Our Reborn Hope
CHAPTER 2 - Tragedy
The next two weeks passed well. Sakura had gotten more to eat, and better quality foods as well, thanks to Syaoran. Besides that, Syaoran had found a pair of breeches that, while not exactly flattering to a woman's physique, was better than her tattered skirt. And he had donated one of his shirts. Sakura didn't mind dressing like a boy if it meant she was warmer, more comfortable, and less ratty-looking. Syaoran also found a pair of only slightly-worn shoes, her first pair of such in years. They felt very strange at first, but she had gotten used to them quickly. She had also been offered a bit of soap for a bath, but was afraid someone might see her and so had put off the washing, except for her face and hands.
She still visited Mizuki every night, and the good baker had been providing Sakura with three loaves of bread and a small bottle that she refilled with a bit of jam, every night, when she found out Sakura had been taken in by Syaoran. Although she felt maybe she shouldn't have told Mizuki, so she didn't give Sakura so much stuff, the portly woman seemed very happy to be giving what she did.
At the start of the third week with Syaoran and the little kids, Syaoran told her to get ready for a trip. He went silent after that, and any attempt Sakura made to question one of the kids as to what he was up to always led to giggling, but they would not tell her. Finally, a few days later, Syaoran came to her and said, "Tonight we're going to a pond a few miles from town. It's very nice, I think you'll like it."
"Syaoran..."
"It's a good place to get really clean," he said. Then, somewhat mischievously, "Don't worry, I won't watch."
"So, you noticed I haven't taken a bath here," she said, turning a little red.
"Yes," said Syaoran. "So I figured you needed to go somewhere private. Girls can be shy like that." Sakura said nothing but didn't stop blushing, proving Syaoran right, which he laughed at.
"What about the kids?"
"Don't worry," said Syaoran. "You and I have come up with enough food between us to last two more weeks, and the kids don't even have to leave. Besides, Aneko does a good job with the little ones, and can be in charge for a little while." An older girl, who Sakura assumed to be Aneko, nodded. Sakura felt a little embarrassed that she didn't know the names of half the kids there yet, but she'd always been bad with names.
"Well, I suppose a little trip wouldn't hurt," said Sakura.
"That's good!" said Syaoran. "Geez, I have to talk you into everything," he said playfully. Sakura noticed Aneko smiling as if she saw something no one else saw.
**************
Sakura had thought getting through the town walls would be difficult, it being night and most guards being instructed not to allow anyone in or out, but as it turned out the little cave where Syaoran lived had another tunnel that led outside of town. Sakura commented on how thorough his home was.
"It did take a while to dig and build, but it was worth it. The kids are safe from the comments and ridicule of the upper classes, while also safe from the suspicions of the guards. I'm sure you know how they can be." Sakura did know, remembering a few instances in her youth where they had blamed her for crimes she had not committed, and once even arrested her, before the real culprit was found. And Sakura considered herself lucky, because a "disgusting little urchin", as the guards referred to her, was only put in the prison to await execution. "What makes me sad sometimes is that by staying down there, they can't see a moon or the sun, or the stars or clouds, or smell the fresh air," said Syaoran somberly.
"They have to be safe, though," said Sakura.
"Yes, I suppose. You know, Sakura, I've known about you for a while."
"Yeah, as the dumb girl who lived in the ready to collapse house," said Sakura, a little more acidly than she meant.
"Well," he said, uncomfortably, "I also always thought you were kinda, you know, cute."
"Cute?" said Sakura, losing a step and nearly tripping and falling. "No one has called me that in a long time..."
"Well, more should have," said Syaoran, nervous and burning red.
"Oh, well, you're cute too," she said. Syaoran nodded idiotically and chastised himself for it.
"I'm not used to being so...flustered," he said.
Sakura was not being much better than him. She didn't say anything, not being able to think of anything to say. Neither could Syaoran, so they walked in silence for a long while, until Syaoran pointed ahead. "There it is." Sakura looked ahead, and with dawn approaching the light was good enough that she could see the pond, which had a little waterfall that fell into it.
"Wow, it's wonderful!" said Sakura. "A waterfall and everything!"
"Yep. The water's usually cold, but if you wait a little bit it will warm up a little. Perhaps we can eat breakfast while waiting?" Syaoran suggested.
After breakfast, Sakura went into the little lake to bathe for the first time in a long time. She felt crud and dirt being washed away. Despite Sakura's protests that he didn't have to, Syaoran positioned himself against a tree, facing away from the pond. Sakura was a little glad for it though, she didn't know if she really wanting him watching anyway. She took a long time in the pond, working the soap against the dirt, and when she finally finished and redressed she found Syaoran had fallen asleep against the tree. Feeling better than she ever had, she decided sleep would make it even better, and sit up against the tree near Syaoran and soon fell asleep herself.
***********
On the way back to Maghin, Sakura explained to Syaoran about Mizuki and the baking apprenticeship she would get in a few years. Syaoran said he had no idea what he wanted to do, but it definitely didn't involve baking.
"Syaoran, I want to thank you for helping me. I feel so much better than I did before I met you. I was very lucky to have run into you that day."
"Don't fool yourself. You have helped give us food ever since you came and you even bring back jam, which is hard to find." Sakura stopped him by digging into the breeches and handing him the sack he had given her that first night. Syaoran felt something inside of it. "What's this?" he asked.
"Only a little something," said Sakura shyly. Syaoran opened the bag and pulled out a red and white scarf. "Some of those girls really know how to knit and they showed me. They did a lot of the work, though, but I did what I could."
"It's a wonderful scarf," Syaoran said. "I don't have anything to give you though."
"You shouldn't give me anything."
The two walked the long distance back to the hole, and Syaoran was sad to see the bushes ahead where the hole was hidden. He wanted more time with Sakura, but figured he could always do so later.
Before he could react, an arrow buzzed over his head. Breaking off the shock, he pulled down Sakura with him as he went to the ground, just as a second arrow passed through the space she had just occupied. "You, what are you doing here!?" called out a gruff man. He was a guard, armed with a crossbow. Three more stepped out from behind bushes and trees they had hidden behind and helped the first surround the two teens.
"We're going to Maghin, sir," said Syaoran, his voice as steady as a rock.
"You ever been there before, boy?"
"Once, a few years ago," Syaoran lied.
"So I suppose you don't know who led the little band of thieves, then?"
Syaoran had to fight to remain calm and indifferent. "No."
"And what about her?" asked a guard, motioning to Sakura, who was still spooked.
"N...No," said Sakura, almost visibly shaking. She probably realized the same thing he did, that the guards had found the hideout. He knew the day may come, but he never could have guessed it would have been while he was gone. Syaoran held Sakura steady, but also it seemed she held him steady.
"All right, you are free to pass. But if you find anything out in town, tell a guard without delay, understood?"
"Yes, sir," said Syaoran. He led Sakura past the guards, and when they had disappeared into the horizon, he had been blinking back tears, keeping them from forming and clouding his thinking. Sakura hadn't been so successful.
"Syaoran, you don't think...?"
"I don't know," he admitted morosely.
"Well, we have to go in there and find out. Maybe they're still okay and we can rescue them!" said Sakura, trying to put on a brave face.
Syaoran nodded. It was worth hoping they were still alive. "Let's go."
************
The gate through the town walls was wide open, signaling that anyone was welcome. Sakura and Syaoran entered with only a single guard watching them enter, but making no move to stop them. They certainly looked harmless, as neither had any kind of weapon. Syaoran ran through the town, with Sakura in tow, heading for the stockroom of that led to his tunnel. He stopped suddenly, and let out a cry. Sakura gasped when she saw as well, and not even Syaoran could hold back the tears now.
"No...it can't be..." he said, chokingly. The small building was almost completely destroyed, and a large group of guards were surrounding the tunnel that led underneath. One turned to the large crowd that formed a ring around them, and yelled, "The thieves are dead! Celebrate, for the guards, under the services of your great King Plute, have eradicated the biggest band of thieves this town has ever seen! Your homes and streets are safe once again!"
Syaoran exploded in a fury while the crowd of nobles cheered, but Sakura grabbed him before he rushed through the crowd toward the guards. "Syaoran, there's nothing you can do!" she pleaded.
"No, let go!" he said, ripping from her grasp with such force she fell down. "They killed them!"
"Don't let them kill you too!" she said, and he stopped running to them. "I don't want to see it!" Seeing she had his attention, she continued, blindly trying to convince him not to rush in foolishly. "You're unarmed, and there's at least twenty of them. What could you possibly do except die!?"
"I don't know, but I want to do something," he said, still shaking with anger. "Anything."
"I...I understand what it's like to lose your family," said Sakura sadly. "Mine was taken by the disease that nearly killed me. I've often wondered if I was really lucky to have survived the disease or if it would have been better to have died with them. But I know, for their sake, I have to keep living. I want them to be proud of me, and I can't do that dead." Syaoran came back to her, and picked her from the ground. "You can't die either, Syaoran, because they wouldn't want you to die uselessly."
"But it hurts..."
Sakura said nothing, and the two spent the night sitting in the town, miserable and without much hope.
**********************************
Continued in Chapter 3
CHAPTER 2 - Tragedy
The next two weeks passed well. Sakura had gotten more to eat, and better quality foods as well, thanks to Syaoran. Besides that, Syaoran had found a pair of breeches that, while not exactly flattering to a woman's physique, was better than her tattered skirt. And he had donated one of his shirts. Sakura didn't mind dressing like a boy if it meant she was warmer, more comfortable, and less ratty-looking. Syaoran also found a pair of only slightly-worn shoes, her first pair of such in years. They felt very strange at first, but she had gotten used to them quickly. She had also been offered a bit of soap for a bath, but was afraid someone might see her and so had put off the washing, except for her face and hands.
She still visited Mizuki every night, and the good baker had been providing Sakura with three loaves of bread and a small bottle that she refilled with a bit of jam, every night, when she found out Sakura had been taken in by Syaoran. Although she felt maybe she shouldn't have told Mizuki, so she didn't give Sakura so much stuff, the portly woman seemed very happy to be giving what she did.
At the start of the third week with Syaoran and the little kids, Syaoran told her to get ready for a trip. He went silent after that, and any attempt Sakura made to question one of the kids as to what he was up to always led to giggling, but they would not tell her. Finally, a few days later, Syaoran came to her and said, "Tonight we're going to a pond a few miles from town. It's very nice, I think you'll like it."
"Syaoran..."
"It's a good place to get really clean," he said. Then, somewhat mischievously, "Don't worry, I won't watch."
"So, you noticed I haven't taken a bath here," she said, turning a little red.
"Yes," said Syaoran. "So I figured you needed to go somewhere private. Girls can be shy like that." Sakura said nothing but didn't stop blushing, proving Syaoran right, which he laughed at.
"What about the kids?"
"Don't worry," said Syaoran. "You and I have come up with enough food between us to last two more weeks, and the kids don't even have to leave. Besides, Aneko does a good job with the little ones, and can be in charge for a little while." An older girl, who Sakura assumed to be Aneko, nodded. Sakura felt a little embarrassed that she didn't know the names of half the kids there yet, but she'd always been bad with names.
"Well, I suppose a little trip wouldn't hurt," said Sakura.
"That's good!" said Syaoran. "Geez, I have to talk you into everything," he said playfully. Sakura noticed Aneko smiling as if she saw something no one else saw.
**************
Sakura had thought getting through the town walls would be difficult, it being night and most guards being instructed not to allow anyone in or out, but as it turned out the little cave where Syaoran lived had another tunnel that led outside of town. Sakura commented on how thorough his home was.
"It did take a while to dig and build, but it was worth it. The kids are safe from the comments and ridicule of the upper classes, while also safe from the suspicions of the guards. I'm sure you know how they can be." Sakura did know, remembering a few instances in her youth where they had blamed her for crimes she had not committed, and once even arrested her, before the real culprit was found. And Sakura considered herself lucky, because a "disgusting little urchin", as the guards referred to her, was only put in the prison to await execution. "What makes me sad sometimes is that by staying down there, they can't see a moon or the sun, or the stars or clouds, or smell the fresh air," said Syaoran somberly.
"They have to be safe, though," said Sakura.
"Yes, I suppose. You know, Sakura, I've known about you for a while."
"Yeah, as the dumb girl who lived in the ready to collapse house," said Sakura, a little more acidly than she meant.
"Well," he said, uncomfortably, "I also always thought you were kinda, you know, cute."
"Cute?" said Sakura, losing a step and nearly tripping and falling. "No one has called me that in a long time..."
"Well, more should have," said Syaoran, nervous and burning red.
"Oh, well, you're cute too," she said. Syaoran nodded idiotically and chastised himself for it.
"I'm not used to being so...flustered," he said.
Sakura was not being much better than him. She didn't say anything, not being able to think of anything to say. Neither could Syaoran, so they walked in silence for a long while, until Syaoran pointed ahead. "There it is." Sakura looked ahead, and with dawn approaching the light was good enough that she could see the pond, which had a little waterfall that fell into it.
"Wow, it's wonderful!" said Sakura. "A waterfall and everything!"
"Yep. The water's usually cold, but if you wait a little bit it will warm up a little. Perhaps we can eat breakfast while waiting?" Syaoran suggested.
After breakfast, Sakura went into the little lake to bathe for the first time in a long time. She felt crud and dirt being washed away. Despite Sakura's protests that he didn't have to, Syaoran positioned himself against a tree, facing away from the pond. Sakura was a little glad for it though, she didn't know if she really wanting him watching anyway. She took a long time in the pond, working the soap against the dirt, and when she finally finished and redressed she found Syaoran had fallen asleep against the tree. Feeling better than she ever had, she decided sleep would make it even better, and sit up against the tree near Syaoran and soon fell asleep herself.
***********
On the way back to Maghin, Sakura explained to Syaoran about Mizuki and the baking apprenticeship she would get in a few years. Syaoran said he had no idea what he wanted to do, but it definitely didn't involve baking.
"Syaoran, I want to thank you for helping me. I feel so much better than I did before I met you. I was very lucky to have run into you that day."
"Don't fool yourself. You have helped give us food ever since you came and you even bring back jam, which is hard to find." Sakura stopped him by digging into the breeches and handing him the sack he had given her that first night. Syaoran felt something inside of it. "What's this?" he asked.
"Only a little something," said Sakura shyly. Syaoran opened the bag and pulled out a red and white scarf. "Some of those girls really know how to knit and they showed me. They did a lot of the work, though, but I did what I could."
"It's a wonderful scarf," Syaoran said. "I don't have anything to give you though."
"You shouldn't give me anything."
The two walked the long distance back to the hole, and Syaoran was sad to see the bushes ahead where the hole was hidden. He wanted more time with Sakura, but figured he could always do so later.
Before he could react, an arrow buzzed over his head. Breaking off the shock, he pulled down Sakura with him as he went to the ground, just as a second arrow passed through the space she had just occupied. "You, what are you doing here!?" called out a gruff man. He was a guard, armed with a crossbow. Three more stepped out from behind bushes and trees they had hidden behind and helped the first surround the two teens.
"We're going to Maghin, sir," said Syaoran, his voice as steady as a rock.
"You ever been there before, boy?"
"Once, a few years ago," Syaoran lied.
"So I suppose you don't know who led the little band of thieves, then?"
Syaoran had to fight to remain calm and indifferent. "No."
"And what about her?" asked a guard, motioning to Sakura, who was still spooked.
"N...No," said Sakura, almost visibly shaking. She probably realized the same thing he did, that the guards had found the hideout. He knew the day may come, but he never could have guessed it would have been while he was gone. Syaoran held Sakura steady, but also it seemed she held him steady.
"All right, you are free to pass. But if you find anything out in town, tell a guard without delay, understood?"
"Yes, sir," said Syaoran. He led Sakura past the guards, and when they had disappeared into the horizon, he had been blinking back tears, keeping them from forming and clouding his thinking. Sakura hadn't been so successful.
"Syaoran, you don't think...?"
"I don't know," he admitted morosely.
"Well, we have to go in there and find out. Maybe they're still okay and we can rescue them!" said Sakura, trying to put on a brave face.
Syaoran nodded. It was worth hoping they were still alive. "Let's go."
************
The gate through the town walls was wide open, signaling that anyone was welcome. Sakura and Syaoran entered with only a single guard watching them enter, but making no move to stop them. They certainly looked harmless, as neither had any kind of weapon. Syaoran ran through the town, with Sakura in tow, heading for the stockroom of that led to his tunnel. He stopped suddenly, and let out a cry. Sakura gasped when she saw as well, and not even Syaoran could hold back the tears now.
"No...it can't be..." he said, chokingly. The small building was almost completely destroyed, and a large group of guards were surrounding the tunnel that led underneath. One turned to the large crowd that formed a ring around them, and yelled, "The thieves are dead! Celebrate, for the guards, under the services of your great King Plute, have eradicated the biggest band of thieves this town has ever seen! Your homes and streets are safe once again!"
Syaoran exploded in a fury while the crowd of nobles cheered, but Sakura grabbed him before he rushed through the crowd toward the guards. "Syaoran, there's nothing you can do!" she pleaded.
"No, let go!" he said, ripping from her grasp with such force she fell down. "They killed them!"
"Don't let them kill you too!" she said, and he stopped running to them. "I don't want to see it!" Seeing she had his attention, she continued, blindly trying to convince him not to rush in foolishly. "You're unarmed, and there's at least twenty of them. What could you possibly do except die!?"
"I don't know, but I want to do something," he said, still shaking with anger. "Anything."
"I...I understand what it's like to lose your family," said Sakura sadly. "Mine was taken by the disease that nearly killed me. I've often wondered if I was really lucky to have survived the disease or if it would have been better to have died with them. But I know, for their sake, I have to keep living. I want them to be proud of me, and I can't do that dead." Syaoran came back to her, and picked her from the ground. "You can't die either, Syaoran, because they wouldn't want you to die uselessly."
"But it hurts..."
Sakura said nothing, and the two spent the night sitting in the town, miserable and without much hope.
**********************************
Continued in Chapter 3