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Pleasure Slave	By : Capitalist Category: +. to F > Card Captor Sakura Views: 84321 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 7
‘reunion’

Touya could hardly believe his eyes, when they rode over the last ridge and he finally saw Terriene glittering below them in the valley. He’d hardly thought about anything else that day, fantasizing in his mind how he would find Sakura and get her away, but his imagination hadn’t even come close to the monstrous sprawl of civilization. It was like a whole world of nothing but city.
“Better close your mouth, lad,” the driver laughed. “Or you’ll be branded a country boy for sure.”
Touya snapped his jaw shut, though he continued to stare. Already knowing the name of the inn where Monroe would be, he’d assumed it would be easy enough once he got to the city. Now he wasn’t so sure.
“Do you know a place called the Royal Crown?”
“Can’t say that I do, though you might ask the other boys. I stay at the Dark Horse inn often enough, it’s a pleasant place.”
“No, I have to find the Royal Crown. I’m looking for someone.”
“Oh, I see. Well in that case you’ve got your work cut out for you.” He laughed, completely oblivious to Touya’s numb stare. “Welcome to Terriene, home to everything you could possibly imagine and more. Even the natives there don’t know it all, and no one ever will.”
The desperation fluttered up again, which had been dormant since the shrine, and with an effort Touya forced it back. So the city was big – never mind. He still had a name, and there must be hundreds of people to ask. He’d ask directions of every soul in the city if he had to, he’d find this Monroe.

The people of Terriene, Touya discovered quickly enough, were not inclined to be helpful. Shoppers were hurrying home as the sun set, shaking their heads briskly every time he approached with the question, and vendors turned up their noses when they realized he wasn’t a customer. More than once he caught snide glances at his clothing, clean though it was.
Did they know of the Royal Crown, he asked, fiercely ignoring their indifference. Every time he was met with a shake of the head, and the hours crept by. He’d had nothing but the peach to eat all day and he stopped to eat, mindful of Kaho’s advice. The cook had never heard of the Royal Crown.
The crowds thinned, people became few as the night wore on. Never before had Touya been confronted with such labyrinthine streets; they crossed and twisted back on themselves, came together in rotund intersections with identical offshoots, and stopped short in disheartening dead-ends. He was ready to scream with frustration at the moon overhead. He was so close, for all he knew he could be walking right past the building that kept Sakura! How could a city have so many streets?
The cobbled stone wasn’t especially kind to his feet, either, though Touya could walk any distance over plain earth. Tired and discouraged, he finally slumped against a wall to catch his breath and rest for a bit. At first he rested his head back with his eyes closed, but he was afraid of falling asleep and so forced himself to open them again.
It was a word that had filled his head for more than a day now, so right away the picture of a crown seemed to leap out of the darkness at him. He tensed and sat up straight, staring at the wooden sign across the street. The Rose and Crown, it read, and he slumped in disappointment.
Then a thought occurred to him. Could no one in this city know of the Royal Crown because there was no Royal Crown? North might have been confused, especially after a few hits on the head, and gotten the name wrong. That, or he’d been purposefully dishonest. Either way, Touya would be sure and pay him another visit on his trip back home.
He rolled to a standing position and crossed the street. It was late enough that the building was dark, the door barred, but Touya banged on it anyway. After five solid minutes of it a light finally spilled from a window above, and someone trudged to the door on the other side.
Much to his surprise, the door didn’t open, but a small panel set within it slid aside to reveal the owner’s face. Perhaps it was a precaution against thieves.
“What is it, then?” He didn’t look too happy and Touya prayed that his guess was right. If North made everything up then he’d never find Sakura.
“I’m looking for Monroe. Is he staying here?”
The landlord grunted disdainfully. “Aye, he’s got a room with us.”
Touya almost leapt for joy. “Can I see him? Please, it’s an emergency.”
“Then you’re out of luck. He’s gone tonight, just like every night. The man gambles until sunup and sleeps in the day, the good for nothing. But he does pay his bills.”
Touya’s heart sank again, but only a little. “Is there anyone sharing his room? A girl?”
“Here then, who are you anyway? What business do you have with Monroe?”
“Please,” Touya pressed, “it’s important!”
“My tenants’ business is their own. Goodnight.”
“Wait, can I get a room?”
“All rooms are full.”
“Do you know where he goes to gamble?”
“Certainly not. Goodnight.” And with that he slammed the panel back home, cutting Touya off. Angrily he swore at the thick wooden door, unable to believe he’d come so close to only be delayed again. He kicked at the dirt and wondered what to do now.
Sakura might be in that building, and then again she might not. More likely not, since Monroe had been here for a couple of days at least. Trying to break in would accomplish nothing and probably get him thrown in prison. And then how would he help Sakura?
He could try and find gambling houses close by, but in this sprawling city it wasn’t a given that he’d locate Monroe. And in the process he’d only get lost and lose this inn, his best chance at finding the man. So he would wait for him to return, come dawn.
Touya circled the building and found the stables, also closed and locked against thieves. Old hay had been piled up between the inn and the stables, however, and Touya settled himself on the pile to wait.

Wake up.
The thought shot through his mind and his eyes snapped open, snatching a boy’s wrist just before he made contact. The scrawny kid yelped and tried to pull away, but Touya only tightened his grip.
“Let me go, let me go! I wasn’t stealin’ anything, honest! I -”
“Shh.” Touya’s other hand clamped over the kid’s mouth and he rolled off his scratchy bed, pressing him against the inn wall. “Don’t scream and I won’t hurt you. What time is it?”
He removed his hand. The boy looked surprised at the mundane question, but answered. “It’s near sunup. You been here all night?” Damn, he’d fallen asleep. But it couldn’t have been for more than a few hours, and hopefully Monroe had not yet returned. “That’s trespassing, it is, and I’ll tell my boss!”
“You work here?”
“That’s right, I’m the stableboy. An’ who are you?”
Touya ignored that question. “You want to make some money, kid?”
Right away the stableboy perked up, and he stopped fighting Touya’s hold. “Honest? How much?”
“You know a boarder named Monroe?”
“Aye, he’s been here two days now.”
“That’s one.” Touya reached into the purse and withdrew a gold coin, dropping it into the dazzled youth’s hand. “You want another?”
“Sure!”
“Go and find out for me if he’s come back yet. And if there’s anyone else in his room.”
“I don’t know if I can -”
“Two pieces.”
“Just a moment!” In a trice the boy scampered off and disappeared around the corner of the building, and Touya stretched away some of the stiffness in his muscles. There was a well just a few paces away, visible now in the gray predawn light, and he took the opportunity to splash his face. It wasn’t as clean and pure as the water he was accustomed to up in the mountains, and sensibly he avoided taking a drink. The sky had lightened considerably by the time the scruffy boy returned.
“Nay, sir, he’s not returned. An’ I had to climb over the rooftop to see his window, but there’s no one in the room.”
Touya had essentially guessed as much, but all the same he felt a small stab of disappointment.
“Good job, kid. You know what Monroe looks like?”
“Aye.”
“Good. Show me which horse is his.”
Obligingly the stableboy led him to the barred doors and unlocked them, opening the doors wide to let in sunlight. A few horses lifted their heads and nickered, but other than that made no noise.
“It’s that red roan, sir.”
Touya paid him the promised pair of coins, plans forming in his head. The barn was private enough, there would be no witnesses but the uncaring horses.
“Do you have business with Monroe, then?”
“You bet I do,” he muttered under his breath.
“Eh?”
“Never mind. You want one more?”
“Course!”
“I want you to wait for Monroe to come back, and when he does, tell him you think something’s the matter with his horse. When he comes in here to look, I want you to shut the stable doors behind him. Don’t worry about anything you hear after that. Okay?”
The kid boggled at him, his eyes round with fascination.
“Are you goin’ to kill him?”
“Maybe.”
“Wow…”
“Get moving.”
The boy needed no urging and hurried out of the stables, this time making his way to the front of the inn. Touya prayed Monroe wouldn’t be long, surely the innkeeper would notice his stableboy lounging about eventually. Hopefully the kid was smart enough to be discreet about it.
And then he waited.
For all his resolve, the past few days seemed to be nothing more than endless stretches of inactivity, and the frustrated brother paced. So very, very close, he couldn’t afford to slip up now. He indulged himself again with his fantasy, how Sakura would laugh and cry with happiness when he’d found her. Before this day was done she’d surely be with him again.
“- right bad, I think, she seems to have gone lame in her right fore!”
Touya snapped to attention at the boy’s earnest words, backing up to the wall just inside the doorframe. Two different sets of footsteps approached the doors and then an older man strode through, obviously focused on his roan horse and completely unaware of Touya’s presence. Just as ordered, the boy didn’t enter and instead slammed the doors shut.
“What -” Monroe whirled around but never had a chance to complete his sentence before Touya’s punch sent him sprawling to the dirt. He cried out in pain, but this was the third time for Touya to do this and the vindictive thrill of attacking Sakura’s kidnappers had become commonplace. He just wanted it over with and his sister back.
He kicked Monroe in the side of the head when he tried to sit up, knocking him back to the ground. After a long night of drinking and gambling the man was not in any condition to fight back, and tried to scoot backwards out of range.
“Help! Thief!”
“Shut up,” Touya snapped. Automatically his hand closed over a pitchfork left leaning against the stalls and he clouted Monroe hard with the wooden handle. “Believe me when I say I don’t want your filthy money.”
Monroe scrambled all the way back until he bumped against the rear wall of the stables, looking absolutely petrified when Touya braced the sharp tines under his chin.
“Th-then what do you want?”
“You came to this city from Clearwater with four girls. What did you do with them?”
“I don’t know what you’re -” The rest of his words were lost in a gasp of pain when Touya pressed closer, forcing his chin up and exposing the throat.
“I’m getting tired of this. Don’t make me beat it out of you, Monroe. Tell me what you did with them.” He pressed just a little harder and his victim gulped.
“I sold them!” he quavered. “They’re gone, I sold the last one yesterday morning.”
“Where?”
“To different dealers- do you want a slave? I swear I can get you one cheap -”
Touya snarled and dropped the pitchfork, lunging for the man before he had a chance to react.
“I don’t want ‘a slave’, I want my sister back! Tell me what you did with her, tell me where you took her!” Again and again he slammed him back into the clapboards, the last of his carefully premeditated patience slipping away. “Start talking now.”
“I-I sold them,” Monroe wheezed, fruitlessly trying to pry off Touya’s grip. “To different dealers, I don’t know which -”
“Green eyes! The girl with green eyes!”
“They were drugged, their eyes were closed.”
“Brown hair then, the one with short brown hair.”
Some kind of recognition filtered into Monroe’s eyes, but then it faded to helplessness. “I don’t remember which one I sold where.”
“Then tell me what dealers,” Touya ordered coldly, “all of them. Now!”
“The Rosette,” Monroe said quickly. “Fairlights. Fantabella. And Silken Flowers.”
“Are you sure,” Touya asked dangerously, “that you have those names right?”
Monroe nodded rapidly and Touya smashed his elbow into his nose. He cried out, then slumped to the floor in a faint. Repeating the four names to himself under his breath, Touya turned and left the stables.
The kid backed up quickly when he opened the door, looking as if he’d been trying to hear.
“Didja kill him?”
“No.” The boy’s face fell, though he perked up again when Touya reached for his purse. “Do you know where the Rosette is?”
“No sir.”
“Fairlights?”
“Aye! That’s straight north and then right at the seamstress shop. Easy enough to find, I reckon.”
“Thanks.” He offered his promised payment and the kid grabbed it eagerly, though he couldn’t stop sneaking glances at the shadowed interior of the stable.
“That Monroe, what did he do to you?”
“He took something precious of mine.”
And then he left.

The sun was getting higher in the sky by the time he found Fairlights. He decided against physical attack, unsure what the outcome would be in such a mansion with an unknown number of people inside it. Instead he posed as a buyer, patting the jingling purse under his shirt when they frowned at his clothes.
Did they have any country girls, green eyes? He had a predilection for green eyes.
The manager lined up his slaves for him to see and Touya had to struggle not to be sick; it was his first time to actually meet the trade face-to-face. The girls were all dressed in horribly revealing clothing – god, was his sister wearing something like that? – and every one of them wore a collar around their neck as if they were animals.
“What does the white collar mean?” he asked unthinkingly, when he noticed a couple.
“Virgins, sir, untouched by men. Would you care to see them undressed?”
“What?” Touya spluttered, and the manager eyed him uncertainly.
“To examine them more carefully -”
“No,” Touya was quick to interrupt, forcing back his visible revulsion. Sakura… “God no. Just- is this all you’ve got?”
“Aye sir, even our newest. Just came from the mountains two days ago.” He pointed to a thin blonde, one of the two in white collars, who cringed. She must have been one of Sakura’s fellow victims, and Touya stared at her wretchedly before turning away. There was nothing he could do for her; he would not risk losing his chance at Sakura. So he asked for directions to the Rosette.

It was the same story there, as it was at Fantabella after that. The sun had passed its noon zenith in the sky by the time he found the sign carved with the name Silken Flowers. A flower-bedecked arbor arched over a wooden gate, one so tall that even he couldn’t see over it. But it was unlocked, and he pushed it open. Right away he could tell this business was more upper class than the others; the lawn was clean and kept, trimmed with flower beds around the edges, and though the building itself was one-story it was in immaculate condition. This was his final lead, Sakura just had to be here. He was close, Touya was sure of it.
Heart thudding with anticipation, he moved forward on the cobbled garden path. There were several deep indentations in the grass, he noticed as he drew closer, as if some heavy objects had just been removed. Furniture, outside? They were all clustered around some kind of low wooden platform, which extended out beyond the house from a shallow alcove. A curtain had been drawn to one side, revealing the recess, and a podium stood on one side. Touya tried to avoid looking at it and instead moved to the only door he could see, far to the left. He knocked, so eager he was ready to shove his weight into the door the moment it opened. But it didn’t, only another of those sliding face panels did.
The man on the other side looked at him coolly. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m looking to buy a slave. Young, and from the -”
“I don’t have any slaves currently, they’ve all been sold.” He made to slide the panel shut again and Touya slapped his hands against the door in desperation.
“No, wait! A slave with green eyes, I’m looking for one with green eyes! She’s from the mountains -”
“Good day,” the man said briskly, and slammed the panel shut.
“No!” Touya thumped a fist against the oak in miserable appeal, choking back a wail of despair.
“You’re looking for her. Aren’t you?”
The voice came from behind him, and Touya whirled around. It was a young woman that had spoken, by the gate with one hand still on the latch; she must have just entered the garden. She was a pretty girl, with long thick black hair, maybe just a year or two older than Sakura. There was something strange about the way she was staring at him, as if she couldn’t quite believe her eyes.
“You don’t look much like her, but… I think you must be him. You’re Sakura’s older brother.”
It was the first time in days he’d heard someone say her name and he inhaled sharply, hope blazing up inside him. His reaction confirmed her guess and she smiled weakly.
“She talked about you all the time, said you’d be worried, but I don’t think she ever thought you’d come to find her.”
Touya closed the distance between them in just two long steps, startling her when he clutched at her shoulders.
“You know Sakura? She’s here?”
“Oh…” Her eyes misted over sympathetically. “I’m so sorry. She was sold this morning, in our auction.”
This morning? She was here all this time; after all his persistence and hard work he missed her by just a few hours?
Touya’s knees almost gave out and he stumbled, fighting the impulse to burst into tears. How could fate be so unjust?
“I’m sorry,” the girl whispered again, now almost propping him upright. “I tried, I really tried to convince Jereth to wait but he just couldn’t afford to. Poor Sakura, she was so scared. I wanted to help her so much but there just wasn’t anything I could do.”
With difficulty Touya swallowed his despair and stood up, seeing this girl’s face afresh. Other than the monsters who kidnapped her, this was his first chance to meet someone who’d been with Sakura and he grasped at that secondhand contact.
“Is she okay? Has anyone hurt her?”
The dark-haired girl hesitated, looking back at the building, then nodded to the gate. He followed her back outside onto the street and she shut it behind them, clearly more at ease off the property.
“No one hurt her, I can tell you that much,” she assured him. “But she was so frightened, and she doesn’t understand what pleasure slaves are for. I did my best, but I know she’s not ready for this.”
“Of course she isn’t,” he muttered. But the knowledge – and he trusted this girl – that Sakura had survived all this so far unharmed was something of a relief. And if she’d been sold only that morning, frustrating as it was, at least it meant that he still had time. It was early afternoon and he surely had until nightfall to rescue her, before her buyer did anything unthinkable.
“Do you know who bought her?” he pressed. She nodded, but her face was somber.
“Yes. For two hundred pieces of gold, she was bought by… the lord Yue.”
Two hundred?
Touya stared in disbelief, then saw that she was looking away, pointing up at the crest of a foothill south of the city. Uncomprehendingly his gaze followed her direction, until he saw what she was trying to show. High above them, almost shimmering in the bright sunlight, a white castle rose up against the sky.

Several hours of walking later, the castle was much closer, bigger, and more intimidating. Touya glared at it in the light of the sunset.
“It can’t ever be easy, can it?”
With a groan he sank to the ground, under the cover of the trees, not daring to go any closer until the twilight thickened. It couldn’t be any of the rich merchants living in city mansions, no, it had to be a castle. Sakura’s friend, the girl called Tomoyo, had been rather vague about the one who lived there; apparently this Yue was a reclusive individual. His servants sometimes purchased things in his name, his wealth seemed inexhaustible, but the lord himself was rarely seen. Supposedly he wielded powerful magic but he never interfered with the lives of Terriene’s citizens, and no one was quite sure just what it was that he did. What she did know was that he was very, very old; Yue’s presence had lurked above the city as far back as anyone could remember.
All Touya knew was that he sure as hell wasn’t keeping Sakura. With fierce concentration his gaze swept the castle from side to side, scrutinizing the walls and searching for a way in. Occasional movement above indicated someone was patrolling, keeping watch over the open area between the tree line and the building itself. The large gates were shut tight, inviting no access. Unless they opened them for him, Touya wasn’t getting in.
Fine, so he’d get them to do that.
Touya had been raised in a remote village up in the mountains, spent most of his life performing tasks like mending pig sheds and herding goats. But in the process he’d also learned how to think on his feet and was better equipped than most city-dwellers to solve the problem. By the time the sun had dropped below the horizon, he’d already assembled a trail of kindling across the slope and some distance back from the edge of the trees. He was hidden in the dusk, but once a flame started up it would be clearly visible in the darkness. Dry fodder for fuel wasn’t plentiful in the spring, but it didn’t seem to have rained much lately and Touya had not grown up in the country for nothing; soon he had ample kindling that would burn quickly and brightly once lit. Not interested in starting a real forest fire, he made sure to keep his project clear of any trees and underbrush. But he made sure that the flames would travel laterally across the slope, thus giving the illusion of one.
Actually striking up the spark took longer than he would have liked, absent his familiar pyrite and flint. He had to make do with ordinary rocks, and with every bang he tried not to think about what might be going on in that castle right now.
Come on, come on…
At last a lucky golden spark flew out from the rocks and landed on his prepared tuft of dry grass. Hastily he knelt and blew, softly as a spring breeze, terrified that if he lost this then he’d have to start all over. The spark dimmed, then brightened, and produced a wisp of smoke.   Light-headed, Touya exhaled again and the glow solidified, the grass beginning to blacken. Under the stars Touya held his breath and then blew, held breath and then blew. At last, tiny flames sprouted from the tinder.
Touya thought he might collapse with relief, but the tricky bit was just now beginning. After waiting a few moments for the fire to grow in strength he fed it a thin twig, and when that was aflame he arranged it alongside an even thicker branch. His fire could stand alone now, all he had to do was wait.
Retreating several yards away, Touya hid himself behind a large tree that was as close to the castle as he dared get, for the time being. The stars had emerged as he worked, and the moon risen well over the eastern hills. Waxing half-moon tonight, which wasn’t as bad as full, but still not as good as no moon at all. He hoped his dark hair and clothes would be enough to keep him unnoticeable. Moving quietly would be difficult with the purse of money, so he dug a quick hole and dropped it in, marking the place with a forked branch. Just six coins left. That girl Tomoyo had adamantly refused any gold for her information; she claimed she owed Sakura at least that much.
Six pieces of gold would be enough to get a ride for him and Sakura both out of Terriene and back to Clearwater, he was sure. There Kaho could offer food and rest, and they could tackle the rest of the distance on foot. It was a long road but not impossible, and it wouldn’t take near the time it had for him with all his delays. In just a couple of days he and Sakura could be back in their cabin again.
His bonfire had reached an impressive size while he made his plans, and finally the gates opened. A number of men led their horses to the trees, buckets of water slung carefully on ropes across their withers.
“Come on men, hurry, it’s bound to get bigger!”
“Bloody hell, how’d it get started, that’s what I want to know.”
“Never mind, let’s take care of it before it gets any worse. Lord Yue’ll have our heads if the woods are nothing but ash when he comes back.”
Hope flared up like his fire in Touya’s chest when he heard that. If Yue was gone then surely nothing had happened to Sakura yet, for once providence was in his favor. And now their attention was devoted to his fire, and the gates were wide open – his chance had come.
If one of them turned and looked, or if someone else left the castle, he would have no cover to hide himself with. Once he started, it would have to be fast.
Touya bolted, running faster than he’d ever run in his life, sprinting up the short exposed hillside that to him seemed to go on forever. At any second he expected to hear a shout from behind him, or one from above, but there was no sound other than his pounding heart and light, gasping breath. Closer, closer he sprinted and then he was there. Relying heavily on the darkness of night he stopped short and adhered himself to the inside of the gate, panting, scanning the courtyard inside for movement. There was none, and after a moment’s indecision he made for the first pair of doors that he could see.
He chose caution rather than speed, circling around in the shadow of the buildings rather than crossing the open space, and it was a good thing. Someone strode out of the castle’s interior when he’d only made it halfway, walking directly out into the moonlight, and Touya froze. There wasn’t any time – or place – to hide, and he knew the darkness wasn’t enough to conceal him if the man looked directly his way. Heart thudding, he watched him cross the courtyard and then stop, turning his face up to scan the outer wall. All he had to do was turn his head a few degrees…
He frowned, clearly not liking what he saw, and started forward again with purposeful steps. Gingerly Touya edged along the wall behind him until he’d reached the doors, grateful they’d been left slightly ajar. Silently as a marauding fox he slipped through the gap.

Li was almost to the open gate when he hesitated, unsure why. All the men on watch had vacated their posts to smother a small wildfire, an unacceptable action, and he intended to let them know it. He couldn’t explain if it was something he’d seen out of the corner of his eye, or something he heard, but when he turned around something felt wrong. The doors to the castle were open, but then he’d probably left them that way in his hurry.
It was nothing, surely. Li shrugged off the feeling and marched through the gateway.

Touya did not breathe any easier once inside. At once he felt exposed in the wide passage, dim though it was, and panicked. Now which way to go? This place was huge, if what he’d seen from the outside was any clue. Sakura could be anywhere – locked in a dungeon or a tower, or simply in a bedroom somewhere.
He swallowed a whimper and started moving; standing around here wasn’t going to solve anything. Assuming that this passage led further into the castle, Touya ran lightly along it, still expecting to be confronted at any moment. But for all its size and grandeur, there didn’t seem to be many people here. Unaccosted, he slipped along one passage and then another, feeling his bewilderment grow with every turn. It wasn’t enough just to find Sakura, he also had to remember the way out if they were to escape. But how could he do that if he was hopelessly lost already?
Voices and steps approached from ahead and Touya dove for the great window he’d just passed, concealing himself behind a floor-length velvet curtain. Did his feet show? He couldn’t see, even if he dared try to look down. Turning his head to the side, he subdued his breathing as much as he could.
“…scrubbed the last of it. I’m sure he’ll be back any time now, so this castle better stay that way too.”
“But I heard there’s an emergency outside the walls, some kind of fire.”
“Who cares? It’s not my worry, that’s the guard’s lookout.”
“If it damages very much of the hill, the lord is sure to be in a foul mood, though.” They were abreast of him now, moving past. Neither seemed inclined to notice the curtains, and Touya relaxed slightly.
“He won’t be once he sees the beauty I’ve got for him,” the first speaker predicted with relish. “I’ve just put her down for the night, and…” Through the hot and stifling material Touya thought he heard something like a kiss to the air. “What a face. Timid little virgin too, begs to be broken. He’ll ravish her for days…”
The rest of the converation was lost, thankfully, as the two men wandered farther from Touya. When he could no longer hear footsteps he wriggled out from under his cover, hot and disheveled and itching to get his hands around the throat of this Yue.
He wasn’t here, Touya reminded himself, he still had time. And if that man had just been with Sakura, then hopefully she wasn’t far ahead.
He took off in the direction they’d been coming from and soon found himself on the landing of a grand marble staircase. He could continue on, go down, or climb up. Which way?
Touya fretted a bit, then decided on up. Surely the lord of the castle slept in the highest room. Noiselessly he crept up the staircase but it went no further than the next story, and he was forced to go exploring again. Touya never knew a building could be so big, the stories he and Sakura had read so often didn’t seem to compare to this reality. It seemed their little cabin could go in these halls a hundred times over. Great white pillars grew from marble floor to sculpted ceiling, starlight dappling the scene through diamond-paned windows so clear that it was difficult to believe any glass was there at all. Feeling rather small, Touya started running faster, a little more reckless about making noise. He could wander for hours and never find his sister!
The moonlight seemed so bright ahead. Touya slowed a little, wondering why it fell so much more strongly through the open archway ahead than through windows all along this hall. Unsure why, a thrill of anticipation ran up his spine before he stepped through.
The moonlight was so bright because not only were much of the walls glass, but the ceiling as well. A large round skylight – something he’d only read about in books – allowed such a view of the night sky it was almost as if he were outside. Every detail of the great room was sculpted with care and beauty, filigrees of both gold and silver winding along the corner pillars and around the window edges, and all along the ornate throne on its raised surface.
The only other thing in the room was a gigantic birdcage, raised on short legs above the floor, its large thick bars gleaming pale gold in the moonlight. In it, curled up and sleeping on its cushioned floor, was Sakura.
The suddenness of it hit him hard in the chest, and Touya almost collapsed to the floor in tears right then and there. After so long, after so much work and travel, after so many failed chances to catch up to her, he could finally see her with his own eyes again. Sleeping in the moonlight, she looked impossibly beautiful, so much more so than he remembered. In her filmy white dress she could almost be an angel, pure and clean as the dazzling stars overhead.
As if she were a mirage that might disappear if he moved too fast, Touya took a careful step forward. That’s when he saw her neck, and at once he despised and loved the collar around it. Those filthy bastards dared put that on her, dared claim her a slave and some sort of object for the taking. But it was white, blessed beautiful white and he knew what that meant. No one had touched her, and now no one ever would.
Touya rested one hand against the latch of the oversized cage, but the door was locked. Better to wake Sakura first, anyway, quietly so she wouldn’t cry out in surprise. He couldn’t hold back anymore, he had to touch her, hear her voice. Accustomed now to sleeping castle around them, Touya was too eager to wait.
“Sakura,” he whispered, dropping to the floor just on the other side of the bars. “Sakura, wake up.”
She stirred slightly and he reached through the bars, stroking some of her tangled hair back from her face. It looked as though she’d been crying before she went to sleep. He wanted so badly to hug her but this would have to do for now.
“Sakura.”
She made some sort of sound and moved under his touch, eyes fluttering open. The first thing she saw was the curving bars overhead, and before he had a chance to speak again she squealed.
“No! Don’t touch me, stay away!” Mindlessly she fought off his hands and Touya cringed at the noise; he couldn’t let her scream out loud. Quickly he clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Sakura, shh! It’s me, Onii-chan. Wake up, it’s me.”
He could feel her frantic and aspirated breathing, but awareness finally filtered into her eyes and she looked at him with recognition. He removed his hand.
“Onii-chan?” she whispered, disbelieving. He nodded.
“Yes, Sakura, Onii-chan. I came to find you.”
Her eyes filled with tears, bringing a corresponding ache to his throat, and she sat up to face him more directly.
“It’s a dream,” she ventured, too afraid to believe her own eyes. Touya took her hand and brought it to his face, allowing her to feel the rough stubble of his unshaven jaw.
“No, Sakura, I promise it’s not a dream. I’m really here.”
The unshed tears spilled over onto her cheeks and he became aware of how violently she was trembling, not until right then did he appreciate how terrified his sister must have been through this ordeal.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” she sobbed, and collapsed against the bars. It was close to a hug, if they both reached through the bars, and she clutched at him with a desperation that bordered on painful. But it felt too good to feel her in his arms again to hold back, and Touya held her as close to his chest as he could. They shouldn’t be wasting time like this, it was stupid, but somehow he just couldn’t force himself to let go. It had been too long.
Sakura buried her face in his shirt and cried, her thin shoulders shaking, and he rested his chin atop her head.
“Shh, it’s okay now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I’m sorry!” she choked through her tears. “Onii-chan, I’m so sorry, he said he was lost… I didn’t know. They tied my hands and took me away and I tried to run but I just couldn’t- I was so scared!”
“Shh, I know.” He couldn’t help it, he could feel his own hot tears dripping off his face and into her hair. “I’m sorry too, Sakura, I should have been there to protect you. I should have found you faster, I should have been a better brother. But I’m here now, I’ve come to get you out. Are you ready to go home?”
That last part seemed to draw her out of her sobs, and she looked up with a teary smile. “Home! Yes please, Onii-chan, let’s go home. But how did you find me? We’re so far away from home!”
“Don’t I know it. I followed you, silly.”
“But how? They took me in a cart -”
“Sakura, I promise I’ll tell you the whole story later. But I want to get you out of here first. Can you tell me where the key to this cage is?”
“Key,” she repeated blankly, looking around at her prison and coming back to reality. “Key… oh, a man- a blonde man- he has it. He told me it was the only one and I don’t know where he is…”
She started to panic and Touya had to shush her again. “It’s okay, Sakura, I’ll find another way. Don’t worry, I’m going to get you out of here.”
He made to break away but Sakura would not relinquish her grip, still clinging to his shirt. “Don’t leave!”
“Sakura, I’m not leaving. I just need to stand up. Can you let go for just a little while, please?”
Reluctantly she relaxed her embrace and Touya pulled himself to his feet, circling around to the door again. He’d seen birdcages before, of course, hand-woven ones in their home village and shops full of gilded ones in Terriene. That his own sister was trapped in one was nothing short of bizarre, and briefly he wondered about the tastes of this Yue. The faster he got Sakura out of here, the better.
The door was locked, quite firmly, and a few minutes tinkering with the latch produced nothing. Metal locks were an unknown phenomenon where he grew up, and Touya had no experience working with them. Given time he might have figured out how to pick it open, but that was time he didn’t have. So in his analytical way, Touya turned his attention from one side of the door to the other.
Hinges – metal, wooden, or leather – were something he understood. And these didn’t seem any different from those he’d installed on countless doors around their village, except fancier and cleaner. He’d have them off in less than a minute if he could just find a tool.
His eyes fell on the perch, hanging motionless from its chains in the moonlight. Those links couldn’t be real gold, they’d surely stretch and snap after some time.
“Sakura, see if you can work one of those chains free of the swing.”
“Oh, okay.” Uncertainly she fussed with one end of the padded seat, not as deft with her hands as Touya always had been. “Like this?”
“Yes, try to lift it up and slip it off that hook.”
The rattling noise she made seemed to echo awfully loudly, and Touya couldn’t stop looking back over his shoulder at the archway.
“I did it, Nii-chan!”
“Shh,” he reminded her. “Good work, now take the hook off the chain.”
Quickly she complied and passed it through the gap, and he dropped to a crouch.
“What are you doing?”
“You’ll see.” The small S-shaped hook was just the right size to insert into the hinges and rapidly he started twisting. It wasn’t an ideal tool, a little too small for comfortable grasping and occasionally it slipped. He swallowed a curse when the other end cut into his palm, and hoped it wouldn’t bleed too much. But it was doing the job, and soon he could feel the bottom hinge loosening. When it had come far enough he completed the job by hand, and soon he had it off completely.
“Wow, Onii-chan! You’re so amazing!” Sakura’s eyes were wide with admiration, and he grunted.
“You’re just easy to impress.”
But he couldn’t help the tiny smile, as he stood to deal with the top hinge. It was all just like he’d fantasized, so many times on the way here. Touya was her savior, her hero, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t beat to rescue her. They were going to make it after all.
In spite of the pain in his hand he had the second hinge off even faster than the first. He laid both it and his impromptu tool – quietly – on the floor and then, quite simply, pulled the door back from its frame. It wouldn’t come entirely off, still solidly locked, but he could create an opening wide enough for Sakura to slip through.
Which she did, and he only barely managed to let the door fall quietly back into place before they were in each other’s arms. She was so much smaller than he remembered, too, he couldn’t believe how easy it was to pick her up off the floor and hug her to his chest. She was crying again, tears of relief and joy.
He kissed her salty cheeks gratefully, but this had all taken so much time. Once they’d made it free of the castle they would have all the time in the world to be with each other.
“We have to go now, Sakura. You can walk all right?”
“Oh yes, I’m fine. Let’s go home!” Eyes shining with delight, she grasped his hand, obviously trusting him to get them safely outside. Emboldened by his sister’s faith, Touya nodded and they broke into a light run.
They’d made it this far. Surely nothing would get in their way now.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
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Pleasure Slave