Hey everyone! Thank you for your reviews, follows, favourites. I'm glad people are enjoying this story! I hope you like this chapter. There's five more to go, but I might do some more editing and expand on some things if I can think of more things. I've been struggling lately.

Sakura was not looking forward to her night. She had no idea what was in store for her, and she hoped dearly that the prince wouldn't try anything weird.

Syaoran watched her with a soft but concerned gaze. He could sense her churning emotions about her meeting with the prince that evening. He made a mental note to start a storm halfway through the meeting to give her a reason to head home early.
But first...

Syaoran placed his hand over hers in a comforting gesture.
"You'll be fine. I'll have eyes and ears around you." He said softly, "I'm not letting him do anything even remotely similar to what happened last time."
Sakura relaxed. She trusted his words, that he would keep her safe, and she started to feel calmer knowing this.
She smiled. "I think I over reacted a little. Thank you for helping me calm down. I trust you."
Syaoran returned her smile. "I'm glad."

She looked at the salve on the shelf behind him. It was the one she had made a little while ago.
"By the way... is that salve I made with you useful?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes-it's very well made, Sakura. I've been using it on creatures for a few weeks now." He smiled, "You really do excel at healing. I'm going to start testing you on a few specific things-I have an idea as to what kind of goddess you are, but I want to be sure."

Sakura looked at him curiously. "I have a type?"

"I suspect you might. Not every god or goddess does, but it's not uncommon for there to be a god who watches over and protects a specific thing." He explained. "For Meiling, it's water. There's gods of the seas, gods of the skies, thunder, rain, earth, flowers...you name it."

Sakura felt strangely awed and excited. "What do you think I am?"
Syaoran watched her for a moment. "I don't want to tell you until I'm certain. Think you can wait?"
Sakura smiled, "Sure. I'm excited to find out."
Syaoran chuckled.

Sakura looked out the window and heaved a heavy sigh. "I should leave..."
"Remember-I'll be keeping watch over you." He murmured.
Sakura smiled and nodded.

He watched her leave and looked up at the sky. All he needed was his will to start bringing in dark, stormy clouds. Satisfied for the moment, he turned and started his usual afternoon walk through the forest.

"Gee, that looks like one hell of a storm you're bringing in." Meiling's voice sounded nearby.

He looked over to see she was standing by a large oak.
"What can I say? I'm pissed off." He replied flatly.
Meiling giggled. "At the prince again?"
"Who else?" he rolled his eyes.
She shrugged. "He's planning something, you know."
"I'm aware. What it is, I have yet to figure out." Syaoran murmured.
"It would be so much easier to just kill him." Meiling sighed.
Syaoran nodded agreement. "Sadly, while he's in Alyrias, there's nothing I can do."
"Oh, come ON, Syaoran. He's not a citizen of Alyrias, so the rules-"
"You know very well that the rules apply to anyone who sets foot in Alyrias until they leave. I promise that when he does leave, I'll curse him for the rest of his pathetic life." Syaoran cut across her.
Meiling raised her brow. "A curse, huh? What will you curse him with?"
He shrugged. "Whatever seems most appropriate at the time."
She laughed, "That will be hilarious to see. I look forward to it."
Syaoran just rolled his eyes and continued through the forest.

...

Prince Kei pulled Sakura along behind him. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and dark clouds were rolling in.
"Here we are." He smiled.

Sakura's eyes widened upon seeing the familiar place-it was a meadow with hundreds of purple and white flowers covering the area, and it had an incredible view of the sunset.

"I asked some of the village girls where they liked to go on dates. This was one of the places." He said. "Come sit with me."

Feeling tense, she followed him and sat beside him in the field of flowers, but not without leaving a bit of space between them.
Sakura loved this meadow. It held precious memories for her, and she didn't want the prince to ruin that.

"You've been so busy as of late. I was worried that you were rejecting me." Prince Kei spoke.
Sakura could feel his eyes watching her.
"Your highness, I've already told you many, many times that I have no intention of ever marrying or leaving this place." She spoke firmly.
She hoped he would get the hint-that she WAS rejecting him.
"Because of sentimental value, correct?" he asked, "I don't care if you killed those men either. They deserved it, after all."
Sakura stiffened. "That's not the only reason I'm here. I love this place, and the god of Alyrias is very special to me."
He snorted. "Gods don't exist. If they did, then why would he make you suffer so much? The village wants you dead-they treat you like scum." Prince Kei smiled bitterly, "He clearly wants you to suffer, then."
"You're wrong!" Sakura snapped. "He's kind and compassionate! He has his reasons, and even when I'm alone, I know he's with me! Don't you dare speak ill of the god who's watched over Alyrias!"

The prince looked surprised at her sudden outburst, and then he looked angry.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and lightning flashed, striking a nearby tree.
It was enough to distract the prince from his anger as rain suddenly started hammering down.
He stood and ran off to find cover, leaving her in the middle of the meadow in the pouring rain.

She felt so infuriated by that prince, by what he had said about Syaoran. How dare he! He didn't know one thing about what it meant to be a god! There was so much more to it.
She froze as she realised that she had once felt a similar way. She had hated how she had been alone, and when Syaoran had told her who he was-and what she was-she had been angry.
Syaoran had known she was angry. He knew how much she had suffered, to the point where he always felt guilty. Sakura felt so horrible for thinking that way.

'Oh god, Syaoran, I'm so sorry...'

She knew how protective Syaoran was of her. She knew he was trying to make up for what he had watched her go through. She wondered, though, how much his inability to help her had torn him apart.

"You should get out of this rain, love."

Startled, Sakura looked up and realised Syaoran was standing holding an umbrella over the two of them.
"Oh... right..." she stood and there was another loud crack of thunder.
"Is this storm your doing?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, it is." He replied.
"You can't make it stop?" she asked curiously.
"I could if I so desired, but the land needs the water, and we were probably due for a large storm anyway." He shrugged.
"I see..."
Syaoran smiled, "That was quite the outburst earlier."
Sakura blushed madly. "You heard that?"
"Of course, I did."
"Oh..."
"Come-I'll draw you a bath." He murmured, and turned to head back.
Sakura followed him out of the rain and to his home in silence.

She stood in the doorway dripping from head to toe. She wasn't cold-in fact it was still rather warm outside due to the summer heat-but she still felt gross.

Syaoran walked out from the bathroom, "It's ready for you. Have you eaten dinner?"
"No-I didn't have time." She answered.
"I'll make something for when you get out." He murmured.
"What should I do with my clothes?" Sakura asked. "They're soaked through."
"Leave them on the chair outside the door. I have some dry clothes for you-Tomoyo left them with me just in case something happened." He answered.
Sakura nodded and sighed softly before heading into the bathroom.

The bath was waiting for her, full of hot water and the scent of cherry blossoms hung in the air. Not thinking much of it, Sakura undressed and left her wet clothes on the chair outside the door before stepping into the tub and relaxing in the water.
She sighed blissfully and closed her eyes.

...

Syaoran set Sakura's clothes on the rack in front of the fire to dry before he started cooking something for Sakura. It was almost like routine now, making dinner for the two of them, and on the days he didn't it felt weird.
He sighed softly.
Sakura still hadn't asked him why he couldn't tell her about who she was. Maybe she didn't care, or maybe she didn't want to know.
But the truth was that her mother, Nadeshiko, had wanted to spare Sakura from that life. They had indulged her, but Syaoran felt that not telling Sakura had only caused her more harm than good.

He remembered the first time he'd seen Sakura. He had seen her in that very meadow with her mother-she had been seventeen at the time, and he had just made the contract with the village. She'd been wearing a white summer dress and a sun hat, her pale hair blowing softly in the wind. When she smiled at her mother, she had looked as radiant as the spring sunshine. Her smile was beautiful, and he remembered thinking that he never wanted to see that smile fade.
However, after the incident with the man she had fallen in love with, her radiant smile had disappeared. He had watched her suffer alone, but lately that smile had been returning.

But he was afraid. He was afraid that the prince would take that smile away again...
He wouldn't allow it.
Never again.

Syaoran looked into the fire. He searched the flames for the prince, seeing that he was just entering his room at the inn. Syaoran could see that the prince was infuriated that Sakura had talked back to him-that she had dared to put him in his place.

A sense of pride swelled in Syaoran's chest. She had stood up for who and what she believed in, and it made him happy that she had gained that confidence back. He remembered before the incident with her ex, how fiery she could be when she was protecting what was right. After the incident, however, she rarely stood up for herself.

'She's getting stronger.' He thought to himself, a smile spreading across his lips.

He was proud of her. She was becoming skilled with her medicines, and soon he would start her on blessings.
He had a feeling that day would be just around the corner.

The sound of footsteps broke him away from his thoughts and he looked up to meet Sakura's soft emerald green gaze.
The dress Tomoyo had left with him was a pure white knee length wrap dress that hugged all of her curves in the right places, and fell neatly from her hips down. She blushed.

"Does it look okay?"
"It looks great on you." He smiled. "Here, eat this."

She walked over and took the bowl of stew from him and sat down.
"Sakura, don't you ever get lonely or worried while living alone?" he asked as he sat down with her.
She smiled. "Before I met you, I used to get lonely all the time." She confessed. "I was always scared of what the villagers would do to me."
"But now?"
She smiled softly. "It's not as lonely because I'm with you, and I know you're always nearby."
He smiled gently. "That's good to hear."

Sakura ate in comfort. She enjoyed Syaoran's cooking, which was a lot better than hers, and she also enjoyed the little sweets he would sometimes make for her to nibble on during her lessons.
But suddenly she stopped eating. Something felt strange.
"Sakura?" Syaoran frowned, but then he noticed it too.

Images flooded Sakura's mind. An area of the forest; a young woman giving birth, and her husband at her side; mud and rain.

"They're not from Alyrias." Syaoran murmured. "What on earth are they doing so far away from their home?"
Sakura stood. "I need to be there!" she cried.
Syaoran watched her with an unreadable expression.
"Then, go." He said softly.

Sakura bolted out of the house, her instincts taking her to where she needed to go. Sakura didn't know what she was doing or why, but something in her screamed out to watch over and protect this new family.
She ran as fast as her slender legs would allow her. Mud kicked up and covered her feet and legs. She was sure it didn't look very attractive, but that was the least of her worries.

She slowed as she reached the couple. She suddenly wondered if they could see her. Then, she started to panic. What should she do? Why wasn't Syaoran with her?
She heard the woman cry out in anguish.
She couldn't panic now.

She took in a deep breath and released it as she slowly approached them. She stood beside the woman and knelt next to her. Neither the woman or her husband even noticed her presence.

Sakura looked up at the rain. It wasn't going to stop anytime soon, and Syaoran had said that the land needed the rain. Besides that, Sakura didn't even know how to stop the heavy rain.

She sighed softly and concentrated on the couple in front of her. The least she could do was make sure the area around them was safe and they wouldn't be harmed. She looked around, searching for any disturbances, and was relieved when she saw nothing.

The rain continued to hammer down.

Sakura kept herself alert as she watched over them, always careful to divert the attention of other creatures that ventured too close. She had no idea how many hours passed as she watched over them, but her wait was rewarded when a single cry sounded.
But...
Something was wrong.

The newborns cries didn't last. Sakura felt tears sting her eyes as the couple panicked.
She could tell it had been hard for them, that the pregnancy had been so hard for the woman to endure with all her medical complications. Sakura didn't stop to wonder how she knew all of that as she crouched over the still child in the father's arms.

The newborns pulse was weak but was still alive, but it was only a matter of moments before they would pass. Tears flowed down Sakura's cheeks and dripped onto the baby's cheek. It wasn't fair for this couple who had endured so much to lose their only child when they had tried so hard.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. Gentle light started to light the sky as the sun began to rise, and then...

The child started to cry again.

Sakura sobbed with relief as she watched the new parents with their baby.
"Sakura."
She looked up to see Syaoran watching her with gentle eyes and a hint of pride.
"Syaoran..."
"You did really well. But now you need to recover your strength." He murmured softly.

Sakura felt a sudden wave of fatigue, and she stood. He was right. She needed to rest. But she fell, everything darkening.

...

Syaoran carried Sakura back to his home and placed her in his bed, removing her soaked dress to set in front of the fire to dry. He knew Sakura would wake with questions, and he had a few things he needed to explain to her, but he was sure things would go fine. He looked out the window-it was still pouring heavily with rain, but he expected it to stop sometime in the afternoon.

While she rested, Syaoran continued with his own duties, checking on her often. When he had some free time, he prepared something to eat for when she woke, and quietly sat in his favourite chair reading while he waited.

It was near sundown when he heard her shift. He looked over to see she was holding the sheet to her chest in a bit of a daze, and he stared, his mind wandering to places he knew he shouldn't think about.
He closed his book after a moment to distract himself.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
It took Sakura a moment to register his question.
"I'm okay, I think..." she murmured.

He stood and picked up her dry clothes from the day earlier and carried them over to her. A soft blush dusted her cheeks as they locked eyes; he wondered what she was thinking, how she felt. He searched her emotions, sensing feelings of confusion and embarrassment. Everything else was all a mix.
"Get dressed. I've made you something to eat-we can talk after." He said softly.
Sakura nodded, and he turned to go and organise her meal.

He stood at the bench and closed his eyes. He had controlled himself around her for centuries without any difficulty, but ever since they had started their mentor-apprentice relationship, he had been finding it harder to do.
He wondered how Sakura felt.
He shook his head and filled a bowl with stew before turning and walking back over to where Sakura had seated herself in the chair across from his.

She smiled at him as she took the bowl, and he sat down.

"The couple and their newborn daughter are safe. They're currently in the village inn, recovering before they move on." Syaoran explained softly.
She looked at him with relief. "Oh, thank goodness...and the child is okay? There's no problems, right?"
He smiled. "That child and her mother will be quite safe."
Sakura looked at him curiously.
Syaoran relaxed in his chair. "Do you know what occurred last night, Sakura?"
She blinked, "Umm...a woman gave birth in the middle of the forest."
Syaoran laughed. "That's not what I'm referring to, love."
Sakura just looked at him confused.
"You saw visions of them, right? Something called you out?"
Sakura nodded.
"That means you're starting to come into your own. That was the first time you were called to duty." Syaoran spoke softly. "It also confirms my suspicions."
Sakura's brow furrowed. "Called to duty? Your suspicions?"

Syaoran briefly wondered how he should explain it to Sakura. He sighed softly-it was best just to be direct, rather than dancing around it.

"Those visions you saw and the feeling of needing to be there are what we refer to as a call. Your instincts allowed you to find them and protect them, but in order to do your job properly, you're going to need a lot more than instinct."

Sakura nodded in understanding as she recalled the events of the previous night, how she had protected the new family from threats.

Syaoran continued. "You gave that mother and her child a blessing, Sakura."
"A blessing?" she asked.
"That child would most certainly have died if you hadn't. However, you learned of who those people were and what they had been through, and you wanted them to be happy. Your tears saved that child's life."

He waited as Sakura absorbed his information. Now came the important part.

"However, for every life you give, another is taken."

Sakura looked at him, startled by his sudden words. A life was taken? Why?
He watched her as many emotions played across her face.
And so, he elaborated. "Nothing comes out of thin air, Sakura. To cook, you need ingredients. To make a tapestry, you need thread. To give life, life must be taken."
"A-any random life...?" Sakura whispered.
"No, it's more complex than that. It's part of the cycle of life-and we protect that balance."

Sakura sighed with relief. She was worried she had condemned an innocent person to death.

"It was an elderly woman who passed away to welcome that new life, in case you were concerned." Syaoran spoke softly.
Sakura sighed. "I see..."

"These are the factors you need to consider when giving a blessing, as well as looking at how they have lived their lives. Sakura, you are a very kind and loving goddess-you saw how much those two had suffered just to have their daughter, and it hurt you to the point that you shed tears for them." He spoke softly.

"Does that mean I'm weak...?" her voice trembled.
"Of course not. Your unconditional love and kindness are what makes you who you are." Syaoran spoke softly.

Sakura started to calm at his words. She would do anything to protect new mothers and their children.

"You're a fertility goddess. You watch over women during their pregnancy and during childbirth, keeping them safe. Their children are like your own children, and you would do anything to protect them from harm during their most vulnerable period." Syaoran explained softly.

Sakura blinked. A fertility goddess?

"Sakura?" Syaoran called her name when she didn't answer.
"S-sorry, I'm just surprised. It's a lot to absorb..."
Syaoran nodded, "Yes, you're right."
"So.. what happens from here?" Sakura asked.
"With the Festival just around the corner, I'll be teaching you more about blessings and rites." Syaoran explained. "I'm also going to start teaching you more advanced forms of magic and healing."
Sakura nodded, "Okay, I think I can handle it." She smiled.

Syaoran returned her smile, and then glanced out the window. It was dark.

"Perhaps you should head home. Though, that prince might pester you soon." He murmured.
"You think he'll still talk to me after I yelled at him?" she asked incredulously.
He nodded. "He will. I'd like to accidentally set him on fire, but sadly I can't."
Sakura stared at him with wide eyes. "Syaoran!"
"What?"
"That's not very nice." She chided.
"The prince is not a nice person. Besides, consider yourself lucky that you haven't seen who and what he truly is. Setting him on fire would be considered a kindness to most."
Sakura just sighed.

"Well...thank you for taking care of me as always." She smiled. "I'll head home."
He smiled softly, "Stay safe, love."
She blushed prettily and smiled before she headed to the door, and he watched her softly as she left.

He stood alone in his house and sighed. He had a few things to tend to around the village, so he too left the house and walked his usual path through the forest.

"So, Sakura was called to duty for the first time last night, huh?" Meiling's voice came from beside him.
He glanced over to see she was walking beside him. "Yes, she was. She did a very good job, too."
"I heard. The entire forest is gossiping about her."
"I guess I wasn't paying attention." Syaoran said.
Meiling sighed, "Just tell her how much you love her already. It's even driving the forest folk crazy."
He shot her a look. "I doubt she feels the same way. Besides, there's no need to trouble her with that when she's got enough on her plate."
Meiling groaned irritably. "Seriously!? She clearly feels the same way, so just tell her!"
"Meiling, go home." He muttered.

Meiling left, but not before dousing him with water out of spite.
He simply rolled his eyes and continued forwards, not daring to think any more of the subject.

I'm sure you all want to set prince charming on fire too. Well, what did you think? I had quite a lot of fun writing this chapter, actually. Who will confess first-sakura or syaoran? Hmmmmm...