¡§Wh¡Kwhere am I

A Fairy Tale Princess

Chapter 5: The Town of Kuma ¡V ¡§Is that right¡K¡¨

¡§Syaoran-kun.¡¨

¡§Yes, Sakura?¡¨

¡§Where are we going?¡¨

¡§¡K¡¨ The duo stared at each other, about twenty steps into their journey. Syaoran scratched his head, thinking furiously of a plan before Sakura began to doubt his leadership skills. ¡§Well¡K there is a town south of here called Kuma. If we hurry, we should be there before nightfall. We can gather some information there.¡¨

Sakura silently agreed, giggling to herself. She liked Syaoran¡¦s softer side. Underneath the cold exterior, forged by years of fighting, Syaoran was still a child inside. ¡§Syaoran-kun, how old are you this year? 30?¡¨

¡§Do I look that old? I¡¦m only 19.¡¨

¡§Really? So am I! I thought you were so much older than me!¡¨

Syaoran laughed, brightening both of their days. ¡§I guess being a general has its disadvantages.¡¨

¡§So, how good are you? You must be the best, since you¡¦re a general at 19.¡¨

¡§I am the best,¡¨ Syaoran said without a hint of modesty. ¡§Someday, I¡¦ll show you how good I am.¡¨

¡§Is that how you impressed the Princes¡X¡¨ Sakura mentally slapped herself for bringing up the subject. Syaoran gave her a weak grin, but continued to walk in silence. Sakura was afraid to say anything, so the road was quiet except for a few passing birds.

Late in the afternoon, the two teenagers saw Kuma in the horizon. ¡§Remember,¡¨ warned Syaoran, breaking the complete silence. ¡§You must pretend to be the Princess. No one must know the truth.¡¨ Sakura did not understand how to be a princess, so she began to look royal. Syaoran laughed and commented, ¡§You don¡¦t have to flaunt yourself like that. If no one notices that you are the Princess, you don¡¦t have to tell them.¡¨

A few minutes outside the town, Syaoran stopped and sat down. ¡§What wrong?¡¨ Sakura asked, as Syaoran pulled a cloth from his pocket.

¡§I am Li Syaoran, High Templar of Tomoeda, General of the King¡¦s Army¡X¡¨

¡§Yes, yes, Guardian of the Princess. So?¡¨

¡§I cannot walk into town looking so dirty and unkempt. And you are the Princess, please try to clean yourself off,¡¨ Syaoran threw another clean rag at her.

After a few minutes of cleaning, Sakura asked, ¡§Is this better?¡¨

¡§No, your face is still dirty.¡¨

She rubbed her cheeks. ¡§There?¡¨

Syaoran sighed and walked over to Sakura. He took her chin and lifted her face into the setting sun. With his other hand, he gently cleaned off the non-existent dirt that was over her cheeks. Sakura began blushing, but Syaoran held on, continuing with his ¡¥cleaning.¡¦ He stopped rubbing her cheeks and stared into her eyes. There, in her emerald eyes, he saw vibrant life. He saw countless dreams. He saw his Princess.

Sakura slowly pulled away in embarrassment when Syaoran held her chin long after he had stopped cleaning. ¡¥I swore I cleaned that spot on my face¡K¡¦

Syaoran coughed, returning from his thoughts. ¡§Let¡¦s go,¡¨ he walked off without waiting for Sakura.

The peaceful village of Kuma was untouched by the sudden invasion of the Dark Empire. It seemed that the Dark Empire had no interest except for the fall of the capital. Every villager continued their normal way of life, oblivious that their King and Princess were dead.

Many farmers waved to the two as they approached the village center; few could miss Syaoran¡¦s gleaming armor and Sakura¡¦s radiant beauty. A few housewives giggled from their doorsteps, dreaming of a life with Syaoran. Syaoran continued to ignore them all and made his way to the inn. The innkeeper was a pudgy woman, in her forties. She greeted them with a homely kindles.

¡§Well, hello travelers. Looking for a room, I suppose?¡¨

Syaoran spoke before Sakura could return her greeting. ¡§We are looking for two rooms.¡¨ Sakura nudged his stomach with her elbow. ¡§Please,¡¨ he added.

¡§Two? I¡¦m sorry, but the storm last month damaged some of the rooms, and my lazy husband hasn¡¦t gotten around to fixing them¡K we only have one room vacant for you.¡¨

¡§Is there another inn in this village?¡¨

¡§Nope, just this one. I would have two rooms, but another traveler arrived before you. Says he¡¦s from the capital.¡¨

Syaoran looked alarmed. He asked cautiously, ¡§What else has he said?¡¨

¡§Oh, nothing much. Said he had to get away from the stench of the city.¡¨

¡¥Stench? I have to meet this other person,¡¦ Syaoran thought. The capital did not smell like a normal city; the King had always poured a lot of gold into its sanitation. The only stench that he remembers would be from the dead bodies of last night. ¡§Very well, we will take the room,¡¨ Syaoran said, pulling a bag from his pocket. He dropped a few gold pieces onto the counter and added, ¡§Do not tell anyone about your newest guests.¡¨

The woman gasped, a poor villager like her has never seen that much gold in one place. She nodded quickly and led them up to their room.

Their room was small, but comfortable. It had a table, a small fireplace, a reading chair, and a small bed. Two pairs of eyes stared intently at the small bed. The innkeeper chuckled to herself and left the room. A moment passed before they said anything¡Xthey were still staring at the bed.

¡§I will guard the door tonight, Princess,¡¨ Syaoran said as he began to leave.

¡§Wait! Where are you going?¡¨ Sakura asked, not wanting to be alone.

¡§You can take a bath in the other room. I will go meet the other traveler,¡¨ he replied before closing the door.

Sakura smiled to herself as she peeled her damp clothes off her body. She may not be the real Princess, but Syaoran still treated her like a girl. Sakura, half undressed, froze as Syaoran returned to the room. Syaoran looked up and a blush crept onto his face.

Out of natural habit, he lowered his eyes on the floor. ¡§You forgot that we don¡¦t have extra clothes. I am here to take you to the tailor,¡¨ he coughed. He had seen glimpses of the Princess in her nightgown before, but had never actually seen her undressed. As much as he wanted to think otherwise, Sakura looked exactly like the Princess.

Sakura got dressed quickly, nervous that Syaoran was still in the room, even if he was not watching her. She was blushing furiously, partly because she forgot that she did not bring any luggage due to a hasty escape, and partly because it was Syaoran who was standing in the room.

Syaoran pushed the door into the tailor shop and bumped into a man exiting the store. He muttered an apology and entered the shop. ¡§Seamstress, I need six sets of clothes done by tonight. Four sets for traveling and two sets for normal uses,¡¨ he said, in his usual commanding tone.

The young girl sitting by the counter replied, ¡§I can finish the two sets by tonight, but I will need until tomorrow morning for the rest. I have a small order from another customer to work on too.¡¨

¡§Very well,¡¨ Syaoran answered, slightly irritated, since few people spoke back to him. He let the seamstress take their measurements and left the tailor.

¡§Where would you like to go now?¡¨ Syaoran asked as they exited the shop.

¡§I don¡¦t know, maybe we should gather information on the Clow Cards?¡¨ she said thoughtfully.

Syaoran shook his head, ¡§No one will know anything here. Kuma is just a small farming village. We will need to wait until we reach a city before we can ask any historians.¡¨

¡§Well, that makes this town rather boring,¡¨ sighed Sakura. She began to think of something to do when her stomach voiced its complaint. Sakura laughed nervously.

¡§The tavern it is,¡¨ Syaoran stated, with a small grin. He felt Sakura playfully punch his armored shoulders.

Farmers had little to do once the sun had set, and most villagers gathered in the tavern to drink and talk with friends. Strangers were rare, and usually met with some apprehension, some fear. The noise dimmed slightly when the large armored man walked inside, followed by a quiet, dainty girl. They sat down at the corner of the tavern and ordered some dinner.

A few murmurs began to circulate. ¡§She¡¦s rather pretty, don¡¦t you think?¡¨ ¡§I wonder if they¡¦re married?¡¨ ¡§Na, look at them, they hardly even talk to each other.¡¨

A drunken farmer staggered over to Sakura¡¦s side. ¡§Hey, pretty lady,¡¨ he slurred. His hand began to grope at her.

Sakura yelped at her assailant. Immediately, the drunkard found his head pinned to the table with a white blade in front of his eyes. He strained his neck to look at his attacker. Syaoran stood there, wordless, as he glared back. Sakura¡¦s head peeked out from behind him.

A shout drew everyone¡¦s attention to the other side of the room. ¡§That¡¦s who they are! I knew they looked familiar! Everybody, that¡¦s Princess Sakura of Tomoeda! And¡K he must be General Li Syaoran, Guardian of the Princess!¡¨ A gasp rang throughout the tavern as their gaze returned to the two people.

Not wanting to taint his name, Syaoran released the farmer¡¦s head and sheathed his sword. He took the two plates of hot food from the trembling waitress and sat down to eat. His glare silenced everyone in the room. Sakura sat down quietly and began to eat, too hungry to worry about what to do.

After a silent dinner, the two exited to the moonlit roads of Kuma. The mood lightened back at the tavern, and everyone began talking. Soon the simple visit of the General and the Princess will be twisted by their drunken minds into a tale of unimaginable proportions.

Meanwhile, off in a quiet corner of the tavern, a traveler smiled into his cup. ¡§What luck.¡¨

So¡K What did you think? This is actually the first real chapter; everything before was a long prologue. I decided to put some S+S due to read demand ^ ^- This chapter was also rather casual: nothing too exciting, but, hopefully, nothing too boring either.

A very important scene is coming up next, explaining Syaoran¡¦s relationship with the Princess, and how it affects his relationship with Sakura. Huge hint: forbidden love.

So~ Do you think Sakura has fallen in love with Syaoran? And what was with the ¡¥cleaning¡¦ thing? _ Find out in the next chapter! I¡¦m glad everyone enjoys this series!