Chapter Eight

Trapped

Fifteen minutes later, they reached a small river. There was a waterfall surrounded by vegetation, fireflies fluttering around it and illuminating the atmosphere with their light.

Sakura sighed. She had never walked through the forest at night before and it all seemed too beautiful to be real.

"Wash yourself," Syaoran murmured, letting go of her arm and pulling her towards the water.

She crossed her arms, glaring daggers at him.

"Would you rather I take a bath with you, too? All right," he said, raising his eyebrows.

Syaoran held her in his arms and plunged into the river with her, ignoring her protests. Sakura jerked free and pulled away from him, spitting out the water she had swallowed.

Turning in his direction, she saw that the only thing peeking above the water was his tousled hair and his eyes, which were now red.

"You want to bite me again?" she asked, moving even further away.

Luckily the river was not very deep, because she couldn't swim.

Syaoran started swimming towards her, flashing her a mischievous grin.

"No, I'd like to do other things to you now," he mumbled, staring at her.

Sakura grimaced.

"Is that what you do? Try to seduce every human you meet?" she asked, her hands shaking with anger.

He walked towards the shore, until the water was up to his waist. Syaoran unbuttoned his shirt without taking his eyes off Sakura and slowly pulled it off, revealing his wax-coloured body.

She snorted and turned away from him. Sakura sank into the water completely, noticing some relief from the headache she had since Eriol died, and returned to the surface to rub her clothes, trying to clean them.

"Not really. I've never been interested in a human before, until I saw you that night."

Sakura gasped at that, but continued to turn her back on him.

"I knew you were the one watching me from that window," she muttered, sighing.

She heard his laughter and a splash. Turning her head, she found the vampire's face inches from her own.

"I suspected that you saw me," he said, smirking.

"If you're a hundred-year-old mummy... Why do you look my age?" she asked, taking several steps back.

Syaoran frowned.

"This is the last time you call me a mummy," he growled angrily.

Sakura got out of the water and shook herself, wringing out her clothes.

"Is your majesty clean?" he asked in a mocking voice.

"Yes, and you?" she answered without glancing at him.

He too got out of the river and walked over to where she was, picking up the shirt he had left hanging on a branch and putting it back on. Sakura looked away as she saw the wet clothes clinging to his body and showing all his muscles.

"We don't sweat, but I felt like taking a bath with you," Syaoran said with a crooked smile.

She rolled her eyes and started walking. Instantly, she felt the vampire's hand grasp her left forearm.

"I'm not running away. I would never leave without my friend."

Syaoran shrugged, but didn't let her go as they walked.

"I look your age because people like me grow up until they look about twenty-eight human years old. After that, they stay that way forever. Normal vampires, as you know, have the same appearance as when they were infected with the virus... or when we turned them."

Sakura turned her face so she could look up at him.

"Do you turn a lot of humans?" she asked, feeling a lump in her throat.

"No. That can only be done by the likes of me, and I told you I prefer humans to stay human. We don't need more vampires," he replied, clicking his tongue.

"You turned Nakuru?"

His lips twisted.

"Nakuru was a mistake. I found her in Tokyo after some vampires had attacked her. I gave her my blood to heal her and left her alone to return to her companions, but... on the way she met another vampire who killed her."

Sakura shuddered at the thought of Touya and Yukito.

"I was very surprised when I saw her appear in our cave with red eyes," the vampire added, frowning.

Sakura averted her gaze and said nothing, trying not to think about her brother. A tear began to roll down one of her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" Syaoran asked curiously, looking at her sideways.

"You're telling me a lot of things that no one knows... that means I'll never be able to leave this place."

He didn't say a word and they continued walking in silence for a while. Sakura wiped away her tear and frowned. She had to focus, she had a wooden branch now. She just needed to sharpen it and she could use it to try to escape.

Just as they reached the entrance of the cave, Syaoran stopped and stared at her.

"What are you thinking about?"

"My friend," Sakura lied, avoiding his gaze.

He raised an eyebrow and ran his eyes up and down her body.

"Get undressed."

"What did you say?" she said, shaking herself to make him let her go.

"You heard me. Take off your clothes right now or I'll take them off for you."

Sakura snorted in annoyance and reached under her shirt, pulling out the branch.

"How did you know?" she asked as she handed it to him.

Syaoran caught it, tossing it so far out of sight.

"Do as I say," he growled, baring his fangs and narrowing his red eyes.

"I'm not hiding anything else."

He folded his arms, staring at her with a serious look on his face.

Sakura cursed under her breath and took off her shirt, dropping it to the floor. She did the same with her trousers, leaving her in her underwear. She tried to cover herself with her arms as she glared at Syaoran with spite.

He circled around her and stepped back in front of her.

"You can get dressed now."

Sakura dressed quickly, crossing her arms with her eyes lowered. That had been very humiliating.

He grabbed her arm again and they walked back into the cave.

"What were you planning to do with that?"

"Kill you," she replied, not looking away.

Syaoran's laughter echoed throughout the cave.

"You're very easy to read, I can always see in your face what you're up to," he commented before total darkness enveloped them.

They entered the vampire's room and he released her as soon as he closed the door.

Sakura pulled away from him and laid down on the bed, her back to him. She felt the mattress sink and, turning around, saw Syaoran lying next to her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm staying here from now on."

"Why are you staying with me? Don't you have humans to seek out to drink their blood?" she asked, clenching her jaw angrily.

"I don't trust the others, they might try to do something to you. I don't trust you either, human. Besides, I drank enough of your blood for a few days."

Sakura's heart raced at the thought of her best friend.

"What about Tomoyo? Is she safe?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"She's being watched by two vampires I trust completely."

She snorted, turning her back on him again.

"Fucking bloodsuckers," she murmured through her teeth.

"We're not all the same," Syaoran replied, kicking off his shoes.

Sakura heard them fall to the ground and closed her eyes, clenching her fists.

"If you want to rape me so I'll have a monster like your mother, you can forget about it. I'll find a way to kill myself before that happens," she said, slurring her words with hatred.

Syaoran grabbed her shoulder hard and forced her to face him. His eyes were completely red and full of anger, so much so that Sakura feared for her life.

She stopped breathing and stared at him, her heart pounding.

"Don't you dare talk like that. My father loved my mother madly, so much that when she died he couldn't live with himself and took his own life with a stake," he snarled, baring his fangs at her.

She opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"He loved her? A vampire and a human loved each other?"

Syaoran's gaze softened.

"It's very rare, but it can happen. I only know two vampires like me besides my cousin, but sometimes a vampire and a human fall in love."

"That's impossible," she replied, looking disgusted.

He shrugged.

"I'm proof that it's not."

He released her and laid back down on the bed. His eyes relaxed, and when he blinked, they were amber again.

"So you're half human?"

Syaoran shook his head.

"The only thing human about me is the colour of my eyes. My skin isn't as pale as my peers', and I have much more self-control. Though, thanks to the mix of genes, I'm five times more powerful than a regular vampire."

Sakura watched him silently, thinking about how dangerous it all sounded.

"I hope there aren't many like you," she replied quietly.

Syaoran smiled.

"I'm sure there are very few of us. Hardly any vampires are interested in humans as anything more than food."

"And no human could possibly be interested in a relationship with a vampire scum," she spat through her teeth, narrowing her eyes.

Syaoran sat up slightly, propping himself up on his elbows and looking her in the eye.

"I don't know why I let you talk about my people like that," he commented in a deep voice.

"I do know. It's because I'll be dead after the trial."

Syaoran frowned, averting his gaze. There were things she was better off not knowing at the moment. He didn't want to explain to her why he had been watching her from a distance that night... nor did he want to tell her that he had been desperately searching for her ever since he saw her.

"I won't let them hurt you," he hissed, staring at her shadow on the stone wall.

"What? Why?" Sakura asked in confusion.

He glanced sideways at her for a moment before lying back down, hugging one of the pillows.

"You're not a normal human, that's why you caught my attention as soon as I saw you."

"What do you mean? Of course I'm a normal human."

"You wouldn't understand... go to sleep," Syaoran said, closing his eyes.

"Go to sleep? And what are you going to do in the meantime?"

"Watch you, and when I get tired I'll read one of my books," he muttered, not opening his eyes.

Sakura snorted and Syaoran couldn't help but smile.

"Another thing that sets you apart from normal vampires... you're a lot crazier than them," she replied quietly, turning her back to him.

She felt the bed shake with his laughter. Soon after, she heard him get up to blow out the candle and grab something from a drawer, lying down next to her again. The room went completely dark.

Sakura sighed, closing her eyes and letting her accumulated tiredness take over her body.

A few hours later, Syaoran was reading his book in the dark while Sakura slept.

Suddenly, she began to stir as she mumbled nonsense. Syaoran watched her for a few seconds and realised she was having a nightmare. He had read dozens of books that talked about them and how unbearable it was for humans to suffer one.

He shook her a little to wake her up. She opened her eyes and sat up with a start, blinking as she couldn't see anything.

"Where am I?" she asked, confused.

"You're still in my room. You were having a bad dream."

Sakura flopped back onto the bed, sighing.

"Ever since my mother was taken away, I sometimes dream of vampires," she murmured hoarsely, closing her eyes.

"Was I in your nightmare?" Syaoran asked, feeling very curious.

She shook her head, letting out another sigh.

"No, but the night I saw you in that building, I dreamt that you were coming to kill me."

"I like you better when you're half asleep," Syaoran whispered, grinning.

He heard a grunt from Sakura and soon after she was breathing deeply again. She had gone back to sleep.