a/n: Just to tell you all AGAIN that in this story, I have a character "BRIAN" who is Sakura's brother. There is no Touya in this story. Just needed to tell all those confused people.

Now, back to the story……………….read on and enjoy!!!

The Legend of the Ancient Future

Ratings: PG-13

Genre: Romance/Fantasy

Author: DaNcInGFiRe

Chapter two

Time Shifts

Sakura woke up the next morning, bathed by the warmth of the sunshine. She squinted at the blue sky above, shielding her eyes from the glare, then stretched to relax the kinks in her body after sleeping on the hard earth.

            The ball of light! She sat up so abruptly her head spun.

            All her bags were accounted for, and as far as she could tell she hadn't been harmed in any way.

            'Was that for real?' She rested her head in her hand, recalling the previous night.

            Sakura felt a gritty paint smeared on her brow and looked at her fingers that were smudged with blue.

            'What the hell is this?' She pulled a small mirror from her backpack. Stamped on her brow was the image of a dragon. In mythology this symbol represented the guardian spirit of Ancient China. Why had she been marked with it? Sakura decided that although it was rather cute, the dragon had to go. She began rummaging through her bag for a tissue when she remembered that they were in the glove compartment of her car.

            'It's time I got moving anyway.' It wasn't until Sakura stood up that she realised that a few things amiss. 'What's happened to the car? She ran towards the road that was now nothing more that a dirt track. 'Where's the fence, and the road for that matter? What the hell's going on here?' She looked about her noticing that although the landscape was more or less the same, the landmarks had all changed.

            The trees not only differed in height and location, but also in species, and there were many more of them.

            'Stay calm,' she told herself. 'I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation.' But when Sakura turned towards her bags she was dumb struck.

            The golden statue wasn't there. The piece of field enveloped her, there was no distant rumbling of traffic, no power-lines, planes, anything! Sakura's mind went blank; she couldn't even begin to fathom the possibilities of what might have befallen her.

            She became aware of a growing rumble. The ground beneath her began to vibrate before any sound reached her ears. In the distance she spied eight men on horseback, racing down across the open field towards her. She snapped out of her daze and pulled a cap from her bag to cover the mark on her forehead.

            The men drew their horses to a halt 10 feet away from her and were all, rather curiously, dressed in authentic suits of armour.

            'Hey there, what's happening?' She waved in greeting as she walked casually towards them. Her greeting was not met with any reaction from the greeting.

            'By the Goddess,' one of the knights exclaimed with playful delight. 'It be a woman.'

            Sakura took a few steps back as they appeared a rather ominous bunch: unshaven and unwashed, their armour tainted with blood.

            'What do you say, Majesty?' One of the younger men commented to the dark-haired man beside him. 'She would be a feisty challenge and I could use the exercise.' His request was met with much encouragement from his companions.

            Sakura didn't like his tone of voice, yet the word 'majesty' played on her mind. She turned to the one the young man who had addressed him; he had a twinkle of navy blue in his mysterious eyes. He sat quietly observing Sakura's attire with a very curious expression, before placing a hand on the young man's shoulder to advise him.

            'This woman does employ a tongue and dress the like of none we had seen before. Caution Eriol, a witch be said to haunt this place.'

            'What!' Tory exclaimed.

            'I am not afraid,' Eriol said.' If she be a witch, I shall have her head.'

            The dark-haired man looked at Sakura and, with some encouragement from the rest of the men, smiled to give Eriol his consent.

            The hair on the back of Sakura's neck stood on end. She stepped away as Eriol dismounted. These guys are serious… 'Now hold on,' Sakura cried out. 'Could I speak to the man in charge for a moment?' She made her way towards them hoping to appease the situation.

            'I would start running if I were you.' Eriol moved to intercept her.

            'Eriol, one moment,' the dark-haired man said gravely. This woman bore a resemblance to his deceased mother, so he allowed her to voice her protest.

            Sakura nodded politely, grateful for the chance to reason with him.

            'Why may I ask, do you think I am a witch?'

            Eriol began to answer but his superior held a hand and replied, 'If you are not a witch, then why do you appear so uncouth?'

            'Uncouth!' she repeated. 'You all appear very strange to my eyes, I assure you. Does this mean that I deserve to die, with no proof, no means to defend myself?' Tory realised she was being a little over dramatic, but she had him thinking. 'Be this your concept of justice?'

            Eriol went for his sword. 'Who are you to question a Prince of the Li Kingdom? I shall slice your head from your shoulders for suck insolence.'

            The Prince waved him to silence, but with a smile this time.

'Eriol, I do believe I see her point.' He paused to consider her words. 'What do you suggest I do, give you a weapon to slay one of my own men? This would seem rather absurd, would it not?' With this his men broke into laughter.

            Sakura held her tongue until they had finished. They'll all be laughing on the other side of their faces by the time I'm finished with them.

            'May I suggest a solution that I consider to be fair?'

            'Please,' The Prince implored her, rather intrigued by her manner.

            'If your friend here removes his sword and protective armour, I would like to fight him for safe passage.'  Sakura chose her words carefully. 'If you are agreeable, I would consider that a good show.'

            Again the Prince and his knights, including the young Eriol, fell about laughing. The Prince had to question this further. 'Am I to understand, that you wish to fight Eriol with your bare hands?'

            Sakura was not fazed and pretended to ignore their mocking good cheer.

            'Why?' She asked, giving Eriol a glare, 'do you not think him up to it?'

            With this the Prince and his knights were beside themselves; however Eriol's humour was dwindling. The Prince wiped a tear from his check as he caught his breath.

            'I think it be only fair to warn you that Eriol be my champion, he has never been defeated in game or battle.'

            This announcement made Eriol even smugger, and he stripped his armour to reveal a sweaty muscular body. His long navy blue hair, shining handsomely against the sunlight. He reminded Sakura of her brother, as their eyes were the same piercing twinkling blue. He was no taller than her but looked to be twice her body weight in muscle alone. All the better, she concluded. It will slow him down.

            'I am not worried,' Sakura assured them.

            'I can see that.' The Prince looked down at her shaking his head. 'Still, I fear Eriol will snap your tiny frame like a twig.'

            Sakura found this comment rather charming and smiled as she reminded him, 'Only a moment ago you gave Eriol leave to violate me in whatever way he saw fit. Be there a difference?'

            The Prince acknowledged this to be true, realising that he may have been a bit rash.

            'She shall bewitch you, Majesty. Speak to her no longer.' Eriol stepped forward to draw the Prince's attention away from Sakura. 'I am more than happy to rip her limb from limb with my bare hands.'

            The Prince was now rather reluctant to give him leave, but his men would indeed think him bewitched if he did not.

            'So be it.'

            'Safe passage, remember.' Sakura received a nod of confirmation from the Prince before she backed up to prepare herself. She took off her jacket and wrapped her hair quickly into a bun to prevent it from being pulled.

            Where on earth am I? Sakura found some tape in her bag and bound her hands as she did for competition, managing the task within minutes. She decided she must find out who this prince claimed to be; if there was one thing she knew thoroughly it was Chinese history.

            She walked to about five feet away from Eriol, and after rolling up her sleeves, turned her cap around backwards so that she could see clearly.

            'So, might I ask your name before I meet my fate?' Sakura said to the Prince.

            'No Majesty. Do not answer.' Eriol intervened his fiery eyes fixed on Sakura.

            'I must also insist,' the eldest knight added.

            The Prince was obliged to heed the advice of his men. 'Afterwards perhaps.'

            'There will be no afterwards,' Eriol assured him.

            Sakura pretended to be indifferent. 'Alright then, if that be the way of it.' She resumed her dry, confident tone of voice. 'I will just have to beat it out of your boy here.'

            Sakura purposely turned her back on her opponent walking slowly and confidently towards where the golden statue supposedly have been last night. She could feel Eriol's rage build to breaking point when she called him boy, as this was obviously something he worked hard to disprove.

            Seconds later, Eriol came charging at her from behind. She stopped to time the impending impact and turned her body slightly to take the great weight of his body over her right shoulder.

            He was mumbling something to the effect of, 'I will teach you some respect…' before he'd even realise he was airborne.

            Sakura brought him crashing to the ground on his back. She went down on one knee and buried an elbow deep into his solar plexus before darting backwards into safe distance.

            It was clear that Eriol had no idea what had happened. The other knights, who were laughing at Eriol's misfortune, began teasing him from the mounts.

            'Good show!' the Prince commented to Sakura in encouragement, surprised that she was not dead already.

            It didn't take Eriol long to recover. He got back to his feet and was seething with humiliation. 'I shall rip your heart out and slice you while your body be still warm,' he taunted, stalking her.

            Sakura kept her humour. Eriol seemed more and more like her brother who had made worse threats over the years to frighten her into retreat.

            'In your dreams, maybe, still I do not think so somehow,' Sakura replied. Eriol lunged forward to grab her neck but she pulled his arms to either side of her, kneeing his stomach. This sent him stumbling backwards, and before he'd had a chance to recover, Sakura spun a full 360 degrees to finish him off with a kick to the side of his head. She looked back to the Prince, who appeared rather wonder struck.

            'Champion indeed,' she said. 'What do you think, three points and I win?'

            The Prince merely motioned behind her. Sakura turned to find Eriol on his feet, blood oozing from the side of his face where her steel-capped boot had hit. With no time for her to fend off the blow, he punched her in exactly the same place, putting the full force of his body behind it. As she hit the ground, it felt as if he had shattered her cheek bone. There is no pain, she told herself as she saw Eriol approaching to finish her off.

            'My dreams are filled with better than the likes of you,' Eriol spat in disgust, bending down to pull her to her feet.

            Sakura instinctively went into a tuck position. She grabbed hold of Eriol's arms as he leant down, and used her feet to propel him over her and onto his back. She flipped herself onto her stomach, taking hold of Eriol round the front of the neck to temporarily paralyse him be applying pressure to the vital points located there. She maintained a firm hold, pointing to the Prince with her free hand.

            'Very soon he will be dead. Do you yield to spare this boy's life?'

            Eriol tried to shake loose of her grasp, his face red from the strain.

            'I yield and pronounce you victorious this day,' the Prince told her.

            'Any your name?' Sakura asked, as Eriol began to squirm harder.

            The eldest of the advisers whispered quietly to the Prince, 'Majesty, I beseech you…'

            'I swear I will kill him,' Sakura yelled impatiently.

            Little did she know that the life she held in her hand belonged not only to the Prince's Champion and best friend, but to his cousin who was a duke no less. The Prince was not about to let him die.

            'I am Syaoran, son of King Maswallon of the Li Kingdom,' he shouted. (a/n: I'm really sorry, but I have no idea what to call Syaoran's father) 'And if you would kindly release my knight, I will be greatly indebted to you.'

            Sakura let Eriol go; it would take him at least a few minutes to recover. She got to her feet, her mind in motion. Maswallon, a Chinese King, she recalled. Now I remember! The golden statue was of him when he died! No wonder it's not there now! He's not dead yet! Then Sakura looked at Syaoran. Sakura guessed him to be around the same age as herself. Now then, when was he supposed to have been born? Around the late fifth century if memory serves.

            'So what year be this?' she asked. 'Around five twenty?'

            The Prince, though surprised by the question answered. 'Five nineteen, to be exact.'

            Sakura held her face where Eriol had hit her. Syaoran, Syaoran? Damn, what did they call him? A cold chill ran down her spine as it dawned on her. 'Prince Syaoran, Dragon of the Isle. I believe our meeting may been intended.' Sakura removed her cap to reveal the Dragon on her forehead.

            Upon seeing the mark there was a rumbling of discontent among the knights. The Prince, appearing a mite stunned himself, raised the shield from the side of his horse and turned it to face Sakura; it bore the same Dragon.

            Sakura squealed with amazement. 'Do you know who put it there?' she asked.

            'No, who?' the Prince mistook her meaning.

            'Well, I am afraid I don't know,' she explained mildly disappointed. Sakura stopped mid-thought, feeling the cold steel of a sword at her throat; she could only assume Eriol had recovered.

            'No common woman possesses such skill, you are indeed a witch.'

            'I agree,' a heavy set, red-headed knight spoke up, 'Do it, Eriol.'

            'This does not say much of your word,' Sakura squeezed out, looking to Syaoran. She dared not move to save cutting her own throat.

            'Eriol, withdraw your sword,' Syaoran ordered.

            'But Majesty, has she caused you to take leave of your senses. Did you not see?'

            'Eriol!' Syaoran's voice thundered, shocking Eriol to silence. 'I order you to yield!'

            Sakura was beginning to see why they called Syaoran the Dragon. Eriol reluctantly slid the sword away, making sure he nicked her neck in the process. She touched her throat to discover he'd drawn blood.

            'You did that on purpose,' she accused him, angered by the scar it would leave.

            'Yeah.' He glared at her a moment, his wild blue eyes ablaze with hate and fear. He replaced his sword in its scabbard and moved to retrieve his armour.

            'Majesty,' the eldest knight pointed behind them, where a single rider made hast towards the group.

            'Now what?' Sakura grumbled, nursing her wound.

            'Cadogan,' the red-headed knight announced with good cheer, riding off to meet him halfway.

            As the party seemed more interest in their comrade, Sakura backed up quietly to collect her gear. Fairly confident that she knew where she was, she'd definitely decided that she wanted to be elsewhere. Why me? Sakura slipped on her jacket and zipped it all the way up. Because you always wanted to come here. She hoisted on her backpack, looking over at the knights to see that the horseman had reached them,

            A few torrid words passed between Cadogan and the others, before the Prince ordered them all to move on at once.

            Something has got them worried. What would these men fear? Sakura watched as the knights rode off ahead of the Prince who turned and rode towards her direction, his expression grave.

            Eriol, who had taken off after the others pulled up when he notice. 'No Majesty, please. She will only slow you down.'

            'I promised safe passage. I cannot leave her to die. Go with the others, I will catch up by nightfall.' Syaoran was angry at his knight's incessant disrespect. He had his reasons for wanting to spare this girl and his decision would be question by none bar his father. 'Go!' He stressed the urgency.

            The thundering sound of horses' hooves and wagons, perhaps hundred of them, rose to a deafening roar as they approached from the hill behind them. Eriol had to move now, or he would never make it round the ridge unseen.

            'Melikons,' Sakura whispered, knowing them to be one of the more barbaric tribes of the time.

            'Climb on,' the Prince said. 'I shall take us around the other way, through the forest.'

            Sakura backed away; he was an important historical figure and she would not be responsible for getting him killed. 'No way! You will never outrun them with me…'

            'Do not argue with me woman, get on,' the Prince snapped, short on patience and time.

            The Melikon tribe emerged over the crest of the hill and a few of the riders bolted on ahead in pursuit of the Prince's party.

            'They must have spotted Eriol.' Sakura took hold of the Prince's arm and with one almighty heave Syaoran lifted her, bags and all, onto the saddle behind him.

            'Hold on,' he cautioned as he turned the horse around and headed off down the ridge towards the forest

a/n: This is probably the longest chapter I ever written! I hoped you enjoyed it. Thank you to all those people who reviewed me.

Please tell me what you think. I'll try to update soon. ^_^

~DaNcInGFiRe