’s eyes got big and she swallowed, which Yue also noticed. “Do you still think I really am good?”

“When Onii-chan convinced me to come back home, and I decided to go with him, you didn’t try to stop me,” she reminded him. “You never got in the way when we were trying to figure out the maze together.”

Yue blinked, looking momentarily surprised, like she’d pointed out something he’d never considered. “I suppose that is true.”

“What was the second reason?”

“Ah, that was the most important reason of all. I did it because I knew I had to.”

“Had to?”

“A very wise sorcerer told me about you, a long time ago. He foresaw your existence and described you to me, the girl with bright green eyes and nothing but joy and kindness in her heart. He told me I would designate you my heir, and that one day you would rule this kingdom. You will be a strong, much-loved leader someday, Sakura, and they will call you the queen of stars.”

He was so close now, both hands lightly combing back the hair on each side of her face, and all she could do was stand there stricken dumb with amazement.

“I don’t love you in the way you once wanted me to, but never doubt for a second that you are precious to me.” He lowered his head and kissed her tenderly, but only on her forehead. Then he backed away. “That will be all that I do, I think, otherwise your bodyguard will fuss and he can be very noisy.”

Sakura blushed and giggled. She could hardly help the blush – Yue was stunningly beautiful, after all. “It’s okay, I won’t tell him. And I know that it’s my brother that you really want, anyway.”

A darkness flashed through Yue’s eyes and he turned aside.

“It’s alright,” Sakura reassured him. “It doesn’t make me sad anymore. I’m happy that you have my brother, and he has you. Really, I’m just happy he has anyone.”

“No.”

“What?”

“Save your happiness for yourself, child, for we do not have each other. Your brother will have nothing to do with me.”

“What? Why?”

Yue closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter anymore. He’s made his decision, and for the first time, I will accept it. That same sorcerer used to warn me I wouldn’t always win everything. I have my kingdom back and my heir is safe, and that will have to be enough.”

“But, Yue -”

“I am tired, Sakura. Perhaps you cannot see it, but what the world had in store for me tonight has drained me. I am barely standing. And I simply do not have the energy to try anymore.”

Sakura’s throat tightened and she stepped forward, with some idea of reaching for his hand, but by the time she tried it was no longer there to hold. Yue was gone.

Touya was too tired to move from his place on the steps, uncomfortable as the hard marble was. Adrenaline had fueled him during the frantic fighting, but as the hours slipped away and the stars moved across the sky, that strength ebbed away and left nothing but a bone-deep weariness. He thought about getting up and going in search of a place to sleep, thought about it frequently, but every time he did he also thought about Yue lurking somewhere in this castle. Watching him, maybe, waiting for him to drop his guard. He was too nervous to climb into a bed, and so he stayed right where he was at the top of the steps.

His solitude was interrupted, after a while, by the kid limping out of the shadows and dropping into a heap on the bottom step. Touya thought he was looking rather pale, and none too steady on his feet, which was to be expected from someone in his condition. Without noticing Touya, he buried his face in his hands and stayed very still.

They weren’t like that for long before someone else came along, this time Sakura. Moving quietly as a whisper in her ballet slippers, she approached Li and spoke up from a safe distance.

“Syaoran?”

His head jerked up, but he relaxed when he saw it was Sakura, and maybe smiled a little too. Touya wondered why Sakura was calling him that, the name Yue had given him. He wondered why the kid did not seem to mind. Touya didn’t like that. Neither did he like the way Sakura knelt by him, so close, and how they spoke in whispers too soft for him to hear. He mumbled something that must have surprised her quite a lot, going by her expression. She wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace, holding him for a little while, and then they drew apart just far enough to kiss.

“Oi, kid, get off my sister,” Touya snapped, and they broke apart as if he’d thrown cold water at them. Sakura jumped to her feet with a squeak, and turned her shocked eyes up towards him.

“Onii-chan, you scared me half to death! How long have you been there?”

“Long enough,” he replied sourly, making his way down the steps one at a time. “Didn’t we talk about this, Li? I’m pretty sure we talked about this. I distinctly remember warning you to keep your hands off her.”

Li neither stood nor spoke, shooting him sulky glares from his place on the bottom step. Sakura planted her hands on her hips, looking defiant. “Don’t be mean to Syaoran, Onii-chan, he’s had a difficult day. Anyway, this is none of your business.”

“The hell it isn’t. You’re my sister and you’re only fifteen. You are not allowed to be kissing guys and you know it.”

“Don’t talk to me like that, I hate it when you treat me like a little girl.”

“Tough. You’re staying away from this brat, and that’s final.” He exchanged a nasty look with the brat in question.

“It is not,” Sakura huffed. “You can’t just order me around anymore, not in this castle. I’m the princess. And I really like Syaoran.”

“No you don’t. You’re way too young to know something like that.”

“Nii-chan! You’re starting to make me angry, and I’m already mad at you. Are you just determined to make sure everyone in this castle is miserable and lonely like you?”

“What’s your problem?”

“I was just talking to Yue.”

Touya tensed, then tried to relax before she could notice. “You were? Why?”

“Why not? He is the king, and I’m his princess. He just wanted to talk to me, and make sure I was okay. He apologized for all the trouble he caused me.”

“That’s a lie. He’s not sorry about anything, ever.”

“And he told me you don’t want anything to do with him.”

“Why would I? I barely know him.”

“That’s not true. I know all about it, Onii-chan, about the mark on your neck and how they call you the king’s -”

“Stop! You have no idea what you’re talking about and who the hell told you in the first place? Did you tell her?” He directed a scathing glare of accusation at Li, but Sakura answered before he could.

“He didn’t; the worms in the labyrinth told me. They said Yue is in love with you. They said you came back to find him, and you did, didn’t you? You’re the one that found him, and brought him back. He loves you, and you won’t even talk to him?”

“It is so much more complicated than you could ever understand, Sakura. Yue is not the person you think he is.”

“Maybe I don’t know everything about him, but I know how sad his eyes were. And I know I’ve caught you looking at that mark in the mirror more than once. Tell me the truth, Onii-chan.” Sakura’s eyes were shiny with unshed tears. “Do you love him?”

Touya had to swallow and avert his gaze. “He’s a horrible person, Sakura, the things he’s done -”

“Do you love him?”

“It doesn’t matter! I don’t want to be with someone like that, and if he’s so miserable about it then that’s what he deserves. Back me up, Li. Tell her he’s horrible and deserves to be unhappy.”

Li looked more than a little uncomfortable about being drawn into this, and fidgeted a bit. “I don’t know, Touya. Hating Yue is my job. Maybe you could think about -”

“Oh, I don’t believe this. You too? Hating that bastard king is the one thing I can count on you for!”

“Sorry. But I don’t want another earthquake to hit the kingdom. And I don’t want the king to disappear again, much as I hate him. We can’t have any more foreign kings trying to conquer the Labyrinth; we were lucky to survive this one.”

“I will not be held responsible for what happens to this fucked-up kingdom, so you can just forget that. I have my own life. I’m going back home tomorrow, and you know what, Sakura? So are you. So say good-bye to the brat, and go to bed. I’ll come by later to check on you.”

And make sure you’re alone in it. He flashed a warning glare to Li, who scowled but did not challenge him. He ignored the tears dripping down Sakura’s cheeks, spun around, and marched away.

“There’s been considerable damage to much of the castle, but I did manage to find an undamaged room suitable for your majesty.” Tomoyo pushed open the double doors and bowed her head as Rai entered, taking in his lodgings in silence. “I had no choice but to bring you to the same wing where the princess is sleeping, and your son. I hope that will not be uncomfortable for you.”

“Are you sure Yue didn’t order you to take me to his dungeons?”

“Quite sure, your majesty.”

Tomoyo smiled as she set to turning down the bed. The sheets were satin, smooth and cool to the touch. When Rai dropped onto them with a weary sigh, she knelt in front of him and began unlacing his boots.

“Come, little sparrow, that’s hardly necessary.”

“My king ordered me to attend to any need you might have, and I rather think it is,” Tomoyo replied lightly. “You’d have some difficulty with, ah, your restraints.”

Rai grinned, somewhat wryly. “I suppose I should consider myself lucky that he simply did not cut off my hands.”

That would be a waste indeed, thought Tomoyo, who took one of his between her two small ones.

“Did you talk to him, your majesty? Were you able to speak to your son?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“You seemed a little happy. I’m happy too, for your sake, but I’m surprised he was willing to talk to you.”

“He wasn’t,” sighed the king. “You were right, sparrow, and it hurts to admit that. He all but attacked me when I came close, hackles up like that wolf he’s named for. He plainly hates and fears me, and I cannot blame him. It could take years to earn his trust, if ever. He may despise me to the end of his days. But… I think he’ll come to my castle. Even if it’s just to find the family he’s never known, I think he will come. And that will have to be enough for now.”

“After he woke up, he assumed you’d been killed. He seemed a little troubled by it. Perhaps you have a chance after all.”

Rai actually chuckled under his breath, and tipped forward to drop a kiss on her head. “Perceptive little bird, aren’t you? I do think I will miss you.”

“Miss me?” Tomoyo lost her smile and sat back a little, dismayed. “Why would you miss me?”

“I have no doubt Yue will eject me from his kingdom soon enough, probably tomorrow. He’s decided not to kill me and he has no reason to keep me here.”

“But your majesty promised me that when you left for your kingdom, you would take me with you.”

“I assumed I would be victorious, at the time. Now I am a defeated prisoner. Taking one of Yue’s servants is not within my rights.”

“Even if I wanted to go?”

“Well, you are a surprise.” Rai cocked his head slightly, studying her anew. “People don’t usually go out of their way to attach themselves to a defeated king. Why would you abandon your own king and princess for a strange land and its disgraced king?”

“I told you before, didn’t I? I love you. I also love my princess, and honor my king, but they can get along well enough without me. I worry about you, waiting alone for your son to make up his mind, perhaps dwelling once too often on the woman that left you and hurt you so badly. I believe that you need me to take care of you, and I want to do it.”

Rai looked rather bemused, but not offended. In response to her determined little speech, he grasped one of her arms and pulled her easily into his lap.

“Stay, then. If you are foolish enough to love a cruel and violent king like me, then I won’t stop you. If you wish it, I will keep you forever.”

Too upset and angry to be contained by the castle walls, Touya stormed outside and into the quiet night. This wasn’t the front courtyard, the one that faced the city, but a more secluded one with some kind of ornamental garden. Just like the rest of the kingdom, it had withered and decayed; a few browned blossoms still clung to branches here and there, and the carefully landscaped stream was brackish and muddy. Touya flopped down underneath the nearest tree to fume in solitude. He was angry, self-righteously so, that Li and everyone else expected him to turn himself over to that viper of a king just for the sake of their precious Labyrinth’s safety. And he was humiliated, now that his little sister had looked him straight in the eye and declared she knew all about him and Yue. All those stupid rumors floating around the maze, using words like lover and consort, and Sakura heard them. It was enough to make him want to curl up and die of embarrassment.

He settled for closing his eyes instead. It was so late, and he was so tired. He’d endured too much these past three days to not need rest, preferably fifteen hours of it. Touya slept, but only briefly. Underneath his exhaustion he was still too skittish to let himself completely relax while anywhere in this castle, and a quiet alarm clamored to his consciousness that he was not alone.

His eyes flew open and he stiffened, but when he saw who it was he relaxed again. Not that he was exactly pleased, either.

“Oh,” he muttered, “it’s you.”

The peacock made a point of nestling herself more comfortably in a pile of fallen flowers and leaves, all the while gazing contemplatively at him. “Kaho is my name.”

“What are you doing here?”

“A price the Wisdom pays for his omniscience is immobility. A mind can think and plan and direct others, but it does not move on its own. I came on his behalf.”

Touya thought about the battle that nearly killed all of them tonight, and rolled his eyes. “How convenient for him. Anyway, that doesn’t exactly answer my question.”

“He sent me to see you. Conflict has raged tonight in the Labyrinth, eliminating what was and ushering in what will be. Little by little it has dropped off, quietly fading, everywhere but here. The only conflict left is of that still inside you.”

“There is no conflict here,” Touya assured her. “I’m done. I found my sister, which is all I wanted from the start, and soon we’ll be going home. This time for good. I will never come back to this world or see that bastard again.”

“Oh? When you look at your reflection and the royal mark he left on you, you won’t see him? When you close your eyes and go to sleep, you won’t see him? You are selectively forgetful indeed, Touya.”

“That’s not going to work. Maybe I did think about him a lot, before, but it’s different now – I’m angry at him. I can’t forgive him, not this time. What he did was too horrible.”

“Was it? You are keeping very quiet about it.”

“How can I tell them? Yue engineered a war because of me, a war that nearly killed a lot of people. I can’t tell Sakura, or Li, or Kero, that they were risking their lives for something like that. I can’t even think about it without getting angry all over again.”

Kaho ignored his clenching fists and darkening scowl. “Are you sure it angers you?” she asked. “Or does it frighten you? You saw firsthand how far he’ll go for your sake, the risks he’s willing to take, all just for you. Maybe it’s too much for you to cope with, and so you turn away. It isn’t easy to accept a love like that; much simpler to hide and pretend it’s nothing.”

Touya had very desperately been trying not to think about that, and unwillingly he shivered.

“What if it does scare me, a little? Am I wrong for that?”

“Not at all,” Kaho replied matter-of-factly. “But it does not make you any less in love, either.”

Touya looked away rather than face that unnervingly perceptive gaze. “I can’t be with him. It’s not even a matter of whether I want it or not; I just… can’t. I can’t compete with feelings like that.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because he’s Yue,” Touya sighed. “The Angel King. And I don’t stand a chance against him. I just watched him seduce the man that was trying to kill him a few hours ago. Whatever he wants, he takes, and he’s made it very clear he won’t settle for anything less than all of me. He’ll demand it, never stop reaching for it, and eventually there’ll be nothing left of the stubborn, independent Kinomoto Touya. In the end, he’ll make sure I’m completely his.”

“You underestimate yourself. You are the boy from the other world that defeated the labyrinth and beat the king at his own game.”

“Luck.”

“There is no element of luck in having the strength to say no,” Kaho corrected. “Touya, do you think just anyone can break his heart? Do you think just anyone can find it? The fragments found their way to you for a reason, they all but jumped into your hand. You are so afraid of his feelings, but the truth is they are enslaved to you. In this delicate and dangerous game you two play, you are the one with all the power.”

“Then why don’t I feel like it?”

“You let yourself be intimidated. You let him set the rules. You let him make the first move. He’s always been the one to come to you, hasn’t he? Is it any wonder he makes you feel so defensive?”

“So, what? You want me to charge in and throw him down on the bed? You think that’ll fix everything?”

“There is nothing I want, for I have my love. Be concerned with what you want. You love the king, and you are facing a lonely life without him if you walk away now. There will be no more clandestine meetings in dreams, for Yue will not be able to bear it. He loves you too much.”

Something tightened in Touya’s chest, and he tried to ignore it. “Then I guess this will be goodbye. Not everyone gets a happy ending.”

“Few indeed choose to throw one away.”

“I already told you, didn’t I? I wouldn’t be happy with him. I can’t coexist with that kind of obsession, that possessiveness. Even if you say I have all the power, I’d never be able to rest. He wouldn’t let me.”

The peacock sighed. “Men. They really are so predictable. Do you think there is nothing more to love than the physical lust you two have been reveling in?”

Touya immediately blushed crimson. “Well, I -”

“Sex is passionate and thrilling, but brief. What chance does it give you to experience the truly intimate moments of love? The delight of snuggling against his warmth as you drift off to sleep? The comfort of waking up in his arms? You know none of these things.”

“I- well, he hasn’t really given me a chance to try any of that.”

“You have it now. For one night, at least, you could try at least this much. See if you can simply be with him, unafraid of what he’ll demand from you.”

“He wouldn’t settle for that.”

“You’ve decided already, have you?”

“I know,” Touya said firmly. Unhappily he thought about Yue and Rai kissing in the starlight. “Anyway, I think he’s busy with someone else.”

“He’s alone,” she asserted. “He always is.”

Touya swallowed a lump of sudden nervousness, and did not move. “I don’t want to do this. Why should I have to be the one to go to him?”

“Because it is your turn. And you might even find that you prefer it. Don’t you want to know how it feels, even if it’s just once, before you turn around and walk away forever?”

She stood and shook out her feathers, unexpectedly fanning out her gorgeous tail with a snap. “You are not the child that cowered before Yue anymore, Touya. You are a man, and stronger than you know. That is all I came to say. Good night, and farewell.”

The castle in the center of the Labyrinth, wrecked and ravaged by the battle that had raged all around it, was still now. No one was walking through its corridors, there were no more conversations, no more arguments. Everyone was asleep. In the great kitchen, Kero had dozed off somewhere between his fourth or fifth brandy. Tomoyo and Rai slept peacefully in the guest wing. Not too far from them, door locked against nosy intruders, an exhausted prince and princess nestled cozily together in her bed and did not stir. Neither Li nor Sakura knew when they might see each other again, and Sakura’s face was streaked with fresh tear tracks, dampening Li’s shirt a little.

Touya was the only thing moving in this castle now. He walked slowly, but without pausing; he knew where he was going. Many times in his dreams he’d been here, every month for five years, ever since that night he bit into the peach. Were they his dreams? Or was Yue bringing Touya into his own? Touya supposed it didn’t really matter. He knew the way, and that was enough. He spared only a second to glance at his reflection in the tall mirror before pressing it with his palm, and it swiveled back and away. Afterwards came the long staircase, spiraling up into the moonlight – except tonight there was no moonlight. It was considerably darker than Touya was used to, and now and then he stumbled on a step. Either that or he was just too exhausted to stay upright. He wanted sleep so badly, so why was he doing this? Scaling the tallest tower in the castle to seek out his greatest threat?

Touya was too tired to worry about the answer. He just kept climbing, and at last the stairs led him to the glass-walled room he knew so well. There was the night sky, a dizzying panorama of stars all around him, the labyrinth shrouded in darkness below. And there was Yue, draped across the bed like always.

Well, not quite like always; Yue was asleep. Touya even double-checked, not believing it, but he was not mistaken. Yue was really sleeping, his eyes closed, his breathing deep and even. His face was lean and drawn with exhaustion. Of course, why wouldn’t he be tired, after a night like this one? Why shouldn’t he sleep? It was such a strangely human thing to see him do.

Touya sat beside him on the bed, gingerly, not wanting to wake him. Kaho was right, it was very different to look at him like this and know he wouldn’t be opening those feline eyes of his, crawling across the sheets to peel off Touya’s clothes one by one. He was just… sleeping. For a little while, at least, he wasn’t dangerous. He was simply beautiful.

Touya lay down next to him, taking care to not touch and possibly wake him. He was so tired, and he closed his eyes.

Yue’s warmth beside him was, indeed, very pleasant.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these characters

So, yeah. Pretty much everything that could happen in these past two weeks that could keep me from writing did happen. Part-time jobs, friend’s birthdays, and naturally, the sixteen hour road trip from hell just to reunite with my family for Thanksgiving, who would not leave me alone for five minutes so I could write. It was terribly frustrating, especially knowing how close I was to the end.

It did not help that there was so much to do this chapter! A record 23 pages, more than twice as long as most chapters in this story. Usually resolutions are easy, not so this time around. And, as you can plainly see, we are STILL not done. What’s going to happen between our two fave bishies? You’ll just have to tune in next week to find out. I have to pray I’ll have chapter 18 done before you do.
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