BLEEDING ANGEL
AN: I do not own Card Captor Sakura
Chapter 4
The sound of sliding doors ruptured through my mind and two booted feet came to a halt in front of me. "Don't mope about, it goes against your nature." My eyes moved up the black boots to toned legs covered in blue pants, to a white shirt. I frowned at the shirt. It was the same style as Meiling's, but white and much longer. Patterns of light blue flowers and leaves curled up her curves onto the smooth white cloth and slits ran up her sides ending just above the rim of her pants. A heavy black belt hung around her slim waist with a knife dangling from it.
Her face wasn't sweaty anymore, but clean and fresh. Her lips, lush and pink, and her cheeks still held their rosy glow after her warm shower. Her hair wasn't as wild anymore and it took me a second to realise that her fringe had been trimmed and at least half of the rest of her hair's former length was missing. It was bound in a messy braid ending between her shoulder blades. The God of earth was indeed teasing me endlessly.
"Dinner is ready." She turned on her heal and I followed her through the narrow corridors to the mess room. I found myself drawn to the way she walked: Proud, confident and elegant. My eyes drifted to her swaying braid and I imagined the soft feel of her wet hair running between my fingers. The odd smell of mint and something sweet lifted of her body to tease my senses and I gave into its invisible fingers brushing against my skin.
The door slid open before us and I felt all eyes falling on us. The crew consisting of two women and one man stared at us. The girl and I ignored them and took our seats in the corner of the room. She kept her gaze on her food, occasionally lifting it to her glass before she took it up to drink. "So where are we heading?"
"Pretoria."
"The planet where you can hire a murderer from every household."
"Hmm…" I chewed the green leaves with a slight disgust in me.
"You never liked salad, why do you eat it?"
"I'm hungry."
"You probably haven't had a proper meal in some time."
"Hmm." I dug into my steak.
"Typical. You need to find yourself a wife." I raise my eyebrow at the girl and she shrugged at me. "Then again. I'll pray for her."
"Why?"
"You're not exactly 'loving', it seems I'm the only one immune to your cold manner."
"Fine, you look after me then." I held back a laugh when she nearly choked on her drink. She glared at me with suspicion.
"Are you serious?" My eyes drifted to the curious faces watching out conversation. People are so noisy.
"Hoekom nie?" (Why not?) I swallowed another bite. "Ek kyk na jou en jy kyk na my, ons altwee wen." (I look after you and you look after me, we both win.)
"Ek kan na myself kyk." (I can look after myself.)
"Uh-hu. Gaan jy dit eet?" (Uh-hu. Are you going to eat that?) She sighed and put half of her steak onto my plate. "Dankie." (Thanks.)
"Hmm." A french-fry disappeared into her mouth and I wondered how it would feel to have her lips against mine. "So wat gaan ons in Pretoria doen?" (So what are we going to do in Pretoria?)
"Ek is terug geroep. Blykbaar wil die koningin met my praat." (I was called back. Apparently the queen wants to talk to me.)
"What did you do this time?"
"You don't even want to know."
"Typical."
I sighed when I felt the ship dock on the smooth hard surface. My eyes drifted over the excited crew and the silent girl. Her arms rested on her knees and her long white shirt fell between her legs to the floor as she sat with her back against the wall. Her emeralds were filled with a reserved curiosity only I recognized. "Sakura, let's go."
I felt her presence next to me as I walked down the ramp towards the large palace looming in front of me. The guards opened the doors and bowed at me. We walked through the elaborate and elegantly decorated hallways. The pale light of the crystals reflected from the white smooth walls onto the lush dark green carpet running down the centre of the marble-like floor. Portraits of former rulers and their families gazed down at us and I could feel their scorn and hate towards me.
The girl's footsteps died behind me and I found her gazing up at the last portrait. I took her hand in my own and gently pulled her along. Her hand was small in mine and her skin soft. My thumb brushed over the silver metal ring she wore on her own thumb. She smiled slightly at me.
Another pair of large doors swung open and the guards bowed to me again as we stepped into the large room I remembered so well. Pure white walls reflected the sun's bright light filtering through the large windows. Colourful tapestries depicted scenes from historical events hung proudly between the large windows and elegant crystal chandeliers chimed slightly in the breeze. Two crystal thrones stood erect at the far end of the room with ten marble steps leading up to them. I smiled inwardly at myself. I remember the exact number of steps.
A proud and chic woman emerged from the back door. Her long black hair was tied back in a strong pony tail and a small crown rested on her head. Although in her fifties, her features would have one believe differently. She was dressed in a white and black gown. Her controlled gaze fell onto the girl next to me and I clutched her hand slightly tighter. My heart sank.
"Xiao-lang, what is the meaning of this?"
AN: Man, what a cliff hanger! I love it when a chapter ends like this. It makes me want to read more and in this case write more. Look at the positive side: at least you now know the name of the main character.
Once again some Afrikaans used. You'll be seeing a lot of it all over the story. I did it as a special request from my friends who share my language.
Thank you
Tella