Chapter 5: The Merowa
(by Hayama, added on 2005-10-15 10:43:32 AEST) [Discussion Topic]
Sakura crouched in the corner of what seemed to be her new home: a cage.
“Syaoran…” she whispered, as if it would make him appear. “I’m so scared.”
Who wouldn’t have been scared? She had seen dark, shadowy creatures running towards her. They had done something to Fai… poor Fai… and now Sakura didn’t even know if he was still alive. Then they had dragged her (rather roughly and quickly) though the grass, away from her camp, away from where Syaoran and Kurogane had gone, to a small patch of trees separate from the main forest. They had locked her in a cage and although it was wooden, it was well built and Sakura could not escape. Now, they kept... looking… at her with their wide yellow eyes.
It was the middle of the night, but all of these creatures seemed awake and active. Whole families bustled past Sakura’s cage. Some were digging up roots with wooden tools. Others were gathering sticks or leaves or something. Some were scraping at sticks with their claws or a stone, shaping them into tools.
They certainly acted rather advanced for such wild looking creatures. Although the adults were no larger than her and the children were adorably small, Sakura was very afraid of them. Each creature was layered in dark, shaggy fur. The creatures had cat-like faces with glowing eyes and (as Sakura had seen when one yawned) very large, very sharp fangs. They had claws too and pointed, twichy ears atop their heads. Sakura noticed that they were very quiet as they went about their business. Every once in a while, though, she would catch snatches of… it couldn’t be conversation… exchanged growls between creatures. If it was a language, Sakura could not understand it.
Sakura was exhausted. After all, she had been awake since dawn. As tired as she was, however, Sakura would not let herself fall asleep. She had to keep her eyes open. She had to be alert. She had to be ready to run at her first chance. She had to get back to Syaoran.
Syaoran….
Sakura buried her face in her folded arms and cried. She missed him. She was worried about him. What if he had been attacked too? What if these creatures had found him while he was looking for her feather? What if he were lying hurt somewhere in the forest? What if he wasn’t just hurt… what if he was dead? What if she never saw him again?
The tears came even faster now, fueled by her worries.
“Crying?” came a sudden, rough voice beside her. Sakura leapt back.
“Y-you can talk.”
The furry creature that stood at the side of the cage nodded its head. Around its neck, Sakura noticed a necklace of beautiful wooden beads.
“I am smartest, most wise. I am a sage. I am king.”
Sakura kept her distance. “King?”
“Yes. King of Merowa,” the creature responded.
“Can the others talk at all?” Sakura asked.
The king shook his head. “Most Merowa cannot speak. Only sages speak. I am one of few.”
“I understand,” Sakura whispered. This creature was a sage? And a king? She silently wondered if he was anything like the Yukito or the Touya that Syaoran and her sparse memories had told her about.
“Merowa will not hurt you. No more fear. No more crying.” The creature began to walk away.
Sakura wanted to call after him, but her voice caught in her throat. She was still very afraid. She had to be brave, she had to try. “Wait!”
The creature stopped and turned around.
“I… I wasn’t crying because… I…” Sakura gathered her courage. “My friends! I want to know what you did to them!”
The king looked at her for a long time. “You fear for your friends?”
“Y-yes.”
“No more fear. Merowa do not kill what we do not eat. We do not eat strange things like you.”
“But Fai-san!”
“Your friend? Tall and pale?”
“Yes!” Sakura replied.
“He fought warriors.” The king opened his mouth and pointed to his two sharp fangs. “He fought too much. They had to bite him, make him sleep. He will wake soon.”
“He’s alive?!”
The king nodded.
“What about Syaoran… and Kurogane?” Seeing the creature’s blank expression she decided to elaborate. “A smaller boy with brown hair… and a big man with spiky black hair… Mokona was with them… a white… bun-thing.”
“Ahhh!” The king realized who she meant. “They were in forest. Warriors watched them but did not fight. Did not want to attract attention.”
“Why not?’
“The other Merowa live in large forest.”
“Your friends?” Sakura asked, innocently.
“Used to be… now,” the king sighed. “Now their king has something. It makes him strong. It makes him hungry for more strength. Now… he fights us, his own brothers.”
“That’s awful!” Sakura exclaimed.
“He is why we need you.”
“M-Me?” Sakura was a little shocked. What could she possibly do? “What does he have that makes him so strong?”
The king looked at her with his huge yellow eyes. “A feather.” |
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