Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! I didn't think I would write it this soon, but I figure I should just load it, so here you go! I hope you like it, and please review.
Days had passed so quickly after the visit of Prince Keiichi. Sakura thought she would see him soon, but as the many hours went on, she grew discouraged. She knew she shouldn't worry about it, since she doesn't truly want to be with him, yet the fact of him not coming back surprised and hurt her. She thought that he would be back the next day, white carriage and all. It was weird that he didn't come back to her, because of what had happened when they met. Is there something wrong with her, or something he did not like? The reason remains shadowed by her doubt.
Maybe the meeting was too good to be true, or maybe he was just too good to be true. I don't know… Maybe after turning away so many suitors who obviously worshiped me, maybe I'm just mad that this one didn't come back. What I don't get is why do I feel so mad even though I don't want to get married with a suitor.
She didn't know what to do or think. Does Keiichi have feelings for her or not? Is it all in her head? Yet she wasn't sure if she cared for him at all. When she's with him it feels as if she is on air, but when she's away from him, she feels like the same Sakura she had always been, sad and lonely. She goes under some sort of love enchantment when he's around. He becomes the mean to every end and the main subject on her mind. She becomes his love slave in a sort.
Sakura felt trapped in her worries that she didn't realize her father had been calling her name until he rushed in her room. Startled, she fell from the end of her bed, landing on the floor, hard. It hurt, but not has much as the bells ringing in her head from hitting it off the wooden bed frame.
"Are you all right, Sakura?" her father said, and quickly moved to her side. "I'm sorry to surprise you like that."
"I'm okay," she said, and wobbled to her feet. She felt dizzy, which made it hard for her to stand. "I just hit my head, that's all." Once the dizziness went away, she was able to stand without the aide of the bed post. She rubbed the back of her head until the ache slowly dwindled away.
"So, what did you want," Sakura asked, feeling a little better.
"You're going to love this," he said. A smile grew across his face and a glimmer of happiness settled in his eyes. "I have a surprise for you," he said, and cleared his throat to signal someone come into her room. She did not know who the person was until the light got brighter. It was Keiichi!
Her cheeks turned a rosy red and her heart started to pound. She became a lovesick puppy again as if by a snap of a finger. He looked so good dressed in a black suit and a large pearly white smile. She tried to picture how is body looked underneath it, but even the though of it made her quiver in her shoes.
"Hi, Sakura," Keiichi said smoothly. His voice sounded like a soft flowing stream, it was very pleasing to the ears. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to you sooner. My mother wanted to show me around the country. I missed seeing you, so I made her end the tour short."
"It's okay. I've been doing things to keep myself busy," she replied, smiling like a school girl. "I missed you, too."
And with that, her father left the room, hoping for love to spark between Sakura and Keiichi. Something was definitely between them, though. Just not love, not yet at least.
He walked closer to her, not taking his eyes off of her. He took in all of her beauty and the sweet smell of her perfume. "I'm glad you let me see you again," he said softly. "I would've been hurt if I didn't get to see you."
Her eyes lazily looked over him. Everything on her body became relaxed and filled with warmth. It made her want to fall in his arms and stay there forever, but she kept her cool so he wouldn't think she was desperate to have him.
"Well, thank you for coming back to see me," she said, and smiled. "I enjoy your company very much."
"You make me smile, Sakura. I love that about you," he said, and placed a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I've never been this happy before."
She smiled and blushed even more. He was close enough to her that she could smell his cologne. It made her go crazy. He smelled and looked so good, it was hard to control herself. She couldn't understand how one minute ago she was down in the dumps and now the next she is practically ready and willing to jump all over him. She felt embarrassed, too, since she thought she was the only one who felt like that. He barely showed any signs of him wanting her.
He must of felt her dwindling happiness, since he put his hand out for her to hold it. "Come with me. I want to take a walk with you."
She looked out her window and then said, "But it's dark. We won't be able to see."
He laughed and then pulled her along with him out the door. "Don't worry, Sakura. I'll take care of you." He stopped and then turned to look at her. His eyes were bold and serious. "Besides, there's nothing in the forest that will hurt you."
A cold shiver crept over her body. She was a little frightened, but she thought nothing of it, since he would protect her. She trusts him, maybe not fully, but enough to let him take her places. She nodded in assurance and they trailed out of the castle, hiding from the guards so they wouldn't come along with them.
They followed a path that wrapped along the castle, which was surrounded by trees and lakes. In the day it was beautiful, but in the night it became mysterious and scary. The sounds of the birds and movement in the brush didn't help with the surroundings either. Yet, Sakura felt safe with Keiichi. He, being a Prince, was trained with the army, so he must know how to defend him and her if attacked. However not all fights are equal. She feared that they would be matched against more than what they, really meaning he, could take.
She tightly gripped on his arm whenever a sound made her frightened. He would smile, and whisper, "It's ok, I'm here." That made her settle a little, but not enough to make her heart from pounding at maximum speed.
"Sakura, I really like you," Keiichi said, and suddenly stopped. "It may be too soon, but I think I love you. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable by saying that."
She turned to him, not believing what she had just heard. Never in a million years did she think a guy would ever say that he loved her. It's not something that's not just said randomly. It's much more than that. Definitely not something you joke about.
Words were jumbled in her mouth, she didn't know what to say. So she just stood there, looking at his eyes. He looked serious, as if he actually did mean that he loved her.
Is it customary to say 'I love you' back? But what if a person doesn't know yet? I'm so confused. My head is so airy that I could barely think when I'm around me. He clears my head of my thoughts and I only think of him. It's weird, since this has never happened before. Usually I have a clear head about things like guys, but now I could barely think of anything besides him. Could this be love or something else?
He smiled and said, "I'm sorry to just go off and say that. I should be ashamed of myself letting everything out like that. Again, I'm terribly sorry."
She shook her head and smiled. "Don't be sorry. It was very nice of you to say how you feel. I'm just confused right now, so I don't know what to say to you."
"It's okay," he said, and placed his hands on her shoulders. He began to pull her in as if to kiss her.
No matter how scared she was being in the forest, she let her eyes close and allowed him to kiss her. But suddenly large noises ruffled in the forest. The noises sounded so close, as if right behind her. Before she got to open her eyes to see what was going on, something red wrapped around her head, not allowing her to scream or see. Keiichi tried to grab a hold of her, but arms pulled him away.
Sakura tried to run away for help, but before she could move an inch, she was pulled down by two people. One of them held her down and the other tied her arms behind her back and her feet together. She lay on the ground, unable to move and not being able to help Keiichi.
"Leave us alone," Keiichi shouted. "Let Sakura go!"
Laughs began to sound as the figures began to circle Keiichi. He continued to tell the guys to let her go, but they wouldn't. After a few minutes of shouting, the sound of a body falling echoed throughout the forest. At that moment, Sakura knew it was Keiichi. Her heart broke into a million pieces knowing that the guys she could have loved had been killed by unknown people.
Before she could even start to cry, a pair of arms lifted her into the air and placed her on a shoulder. She was so scared that she could barely breathe. The fright was so powerful that oxygen wasn't able to flow through her body, so she was knocked unconscious, becoming venerable.
--
Sakura must've been knocked out for quite a while, since when she woke up, it was day. That's when she realized she was no longer blindfolded. She quickly sat up, her head feeling as if it weighed a ton. It ached, but she didn't let it distract her. She looked around her.
Men in army fatigue surrounded her and a put-out fire. She was confused for a moment, not knowing where she was and how she got there. She blinked a few times, letting herself wake up a bit more.
As her eyes opened and the sunlight brought her into consciousness, she remembered what had happened. She became terrified. She knew that Keiichi had been killed and these men had kidnapped her for some reason unknown to her. She wanted to scream, but it would wake the men up from their sleep. She knew she had to get out of there and go home, but she was unsure on how far away she was. Yet she'd rather be lost then be killed by the men.
She stood up and slowly crept around the sleeping bodies. Just when she thought she made the clear, a hand reached up and grasped her leg before she could run. She fell to the dirty ground. Her knees busted open and dirt fell into her mouth. That was when she started to cry out in pain. She didn't care if she woke them up or not.
The guy that had tripped her sat up and said, "Stop your crying. Don't be such a baby."
She sat up and wiped her knees with a piece of her shirt. Blood oozed out her cuts and dripped down her leg. It hurt her so bad, plus the pictures of a dead Keiichi made her cry even more. She didn't care what happened to her anymore. All the pain rushed out of her, and she realized that she did love Keiichi. She hated herself for not telling him when it mattered the most.
"I don't care what you do to me you jerk," she said, as the tears rolled down her face. "You hurt me already. What's a little more pain?"
He narrowed his eyebrows. "I don't want to hurt you, lady. But if you keep crying, you're going to wake up the others, and then maybe they'll hurt you."
She started to sniffle as she wiped her eyes. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"
He simply placed a finger over his mouth and grinned slyly. "It's a secret."
--
To be continued….
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I'm sorry if it seems to go fast, but I promise it will all catch up with each other!