Hello ladies and gents (do guys read my stuff?? now THERE'S a question, haha!)

Here's a very delayed update! Enjoy!!

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Tomoyo Daidouji woke with a pleasant feeling. Her skin was clean, her once aching joints were soothed … she moaned with a happy grin on her face, as she stretched out against the pillowtop mattress.

But then reality hit her.

The troops. The sand. The storm. Her people.

That's the last thing she could remember … and yet, none of them explained why she was staring up at a beautiful painting on the ceiling above her head.

Carefully she sat up, clutching the sheets – the silk sheets, she noted – to her chest, wary of others that may be around. The room she slept in was well furnished, with fancy couches and beautifully carved wardrobes. She noticed that someone had changed her from her tattered robes and she had been placed in a silk nightgown. A set of clean robes were placed carefully at the foot of her bed.

She narrowed her amethyst eyes, trying to decipher her situation. How could this be? The night before she was sleeping on the cold sand in her old dirty scraps of clothing. And now she was in paradise?

Slowly, looking around to make sure she hadn't missed someone hiding in the corner, she kicked her quilt back and crawled forward, quickly changing into pants and shirt. She noted the detail of the embroidery – very expensive … and very eastern. The dragon running along the mountaintops across her shirt made it plain to her where she was.

Groaning at the realization of her location, she quickly thought out possible scenarios in her mind. The Eastern lord wants her for a slave – or an actual innocent bystander wanted to help her – or she could be in the palace of the enemy and he may not know it –

The last time she checked the map, her and her troops were heading north to enter much safer territory, even though that meant sneaking past the lion's den. But a storm hit. If she got thrown about in that thing – which is how her body felt, despite the relaxing sleep she had, there was a chance she was in the lions den.

Confronting him was the last thing she wanted to do. So, just as her brain was processing the idea of jumping out the window, scaling down the wall (pausing to consider how high above the ground floor she may be and how long it would take) and breaking into the stables for a horse, the door to her room opened, causing her to jump.

It was only a servant. The maid walked in with a tray filled with breakfast foods, humming to herself. When she looked up and saw that the guest was standing next to the window, she almost dropped the food in surprise. Quickly she bowed, and muttered, "Forgive me, madam, I shall fetch the master."

Tomoyo reached out a hand, attempting to tell the girl she could have all the gold she would ever need if she helped her escape, but she had already turned and left. Tomoyo cursed to herself, quickly running her fingers through her long black hair, attempting to look decent. She wasn't going to look like a fool in front of this man – not for the sake of her mother.

Footsteps slowly approached from the hallway, and she simply stood her ground. For a moment she closed her eyes and muttered a quick prayer, for the Gods to forgive her for her false appearance to come. As soon as the steps were in her room her eyes flew open and she stared at Lord Jiku, and a lady, presumably his wife, walking closer to her.

The Lord was a tall man, in his mid-life already. His salt-and-pepper hair and beard proved his age. And in spite of the idea of an older man being wise and charming, there was an air about him. An air of ... deceit. Even the smile he gave her seemed a bit queer. "Good morning, milady," he said. "Did you sleep soundly?"

Tomoyo was able to nod and curtsy for him, as hard as it was to do considering who he was. (as hard as that was to do considering who it was for) and rose with a smile. "Yes, thank you, your grace."

"How on earth did you end up in the middle of the desert, unconscious?" the lady asked.

Tomoyo made a quick moment to stare at her, taking her in – this was the woman who was able to live as wife to Lord Jiku. If Tomoyo had that position she would have killed herself before considering it ... But Tomoyo simply giggled foolishly. "A storm came up unexpectedly, your grace. That's the last thing I remember. I must've been separated from my companions."

The Lord and Lady laughed – a sound that sounded normal to others, but chilled the girl to the bone.

"Understandable," the Lord said. "Our storms are indeed, treacherous and unexpected."

"I don't know how to repay your kindness," Tomoyo went on. Butter them up, she thought.

"Nonsense," the Lord stated again. "We help our fellow man. Our son found you and brought you back … proving he has the compassion that we Jiku's portray."

"Why he was out that far in the desert in the first place," The lady stated, looking a bit annoyed, "is still under investigation."

Tomoyo raised her eyebrows – family drama was always intriguing. But they were buying her act well - she couldn't ask questions now. She cleared her throat and said, "I'd like to meet him, and thank him."

"He will be in the judo for the next few hours, he only began his training a moment ago," The Lord stated. "Until then … how do you plan to meet with your companions?"

"We have a meeting place for such an occasion, just a day down the road," Tomoyo offered. Yes, perfect, you look like an innocent traveler – forgive me, gods, for the falseness, but I need it to live. "Surely they will wait for me there. If I could bother your grace for a horse-"

"Of course. We'll do you one better."

"Oh?"

"We'll send our son with you, to escort you to safety."

And all of her hard work was for nothing.

fuck.

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Tomoyo Daidouji was born and raised in the ways of the old court. Her mother, Lady Daidouji, had been the only known female to be an advisor to the Council. And although the Old Federation had been destroyed and torn apart before Tomoyo was born, her mother had been determined to show her that with enough hard work a woman never had to do what men told her. Unfortunately the majority of the world thought against this – hence the damsel-in-distress act for Lord Jiku.

She had never been forced into dresses, except for the odd ball or gala. She had been taught to fight like every other soldier in her mothers fortress. And she had been sitting with her mother at Resistance meetings since she was ten. She was no fool of the ways of the world.

And for the first time in her life her mother had assigned her to be captain of a mission; to get to the west, to talk to the lord there. She was anxious about it, and determined not to screw things up. She would be a hero for the information exchanged between the two parties. And, due to her lack of involvement of any of the old missions, she would've completed the two week journey unnoticed.

But then she got stuck in a sandstorm three days into her trek, had ended up in the enemy's guest room and now had his son following her around.

After receiving instructions on how to reach the dojo, Tomoyo bit her bottom lip raw as she deliberated in her head. She was praying to the gods that this wasn't the bastard son of Jiku … everyone had heard the story. There was still gossip to this very day, eighteen years after the initial incident, surrounding the boy. And one of the stories was that he was a ticking time bomb. He was irrational, volatile, unpredictable - … but rumours were always a thousand times worse than the actual problem, right? He couldn't be that horrible, could he?

He did save her. He could have left her, but he showed he was humane.

Or this whole thing is an elaborate scheme and he brought me back to his father as a sacrificial lamb, she thought bitterly.

The stairwell she entered wound upwards to the tower that held the dojo. Tomoyo stepped lightly, not looking forward to this.

But as she neared she didn't hear any movement. She was confused – either he was a very silent fighter or he had left already.

Upon reaching the open doorway up ahead she stopped, peering lightly around the corner. She stood on the tips of her toes to see above the step that ended at the floor of the room.

He was there alright – and as she watched him practice she couldn't stop her jaw from dropping in awe. He wasn't huge, but he had strength; she saw the muscles ripple across his arms with each punch and the power in each kick. His eyes were burning deep amber, focused, concentrated. And through it all he barely made a sound.

Tomoyo gulped. He truly was a bomb waiting to go off.

Syaoran had heard someone coming up the stairs a long time ago, and was thoroughly pissed. He had given specific instructions for no one to bother him during his morning routine. But when he sensed that this was neither his family nor a servant, he was about to go on defensive guard – and then she poked her head over the stairs. He scoffed. The girl he had rescued had come up to bother him.

Finally, after she watched for a few more minutes, he stopped, silent, still ... and said, "Can I help you with anything?"

Tomoyo nearly jumped when his voice echoed through the large room. She blushed in embarrassment; of course he knew she was there. She couldn't possibly believe that she was invisible, could she? Ugh ... she climbed a few most of her could be seen from the doorway.

First things first; she bowed deeply, her hair falling over her shoulders as she said, "I've come to thank you for saving me, sir. I'm eternally grateful." While he couldn't see her face, she grimaced. "A-And I'm even more grateful for you offering your services to me later-"

"Pulling you out of the dirt was a nuisance."

Her head shot up as fast as the condescending tone sent a chill up her spine. She stared wide-eyed and for the first time caught eyes with him. Despite his angry glare, he was very handsome.

Syaoran walked to the far side of the dojo to pick up his fallen shirt. As he pulled it over his head Tomoyo suddenly realized that he had been shirtless this whole time and took note of the distinct muscles across his chest, and couldn't help but blush ... before mentally slapping herself, that is. He had just insulted her, for god's sake! She cleared her throat and asked, "Excuse me?"

"It was a nuisance that ruined my plans – I could've just sent a flare for the guards to come get you, but instead of being half-way across the desert, I'm back here." Syaoran began to walk towards the doorway, and Tomoyo had a feeling he wasn't going to stop.

She considered herself a very liberal girl, who stood her ground and fought for what was right. But as she saw him coming closer she felt that this was one fight she better step down from. She stepped to the side of the hallway, letting him brush past her. And for some insane reason, she said, "I'm sorry."

Wait, what am I sorry for? That he saved me? No – that I ruined his precious 'schedule'? No – that I'm in this place? Yeah! That's it!

Syaoran grunted, almost sounding like a low laugh, and continued down the steps ... until something hit him. He paused, and turned, looking back up at her. "What did you mean, later?"

Tomoyo blinked in surprise ... his eyes were so intense. So cold. They were hard to look away from. She bit her lip and soon realized she hadn't answered him. "U-Um, your parents said you were going to escort me to my companions ... I had assumed you had offered, but I guess not ..."

His eyes widened for a moment, before looking away from her. Why the hell did they go and do that?! He's got no time for playing bodyguard. First when he arrived back home with the girl no one wanted to look after her, assuming she was one of his lady-friends from his local hangout – but once they realized she was dehydrated and after Syaoran told them that he had simply 'found her in the desert', not only had he been nagged at for the entire day by his mother and his brother about his whereabouts, he was mad at himself for missing one of his few opportunities. However, his father never flinched at the situation. It angered Syaoran that nothing seemed to pride or burden the old man when it came to his illegitimate child ... unlike whenever something dangerous or exciting happened in Eriol's life. But that's how it was, wasn't it? He was the unwanted child ... and now it seemed like he was to be one of the servants, too

... but wait. Now his eyes widened in realization ... this could work out in his favour. Syaoran looked back up at her. "Where?"

She took a moment to reply. "About a day's journey north, at Lake Satsui."

Syaoran almost grinned. Fairly easy to ride off unnoticed when no one was around to watch. He was back on track. Escourt the girl (or dump her?) and then ride west ... he could be to the Western Lord's manor in under ten days ...

He quickly turned away from her, heading down the stairs. "Pack your things," he ordered. "We leave in an hour."

Tomoyo 's eyes widened in surprise, and she found herself stumbling down the stairs. "What? Really?" she asked in surprise. She had no idea how to read this boy ... for a ticking time bomb, he seemed very conniving ... his expression when he asked where she needed to go had changed so much and yet so little that it was driving her curiousity. What was he thinking? Or planning?

Syaoran had just reached the bottom of the tower stairs, a good twenty steps ahead of the girl ... only to slam into his brother.

Eriol laughed, stumbling backward when Syaoran nearly ran into him, but didn't move from the doorway. Syaoran's eyes narrowed when he noticed this too – he didn't have time to be pestered.

"Where you going so fast, Syaoran?" he asked, a playful grin on his face.

Syaoran's glare hardened – it never became this stern except when he was dealing with his older brother, and yet he was the one person who was immune to these glares. "Move it, Eriol."

Tomoyo had heard the other voice and soon reached the stairs behind the boys, and seeing them stand off against each other made her tread the last few stairs carefully. She had a feeling they were related (or not, according to the story) and assumed this was the family drama she had heard about earlier.

"Oh come now, Syaoran," Eriol contined to badger him. "What corner of the planet are you running off to? Hm? We know you were out in the desert last night – you've never drifted that far before – "

Syaoran stepped closer, as if giving his brother one last chance to move on his own, but Eriol didn't budge.

" – so what were you doing? Hm?" Eriol continued to grin .... until he saw the satin slipper hit the stairs behind Syaoran. He looked up at the girl, his eyes widening in surprise – and upon seeing her beautiful face he turned on the charm. "Well this must be the girl you found!"

Tomoyo barely had a chance to nod before the boy swept into an elaborate bow. "And how did you sleep? Are you rested? Poor thing, being out in the desert storm like that ... "

... and then she wanted to throw up. She didn't even bother hiding it from her face – it was schmoozing men like this that made her mother the radical she was.

She frowned and held her head high, stepping up to the boys. "Sir, please, do not talk down to me like a weak little pup."

Syaoran's glare finally broke to stare at the girl. As she approached them, they both stood apart so she could walk past. She entered the breezeway and said, "Women are just as capable as you are at handling trouble." She suddenly raised an eyebrow daringly. "Probably not any of the women you socialize with display this, but it is true nonetheless."

Syaoran bit his lip to keep from grinning. He was starting to like this girl. At least they had a mutual hate for Eriol in common.

The bespecticaled boy's jaw had dropped in awe (and humiliation). Never had a woman ever talked to him like that – in other words, this was the first woman he had encountered that wasn't falling head over heels in love with him. The girl flipped her hair and began to walk with her head held high. "Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to pack."

"Pack?" Eriol found his voice again. "Heading out so soon?"

"Yes, your brother has offered to see me to my companions and we're leaving as soon as possible," she answered, still not turning and showing great disrespect by not facing him ... which made it even harder for Syaoran to hide his smirk of delight.

Eriol's facade fell and he looked at his sibling – Syaoran returned to glaring at him. Eriol frowned. Syaoran offering help? Why would he do that? ... he would probably try to run away to wherever he was going again ...

"Well why don't I join you two?"

Tomoyo froze, and when she spun around to stare, her and Syaoran both exclaimed, "What?"

Eriol grinned. "You see, m'lady, my brother and I never get out of the village ... it would be nice to see some of our lovely countryside. And, not to mention," he returned his gaze back to his fuming brother. "We never get to talk. It'll be a good ride back."

The anger building in his chest almost made him explode. Of all the people to become an obstacle, Syaoran would feel the least regret taking care of this one. What did he think he was doing, babysitting him?!

Tomoyo, however, was stuck. What could she say? He was lord of the house .... she had no say in the matter if she was hoping to leave. She eventually shrugged. "Do as you wish."

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Lord Jiku stared out the large windows overlooking the courtyard. His eyes followed blankly as they watched Syaoran and the girl approach their horses with their bags. He saw the cold expression on the boys face, and noted the sword slung to the horses' saddle. He stared unchanged, uncaring .... just watching it unfold.

At that moment he heard footsteps enter the hall where he stood. Eriol was approaching him, and he spoke. "Father, I'm going to see her off as well. Hope you don't mind – figured I would see some of the country for once – "

"Eriol."

His son noted the odd calm in his voice, and paused where he was. "Yes, father?"

"If Syaoran attempts to run off, let him go."

Eriol frowned. "What?"

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TO BE CONTINUED ...

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