clover luck11, I'm sorry, but Sakura does not say "hoe" in this fic. Sorry for the long wait...I had to worry about exams, graduation, and then starting a new job. Here it is though!

Chapter 7

Sakura hid in the cargo hold knowing Syaoran would most certainly want to kill her for what he would see as betrayal. But then he understood very little of life after the Egg and how it would change. They would most certainly tail her, afraid she might spill necessary information, but then, as Eriol said, Syaoran was a bit paranoid.

She stretched her legs Knowing the ship would dock soon with her true destination. Sal was an idiot for using the same ship twice, for trying after Tomoyo, and for taking her brother. His essence practically screamed at her as she sat waiting.

The ship lurched as it docked, but Sakura didn't read that to know, she could feel Touya's anger in her very bones. And that man was mad, mad enough to kill anyone. She slipped silently by the empty boxes, noting the largeness of the hold. The other men had cleared the ship and the docking bay. Not that she couldn't slip passed them, but with them already gone, things flowed more easily.

There was no time to prepare anything to knock out the guards or create a distraction. She would have to rely on speed and secrecy to carry out this mission. Not the ideal situation. One thing though was good, Touya's anger was getting closer and growing.

"Get your bloody hands off me! I can walk just fine on my own!" The Prince's voice carried over the clang of metal. "Let go!" He jerked his arms up and shook off the others. "Where's that pompous bastard Sal? I want to talk to him!"

"You're going to, but I suggest you lose that attitude before you meet him or he might just cut out that pert tongue of yours."

Touya glared his own retort. "You'll regret this!"

One, two, five, six, only six guards surrounded him, but doubtless more waited around the corner. The again, a better chance probably wouldn't come around. She slipped silently from behind the ship trying to catch Touya's eye without attracting the attention of the guards. Unfortunately, he didn't take the hint.

She drew her sword and took a deep breath, timing was crucial. The first guard passed by her hiding spot rather stupidly not seeing her. Slowly all of them filed by, each as unobservant as the last.

Sensing the last one, Sakura thrust her sword out hitting the man's shoulder. "Damn it!" And the fight began.

Her odds didn't look too good at six to one but as more men entered the dock, those odds started to look even worse. "Your Highness!" He nodded and together they broke from the guards.

"Get them! Kill her!"

The men leveled their LOW riffles at Sakura and opened fire. All of her agility and speed came into play as she dodged the attacks and ran to the nearest ship. They'd almost reached their destination when a stray laser pierced Touya's ankle. He stumbled and then fell with guards clamoring to pull him back into custody.

Sakura ran back and hauled him up using her shoulder for leverage. "Come on Your Highness, we can't give up yet!" Together they hobbled the last twenty feet to the ship as only two more shots were fired.

But reaching the ship was only half their battle.

"Can you fly the ship?" Sakura asked while helping him into the pilot's chair.

"Well, I have some training, but—"

"Good, you rev the engines while I get those blast doors open."

"But I don't—"

"Prince Touya, please just do as I say." He nodded and Sakura took a deep breath. "I'm going to blow a hole in the wall, a very big one so we need those engines working now."

Outside the guards were busy locking down the dock to prevent their escape. It never crossed their minds that Sakura would pull out the missiles, or that she would aim them at the weakest part of the wall and fire. She blew a very large hole in the wall and at first nothing happened.

"Go!" Sakura shouted. "Go!"

The shot towards the hole, watching in horror as the guards burst before their eyes, exploding from the inside. And then they had left the ship making the rescue complete.

"Sorry about the rush, but I didn't know how diffusion would occur inside the ship. Apparently it just bothered the gas particles in the bodies." Sakura leaned back in her chair. "Now, we can wait."

Touya took his hands off the consoles. "Who are you? And how did you come to rescue me?"

"My name is Sakura and the whole story is rather complicated. I was traveling with Tomoyo and her—well guardians for the moment—Syaoran and Eriol. We were attacked by the same men who kidnapped you and I got on their ship after Syaoran defended ours. That's the simple explanation."

"If that's true, how did you know to come rescue me?"

Silence engulfed them.

"I live in the palace and have seen you many, many times although you have never seen me."

"How is that relavant? The same can be said for half the servants." She stared at him as if horrified by the interruption. "Why is it that your spirit is so familiar?" Are you the one they say who lives in the walls?"

"I am, and your powers have hit the mark again. My spirit should be very familiar to you, Brother."

"Brother? You must be mistaken!"

Sakura leaned over her knees and started breathing deeply in through the nose, out through the mouth, in out. "It is a long and forgotten tale, although many people tell it. The new princess, the seer, the prophecy, a mother's anger, and a father's distress, all that is known. But did the seer really leave the babe alone or did she take things into her own hands and perhaps switch two children? Perhaps she formed collusion with a new cook, and together it wouldn't have been difficult to find a time alone with the girl, to sneak in another who looked a lot like the princess, and take the Princess into hiding. But then, maybe not."

Touya stared at her, deep in those pale, pale green eyes of hers, his spirit reaching and gently meeting hers. "Oh sister, how could I have not known it at sight?"

She reached out and ran her hand across his cheek. "I'm just glad you know me now, dear brother."

Several hours later Eriol maneuvered the Angel to the ship slowly approaching them. "Well, do we attack or open lines of communication?"

Syaoran peered closer at the screen. "It looks like they ran out of fuel."

Another face popped up on the screen. "Hello? Could you please come and get us?" Prince Touya asked in a rather annoyed tone.

"Uh-uh, yea, Your Highness." Eriol stuttered.

"Touya? Oh Touya!" Tomoyo ran into the room. "Is she there? Is she safe?"

A frown crossed his face. "Sakura's fine; she's sleeping right now, but just fine."

Tomoyo let out all her worry in one gigantic breath. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The two ships connected through the cargo holds and together Sakura and Touya limped onto the other ship. Tomoyo ran to her brother sobbing happy tears before glomping Sakura in a similar embrace.

"Don't you ever do that to me again. Do you hear me Sakura? Don't you ever leave like that again!"

Sakura smiled weakly. "Well, I couldn't very well let Sal keep him, now could I? Please take care of that ankle quickly, Touya, before an infection sets in."

He nodded and shifted his weight to Tomoyo's shoulder, and they hobbled down to the common room. Syaoran noticed Sakura's exceptionally pale skin and bright green eyes. She breathed heavily, her facing losing more color and gaining sweat. By the second, the wounds in her leg and arm, the wounds she so diligently tried to hide from those around her, twinged painfully. Hoping Syaoran would leave soon, she tried to stand a little straighter, but ended up falling helplessly on him. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"I suppose you're not going to tell me how you knew Sal had the Prince."

She smiled. "It would take an awful lot of explaining."

"Doesn't everything?" Syaoran started to pull her up.

"Owwww!" Sakura clutched her arm. "That's the place to start I guess. Two laser shots hit me, one in the arm and the other in the leg."

Drawing a dagger, Syaoran moved to cut the sleeve of her shirt. "We'd best take care of those wounds then."

She stilled his hand. "Don't, I—I can do it later." Her lids dropped lazily over her eyes. "I just need some sleep…" Her voice trailed off.

Syaoran's eyes softened as she slept, curled up like a cat in his lap. Awake and moving, her face had a happy driven look as if she wanted to experience life so fully that it slowly sucked everything out of her. But in sleep, Sakura somehow managed to look older and younger at the same time, as if only in sleep could she truly relax. She glowed.

Gingerly he cut off the sleeve and looked at the wound. It looked as if she had no blood. As if the wound had not started clotting. But then the cloth felt stiff as if caked with the stuff. Syaoran sniffed the fabric and then the wound. It had the same sweet scent as the Blue Death. "Magic."

He finished wrapping the wounds and carefully lifted her, taking as much care as he would with a glass child. And Sakura played the part, curling cozily in his arms and her hand clutching needily at his shirt. As he laid her on the cot in Tomoyo's room a small whine escaped her and she clung more heavily to him. With a sigh, Syaoran unbuttoned his shirt and chuckled as she clutched it greedily to her face.

"Sleep well, little one."

"Stop Tomoyo." Touya took the bandages from her trembling hands. "I can do this better then you."

"I'm sorry, we don't have anything for the pain Your Highness." Eriol said. "But we'll be at Aisha soon and can get you some there."

"It's alright, I can barely feel the pain anyway." He smiled.

"Touya, I was wondering, how did Sakura know about your kidnapping? How does she always know?"

"You do know that she loves us like family and more? Well, remember that time you cut your hand?" Tomoyo nodded at his words. "Well, she took some of your blood and mixed it with her own and she did the same to me."

"It's a very old kind of magic." Eriol said without looking up from the controls. "She put the two of you inside her and so she can sense you to a very great degree. But I don't understand, it takes an awful lot of magic to do something like that."

"She's sleeping so please try to keep your voices down." Syaoran slumped down in an abandoned corner. Tomoyo and Touya chatted quietly, their voices low and soothing to Syaoran's troubled mind. Eriol hummed a repetitive ditty under his breath as he steered the ship closer to Aisha.

An hour later, Syaoran rose from the corner and walked to the door. "Someone should wake Sakura." He said and left.

She sat up as he entered the room. "So you know now." She touched the bandages. "Thank you."

He sat on the bed next to her and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't understand, that makes you the Princess."

Tomoyo ran through the doorway and knelt in front of the bed. "Finally, someone else knows; the truth has come out!" She cried excitedly.

"At my birth, the seer switched us; two babes that looked almost identical." Sakura sighed heavily. "It was a difficult decision to make, but one I put my full faith in. Tomoyo makes an excellent Princess."

Shaking her head, Tomoyo brushed off the compliment. "Maybe now you'll see reason, and we can put you in line for the throne."

"No." Sakura said to softly for anyone to hear.

Eriol leaned against the door frame. "You have to take your place in the royal family!" He bounced on the balls of his feet. "The people have a right to know the real Princess!"

"He's right Sakura." Syaoran took her hands in his. "The public doesn't like a dishonest government."

"Then don't put me on the throne!" Sakura cried yanking away her hands. "They have their Princess and a very good one at that! I can count those who know on two hands, and only one have I actually told. Besides, how would you prove it?"

"Your blood," Eriol stated bluntly.

"That proves nothing. So an old seer made a prediction. She could have been wrong and the blood born in a commoner. I will not replace Tomoyo; the people know and love her, not so with me. I'm just a rumor in the castle walls."

"Sakura," Tomoyo bowed her head to hide the tears.

"I'm sorry, but it's not the life for me anyway. I would make a very bad Princess."

Everyone stared at her, not expecting that answer, but somehow not surprised either. "Well, Eriol said at last. "We'll be landing soon and I should probably—yeah." He stepped out into the hall.

"If that's what you want Sakura, I'll accept it." Tomoyo gave a formal curtsey. "But you will always be my Princess." She also made an exit.

Syaoran remained seated next to her. "Putting you on the throne never would have worked anyway; the people love Tomoyo too much." He stood up to leave.

"As do I." Syaoran expected to see tears in Sakura's eyes, but only a sad smile graced her beautiful and cold face.

"Welcome to Aisha!" Eriol exclaimed gesturing around at the barren desert. "Ain't it a beauty?"

"Yeah," Touya said sarcastically.

The wind picked up, throwing sand in everyone's faces. "Why are we here?" Tomoyo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because legend says this is the resting place of the last Dragon Egg." Touya squinted against the sand. "What? I did my research."

Sakura ignored the conversation around her. Eyes closed, face turned towards the wind, she drowned out their words and voices listening only to her own.

Syaoran shook his head. "We really need to sit down and work through all the legends to figure out what we all know." He glanced at the people hurrying about their day. "But first we need to get our story straight. Tomoyo, you and Eriol just got married; same for Sakura and me. Touya is a business partner. We've all come here to take care of some trade and celebrate the weddings. Sakura herself is particularly interested in—"

"The Lost Tomb." Sakura opened her eyes. "The burial site of the Egg."

"Right, the Lost Tomb and we're humoring her. Got it?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, remember, we just got married!" Syaoran took Sakura's hand in his own and smiled. "Let's find a place to stay."

They walked down the dusty street as people avoided looking at the strangers. Sakura clung closely to Syaoran, her eyes downcast and arm throbbing. Tomoyo and Eriol didn't even touch, preferring to engage Touya in small talk about spices.

At the end of the street, Syaoran and Sakura found a small inn, so small it didn't even merit a name. "Well, I guess we can stay here for the evening."

Sakura nodded, strangely fearful.

Together the couple stepped through the door. "My companions and I require a place to stay for the evening." Sakura continued to stare at the floor and let Syaoran do all the talking.

The clerk looked up and scowled at Sakura and Syaoran's linked hands. "We're a bit full, but if you require a room for a short amount of time, there's a place down the road."

Eriol chose that moment to step through the door, just as the clerk was reaching for some paper. "Oh good, you made it Syaoran. Did you get rooms next to each other? My wife will simply be desolate without her dearest confidant!" He winked at the desk clerk. "You know how picky wives can be."

He gave Syaoran and Eriol a strange look, not even noticing Touya in the background. "I believe two connecting rooms upstairs are open." He fished around in the desk drawer. "They're up the stairs and at the end of the hall on the right." The keys clanged on the counter and the host mumbled to himself. "Damn newlyweds."

Syaoran took the keys and made for the stairs. Eriol tried valiantly not to laugh, but that wide and often times creepy smile of his never left his face. Upstairs in the hall, he lost the battle and burst into almost hysterical laughter. And then Tomoyo caught his giggling fit and the both collapsed, clutching each other helplessly.

"Come on you two, it really wasn't that funny." Syaoran rolled his eyes and unlocked the first room.

Sakura peered into it and then sighed. It wasn't much to look at, plain adobe walls, brown rug on the floor, and a double bed pushed into the corner.

"You've been awfully quiet since we landed." Tomoyo gave Sakura a quick hug and then held up her nose at the dirty room. "You mean we're actually staying here?"

"We're here to discuss plans, not on some wonder vacation." Syaoran glared and plopped down on the floor. "You can all take a seat."

Eriol found himself a spot up against the wall and leaned back while Tomoyo snatched a pillow from the bed. She placed it ceremoniously on the floor and carefully arranged her skirts so she didn't have to touch the dirty floor. Touya made himself comfortable on the bed, sharing Tomoyo's dislike but hiding it better. Sakura leaned heavily against the door sweat dripping down her face although no one noticed.

"Now, we're all heard the tales of the Princess, the Dragon Tamer, and the Royal Imposter, and I think it's safe to say I'm the Dragon Tamer, Sakura's the Princess, and Tomoyo's the Royal Imposter."

"No, that's not right. You're looking at it only one way Syaoran." Touya said. "The Royal Imposter could mean someone posing as a royal or a royal posing as someone else." Eriol studied the floor guiltily.

Suddenly Sakura knelt and clutched at Syaoran, her eyes wide and lacking in color but not fearful. "The man downstairs makes a call. The phone rings once, twice. 'Good sir, may I speak with Ali Tutman, tell him it's Guyton.' He waits. And angry voice comes on the line. He screams and shouts. 'You tell me that blasted Syaoran has come back here! Again! Why I ought to skin him alive!' 'Should I kick them out, sir?' 'No! No, detain them. I'll send my guards.' The conversation ends."

Everyone stared.

Sakura blinked, the green slowly leaking back into her eyes. Or was it the silver leaving? She sat up and reconginized the looks of surprise, the open mouths, narrowed eyes, and pale faces with color rushing back in to fill their cheeks. "No. No, no, no, no, NO!" With that last cry she scurried from the room and into the hall.

Silence enveloped the room.

"Shouldn't someone go after her?" Tomoyo asked, not making a move to get up.

Both Eriol and Touya nodded and looked at Syaoran who groaned. "Fine, but you had better start planning. We need to get out of this city and to the Lost Tomb." He too stepped into the hall.

Muffled sobs and a weepy Sakura greeted him. "It's begun. It's really happening!" She whispered.

"Sakura, can you tell me about it?"

Her head shot up, and she ran a sleeve across her eyes. "I didn't expect you to come."

Syaoran knelt down next to her. "I don't know what's going to happen. I'm not a seer, but I do know this, I will protect you Sakura. I will make sure nothing happens to you. No one will ever be able to hurt you. You will survive this."

His words brought comfort to her heart. "Promise me, when this is all over, you'll leave me here and take the others back home. Promise me!" The tears fell even harder down her cheeks.

"I promise."

(I was going to end the chapter here, but because I haven't updated in such a long, long time, I decided to continue a bit farther).

"We're going for a walk." Eriol announced authoritatively. "We ought to see a bit of the local color, and it's a nice day."

"This isn't the time to be sightseeing!" Tomoyo shouted. "We have a major problem on his way here right now!"

"Here's your coat Tomoyo." Sakura smiled brightly and cocked her head to the right. "Our men folk know what they're doing and we trust them." She held out a hand. "Come on Syaoran. We'll meet you downstairs."

Hand in hand, Sakura and Syaoran left and Touya quickly followed leaving Tomoyo to stand with Eriol.

"There's something not right with her." Tomoyo muttered. "And I don't like this." After glaring at the door she turned to Eriol. "Some times I fear for her and I just can't explain why."

He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and gave it a pat. "We'll all watch over her, that I can promise you."

"My good sirs! How nice of you to visit!" The hotel host cooed, revealing the tension in the room. "My Lord, these are a few of my guests." He practically glowed.

"We've met." Two voices growled in unison.

"Oh, no," Eriol moaned and hurried down the stairs. "Ah, hello Ali! We haven't spoken in such a long time. How are you?"

"Eriol, it's good to see you again." But Ali's eyes never left Syaoran. "What brings you here?"

"That's none of your business. We're here and that's all you need to know."

"Syaoran!" Sakura stepped between the two men, disrupting the glare. "They've come at my request." She gave one good look at Syaoran who immediately turned away. "We've come to resurrect the old magic."

Ali moved to stare at Syaoran. "Last time we spoke, you refused your heritage and said you would never bring forth the Dragon."

"It seems my Dad's death has finally caught up with me." Syaoran managed to lift his head. "I was only eleven at the time anyway."

"A caravan heads to the shrine today. You'll have to hurry to catch them."

Syaoran nodded. "We need to get some supplies." He nudged between two guards by the door. "We don't have all day you know."

"Good Luck!" Ali called as they left.

The city didn't bustle as it had when they'd first arrived, and many of the shoppers bought what looked to be traveling supplies. Most of the shop keepers had water and non-perishable goods out.

"Now, we need to stick together and find—where'd Sakura go?" Syaoran demanded eyes scouring the square.

"Excuse me," She walked over to a nearby stall. "Excuse me, would you know which caravan is heading to the shrine? Sakura directed the question to the vender.

"We're not taking on passengers." A younger man glared at her. "What do I owe you?" He pulled out a few wooden coins and slammed them on the table before walking away.

"Perhaps you'd make an exception for us?" Sakura followed him across the market unaware of Touya trying to catch her.

He whipped around. "No! I—" the boy noticed her silver tinited eyes. "I'm terribly sorry Priestess!" He bowed low enough to lick the sand. "Please forgive my rudeness; we would be honored to have you join us."

"Since when did people start calling Sakura priestess?" Eriol whispered to Tomoyo as they ran up to her side.

"I am Zalton, and you must be the companions of the Priestess. The pleasure is mine." Zalton nodded deeply to each one of their group.

Syaoran scouted towards Eriol. "I don't like him."

"You don't like anyone." Eriol mumbled back. "It's very nice to meet you, Zalton. So, you're traveling with the caravan?"

Zalton puffed out his chest. "My uncle owns the caravan. It's a family business." His supierior attitude caused Syaoran to bristle indignantly. "I shall speak with him on your behalf."

"How generous of you." Syaoran grumbled as the group paraded through the market towards the city gate.

Well, I hope you all don't want to kill me for taking so long to update. The good news is I think we're getting close to the end! R&R!