*Flashback from last chapter*
Syaoran gave General Keichiro the deepest, angriest, coldest glare that he had given anyone and knew that it hadn't gone to waste. The aura coming from the general was strong, and Syaoran knew he wouldn't match up to him even in a magic duel. For the first time in a long time, Syaoran felt completely helpless. Sakura's magic was gone, and Syaoran was at the mercy of a dark magician. Syaoran struggled to keep the coldness in his eyes, but to no avail; his eyes reflected the fear and helplessness that consumed him.
*End of flashback*
Escape
Syaoran suppressed his deep breathing and steadied his shaking body. He felt a coward; he had never been afraid of death before, but now that he faced it, there was nothing more terrifying. He heard a sharp breath drawn behind him and realized the perilous situation Sakura would be in if he died. "What is it you're after?" Syaoran hissed.
"Yes," said the general, smirking, "I had almost forgotten." General Keichiro snapped his fingers and behind Syaoran, Sakura screamed. Syaoran tried to whirl around but gasped and froze when the flesh of his neck met the steel of the general's sword.
The sword cut a wound in Syaoran's neck, not very deep, but enough to cause a lot of pain. Syaoran held his breath as the general slowly pushed the sword a bit deeper, just enough to show Syaoran how serious he was. The general laughed as Syaoran clenched his teeth and winced, every moment expecting the sword to cut all the way through.
Sakura tried to pull the hands away from her but two soldiers held her still. The soldier reached into a pocket and pulled out the Clow Book. "Stop!" She yelled and tried to grab the book away from him. He just laughed and shoved her backwards and she landed in a heap on the ground. She looked up and saw soldiers standing above. She pulled her knees in to her chin and cried softly. She was so confused, and now she could hear groans of pain coming from Syaoran's direction and there was no way she could help either of them. Her magic was gone, the Clow Book was gone, and so was all of her hope.
"What. . . did. . . you do to. . . her?" Syaoran gasped, his hands covering the front of his neck. He struggled to stay standing and kept his head lowered to mask his face that was scrunched up in pain. The front of his shirt already had blood seeping down from his collar, and his hands were covered in it. His legs were weak and shook from his weight.
The general had now sheathed his sword and was watching Syaoran with interest. "We took what we wanted," answered the general, turning away from him, "The Clow Book and all of the cards."
"WHAT?!" Syaoran tried to yell but began coughing blood. His knees buckled and he fell to his knees coughing and sputtering. Sakura turned around upon hearing his yell and stared at the scene in disbelief. How was this happening? Why did this have to happen?
Syaoran's neck burned and hurt worse than he would have ever imagined. He tried to breathe, but he couldn't stop coughing. His head swam, but he quickly regained his senses and looked at the general, steaming when he saw his back turned. "Bind them both, and keep soldiers on guard," said the general with his back still turned. Sakura and Syaoran both glared at the perfectly groomed back of General Keichiro's head as he walked gracefully away, both helpless to do anything about it.
Syaoran suddenly doubled over and began coughing again, he pressed one fist against the ground while holding his neck with the other. His forehead touched his knees and the burning in his neck was unbearable. The aching from earlier was now a skull-bashing throb and he wished for nothing but to be away from it all.
Sakura watched in horror as he coughed and groaned, doubled over with his face hidden in his knees. She wanted to comfort him, but she was too frightened to think of anything that might help. She struggled against a few soldiers who had come to bind her. She was frantic and confused and weighed by the hurt that Syaoran was feeling. She eventually lost heart and let the soldiers bind her, giving them no trouble, but anger and hurt boiling inside her and threatening to overflow.
Syaoran didn't resist the soldiers at all; he knew it was pointless in his condition. The soldiers led (or dragged, in Syaoran's case) both of them a bit farther from the river where there were still trees scattered about. They then binded their ankles. They bound Sakura to a tree, but took pity on Syaoran and spared him such more discomfort; they kept the ropes on his hands and instead leaned him against a tree.
Syaoran sat on his knees with his back leaned against a thick, rough tree trunk behind him. His once green shirt was now soaked in blood in the front, and the ends of his sleeves as well. The burning had since lessened but the throb only increased. When he wasn't coughing, it was impossible to get enough air.
Syaoran groaned softly and leaned his head against the trunk and closed his eyes. He slept fitfully until night fell. When he awoke, the burning in his neck and the throb in his head had become undistinguishable from each other and had dulled into one weary blur of pain that engulfed his whole body. He closed his eyes once again, but kept himself awake by sheer will. Sakura needed him and he wouldn't let her down. He worked painfully to pull him hands free from the rope, using many techniques such as hooking the rope on a stick firmly planted in the earth or trying to rub it against the roughness of the tree to cut through it. Eventually, these plans failing, he began trying to knock his dagger from its sheath on his belt.
Sakura had given up trying to free her hands from the rope awhile ago, having only succeeded in rubbing the skin on her wrists raw. She thought over the events of the day carefully, knocking the panic and fear that she felt to the back of her mind where it wouldn't interrupt her thoughts. She sorted each confusion out one by one and eventually had almost everything clear.
Sakura just couldn't understand why the General hadn't taken Syaoran's magic as he had hers. His power surpassed that of many, and she wondered how General had considered it that of no worry. She thought of reasons, she was determined to clear up everything. She realized and remembered that ever since the general had seen Syaoran, Syaoran had been very hurt and weary. Assuming that this would weaken his aura just as much, the general had never seen Syaoran's power at it's peak; therefore the general had no way of knowing the extend of Syaoran's magic. Sakura even remembered the weakness of his aura when she had seen him sitting against the tree in the soldier's camp.
Sakura missed the familiar glow of the magic inside her. She missed feeling Syaoran's soft green aura and her own pink one. She missed the feeling of control she had over it, she hated the feeling of helplessness that she had without it. She didn't know how the general had done it, she just knew that her magic was gone, that could no longer feel or use it, and Syaoran hadn't felt it either; he was the first to notice her missing aura.
A hand clamped over Sakura's mouth and she tried to scream, but the grip of the hand suppressed it. She looked at the figure before her and relaxed. "Syaoran?" she whispered. He grunted softly and began cutting through the ropes that bound her with his dagger. Once she was freed, he motioned for her to be quiet and pulled her away from the area where the guards slept.
"We've got to get away before morning; we only have a few hours!" Syaoran whispered. Sakura nodded and began walking towards the soldier's camp. Syaoran cursed under his breath and grabbed her wrist.
"What are you doing?" he said frustratedly. She gave him a superior look and continued walking purposefully in the same direction she had been. Syaoran decided to follow; he knew that there was no reasoning with Sakura. She walked for a few minutes with Syaoran reluctantly following before the line of horses came to view. Syaoran then understood and felt stupid for acting the way he did to Sakura.
Sakura walked slowly over to a white horse with a black mane and tail. She placed a hand softly on its velvet nose and whispered soft words. After a minute or so, she untied the rope that tied him to the pole and led him away from the horses. Syaoran backed away as she brought the horse closer. "Come on." Sakura whispered.
"I. . . can't we. . ." Syaoran's face was pale and he looked nervous. Sakura found it hard not to laugh, she hadn't noticed how frightened of horses he was before now. She whispered something to the horse and looked up at Syaoran with sparkling eyes. "It's okay, he won't hurt you," Syaoran hesitantly took a few steps toward the horse, but backed up even further when the horse snorted and lifted a hoof momentarily. Sakura grabbed his arm and forced him onto the horse's back. Then Sakura mounted the horse before Syaoran could fall off and took a fistful of the horse's mane in each hand.
They started in a soft trot until they were out of earshot from the soldier's camp, then they broke into a gallop (to Syaoran's dismay). "We're going to the castle," Sakura said, and when Syaoran didn't answer, she added, "To get help, we have to get the Clow book back." Syaoran had a million objections, but he was too busy gripping Sakura and trying to keep himself on the horse.
Syaoran's discomforts were much the same as his ride previously. The only difference from before was the lessened throb in his head and a burning, sore, throbbing feeling that spread from his neck into his chest. He was breathing fine now, though he was still very tired and weak. His energy had been spent on freeing his wrists from his rope bonds and getting Sakura set to go, so despite everything else, he eventually fell asleep leaning forward against Sakura's back.
Sakura watched in awe as the sun came over the horizon, shedding golden light upon the lands which she was riding and painting everything with glittering warmth. She slowed the horse to give herself a more peaceful observation and was unable to tear her eyes away from the scene even to look ahead to where the horse would be stepping. Every moment became prettier and the surreal picture before her brought a million rays into her heart so that she thought it might burst with joy and hope.
Sakura almost woke Syaoran just to see the sunrise, but before she did, during her second thought, she knew that someone such as him would not appreciate something so delicate and beautiful as the sun. She began to think of Syaoran as she gazed past the horizon and his coldness and his glares. Once, and only that once he had called her Sakura, and he had never smiled once, not to her, nor anything else (that Sakura had observed). She sighed. She had tried and tried but had only succeeded in deepening the scowl that masked his true nature by showing kindness and concern. She wanted so desperately to be accepted by him, to let him realize the person she had become, and the person that through his help she could be.
Sakura never woke Syaoran because she believed he would rather sleep. He had had a VERY rough few days and he was hurt and weary. She would not take away his rest at a time he so desperately needed and desired it, but truth tell, Syaoran would have loved the sunset and cherished it. He would have related its beauty and tenderness to Sakura's flower-like appearance and would have matched its bright, calming colors and suddenness and radiance and breathtakingness to that of hers.
Syaoran slept through the morning, and Sakura took advantage of the time that he slept to gallop at top speed; Syaoran would be terrified if he were awake, and he never fell off because even in his sleep he held his death grip on her waist. Sakura knew that they were barely ahead of the soldiers, every so often, she even heard yells from behind. Their only advantage was their head start and that the soldiers hadn't seen them yet, for they had no advantage in their path; the soldiers surely knew such an obvious plan.
Syaoran woke up feeling stiff and tired. He wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew that he had already slept too long. He let out a small gasp that concealed a whimper when he saw the ground rushing past below him. Sakura realized this and slowed the horse considerably. "Sorry," she said, "But we're barely ahead of them." Syaoran said nothing, he just focused his eyes ahead at the dreary, thick fog of the morning and steadied his fast-beating heart.
"How close are we to the castle?" asked Syaoran after a few silent minutes. He was still sitting behind Sakura with a tight grip on her, but he was less drowsy and sitting up a bit straighter. The wound on his head was almost healed, and the throb was much less of a problem. He had grown accustomed to the shorter breaths that accompanied the wound in his neck, and had learned to ignore the pain that spread from it, so he had, at the time, forgotten the ache in his body and was feeling better that he had in a while.
"About three hours at this pace." Sakura answered matter-of-factly. Syaoran was puzzled by her tone and decided to try again.
"If we sped up?"
Sakura sighed. Syaoran realized that she wasn't upset at him (to his relief), that she was only stressed by what was on their tail. "We'd have to go full speed to reach it in an hour, and that's if we outrun the soldiers."
"Syaoran firmly leaned himself against Sakura's back and closed his eyes. "Go."
Sakura looked back at him in surprise, but then shrugged and kicked the horse into a gallop, and soon after, an all-out, full speed run. Syaoran found that after bracing himself and closing his eyes, the ride wasn't as hard as he imagined. They rode on for another half-hour, in the dreary, fog- clouded light of the morning, barely ahead of their pursuers.
Sakura gasped, and Syaoran felt her tense. He looked up just as the top of the castle became visible below the hill which they were riding. "We. . . got there faster that I thought." Sakura said. Syaoran suddenly looked behind him. He himself kicked the horse from the lessened speed that they were at and yelled, "They've seen us!" Sakura urged the horse even faster and told it comforting things. Syaoran felt the heaving sides of the horse's body and felt the sweat on its back. Suddenly his fear rushed back added with the possibility of the horse collapsing. He managed to keep his eyes open and focus ahead, though his trembling was obvious to Sakura.
Syaoran gasped as an arrow whizzed past Sakura's shoulder. It took Sakura a second to realize it, but she paled when she did and tried to urge the horse faster. The horse whinnied and struggled to quicken, but only succeeded in slowing the pace further. Another arrow flew just past Syaoran's leg, and he began to worry even harder about the lasting out of their luck.
The castle gates were becoming closer and closer, only about two minutes would it take to reach them. . . but it would take less for an arrow to strike them. They reached the castle gates and they opened for them. Sakura slowed the horse once inside and screamed for them to be closed. The guards all heaved and pulled to close them, but it was taking too long. She saw that the soldiers were going to make it into the castle gates and ignored people and guards rushing at her and asking questions and ran into the castle dragging Syaoran behind her. Once inside, Syaoran jerked from her grip and gave her back a cold glare before following her further. She ran up a long spiral of stairs and through hallways and passages, overturning soldiers, guards, and servants as she went, certainly causing a commotion. Suddenly she stopped in front of a tall, golden double-door, and Syaoran ran into her. Sakura ignored him and began pulling on one of the doors. Syaoran took hold of the handle also and helped her pull. They both succeeded in opening it far enough to slip in, and did.
A tall, gray man was sitting at a desk, marking away at papers and scrolls with paper and ink strewed around him. "Father!" Sakura yelled. The man whirled around and stared at Sakura in disbelief, oblivious to Syaoran's existence.
"Sakura?" he said weakly.
"Get your men! We need your soldiers! We are being attacked by foreign soldiers!" Sakura said quickly. She then ran to him and grabbed both of his hands. "I'm sure they will send more soon, we must prepare to battle!"
"We don't have time to prepare!" Syaoran said, for the first time making his presence known, "A group of twenty at the least is here now, wielding swords and arrows. They are after the princess, and are backed by an army of thousands not far behind."
The king nodded, understanding the urgency and sent a servant to warn the generals. He then turned to Sakura to talk, but Sakura motioned for him to wait. "How do you know about an army of thousands?" she said, motioning for a quick answer.
"Seriously, Sakura!" Said Syaoran coldly, "Do you think twenty men are going to barge into the castle without a strong army at back?" Syaoran spoke quickly, not wanting to waste more time than necessary, "They were there behind them the whole time. I had a feeling, but now I'm sure." Sakura looked at him blankly before sighing and turning around.
"Sakura!" Syaoran grabbed her wrist and felt a surge of energy. "Your aura! Your magic!" Sakura gasped as she felt a familiar glow of pink inside her. Syaoran's expression turned grave. "Why was it returned?" Sakura closed her eyes.
"I don't feel the general's aura!" she said finally, "That's why. He was killed, so my magic was returned!" Syaoran shook his head. It seemed too simple. . . but. . .
"We must hurry!" said Syaoran hurriedly, "If I can borrow a sword, I could be of help."
"Me too," Sakura said, "I need nothing, but I must fight." She gripped the key that hung from her neck firmly and gave her father a determined look before rushing from the room. Syaoran gave the king a short bow before following her.
Author's corner:
Thanks for the reviews, gomen for the long update wait. I got some ideas while at camp, though, so the chapter came faster than I thought.
Thanks to madi-moon, for reviewing, I hope it didn't take too long.
Thanks to Julia and Tania, I LOVE your reviews! You give such nice, long, descriptive reviews, they are very encouraging and help me to know what I am doing right and hint on what I need to improve. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thanks to IwillmarryJustinTimberlake, I liked the cherries! To tell the truth, I DID get a cold a camp. . . but I'[m not blaming it on you and your cherries. I had a bit of difficulty on this one, my writing style jumped a lot, I'd like to apologize for that. I didn't mean to. . . I just wrote certain parts at certain times in certain moods, so it may switch from describing character prospectives really well to describing scenery and emotion real well, or it might switch to being fast-paced and less descriptive. . . It probobally was hard to follow. But thanks for the review!
Thanks to Ying Lang, I had trouble and doubts about giving Sakura's aura back so quickly. . . But I REALLY needed her to be able to fight just now. . . but it seemed too easy. I may or may not add a twist concerning this. . . But I really like your nice long review. The general actually isn't the guy from the castle, because the general has a dark purple aura, while the evil aura from the castle was gray. The guy from the castle is a lot stronger and will show up later. . .
Gomen to all for the lack of S+S moments. . . I just can't leave the tension-between-the-two concept just yet. I promise that they'll get together eventually, though. You know they will! Well, I hope you liked this chapter, though it jumped moods so often and especially the last part was crummy, but review anyway, please! I really appreciate reviews more than you can imagine, they are the most exciting thing about the story to me! Ja!
Syaoran gave General Keichiro the deepest, angriest, coldest glare that he had given anyone and knew that it hadn't gone to waste. The aura coming from the general was strong, and Syaoran knew he wouldn't match up to him even in a magic duel. For the first time in a long time, Syaoran felt completely helpless. Sakura's magic was gone, and Syaoran was at the mercy of a dark magician. Syaoran struggled to keep the coldness in his eyes, but to no avail; his eyes reflected the fear and helplessness that consumed him.
*End of flashback*
Escape
Syaoran suppressed his deep breathing and steadied his shaking body. He felt a coward; he had never been afraid of death before, but now that he faced it, there was nothing more terrifying. He heard a sharp breath drawn behind him and realized the perilous situation Sakura would be in if he died. "What is it you're after?" Syaoran hissed.
"Yes," said the general, smirking, "I had almost forgotten." General Keichiro snapped his fingers and behind Syaoran, Sakura screamed. Syaoran tried to whirl around but gasped and froze when the flesh of his neck met the steel of the general's sword.
The sword cut a wound in Syaoran's neck, not very deep, but enough to cause a lot of pain. Syaoran held his breath as the general slowly pushed the sword a bit deeper, just enough to show Syaoran how serious he was. The general laughed as Syaoran clenched his teeth and winced, every moment expecting the sword to cut all the way through.
Sakura tried to pull the hands away from her but two soldiers held her still. The soldier reached into a pocket and pulled out the Clow Book. "Stop!" She yelled and tried to grab the book away from him. He just laughed and shoved her backwards and she landed in a heap on the ground. She looked up and saw soldiers standing above. She pulled her knees in to her chin and cried softly. She was so confused, and now she could hear groans of pain coming from Syaoran's direction and there was no way she could help either of them. Her magic was gone, the Clow Book was gone, and so was all of her hope.
"What. . . did. . . you do to. . . her?" Syaoran gasped, his hands covering the front of his neck. He struggled to stay standing and kept his head lowered to mask his face that was scrunched up in pain. The front of his shirt already had blood seeping down from his collar, and his hands were covered in it. His legs were weak and shook from his weight.
The general had now sheathed his sword and was watching Syaoran with interest. "We took what we wanted," answered the general, turning away from him, "The Clow Book and all of the cards."
"WHAT?!" Syaoran tried to yell but began coughing blood. His knees buckled and he fell to his knees coughing and sputtering. Sakura turned around upon hearing his yell and stared at the scene in disbelief. How was this happening? Why did this have to happen?
Syaoran's neck burned and hurt worse than he would have ever imagined. He tried to breathe, but he couldn't stop coughing. His head swam, but he quickly regained his senses and looked at the general, steaming when he saw his back turned. "Bind them both, and keep soldiers on guard," said the general with his back still turned. Sakura and Syaoran both glared at the perfectly groomed back of General Keichiro's head as he walked gracefully away, both helpless to do anything about it.
Syaoran suddenly doubled over and began coughing again, he pressed one fist against the ground while holding his neck with the other. His forehead touched his knees and the burning in his neck was unbearable. The aching from earlier was now a skull-bashing throb and he wished for nothing but to be away from it all.
Sakura watched in horror as he coughed and groaned, doubled over with his face hidden in his knees. She wanted to comfort him, but she was too frightened to think of anything that might help. She struggled against a few soldiers who had come to bind her. She was frantic and confused and weighed by the hurt that Syaoran was feeling. She eventually lost heart and let the soldiers bind her, giving them no trouble, but anger and hurt boiling inside her and threatening to overflow.
Syaoran didn't resist the soldiers at all; he knew it was pointless in his condition. The soldiers led (or dragged, in Syaoran's case) both of them a bit farther from the river where there were still trees scattered about. They then binded their ankles. They bound Sakura to a tree, but took pity on Syaoran and spared him such more discomfort; they kept the ropes on his hands and instead leaned him against a tree.
Syaoran sat on his knees with his back leaned against a thick, rough tree trunk behind him. His once green shirt was now soaked in blood in the front, and the ends of his sleeves as well. The burning had since lessened but the throb only increased. When he wasn't coughing, it was impossible to get enough air.
Syaoran groaned softly and leaned his head against the trunk and closed his eyes. He slept fitfully until night fell. When he awoke, the burning in his neck and the throb in his head had become undistinguishable from each other and had dulled into one weary blur of pain that engulfed his whole body. He closed his eyes once again, but kept himself awake by sheer will. Sakura needed him and he wouldn't let her down. He worked painfully to pull him hands free from the rope, using many techniques such as hooking the rope on a stick firmly planted in the earth or trying to rub it against the roughness of the tree to cut through it. Eventually, these plans failing, he began trying to knock his dagger from its sheath on his belt.
Sakura had given up trying to free her hands from the rope awhile ago, having only succeeded in rubbing the skin on her wrists raw. She thought over the events of the day carefully, knocking the panic and fear that she felt to the back of her mind where it wouldn't interrupt her thoughts. She sorted each confusion out one by one and eventually had almost everything clear.
Sakura just couldn't understand why the General hadn't taken Syaoran's magic as he had hers. His power surpassed that of many, and she wondered how General had considered it that of no worry. She thought of reasons, she was determined to clear up everything. She realized and remembered that ever since the general had seen Syaoran, Syaoran had been very hurt and weary. Assuming that this would weaken his aura just as much, the general had never seen Syaoran's power at it's peak; therefore the general had no way of knowing the extend of Syaoran's magic. Sakura even remembered the weakness of his aura when she had seen him sitting against the tree in the soldier's camp.
Sakura missed the familiar glow of the magic inside her. She missed feeling Syaoran's soft green aura and her own pink one. She missed the feeling of control she had over it, she hated the feeling of helplessness that she had without it. She didn't know how the general had done it, she just knew that her magic was gone, that could no longer feel or use it, and Syaoran hadn't felt it either; he was the first to notice her missing aura.
A hand clamped over Sakura's mouth and she tried to scream, but the grip of the hand suppressed it. She looked at the figure before her and relaxed. "Syaoran?" she whispered. He grunted softly and began cutting through the ropes that bound her with his dagger. Once she was freed, he motioned for her to be quiet and pulled her away from the area where the guards slept.
"We've got to get away before morning; we only have a few hours!" Syaoran whispered. Sakura nodded and began walking towards the soldier's camp. Syaoran cursed under his breath and grabbed her wrist.
"What are you doing?" he said frustratedly. She gave him a superior look and continued walking purposefully in the same direction she had been. Syaoran decided to follow; he knew that there was no reasoning with Sakura. She walked for a few minutes with Syaoran reluctantly following before the line of horses came to view. Syaoran then understood and felt stupid for acting the way he did to Sakura.
Sakura walked slowly over to a white horse with a black mane and tail. She placed a hand softly on its velvet nose and whispered soft words. After a minute or so, she untied the rope that tied him to the pole and led him away from the horses. Syaoran backed away as she brought the horse closer. "Come on." Sakura whispered.
"I. . . can't we. . ." Syaoran's face was pale and he looked nervous. Sakura found it hard not to laugh, she hadn't noticed how frightened of horses he was before now. She whispered something to the horse and looked up at Syaoran with sparkling eyes. "It's okay, he won't hurt you," Syaoran hesitantly took a few steps toward the horse, but backed up even further when the horse snorted and lifted a hoof momentarily. Sakura grabbed his arm and forced him onto the horse's back. Then Sakura mounted the horse before Syaoran could fall off and took a fistful of the horse's mane in each hand.
They started in a soft trot until they were out of earshot from the soldier's camp, then they broke into a gallop (to Syaoran's dismay). "We're going to the castle," Sakura said, and when Syaoran didn't answer, she added, "To get help, we have to get the Clow book back." Syaoran had a million objections, but he was too busy gripping Sakura and trying to keep himself on the horse.
Syaoran's discomforts were much the same as his ride previously. The only difference from before was the lessened throb in his head and a burning, sore, throbbing feeling that spread from his neck into his chest. He was breathing fine now, though he was still very tired and weak. His energy had been spent on freeing his wrists from his rope bonds and getting Sakura set to go, so despite everything else, he eventually fell asleep leaning forward against Sakura's back.
Sakura watched in awe as the sun came over the horizon, shedding golden light upon the lands which she was riding and painting everything with glittering warmth. She slowed the horse to give herself a more peaceful observation and was unable to tear her eyes away from the scene even to look ahead to where the horse would be stepping. Every moment became prettier and the surreal picture before her brought a million rays into her heart so that she thought it might burst with joy and hope.
Sakura almost woke Syaoran just to see the sunrise, but before she did, during her second thought, she knew that someone such as him would not appreciate something so delicate and beautiful as the sun. She began to think of Syaoran as she gazed past the horizon and his coldness and his glares. Once, and only that once he had called her Sakura, and he had never smiled once, not to her, nor anything else (that Sakura had observed). She sighed. She had tried and tried but had only succeeded in deepening the scowl that masked his true nature by showing kindness and concern. She wanted so desperately to be accepted by him, to let him realize the person she had become, and the person that through his help she could be.
Sakura never woke Syaoran because she believed he would rather sleep. He had had a VERY rough few days and he was hurt and weary. She would not take away his rest at a time he so desperately needed and desired it, but truth tell, Syaoran would have loved the sunset and cherished it. He would have related its beauty and tenderness to Sakura's flower-like appearance and would have matched its bright, calming colors and suddenness and radiance and breathtakingness to that of hers.
Syaoran slept through the morning, and Sakura took advantage of the time that he slept to gallop at top speed; Syaoran would be terrified if he were awake, and he never fell off because even in his sleep he held his death grip on her waist. Sakura knew that they were barely ahead of the soldiers, every so often, she even heard yells from behind. Their only advantage was their head start and that the soldiers hadn't seen them yet, for they had no advantage in their path; the soldiers surely knew such an obvious plan.
Syaoran woke up feeling stiff and tired. He wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew that he had already slept too long. He let out a small gasp that concealed a whimper when he saw the ground rushing past below him. Sakura realized this and slowed the horse considerably. "Sorry," she said, "But we're barely ahead of them." Syaoran said nothing, he just focused his eyes ahead at the dreary, thick fog of the morning and steadied his fast-beating heart.
"How close are we to the castle?" asked Syaoran after a few silent minutes. He was still sitting behind Sakura with a tight grip on her, but he was less drowsy and sitting up a bit straighter. The wound on his head was almost healed, and the throb was much less of a problem. He had grown accustomed to the shorter breaths that accompanied the wound in his neck, and had learned to ignore the pain that spread from it, so he had, at the time, forgotten the ache in his body and was feeling better that he had in a while.
"About three hours at this pace." Sakura answered matter-of-factly. Syaoran was puzzled by her tone and decided to try again.
"If we sped up?"
Sakura sighed. Syaoran realized that she wasn't upset at him (to his relief), that she was only stressed by what was on their tail. "We'd have to go full speed to reach it in an hour, and that's if we outrun the soldiers."
"Syaoran firmly leaned himself against Sakura's back and closed his eyes. "Go."
Sakura looked back at him in surprise, but then shrugged and kicked the horse into a gallop, and soon after, an all-out, full speed run. Syaoran found that after bracing himself and closing his eyes, the ride wasn't as hard as he imagined. They rode on for another half-hour, in the dreary, fog- clouded light of the morning, barely ahead of their pursuers.
Sakura gasped, and Syaoran felt her tense. He looked up just as the top of the castle became visible below the hill which they were riding. "We. . . got there faster that I thought." Sakura said. Syaoran suddenly looked behind him. He himself kicked the horse from the lessened speed that they were at and yelled, "They've seen us!" Sakura urged the horse even faster and told it comforting things. Syaoran felt the heaving sides of the horse's body and felt the sweat on its back. Suddenly his fear rushed back added with the possibility of the horse collapsing. He managed to keep his eyes open and focus ahead, though his trembling was obvious to Sakura.
Syaoran gasped as an arrow whizzed past Sakura's shoulder. It took Sakura a second to realize it, but she paled when she did and tried to urge the horse faster. The horse whinnied and struggled to quicken, but only succeeded in slowing the pace further. Another arrow flew just past Syaoran's leg, and he began to worry even harder about the lasting out of their luck.
The castle gates were becoming closer and closer, only about two minutes would it take to reach them. . . but it would take less for an arrow to strike them. They reached the castle gates and they opened for them. Sakura slowed the horse once inside and screamed for them to be closed. The guards all heaved and pulled to close them, but it was taking too long. She saw that the soldiers were going to make it into the castle gates and ignored people and guards rushing at her and asking questions and ran into the castle dragging Syaoran behind her. Once inside, Syaoran jerked from her grip and gave her back a cold glare before following her further. She ran up a long spiral of stairs and through hallways and passages, overturning soldiers, guards, and servants as she went, certainly causing a commotion. Suddenly she stopped in front of a tall, golden double-door, and Syaoran ran into her. Sakura ignored him and began pulling on one of the doors. Syaoran took hold of the handle also and helped her pull. They both succeeded in opening it far enough to slip in, and did.
A tall, gray man was sitting at a desk, marking away at papers and scrolls with paper and ink strewed around him. "Father!" Sakura yelled. The man whirled around and stared at Sakura in disbelief, oblivious to Syaoran's existence.
"Sakura?" he said weakly.
"Get your men! We need your soldiers! We are being attacked by foreign soldiers!" Sakura said quickly. She then ran to him and grabbed both of his hands. "I'm sure they will send more soon, we must prepare to battle!"
"We don't have time to prepare!" Syaoran said, for the first time making his presence known, "A group of twenty at the least is here now, wielding swords and arrows. They are after the princess, and are backed by an army of thousands not far behind."
The king nodded, understanding the urgency and sent a servant to warn the generals. He then turned to Sakura to talk, but Sakura motioned for him to wait. "How do you know about an army of thousands?" she said, motioning for a quick answer.
"Seriously, Sakura!" Said Syaoran coldly, "Do you think twenty men are going to barge into the castle without a strong army at back?" Syaoran spoke quickly, not wanting to waste more time than necessary, "They were there behind them the whole time. I had a feeling, but now I'm sure." Sakura looked at him blankly before sighing and turning around.
"Sakura!" Syaoran grabbed her wrist and felt a surge of energy. "Your aura! Your magic!" Sakura gasped as she felt a familiar glow of pink inside her. Syaoran's expression turned grave. "Why was it returned?" Sakura closed her eyes.
"I don't feel the general's aura!" she said finally, "That's why. He was killed, so my magic was returned!" Syaoran shook his head. It seemed too simple. . . but. . .
"We must hurry!" said Syaoran hurriedly, "If I can borrow a sword, I could be of help."
"Me too," Sakura said, "I need nothing, but I must fight." She gripped the key that hung from her neck firmly and gave her father a determined look before rushing from the room. Syaoran gave the king a short bow before following her.
Author's corner:
Thanks for the reviews, gomen for the long update wait. I got some ideas while at camp, though, so the chapter came faster than I thought.
Thanks to madi-moon, for reviewing, I hope it didn't take too long.
Thanks to Julia and Tania, I LOVE your reviews! You give such nice, long, descriptive reviews, they are very encouraging and help me to know what I am doing right and hint on what I need to improve. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thanks to IwillmarryJustinTimberlake, I liked the cherries! To tell the truth, I DID get a cold a camp. . . but I'[m not blaming it on you and your cherries. I had a bit of difficulty on this one, my writing style jumped a lot, I'd like to apologize for that. I didn't mean to. . . I just wrote certain parts at certain times in certain moods, so it may switch from describing character prospectives really well to describing scenery and emotion real well, or it might switch to being fast-paced and less descriptive. . . It probobally was hard to follow. But thanks for the review!
Thanks to Ying Lang, I had trouble and doubts about giving Sakura's aura back so quickly. . . But I REALLY needed her to be able to fight just now. . . but it seemed too easy. I may or may not add a twist concerning this. . . But I really like your nice long review. The general actually isn't the guy from the castle, because the general has a dark purple aura, while the evil aura from the castle was gray. The guy from the castle is a lot stronger and will show up later. . .
Gomen to all for the lack of S+S moments. . . I just can't leave the tension-between-the-two concept just yet. I promise that they'll get together eventually, though. You know they will! Well, I hope you liked this chapter, though it jumped moods so often and especially the last part was crummy, but review anyway, please! I really appreciate reviews more than you can imagine, they are the most exciting thing about the story to me! Ja!