http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/maiden06.txt </head><body><pre>Part six: (Warning: Extremely sappy and waffy, as well as corny. May need toothbrush so you don't get cavities) Standard Disclaimers apply. ~ Sleeping Maiden It took Sorata three days to travel to the cottage where he had said his goodbyes to Arashi, which was 5 times shorter then it had taken him to get home. Probably because on his way home, he had continually stopped and gone back, then hit himself and continued on his journey. Now, nothing was going to stop him from seeing his Arashi again. Actually, this thought made him stop and think. When had he started referring to the girl as 'his' Arashi? He didn't mind, but he knew she probably would. Although, in the days before he had left, she had changed a great deal, smiling at him when she thought he wasn't looking, or helping him whenever one of his injuries still bothered him. A week before he left, he had gone outside and found that she had fallen asleep, probably tired from staying up the night before, in the tree he'd seen her in the first night he stayed with them. Sorata smiled remembering the memory. He had picked her up and taken her to her room and as he tucked her into the bed, she had murmured his name. He had bent down and given her forehead a kiss before leaving the room in case she woke up and tried to hit him. Now, she was sleeping again, it seemed. And until he went to her, she was going to stay asleep. That worried him. Well, enough of this break. Sorata started on his way again, it wouldn't be long before he got to the cottage. When he got there, late in the day, it was empty, deserted. The inugami trotted over to him, a puppy bit his ankle, but other then that, there was nothing there. He leaned down to pat the head of an inugami. "Where are the ladies who live here? Have you seen them?" "We're right here." He heard Yuzuriha's voice say from behind the cottage. Sorata turned around, and saw the three girls coming toward him, faces unusually solemn. "Ah, Yuzuriha, Kotori, Hinoto! ...Is Arashi around?" Kotori shook her head. "She's fallen under a curse." "A curse? What sort of curse?!" "When she was born, her parents, King Seiichirou and Queen Karen, held a party in her honour. Hinoto's sister came interupted the party, saying that when Arashi turned 17, she would prick her finger on a spindle and die." Sorata's eyes widened in horror. "No!" "Luckily," Kotori said quickly, not wanting to make the boy cry. "I changed the curse. Instead of dying, she fell into a deep sleep. She'll only wake up until she gets a kiss from her true love. That's why we called you, with that illusion." Sorata raised an eyebrow. "What do I have to do with this?" //...You're her true love, Sorata...// Hinoto said softly. Sorata blinked. "But.... she never said anything or acted like it. I knew she was opening up to me, but her TRUE LOVE?" "Yes... you're the only one who can wake her up. Now come on, let's get you some weapons!" Yuzuriha grabbed his arm. "Wait, weapons?" //Of course, if you're going to rescue your Princess you have to fight evil things, right?// "Oh, great." ~ The next day, Sorata stood in front of the wall of vines, clothed in "princely" clothes, and wielding a large sword. "Do I cut these down?" He asked over his shoulder to the three fairies who watched him. "Oh, no!" Yuzuriha shook her head. "If you cut them down, Kusanagi would kill me!" The three fairies waved their wands, and the vines seperated just long enough for Sorata to jump into the castle walls. The vines closed back behind him. "You're on your own from now on, Sorata! Arashi sleeps in the upper most tower room, when you wake her up, we'll see you again!" Sorata was all alone now, except for the sleeping people all around him. "Lovely." he muttered to himself. "Just lovely." He walked into the castle, looking around to make sure that no one was awake. From what the fairies had told him, Kanoe could and probably would attack him(or at least send a cronie) so he wouldn't wake up Arashi. That woman carried grudges that were scary, he thought as he began to climb a stairwell. He really had no idea how to get to the upper most tower room, but he was just following his heart now. And his heart said Arashi lay at the top of these stairs. It took forever, but he finally made it to the top of the stairwell. Unfortunately, the door was locked, so he had to take his sword and cut it down. When he climbed through the hole in the door, he found his Arashi, sleeping peacefully on a bed, surrounded by cherry blossoms. "Arashi..." he said softly, and walked over to her. She looked gorgeous in sleep, her hair spread out across her shoulders, hands crossed on her stomach. Her breathing was deep and even, and her cheeks were rose tinted. That was a very pretty dress, he observed. He could have stood there for hours, watching her sleep like that, but he remember that he had to wake her up. He was about to lean over and kiss her when he heard someone clear their throat across the room, and he whirled around. A man was leaning against the wall, eyes covered by his sunglasses. "Who are you?" Sorata asked, placing his sword in front of him. "I was a servant for the king and queen here, but Kanoe convinced me to help her in her cause. I was the one who brought the spinning wheel and spindle in here. And Kanoe wants me to kill you, so that girl will never wake up." "Well, I'm afraid that I can't let you do that. I have to wake her up, and then I can die. Does that sound like a good plan?" Sorata asked. The man's answer was to summon a shikigami and send it toward Sorata. He slashed at it with his sword, causing it to fall on the ground. 'Not here', he thought.'It's too close to Arashi.' Sorata looked nervously at the sleeping girl. 'Don't worry, I'll make sure you awaken.' Unfortunately, looking at her for even a second gave the man enough time to send more shikigami toward him and they cut into his shoulder. Sorata screamed and swung, but they were too close for him to hit with his sword. They kept attacked, shreding his clothes and skin. Finally, he shrugged and unleashed a lightening attack, a trick he had learned from a magician on his travels. He nearly dropped to his knees, but instead used his sword to hold himself up. He was bleeding badly, he realized. It seemed as if his destiny would come true, after all. The man smirked and held up an ofuda. "It looks like I've won." then, an evil smirked cross his face, and he threw the ofuda. Not toward Sorata, though. The ofuda changed into another shikigami and raced, shrieking toward the woman on the bed. Horror crossed Sorata's features and he dropped his sword, running to stand in front of the bed. He just barely made it, and blacked out as the shikigami tore through his flesh. The man smirked at the boy laying motionless across the bed. His job here was done. He called back his shikigami and then vanished in a swirl of cherry blossoms. Sorata struggled to open his eyes, but he felt like he was dying. In fact, he thought, he was, wasn't he? He flinched and and managed to stand up. Now, Arashi's pretty dress was smeared all over with his blood, but she didn't look any less beautiful. He leaned over her and took her chin into his hand, using the other to support himself from falling onto her. "Please, please wake up..." he whispered, before gently claiming her mouth with his. Her lips were cold at first, but they warmed up quickly at his touch, and he felt her mouth open in surprise, and then her breath mingle with his. He pulled back as her gray eyes opened and stared up at him. Her face was fading quickly, though, into the darkness surrounding his vision. "...Sorata...what are you.." then she noticed his wounds. "Sorata!" She sat up as the man collapsed, unable to take the injuries anymore. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him onto the bed, holding him close. "Sorry..." he muttered quietly. "Didn't mean to mess up your pretty dress there. Although... I can barely see it anymore. That's not good, I want your beautiful face to be the last thing I see..." Arashi felt tears start to leak out of her eyes, dripping down her face, and slashing onto his. '...Why am I crying?' she thought to herself. "Looks like...my destiny is coming true..." he chuckled lightly. "How can you say that? Don't you dare die, Sorata! Don't even think about it!" She held his face in her hands, looking down at the man, crying harder. He felt her tears and reached up to stroke her cheek. "Please don't cry...I'm happy I was able to kiss you before dying..." he layed his head against her shoulder, eyes fluttering shut. "I love you..." he mumbled, then stopped breathing. Arashi was in hysterics now, and she held him tightly. "Don't die, don't die, don't die! Oh, please! Don't die!" She sobbed and pressed her face into his hair. ~ Down in the main castle hall, the people of the palace were waking up and stretching. "We're awake," Karen noted, looking around. "Then that must mean...." "Arashi has woken up, as well..." the three fairies came in through a window. They had been having problems with the vine spell, and thus had to fly over the wall. "However..." Kotori trailed off. A scream ripped through the castle, not one of fright or anger, but one of heartbroken misery. "Sorata's destiny came true..." Yuzuriha finished, hanging her head. Kusanagi hugged her, then the royal family and fairies started to follow the scream. ~ Arashi cried, unable to stop her tears. She was trying every thing to revive him, hitting him, now she was sitting astride his stomach adminsteering what she knew of a new techinque, called CPR. "Please, please wake up... I didn't want to be kissed... by my true love only to have him die... in my arms right afterwards." She tried this for what seemed like forever, until despair took her over and she sobbed into her hands. 'It's hopeless...he's dead...'Her tears splashed onto his wounds, and she didn't notice as they began to heal. 'This can't be happening...' she covered her face with hands stained by blood. 'My true love kissed me, awakened me...and now he's dead? This can't be happening...' A flash of light caught her attention and she pulled her hands away from her facing, staring in disbelief at the young man lying dead. His wounds were almost healed, though the tears in his clothes remained, and as she watched, he took in a long shuddering sigh and started breathing. "Sorata!" she squealed, trying not to sound TOO happy, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Am I in heaven? Must be, if angels are as beautiful as Miss Arashi...." he said. She pulled back to glare at him and he only smiled. Then, he got serious. "Really, Arashi..how did this happen?" "I don't know...and I don't care, as long as you're alive!" she hugged him again, and she felt his arms wrap around her waist. "I suppose I did die, right?" he asked and she nodded. "Then... I died..but I didn't stay dead!" he laughed at this and before she knew, had leaned up and kissed her again. She was shocked, but hid it and responded back with as much enthusiasm as she could bear. "Ahem." Kotori said from the doorway, looking at the two teens sitting in a ...compromising... manner. Arashi's head snapped up and she leapt off the bed, blushing madly. Sorata sat up in embarassment and cringed. Arashi's tears may have been able to heal some wounds, but others still hurt like heck. "Ugh..I'm think I'm going to pass out..." he braced himself on a hand, trying not to, though the pain in his head increased the longer he sat up. Arashi chose his well-being over her pride, and sat next to him, supporting him with her arm. "We'd better get you to a doctor." Seiichirou said, and Kusanagi came over to help the youth stand up. "After you're all healed, we can discuss wedding plans!" "Wedding plans?" Both Sorata and Arashi stared at the King. "Oh, sure." Karen said conversationally. "First you have to get married, THEN you can have lots of little babies!" Both kids paled. ~ Two months later, Sorata and Arashi were married. He climbed on his horse and pulled his new wife up behind him. "Ready to go?" he asked the woman, clad in a white wedding gown, as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "I've been ready." she replied, laying her head against his shoulder. The two rode off, and the people in the palace watched them go into the sunset. "Oooh, that was so sweet!" Kotori said dreamily, hands on cheeks. "Arashi looked so pretty in her wedding gown." Yuzuriha nodded. "I can't wait til I become a bride." She gave a not- so-subtle glance toward the man at her side, who faintly blushed and looked away. Hinoto looked at her fairy sisters. //Aren't we forgetting something?// "Oh, yeah." Kotori and Yuzuriha said in unison, and raised their wands. Words appeared in midair. ~ They went off into the sunset, to live happily ever after. The End. ~ Okay, that was incredibly sappy. Even for a hopeless romantic like me. ^^;;;; Yes, I know some of the things in there didn't happen in the actual story or movie. I'm taking a few liberties. As always, suggestions, comments and critism welcome!</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>