GOD I'M HUNGRY. What's Sakura hiding? –yawn-

Enjoy!

The rain was relentless but even so, the group continued heading towards the western city of the elves. Sakura's hopes hung low; the two cities she had visited were basically empty and deserted, just as she had expected, but it didn't change the fact that she wanted her people to be safe. She had hoped that maybe they had found somewhere safe to hide, that perhaps not everyone had been killed or taken prisoner by the king. But with the way things were going, that sort of hope was soon to be dashed.

"Will this rain ever stop!?" Chii complained as they trudged through the muddy forest.

"It doesn't look like it; but we should be able to find shelter soon." Syaoran replied as if he wasn't bothered.

"How can you not be bothered by this sort of weather? It's horrible!" she continued to complain.

"For starters, I'm a ranger-if I can't deal with this sort of weather then what kind of ranger am I?" he retorted.

"Not to mention you ran around in it quite often as a child and a teenager." Sakura muttered.

"Aren't you bothered by the rain Sakura?" Chii asked.

"Not really-after travelling for seven years I've grown used to the unpredictable weather patterns." Sakura answered.

Chii fell silent in defeat, figuring that Fai would come out with a similar answer and she wondered how far away from the city they were.

"You said we should be able to find shelter soon-what did you mean by that?" Chii asked curiously.

"I mean we're nearly there." Syaoran answered.

"FINALLY!" she breathed.

Indeed it didn't take long to reach the city; Sakura assessed her surroundings and found herself looking at the ruins of the once cherished and pure city of Vesper. Crumbled buildings and rubble rested at her feet where she stood, vines and overgrown weeds plaguing the wreckage.

"It's just as I thought; empty…but…beneath my feet I can feel something…" Sakura murmured.

"I can feel it too Princess-would you like me to go investigate?" Fai asked.

"No; I want to see for myself." She answered, continuing her trek further into the city.

As they got further into the city, Sakura could sense signs of life, but what her eyes were showing her were the opposite. The place was still completely deserted, and she couldn't sense any use of illusion magic, or magic at all.

"It's weird; I can sense signs of life, but there's nothing to be seen." She said.

"Perhaps we can continue looking later and simply dry off for now; don't rush things." Fai advised.

"Yeah; I can't feel my toes!" Chii said, her teeth chattering.

"Alright; it is nearly night after all." Sakura replied-but she was still confused about the feeling she was getting from beneath her feet. It felt as if that was where the people were-underground.

"Sakura?" Syaoran called out her name, snapping her away from her thoughts.

"Coming." She smiled, walking with them to find shelter.

The closest building they could find that was dry enough for them to seek shelter under was the old library; all of the books had been burnt in the fires that had ravaged the cities all those years ago. The girls hung their clothing over large rocks and wrapped themselves in thick woollen blankets while the boys lit a warm fire for them to sit next to using whatever pieces of old wood and dry leaves they could find. Chii was humming a tune to herself that almost sounded like a lullaby of sorts.

"Where did you learn that lullaby?" Sakura asked softly. She herself actually felt quite fatigued and tired.

"My mother used to sing it to me and my sister when we were little, just before we would fall asleep." Chii smiled.

"I see…" Sakura murmured softly, leaning her head on her knees.

"What about you-did your mother ever sing you songs?" Chii asked curiously.

"She sang, yes, in many situations…but when she sang for me it was kind and gentle just like any mother's love was. The song I'd ask her to sing warmed the hearts of all those who heard it, but most of all, she was singing for me and me alone." She replied gently.

"Wow; your mother sounds remarkable!" Chii exclaimed.

"She was…" Sakura smiled.

Syaoran looked over at her, noticing how pale Sakura had become in the past few days. Not just because of the lack of sleep, but because she had fallen ill-he didn't know when exactly, but he did know that she'd been hiding it for quite some time.

"Why do you stare?" she asked, not pulling her gaze from the flames.

"…Nothing." He answered.

"I'm tired Syaoran…" Sakura whispered; but she also felt dizzy and light headed like she was going to faint. He walked over to her and sat down next to her, pulling her down so that it came to rest on his knee.

"If you're going to pass out, you may as well do so lying down." He muttered.

"How did you know…?" She asked, slowly closing her eyes.

"When you woke up from the nightmare this morning you were a bit too pale, and though you gained a little bit of colour during the day, you were still too pale." He answered.

"Of course…" she mumbled, finally passing out.

"Is Sakura alright?" Chii asked.

"She's sick-though I don't know the extent of her illness." Syaoran answered, checking to make sure that Sakura had actually passed out and hadn't fallen asleep.

"And now she's passed out." He added.

"Hang on; I'll see if I can make her something." Chii said, getting up and moving over to her bag.

The blonde healer made something to help with fatigue and tiredness, a type of liquid it seemed, made of natural herbs and plants.

"Has she got a fever?" Chii asked as she stirred the medicine.

"Yes, and it's pretty high." Syaoran answered with a sigh. He should have seen this coming.

She walked over and checked the princess's temperature. "Wow, she overtakes you when you were at your worst Syaoran!" Chii exclaimed.

"Well then that's probably not a good thing then, is it?!" he growled.

"Aren't you a genius?" Fai muttered.

"Shut up and do something." He bit back.

"I need her to swallow this." Chii told Syaoran.

"And what do you want me to do?" he asked irritably.

"Give it to her you twit!" she snapped.

"Ok, ok." He muttered taking the medicine from her and taking a mouthful of the stuff to give to Sakura via the mouth.

"That stuff tasted disgusting just so you know." He said as he parted from Sakura.

"Medicine isn't made to taste nice!" Chii growled.

The sound of a basket hitting the floor had all three companions and the wolf looking over at the crumbled walls of the library; there was a teenage girl with waist length crimson hair tied in plaits standing there. She couldn't have been much older than fourteen. Chii looked to the basket on the ground to find strange plants that she had never seen in her life scattered on the ground along with different types of fruit. Syaoran also noticed the peculiar plants and recognised them.

"Are you an elf?" He asked.

The girl took a step back, shocked, and turned to run.

"Wait!" Fai called out, chasing after her.

"Stop right there or we'll shoot."

Syaoran looked to Alastor who began growling and then back to where the girl had originally been standing only to find that they were surrounded by men with bows loaded with arrows in hand pointed at their heads.

"I've been wondering where you've been hiding." Syaoran grinned.

"A ranger, two girls, a wolf, and what does that make you?" a tall young man, roughly around the age of twenty with purple eyes and messy black hair spoke.

He wore fine midnight blue velvet clothing, as if he was held of high regard, but what really caught Fai's attention was the ears-they were all elves.

"The Princess's royal guard; Fai D. Fluorite." He answered, pointing to his own ears to point out he too was an elf.

"Princess-where's the proof?" the black haired elf snarled.

"Around Princess Sakura's neck-the pendant passed down to the first born princess of the royal family." Fai answered.

"If that is the princess, then why is she so helplessly wrapped in a blanket and unconscious?" he asked.

"She passed out from an illness that we still don't know the full extent of. We suspect she's been keeping it from us for quite some time; please, she has an extremely high fever and her body is as cold as ice! I beg of you, help her!" Chii pleaded.

Syaoran held Sakura protectively and Alastor continued to growl at the approaching elf, snapping at his ankles to warn him not to come any closer.

"Ranger, show me the pendant." He demanded.

Syaoran gently pulled the platinum chain around her delicate neck up to reveal the purple pendant and the diamond. "You can come with me; the Princess needs to be examined by our healer."

That's it for this chapter! Well, that's a surprise isn't it! And what's going to happen in the next chapter? ;) I know… Also, what do you think of this new fellow? Who I haven't named yet because his name will be revealed in the next chapter. Is he to be trusted!?

Review?