A Fairy Tale
Princess
Chapter 3: Invasion of the Dark Empire ¡V
¡§He¡¦s Dead¡K¡¨
Sakura was woken
up by a loud clamor outside in the halls.
She sat up, careful not to disturb the Princess. She changed quickly and slipped outside
with feline grace. Outside,
soldiers were running everywhere, guided by the voices of a few captains.
She noticed
Syaoran, dressed in his white armor running up to her room. Sakura has only seen him in his white
armor twice, but she secretly thought Syaoran was very handsome in it. ¡§Syaoran-kun, what¡¦s going on?¡¨ she
asked.
Syaoran scowled
at her. ¡§What did you do?¡¨ he
barked.
Sakura cringed,
terrified of his attitude. ¡§What
do you mean, Syaoran-kun?¡¨ she asked timidly.
¡§You spied on
our meeting last week, and this week the Dark Empire has attacked. You are involved somehow¡K I can¡¦t believe I misjudged you. I should have believed the advisors,¡¨ Syaoran¡¦s
words were cold as the steel of his sword.
Sakura began to
sob. ¡§I didn¡¦t do anything¡K Please believe me¡K¡¨ she pleaded.
Syaoran stared
at her silently, without a word.
He gently pushed her aside and entered the Princess¡¦s room. Sakura followed him inside, still in
tears.
¡§Princess,¡¨
Syaoran called softly, kneeling by her bed and lowering his eyes to the
ground. A fate worse than death
awaited for anyone who openly ogled at the Princess. Even worse if she was not fully dressed.
¡§Yes,
Syaoran-kun?¡¨ the Princess murmured, still longing for the comfort of her
dreams.
¡§There are
enemies approaching, please be prepared to leave on a moment¡¦s notice. I have to go command the defenses. I will be on the north rampart, but do
not come to visit me without reason,¡¨ his voice was firm, yet his words were
tender.
The Princess sat
up at the news of an invasion. Her
eyes showed fear. ¡§Will we be
alright?¡¨ she asked in a scared voice.
¡§Of course,
Princess, I will never allow harm to come to you,¡¨ Syaoran reached up and
stroked her hair, eyes still watching the floor under him.
After a moment,
Syaoran stood up and took Sakura by her arm. As they left the chamber, he commanded, ¡§Guard the
Princess. Do not let her
out.¡¨ The guards saluted in
acknowledgement.
¡§You,¡¨ Syaoran
turned his attention to Sakura.
¡§You belong in the dungeon, spy.¡¨
Sakura¡¦s eyes
widened, tears welling up in her eyes again. ¡§I didn¡¦t do anything,¡¨ she sobbed.
Syaoran took to
a deaf ear and dragged her towards the dungeons.
¡§General!¡¨ a
voice called his attention.
Syaoran stopped and allowed the messenger to run up to him. ¡§The¡K the¡K¡¨ he panted, taking a moment to catch his breath. ¡§The advisors¡Kthey want to see you in
the Meeting Hall.¡¨
Syaoran handed
Sakura¡¦s arm to him. ¡§This is a
spy, take her to the dungeons,¡¨ he commanded before he walked off in the
opposite direction.
The messenger
looked at Sakura, confused.
¡§Um¡K This way, please,¡¨ he
said politely, still wondering why he was taking the Princess to the dungeon.
Syaoran reached
the meeting room, filled with advisors and commanders of various parts of the
army. The soldiers all saluted him
in respect as he entered the room.
¡§What is it?¡¨ he
asked, ignoring the salutes.
¡§The plan¡Kthat
the King will escape at the first sign of trouble¡K¡¨
¡§Yes, what about
it? Has he arrived at the haven?¡¨
¡§He¡¦s dead¡K¡¨
Syaoran panicked
at the news. ¡§Are¡Kare you sure it
wasn¡¦t one of the false carriages?¡¨
¡§Yes, his
carriage was spotted falling off a cliff, being chased by armed scouts of the
Dark Empire. The candles inside
must have caught fire. The forest
to the south is on fire, no one will be able to find a body to confirm his
death¡K¡¨
Syaoran¡¦s mind
raced at the new situation. News
of the King¡¦s death will crush the army¡¦s moral. He refused to lose this battle; there was still the
Princess¡¦s safety at stake. ¡§Tell
no one. We cannot let the moral
drop. We must ensure the safety of
the Princess. We will sneak her
out of the kingdom by sunset.¡¨
Sakura watched
the new guard relieve the night watch.
A plan formed in her mind.
¡§Excuse me¡K¡¨ she called, drawing the attention of the guard.
¡§Princess!¡¨ he
exclaimed. ¡§What are you doing
here?¡¨ He began to fumble with the
keys to her cell.
Sakura spoke
carefully, reviewing her little script in her mind. ¡§Syaoran-kun said this place would be safe¡K but I rather be in my room. Let me out of here, I don¡¦t deserve to
sit in here.¡¨
¡§Right
away!¡¨ He unlocked the cell door
and kneeled in courtesy as Sakura walked out.
Sakura climbed
the stairs out of the dungeon and began running once the guard could not see
her.
The general
laughed and the air sounded with his maniacal glee. ¡§Oh, this is fun,¡¨ he sneered. ¡§Yet another country to destroy.¡¨
¡§Warlord,¡¨ a
lowly soldier addressed. ¡§The men
are ready at your command. The
siege engines will be ready in a matter of hours, we are¡X¡¨
The warlord
waved his hand in annoyance. ¡§Who
said anything about siege engines?
Go tell my commanders, we attack in one hour. Throw the useless peasants we call our army at the enemy
walls for all I care. Once we have
penetrated their outer wall, the real army will move in.¡¨
¡§Yes, Warlord,¡¨
the soldier trembled to under his ruthlessness.
A large figured
loomed behind the Warlord, masked in an ever-present shadow. ¡§Master¡K¡¨ it growled.
¡§Patience, you
will have your fun.¡¨
The figure
bowed, slightly awkward because of its size. ¡§Thank you¡KMaster¡K¡¨
So~ I¡¦m not
going to try to be mysterious, because I¡¦m pretty sure you know what is about
to happen. But if you don¡¦t,
you¡¦ll really want to read the next chapter. Come back in 3 days to read Chapter 4: A Switch of Roles ¡V
¡§She¡¦s the real princess!¡¨ on June 2, 2001!