Hello everyone! As always, I want to say thank you for your reviews, and for those who let me know what I can work on. I'll keep working hard-it might not show straight away, but I'll keep writing and practicing! -dances happily- Enjoy!


Shouting sounded outside and Eriol peered out the tent. "What's going on?" he wondered.
"Get the children to safety!" someone shouted.
"What is it...?" Sakura asked. She peered outside just as several arrows came whistling through the air. Two landed a few metres from the entrance to the medical tent.
"Sakura, take the child and get to safety." Eriol ordered.
"Where do I go?" Sakura asked, pulling the four-year-old from the bed and wrapping her in the warm blankets.
"Behind the waterfall is a cave-head there."
"What about you?" she asked.
He smiled, "Oh, I'll be fine."

Meiling pulled Sakura behind her and they ran out of the tent. Soldiers fought to protect their people and Sakura tried not to stop as she heard several cries of agony and rage.
She stumbled as she ran but recovered quickly, heading for the waterfall and river.
"No-my son!" a woman up ahead screamed.
Sakura glanced over her shoulder and spotted a screaming three-year-old boy on the ground.
"Meiling, take her," she pressed the little girl into Meiling's arms and span around to retrieve the little boy who cried for his mother.
"Sakura-wait!" Meiling shouted.

Sakura didn't listen. She dodged several soldiers and mothers who were headed for the waterfall and safely made it to the child.
"Come on," she murmured softly, helping the child to his feet.
She spun around as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and met the eyes of a bloodthirsty soldier with his sword raised above his head, ready to kill her and the boy.
Out if pure reflex she held out her hand and when the sword came down, it appeared to hit some kind of force field and shattered. Stunned, he faltered for a moment before removing his secondary weapon to kill her with instead.
The sound of hooves sounded behind her and she closed her eyes tight, shielding the boy from harm with her body. Something warm splattered against her face.

"Hurry and get that child to the waterfall." Syaoran ordered.

She opened her eyes and looked up to see her husband looking out for any more threats.
Sakura pulled the boy into her arms and ran as fast as she could with Syaoran shielding her back on the way.
Several enemy soldiers were chasing after women and children as they scrambled for the cave behind the waterfall. Syaoran hurried forwards to defend the cave, cutting down his enemies swiftly without hesitation.

Sakura passed through the water and into darkness. She could hear murmuring and cries of children.
"My son!"
She looked around, seeing a woman struggling to reach her. She stepped forward and carefully move around huddling children and mothers and injured until she reached the frantic woman. The child reached out to his mother and Sakura handed him over, relieved to see them back together again.
The woman thanked her profusely and Sakura smiled, happy to help.
A hand touched her shoulder and Sakura turned, seeing Meiling holding a damp cloth. The medic reached out and wiped the blood from Sakura's face and then moved to tend to the injured. Feeling wiped out and utterly exhausted from her escape of near death, Sakura collapsed on her knees, held up by the surrounding women.


She came to in the familiar surroundings of the tent she shared with Syaoran. She opened her eyes, finding the tent to be dimly lit, and she wondered how late it was. A warm hand brushed her cheek tenderly.
"Good to see you're awake," Syaoran murmured.
"What time is it?" she mumbled.
"It's late evening. You were out for a while." He answered. "I saw you deflect that blade."
She groaned. "I was running on pure instinct."
"For now, I'll accept that as an answer. I doubt your magic only includes healing."

She sat up. She was still wearing her usual clothes, but they were filthy and covered in mud and blood. "I need to ask Tomoyo if she can make me another one of these dresses."
"That one seems to be your favourite out of all of them." Syaoran smiled.
"It's comfortable and I can move around in it easily, so it's good for when I'm working." She explained.
"You might want her to get you some new shoes, too." He added, "Your current ones seem to be wearing out."
"I know." Sakura stood up and removed her apron, folding it up and leaving it on the chair beside her. "How did things go in the city...?"
"Things have been resolved. It was a misunderstanding between two houses." He explained. "Has Eriol given you a medical kit yet?"
"No, he hasn't. He said something about running low on supplies needed." Sakura replied as she undressed herself and then wrapped herself in her pink silk dressing robe.
"I bought you one while I was out." Syaoran said, "I'm familiar with what's needed in them. My mother used to make me pack them for the medical apprentices before she passed away."
She looked at him with surprise. "Thank you..."
He smiled. "Did anything happen while I was away-not counting the attack."
Sakura sighed. "We're not sure yet. We've had several people come through with a strange rash and symptoms of sore joints and feeling ill. We haven't been able to figure out what it is that's causing it or if it's contagious."
"And it would be too costly to heal this strange new illness. You'd be down by a medic or depending on how bad it gets, a few medics." Syaoran murmured. "Strange."
"The only place every one of these patients has in common is being down by the riverside."
"But everyone goes to and from the river to get water." He frowned.
"We know. That's why we can't think of anything right now, and until we know what it is we won't know how to treat it properly. I asked Eriol to let me go down to the river and have a look, but he wouldn't let me." She confessed. "I'm worried about the children who are infected."

Syaoran stood, taking her dirty clothes and placing them in the basket at the other end of the tent. "Good. I'm glad he didn't let you go look-if you were to somehow get infected and we didn't know what it was, I wouldn't be particularly happy."
"But-"
"No. Follow your mentors orders and stick to them. Let me know if anything changes." He answered.
Sakura gave an annoyed huff and said nothing more on the matter. It was clear that she was to stay put in the medical tent where she might be infected anyway, but something nagged at the back of her mind.
Something from when she was young.
Sakura shook her head, unable to remember what it was.
"I'll be back shortly. I have to deal with a few prisoners." Syaoran murmured.
"Ok," she replied, still lost in thought.
Syaoran left the tent and she sat back down on the bed, trying to grasp the thought. What was it that was nagging at the back of her mind?
She lay back in the sheets and stared up at the roof of the tent, trying to grasp what it was but continued to fail.

"Sakura?"

She jumped, startled from her thoughts.

"Sakura, are you listening?"
She sat up, "Sorry-what?"
Syaoran raised his brow. "What was going on with you just now?"
"I um...I was lost in thought. I'm sorry." She replied.
He sat down beside her, "Are you sure you're ok?" he asked.
"Well...there's something I'm trying to remember from when I was little, but I can't quite grasp it. It's frustrating."
Syaoran sighed gently. "Try not to lose any sleep over it."
"I know..." she said, "I guess we'll just have to figure this out as we go..."
"That's all we can do for now. You'll have a long day tomorrow, so you should get some sleep, ok?" Syaoran leant in and kissed her cheek and then her lips before parting to undress and slip into bed.

Sakura slid her robe off and folded it before joining him; he pulled her close before dousing the tent in darkness and continued to hold her close until he fell asleep. Sakura, however, lay awake for a long time trying to figure out what it was she was forgetting.

She soon fell asleep, unable to stay awake any longer.

Between tending to the wounded and helping repair camp, Sakura didn't have much time to think about the strange rashes. After seven days things started to settle down with the camp returning to normal and most soldiers back on their feet, but now they faced another large issue: more and more people were reporting the same symptoms, meaning the medics needed to act fast.

Sakura hurried down to the river to retrieve more water for cleaning utensils and wounds. She felt irritated and useless, just an apprentice following her mentors' orders, and she felt powerless. She stomped across the pebbles to release some of her anger, not wishing to show that side of herself to Syaoran ever again and knelt at the water's edge. She reached into the cool water and splashed her face. It felt nice and she started to calm down a little.
She reached in again, cupping her hand and lifting it to her mouth.
She frowned.
The water didn't taste right.
Just to make sure, she took another sip.
The water was sweet.
She stood up and walked further upstream towards the waterfall, dipping her hand into the cold water and bringing it to her mouth.
It tasted normal.
Sakura headed back to the bucket and searched the riverbed for any strange looking plants.
She identified several different medicinal herbs, but none that would harm the human body in such a way.
"Sakura-do you have that water yet?" Tomoyo called out.
"Coming!" Sakura called back. She hurried to fill the bucket with the water near the waterfall, just in case she was onto something, and hurried back to the medical tent.

As she entered the crowded tent she hurried over to a woman who hadn't developed serious symptoms yet, but had the rash.
"Excuse me-did you drink water from closer to the waterfall or further downstream?" she asked quickly.
The woman looked baffled. "Further down, why?"
"Sakura, what's going on?" Eriol asked.
"Eriol, listen-I think I might know what it is that's causing the problem. Well not exactly the root of the issue, but that's beside the point." She answered.
"Alright, what is it you're thinking?" he gave her permission to elaborate.
"There's part of the stream where the water is sweet. Further upstream closer to the waterfall, the water tastes normal." She explained.
"Did you find this out just now?" he asked.
"Yes-I splashed water on my face and drank a little." She confessed.
"You could be infected if what you're saying is true, and its possible there's a plant that's causing the sweetness." He said. "Did you see any strange plants?"
"No, I didn't." She replied. "I can still work-don't make me rest."
He sighed. "Go back down to the river and check for any plants that shouldn't be there. Take all the time you need to check it out, but once you start feeling ill, head straight back."
Sakura nodded and hurried back down to the stream to examine the river plantation.

She looked and looked but she couldn't find any plants that might be causing the issue. Feeling even more frustrated, she headed back to the medical tent as the sun began to set.
Eriol sighed softly, "No luck?" he asked.
Sakura shook her head, "I'm really sorry."
"Meiling can have a look tomorrow. Perhaps she'll see something you missed."
"I hope so." Sakura murmured.
He gave her a comforting smile. "You really found something today. Don't look so down." He said, "How are you feeling otherwise?"
"I feel fine for the most part. I just don't know how to break it to Syaoran..."
"I'll come and let him know myself once I'm off duty." Eriol said, "For now, focus on relaxing."

Sakura nodded and then headed back to her tent. Syaoran was already inside, waiting for her.
He raised his brow upon seeing her, "Are you ok?"
"No. I'm absolutely exhausted and whatever this virus or whatever is, is really starting to get on my nerves." She answered quietly.
Her stomach growled, and she blushed.
"Did you eat lunch?" he asked with a frown.
"Now that you mention it, I was too busy to eat lunch." She mumbled.
"I see. Well, you should eat."

She sat down and started on her meal and he joined her. Eriol arrived not long after they had finished and explained the situation to Syaoran; Sakura watched his expression go from serious to serious and really annoyed.
"So how long does it take for these symptoms to show?" Syaoran asked, trying to keep his voice level.
"We don't know." Eriol answered.
Syaoran sighed.
"It was purely by chance she found this out, I assure you."
"Well, there's no helping it now. At least, not until you find out what it is." Syaoran murmured. "What can I do to help?"
"We don't have anyone to monitor Sakura-we're flat out. Look after her." Eriol replied.
"Very well then."
Eriol left the tent and Syaoran turned to Sakura who looked a bit anxious. Would he yell at her and call her reckless?
She closed her eyes tight as he reached out; she opened them seconds after he placed a comforting hand on her cheek. "Hopefully we're one step closer to finding what this is." He said gently.
She nodded.
"Let me know when you start to feel any symptoms." He added.
She stood up and without much thinking stepped into his gentle embrace. She immediately felt comforted and started to relax.
"What will you do?" he asked.
"Now?" she asked.
"For the rest of the evening."
"I don't know. You know, now that I think about it, I don't actually know much about you." Sakura said as she stepped away.
He looked her curiously. "What do you want to know?"
She shrugged, "I don't really know. What was it like growing up for you?"
Syaoran looked mildly surprised. "You don't want to know what magic I use?"
"I won't deny I'm curious," she confessed.
He smiled. "My childhood isn't that interesting."
"Surely it's more interesting than mine." Sakura retorted.
"Alright, you win." He laughed. "I didn't really get to do much, unlike the other kids who had a bit more freedom. I had some lessons with the other children, but most of my time was spent learning about politics and how to fight. When I turned twelve I spent a lot of time learning how to effectively use my magic during a fight."
"Didn't you have many friends?" she asked.
"No. Due to my role as a member of the royal family, I didn't get much time to spend with the other kids." He explained. "My mother was the head medic back then."
"Did you have any time for fun?" she asked curiously.
He smiled, "I don't know if you'd include pranking your mentors as "fun"." Syaoran moved to sit down and sighed. "Most of my spare time was spent with my parents."
"Who were your mentors?" Sakura asked.
"Well, one was my father. The other was, of course, my mother."
She watched him for a moment, wondering what he was feeling at that moment. She couldn't tell. "How did your dad die?" she asked softly.
"He was killed in a freak accident while protecting me." He answered. "My mother passed away from an illness shortly after."
Sakura lowered her eyes, "I see..."
Syaoran stood up and smiled, "As I said, my childhood isn't very interesting."
"It's interesting to me." She said, "I never really got a childhood."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Do you think if I was raised in this country we still would have met?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know. It's possible." He said, "But I doubt things would be the way they are now."
She stood, "There's no point thinking about it now, I suppose."

Syaoran was quiet for a long moment, lost in thought. "Sakura, do you like it here?" he asked.
"It's better than being kept in a disgusting dungeon cell for the rest of my life." She answered.
"You know that's not what I mean."
She fidgeted, "It's not like I hate it."
"But you don't like it either."
"That's not true." She defended herself, "I'm just..."
He brought her close, "You're afraid," he murmured softly. "Do you trust anyone here yet?"
She looked into his honest gaze and held it for a long moment. "Just you."
"What do you trust me to do?" he asked. "Do you trust me completely, or just with one purpose?"
"You said you'd protect me." She said.
"But?"
She stayed silent for a moment. If she voiced her worries, would she be hurt because of it? So far all he had been was accepting but would that change?
"I... I'm afraid of being betrayed again..."
He cupped her cheek gently and leant his head against hers, "As your husband, I swear to you that I will never betray you."
"How can I trust your words?" she asked, "how do I know you won't?"
"There's nothing I can say to ease your fear of betrayal, Sakura. All I can do is earn your trust."
He pulled away and moved to get undressed to head to bed and Sakura followed.


What do you think will happen? See you next time!