Author's note: I'm back! I know you guys are gonna kill me for this long delay. But I'm really sorry! I got held up with my exams and school work. But I'll try my best to post the next chapter sooner.

Well enough of my rambling. On with chapter 10!

Chapter 10

Sakura sat in her bed lost in thoughts. The door creaked open and Tomoyo entered carrying a tray of food.

"Here, your dinner," she said placing it on the table and sitting on a chair near the bed.

"Thanks," Sakura managed a smile.

"You're worried about him, right?"

Sakura blushed but nodded.

"Don't worry. Have faith in him. I'm sure he'll be fine." Sakura ate her dinner in silence and Tomoyo stood up taking the empty tray from her.

"Eriol and I are going to the next town to attend a ball. We were planning to spend the night at his friend's and return tomorrow evening but if you might feel lonely…" Tomoyo said.

"No! I'll be fine. I mean I don't mind being alone," Sakura said hurriedly hoping and praying that Tomoyo would agree and fortunately,

"O-okay," she replied uncertainly. "We'll be leaving in few hours. I'll lock the door, there's a spare key in the shelf behind the door. You can use it if you want,"

"Thank you uh…Mrs. Hiragizawa,"

"Just call me Tomoyo. From now on you and I are friends." Tomoyo said warmly

"Bye Tomoyo,"

"Good night Sakura," Tomoyo left shutting the door after her. Sakura slumped back onto the bed pulling the blanket up to her chin.

Good night Syaoran…I…love you.

The next day Sakura woke up at the break of dawn. Sunrays flooded into the room compelling her to transform into a nightingale.

The rest of the day went uneventful, because Sakura had spent most of her time sleeping. That evening almost a microsecond after she'd transformed she heard the door knock.

"I'm coming!" she called rushing downstairs. She opened the door and allowed the tired couple to enter the house.

"Sakura, you aren't ready yet?" Tomoyo squealed suddenly.

"For what?" the emerald eyed girl asked bewildered.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Because he's coming," she said sounding as if the answer was obvious.

"Who is?" Sakura asked still confused.

"Syaoran's coming today," Eriol informed.

Sakura blushed and stammered, "S-so what?"

"You have to look your best. Go take a bath, quick. I'll get some nice clothes and place them in your room. Call me when you're done and I'll do your hair," Tomoyo instructed shoving poor Sakura into the bathroom.

In about twenty minutes Sakura was in her room admiring the dress that Tomoyo had given her. It was a pretty white frock with pink flowers all over it and a big pink bow in the waist.

Tomoyo bustled into the room with a hair brush and began combing her shoulder length auburn locks.

"Tomoyo!" Eriol's voice rang out. "He's here!"

"Oh dear, why did he have to come so early?" Tomoyo gave Sakura a wink, "Maybe he couldn't wait to see his precious cherry blossom"

Sakura turned red stammering, "To-moyo!"

"Well, put your hair in a low ponytail with this," she ordered flinging a pink satin ribbon at her. And with that she rushed out of the room, downstairs to make something for her guest.

"Come on in, Syaoran," Eriol welcomed him in.

Syaoran stepped in, his eyes flickering over Eriol's shoulder hoping to see her.

"She's upstairs," a sly smirk appeared on Eriol's lips.

"I wasn't looking for Sakura," Syaoran blurted.

"Who said anything about Sakura?" he asked innocently making Syaoran glare at him. Tomoyo came down almost jumping down two stairs at a time. She noticed Syaoran and smiled,

"Hello Syaoran. Don't worry, Sakura will be coming in a minute. Why don't you sit and make yourself comfortable? I'll get some tea," And with that rushed speech she quickly went into the kitchen.

Syaoran sat on the couch glancing around off and on wondering where Sakura was. Eriol noticed this which caused his smirk to widen further. Syaoran decided that it was best not to look at his eye because he couldn't stand that seeing smug smile on Eriol's lips.

"You love her don't you?" Eriol suddenly asked.

Syaoran, apparently startled by this question, nodded, unable to think of any excuses.

"Have you told her?"

"No"

"When do you…….." Eriol stopped as his wife entered the room carrying a tray of tea and cakes.

"Help yourself," she said placing the tray on the table. "Hasn't Sakura come down yet?" Both the men shook their heads.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo called, "Are you done yet? Do you need my help?"

"No thank you," a small voice came following which Sakura shyly stepped down the stairs. She smiled softly on seeing Syaoran, "H-hi"

"How are you Sakura?" he asked anxiousness creeping in his voice.

"Great," she replied enthusiastically, "My wounds healed by morning. You're an awesome doctor Eriol. Thank you." She said turning towards the blue haired man.

"Glad to be of help," Eriol replied genially.

"We'd better get going Sakura. I told my parents that I'd come home early,"

Sakura nodded, "Sure," she looked at the couple,

"Thanks again for everything Tomoyo, Eriol." Tomoyo hugged her saying, "I'm really glad I met you. I hope we meet again,"

Eriol grasped Syaoran's hand in a brief handshake whispering, "Tell her soon. The next time we meet it should be in a wedding,"

Syaoran blushed but nodded. He helped Sakura on the horse and sat behind her. He took hold of the horse's reins and tugged it. Sakura waved goodbye to the two over Syaoran's shoulder as they rode of back to the forest of the mystical valley.

"Hey Syaoran," Sakura asked breaking the silence between them.

"Hmm?"

"The war? Is it over? I thought war's go on for months together maybe even years,"

"I'd hardly call it a war. You're right; wars do go on for months together. The Northern kingdom is very small compared to ours. I suppose they never expected their plan to backfire. It's all thanks to you Sakura," Syaoran smiled warmly at her.

Sakura blushed and asked, "Why would they want to wage a war?"

Syaoran thought for a bit and said, "The Northern Kingdom was once a part of ours but for some religious reason the people living in the north began demanding a land of their own. When the revolution began getting out of hand, my grandfather, who was ruling at that time decided to give them a part of the land to avoid chaos in the rest of the kingdom. They always wanted to capture the forest with the magical herbs"

"Oh," Sakura said unable to think of anything else to say. Sakura realized that they were in the forest already. To her horror there were dead bodies and bloodshed everywhere. Syaoran felt her stiffen against his shoulder.

"My father's sending some men to bury the bodies," Syaoran mumbled. Sakura felt tears stinging her eyes as she remembered what had happened in her home but she refused to let them fall. She wasn't a crybaby. She had to be strong. People crying and wailing over the loss of their family and friends….streets scattered with dead bodies and blood….

She involuntarily shuddered at the sight of blood. Syaoran felt her clutch his shirt tightly and she closed her eyes and leaned against him looking a little pale and sick. Syaoran patted the back of head muttering "You ok?" She stiffly nodded her head not daring to open her eyes. The smell of blood mixed with mud made her want to puke. She

By the time they reached the palace Sakura had fallen asleep. He carried her to her tree house and gently placed her on the bed.

"Good night Sakura," he muttered under his breath and walked back to the palace.

The days sped by and soon one month had passed since the war had happened. Sakura woke up that morning, a few hours before dawn as usual to find her mother's diary glowing brightly. She eagerly turned it open and to her enormous surprise, she found words appearing in the diary. Finally! I can finally find the next flower... she thought happily as she turned the pages of the diary.

Continuous as the stars they shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way……

Ten thousand I saw at a glance

Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance……

And then my heart with pleasure fills

And dances with the……………

The last word of the poem was missing but Sakura knew what flower it was. Because those were the lines from her favorite poem that Hiroshi had once read to her. The flower whose name rhymed with fills, the answer was simple. Daffodils.

This time Sakura decided not to wait till the evening. She fluttered off towards the mystical valley as a bird. She made it to the mystical valley in no time at all. She flew through the huge gates of the mystical valley and what a sight she saw! The valley was quite different from what she had seen before. It was filled with beautiful butterflies of all colors ocher, jade, cyan, turquoise, gold and so many other wonderful colors she couldn't describe.

Now I know why this place is called the mystical valley of butterflies. What a beautiful sight! Someday…just someday I'll bring Syaoran here… and my family … she thought happily.

She then decided to focus on her task at hand. Within a few minutes she managed to find a field of daffodils and like she had done before she closed her eyes and concentrated hard. She felt a strange power from one of the flowers and she plucked it gently with her beak. Almost immediately she felt immensely tired as though all her energy had been drained out.

Well at least this means that I'm right… she contemplated remembering what her mother had said about her magical energy being used up every time when she found a flower. She settled comfortably under a shady cherry blossom tree and within minutes fell asleep. When she woke up the sun was already at the west and the distant gong of the bell in the town informed her that it was six already. Sakura let out a squawk realizing that she'd been asleep for nearly 5 hours and the sun would set soon.

Hurriedly she flew out of the valley carrying the flower firmly between her claws. She flew slowly but steadily through the nearly empty streets of the town. It was almost dusk and Sakura noticed that the streets were unusually empty. She was too tired to bother so she just flew towards the palace hoping to have a good rest. Suddenly she heard a loud screech above her. She raised her head and squeaked in surprise when she saw a hawk soaring towards her ready to take her as its prey.

With a desperate twitter of anxiety, she flew as fast she could to escape the clutches of the hawk. In her fear she did not notice that she had flown across the palace and right into the forest to the other side of the palace where she'd first met Syaoran (A/n: If you don't remember, refer chapter 2). After flying for sometime, Sakura began to feel very tired and the hawk didn't seem to be giving up. She was too scared to notice the time, and before she knew it, the sun dipped into the horizon causing her to transform into a girl.

The hawk got scared and flew off. Knowing that from this altitude, she would definitely die if she hit the ground. Frantically she screamed,

"SYAORAN!" as her body plummeted to the ground with increasing velocity…

Syaoran looked sulky. His mother had wanted to have a 'family' tea out in the garden and he was feeling bored, not to mention irritated too because his sisters were in a sugary mood. They had come to a conclusion that their 'little bro' was definitely in love with someone and they were trying to find out who it was. They were talking in hushed voices so as to not let their mother hear, planning something out. Finally his father came and the tea was served. Surprisingly his mother didn't speak about his marriage and glanced at him a little too often with a knowing look on her face. Syaoran couldn't put a finger on it so he just brushed the thought off.

Just when the tea was finished, Syaoran leaned back on his chair hoping to see Sakura soon. No sooner than he had wished, he heard a faint voice calling out his name. It seemed to come from inside him. Suddenly he had a bad feeling. He placed a hand over his heart and found his heartbeat increasing rapidly. He stood up abruptly and excused himself,

"I have to go, mother. It's really important" and without another word he dashed to the stables and brought out his horse, Clover.

Why do I have a feeling that Sakura is in danger? I have to help her. I don't know how, but I'm sure I know where to find her. Please be alright Sakura, I'm coming. He thought as he mounted Clover and shot off into the woods behind the palace.

He rode as fast as he could and finally he spotted Sakura. She was falling from the sky. Panic rushed through his body as he rode faster trying to get to her in time to catch her. She was falling faster and faster, he knew he wouldn't be able to catch her at this rate. Without even thinking he dove from his horse yelling out her name and caught her just in time. He flipped around so that his body hit the ground with Sakura on top of him and the two of them rolled on the ground and finally stopped.

Syaoran was lying on his back panting, "Are…you…alright?"

But Sakura didn't answer, she was crying, her face buried in his chest holding the front if his shirt as if she was afraid he'd disappear. With a little difficulty he got up, with Sakura sitting on his lap still shaking from her experience. He gently held her shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"I was so scared, Syaoran, I thought I'd definitely die." She whispered looking up at him, her emerald eyes wide with fear and her face was deathly pale.

Syaoran smiled softly, "I'll never let you die" he assured.

She blushed happily then looked worried again, "Are you ok, Syaoran? You must have hit the ground pretty hard."

Syaoran groaned and rubbed his back, "Just a sore back. But don't worry, I'll live. I promise" he said, jokingly, hoping to cheer her up.

She gave him a watery smile, "I can give you some herbs cure your pain if you want" she suggested, "After all it's my fault, isn't it?"

"Sure and don't blame yourself, I promised myself that I'll protect you no matter what and I'm just doing that" he said.

Sakura beamed happily and cried, "You're the sweetest person in the whole world, Syaoran" Syaoran turned million shades of red and looked away. "Come on let's go" he mumbled and tried to get up.

Sakura noticed that she was still sitting on his lap and jumped off blushing furiously, "Sorry"

"No problem" he held his hand out to help her up and the two of them walked towards Clover.

Syaoran wanted to ask her how she was falling from mid air but decided against it, feeling sure she wouldn't want him to know. So he convinced himself into thinking that she probably fell from a tree considering the fact that there was a huge oak tree next to the place she had fallen from.

"I'm sorry to cause you trouble again, Syaoran. I'm always being a bother to you." Sakura said sadly as they rode slowly.

"That's not true and you know it," Syaoran protested, "You're a brave and sweet girl. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here talking to you." He said reminding her of the time she saved his life.

"You're just saying that," Sakura replied with a sigh, "I know I'm nothing but a weak girl who can't even stand on her own two feet. I always need you around protecting me."

"You're not weak, Sakura," Syaoran said a little sternly, "Your just pushing yourself too hard. I know something bad has happened in your past and it's alright if you don't want to talk about it but you really should have more faith in yourself. You have been through so much and you can't give up now. And besides…" Syaoran smiled, "I'm happy protecting you."

Sakura blushed a little at what he said and smiled back, "Guess you're right Syao. I'm not worry too much of what's going to happen but concentrate on the present. I know I can pull through with this uh…mission right?"

Syaoran nodded glad to see that she was back to her cheerful self. She got off the horse and bowed, "thanks again Syaoran. I'll see you tomorrow," And she left toward the secret garden after waving him goodbye.

Someday Syaoran thought as he walked back to his family I'll tell you, I'll tell you how I really feel about you Sakura…

Author's note; That chapter was lame, I know. But don't worry things are going to heat up in the next chapter. And meanwhile you guys don't forget to leave me a review. And no flames please!

Signing off

sakura doll

PS: those lines are from 'The daffodils' by William Wordsworth.