By: me

Enchanting Duel Chap 4

disclaimer: see chap 1. CCS is not mine, Crown Duel is by Sherwood Smith.

Okay, here I am with a new chapter! Sorry for not updating within the week! I said that I would update this in a wk or so, & I had it written, but then Mellisau8 pointed out that it was like Crown Duel and I realized that she was right.

I was just going to use the basic idea and build on it, but instead I've decided to make this a cross-over/retelling of Crown Duel CCS style. Be warned though- if you've read Crown Duel, it's not a strict retelling...there are A LOT of things different, and it may or may not end up the same way. It has some twists along the way ^_^

Hope that makes sense. ^-^

Please r&r!

Sakura is the countess of Torinth

Tomoyo the countess of Lyranth

Eriol the count of Clow

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Tomoyo was on watch again.

With Sakura gone, the pride and spontaneity that followed the army had dissipated into nothing but fear. Tomoyo sighed, biting back tears. They had no idea where she had gone. The last she had heard of Sakura, the commander of the Huang had captured her. Touya knew more, but he refused to tell anyone. All the army did these days was mope around, some participants practicing with swords, but most just sitting around, wondering how the hell they could fight a war against the High King. The army was small, with slightly less than one hundred members, and supplies were rapidly deteriorating. Just last week they had run out of bread, and they were resorting to preservative staples.

Far too quickly, these were disappearing as well.

The army was a hopeless case. It was in shambles, there were no supplies, and fights were breaking out among the people.

"Tomoyo, are you coming?" she looked up, drawn out of her thoughts.

It was Cathasia. She was wearing a simple outfit of breeches and a smock, with her blond hair tied ontop of her head. Behind her, a majority of the militants were in rows, clutching swords, scythes, and whatever other weapons they could find. A man stepped out from the ranks to stand beside her. It was Ryushu, the most anxious and violent of the group. Ryushu had started the fight the last few days, his desire of blood growing.

"Times have changed," Cathasia said softly. Her eyes were on the ground, staring at the grass. "We can no longer be so naive. We have no chances like this, so Ryushu has proposed that we attack once, the Capital of Huang. All out battle, swift justice."

Tomoyo did not say anything at first. She just watched Cathasia's face, not surprised to see the conflicts of emotions that rolled across. Cathasia did not want to do this. It was not in her nature to fight in such a dishonorable fashion. But Tomoyo saw desperation, and a loss of faith.

When Sakura had disappeared, it had been a hard blow to moral.

Touya was a strong, competent leader, but all he did these days was sit in the tent and mull things over, leaving everyone else to do what they pleased. He left her in charge of the army.

"This is suicide," she said finally. "We cannot possibly defeat them with our numbers diminished. But you already know this, don't you?" Tomoyo eyed Ryushy wearily. Ryushu was the type of man that acted without thinking of the long term effects. In his mid-twenties, he stood at least a head taller than Tomoyo. It seemed that with everyone confused and hopeless, Ryushu had fed off their indecision to take control of the situation.

"Ryushu, let's wait a little more," Tomoyo added. "It's too soon to attack! You'll all be killed."

Ryushu rolled his eyes. "How can she speak thus?" he crowed. "In the name of Countess Sakura, we must try the best that we can to take Weimei down!"

Most of the crowd nodded in agreement, but there were a few people that wore frowns of apprehension.

That was the last straw for Tomoyo. Usually, she was a calm person, but now, with insane men screaming at her and hurtling Sakura's name to hide behind, like Sakura would advocate a half-crazed expedition of half-starved people going to battle with no prospect of winning, that was different. These people would die within a league of the castle from the soldiers that were on patrol, if they didn't die sooner. They would be lucky if they even saw the castle.

"Baka!" Tomoyo exploded. "Sakura is missing, and you are sitting around like imbeciles in heat trying to kill yourselves! Is that what she would want? Tell me, would she want all of you to die because you could not be patient? Listen to me! We will have our chance, it just isn't now."

Ryushu was backing up. Whenever Tomoyo got mad, her mulberry eyes fired up, almost as if little sparks shot from her vision. She was a little intimidating then, so Ryushu decided to twiddle away and come back tomorrow to try again. The rest of the group backed up as well, sharing Ryushu's opinion of Tomoyo.

"Of course, Countess Tomoyo, what was I thinking?" Ryushu bowed, but there was a gleam in his eyes.

Ever since Sakura went missing, Tomoyo seemed a little...out of it, more strained and less cheerful.

Ryushu needed to be cautious. Tomoyo was a Countess, after all. Her rank was higher, even though he was older.

He would deal with her later. Ryushu forced a smile and turned around, heading towards the encampment.

Calmly, Tomoyo stood up, stretching as if nothing had happened. She tied her hair up in a half-way bun, holding it in place with two sticks. Absently, she twirled a sword around, just going through the motions as a distraction to not think about Sakura. Oh Kami-sama...what if they were torturing her, to pump information out of her? If it came down to that, Tomoyo hoped that Sakura would swallow her determination and just tell them about their operations. It was not worth the pain and torment...oh damn it! It was her fault that Sakura was gone in the first place! She should not have listened to her-she should have-

"From your frown, I can tell that you are blaming yourself," came a familiar voice.

"Better get away from me. It's rumored that I've gone insane," Tomoyo replied mildly, without turning around.

"Hmmm... Intriguing, since I never thought that you were sane to begin with."

Without batting an eyelash, Tomoyo spun around, spinning the sword at Eriol's head, who easily side-stepped.

"Ahh. You're aim is off, dear Tomoyo."

"Oh dear. How clumsy of me."

She tried again, reaching for another sword, the metal glinting off the sun as it flew towards Eriol. It missed by a hair, puncturing the ground as it fell.

Eriol did not even blink.

"Distraction is bad for you, Tomoyo-chan. What happened to your trademark iciness? The ice princess is broken."

"Hmpf."

"What did I teach you? With a weapon in your hand, you must always concentrate to breach the target. The target is my head, ne? Then focus all your energy on it, with not an ounce to spare."

She ignored him."England is beckoning, Eriol. I cannot believe that you took a minute to travel to Japan. Who is your mistress these days? A certain Kaho I believe?"

"What can I say? You have prettier eyes."

Tomoyo laughed. Eriol stepped towards her, rearranging her fingers on the sword.

"Now try again."

She merely glared at him.

"Ah. I see that you need prompting. Remember last year's Ball, when I embarrassed you in front of all your courtiers? I said that we were affianced, and that we were madly in love. I can still recall poor Duke Edington's face. His face fell at the announcement. What an unfortunate sop, madly in love with the beautiful, but cold ice princess. "

"Hiiragizawa!"

Eriol stepped back, a mischievous grin playing on the corner of his lips. He didn't have to wait long before a flash of silver wove threw the air, followed by a gasp. Eriol caught it easily. He clapped.

"You show more improvement every time I see you, Daidouji-san."

"I learned from the best, sensei." Tomoyo sighed, lifting her eyes to meet him halfway. "What are you doing here?" she demanded bluntly. "Last time I checked, England is quite a distance from Japan."

"Oh, you're right," he assured. "It is."

"So?"

"Yes?"

"Well?"she pressed, too polite to ask.

"Mmmm."

"Why are you here?"

"It seems that Clow has allied itself with Torinth," he replied calmly. "You see," Eriol swept his arms out to indicate the fine coaches and lines of people attired in blue uniforms behind him,"I've brought my army to aid you."

Tomoyo gaped. "You-but-How-" She took in the Clow army and nearly fainted. No doubt in her mind, it was the largest thing she had ever seen. To her, it seemed miles upon miles of horses, warriors, and weapons.

She nearly fainted again, just pondering on it.

"I never though you were one to suffer from a fit of vapors," Eriol remarked.

Quickly, she recovered herself. "It's very courageous of you, to support our cause, but what is your motive?"

Eriol smiled. It was easy to see why the Count of Clow was known for his charms and good looks. Attired in a deep blue vest, with riding pants, the fabric highlighting the blue-sky depths of his eyes, he was gorgeous and handsome. No wonder at 16, he was declared Europe's most eligible bachelor.

Tomoyo was not fazed by his attractive appearance. One grin from him would send a normal girl toppling to her knees, but Tomoyo was not a normal girl. She had known Eriol Hiiragizawa far too long for that.

Eriol Hiiragizawa was nothing but a player. I will never fall for his charms, she told herself.

"Come on. One does not send an army without a purpose. Or is this a tribute to my charms?" Tomoyo commented dryly. "How kind of you."

"Believe what you will."

"What do you want? Money? I don't have any. Even a man of your low capacity should understand that."

"Ouch."

"Is it land? Do you want my county? Do you want Lyranth?" she demanded.

"If you would be quiet for one second-

"It has to be for some reason." Desperately, she racked her mind. "It's about your mistress, isn't it? Kaho is sick and you need someone to replace her."

Eriol laughed. Tomoyo stiffened.

"What?"

"Tomoyo-chan, I don't have a mistress. Though it seems that you are keen on me having one. Sorry to burst your bubble," He shook his head, his eyes sparkling from amusement. "As I was about to say, Tomoyo-chan, Clow felt pity for you, with Lyranth and Torinth tugging around such a pathetic army that we felt-

"Do not give me that crap! You control Clow, and as a result you have the motives. No one else. You have no advisors, no House of Commons that you do not control. What you say goes, and anyone that opposes you is promptly stowed away in the dungeons," she shot back bitterly. "Now I am asking you. What are your motives?"

"A smile. I want to see you smile."

Tomoyo's glare returned full force. "Then take your damned army back. I want nothing to do with them."

"Mmm. Is that the way to treat me, or my army for that matter? We came all the way from the outpost in India. And moreover, we can take over your insignificant army right now, if we wanted to."

She froze.

"It you want to conquer what's left of this babble, go ahead. I'm obviously not stopping you," she answered lightly.

Without looking at him, she strode past. He stopped her with a warm grasp on her arm.

Tomoyo halted. Something fluttery shot up her arm, the skin tingling where he touched her. She ignored the feeling of butterflies flitting in her stomach and pushed it down.

"What now!?"

"I never received the smile I wanted."

"Go to hell Hiiragizawa." When he made no move to release her, she continued, "Okaa-san told me that 10 years ago, Lyranth accepted help from Clow, and then our county had to labor and pay tribute every year. We lived like slaves then, Hiiragizawa! Slaves working on our own land to pay back the services of the army! Not to mention that Clow is corrupted, and that you used bribes and trickery to build the interest on the currency owed. It was years before we paid the gigantic sum off, and many of our people died from the lack of food because all the crops went to you instead of their families."

"To my father. The money went to my father, not to me. I never sanctioned it," Eriol corrected.

"No matter. You, your father...all the Clows are the same."

"Is that what you think?" he said after awhile.

"It's what I know. We may be weak in numbers, but never, never will I allow Lyranth and Torinth to fall prey to your conspiracies. I told myself that when I saw my friends labor in the fields from sun up to sun down, and there was nothing that I could do to help. Lessons on etiquette, being shut up by okaa-san to learn patience on how a viscountess should act...it did not leave ample time for working with the others."

She locked eyes with him, passionate amethyst facing surprised cerulean blue.

"We will win," Tomoyo whispered, so that he barely heard. "We will triumph, without your "help" or crookedness. And after we do so, I will come after you. Be warned."

And she walked away from him again, luscious lavender hair falling from its bind. This time, he did not stop her.

Eriol watched her slender form mosey away. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. For an instant, an expression of respect crossed his handsome face. He smiled. That was his Tomoyo. Fiery, determined, beautiful...he missed her. She was more courageous than he thought, to refuse the aid of his army. Eriol smirked, then his lips turned down a frown. In that single act, she risked dooming her army.

She was brave, but foolish. If he had been anyone else, that threat would have encouraged him to capture what was left of her little "army." Or, if he so desired, he could have her army massacred within seconds.

Tomoyo was lucky he was not Weimei. To flaunt that threat would be death.

"Count Eriol, are we to depart?"one of his officers quipped up.

"And leave them to be slaughtered? The Huang army is near the coast. They will be here shortly, perhaps on the morrow." Eriol grinned. Tomoyo didn't want his help to defeat Weimei? Fine. But he would give her protection at least. "We will stay for a few days. Set up camp."

"Yes sir."

The army began unloading their supplies. Eriol walked around Tomoyo's camp, observing the poor condition. He winced at the size. His army was at least a few times larger. But he needed to move back to the outpost in India. He heard a rumor from one of his spies that the Painted Men were attacking.

His army was needed in India to protect his interests there. But until then, he would do what he could for Tomoyo.

And maybe if he pushed the right buttons, she would smile at him.

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Somewhere on the road...after her escape...

It took Sakura longer than she anticipated. A day turned into two, then that day turned into three, until it had been five days, and Sakura was still staggering by her horse. Her horse (she'd named her Wildflower) had to graze, plus the fact that Sakura did not want to wear our her steed by riding and tiring her quickly. Instead, Sakura tried to walk by her side as much as she could, and only ride when she was exhausted.

In addition, every now and then, she had to stop and massage her feet. A few hours ago, when her feet started stinging, she discovered that blisters formed like flies on jelly all over her feet. Spots of blood coated the area between her toes from the soles of her shoe, and it hurt to touch them. When she saw the blood and scabs, Sakura had to struggle not to cry at the condition of her feet. It was hell to put on her shoes and go on, but after breathing deeply and biting her lip, Sakura forced herself to continue her trek.

Water was scarce from the beginning. There was no canteen or gourd to help her through the scorching parts of the day, and as time passed, her lips cracked and dried. For the first part of the trip, Sakura would touch her lips ever so often and watch the trickle of blood in consternation. But after a while, she got used to it. She had to, in light of other things she had to worry about.

There was no food. For midday meal and supper, Sakura had to scourge in the bushes for berries. Sometimes there weren't any, only remains of seeds or origins of plants. At other times, the berries were poisonous, and Sakura recognized it with not a second to spare. Her skills with herbs and plants came in handy for poultices for her wounds. But she knew that she would not last long.

The first time that Sakura unwrapped the bandage on her finger, she nearly fainted. It smelled like decay and burned flesh despite the fact that it was only a scorpian bite. The cool cut of metal that Sakura had felt when Syaoran had cut her to stop the spread of the venom slit off the tip of her index finger. Whenever Sakura saw her blunt finger, she would stare until tears blurred her vision, and she had to stop to gaze blankly at the sky.

The tip of her finger was cut short, just a smooth surface of skin that was slowly healing. Yet, never would it return to the way it was before.

But most of all, Sakura did not know if she would be able to hold a sword. At least, not in the way that she was used to. Sword fighting was a fragile art. If the finger length changed, or if the bone of even one finger was out of place, then it was likely that the bearer would not wield the blade as expertly again.

By slicing a strip of cloth from the comfortable smock she wore, she crafted a crude belt around her waist. She hung the dagger from her belt, checking every few seconds to ascertain it was there. Once, she tried to grip the hilt like she used to. Nevertheless, it just didn't feel right. Always, Sakura felt at one with swords, an equilibrium between the two balances.

Except for now, when she just felt empty.

It was easy to point fingers and place blame on others. There was a vast list to choose from: King Weimei, Syaoran Li...but in the end, there was only one place to enforce the blame. It had been her fault for reaching backwards to throw something at Syaoran. Of course, it was just her luck that the rock happened to be a scorpian with a sack full of poison..but that was another story. Now, because of her foolishness and lack of planning, she would never be able to hold a sword in quite the same say that she used to.

Without any real possessions, Sakura traveled light. She carried her sword, the clothes on her back, and that was it.

Wildflower was a wonderful companion. If she'd wanted to, at any time, she could have left Sakura for dead and wandered across the fields of grass to graze on her own. Or, she could have trampled Sakura to death if she'd been so inclined. Instead, her devotion never wavered. When Sakura was tired and collapsed from fatigue, Wildflower would leave for a few minutes, then return. She would nudge her young master awake gently with her nuzzle, then lead her forward to a spring or pond. If Sakura was too tired to drink, she would splash water on her face, and Sakura would awaken to the soft neighing of her horse. Other times, Wildflower would find edible roots in the forest and bring them to her.

It was obvious that Wildflower was no normal horse. Someone had trained her to be kind and considerate, someone with a lot of passion and heart. Sometimes, when Sakura was at the end of her strength, she would wrap her arms around Wildflower and wonder who trained her to love. It had to be someone compassionate, and brave, and benevolent...then Sakura would fall asleep with a small smile on her lips, breathing against Wildflower's heart. Next morning, the sky would seem bluer, and the sun more bright.

When they had set out, it had been the late days of March. Now, the calender days had skipped to April, and Sakura knew that it was her birthday today.

That day, when cherry blossoms began floating down, Sakura knew it was her birthday. As for the exact number of days that she had been traveling, Sakura had no idea. Somewhere after 7 days, Sakura had lost count.

Today she was sixteen. Yet, instead of celebrating with her friends, she was sloughing around the grass, running in forests with humidity that made it far worse than wandering through the desert. What Sakura wouldn't give to see her family and friends again!

Sakura thought of Syaoran sometimes. He still confused her. Why had he saved her? At other times, she would stare into space and wonder what had happened to transfigure their friendship.

An odd, bitter thought kept running through her mind, that Syaoran had "saved" her only to die in the bowels of the forest.

Sakura felt like she was losing her mind, without someone to talk to. Desolation was not healthy.

But she had to go on ******************************************************************************

Tomoyo ran through the camp site, searching every tent, sticking her head in tent flaps. Her breath came in heavy gasps.

A dark figure was running to her. Tomoyo placed a hand on her sword hilt.

It was Eriol.

"Tomoyo-chan, what's wrong?"

She lifted her eyes to meet him. His eyes were concerned, and deep blue like the sky. Against her judgement, she felt like she could trust him.

"He's gone. The commander. Touya is gone," she whispered.

"Shit."

"He left the army under my command. Eriol, what am I going to do? I don't know how to lead this army... I do not know the first thing about how to command loyalty! I though-he only placed me in charge for a week! What am I going to do?"

Eriol watched her gravely. "You will accept my aid."

She eyed him fiercely. "Never."

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Somewhere on the road...

The Capital of Huang should have been a lot closer.

Once, Sakura had been there was when was small to pay tribute the High King. The distance had only taken two days in carriage, but perhaps her wounds and slow pace made it longer. At least, that was what Sakura kept repeating in her head. She did not want to think that she was lost, with nowhere to go and no idea where she was. It became to clear to Sakura that she had no notion of where she was, and that she was wandering around and around, perhaps in an interminable circle.

Wildfire was doing the planning now, picking the direction to go. Vaguely, Sakura felt that they were changing directions, doubling back and turning right at the fork instead of left. It sounded kind of crazy, but Sakura trusted Wildflower's instinct a lot more than she trust her own judgement.

Once, she had mistaken a scar of plants for a lake, and it was Wildflower who saved her from stuffing leaves in her mouth.

Another time, she had sleepwalked around the forest, and almost fell off the cliff.

There came a day (perhaps weeks, or months; Sakura had lost track of time) when she could go no more, and she collapsed in the forest floor.

She felt the cool lap of water on her face, but this time, she did not awaken.

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