Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura isn't mine.

Previously in Worth Fighting For:

"Enough with this nonsense." He took out a scroll from his sleeve and spread it on the table. "I need you to sign this."

Sakura stood up and peered at the paper. "What is this?"

"An agreement. You're giving away Clow to us."

Sakura stepped backward. "I'm not signing the paper."

The king stepped forward, grabbed her by her wrist and pushed her down. "It's either that or a marriage with my son. Your choice."

Sakura yelped as she fell down again. She pulled herself up and saw the glimmer just around her right ankle. She snatched the dagger swiftly, stood up, and pointed the dagger on the king's neck. "Tell your guards to open up the door or I will not hesitate to use this dagger on you."


Worth Fighting For
Chapter 53: Rescue Mission


Yamazaki almost scream when he felt something on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with the Crown Prince's guard, Nakuru. He frowned; wondering what was the guard doing in Mikage's palace ground when she should be with the Crown Prince.

"The Crown Prince thinks it would be better if I came here first and scout the situation," Nakuru said with a shrug.

His frown deepened. Yamazaki didn't like it when Nakuru seem to know what was on his mind. "How did you get here so fast? The last I heard, you were heading to Clow's palace."

"It's full moon," Nakuru smiled when the prince's guard raised a brow in confusion. "You know that I can grow wings as beautiful as a butterfly's on a full moon."

Yamazaki sighed at her answer. He knew that he would never get a straight answer from the guard. "Stop it," He looked away from her and focused on the palace before him. "I'm the one who should be telling lies," he mumbled to himself.

"Oh?" Nakuru smiled teasingly. "Were you afraid that I was going to steal your character?"

Yamazaki chuckled. "No. I have no reason to. Your lies weren't as believable as mine." He pursed his lips when two guards walked passed their hiding place. "Did you learn anything from Clow?"

"Things weren't so bad. Most of the citizen have moved away from the city to a safe location. The Clow army is protecting them. The king is held as a hostage, but he is safe." Nakuru said. "And you? Have you learned anything here?"

Yamazaki clenched on the hilt of his sword. "It's too quiet around the palace. And there are a lot of palace guards patrolling even with the chaos in the city earlier today. I'm guessing that whatever the princess planned, it doesn't go as well as she hoped for."

"Good point," she wrote down something on a piece of paper and rolled it tightly. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to sneak in and look for them. I need to be by the prince's side."

Nakuru grabbed his shoulder before he turned around and leave. "The Crown Prince and Queen Fuu Tie are on their way here to save the prince. If you find them, don't do anything that would cause a scene unless necessary. We need to have all the advantage we can get against Mikage."

Yamazaki closed his eyes and sighed. He would rather get the prince out from Mikage as soon as possible. "I understand."

"We should split. If you're looking for Prince Syaoran, it would be best of you check the prison first. If they are caught, I bet the king would lock them up in the prison."

Yamazaki nodded. He watched Nakuru blew something that looks like a whistle, but there were no sounds. "What about you? Are you coming with me?"

"No. The prince and the others might be somewhere else. I'm going to scout around the palace and get used to the palace layout," Nakuru said. She smiled when a bird landed on her shoulder. She tied a paper to the bird's feet and released it. "But first," she turned back to Yamazaki. "I need to find a way to get in. Do you know any safe route?"

"Why don't you try the roof?"

Nakuru looked at the palace and raised a brow. "The second floor?"

Yamazaki rolled his eyes. "Didn't you say you have wings?"

xxx

King Shogo inhaled sharply as he felt the cool metal on his skin. He tried to move, but the princess only pressed her dagger on his skin tighter, and soon, he felt something trickled down his neck.

"Tell your guards to open up the door right now," Sakura repeated. "Don't try anything or I might accidentally slit your neck with this."

The king chuckled at her warning. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Sakura warned.

"The guards will barge into this room when they didn't hear anything from me."

"Then I guess I will have to kill you before they come in." She felt the king grabbed her hand in an attempt to free himself. But swiftly, she spun around in the room as if she was dancing and get back to the king. She kicked at the back of his knee, making him kneeled on the floor. Then, she put her dagger back on his neck. "I told you not to try anything. I won't let you win now," she took a deep breath. For a moment she was grateful for Syaoran's short training. "Not anymore."

"Your Majesty?" The captain guard called from the other side of the room. "Is everything alright? Should I come in?"

"Tell him not to worry about you." Sakura pressed her weapon to warn the king not to try anything.

King Shogo gritted his teeth. "I'm alright. Leave us alone for a while," King Shogo shouted against his will. He heard the captain guard steps away from the room and grunted. "You do realize that you're pointing a dagger to a King of Mikage?" he said to the princess. "Do you know what will happen to you if you harm me?"

"I don't care. I'm not afraid of you. I know that my plan to come here and negotiate with you might not work. I know the risks. And now, I have nothing more to lose. You've taken over my country and held my family as a prisoner. And this wouldn't happen if your son didn't occupy Clow in the first place," she tightened her grip on the dagger so the king wouldn't notice how she was trembling in fear. "You make me do this. You forced me to be this."

"Please," the king pleaded. "We can talk about this."

"What? Now you wanted to talk?" She chuckled against the king's ears. "You revoked the rice trade, occupied my country and now you wanted me to sign an agreement to hand over Clow? You must think it is easy to bully me just because I'm a woman."

"I don't." He swallowed when the princess trailed the tip of the dagger against his skin. "Please. I will command the guards to let you and your entourage go. I will command my son to leave Clow's soil as soon as possible."

"I don't know if I can trust you."

"I will do anything you want me to."

The princess chuckled at his pleading. She finds it funny how the king was begging for his life. Just a few minutes ago, he was the one who had an advantage over her. But now... They're in a reverse situation.

She hated Mikage. She had imagined a few times how she would kill both the king and Crown Prince Kei. It would be easy to push the dagger on his knife and slit his throat. She can kill him right now and escape through the window. She will find a way to save the others. They will all be safe.

But now that she was holding the dagger, it doesn't feel like she can do it.

The princess held up her hand and wiped the drop of waters streaming down her cheek. It was then that she realized that she was crying. She didn't want to do this. She can't do this. If she killed the king, everything would be over. Everything would change. She would be that someone who have killed a person.

"You can stop now."

Her shoulder shook with surprise at the voice. Slowly she looked around and saw a beautiful woman with long hair leaning on the window glass. "Who are you?"

The king whimpered when Sakura pressed the dagger to his neck.

"I am Nakuru," she said.

Sakura frowned, realizing that the woman seemed familiar. She had seen her at the festivity with Li's Crown Prince. "You're the Crown Prince's guard."

Nakuru smiled. "You remember me." She stepped forward to the princess and come face to face with her. Her eyes went towards the dagger in the princess's grip. "You can stop now. You can let it go."

Sakura blinked. "What?" She followed Nakuru's gaze to the dagger pointed at the king's neck. "I—I. He'll kill me if I do."

"I will make sure that he won't harm you." Nakuru held her gaze. "Do you trust me?"

"I can't." Sakura held the dagger tightly. "Why are you trying to stop me?" Sakura said, angrily. "Do you know what he has done?"

"I do. I can imagine how much you hated him right now," Nakuru said. "But still. I can't allow you to kill him. Your brother wouldn't want this.

"My brother? What do you know about my brother?"

"I met him in his palace," her gaze softened when Sakura turned to look at her. "He's locked up in his quarters, but he's safe and unharmed."

Sakura stared at Nakuru, debating her next move. Seconds later, she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The Crown Prince will kill him if I didn't return back to the palace tomorrow. I can't let that happen. I need to stop this war before that happen."

"You don't want to do this. Killing the king won't stop the war. You know that" Nakuru said. "Put it down. I can promise you that everything will be alright."

"Yes," King Shogo interrupted. "You need to listen to the lady, princess."

"Shut up," Sakura hissed as she shot a warning glance at him.

"You can't turn back once you use that dagger to kill the king. The price of taking others life is heavy. It is a crushing weight, no matter what situation you're in when you made the decision to kill. It will haunt you for life." Nakuru put a hand above the princess's hand and on the dagger. "Are you sure you're prepared to pay the price?"

Sakura swallowed and gasped as she felt her heart grew heavy. She tried to control her breathing before she panicked. Slowly, her grip on the dagger loosened and Nakuru took the chance to grab the weapon from her. Nakuru caught the king in time as he was about to make his escape towards the door. She tapped a few spots on the king's body and soon, his body went numb from shoulder to toe. "You can't leave just yet. There are a few things we need to discuss."

"Just who the hell are you?" King Shogo asked, angrily.

"Allow me to introduce myself again," Nakuru said, bowing. She took out her identification and flashed it before the king. "I am Nakuru. Crown Prince Eriol of Li Dynasty first guard." She smiled, noticing the panic in the king's eyes. "The Crown Prince and Queen Fuu Tie of Suiho are on their way to your palace. We have reports that say you're keeping Prince Syaoran of Li Dynasty imprisoned in your palace. From now on, it would be best if you treat the princess as your guest instead of as your prisoner, don't you think?"

xxx

Yamazaki leaned up against the wall as two guards walked past him. He craned up his neck when he was sure that it was safe and observed the prison. There were a group of guards standing on guard at the entrance. He couldn't tell if the prince and the others were in there. If only he could find a way to sneak in into the prison...

The prince's guard searched for his other options. He could fight against the guards and forced his way in, but Nakuru had warned him not to create any scene before the Crown Prince and the Queen arrived. His other option was to kidnap a guard and change into their uniform and pretended that he was a palace guard.

Yamazaki went back to his position when he saw two guards jogged towards the prison. He watched the two spoke something, and soon, left with five or more guards and headed to the palace's direction. Yamazaki raised a brow, noticing that they were in a rush. He observed the prison and saw that there were only two guards at the entrance. The heaven was on his side. He could work with the two guards without creating much attention. He crept in the dark towards the prison and stayed there for a while to eavesdrop to the guards' conversation.

"What do you think is going on?" One of the guards said. "We had a group of intruders in the palace yesterday and now they need more guards in the palace because the king is in danger?"

"It's probably nothing," the other said. "The king is probably paranoid after the yesterday's episode. There's no way anyone would be daring enough to sneak in into the palace with a number of guards around."

"You're probably right," the first guard answered.

Yamazaki tiptoed towards the entrance and swiftly, knocked down the two guards. He stole the keys and prayed that there weren't any guards inside. His heartbeat accelerated when he saw the prince and the others locked up behind bars.

"Yamazaki?" Mori hissed. He was the first one who spotted him. "How did you get here?"

Yamazaki placed his forefinger on his lips, signaling them to be quiet. He stepped closer to the bars and look at the prince. He had his upper body wrapped up and blood stains seeped through the bandage. "What happened to you?" His voice sounded panic.

Syaoran tried to get up with Kaho's help. "What are you doing here?" he asked with worry. "Aren't you supposed to be in Suiho?"

"The Queen is on her way here," Yamazaki said. He noticed the inquiring look from the other guards but decided to ignore them. He took out the keys he stole from the guards and fiddled with the keys to get the right one. "I met Crown Prince Eriol before I board the vessel. He made a trip to Suiho instead of going back to Li Dynasty. It seems that he had managed to convince Suiho to aid Clow. They should arrive in Mikage in the morning."

Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief at Yamazaki's news. He was glad for Eriol's quick thinking to visit his sister. A part of him wondered how Eriol convinced his sister to aid Clow in their war. Syaoran looked up at Yamazaki again with panic. "Have you heard about the princess?"

Yamazaki scanned into the cell and noticed that the princess was not with them. "No." He smiled a bit when he finally inserted the right key. He swung the door open and let his comrades out. The prince walked out first with the physician. "Are you alright?"

Syaoran nodded and turn to look at Kaho. "The physician helped to treat my wound."

Yamazaki sighed in relief. He gave the prince a look over to scan for other injuries and was glad that he hasn't found any other than the wound on his shoulder. "We need to get out from here before the guards come back."

"You mean, there are no guards outside?" Mori asked.

"A group of them left to enter the palace, leaving a couple of guards outside," Yamazaki said. "It seems like the guards were summoned to enter the palace. Come on." He led the group out and hid behind an old building.

"What are we going to do now?" Shinjiro asked.

"We have to rescue Her Majesty," Hirose said. "She might be in danger."

Syaoran held his guard on his arm and pulled him away from the others. He gave Kaho a smile when he saw her stopped the others from following them. "Did you say that Eriol and my sister are on their way here?" he asked Yamazaki in a low voice.

"Yes. They should be arriving in the city with Suiho's army in a few hours," Yamazaki said. "Nakuru is here too. She's in the palace to scout the situation." He frowned. "I'm guessing that the princess's plan has failed."

"The king's guard caught us before we can approach the king. We underestimate the situation. We thought that there wouldn't be as much guard in the palace ground with the attack staged just outside the palace grounds to create a diversion." He touched his bandaged shoulders. "We weren't careful enough."

"I'm sure the princess is safe. The king wouldn't dare to harm her. He has reasons to keep her alive," Yamazaki tried to convince when he saw the prince's worried expression. "The princess must have known the risk before she made the decision to come here. She must have known that there are chances that her plan might not work. She's stronger and braver than we think. I know what she will do whatever she can think of to resist Mikage."

Syaoran nodded. "I hope so." His lips curved into a small smile. Yamazaki was right. Sakura will do whatever she can to resist. He had been by her side for a while and knew that she will fight for what she believes. She won't bow easily. Not without a fight.

"What are you planning to do now?" Yamazaki asked. "If you're planning to search and rescue the princess then, I will go along with your plan."

Syaoran closed his eyes briefly. There's nothing he wants more than to look for Sakura. It kills him that she wasn't anywhere where he could see her. But he also knew that he was in no condition to do so. His body was too weak from the amount of blood he had lost. And the physician was right. He needed to stay alive if he wanted to help Sakura. It took him a while before Syaoran finally made his decision. "I will see Eriol and my sister."

Yamazaki nodded. "I understand."

"I need your help," he spoke slowly. "You need to look for her. Make sure she's safe. Pull her out of the palace if you can." Syaoran touched his guard on his shoulder and smiled. "You're the best person I know at this. I trust you."

xxx

King Shogo walked along the long corridor. He stopped just to shot a dagger look to his captain guard, who was bowing his head low. "How the hell did you lose the prisoners?" he hissed angrily.

The captain guard went down on his knee. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I deserve death for my crime."

"What am I going to tell them when they arrive?" He grunted. He touched the bandage around his neck. It was only a few hours ago when the princess held him at knife point. "What about the guard? Is she's telling the truth? The Crown Prince of Li Dynasty and the Queen of Suiho is heading to this palace?"

"Yes. I'm afraid so. That woman is telling you the truth. They're heading here with at least a hundred of soldiers."

"A hundred?"

"I heard there are many more soldiers waiting at our coast. And a few of them are heading to Clow to help Clow's soldiers to fight against Crown Prince Kei's troop."

The king chuckled at the information. He knew right away that Mikage will fall if he did not deal with this situation correctly. Right now, there was nothing more that he wanted than to smack his son right on his head. If only he didn't listen to his idea to invade Clow, this won't be happening.

King Shogo continued to walk along the corridor and stopped when he reached a door. He told the guards and servants to open the door and entered the room. He took a deep breath and faked a smile on his face as he met with the princess. "Princess Sakura," he said, cheerily. "I trust that you enjoyed the accommodation here."

"Where are Syaoran and the others?"

The king's smile faded at the princess's question. Quickly, he recovered and flashed her with another smile. "My guards are heading to where they are kept. They should be here soon. Please," he pointed towards the two emptied chair. "Have a seat. There are so many things we need to discuss."

Sakura looks at the chair and turned to look at Nakuru. She watched the guard nodded and reluctantly took a seat. Right now, she needs to put her trust on Nakuru and do as they had discussed earlier before Crown Prince Eriol showed up with his help.

"I hope you will forgive me for the misunderstanding between us, Princess Sakura," King Shogo said.

The princess raised a brow. "Misunderstanding?"

King Shogo looked away, looking flustered. "I will ask my son to retreat back from Clow back to you. And I hope you will help us to explain the situation to Li Dynasty and its alliance."

Nakuru chuckled at the king's request. "What a shameless person," she commented under her breath.

"Why should I help you to explain your situation?"

"What?" The king's mouth gapped open.

"The war between Clow and Mikage had nothing to do with Li Dynasty," she paused. "And yet, your people shot the Li's prince with your arrow."

"Prince Syaoran may not be the Crown Prince," Nakuru added. "But he is the only son of the Emperor and Empress. If something happened to him, I don't think you're getting away with this easily, King Shogo."

"I didn't know that he is a prince of Li Dynasty," the king said to the female guard, but she looked away from him and looked out of the window. He gritted his teeth and turned to look at the princess with pleading eyes. "Please. I will do anything and everything you ask." It hurt his pride so much to plead to the princess.

"We will need to discuss this," Nakuru said. She stepped closer to the king. "If you excuse us, the princess and I need to discuss a few things before she agrees to anything."

Sakura watched the king stood up hesitantly and walked out of the room. "What are you planning?" she asked Nakuru.

Nakuru put a finger to her lips and walked towards the window. She swung the window open and soon, a figure swung in into the room.

"Yamazaki!" Sakura yelped.

Yamazaki bowed to her and smiled. "I'm glad to see you alive and safe." Then, he turned to Nakuru. "What are you doing here?"

"How did you get up here?" Nakuru gave the guard a look over and smiled when she saw the spiked shoes he was wearing.

"Syaoran," Sakura stepped forward to the guard. "He was shot with an arrow. The guards are taking him to the prison. And I haven't heard of anything from them. You have to find him."

"I know," Yamazaki said. "Don't worry. The prince and everyone else is safe now. They have rejoined with the Crown Prince and Queen Fuu Tie. And now, the king and the soldiers are frantic to look for them."

"He's safe?"

"Yes," Yamazaki nodded. He smiled when she exhaled a long breath. "He wishes to come here and look for you himself, but he had to see the Crown Prince for an urgent matter. They will arrive at this palace in a few hours. It's almost over now. Everything will be alright, Princess."


End of Chapter 53: Rescue Mission


Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I was glad to get a lot of advice for the story. Worth Fighting For is almost over. I promise I won't do something to drag the story furthermore. Lol. And I promise there will be Sakura and Syaoran moments in the remaining chapters. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please tell me what you think of it.

1 April 2017