A/N: Yes! I'm alive!

XXX

When Ayame reached upstairs, she found Fai, Syaoran, and Kurogane huddled near the window, gazing out into the snow-covered street. Syaoran was the first to notice the footsteps on the stairs.

"Good Morning, Ayame-san."

"You guys took your sweet time," she said, joining them near the window, "Everyone sleep well?"

Syaoran nodded, Kurogane just grunted in response.

"Slept like a baby," Fai beamed.

'So, he doesn't remember anything…' Ayame thought.

It was probably for the best. The less distractions they had, the better. There was also the fact that she sung Fai to sleep… admitting that would have been extremely embarrassing.

But then again, the mage could be lying. Sometimes, it was so difficult to tell.

"Syaoran… where's Sakura?"

The words had barely left Ayame's mouth when the door in the far end of the corridor creaked open. Sakura stepped out, carrying a peppy Mokona in her hands.

While everyone else greeted her, Ayame noticed the young girl looked somewhat troubled. She was about to ask, but Syaoran beat her to it.

"Is everything alright, Princess?"

Sakura's eyes flitted between them, finally resting on Ayame. "It's that… last night… in the snow…"

A shrill, anguished scream drowned whatever Sakura had to say next.

"MY CHILD!"

Everyone pressed their faces to the window, trying to get a better look. A woman was running through the street, distraught, crying out to anyone who would listen. People in the nearby houses began stumbling out, frightened.

"We should get downstairs," Ayame said.

XXX

The crying woman somehow felt familiar. When Ayame's eyes found the stuffed toy in the woman's arms, she knew why.

She nudged Syaoran. "She's holding a stuffed cat."

The boy caught on. "It's the little girl we met yesterday." He turned to her and continued, "Ayame-san, this is not good for us."

"I know…" Ayame said, glancing at the crowd gathered for any signs of trouble.

The woman's screams had now turned to sobs. "I locked the door… I know I did…!"

A man stood near, comforting her. Ayame recognised him as the same man who had tried attacking her yesterday.

"Was the door forced open?" he asked with urgency.

"No!" the woman managed to say in between sobs, "It was opened from the inside! I told her not to open it! She wouldn't have! The Golden-Haired Princess, it had to be her!"

Next to Syaoran, Sakura gasped. "That wasn't a dream then…!?"

Ayame didn't know what her sister meant… but she hoped Sakura's voice had been just soft enough.

"WHAT'S THAT!?"

Apparently not.

The man sprinted towards Sakura and made to grab her arm, but Syaoran stepped in, just in time.

"Get out of my way, boy," he hissed.

Ayame stepped up swiftly, placed a firm hand on the man's shoulder and pushed him away from Syaoran. She looked right into his eyes and said, "Anything you want to ask, you ask me. Is that understood?" The subtle threat in Ayame's voice was unmissable.

The man pushed a little against her hand, but Ayame held her ground, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on him. A few more tense seconds passed till he started getting uncomfortable.

The woman who had lost her daughter shuffled forward and placed a hand on his arm. "Anthony…" she pleaded, "Just let her speak… please… I want to know what happened to my daughter." She hugged the stuffed cat closer to her and broke into fresh sobs.

The man, Anthony, huffed and finally stepped back, glaring at Ayame the whole time.

Now, the eyes of the gathered townsfolk were on Sakura, waiting. The sudden attention made the young princess nervous.

"Nee-chan…"

"It's alright, Sakura," Ayame said, her eyes never leaving Anthony, "Go on… tell us what you saw."

"Last night, in the snow… I saw a woman with golden hair, wearing a white dress," Sakura recalled, her eyes misted a little, "She walked by with black birds flying around her."

The effect of Sakura's words could be seen on the faces of all the residents gathered there: expressions went from frightened curiosity to shock to outright panic. Voices filled with dread began ringing out all around them.

"The Golden-Haired princess kidnapped my child!"

"It's the Princess from the Northern Castle!"

"The Princess' curse… its back to haunt us!"

"The Princess will doom us all!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The words were like a sudden, intimidating bark; echoing around, silencing everyone. The crowd parted slowly to reveal Mr. Glossam. And behind him, shuffling to keep up, was the Mayor; his laboured breathing puffing out for everyone to see.

Mr. Glossam marched to a halt in front of them, taking turns to glare at each and every one of the travellers. It was a slightly proud moment for Ayame when they all returned his stare, even Sakura. The entire gathering was so silent that they could hear the bone-chilling breeze blowing down the street. Somewhere in the trees nearby, a raven began to shriek.

"What's wrong…?" a familiar voice floated in, breaking the silence.

There was some disturbance at the edges of the crowd, slowly moving towards them. A few moments later, Dr. Kyle stumbled out, panting a little.

"Is there another child missing?"

Mr. Glossam posed another question instead. "Did the outsiders leave the house last night?"

"They did not!" came the doctors' reply.

"How can you be sure!?" a faceless voice from the crowd asked.

"And that woman over there, she tried to talk to the missing girl yesterday!" said another one.

Ayame suddenly felt painfully aware of the presence of every single person gathered around her, their eyes boring into her with suspicion and hatred. It made the hair on the back of her neck prickle uneasily. More ravens began to gather in the pale, bare branches above them, shrieking constantly.

Dr. Kyle cut off any other accusations. "For the convenience of emergency patients, I sleep in the room right next to the entrance. If anyone goes out at night, I would know."

He stared at the crowd, waiting for someone to question him. Before anyone could, however, the Mayor hobbled forward, saying, "It's no use staying here. Let's start looking for the missing child."

The crowd murmured in agreement and began to peel away, one by one. The last ones to leave were the mother of the missing girl, and Anthony with his search party. The latter threw dark glares towards the older Princess before trudging away. Ayame finally let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"They are beginning to suspect us," Kurogane said quietly, eyeing the backs of the re-treating crowd.

"I'm sure they will see their fault soon," Dr. Kyle said, "Let's go back, breakfast is ready."

Ayame hugged herself as tight as her arms would allow when they started walking back to the house. She was glad the whole thing was over; she was so cold it felt like her bones were made of ice. And also… all the anger of the crowd had bothered her more than she would like to admit.

'We will have to tread very carefully here…'

Lost in her thoughts, Ayame didn't see Syaoran stop just a little ahead of her. She ended up walking right into him.

"Syaoran! I'm so sorry!"

"No, Ayame-san… It's my fault, really. I just…" Syaoran trailed off, his eyes travelling upwards.

Ayame followed his gaze. On one of the bare, twisted branches above them, a flock of ravens were ruffling restlessly, shrieking; their beady, soulless eyes darting around aimlessly.

"I know what you mean," Ayame said, "The last time we saw this many ravens in one place…"

"Nothing good came out of it…" Syaoran finished. He tore his gaze away from the birds and breathed deeply saying, "But not this time, Ayame-san…"

"Yeah…" Ayame placed her hand on Syaoran's shoulder and squeezed it, a little harder than she intended, "Not this time."

XXX

After they were done with breakfast, Ayame made to gather all the dishes.

"No, Miss Ayame, please let Sebastian take care of it," Dr. Kyle protested.

"It's alright, Dr. Kyle," Ayame insisted, "I'm sure you have patients to attend to. We can take care of all the cleaning here."

"Who said anything about we," Kurogane muttered under his breath. But when Ayame kicked him under the table, he changed his tune, "Yeah we'll take care of it."

"Leave it to us, Dr. Kyle!" Fai said.

Ayame picked up all the plates, balanced them on one hand, and made her way into the kitchen. She was just about to set them down on the counter when she felt it; a chilling, bodiless dread… like the one you feel when you are walking down a narrow, shady alleyway all by yourself after sundown. She turned around sharply to find Sebastian at the entrance of the kitchen, his customary smile in place.

"You don't have to check on me, Mr. Michaelis. It's just some dishes." Ayame said.

"That's not what I'm here for, Miss," Sebastian said, rummaging through one of the overhead cupboards. He pulled out a white apron, a white towel, and a bottle filled with a bubbly liquid, which Ayame assumed to be soap. "I just came here to give you a few things you might need."

"Thank you."

Sebastian, however, didn't leave the kitchen. He just stood near the door, regarding Ayame curiously.

"Is something the matter?"

"You seem somewhat… how should I put it… distressed, Miss Ayame. Anything I could do to help?"

To anyone else, it would seem like the man was genuinely concerned. But Ayame could smell dishonesty wafting off him… that slight whiff of malice – as if he knew that just a few moments ago, it was his presence that made her skin prickle. And he was enjoying it. Every, single, moment of it.

But Ayame was not the one to give in so easily.

"Well, now that you mention it, there is one person in this town who bothers me," she said, "The said person's position in this town does not match with his abilities. He stands out, like a wolf hiding among sheep. I know something is wrong, but just can't put my finger on it."

'Two can play this game, Mr. Michaelis.'

The corners of Sebastian's lips turned up into an uncomfortable looking smile. "I suppose you will be investigating this person, Miss Ayame."

"I suppose I will," Ayame smiled back, "What can I say, I am very persistent."

Sebastian's smile widened even more.

"I, from the bottom of my being, pray you find what you are looking for," he said, his tone patronizing.

Ayame's hands instinctively curled into fists. One more word with that attitude, and she knew she would punch him.

At that moment, Syaoran walked into the kitchen, carrying the rest of the dishes. He came to a sudden halt, eyes travelling first to Sebastian, then to Ayame, and finally resting on her fists.

"Ayame-san… is everything alright?"

Ayame took a deep breath and relaxed her hands. "Everything's fine, Syaoran. Mr. Michaelis was just giving me the soap and the towels for the dishes." She then turned to Sebastian and imitating his unnaturally wide smile said, "Would you be kind enough to give Syaoran an apron too?"

"Yes, of course," Sebastian said with an amused air. After handing Syaoran an apron, he said with a small bow, "I hope you have an enlightening day." Then with a shadow of a wink towards Ayame, he left.

The smile on Ayame's face melted into a scowl the moment the man's back turned.

"What was that about, Ayame-san?"

"That man!" Ayame kicked a stool nearby, "There's something wrong. I can feel it in my bones. It's like answer is staring at me in the face, but I just can't figure it out!"

Syaoran placed a comforting hand on her arm, "How about you tell me while we wash the dishes."

And so she did – everything from the note on the sheets last night, the tea this morning, and to their conversation just now. Everything gushed out of her, as if the flood-gates in her mind had finally burst open. Ayame felt the weight on her chest lighten with every word.

"So… what do you think…?"

Syaoran thoughtfully wiped a plate and set it aside. "It's not a lot to go on, Ayame-san. You seem a little…"

"Paranoid?" Ayame said with a sigh. Like she didn't know that already.

"But, it's a gut instinct, isn't it?"

Ayame nodded, handing him another washed plate.

"Then you stick to it, Ayame-san. That's what Otou-san would tell you," Syaoran said, "It helped us all in Samara, remember?"

Ayame couldn't help but smile at that. "Samara, huh? It was so long ago… how old were you then? Nine?"

"Ten!" Syaoran corrected, a little too quickly.

Ayame laughed. "So you think I should chase my hunch?"

Syaoran nodded. "It has always kept you on your feet, Ayame-san; helped you see things others miss out. Who knows, it might stop all the terrible things happening in this town."

"Like in Samara?"

Syaoran smiled, "Just like in Samara."

They fell into a comfortable rhythm; Ayame washing the dishes, Syaoran drying and keeping them in the rack; both their minds wandering off to the same little town right on the edge of Clow kingdom. They both had been there… many, many years ago.

XXX

Four years ago… in the bustling trading town of Samara…

XXX

Chairs being dragged across stone floors; the constant, purposeless chatter; the sound of roaring drunk laughter; the flipping of a table when a deal was lost… she could hear it all on the other side of the door. It was as if the door was not a door, but a film of thin air disguised as one.

How can one concentrate like this!?

Ayame yanked the door open with a bang. On the other side was a longish room, the length of it having curtained windows at equal intervals set into muddy yellow walls. The space between the windows was mostly taken up by filing cabinets. Tables were arranged to be right in front of the windows… well that's what Ayame assumed. Right now they were scattered everywhere – three or four were pushed together in one corner, their tops cluttered with bottles and playing cards. One table lay on the floor upside down, probably the one she heard being upturned before. Around thirty-forty men were scattered across the room – most of them huddled near the gambling table, some sitting on the other chairs. One particular soul had his head out of the window, probably pouring out the contents of his stomach on the head of some poor passer-by on the street below.

"So this what the police of the busiest town of Clow are up to," she said, "Drinking and gambling… basically having a party on tax payer money when you are supposed to be maintaining law and order!"

She then turned her attention to a group of men dressed in the sandy brown uniform of Clow's army, predictably huddled near the gambling table. "And you lot! You are the most elite security force in the Kingdom. At least try to behave like it."

The men just gawked at her, not knowing what to say. But then again, what can you say when you get lectured by a seventeen year old Princess.

"What are you looking at? Don't you have witness statements to log in? Markets to patrol? Paperwork that needs to be sorted out? Thieves and pickpockets to catch?"

Still no response, just more gawking. This was really starting to get on her nerves.

"Well?"

Finally, a few men gathered the courage to speak up. "Yes, Your Majesty…"

"I didn't hear that."

This time, every one of them chorused, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Good!" Ayame huffed, "Now get to work!"

Without waiting for a response, Ayame slammed the door shut and sat down on one of the two rickety chairs. The room she was in was quarter the size of the other room. Square in shape, and a little more congested than she would've liked. It was, however, the office of the Chief Inspector of Samara. And she being the highest ranked soldier in town at the moment, the office was hers to use as she wishes for the duration of her stay.

"You are such a slave driver."

Lafarga was leaning against the only window in the room, the late afternoon sunlight reflecting off his highly polished armour to cast dancing lights on the muddy yellow ceiling.

"I don't know what you mean…" Ayame said, shrugging.

"It is the last day of the week, you know. It's supposed to be the day off. Normal people take a break. Not everyone is like you. The only reason those soldiers are even here today is because you came in."

"Are you sure those are working out for you?" Ayame asked, pointing at the blue hoop dangling from his right ear.

"Yes they are, thank you very much," Lafarga snapped, a little more defensively than he had intended to. "Don't try to change the subject."

"Everyone deserves a break, yes, but not when you have that many unsolved cases," Ayame answered, indicating the filing cabinet next to him. The drawers were filled to capacity; the top one was so full that a good number of papers were sticking out.

"It is so everywhere – for every case you solve, two more remain without an answer. Samara is no different." Lafarga countered.

"That's why I'm sticking around, aren't I?" Ayame said, "I'm helping out with their most recent unsolved mystery."

"Yeah, out of the goodness of your heart, sure," Lafarga scoffed.

Now even Lafarga was getting on her nerves. "Stop beating around the bush, Lafarga. What is your point?"

"My point is that we need to go back to the Capital. We came to Samara to negotiate peace with the rebels who were causing civil unrest in these areas. And we did. A month ago," Lafarga said, "We should go back home."

"I can't just leave, not when there is a murderer loose in town!"

Lafarga narrowed his slate-grey eyes. "The murderer loose in town is just an excuse not to return to the Capital."

Ayame wanted to disagree with him, she really did. But she couldn't. He was right – she didn't want to go back to the Capital. She didn't want to walk in the marble corridors of the palace and hear the constant whispering and name calling. She was better off here, doing what she was good at without worrying about the nobles, and their possible plans of assassinating her.

But then again, he was only partially right.

"There is something about these murders, Lafarga," Ayame said, her eyes drawn to the notice board set into the wall beside the cabinet. A map of the town filled up the board and pinned to the map were notes; her own mixed with ones made by the Samara security force. "Something's tugging at the back of my mind. There is more to this. I know it!"

"Whatever shields you from the sandstorm, I suppose…" Lafarga let out a defeated sigh. Then something outside the window caught his eye and the corners of his lips turned up just a little. "If I can't convince you, then maybe someone else will, Your Majesty."

Ayame didn't notice it though; the board had her full attention.

"Let's go over this again."

"Not again," Lafarga groaned, "We have over a thousand times!"

"Well, one more time then!"

Lafarga didn't seem to budge.

Ayame gave her final try. "Please?"

Finally, Lafarga left his spot near the window and joined Ayame in front of the board. "Fine! But, just to humour you, nothing more. You haven't convinced me enough to get involved."

"Give it time, Lafarga." Ayame grinned. "Okay then, what do we know."

"Six dead. Four male, two female. All in different parts of Samara. They were all found in the early hours of morning, lying near the back doors of their houses. The houses had been ransacked, a few valuables missing."

Ayame pulled off a few notes from the board. "The neighbours, when questioned, said they heard nothing. Don't you think that's unusual?"

"Not in a town recovering from civil unrest," Lafarga pointed out, "They don't trust soldiers."

"That would be true if it were just one or two bodies," Ayame countered, "Now six people are dead, and by the looks of it, caught unawares when they were asleep. A town recovering from civil war would want to see an end to the violence."

"That's a fair point," Lafarga said.

Ayame couldn't help but smirk at that. "About the bodies…"

"There were a variety of wounds on the body, but the cause of death was extreme trauma to the head."

"Internal trauma," Ayame corrected, "That's what the mortuary's report says. And I concur."

When Lafarga fixed her with a quizzical look, Ayame simply shrugged. "Everyone here is desperate for help. They finally let me see the bodies. There was blood near the eyes and in the ear canals… but no visible injury to the head. And… the coroners oversaw one more thing…"

Lafarga leaned forward a little, listening intently.

"The other wounds on the body were made after the victim had died."

"What!?"

Ayame was a little pleased with herself; she finally had the sceptic's attention. "Exactly. The wounds didn't have blood coagulated around them. They were clean."

"That's… unusual…"

"A little interested are we?" Ayame teased.

Lafarga huffed and reclaimed his spot near the window, "It doesn't prove anything."

"Oh come on!" Ayame hit the table with the palm of her hand, "Most of the wounds were made only for show. The houses look like a storm had passed through them, as if the assailant and the victim had a long and hard struggle. But the neighbours didn't hear anything. Not even all the valuables from the house were taken!"

"It's a sick guy acting out on his fantasies. The town is now probably too scared to act even if they heard anything. The assailant got too worked up after killing that he was not thinking clearly when he looted the house." Lafarga counted each point off his finger.

"That's one way to look at it." Ayame said, a little disgruntled. She was just beginning to hope her oldest friend was curious enough to help out.

Lafarga looked like he was about to say something more, so Ayame was a little glad when three, slightly timid knocks rattled the door.

"I hope it's not the drunks out there knocking to say someone passed out or something…" Ayame said, more to herself as she opened the door.

What Ayame didn't expect was a small body hurtling towards her, sending her crashing into the floor.

"Owww…" Ayame gathered her scrambled brain to take a better look at her little assailant – a little boy with tousled brown hair, amber eyes shining with excitement.

"Ayame-san!"

Every thought about looted houses and suspicious bodies flew out of her head. She threw her arms around the little boy and pulled him into a bear hug, laughing.

"Syaoran!"

Syaoran pulled back to give her wide smile, "I've missed you, Ayame-san!"

A firm hand grasped Syaoran by the shoulders and pulled him back. "Syaoran-kun! You shouldn't act so impulsively."

Fujitaka helped the boy to his feet; his kind, bespectacled face holding an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."

"Don't be like that, Fujitaka-san," Ayame pouted a little, getting herself off the floor as well, "You know I don't put much thought into things like titles."

"But you were not alone, Princess," Fujitaka said, glancing at Lafarga, who seemed a little amused.

"Don't worry about it, Professor." Then turning his attention the Syaoran he said, "You've grown up a bit kiddo."

An embarrassed flush lit Syaoran's face. Ayame pulled his cheeks affectionately, "He is right you know!"

"So, how did you two end up in Samara?" Lafarga asked.

"Samara is the second town established in Clow Kingdom after the Capital. According to legend, the people who established Samara are close descendants of the ones who established the Kingdom. Otou-san thinks that we might know more about the ruins in the Capital if we do some research, here, in Samara." Syaoran said without taking a breath.

"Completely focused on your research as always, Fujitaka-san," Ayame said.

"If you don't mind me asking, Princess, why are you still in Samara?" Fujitaka asked, "I remember that the peace talks with the Ishvalans had concluded about a month ago."

"Yes, that's the right question," Lafarga smirked at Ayame, "Maybe you two can convince her to return to the Capital."

'So that's what he meant earlier,' Ayame realised. He must have seen Fujitaka and Syaoran in the street from the window.

"Ayame-san, is something the matter?" Syaoran asked.

Ayame glared daggers at Lafarga before replying, "Well… let's just say there's a mystery here that needs to be solved."

"Mystery!" Syaoran's amber eyes were shining. Ayame chuckled; the boy could never resist a good mystery.

"Don't get too excited about it," Lafarga sighed, "She's going on just instinct. There's no proof of a mystery."

"Shut up, Lafarga," Ayame hissed.

Fujitaka just smiled in response. He then sat down on one of the chairs in the room, rummaged around the backpack he always carried, and pulled out a notebook and pen. Syaoran sat down near his feet.

"Tell us all about it, Princess," he said, while Syaoran nodded, his brown hair flopping around.

"You… really want to know…?" Ayame asked, a little surprised.

"Of course!" Fujitaka beamed, "Instinct is a powerful thing, Princess. It never hurts to follow your gut. It might be futile, but at least the mind will be satisfied knowing that you did everything you could."

"And also, Ayame-san, you're instincts are almost always right. It's a little scary," Syaoran said.

"I had forgotten how impossible you can be sometimes, Professor," Lafarga groaned, while Ayame burst out laughing.

"I really did miss you two."

XXX

"Aya-chan? Syaoran-kun?"

XXX

Fai bounced into the kitchen on the balls of his feet, inserting himself between Ayame and Syaoran.

"What little secrets are you two sharing without me!?" Fai pouted.

Syaoran smiled. "It's nothing like that, Fai-san. We were just reminiscing."

"Reminiscing is the right word," Ayame laughed.

"We have cleaned up the rooms and straightened out the living room. So when you guys are done here, we can be off!" Fai said.

"Kurogane-san helped as well?" Ayame asked.

"Well… he didn't want to, but Sakura-chan asked nicely so Kuro-tan had no choice but to help."

"MY NAME IS KUROGANE, YOU STUPID MAGE!" came a voice from the living room.

"I'll help you guys here before he gets more irritated." With that, Fai dove into the small stack of dishes.

The three of them were done in about five minutes and joined Kurogane and Sakura in the living room, who were already ready with their coats.

"About time," Kurogane said.

"Kuro-min is so impatient!" Fai lilted, earning a death glare.

Mokona jumped onto Syaoran's head and asked, "So, what are we going to do today?"

"Mokona, can you feel Sakura's feather in this world?" Ayame asked.

Mokona's fluffy white ears stood up as she concentrated. A few seconds later, they drooped and she sighed, "Mokona can't feel Sakura's feather. Mokona can't feel any magic in this world!"

"So there is a possibility that this world has no feather?" Ayame thought that Kurogane sounded a little too hopeful.

"We can't rule it out yet," Ayame said, "It's possible that the feather is hidden in such a way that Mokona can't sense it. We need to look around more."

"Where do we start?" Fai asked.

"I was thinking that we could take a look at the history book Dr. Kyle mentioned," Syaoran said, his brows crunched just a little in thought, "It could tell us more about the legend of the Golden-Haired Princess. And maybe we should take a look at the Northern Country's Castle as well."

Ayame agreed with Syaoran; gathering information was vital at this point. They hardly knew anything about the world they were in. But… there was something else bugging Ayame. Her eyes wandered over to the coffee table. Right on top was the leaflet about the town's weekly market. If Ayame remembered correctly, the market was on today.

Ayame's hand unconsciously clutched her gut. It was there again, that feeling… like something was gnawing at her in the pit of her stomach. It had been there in Clow before Sakura had lost her feathers, it had been there the first time she read the reports of the murders in Samara.

Why?

"A foreign vendor came into town a few days ago. He had a variety of exquisite merchandise, but this particular tea caught my eye."

That's what Sebastian had said earlier. And there was no better place than a town market for foreign tradesmen to sell their goods.

'Instinct is a powerful thing… right Fujitaka-san?'

The decision was made.

"How about we split up?" Ayame said, "All of you can get the book from the Mayor, I can go around the town and see what I can find."

"You alone?" Kurogane asked. "Are you keeping something from us?"

'Sharp as always,' Ayame thought.

"Maybe, maybe not," Ayame grinned, making Kurogane huff with irritation.

"What you don't want to say is none of my business," Kurogane said, "But going into the town all by yourself is not exactly safe, Princess. Everyone thinks you are responsible for that girl's disappearance."

"I can look after myself you know," that's what Ayame said, but she had to admit that the man had a point.

"How about I go with Aya-chan?" Fai volunteered.

"I don't think I want to," Ayame muttered under her breath.

"But think about it! It's a safer option compared to going out on your own, we can keep the cover that we are engaged, and if some nasty person tries to attack, Aya-chan can protect me!" Fai counted each point off his fingers.

"For the first time, you actually make sense," Kurogane said.

"It's a valid argument, Ayame-san," Syaoran said.

Ayame sighed; the mage was right. It was the best way for their group to split up. Also, she could keep a firm thumb on Fai's nonsense without having to worry about Syaoran and Sakura, Kurogane was more than capable.

"Alright, alright," Ayame said grudgingly, "Sakura, Syaoran, and Kurogane-san will go to the Mayor's house. I'll go with Fai-san into town. We'll meet at the outskirts around noon and head to the Northern Country's Castle together."

"Sounds like a plan," Kurogane said, while Syaoran nodded in agreement.

As everyone went about gathering their things, Ayame noticed Sakura standing near the door, shuffling her feet nervously.

Ayame went up to her and asked, "Sakura, everything alright?"

Sakura gave her a small smile and said, "It's nothing, Nee-chan…"

But Ayame could see right through her sister. "You're worried about being separated from me, aren't you?"

Sakura nodded timidly.

"There's nothing to worry about you know," Ayame said, "Syaoran and Kurogane-san will look after you."

"That's not what I'm worried about, Nee-chan."

"What is bothering you then?" Ayame asked, mildly surprised.

"The last time we were separated, you got really hurt." Sakura's voice trembled just a little. She then took Ayame's hand and said, "Please don't do something rash this time, Nee-chan."

Ayame simply blinked at her sister for a few seconds, then succumbed into a fit of giggles.

"You're making fun of me, Nee-chan!" Angry red flushed Sakura's face. The young girl turned away with a huff.

That was not Ayame's intention, though. She couldn't help herself. Part of it was relief; the feathers from Ryonfi had brought some fight into Sakura. But mostly it was because Ayame couldn't get over how adorable Sakura was, even under the exceptional circumstances they were in.

"Sakura."

She turned to face Ayame, her face still red.

Ayame squeezed Sakura's hand and said, "I will not do anything rash."

A small smile tugged at the end of Sakura's lips. "Promise?"

Ayame placed her hand on her younger sister's head and said, "I promise."

"Shall we leave, Ayame-san?"

Syaoran had made his way to the door; Fai and Kurogane at his heels.

"Yup."

Sakura stepped out first, Fai followed, then Syaoran. Just when Kurogane was about to cross the threshold, Ayame gently touched his forearm, making the ninja stop and turn back, frowning.

"I'm entrusting the kids to your care, Kurogane-san."

"You don't have to tell me to look after them." Kurogane then gave Ayame a wide grin and said, "Good luck with your fiancé."

A few seconds later, Kurogane stumbled out of the house nursing his shoulder, but looking generally pleased with himself; while Ayame looked like steam was going to pour out of her ears.

XXX

Even though noon was still an hour or so away, the skies above Spirit had already taken a dreary grey hue. The bitter, cold air hung around like a blanket, biting away at the edge of his ears. Fai could feel a sweet, pungent zing tingling his nostrils – a snowstorm was approaching.

'A storm would chill even me down to the bone… I wonder how the others are going to take it…'

Ayame was walking to his right; Fai could see her clutching her coat around her as tight as she could.

'She is totally going to hate it…'

Fai smiled to himself at the thought; he couldn't help it. Ayame complaining about something as mundane as the weather was a rare and amusing sight.

"Oi, stop smiling to yourself like that," Ayame hissed, "Behave according to your surroundings, dammit."

"What can I say, I'm just thrilled to be out on a walk with my lovely fiancé!" Fai grinned.

Ayame rolled her eyes and picked up her pace. However, she was right, as always. They were walking along the widest road in Spirit, which ran straight through the town. One would expect a road like this to be brimming with people at this time of the day. But there was hardly a soul out. Even the few people they encountered darted into nearby shops and alleyways at the sight of him and Ayame.

"News about us and the child's disappearance seems to have spread quickly," Fai said, catching up with Ayame.

"Yeah," Ayame said, "Everyone's really paranoid, aren't they?"

A small toy shop pulled its shutters down violently as they passed by, making both Fai and Ayame jump.

"Aya-chan, paranoid is an understatement."

Ayame smiled at that. She seemed to be taking all the hostility pretty well.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Fai asked.

"Bother me?"

"You know, the stares, the suspicion…" and before he could stop himself, he blurted, "People running away from you as if you were cursed?" Afterall, he knew that feeling all too well.

"Not really," Ayame shrugged, "I'm sort of used to it, I guess."

'Used to it…?'

Fai was intrigued. Why would the Crown Princess of a Kingdom, one who was also the Commander in Chief of its army, know how it felt to be ostracised? Fai was about to ask when Ayame suddenly stopped walking.

"We're here."

On their way, Ayame had told him that the weekly market of the town of Spirit was held right in the middle of town, a place the people called the Town Square. Fai could see why. Space was large, open and, as the name suggested, square. Naked, snow-lidden trees dotted the edges of the ground. All over the square, thirty or so decorated stalls had been set up, banners and paper buntings swaying lazily in the chilly breeze. A good number of the locals were meandering through the stalls; some taking a look at the merchandise on display, others haggling with the vendors.

Fai was a little relieved to see some normal in the frightened town. Then, he remembered the cold stares from earlier that morning… and also the way people avoided them on the street. It made his mouth run dry. By now, the whole town knew who they were, and were suspicious of them. If all that fear and paranoia took over even half the people gathered in the Square… if they decided to turn on him and Ayame all at once… Fai shivered slightly at the thought.

"I don't think we need to worry about being lynched."

Fai turned to see Ayame standing absolutely still. For some reason, she seemed completely untroubled by the wintry breeze now, lilac eyes darting from one end of the square to another. He could see what she was doing; counting the number of stalls, estimating the number of people gathered, making notes of all possible escape routes.

An image suddenly flashed before his eyes – Ayame, someplace humid and sweltering, surveying hostile territory and chalking a plan out in her head before leading the soldiers in her command forward, her purple cloak billowing behind her as she marched.

'That's how her life must've been like… before all this began…'

Old habits die hard.

"At this point, the people of the town think we are dangerous. They'll stay clear of us unless we provoke them." Ayame then smirked and added, "Besides, I can knock out half the people gathered if they decide to attack us without breaking a sweat. That would definitely scare off the rest."

Fai first thought Ayame was joking to lift the tension. However, the glint in her eyes told him otherwise.

"You can get really scary, Aya-chan," he said with a weak laugh.

Ayame grinned. "Remember that the next time you think of making me your fiancé."

XXX

A/N: Yo! It's been a VERY long time. I am really sorry. But life catches on you know! Between my job and studying for entrance exams, it got really difficult to write.

I will keep trying though ;)

Anyways, that's enough rambling now. My request is the same as always! Leave a review and let me know what you think. And I really want to thank the readers who took the time to DM and check-up on me. It really motivated to keep writing, no matter how busy I got!

Until the next time my friends!