When Sakura woke it was late, but Syaoran was still awake beside her reading a book. She sat up slowly remembering to take it easy, and remembered how she had collapsed in the lounge room.
"How long have I been asleep for?" she asked Syaoran who closed his book and set it down on the table beside him.
"I'd say about five hours. It's ten o'clock, so the others should be asleep by now most likely." He answered.
"Oh, I see. I guess the stress from today really got to me…" she murmured, looking down at her hands. Syaoran pulled her into a hug.
"I won't let Cain hurt you." He said sternly.
"I know you won't-you…were protecting me today from him; you knew he was going to try and come closer to me, but the only reason you got violent was because you were angry about the gifts he'd been sending me and the notes along with the frequent visits. You know he can't be trusted just like I know…but the truth is I saw he and his father in a dream; his father isn't a threat, but Cain is a corrupt man who desires power and will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means harming that person. That's why I'm so afraid-I'm scared he'll hurt you and Chii and Fai and everyone I care about, and I just couldn't bear that! That's why I've made my decision…" she whispered, looking up into his amber eyes.
He met her emerald eyes, noticing the sadness and determination deep within them. "I know. You're a strong girl Sakura, and all I want is for you to be happy. I don't want you to suffer anymore-you've suffered enough. Please don't push yourself." Syaoran rested his forehead against hers.
"I don't want you to suffer either; he's getting to both of us. That is why I chose this; I won't break to him, I will not lose. I'll fight back." She said.
"If he lays a single finger on you, if he even dares touch you, I swear I will end him." Syaoran's voice shook slightly with anger-he couldn't handle it if something happened to her. She'd been through too much.
"Syaoran, it's ok." She said soothingly.
"I worry about you. This shouldn't have happened." He whispered into her neck.
"There's always going to be things that can't be helped. My people will help in their own way, trust me-it could be quite amusing." Sakura smiled, kissing him.
He held her close as they kissed, suddenly wanting her-he deepened the kiss with fierce passion and she enjoyed it, kissing back just as fiercely. He was already shirtless allowing Sakura to run her hands over his strong shoulders and down over his chest, pushing him down as she kissed him.
"Undress me." She whispered to him. He did as she asked, removing her dress and once she was completely undressed she finished undressing him, swinging her leg over his hips and leaning over to kiss him again. Their intimacy lasted into the early hours of the morning, holding and caressing each other with tender love.
Chii burst into Sakura's room rather early at seven a.m. to wake her up, not particularly bothered by the fact that the couple were naked beneath the covers as they slept with each other.
"Sakura wake up! We've gotta go shopping!" Chii exclaimed excitedly as she jumped up and down on her feet. Sakura opened her eyes, confused and tired.
"Shopping for what…?" she mumbled sleepily.
"For the festival! We've got to get dresses and stuff-Anna knows all the best places! Come on, get up-it'll be a girls' day out!" Chii said excitedly.
"But it's so early…can't this wait till later…?" Sakura asked.
"If we get out early it won't be as busy. Besides, you can sleep when you get home-come on!" Chii pulled her into a sitting position and found the dress Anna had made for Sakura and dressed the Princess.
"There we go, you're all dressed. Now we can feed you and go out!" Chii grinned, pulling the princess out the door behind her and leaving Syaoran asleep in the bed, not bothering to let him know where they were heading off to.
When Syaoran woke late that morning he was surprised to find that Sakura wasn't present beside him or in the room like she usually was, and wondered what could have happened. He wondered if maybe she'd gone to speak to Yuuko about something or if she was in the lounge room with Fai and the others, and tried listening for her voice. All he could hear however was the sound of music playing outside and children laughing as they played. He could hear Fai's voice among the noise speaking to Yuuko but he couldn't sense Sakura's presence in the house.
He sat up and cracked his neck, pulled on a clean set of clothes followed by his black coat. Syaoran left the room and headed towards the lounge where Fai and Yuuko were, interrupting their conversation.
"Where's Sakura?" He asked immediately, his worry showing on his face.
"She's with Chii and Anna; they went shopping for the festival." Fai answered.
"What if Cain tries to approach her again? Is she safe? Is Alastor with her?" he panicked, worried about what could happen if Sakura was caught out alone by Cain.
"Of course Alastor is with her-when isn't he apart from when he's sleeping? Besides, she gave that boy an order in front of a large crowd of people to stay away from her unless it was to do with business matters; elves are very protective of their royals you see, and if they notice one of their own kind disobeying an order given by a royal, they often distract that person from going near the royal or from doing the task they wanted to do. It's rather amusing actually." Yuuko explained.
"So that's what Sakura meant. You people sure can be strange." Syaoran muttered.
"And you're related to an elf." Fai pointed out.
"I get it, I'm half-half." The prince muttered irritably.
"You really don't have to worry; she has the protection of her friends and her people-she didn't want me to come along with her though, so I stayed behind." Fai said.
"I'm going out the back." Syaoran muttered unhappily, grabbing his sword as he headed for the back garden.
The girls returned in the afternoon carrying bags full of shopping that they had collected on their little trip out in the city, and as soon as Sakura walked through the front entrance she fell asleep on the couch before Syaoran could even greet her.
"She didn't even bother to put her shopping away." Chii sighed.
"She was practically sleep walking most of it anyway." Anna joked.
"She was so tired yesterday though!" Chii commented, recalling how Sakura had collapsed from exhaustion and stress.
"Surely she got a good night's sleep?" she asked.
"She probably would have slept better if you hadn't woken her up at whatever time you did." Syaoran spoke as he entered the room.
Anna snorted with laughter. "And I bet you're the one who kept her up most of the night…" Chii muttered under her breath.
"What was that? I wasn't listening." He returned.
"I only woke her up at seven…" Chii continued to mutter.
"She's not much of an early riser, that's for sure." Anna laughed.
"No kidding." Chii yawned.
"So why did you drag her out of bed?" Syaoran asked.
"Oh just because you were so dead to the world. We had a girls' day out, you know, shopping and stuff. Oh, and she picked up a necklace from a jewellery store I think-it was really pretty." Chii answered, seeming rather intrigued by the whole thing herself.
"Ok, so any particular reason for the shopping, or was it just to waste money?" He asked.
"It was all for the festival, what are you talking about?" Chii blinked at him.
"You are crazy." He muttered.
"How so?" She asked curiously.
"You have to go shopping for a festival? Are you kidding me? Why?" He asked.
"Dancing." Chii and Anna replied cheerfully.
"Dancing?" He repeated.
"Yes! Dancing, singing, games, and so much more! Girls should be dressed appropriately for a festival!" Anna said excitedly.
"Uhuh…" he murmured.
"You're boring." The girls pouted.
"Not as boring as some others out there." Syaoran snorted.
"Well Anna, we better go put these things away-oh, I guess Sakura would prefer it if we gave the necklace to you since it seemed to be something she picked up…" Chii said, handing Syaoran a burgundy bag.
"Ok." He replied.
"Send her down to Anna's room when she wakes up, ok?" Chii grinned as she walked away with Anna.
"Sure, whatever you say." He said rolling his eyes.
Syaoran sat on the floor by the couch and pulled out the book he was reading, flicking open to the page he was up to and continued reading while Sakura slept. It was a book on legends and elvish folklore and prophecies which were rather interesting to read. Some of the legends and prophecies appeared as riddles which he'd occasionally sit and ponder over while others appeared as simple fairy tales or children's bedtime stories. He was reading a prophecy titled "Dream Seer" which reminded him of Sakura's abilities to walk through dreams and see into the future. He turned to look at her sleeping face to find a soft smile on her face, and then turned back to the book to read the strange prophecy while Sakura dreamt.