Hey Readers!
Again, I thank you for clicking into my story. Remember, this is PG13...well, it mostly is in later chapters...but for now..it's not.
Tears Come
Chapter Two: From My Eyes
She felt the trees racing beside her as she ran. There was a cool breeze as she swept by each blade of the tall grass that went up to her knees. She could see the patches of moonlit flowers disappearing behind her as if they were blown away by her speed.
Sakura glanced at the starry sky, bordered by the leaves of the trees, to see if anything was following her. She had already climbed four of the five walls of the castle and she heard nothing. Kero was the only living being she saw in the sky.
Finally reaching the final wall of the castle, Sakura swiftly climbed. As her hand touched the ledge, she felt something that would not usually be upon the wall. Her slender hand was placed upon a foot. She lifted her head as her eyes gradually widened. There, standing, was Yue.
His majestic wings were spread out against the sky, creating hushed whispers. His face was coincidentally aligned with the crescent moon. The luster that surrounded him was of pure silver. His translucent hair delicately waved with the unsteady wind. His radiating light outshined the moon above him. He was practically the moon himself.
Even with a mask, Yue's eyes pierced through hers. Sakura could feel the cold stare he was giving her, and it felt...terribly frosty just then.
"Leaving so soon?"
Yue's feathers fluttered every so often from the warm wind. His ice-blue eyes told others that he was serious and closed. His mouth did not open for just any stranger.
Sakura was speechless. She cursed in her mind. How could she have forgotten Yue? Her mouth, wide open, came out with nothing but broken words.
Yue was patient. But it was running thin. His eyes became even smaller than before.
"Speak your mind, Sakura, and no stuttering." His face was tilted, ever so slightly, and his long arms were crossed as he leaned on one leg. His wings, now folding, and his straight mouth were still intimidating for Sakura.
Tears were coming to her eyes, knowing that her efforts to rescue her people failed. Yue had caught her red-handed of leaving the castle. Still holding on to the ledge she let go, but was suddenly...
Floating.
Her feet, never touching the ground, were unexpectedly dangling in the air.
She looked down, then looked up. Yue was pulling her up to the ledge as he let out an exasperated sigh. Kero smiled at this act of compassion and sat upon Sakura's head. Yue looked to the side, avoiding Sakura's direction, knowing that this was not the right thing to do.
Sakura's tears were suddenly brushed away. She then centered Kero in a comfortable position, for her hair was quite untidy from all the running. She looked back up at Yue as he faced forward.
With a simple step, Yue was on the dirt outside of the castle grounds. Sakura was shocked.
Wasn't he just up here? How did he get down there so fast?!...I need to learn how to do that.
He then walked away into the woods as if disappearing into thin air. Sakura formed a disappointed face, thinking that Yue would at least wait for her. Kero had a similar face plastered on. Then a grin appeared.
"Let's go, Sakura, before Yue finds the campsite before us." Kero patted her head, waking from her from her disappointment.
But the truth was that he knew Yue would never leave any of them behind.
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It was finally daybreak. All the men had easily woken up. They did not have a good night's sleep. Rubbing their backs and eyes from hurt, the soldiers whined with complaint. Sleeping on nothing but hard ground and rocks was not exactly appealing to the eye.
Syaoran was obviously strained from lying so still, but he did not complain. He had been sleeping like this for the past four years. Oh, yes, he remembered those first few weeks of training. It was horrible. But war just seemingly grew on him. It was normal for him to have pain everyday, every morning.
Immediately, he ordered the other men to shut up and to gather firewood for breakfast. They needed food because he knew that it was going to be a long day.
He and a few other men went hunting for any type of animal. Be it rat, rabbit, or bird, they were all going to eat it. Luckily, Syaoran and his men spotted a plump rabbit flouncing around a few flowers. He expertly drew back his bow and arrow with a steady eye, and pierced the hare in the gut. It was not a sight to see for those who were weak in the stomach.
They headed back toward their small campsite, which consisted of seven men, and skinned the rabbit. Another soldier, Watashi, reluctantly volunteered to amputate and to cut the animal into pieces, for Syaoran needed them to learn how to survive in a war. Watashi closed his eyes so that none of the blood could spurt into them. All the other men watched with remorse as he fixed the gleaming knife upon the rabbit's neck.
"HEY! Look at yourself! You're going to cut your own finger off! Don't close your eyes, you fool!"
Watashi opened his dry eyes in fear as he gaped at the knife pointing toward his thumb. He quietly thanked Li-san for notifying him of the situation.
Amputating the hare with a back and forth motion felt as if and hour had passed. Watashi's companions watched with horror as they noticed the blood trickling over his hand.
Syaoran was never too comfortable with the sight of something dead. But he forced himself to watch people die, the people he killed. They were supposedly his enemy. But it sure did not feel that way. He did not feel triumphant of killing his enemy. He felt ashamed.
"Li-san, we're done cooking."
Syaoran gladly took the grilled meat. He glanced at the rest of his troop and their faces. Disgusted and regretful looks were smeared on. They obviously felt uneasy about eating something so innocent.
He scoffed at their foolishness. If they did not eat, then they would not survive of what was ahead of them.
"Let's go." Syaoran was done eating, and immediately stood up.
The soldiers looked at him with shock. They had not even taken more than two or three bites!
"Wait! We're not done! And where are we going?"
Shirt unbuttoned and hands in pockets, Syaoran shifted his head back and stared at them without any sympathy.
"We're leaving for training camp. We're going to be staying with them, hopefully, for the remainder of the war. And eat while you walk, if you're not done."
Lazily, Syaoran walked ahead of them at a slow pace. The other men groaned as they stood up and followed Syaoran with wobbly steps.
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After what seemed like a week, the soldiers ran to the camp as soon as they saw the torches. Actually, they had walked for only fourteen hours. Syaoran stopped as they stumbled pass him. He gazed at the velvet sky with the faded moon in the east and then to the setting sun in the west.
But wait. He saw something unusually large flying over by the dark sky in the east. Syaoran fixed his gaze on the moon. He was sure he had seen a figure.
Syaoran shrugged his shoulders and consoled himself that he was just seeing things. He was most likely weary from the long walk.
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Sakura was struggling.
Every step she took was painful. It felt as if a hundred pound weight was on each leg!
She could ask Kero or Yue to carry her, but she was not a princess anymore. She was commoner now!
...A commoner with two guardians and a mask.
Oh, yes, the ideal commoner. Sakura glanced at Yue then at Kero with a sour face. She wished that they would not follow her. But that was a mistake. What if she lost her way to the camp? What if something attacked her? What if she did not survive? All these "what if's" popped into her head.
A sigh escaped her lips. Kero studied her with a concerned face. Her back was slouched, her arms were hanging from her shoulders, and her legs were dragging along the ground, creating small dust storms around her feet.
Kero's examination was cut short.
"We're here." Yue pointed at the small fires that were at least two hundred feet away.
Sakura squealed with delight and jogged toward the campsite. She was finally living her dream.
At the edge of the forest of the triangular tents, Sakura placed her hands on her knees, Sakura panted as she tried to regain her breath. After about five minutes of breathing deeply, she waltzed in with a dignified strut.
The chattering ceased, their eyes were fixed on her, and anything that was held in their hands was suddenly on the dusty ground.
Sakura was in a mid-step as she halted. In the center of the camp, she felt fidgety and insecure with the men's stares. Her guardians were eyeing each man with a suspecting look. Every person was frozen.
Then one man advanced towards her. Sakura was intimidated by this man who was almost a head taller than her. She glanced around her, looking for a deliverance. But no one stirred, not even Yue or Kero. They just inspected the man that was walking toward Sakura.
What is he doing? Why don't they go back to their own business? They're staring at me if I was some sort of monster. Hoe...everything is so quiet...and smelly.
The man stopped seven feet before her.
Sakura studied him as he studied her. She could not see his face. It was obscured by his disheveled hair - most likely from being in the war for too long. His posture had a dignified strut, but his clothes countered that pride. Oh, his clothes. Where could she begin? She first noticed his unbuttoned shirt. Was he trying to prove something? She was glad that she had a mask to conceal her face for a red tint had appeared on her cheeks. The man's slacks loosely hung at his waist with mud caked at the ankles. She was fearful of him losing his balance for his formerly black boots were untied.
As her gaze ended at his feet, it quickly shifted back from where she started - his face. The stare he gave her never faltered. It was directly targeted on her.
"May I help you," then with a dark look and a bow, the mysterious man added mockingly, "Princess?"
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Ooh! A cliffhanger! Yay! So who is this mysterious guy??? Nudge nudge...Anyways, is this going too slow? Too fast? Too short? And I'd like to thank PoisonMoon, kit, black witch from the underworld (very cool name), The Strawberryish One, Elven Scribe, and Rebellious-Cherry (I would love to read your summary).
-AnonymousT