Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The day they do, my professors would stop giving me assignments and tests, Johnny Depp would step in front of my door and profess his undying love for me and a flying purple monkey will zoom around the city.
I am so sorry for not updating for the longest times. RL was awfully busy. I had finished my exams recently so this is a reward for me and for you. Enjoy and leave me a review.
Sakura pushed the door opened, her temper strained to the limit. The three figures leaning towards a map in the strategy room started at her unannounced entrance. Touya and Cain had the decency to look guilty but not Syaoran. He was as calm as the weather outside and Sakura had to grit her teeth to avoid from screaming bloody murder at them.
Touya nudged Cain, clearly signaling him to exit the room. The tension between the two spouses can be cut with a knife. The prince and lieutenant left without a word. Touya shut the door quietly, sighing softly at the staring contest between the two. Keeping Damion's and Thurgor location a secret from Sakura was Syaoran's idea. He was therefore responsible to soothe her wrath and Touya wanted no part in it. He had warned Syaoran but Syaoran was hell bent on his decision and unfortunately for him somehow Sakura had found out. He just hoped that Syaoran was able to handle her.
"I want in." Sakura whispered; her voice was clear in the silent room.
"No." Syaoran rolled the map and tossed it behind him, a dark hole materialize, ready to swallow the map and disappear soon after. Syaoran could retrieve it later.
"Let me in." Sakura snarled, hands fisting at her side.
"You are still weak. Your power was used raw and you had just buried a family member a few days ago. You are too emotionally invested; I cannot let you come along." Syaoran replied; he wanted no confrontation with his wife, knowing her emotion was in turmoil especially now.
"Spare me your excuses. You have no right to hide their location from me. I am going." Sakura challenged.
Syaoran bristled threateningly. "I have every right."
"Their blood is rightfully mine Syaoran. You cannot deny me this."
"No. Their blood is rightfully the Ice clan's. Touya is coming with me. You are not."
"Theo is important to me." Sakura pleaded softly.
"I know." Syaoran sighed.
Sakura held his gaze, her eyes started to water in frustration. "Lies. I thought they were beneath you. You told me you will allow me to join you in the war. When it actually matters, you failed me. It was wrong for me to expect better from you."
Syaoran tensed when Sakura turned and stormed away. He had managed to get to the door to follow her when Touya blocked his way. Touya shook his head somberly.
"Let her get over her anger first. She would be more willing to listen when she could think straight again." Touya had known her sister habits and he knew where she would go. No harm would come to her.
Darkness was beginning to settle and worse, the rain hadn't stopped. The fact that Sakura had not returned to their room was grating on his nerves. Syaoran had paced in their room for the last hour when he finally gave in. He rushed towards the stable for his horse and rode hard to the location that Touya had told him about. Her sulking spot, Touya had called it.
Syaoran slowed down when he was near and dismounted when he located her. She was sitting on a tree stump, looking proud and beautiful even when she was drenched to the bone. Syaoran didn't think that she even noticed the pouring rain. Closer, Sakura looked devastated and every bit of a wronged princess. When she saw him, her mask immediately came up. Syaoran hated it. She was shutting him out.
He sat on the grass, ignoring the wet ground and leaned his back against the stump, close but not enough to touch.
"Aren't you getting out off the rain?" Syaoran said when he couldn't stand the silence.
"I'm still thinking." Sakura's voice cold.
Syaoran growled irritatedly. "You had been gone for the longest time. You had been thinking. Surely you could see what I'm trying to do."
"You are trying to protect me, realizing that you are hurting me at the same time. Knowing it is for my own good does not lessen the pain, Syaoran. You don't trust me. You were right not to. I will do everything in my power to kill them and I won't stop until I think Theo was properly avenged." Sakura replied softly.
Syaoran's jaw stiffened at her words. She had confessed the main reason why he didn't want Sakura with him, hunting for Thurgor and Damion like the animals they were. There is no way in hell he would even consider bringing Sakura now. She was too weak magically. She would easily die if she wasn't careful. He combed his hair back from his forehead with his fingers, getting irritated by the raindrops insisting on getting into his eyes.
"I knew it would be hard work to protect you the moment I saw you." Syaoran grumbled.
Sakura's eyebrows arched and she smiled, amused.
"Having regrets, are we?"
Syaoran stood and pulled her into his arms, burying his face into her hair. "Never."
Sakura tensed before pushing him away and he let her. She pointed at a target practice carved into a tree nearby. "See that? He made it for me. This tree stump? He made it for me. What had I made for him Syaoran? What had I done for him?" He knew she was not seeking an answer and he kept his quiet, letting her vent. "I can think of nothing. And now when I had the chance of avenging him, you.." Her breath hitched in her throat as her shoulders slumped defeatedly.
Sakura had made her upset undeniably clear to him. Since she had travelled to her 'sulking spot' on foot, Syaoran had offered her a ride so that they could get back to the castle faster and get out of the rain. His queen had refused, of course.
After exhausting his patience, he had simply grabbed and lifted her up on his horse. Sakura was stiff in his arms; her spine ramrod straight every time her back brushed against his front. He pulled at her and held her body against him in retaliation. The servants had prepared dry clothes and hot baths for them and Sakura had refused to even glance at him. He watched as she dried her hair beside the fire, already settled in their bed.
Sakura moved rigidly towards the bed and faced the other way, she was only arm's reach from Syaoran but he felt that she couldn't be more far away than she is right now. Syaoran couldn't sleep. He was leaving tomorrow and the woman he was doing all of this for was determined to push him away. Her body betrayed her when the night grows late and cold. She turned to him in her sleep for heat and he gave it to her. His arms wrapped possessively around her. Syaoran finally slept.
Syaoran opened his eyes. Something had woken him. It was already morning and his arms were still tingling from her missing warmth. He smirked when he saw her next to him, she had rolled on her stomach and Syaoran rolled his eyes when he realized that Sakura was feinting sleep. Syaoran decided to play along and shook her awake gently. There was only one problem. She refused to cooperate.
Syaoran huffed in frustration and leaned his weight on her.
"Stop squishing me." Sakura finally gasped. "You're heavy!"
"Stop ignoring me."
Sakura stop struggling and rolled on her back, lifting her eyes to meet his. She had never heard that tone coming from Syaoran before. Her heart took notice when she saw his expression. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that he looked vulnerable. Her eyes softened before she pulled Syaoran's head down for a kiss. Just as he thinks he's forgiven and started to deepen their kiss, she had rolled off and practically sprinted from their chambers, leaving Syaoran blinking bemusedly from the bed. He didn't see her after that fiasco but he had been certain that she would at least show up before he leaves. She didn't.
The procession was a quiet one, almost as silent as a graveyard. Only the hooves of their horses thudding against the earth could be heard. Each one of the five hundred soldiers had managed to read the mood. King Syaoran was not happy. The Dark king hadn't spoken a word since he got on his horse and his sour mood had only darkened when his wife had failed to make an appearance to bid farewell.
The battle they were heading to is clearly going to be messy. They had to eliminate Thurgor and Damion before they had the chance to build a new army, ultimately destroying the threat of another war. The war had managed to sacrifice an Ice royalty. The two countries were practically one now because of King Syaoran and Princess Sakura's marriage. They might as well kill a royalty from a Dark clan. Every soldier was out for blood. They had located the enemies' whereabouts a few hundred miles north from the Ice castle.
A smart plan, really. They probably figured something about the-closer-they-are-from-danger-the farther-they-are-from-harm. Touya would have missed it completely if not for a few of Thurgor's soldier had decided to have some fun by raiding a nearby village. By the reports of the soldiers sent to investigate, the raiders were undoubtedly Thurgor's and by the end of the day, they had determined their hidden location. Nobody said the enemies were that smart.
They had confronted the enemy and it had quickly turned ugly. Syaoran swept the sweat off his brow before he threw himself into the war again. His sword sang through the air and his thrusts were precise. His method efficient, ensuring his foes would not get to see the next sunrise. For Sakura. For Theo. For all the good soldiers and their families.
Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in worry. Syaoran was fighting again after his short break. Sakura bit her lower lip in frustration. And I am here. Useless. She wanted to be down there, with Syaoran and so she had followed the army at a distance. She couldn't afford to join them. Her husband's nose was sensitive. If she accidentally cross path with him during camp, she shuddered when she thought of the consequences. She eyed her husband's form amidst the battle. He was amazing. She wanted to be by his side.
Sakura's eyes widened when she saw a glint from the trees. She narrowed her eyes to concentrate better. She urged her mare out of her hiding spot, her sword ready in her hands and she raced towards the battlefield. There are archers in the trees and they were aiming right at Syaoran.
Her shrill voice was as clear as a bell. "Archers!" She warned. "To me! To me! Protect the king." as she rode to Syaoran. The Dark and Ice armies quickly complied, immediately recognizing their queen. Their own archers assemble to face the threat. Sakura's blood thundered in her ear, fearing that they wouldn't make it in time. She was still too far away for Syaoran to sense her. The coppery smell of blood and the screams in the battlefield certainly didn't help.
The archers riding behind her had fit their own arrows to their bows and as Sakura gave the instruction, they released their arrows. Some archers fell off, dead but Sakura was sure that there were others. A few of the knights quickly positioned themselves in front of her, making way for their queen. Their swords dripping with the enemy's blood as they hacked their way to their king.
Sakura urged her mare faster towards Syaoran. Something is going to be awfully wrong. She had to be faster. She had felt it. Bone deep with a certainty that scared her. Sakura throw herself in front of Syaoran only to be slammed backward against him when an arrow hit her just above her heart. Syaoran's rage could be heard through the entire battlefield and he snapped when her scream echoed. Darkness filled the land, blinding their enemies. Eriol froze when his opponent started screaming, gaze unfocused.
The screams echoed as their enemies fell to their feet, sobbing and screaming as if the demons of hell were in front of them. Eriol quickly looked for Syaoran knowing he was responsible, concerned when he was nowhere near him. He must have stretched his power. All throughout the battlefield their enemies were screaming their heads off. Eriol almost pitied them, knowing each one of them was trapped in their own personal nightmare and would eventually die when their hearts gave out from the extreme pressure. But right now, he had to look for Syaoran. For him to lose control like this, something must have happened.
Syaoran enveloped them in his barrier and quickly check on Sakura. Her breath was alarmingly shallow and her pulse had weakened. Blood gushed from her wound and he quickly used the last of his magic to stop the blood flow. He lowered both of them to the ground and gritted his teeth painfully when he realized she wasn't breathing.
"You will not leave me Sakura. You are mine. I won't have it." Syaoran warned desperately. He pulled on the remains of darkness in him to her. Hoping their bond would guide her through.
He buried his face in the hollow of her throat and murmured. "You will come back to me. Don't you dare leave me or I will follow you." He threatened. "I swear I will for I am yours." He felt a miniscule shift from her and he tightened his hold, knowing they are safe in his barrier. When Sakura drew a deep shuddering breath and her pulse was steady again, he let his barrier down. His power battered and drained. He could hear the frantic voice of Eriol nearby, instructing the physicians to attend to the royal couple. He allowed them to take Sakura before succumbing to the darkness tugging against his awareness.
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