Hey Ladies and Gents... I've decided to write another chapter because, well,
I want to. I don't care that no one has reviewed... noo... I don't care.
But hopefully someone will. So here's another one in an effort to
remember what my story was going to be about in the first place.
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, please don't sue me, this is an original work based on CLAMP's characters... bla bla bla you know the drill.
~ * ~ * ~
Sakura stalked the prey before her. They could not escape from her sharp eyes and powerful magic. She was tense with excitement and anticipation as she gripped the Sword of Ledestar at her side. Sakura could tell that the Sword knew her time had come. She vibrated and glowed with a neon blue that only Sakura could see. The Sword was as tense as she was.
Kinomoto waited, hidden, at the edge of the castle courtyard, ready to run at any second. Where is an opening? I need an opening. She stared as hard as she could and focused all of her mental energy on a bush to her far right. Sweat started beading on her forehead. If I hadn't transported out of the palace, I would easily be able to do this. She finally caused the bush to burst into flame, calling all the attention of the guards. Now's my chance! Sakura made a break for it across the castle moat.
She tumbled into the bushes on the opposite side just in time before the guards warily turned back to their jobs. They knew someone was out there, they just didn't know who. Sakura had never meant to go far when she teleported herself out of the Great Hall. As it turned out, she wasn't able to go far anyway. The travels of the past week had really taken a toll on her powers, and she was almost drained as a result. I should have slept here overnight to regain my strength, she thought. But then again, that would be jeopardizing the rest of the world.
Sakura smirked. It was kind of funny that she had only gone to the castle courtyard. She made it sound as if she was going to where the Zoniliads were gathered. But even she did not know where that was. Hopefully she had fooled the king to believe that she had gone too far to be followed. Hopefully.
The king... Sakura's grin disappeared at the thought. But then she regained her composure, thinking, It's better if I don't see him any more. He'll only have to let me go again. And that would be the third time. Besides, he's better off without me. The last thought sunk into Sakura's brain, stinging like an open wound. She made herself believe it anyway. The pain would reside in time.
Sakura turned her attention back to the present, mentally slapping herself for letting her get lost in her own misery. If that happens in a fight, I'll be dead. She stayed low and ran to the dense forest beyond the castle. The guards had turned back to their lolling around, not taking any notice of the woman dressed in black. She straightened as she reached the edge of the forest, darting behind the massive trees. Looking back at the castle of her hometown, tears stung her eyes. I'm so sorry, Syaoran, but it's time for you to let go of me. I've been nothing but trouble for you. And with that, she sprinted into the forest, and towards the misty mountains beyond.
~ * ~ * ~
"Fuck!" Syaoran slammed his fist down on the golden throne. He sank down to the ground and let his misery overtake him. "I can't believe she's gone. And here I was, thinking that things would finally be getting back to normal. Ever since she left, my life had been nothing but blank thoughts and a void of nothingness. I even refused to speak to my father, my best friend in the world besides Sakura. Oh Sakura... why? Don't you know that you are the one I live for?"
A knock sounded on the massive mahogany doors. Syaoran quickly wiped his eyes and fixed his disheveled robes. It wouldn't do for his subjects to see him out of control. Sitting back down in the throne, he tried to call out to the visitor. "Come in." His voice was shaky. He took a deep breath and tried again. "Enter, visitor."
The door swung open slowly. A guard came in with an arrow. He bowed before the king. "Sire... we found this in the moat." He came forward and held out the arrow. Syaoran now saw the parchment tied on with a black and red ribbon.
The king took the arrow with great care. He thought he recognized the emblem on the paper, but couldn't be sure because of the water stain. Could it be...?
Syaoran pulled the parchment out from under the ribbon and unrolled it with shaking fingers. He almost dropped it when he saw what was inside. It was a letter addressed to him, as follows.
Dear King Syaoran of Ledestar,
I am sure that I will already be gone when you get this letter. Sorry
that I had to give it in such a way, but I will not be able to tell
you these things in person. This I already know, so I have prepared a
letter in advance. I want to tell you everything that you don't know
about me; all the things I have tried to tell you, but couldn't. I
hope you understand how much the following things mean to me. First
of all, about how I was really outlawed. I know that you think I was
exiled because of too many broken rules. There was the arrow in the
chandelier, too many illegal trips into town, selling castle items on
the black market, talking back to my teachers, skipping class, getting
into too many fights, using the training facilities after-hours, and
whatnot. All this is true, plus much more. But the real reason... I
can't believe I'm telling you this... the real reason is much worse. I
helped an outlaw. I killed innocent civilians to help this outlaw. I
murdered castle guards to help him. I put your father, the king, in
jeopardy, along with the whole royal court and all of the elders.
Why? Why, you ask? Because this outlaw was my father. Now that I
know what it feels like to be cast out, I'm glad that I helped him. I
hope you believe me on your own terms, because I'm not coming back to
persuade you. I regret to say that this will be the last time you
hear from me. Because of the present situation, I am walking towards
my death with open arms. Because I am the descendent of the kings of
old, my duty is to protect the world from Zoniliads, if the need
rises. And apparently, the need has risen. I've seen it with my own
eyes. So by the time you get this letter, I will have already gone
off to save the world. How ironic does that sound? I fell like
laughing bitterly right now, but I'm crying too hard to do so. Have
you ever seen me cry? I think you have, but only in very intense
situations. What am I saying? I sound like a fool. Here I am, the
most skilled warrior/sorceress in the land, and I'm crying over
knowing what my death will be. Actually, I take that back. I'm not
crying because I know I'm going to die. I'm crying because I know
that I'll have to leave you behind. I remember all the times we had
together – you even skipped class with me a couple times. What I'm
trying to say is, what I've been trying to say all along, is that ever
since I've known you, you were the only thing I didn't want to leave
behind. Now you are the only thing that I regret leaving. I know
that this letter is going to make you want to come after me, but
please don't. If you value our friendship, please don't. Even if I
die, I want you to live. And if I don't die... I'll come back to you.
No doubts. But please prepare yourself for the worst, because the
worst is what's going to happen.
All right... I wonder if I had you fooled. The real reason I wrote this is to tell you that...
I love you.
You will always be my little prince. That's the bottom line.
Love forever,
Sakura
Syaoran kept his head down. "Did anyone open this letter before me?"
"No, sire. You are the only one that's seen the contents."
"You may be dismissed."
"Yes, Majesty." The guard turned on his heels and walked briskly out of the room, not noticing a thing wrong with the king.
Syaoran sat back in his throne and laid his head in his hands. Why couldn't I tell her how I felt? Why didn't I ever tell her? I had so many chances, but I just couldn't. Syaoran didn't even dwell on the real reason of her exile. Now his tears came in streams. He was sobbing quietly when a thought came to mind. He wiped his tears and stood up, calling to the guards outside the door.
"Yes, sire?" one asked.
"Get my horse ready. And tell the cook to pack enough food for a one- month journey."
"Right away, Majesty." The guards shut the door, once again leaving the king alone with his thoughts.
I can't let you die, Sakura. I'm coming after you.
So... what's the feedback? I know this one was a little short, but that's all that seemed to fit in this chapter. Any more would be an overload to the chaos factor. Once again, please review. Fell free to email me at shaddow@twcny.rr.com. Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, please don't sue me, this is an original work based on CLAMP's characters... bla bla bla you know the drill.
~ * ~ * ~
Sakura stalked the prey before her. They could not escape from her sharp eyes and powerful magic. She was tense with excitement and anticipation as she gripped the Sword of Ledestar at her side. Sakura could tell that the Sword knew her time had come. She vibrated and glowed with a neon blue that only Sakura could see. The Sword was as tense as she was.
Kinomoto waited, hidden, at the edge of the castle courtyard, ready to run at any second. Where is an opening? I need an opening. She stared as hard as she could and focused all of her mental energy on a bush to her far right. Sweat started beading on her forehead. If I hadn't transported out of the palace, I would easily be able to do this. She finally caused the bush to burst into flame, calling all the attention of the guards. Now's my chance! Sakura made a break for it across the castle moat.
She tumbled into the bushes on the opposite side just in time before the guards warily turned back to their jobs. They knew someone was out there, they just didn't know who. Sakura had never meant to go far when she teleported herself out of the Great Hall. As it turned out, she wasn't able to go far anyway. The travels of the past week had really taken a toll on her powers, and she was almost drained as a result. I should have slept here overnight to regain my strength, she thought. But then again, that would be jeopardizing the rest of the world.
Sakura smirked. It was kind of funny that she had only gone to the castle courtyard. She made it sound as if she was going to where the Zoniliads were gathered. But even she did not know where that was. Hopefully she had fooled the king to believe that she had gone too far to be followed. Hopefully.
The king... Sakura's grin disappeared at the thought. But then she regained her composure, thinking, It's better if I don't see him any more. He'll only have to let me go again. And that would be the third time. Besides, he's better off without me. The last thought sunk into Sakura's brain, stinging like an open wound. She made herself believe it anyway. The pain would reside in time.
Sakura turned her attention back to the present, mentally slapping herself for letting her get lost in her own misery. If that happens in a fight, I'll be dead. She stayed low and ran to the dense forest beyond the castle. The guards had turned back to their lolling around, not taking any notice of the woman dressed in black. She straightened as she reached the edge of the forest, darting behind the massive trees. Looking back at the castle of her hometown, tears stung her eyes. I'm so sorry, Syaoran, but it's time for you to let go of me. I've been nothing but trouble for you. And with that, she sprinted into the forest, and towards the misty mountains beyond.
~ * ~ * ~
"Fuck!" Syaoran slammed his fist down on the golden throne. He sank down to the ground and let his misery overtake him. "I can't believe she's gone. And here I was, thinking that things would finally be getting back to normal. Ever since she left, my life had been nothing but blank thoughts and a void of nothingness. I even refused to speak to my father, my best friend in the world besides Sakura. Oh Sakura... why? Don't you know that you are the one I live for?"
A knock sounded on the massive mahogany doors. Syaoran quickly wiped his eyes and fixed his disheveled robes. It wouldn't do for his subjects to see him out of control. Sitting back down in the throne, he tried to call out to the visitor. "Come in." His voice was shaky. He took a deep breath and tried again. "Enter, visitor."
The door swung open slowly. A guard came in with an arrow. He bowed before the king. "Sire... we found this in the moat." He came forward and held out the arrow. Syaoran now saw the parchment tied on with a black and red ribbon.
The king took the arrow with great care. He thought he recognized the emblem on the paper, but couldn't be sure because of the water stain. Could it be...?
Syaoran pulled the parchment out from under the ribbon and unrolled it with shaking fingers. He almost dropped it when he saw what was inside. It was a letter addressed to him, as follows.
Dear King Syaoran of Ledestar,
I am sure that I will already be gone when you get this letter. Sorry
that I had to give it in such a way, but I will not be able to tell
you these things in person. This I already know, so I have prepared a
letter in advance. I want to tell you everything that you don't know
about me; all the things I have tried to tell you, but couldn't. I
hope you understand how much the following things mean to me. First
of all, about how I was really outlawed. I know that you think I was
exiled because of too many broken rules. There was the arrow in the
chandelier, too many illegal trips into town, selling castle items on
the black market, talking back to my teachers, skipping class, getting
into too many fights, using the training facilities after-hours, and
whatnot. All this is true, plus much more. But the real reason... I
can't believe I'm telling you this... the real reason is much worse. I
helped an outlaw. I killed innocent civilians to help this outlaw. I
murdered castle guards to help him. I put your father, the king, in
jeopardy, along with the whole royal court and all of the elders.
Why? Why, you ask? Because this outlaw was my father. Now that I
know what it feels like to be cast out, I'm glad that I helped him. I
hope you believe me on your own terms, because I'm not coming back to
persuade you. I regret to say that this will be the last time you
hear from me. Because of the present situation, I am walking towards
my death with open arms. Because I am the descendent of the kings of
old, my duty is to protect the world from Zoniliads, if the need
rises. And apparently, the need has risen. I've seen it with my own
eyes. So by the time you get this letter, I will have already gone
off to save the world. How ironic does that sound? I fell like
laughing bitterly right now, but I'm crying too hard to do so. Have
you ever seen me cry? I think you have, but only in very intense
situations. What am I saying? I sound like a fool. Here I am, the
most skilled warrior/sorceress in the land, and I'm crying over
knowing what my death will be. Actually, I take that back. I'm not
crying because I know I'm going to die. I'm crying because I know
that I'll have to leave you behind. I remember all the times we had
together – you even skipped class with me a couple times. What I'm
trying to say is, what I've been trying to say all along, is that ever
since I've known you, you were the only thing I didn't want to leave
behind. Now you are the only thing that I regret leaving. I know
that this letter is going to make you want to come after me, but
please don't. If you value our friendship, please don't. Even if I
die, I want you to live. And if I don't die... I'll come back to you.
No doubts. But please prepare yourself for the worst, because the
worst is what's going to happen.
All right... I wonder if I had you fooled. The real reason I wrote this is to tell you that...
I love you.
You will always be my little prince. That's the bottom line.
Love forever,
Sakura
Syaoran kept his head down. "Did anyone open this letter before me?"
"No, sire. You are the only one that's seen the contents."
"You may be dismissed."
"Yes, Majesty." The guard turned on his heels and walked briskly out of the room, not noticing a thing wrong with the king.
Syaoran sat back in his throne and laid his head in his hands. Why couldn't I tell her how I felt? Why didn't I ever tell her? I had so many chances, but I just couldn't. Syaoran didn't even dwell on the real reason of her exile. Now his tears came in streams. He was sobbing quietly when a thought came to mind. He wiped his tears and stood up, calling to the guards outside the door.
"Yes, sire?" one asked.
"Get my horse ready. And tell the cook to pack enough food for a one- month journey."
"Right away, Majesty." The guards shut the door, once again leaving the king alone with his thoughts.
I can't let you die, Sakura. I'm coming after you.
So... what's the feedback? I know this one was a little short, but that's all that seemed to fit in this chapter. Any more would be an overload to the chaos factor. Once again, please review. Fell free to email me at shaddow@twcny.rr.com. Thanks for reading.