Syaoran sat in the dining hall with his brother, Sid, Gabriel and the others waiting on the girls to arrive. Rena had been out practicing shooting at some target boards, though most of her men pleaded at her not to. She didn't listen and did so anyway despite their protests.

Sakura had fallen asleep with an intense headache earlier, but had been woken for dinner; she was still likely waking up.

Sora hadn't been seen for hours but Eva had assured them that she would be there.

Syaoran looked up as Chii walked through with a tired looking Sakura, and she took a seat beside her husband. Chii sat next to Fai and began chatting away with him happily.

"How are you feeling?" Syaoran asked Sakura.

"I'm ok. I'm hoping the headache will subside by tomorrow at least." She replied with a tired smile.

Sakura felt a small hand reach up and rub her stomach and she looked over in surprise. Rika was standing beside her with her hand against her stomach, fascinated by what she could feel beneath her fingers. She smiled up at Sakura, "Hug!" she said as she hugged the young queen. She gave everyone at the table a hug before taking a seat beside her father, and Rena walked in with Sora.

"Sorry I'm late." Rena said as she sat down.

"So what did I miss out on?" Sora smiled.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and continued eating, ignoring his sister.

"So, Rena, when are you having children?" Sora asked casually.

Rena nearly choked on her dinner. She finished getting the first bite down along with a couple of lungful's of air. Syaoron groaned.

Yuui looked over to see if Rena was alright. "She's breathing. She'll be fine."

"Is this really a topic to be discussed at dinner!?" Rena asked after she recovered.

"No." Syaoran replied.

"I was just curious. You really don't want kids?"

"Not anyone's business!" Rena snapped.

Sora laughed, "You're cute."

"If she got pregnant it would be one hell of a nightmare…" Yuui muttered.

"What was that?" Sora asked, not hearing what he had said.

"Nothing." He smiled.

"I heard that, asshole." Rena snapped.

"What did he say?" Sora asked, confused.

"Nothing-I didn't say a thing."

"He said that-"

"Look-there's a congregation of ducks in the corner!"

"Ooh where?" Sora asked, turning her head.

The blonde turned his attention to Rena, glaring at her. Syaoran and the others were too busy laughing at Sora who was confused by the corner of the room where a group of people sat, staring back at her with confused looks.

"I will decapitate your head from your shoulders one day." Rena hissed.

"Not before I poison you during your sleep."

"You two are funny." Rika laughed.

"Oh look, caught by your daughter." Rena smirked.

"Avert your eyes darling, you don't know what kind of monster you're looking at."

"Woah! Watch it blondie, I will kill you." Rena muttered.

"But I like Rena-she gives me hugs." Rika argued with her father.

"Ha! Shot down."

"Darn…"

Sora turned back, "There's nothing of interest over there…" She mumbled.

"No, no there isn't." Syaoran replied.

"What made you think there would be ducks here?" Sid asked.

"Shut up." Sora muttered.

Everyone laughed at her as she pouted, poking fun in her direction. It had been a long time since they had all joked around together, especially with Sora.

As Sakura lay in bed beside Syaoran she allowed him to hold her hand while he stroked her cheek softly. Her mind appeared to be someplace else, and he could tell that she was worried about something.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?" he asked her softly.

"Yes…" she confessed. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

He squeezed her hand comfortingly and smiled. "I'll be ok. Sora and the others will be with me." Sakura stayed quiet and he sighed. "Try and get some sleep." He said before kissing her lightly on the lips.

He was about to release her hand but she tightened her grip, "Please, don't let go…" she begged.

Syaoran smiled, "As you wish."

Sora smiled as she watched Rika sleep peacefully between herself and Yuui. She gently tucked some loose hairs behind her ear and Rika shifted slightly, her pendant falling out onto the bed. Yuui spotted it and carefully lifted the pendant so he wouldn't wake Rika.

"I didn't notice the diamonds before." He murmured.

Sora smiled sadly, "I don't want to tell you the truth about this pendant, but you have the right to know…" she whispered.

He looked at her with confusion. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

She sighed. "I gave birth while I was held captive, and when I gave birth, I gave birth to twins. Aryanna murdered our firstborn son…" she choked on the words, could hardly get them out as she told him how their son had died and what she had been through, and what she had done to have the pendant made. He was so shocked at the news that he didn't realise he was crying. Sora had been through hell and he couldn't do anything to help her.

It was early morning; Sakura was helping with the women and children as usual after saying goodbye to Syaoran, not really wanting to see him leave. She winced a little, feeling pain in her stomach, but ignored it since it went away after a moment or two. She'd been feeling the pains for the last half hour, but assumed she just wasn't feeling well and that it would subside. She helped with the cleaning, washing clothes with one of the housewives. She winced again and the woman she was helping noticed.

"Are you alright?" she asked with worry.

Sakura smiled, "I'm sure it's nothing."

The woman looked unsure. "How long have you been feeling that pain for, sweetie?"

"Uhh…maybe every ten minutes for the last half hour?"

The woman shoved everything to the side and looked around to see if any medical staff were around or available. "Someone get a doctor! The queen's gone into labour!"

Syaoran was getting ready to leave with Sora, Sid and the others. Rika was bouncing up and down, begging her mother to pick her up.

"Pick me up!" she begged.

Sora finally gave in and picked her daughter up, who gave her a kiss on the cheek followed by a hug. "Have a safe trip!" Rika smiled.

"We will. Make sure you don't cause too much trouble, alright?" Sora smiled.

"I won't!" Rika beamed. Sora put her down and Seraphina led her away. Syaoran sighed and walked over to his horse.

"Syaoran!"

He span around to see his brother looking a little disoriented and sighed. "What is it?" he asked.

"Yuui wants to see you-now."

"Why? I'm about to leave."

"You better want to stay, because Sakura's giving birth." Syaoron said, and he wasn't smiling.

Sora grabbed her brother's shoulder, "What did you just say?"

"Sakura's giving birth." He repeated.

"Aryanna's more likely to come here now." Sora muttered. "Get in there."

Nervous and worried about Sakura, Syaoran quickly ran back inside to find Yuui. It didn't take long to find him; he was guided by the large amount of children and men who looked really unsure of themselves standing outside the main hall.

"Try and occupy the children or find some jobs to do." He said as he walked past.

They immediately disbanded and he entered the hall, only to hear an ear-piercing scream.

"Oh good, you're still here." Yuui said once Sakura's scream had subsided.

"Why didn't you move her to someplace more comfortable?" Syaoran asked a little irritably.

"It was too late by the time I got here. The women did an excellent job of making her comfortable though, so be grateful." Yuui snapped.

Sakura whimpered and one of the women came back with a tub of hot water. "Set it down over there." The blonde murmured.

Syaoran recognised the woman who began dampening one of the cloths and wiping away the sweat from Sakura's forehead; it was Clarice, Emily's mother, the woman they had assisted the year before with finding her daughter. He turned his attention back to Sakura and knelt down beside her, slipping his fingers through hers; he hadn't seen her in so much agony before, and it frightened him. Her grip was bone crushing, but he dealt with it.

She screamed again before losing consciousness, and he started to worry even more.

"Clarice, can you check how dilated she is, please?" Yuui asked.

Clarice did so and told him her results.

"She'll probably come back into consciousness again shortly. I'm going to give her something for the pain; do you mind taking over the delivery for a moment?" Yuui asked the woman, who didn't hesitate to do as she was asked.

He quickly mixed something together and managed to get it down Sakura's throat. She released another whimper as she faded back into consciousness, her grip tightening on Syaoran's hand again.

Sora paced back and forth, worried and stressed about Sakura and the baby. She knew what Aryanna wanted, and that was why she wanted to get to her first. But now Aryanna would be coming and it would only be a matter of days; Sakura needed all of the protection she could get with her vulnerable state.

"What's wrong?" Eva asked as she walked over.

"I'm worried about Sakura." She confessed. "Aryanna will know that she's given birth by the end of the day, and will be coming."

"She has you and everyone else to keep her safe; I'm sure she and her baby will be fine." Eva smiled.

"Yes…but Aryanna knows how to weed her way through a crowd. She's skilled at that." She muttered.

"Well I'm sure Syaoran will keep them safe." Eva reassured her.

"Yeah…"

She sighed and looked out the window at the brewing storm clouds, watching the lightning flash across the sky. She was distracted as she heard running footsteps heading towards her, and she looked over her shoulder. It was Rena.

"Sora, what have you heard about Sakura?" She asked as she came to an abrupt stop.

"Should you really be running?" Eva asked.

"She's still in labour." Sora replied.

"I hope everything's ok…" Rena groaned.

"I'll check with Yuui later." Sora smiled.

"Thanks,"

"No problem. Why don't we go wait in the lounge?" Sora suggested.

Rena nodded in agreement, "I shouldn't run-it hurts like a bitch with this wound."

"Then I'd advise not to." Eva smiled sweetly.

"Yeah. No kidding. I'm an idiot today." Rena rolled her eyes.

Hours passed and Sakura's screaming finally subsided. The room was instead filled with the cries of a newborn child, and an exhausted smile wavered on Sakura's face. She watched as her son was brought to her arms, and she finally felt the weight of her child in her own hands; he was so light, so innocent. Syaoran smoothed some of her hair back from her face, most of his worry for her having disappeared. He watched as Sakura held their son, Dimitri, unable to contain his smile. Finally their child-their son-was here in their arms.

Yuui smiled and Clarice wiped the sweat from her brow. "We'll give you a little bit of time and then have you moved to your room where you'll be a bit more comfortable and it's a bit more private." Yuui said after a few moments.

Syaoran smiled, "Thank you."

"Right now, the mother needs to rest as does the infant. No visitors until further notice." Yuui ordered.

Sakura allowed Clarice to take Dimitri to bathe him, and exhausted she closed her eyes.

Yuui looked to Syaoran, noticing his hand, and raised an eyebrow. "How's your hand?"

Syaoran half laughed, "Sakura's bone crushing grip…"

The doctor walked over and had a look at his hand, poking and prodding. Syaoran swore and Yuui shrugged. "It's probably a small fracture."

"Thanks." He muttered.

"Put some ice on it." Yuui said as he bandaged it. "Is it ok if I let the others know how everything went? Or would you prefer to tell them?"

"I'll stay here." Syaoran said softly.

"Right. I'll be back shortly. Clarice will be here if you need anything." Yuui said.

Syaoran nodded and the blonde left, and he turned his attention to Clarice. "Thank you for what you've done today." He said.

"It was the least I could do for the help you gave my family." Clarice smiled.

He nodded and she wrapped Dimitri in some warm blankets, "Would you like to hold your son?" she asked.

He stood up and walked around to the other side of Sakura, and she carefully handed him his son. He was surprised at how light he was, and couldn't help but smile.

Everyone looked up as Yuui entered the lounge and Rena stood. They had all been waiting tensely for hours for news on Sakura, and they were all worried. "How is she?" Rena asked.

"Both she and the baby are fine and resting. I'll let you know when visitors are allowed." Yuui replied.

The air of tension died down and everyone released a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness!" Chii exclaimed.

"Boy or girl?" Sora asked.

"They have a son, and his name is Dimitri."

"So cute!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"You must be exhausted." Sid said.

"Not as much as Sakura. I can deal with it."

"Is Syaoran with them?" Sora asked.

He nodded as he sat down, and Chii grinned. "He must feel so proud."

"You can talk with him later. Sakura will be moved to their room when she's rested." Yuui returned.

"Great." Chii smiled.

The room was filled with lively chatter, with the usual argument breaking out between Gabriel and Rena, along with excitement for Sakura's family. They were all looking forward to meeting their child, but were also anxious about what awaited the young family.

The sun was setting low in the sky by the time Sakura felt awake enough to have visitors. She smiled as her sister and brother-in-law walked in to join Chii and Fai; Chii was holding Dimitri with a smile on her face, "He's so cute!" she grinned.

Rena walked over to Sakura and gave her a gentle hug, "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Tired." Sakura replied, "But that's not surprising, considering."

"You must be so happy." Rena smiled.

Sakura returned her sister's smile, "Yes."

Syaoran leant his head against hers and smiled. The timing was unfortunate, but it didn't change how they felt. This was what they wanted and he would protect his family.

"What are you going to do?" Syaoron asked his brother with concern.

"There's not much else I can do." Syaoran replied. "All I can do now is wait."

His brother placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before walking over to Rena who was standing with Chii, admiring her nephew.

Sakura looked to her husband who was watching the others, "Have you held him yet?" She asked.

"I held him earlier." He replied, turning his attention back to Sakura.

"Good." She smiled.

Aryanna sat quietly on her own, looking out her window when one of her last remaining commanders walked in.

"It better be good news." She snarled. She had been in a foul mood since losing the battle and she didn't want to hear any more bad news.

"Sakura's given birth to her son."

Aryanna looked up, "Oh?"

"What do you wish to do?" he asked.

"I think I'll pay her a visit. But first I'll give her a few days with her child. I don't want her to be too prepared for my visit." Aryanna smiled as she twirled some of her hair around her finger. "You're dismissed."

He left and the queen sat in her seat feeling bemused, watching as clouds covered the night sky. There was a storm coming, and it was time to prepare.

Later that evening, Syaoran had walked down to the lounge to see Sora; she was accompanied by Sid and Rika, who was falling asleep on her mothers lap. Sora looked over as her younger brother walked in and smiled. "How is Sakura?"

"Sleeping. Rena's staying with her and Dimitri while I'm here."

"I see. Is it alright if I visit tomorrow?" Sora asked.

"I'm sure Sakura won't mind a couple of visitors." Syaoran replied.

"Thank you." Sora replied. "What's on your mind?" She asked, noticing her brother's troubled expression.

"Today we could have left even though Sakura had gone into labour, but you told me to stay. Why?" He asked.

She smiled, "I couldn't take that away from you."

He stayed silent for a while, and she sighed. "Well, I better put Rika to bed. Goodnight." Sora smiled, and left.

Syaoran took a seat with his cousin and sighed. "Sora's changed so much…" He said.

"Well, yeah. With what she's been through, that's no surprise." Sid said.

"No, I mean she's never been so full of hate."

"What do you think she'd do if she got her hands on Aryanna?" Sid asked.

"That's what I'm worried about…" Syaoran replied.

His cousin sighed. "Well, don't worry about it now. You should get back to your wife and son."

"Right…"

Syaoran stood and headed back to the bedroom where Rena was watching over Dimitri while Sakura slept peacefully. She looked over and smiled, "I'll leave you to rest. I just got him to sleep."

"Thanks." Syaoran smiled.

"See you tomorrow."

Rena left and Syaoran walked over to the small crib which had been made up for his son out of blankets and various other soft materials. He smiled and walked back over to the bed, changing and then slipping in beside Sakura for the night.

As the days passed and Sakura regained her strength, Syaoran tried not to worry about Aryanna and when they would eventually cross paths. He rarely left Sakura's side-he refused to. Sakura sighed as Syaoran sat beside her, looking tired. "Syaoran please. Go and sit with the others for a while." She pleaded.

"Sakura…"

"I can't move; I'm going to be in bed for another few days. But don't limit yourself." She said softly.

Syaoran held her for a moment, not wanting to leave her, and kissed her forehead softly before standing up to leave her. He walked down to the dining hall where everyone was sitting chatting away; it was busy as usual in the evening, and as he sat down Sora gave him a look of interest.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing." She shrugged. "How's Sakura?"

"She's fine." He replied. "She ate earlier, and she's still sore but I suppose that's to be expected, but other than that she's complaining about being bored."

"She should have plenty to do with taking care of Dimitri." Rena half joked.

"Except he sleeps most of the day." Sora replied, laughing.

"He's a cat?" Rena shrugged.

"Pretty sure Dimitri's human…" Sid murmured.

"You're no fun." Rena muttered.

"Just saying-he looks nothing like a cat." Sid shrugged casually.

"Fair enough. I suppose I'd be insulting my sister." Rena sighed.

"Or me…" Syaoran muttered.

"Oh hush now." Sora laughed.

"He's just jealous because Sakura spends most of her time with Dimitri and not him." Rena shrugged.

"Are you sure you're not the one who's jealous?" Syaoran asked dully.

Rena glared at him and everyone laughed.

"Who wants to play cards?" Felix asked.

"I better not…" Syaoran said, going to decline.

"Oh come on; Sakura wouldn't mind. In fact she'd probably prefer it if you socialised a little." Sora rolled her eyes.

"Fine, one game." Syaoran muttered.

"Yes! We roped him in!"

"I'm going to go find Gabriel. Have fun without me." Rena smiled, standing and leaving the table.

"Alright." Syaoron replied.

"So…what are we playing?" Isaac asked.

Sakura held her crying son, trying to hush him. She had done everything she could think of to try and calm him and so far nothing was working; she wish she could understand his cry so that she could help him and act, but there was no way that could happen.

"Shh, it's ok," she said softly as she tried to calm him. He continued to cry and her guards gave her sympathetic looks. She apologised, but they just shook their heads.

"Used to it," Rene replied.

"You have kids?" Sakura asked.

"Two."

"Oh…I never knew."

Dimitri continued to cry and Sakura sighed. She didn't know what to do. Suddenly his cries ceased as Syaoran walked through the door, his tiny face curving up into a smile. Syaoran dismissed the guards who left the room to stand outside the door and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, he just wanted you."

"What?" Syaoran asked, confused.

"Dimitri wouldn't stop crying as soon as he woke up. I tried everything." Sakura answered.

"He seems happy now."

"As soon as you opened the door he stopped."

Syaoran stayed silent for a moment. "No, it must have been as I was approaching. I didn't hear him." He said after a pause.

She shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it, and moved on to a different topic of conversation. "You were gone longer than normal."

"They pulled me into a game of cards; Sora and Felix got drunk and Yuui was stuck chasing Sora down." Syaoran explained as he held his hand out to his son who held it with his two tiny hands.

"You sound like you had a good time." Sakura smiled.

"It wasn't too bad." He shrugged.

Sakura allowed him to hold their son and she rested her arms. Dimitri continued to play with his father's hand while they talked, but cut his parents short as he started crying again. Syaoran heard a thud just outside the door, and being cautious he passed Dimitri back to Sakura.

The infant quietened, and Syaoran waited a moment; he could sense danger outside the bedroom door, and he had a feeling he knew who it was. Sakura held her son close, worried and scared. The door creaked open and Syaoran stood, drawing his sword.

Rena sat with her old teacher beneath the clear night sky on the soft green grass; it was late and Rena was thinking about heading back inside, but sitting with her teacher beneath the stars brought back old memories and she didn't really want to leave. Gabriel stopped smoking and waited for a moment, concentrating on sensing something.

"What is it?" Rena asked.

"Shut up." He snapped.

Rena stayed quiet and concentrated too, and then a feeling of dread washed over the both of them. The two immediately raced back inside, running for the room Sakura and Syaoran stayed in. Sid and Syaoron who shared the same fear, none of them saying a word, quickly joined them. It felt like hours as they all ran, and as Gabriel finally came to a stop the realisation hit Rena like a brick to the face. It was chaos. The guards were on the floor in the worst possible state, covered and lying in their own blood. She looked to the bedroom, where she spotted a trail of blood on the floor and a small crimson pool by the bed. It was fresh and they were nowhere in sight.

Rena fell to the floor screaming and Syaoron ran to her side, looking to the state of the room and the guards lying dead on the floor in front of them. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried, and as Sora and Yuui came running down the hall they realised what had happened.

Sora clenched her fists and punched the wall beside her in anger and stormed off. Sid swore, wishing he had seen something coming sooner.

Syaoron watched as Gabriel walked into the room, noticing something on the bed. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Gabriel walked over to the bed, finding a knife stabbed through an envelope with cursive handwriting written on the front. The note was addressed to Sora.

"Our visitors left us a note." Gabriel replied, holding the envelope up.