*Flashback from last chapter*
"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.
*End of Flashback*
Battle
As Sakura and Syaoran rushed through the halls, Kinimoto's soldiers, ready for battle, began pouring out of the castle. As Syaoran had predicted, there was now an army of thousands awaiting them. Swords clashed, and bowstrings taut, and a battle that had never been dreamed by the Kinimoto Kingdom began.
As Sakura ran straight past a turn to the right, Syaoran ran down the turn. Sakura stopped and caught up to him. "This way!" Syaoran stopped and looked her in the eye.
"Sakura," Sakura's heart jumped when she heard him speak her name again. She remembered, also, that just a few minutes ago, in the king's chambers, he had also called her 'Sakura' once or twice. Was it just stress from everything happening that made him forget to not use it? Was he holding back her name on purpose? If he was, just now it seemed like he was letting out in the same way.
Syaoran knew Sakura was going to object to him going into the battle now that she had time to think. In the king's chambers, she was determined and flustered, now that she had a chance to think about it, she'd do her best to hold him back. "I'm going to the weapon storage room. I need a sword to fight with, you stay here, in the castle, you shouldn't go out and fight."
"No! I'm going to fight, I have my own magic and I know I can be of help!" She said, then taking care of the first part of Syaoran's comment, "You should be the one staying here, You're hurt, you've been feeling awful the last few days, and you'll put yourself in a lot more danger than I will," she finished.
Syaoran realized how they were both trying to keep the other from fighting; he was doing to her what he was trying to keep her from doing to him, vice versa, and lots of other ways that could get confusing after awhile. "Gaaah," he said, giving an exasperated sigh, "Don't worry about me. We DON'T have time for this! Just. . . we can both be accountable for ourselves, and ONLY ourselves. Just don't do anything too stupid." With that, Syaoran, still worried for Sakura, ran down the hallway and made his way toward the weapon storage.
Sakura looked after Syaoran with worry. He was still really weak and a little pale. What if he collapsed in the midst of all the battle or something? No, he was stronger that that, but she knew that without his full energy and magic that he was much more vulnerable than he was used to being. She also knew that even just a couple of magical spells could drain all of his energy and knock him out because of his weak magic that with her magic she could now sense was even weaker than she had feared.
She gave a last glance down the hall which Syaoran had just disappeared and took her own way down the passage straight in front. She only prayed that she would see him again, and that they hadn't made a huge mistake by going separately.
~ ~ ~
Syaoran ran down the hallway, now with a sword in his hand. He heard footsteps behind him and whirled around in a blocking stance just in time to repel a sword that would have chopped his neck. His heart jumped as he realized his close call, but he recovered in time to block another strike from his opposer. He saw a man in front of him dressed in a red uniform with gold lining, the same as their previous captors.
Syaoran easily cornered the soldier and held his sword at his throat. He couldn't believe that a soldier had already made it into the castle. "Who is your leader?" Syaoran demanded, holding his sword closer to the soldier's neck. The soldier dropped his sword and pleaded to Syaoran with his eyes for mercy. "Answer me!" Syaoran growled.
"M. . .Monasho. . . Kaito Monasho!" the soldier stammered. Syaoran muttered something under his breath before turning and dashing down the hallway, leaving the terrified soldier behind. Syaoran ran to the side door of the castle that led to the garden, one he had used often when he was weeding or watering. He dashed out the door and saw no one in the garden. He jumped the gates and saw before him the densest area of the battle.
Yells and sounds of clashing swords and whizzing arrows filled the air. Syaoran gripped his sword tighter and glared at the scene before him, allowing his anger to boil and give him extra strength and motivation. He yelled a battle cry as he ran into the thick of the fight, blocking blows and randomly swinging his sword at unsuspecting enemies. He worked to dispose of as many soldiers as he could, hardly fast enough to block all of the blows coming at him and still have time to deliver his own. Enemies fell before him and he realized with a smile how much better he was than almost all of Kinimoto's soldier's. ~ ~ ~
Sakura ducked from a sword and touched her staff to the ground. In the pause of attackers, she yelled a short chant and a burst of pink energy emitted from her staff eliminating all near enemies. She leaned on her staff as her legs suddenly wanted to give out and steadied herself. She was using up a lot of her magical energy, she knew, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold out. She ducked another attack and barely found the energy to stand tall again. She didn't know what would happen if she collapsed.
As Syaoran fought the never-ending flow of red-clothed soldiers, he noted a burst of pink become visible every so often, and found new motivation each time with the remembrance of Sakura. After awhile, he decided to make his way to her, he was almost positive it was her.
He fought the soldiers that stood in his way, easily killing some, but spending almost minutes fighting with others, but it still took him a long time. He was nearing exhaustion and every swing of his sword weighed him down a hundred more pounds. Finally Sakura came into view and he quickly finished a soldier he had been fighting. As he drew nearer, he saw her face drenched in perspiration, much like his own, and noticed her leaning on her staff, only dodging attacks, and not delivering any herself.
Sakura looked at him in disbelief. "Syaoran?" she breathed, "You're alright!" Syaoran nodded and walked, slowly and limping out of weariness, to Sakura protectively as an arrow came too close.
"You okay?" Sakura gave a weak smile and nodded. "Come, let's get you off the battlefield." He took Sakura's left arm tightly with his right hand and began weaving his way between battling soldiers, as quickly as he could with his aching body. Soon they reached the garden, which was also now swarming with soldiers, the majority being the enemy. Syaoran watched the Monasho soldiers in dismay as they streamed in the castle through the garden gate.
Sakura felt a sickening feeling when she noticed how many of the enemy soldiers there were, and it worsened as the majority of them were slipping into the castle. She noted the tighter hold that Syaoran maintained on her wrist as he observed this, and also his even slower pace.
Suddenly, Syaoran let out a cry and gripped Sakura's hand so hard that it became numb. Sakura watched with panic as Syaoran lifted his left hand and yanked an arrow from his right shoulder. He hissed as the pain surged once again at his quick motion and struggled to keep his feet but fell to his knees.
Syaoran looked up, breathing hard, his vision blurred from the pain. He looked around frantically for Sakura, not aware that he still had her wrist in his grasp. Suddenly, though, Sakura's hand slipped away, and he jerked his head in her direction. "Sakura!" he gasped.
Sakura didn't have wits to react when she felt herself being torn away from her injured friend. She had let her guard completely down and she scolded herself when she thought of how alert and protective Syaoran would have been if that had happened to her. She watched him look, panicked, in her direction as she was being dragged away. Syaoran cried in pain again as a soldier wrenched his injured shoulder to turn him around to face him. The soldier hastily tied his hands with ropes and threw Syaoran's sheathed sword from its hilt. To both Sakura and Syaoran, the rest of their capture was a blur. Sakura recalled only yells and sounds of fighting around them and being pulled mercilessly behind their captors, in a panicked daze. Syaoran remembered much the same, but it muddled with weakness and pain, tripping and falling, being kicked back to his feet, and Sakura's terrified face.
Long after they left the area of the battle, they were pulled roughly behind the three Monasho soldiers. Sakura long since had regained her alertness and very well knew of the goings on around her. After walking for what seemed like hours, the castle became lost in the distance. Her legs felt like they would collapse under her, but Syaoran came first.
Syaoran stumbled again and fell to his knees. Frustrated at his slowness and clumsiness, the soldier guiding him along kicked him in the side. "Get up! We have a long way to go yet!" He yelled angrily. Syaoran didn't, couldn't, and just let his head droop lower and his eyes which had been halfway closed close all the way. He was too tired to move, too tired to feel pain.
Author's corner:
Thanks to all of my reviewers! I was surprised and very happy to get so many reviews for the last chapter! This chapter was pointless and boring and short, gomen. I'm sorry Syaoran got hurt AGAIN, but it had to happen for the next cahin of events. If Syaoran hadn't been injured, the soldiers would have never caught them again. If they hadn't come to the castle in the first place, the war wouldn't have started. If they didn't get captured, they won't later be able to go to the castle, and if they don't go to the castle, they'll never get the Clow book back. So, that's basically my reason, though I'm getting somewhat repetitive.
Julia and Tania, Thanks a lot. I'm really glad you like the plot, and the other things. ( I'm glad I'm doing okay with the length, though I'd say this last chapter just seemed to drone on. I am also happy that you think I do well with 'transitioning into new scenes'. I always think that's important.
Thanks to AnimeObsessionFantasy, You'll find out soon enough!
Thanks to Ying Lang, I just love you people with long reviews! :D Sorry bout Syaoran. . .
Thanks to Onigiri Momoko, thanks for reviewing!
Thanks to MidnightFire_eagle, I'm really glad you like it, thanks for the enthusiastic review!
Thanks last, but not least, to IwillmarryJustinTimberlake, I'm glad I'm still doing okay with their character. I really appreciate how faithfully you review each chapter, and I hope you weren't disappointed by this chapter, though I'm sure it was disappointing.
Sorry it took so long, sorry I couldn't update for weeks. This wasn't very long, though I HOPE the next one will be. I REALLY love your reviews and look forward to them. That's really the only reason I'm still writing this. My enthusiasm for this story dwindled once I got started working on my fantasy (see below paragraph), though I still enjoy writing Princess of the Servant, so if you want my work to be worth it, review! Really, would you want to disappoint that screaming little button below?
I'm already started on the next chappie, though, and it may or may not be what you expected. Oh, and if you like my stories, I will have a nice fantasy novel/story coming up on fictionpress.com soon. It won't be completely by me, though, my friend and I expand on ideas, I type the chapters out, she helps me amend and edit them. The first chapter will be out somewhere between two and four weeks. We've been preparing the small bit we have for almost a month, now, and that's only the basic story line and (almost) the first chapter, and the third chapter. Well, enough on that, now, so ja!
"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.
*End of Flashback*
Battle
As Sakura and Syaoran rushed through the halls, Kinimoto's soldiers, ready for battle, began pouring out of the castle. As Syaoran had predicted, there was now an army of thousands awaiting them. Swords clashed, and bowstrings taut, and a battle that had never been dreamed by the Kinimoto Kingdom began.
As Sakura ran straight past a turn to the right, Syaoran ran down the turn. Sakura stopped and caught up to him. "This way!" Syaoran stopped and looked her in the eye.
"Sakura," Sakura's heart jumped when she heard him speak her name again. She remembered, also, that just a few minutes ago, in the king's chambers, he had also called her 'Sakura' once or twice. Was it just stress from everything happening that made him forget to not use it? Was he holding back her name on purpose? If he was, just now it seemed like he was letting out in the same way.
Syaoran knew Sakura was going to object to him going into the battle now that she had time to think. In the king's chambers, she was determined and flustered, now that she had a chance to think about it, she'd do her best to hold him back. "I'm going to the weapon storage room. I need a sword to fight with, you stay here, in the castle, you shouldn't go out and fight."
"No! I'm going to fight, I have my own magic and I know I can be of help!" She said, then taking care of the first part of Syaoran's comment, "You should be the one staying here, You're hurt, you've been feeling awful the last few days, and you'll put yourself in a lot more danger than I will," she finished.
Syaoran realized how they were both trying to keep the other from fighting; he was doing to her what he was trying to keep her from doing to him, vice versa, and lots of other ways that could get confusing after awhile. "Gaaah," he said, giving an exasperated sigh, "Don't worry about me. We DON'T have time for this! Just. . . we can both be accountable for ourselves, and ONLY ourselves. Just don't do anything too stupid." With that, Syaoran, still worried for Sakura, ran down the hallway and made his way toward the weapon storage.
Sakura looked after Syaoran with worry. He was still really weak and a little pale. What if he collapsed in the midst of all the battle or something? No, he was stronger that that, but she knew that without his full energy and magic that he was much more vulnerable than he was used to being. She also knew that even just a couple of magical spells could drain all of his energy and knock him out because of his weak magic that with her magic she could now sense was even weaker than she had feared.
She gave a last glance down the hall which Syaoran had just disappeared and took her own way down the passage straight in front. She only prayed that she would see him again, and that they hadn't made a huge mistake by going separately.
~ ~ ~
Syaoran ran down the hallway, now with a sword in his hand. He heard footsteps behind him and whirled around in a blocking stance just in time to repel a sword that would have chopped his neck. His heart jumped as he realized his close call, but he recovered in time to block another strike from his opposer. He saw a man in front of him dressed in a red uniform with gold lining, the same as their previous captors.
Syaoran easily cornered the soldier and held his sword at his throat. He couldn't believe that a soldier had already made it into the castle. "Who is your leader?" Syaoran demanded, holding his sword closer to the soldier's neck. The soldier dropped his sword and pleaded to Syaoran with his eyes for mercy. "Answer me!" Syaoran growled.
"M. . .Monasho. . . Kaito Monasho!" the soldier stammered. Syaoran muttered something under his breath before turning and dashing down the hallway, leaving the terrified soldier behind. Syaoran ran to the side door of the castle that led to the garden, one he had used often when he was weeding or watering. He dashed out the door and saw no one in the garden. He jumped the gates and saw before him the densest area of the battle.
Yells and sounds of clashing swords and whizzing arrows filled the air. Syaoran gripped his sword tighter and glared at the scene before him, allowing his anger to boil and give him extra strength and motivation. He yelled a battle cry as he ran into the thick of the fight, blocking blows and randomly swinging his sword at unsuspecting enemies. He worked to dispose of as many soldiers as he could, hardly fast enough to block all of the blows coming at him and still have time to deliver his own. Enemies fell before him and he realized with a smile how much better he was than almost all of Kinimoto's soldier's. ~ ~ ~
Sakura ducked from a sword and touched her staff to the ground. In the pause of attackers, she yelled a short chant and a burst of pink energy emitted from her staff eliminating all near enemies. She leaned on her staff as her legs suddenly wanted to give out and steadied herself. She was using up a lot of her magical energy, she knew, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold out. She ducked another attack and barely found the energy to stand tall again. She didn't know what would happen if she collapsed.
As Syaoran fought the never-ending flow of red-clothed soldiers, he noted a burst of pink become visible every so often, and found new motivation each time with the remembrance of Sakura. After awhile, he decided to make his way to her, he was almost positive it was her.
He fought the soldiers that stood in his way, easily killing some, but spending almost minutes fighting with others, but it still took him a long time. He was nearing exhaustion and every swing of his sword weighed him down a hundred more pounds. Finally Sakura came into view and he quickly finished a soldier he had been fighting. As he drew nearer, he saw her face drenched in perspiration, much like his own, and noticed her leaning on her staff, only dodging attacks, and not delivering any herself.
Sakura looked at him in disbelief. "Syaoran?" she breathed, "You're alright!" Syaoran nodded and walked, slowly and limping out of weariness, to Sakura protectively as an arrow came too close.
"You okay?" Sakura gave a weak smile and nodded. "Come, let's get you off the battlefield." He took Sakura's left arm tightly with his right hand and began weaving his way between battling soldiers, as quickly as he could with his aching body. Soon they reached the garden, which was also now swarming with soldiers, the majority being the enemy. Syaoran watched the Monasho soldiers in dismay as they streamed in the castle through the garden gate.
Sakura felt a sickening feeling when she noticed how many of the enemy soldiers there were, and it worsened as the majority of them were slipping into the castle. She noted the tighter hold that Syaoran maintained on her wrist as he observed this, and also his even slower pace.
Suddenly, Syaoran let out a cry and gripped Sakura's hand so hard that it became numb. Sakura watched with panic as Syaoran lifted his left hand and yanked an arrow from his right shoulder. He hissed as the pain surged once again at his quick motion and struggled to keep his feet but fell to his knees.
Syaoran looked up, breathing hard, his vision blurred from the pain. He looked around frantically for Sakura, not aware that he still had her wrist in his grasp. Suddenly, though, Sakura's hand slipped away, and he jerked his head in her direction. "Sakura!" he gasped.
Sakura didn't have wits to react when she felt herself being torn away from her injured friend. She had let her guard completely down and she scolded herself when she thought of how alert and protective Syaoran would have been if that had happened to her. She watched him look, panicked, in her direction as she was being dragged away. Syaoran cried in pain again as a soldier wrenched his injured shoulder to turn him around to face him. The soldier hastily tied his hands with ropes and threw Syaoran's sheathed sword from its hilt. To both Sakura and Syaoran, the rest of their capture was a blur. Sakura recalled only yells and sounds of fighting around them and being pulled mercilessly behind their captors, in a panicked daze. Syaoran remembered much the same, but it muddled with weakness and pain, tripping and falling, being kicked back to his feet, and Sakura's terrified face.
Long after they left the area of the battle, they were pulled roughly behind the three Monasho soldiers. Sakura long since had regained her alertness and very well knew of the goings on around her. After walking for what seemed like hours, the castle became lost in the distance. Her legs felt like they would collapse under her, but Syaoran came first.
Syaoran stumbled again and fell to his knees. Frustrated at his slowness and clumsiness, the soldier guiding him along kicked him in the side. "Get up! We have a long way to go yet!" He yelled angrily. Syaoran didn't, couldn't, and just let his head droop lower and his eyes which had been halfway closed close all the way. He was too tired to move, too tired to feel pain.
Author's corner:
Thanks to all of my reviewers! I was surprised and very happy to get so many reviews for the last chapter! This chapter was pointless and boring and short, gomen. I'm sorry Syaoran got hurt AGAIN, but it had to happen for the next cahin of events. If Syaoran hadn't been injured, the soldiers would have never caught them again. If they hadn't come to the castle in the first place, the war wouldn't have started. If they didn't get captured, they won't later be able to go to the castle, and if they don't go to the castle, they'll never get the Clow book back. So, that's basically my reason, though I'm getting somewhat repetitive.
Julia and Tania, Thanks a lot. I'm really glad you like the plot, and the other things. ( I'm glad I'm doing okay with the length, though I'd say this last chapter just seemed to drone on. I am also happy that you think I do well with 'transitioning into new scenes'. I always think that's important.
Thanks to AnimeObsessionFantasy, You'll find out soon enough!
Thanks to Ying Lang, I just love you people with long reviews! :D Sorry bout Syaoran. . .
Thanks to Onigiri Momoko, thanks for reviewing!
Thanks to MidnightFire_eagle, I'm really glad you like it, thanks for the enthusiastic review!
Thanks last, but not least, to IwillmarryJustinTimberlake, I'm glad I'm still doing okay with their character. I really appreciate how faithfully you review each chapter, and I hope you weren't disappointed by this chapter, though I'm sure it was disappointing.
Sorry it took so long, sorry I couldn't update for weeks. This wasn't very long, though I HOPE the next one will be. I REALLY love your reviews and look forward to them. That's really the only reason I'm still writing this. My enthusiasm for this story dwindled once I got started working on my fantasy (see below paragraph), though I still enjoy writing Princess of the Servant, so if you want my work to be worth it, review! Really, would you want to disappoint that screaming little button below?
I'm already started on the next chappie, though, and it may or may not be what you expected. Oh, and if you like my stories, I will have a nice fantasy novel/story coming up on fictionpress.com soon. It won't be completely by me, though, my friend and I expand on ideas, I type the chapters out, she helps me amend and edit them. The first chapter will be out somewhere between two and four weeks. We've been preparing the small bit we have for almost a month, now, and that's only the basic story line and (almost) the first chapter, and the third chapter. Well, enough on that, now, so ja!