Something that knocked on my skull and refused to budge. Hope you like it! And to those who know me, no, I'm not leaving the Slam Dunk section! Come on, I'm almost engaged to Rukawa. And Sendoh. And Maki. Oh, and Mitsui. ^_^
Confession: I haven't been following the CCS series very loyally. I've only seen the movie, actually, and happen to think Sakura and Syaoran make a cute couple. ^_^ So if I get anything wrong, or misspell the names or make another dozen mistakes no rightful CCS fan would, alert me, okay? Thanks!
An arrow, light and long in built, zoomed across the hall unnoticed and unseen, silently heading for its doomed target. It was fast and professionally released by someone who no doubt knew what he was doing. The arrow was inescapable. The victim would be dead in six seconds.
At the fourth second, Princess Sakura Kinomoto looked up and jerked her head fifty degrees to the left.
The arrow passed by her right eye and struck the wood chair that she was sitting on. It stuck out like an ornament, all feathery and straight.
Sakura blinked for a moment. And then she shook her head. "Oh dear."
Her ladies in waiting were chalk-pale, and half had already swooned to the floor in shock. The head of ladies-in-waiting, a brunette who called herself Tomoyo, raised a shaking hand to her heart in a futile attempt to steady it. "Sakura!" she exclaimed, dropping all formalities as she always did when she was panicked. "That's the fifth time today!"
"I know," Sakura shrugged. "I can count too, you know," she added with a wicked grin.
"How – how can you –" Tomoyo stammered in suppressed frustration, "How can you smile at me like that after an assassination attempt on your life???! Are you crazy??"
"Since birth," the princess assured her. "Relax, Tomoyo. They didn't succeed, did they? I'm still very much alive and talking."
"Clearly," Tomoyo sighed. "But if you had seen it a second too late, you would've – it could've – aaaargh! I don't want to think about it!"
Sakura patted her on the shoulder comfortingly, their roles ironically reversed – the victim soothing the supporter. "Oh, it's going to take more than that to murder me. Don't be insulting, Tomoyo. And look, here comes the castle guards, probably wanting to tell us the assassin had escaped and that I had better go to my chamber for safety."
"Your Highness," the tallest of the guards spoke up. "The assassin has escaped. You better go to your chamber for safety."
Sakura nodded obediently and chuckled as the guards left. "It really gets to me whenever he calls me 'Your Highness'," she informed. "He's two feet taller than I am! I should be the one calling him 'Your Heightness'."
Tomoyo, however, refused to be distracted, and with a firm grip, she steered the princess to the right hallway, leaving the rest of the ladies in waiting who were still unconscious on the floor. "This is serious, Your Highness," she whispered urgently. "This is the fifth attempt today, and the twentieth in total for this week. I swear if I see another arrow, I'm going to die of excessive aggravation."
"It's only expected," Sakura muttered dully, noticing that her father's spies were all around them (hidden, of course. They are spies, after all) to watch over her short journey to her room. "Father's condition is getting worse every day." Her eyes clouded. "It's not going to be long before the country needs a new Emperor again. Naturally, Emperor-wannabes are trying to get rid of any heir to the crown for them to have a go at it."
"But you're just a girl," Tomoyo argued.
"Doesn't change my birthright." Sakura pointed out. "Some people just do what they feel they have to do, regardless if I'm a girl or a guy or a chipmunk." She looked back and saw that Tomoyo was struggling to hold back tears. "I'm going to be all right, Tomoyo," Sakura told her, knowing what was troubling her friend. "You don't think I went through all those self-defense training since I was two for nothing. You know I'm capable of taking care of myself."
"I know," Tomoyo nodded, wiping tears away. "But … mistakes happen. I don't mean to insult you, Your Highness, but unexpected things happen when you least expect them. I don't want you taking any chances."
"I won't."
"It's just that you're so cheerful and carefree about this. I mean, someone – or more than one – is out there trying to take your life and you're …" Tomoyo gestured at the grinning Sakura. "And you're grinning at me!"
"Smile and the world smiles with you."
They reached her richly furnished chamber and pushed the door open. "Your Highness," Tomoyo began doubtfully, "aren't you… aren't you even a little scared by all this?"
Sakura laughed. "Tomoyo, I'm downright terrified."
She was summoned to the Emperor's room not long after that. Knowing very well what the topic of discussion would be, Sakura tried to think of a dozen different ways for her to shrug the incident off. As if her father didn't have enough to worry about without adding a stupid assassination attempt of her life to the list.
Honestly, Sakura bristled, some people have no consideration.
"Princess Sakura Kinomoto," the guard announced as she entered. Heading straight for her father, Sakura paused to curtsy and then rushed head on. "It's all right, father," she said even before the Emperor had a chance to reply to her greeting. "I'm not hurt. It's nothing serious. Somebody got bored and thought he'd try his archery skills, that's all."
Emperor Kinomoto struggled to hide a smile. His daughter downplayed everything that concerned her. He was sure if Sakura had somehow came upon a dragon, the most she'd say was, "Oh, and I saw a big lizard last afternoon."
Sakura waited for some sort of response from her father, but received none. "So," she muttered, rubbing her forehead awkwardly. "Everything's fine. I think I'll go practice horse-riding."
"Everything's not fine, Sakura," the Emperor spoke up then. He was leaning heavily and tiredly against his throne, though his eyes twinkled with life. "And you know as well as I do that no matter how you practice your horse-riding, it's not going to change anything." He cleared his dry throat. "They've killed your brother, and now they're about to kill you."
Sakura looked down at her feet.
"Your brother refused extra protection," her father reminisced sadly, "just as you refuse it now. I accommodated him then, and look what it brought me. It's not going to be the same with you."
Sakura opened her mouth to protest.
"I know what you're thinking, Sakura," the Emperor interrupted. "I know what you're planning, and why you refuse to have guards trailing after you." He leaned forward and stared at his daughter right in the eye. "You plan to avenge your brother, and you want to do it alone."
"I'm a capable fighter," Sakura insisted, "and even if you place ten thousand guards all around me, at the end of the day, it's going to be me against the assassinator. There's no point in extra protection from something inevitable."
"But I'm not placing ten thousand guards around you," her father pointed out calmly. "One is more than enough."
Sakura raised an eyebrow at the almost insignificant number. "One?"
"He's outside." Her father gave her a pleading look. "Do it for me, Sakura. I hardly ever ask you for anything."
Because it was true, and because she loved her father dearly, Sakura held back the objection she was about to make and sighed quietly. "All right," she consented. "Anything for you."
"He's a good man, Sakura. He will be your protector, and if the need arises, your fighting comrade."
She went forward and kissed her father on the cheek. "Get well."
"I'm doing my best."
"Hmm. I'll go meet my bodyguard."
The surly tone made the Emperor laugh. "Careful," he warned her. "He's grumpy."
Bodyguard, Syaoran Li thought darkly as he paced the elaborate garden. What on earth do they take me for?? I'm not some big-boned, muscular whale who grunts like an elephant and tosses people over the roof.
"That's because the princess doesn't need a big-boned, muscular whale who grunts like an elephant and tosses people over the roof," his mother had patiently countered his furious complaint just this morning. "Now, we've got to make you look good for the royalties…"
"I don't want to do it," he had stubbornly stood his ground. "I don't even remotely like the royal high-nosed, ape-descendants. What makes you think I'm going to take the trouble to protect them? Haven't they got enough burly men to clash axes already?"
"We have got to go something about your tongue," his mother had shaken her head.
"Why do I have to do this?" Syaoran had ranted on. "Why is it that we kneel at every order they give? What have they given us in return anyway?" He gestured at their crumbling house and modest food stock. "They starve us like unwanted baboons and then turn to us when they're in trouble? Hah!"
"That's why you should go," his mother had told him. "By offering your service, the Emperor might notice us and turn his attention to us. And your patriotism could do with some upgrading." His mother had by then finished fussing with him and had looked back in satisfaction. "Every bit the handsome lad you are," she'd said proudly. "You won't look out of place next to the pretty princess."
"I bet she has crossed eyes and warts all over her face."
His mother had just laughed and kissed his snarling face.
And now here he was, standing right in the royal courtyard and glaring at the petunias blooming over the railings.
Suddenly feeling disturbance in the still air, he looked sharply to his right. The princess – he was sure of it by the way she was dressed – stood at one corner of the courtyard, far away from him, her eyes scanning around. The light in her pupils showed resigned acceptance and subtle frustration, but her pose was relaxed.
The sight of her staggered him, for some reason. Okay… he thought as he steadied his breathing. No crossed eyes and warts on her face after all.
And then she saw him, and her eyes widened in what could be termed as surprise and her relaxed pose grew slightly tense in unexpected anxiety.
They've met.
Wahahahahahaha! Man, Syaoran is cute. ^_^