Snow White

AN: I do not own Card Captor Sakura or Snow White

Chapter 2

Screams ran through the house, frightening off any thought of the pleasant event which had taken place only a few hours ago. I closed my eyes as I leaned with my back against the wall with my legs pulled up against me.

The girl sat on the chair next to me. Her eyes were anxious and darted from her father to her stepmother's room. My hand automatically gave her a little slap on the leg. "Stop biting your lip." I had known this all without opening my eyes. I sighed. I know her to well.

"Do you think she will be alright?"

"Yes, she has a strong spirit."

"What about the ba…" She barely had time to finish her sentence when the door swung open and two servant women carrying bloody towels and a basin with bloody water came out and walked past. My eyes rested on the young doctor as he came out. He wiped his hands on a towel shaking his head.

"I am so sorry duke, your son was still born." I heard the girl sob slightly at the news and I could tell the duke was devastated. He had dreamed of having a son of his own.

"And my wife?"

"She is in no danger, but she will never be able to bare any children again."

I bit my lip at the news. They had waited ten years for this day only to find that the child was dead within its mother and that she, Juliana, will never be able to bare another child. No man or woman deserves to burry a child.

"Papa…" The duke looked down at his daughter's pleading eyes and he touched her cheek tenderly. "I am so sorry papa."

"It's not your fault Tomoyo. God has a plan with us all." His hand drifted from her face and he disappeared around the corner with his daughter's distraught eyes following his every move.

Five days had passed since the birth of the child and the despair of the day still hung on the house. The duchess yelled at anyone who dared go near her room and the duke was caught in his own thoughts for most of the time. The girl had turned to wandering about.

I would follow her like I always do, but in this week we did not turn to the town, but rather the open fields on the edge of the woods. And every day she would walk a little closer to the woods. She paused every now and again and turned her attention to what ever caught her eye for the moment only to leave it at sight value and continued walking once more.

My own eyes followed the trees as we walked on the edge and more often than not my gaze turned deeper into the dark depths of the forest. "Tomoyo." She turned to look at me and I tried to give her an encouraging smile. "I do not feel comfortable so close to the edge."

"Oh." She turned her back on the forest to make her way back into the fields. My eyes drifted back to the darkness. I was right, something was following us. I watched it come closer and fear grasped my heart.

"RUN!" The girl dashed up the hill and the dark man jumped from the forest. I clenched my jaw as I looked into the dark eyes. Pain ripped through my body. He pulled the blade from my shoulder.

"SAKURA!"

"Stay there!" The man's dark eyes shifted from me to the girl and back to me. "You've messed with the wrong girl mister." My fist landed in his face and he stumbled back. A grin played on his face.

"Just give me your heart love, the duchess was hoping to eat some stew tonight."

I don't know how I have managed it, but I had struck the man to the ground. I suppose anger and disgust was what fuelled me. But the next thing I knew I was running through the forest with the girl's hand held secure in my own and my heart racing with every heavy beat.

She stumbled every now and again over roots and fallen branches and I would pull her up and urge her to run. We never stopped, not once until darkness fell upon us. She collapsed to the ground, unable to go on and I was too afraid to stop.

Wolves howled their haunting sound close by and panic filled me. I urged the girl onto my back and stumbled on. If the wolves do get us, please let them be quick. Another howl closer filled my blood and I stumbled forth. "Is that a house?" I looked up to the girl's pointing finger and sighed in relief.

"Close, a church." I struggled up the slight hill and pushed the door shut. Another loud howl sounded and my nervous eyes followed the shadow across the tainted glass. Please, don't let them get in. Please, I beg of You. Please do not let them get in.

I laid the girl down in a corner and secured her cloak around her, she mumble a few words in her sleep. Sighing I sank down to the floor with my back against the wall, my hand secure on my knife. If they do get in, I won't let them take us without a fight.

A slight whimper broke through my sleep. I stood erect. "Oh lord." My heart hammered in my chest as I looked at the grinning faces. One man held the girl, her arms pressed against her sides and warm tears staining her pretty face. "Let her go."

My voice was ruff and my throat sore. The men laughed at my demand and the one dangled my knife in front of his face. Ignoring his teasing I turned to the girl held by a young man. She sobbed slightly. "Let her go, you're hurting her."

My fingers had hardly touched her when my arms were forced against my sides and a shock of pain shot through my body. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes trying to ignore the pain. My heart raced when familiar lips traced the line of my neck. I swallowed hard.

"Damn pirates. Isn't it a little far from the sea?" The men roared with laughter and the one holding me had a rich, strong chuckle as his breath played against my skin.

"Hear that boys? We are damned pirates."

"Well, aren't you?"

"Hmm… Maybe." His grip on me tightened and I squeezed my eyes shut once more. "The fact of the matter is that you are now in out territory."

"Stop it! You're making it worse."

"She speaks!" I opened my eyes and watched Tomoyo struggle against her captor.

"Stop it! Can't you see she's wounded?" She pushed herself forward and the man tightened his grip on her. "Let her go!"

"Where are you wounded?" His voice trailed in my thoughts and I bit back disgust.

"None of your business."

"Let's make it my business." I groaned when my back hit the cold hard wall. His hands pressed hard against my shoulders and I screamed in pain. In the background I could hear Tomoyo's pleading voice. "The shoulder then."

"Bite me."

"STOP IT!" Tomoyo screamed at the man and he ignored her as he continued to strip off my top dress and shirt. My exposed skin flushed against the cold air. My legs gave in and I sank to the ground, the man following me down.

I felt myself being lifted into the air. My vision of the young man blurred as I watched his face. I heard him give a few orders to the men, his voice strong and calm. It seemed familiar to me some how. "Where are you taking me?" My body felt limp and weak and my will to fight had been reduced to smouldering ash, barely able to ignite a match.

My body came to rest on a makeshift bed and the distinct salty smell of the sea lifted from the blankets beneath me. My mind drifted with the sent allowing forgotten emotions to stir within me. The man's hands pushed my top dress and shirt away once more, his touch caring, gentle and precise.

"This is going to sting." I screamed when the cold liquid touched my skin and seeped into my wound. Strong gentle hands washed the blood from my skin with the strong smelling liquid. The smell mixed with the salty smell from both him and the blankets, jolting my memory of a forgotten past. "There's a brave girl."

"I don't think rum was intended for this kind of use." I hissed through my teeth. I could say anything and think anything, only to get my mind of the pain bubbling through my body. The mind makes no sense at times. "Especially the kind brewed in the Scottish barges."

"The girl knows her rum."

"It burns." I complained and I became aware of the warm tears stinging my face. Tomoyo's crying and questions faded into the distance when someone closed the door between the two rooms. I became painfully aware of dark eyes with a golden tinge washing over my face as the man whipped away my tears with the back of his hand.

"Here, take a sip." I gulped down the strong liquid he offered me. I watched him thread a needle in the candle light and I wanted to scream, but my limbs were too weak to protest and my mind became dull and slow from the alcohol. "There's a good girl. It will be over soon."

"I'm too old to be called a girl." I barely remembered the simple words as they rolled of my tongue.

"Aren't you? You look seventeen to me, love."

I snorted. "Twenty."

"Hmm…?"

"I'm twenty."

AN: Hey! Next chapter! Is it the same man from the party, or is it someone else? And why is he so concerned about Sakura? Why does the duchess want the girls dead? And what's Sakura's past got to do with it all?

Loads of questions that need answering in the upcoming chapters.

Thank you Rylee Smith and LinziiC for the reviews.

A big thank you to Wolf Jade and HeheAngel Kisses, thank you for joining Xiao-lang in his ordeal in Bleeding Angel and taking the time to read this one as well.

And to my friends thank you for sticking all my, sometimes great and sometimes lame, stories out with me. I hope you enjoy the last of your holiday.

Thank you

Tella

Randomness: This is a new thingy I'll be starting from the next chapter on. Random useless facts no one cares about will be given to you. Read it don't read it, it's up to you. For today my randomness is going to a friend who had supported me through thick and thin with all my stories. Please ready A Daughter's Tears by Kayapride. It's such a cute fic! It's at the Dragonball Z section. Thank you.