Misty Dreams

Card Captor Sakura

Chapter Fourteen

~starjade~

A Rumour

" K-Keili-" Syaoran started to say but Sakura didn't want to hear his excuses. She just nodded to him and turned away, walking fast back to the castle.

" Keili, wait!" Tomoyo shouted after her.

" Keili!!" Syaoran shouted.

Lady Rita said nothing as Sakura walked faster, contemplating the ever-tempting idea of breaking into a run and locking herself into her room, once more, with her starwort patches. She'd finish, break Syaoran's curse as well as her brother's and get out of this forsaken country and then beat Oribia-

" Keili!" Syaoran had caught up to her already and grabbed her wrist. Sakura froze and turned around.

She smiled at him, even though her heart wasn't in it and shook her head slowly, twisting her wrist out of her grip. His amber eyes were on hers and his mouth was working, trying to find something to say but Sakura knew what it would be.

She looked at him hard, and then shook her head slowly. No. No explaining. I understand.

His expression grew pained and he said in a choked voice, " Keili-"

Sakura didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to see Lady Rita's expression, or see Syaoran try to make up for the words he had said about her. She just wanted to save her brothers...

She knew the truth anyways. Feelings for the enemy never worked out. It was impossible, a near dream that would always be a dream. It was just another thing she had to sacrifice, along with her voice and her homeland and her brothers and her father. Just another thing..

**********

The Duke was back. Grinning widely as he sat at the dinner table, he kept his eyes trained on Sakura as she walked in, amusement clear on his face. His eyes lingered where they shouldn't have been lingering and even paused at her hands, the swollen flesh clear and prominent, and his grin turned even wider.

Sakura felt hatred for the man grow in her chest and she shook her head. Her mother taught her that hate was a vile thing-no matter how vile the person was or what sort of things they did, everyone had a good side.

The Duke's good side was just really microscopic.

Sitting down as far as possible from Duke and even farther from Syaoran, she picked up her glass and drank thirstily, waiting for the food to arrive. It soon did and everyone began to eat, the Duke's eyes still on her.

Why did he hate her so much? She may be a Kinomoto, but she hadn't done anything that was offensive to the Duke. She wished he would just leave her alone....and stop watching her.

Yamaki elbowed her. " Keili, I think Syaoran really wants to talk to you."

Sakura turned to him and rose an eyebrow, questioning. Then she saw Syaoran's face, and he was trying to mouth something, but she turned around quickly, ignoring him.

" left her to die on the cliffs..."

His words hadn't stopped assaulting her. Turning her face back to her salad, she tried to force herself to calm down. But like always, that would never happen. The Duke had stood up, tapping his glass.

Everyone quieted and Yamaki snorted softly. " I wonder what story he has of some heroic moment of him killing twenty Kinomotos. This should be interesting."

" I would like to some information with you all that I heard in the Kinomoto lands. Fellow Li's-" He started and then he made a face. " Of course, not all of us are Li's. One among us does belong to that filthy country, so we must include her-"

" She doesn't count," One woman said snidely. " We don't have to pay any attention to ugly Kinomoto whores, do we?"

There were snickers and gasps and Sakura's face burned as everyone around the table turned and stared at her. Yamaki growled under his breath but suddenly there was a tinkling of glass breaking.

" Sorry," A cold voice cut out and Sakura's eyes widened. Syaoran's hand was bleeding! Water had spilled over his pants and Lady Rita cried with horror, grabbing a napkin and holding it to his bleeding hand.

" What in the world made you hold your glass so tightly it should break?" Lady Rita cried. " My poor baby!"

Syaoran's amber eyes glared at the woman who had made the snide comment and growled, deep in his throat, " If I hear such profanity and utter disrespect from you again, you will be punished."

The woman's eyes grew wide and someone muttered, " The Kinomoto's sorcery."

Sakura's fingers dug into her palms and she kept her eyes on the table. This wasn't good.

The Duke's eyes were alight with sick humour and he grinned widely. " I never knew such words would bring such a....strong reaction from the Prince of the Li Kingdom. Only magic could ever make a Li turn his back on his own people for a Kinomoto."

More whispers and hushed talking sprouted among the people of the table and Sakura shrunk into herself at all the glares and dirty looks she was receiving. A shudder went down her spine and she knew, these people probably wouldn't hesitate to kill her. After what they had done to Kero...

" Anyways, in-spite of this quite interesting drama, a new rumour has aroused in the Kinomoto Kingdom. And of course, it has to do with our own, Li Meiling."

There was silence after his words and suddenly, the Queen and Syaoran leapt to their feet. " What did you hear, Duke?" Yelan cried.

" Tell us everything," Syaoran enunciated dangerously.

The Duke was grinning with amusement. " Please sit down. I am telling the rumour I heard. Of course it is just a rumour....you never know if it is true." He got up and began to walk around the table, his fingers pressing together in a small tepee.

" I was just sitting down for a little break, my usual ale and bread and the wench who was serving it to me told me about this...interesting rumour. The royal Kinomoto family had indeed....caught Li Meiling."

" What?" Yelan cried, her hand fluttering to her chest.

Syaoran banged his fist against the table. " Get to the point, Duke!"

" The point....oh yes, the point. Well, she had been long since released, but there was a period of time she was captured by the royal family. And many sources, inside the Kinomoto castle as well as outside, had realized that the Li soldier captured, was indeed a woman. Someone who....could have leaked a bit of information about our Kingdom."

" What?" Syaoran whispered but the Duke wasn't finished.

" Someone who could've broken under simple torture and spilled every single secret of the Li movement. She is a woman and women are the weaker of sexes. She could very well be a traitor to our kind. Meiling Li.....traitor."

His simple words caused an uproar. Yelan screamed, " NO!" and the people seated at the table cried with shock and surprise.

Syaoran shouted, " NO! Meiling would never have spilled ANY of our secrets!"

But to the surprise of all the Li people, Sakura had also leapt to her feet, anger racing through her blood. She waved her hands in fury; her green eyes alight with rage. No! Meiling not a traitor!

The Duke slowly turned to face her, his blood red eyes bright. " The Kinomoto. Standing up for Li Meiling. Yet....how can she even know her? How does this Kinomoto peasant, whose knowledge probably consists of all the barbaric ways she can please a man....how can she know anything of our royal family?"

Syaoran let out a growl. " Duke, I'm warning you-"

The Duke held up a hand. " Ah-wait for one minute, dear Prince. Imagine....imagine Meiling was a traitor. She spilled every secret of ours into the enemy hands. This would accomplish...what? It would've set plans in motion in the Kinomoto Kingdom. Maybe....predicting our battle movements and effectively halting it? Or maybe something more devious, as that is the Kinomoto fashion. Sending maybe a spy....infiltrate our Kingdom....find out our secrets...."

Sakura could feel chills race up and down her skin and the Duke stood right in front of her, his eyes watching her. One hand gripped her wrist hard, his fingers pressing hard into her skin and Sakura fought the urge to whimper. His other hand came up and he lazily trailed his fingers up her arm.

" Of course, that would never happen to us. No Kinomoto could set feet in our Kingdom....but hey. There is one Kinomoto here. Standing right here. A little whore, a little tramp, a little slut. A Kinomoto bitch. Access to every secret the Li family could possibly have."

Sakura shuddered, fear deep in her heart and she fought tears as the Duke gripped her wrist hard, and she knew bruises would appear soon. Her eyes were wide with terror as the Duke's finger trailed up her throat and across her lips. He pressed his finger down on her lips hard and leaned in close, whispering, " Yet....conveniently....not a word passes by this whore's lips."

" BASTARD!"

The yell came from behind her and she was suddenly pushed aside as someone rammed into the Duke hard. It was Syaoran!!

Cries erupted in the dining room and Sakura watched with horrified eyes as Syaoran grabbed the Duke by his throat and punched him hard in the face. " Don't you DARE touch Keili like that EVER-" Sakura heard him growl but no one else could hear it for he said it low and angrily.

" Xiao-Lang! Xiao-Lang, stop!!" Yelan screamed, as Yamaki and Eriol grabbed Syaoran's arms and pulled him away from the Duke.

Syaoran spit out, " Bastard! How dare you insinuate that Keili is a spy, that Meiling is a traitor? You are going against my decisions, my power and my authority!"

The Duke got up slowly, wiping away the blood from his nose slowly. His red eyes were dark and dangerous but a smile lurked on his lips and Sakura shivered. Why did he look so triumphant? What was the Duke's plan?

" Oh, dear Prince Xiao-Lang. My theories are quite often....imaginative and...unbelievable. I apologize for any inconvenience."

Yelan grabbed Syaoran's arm and glared at him sternly, before curtsying to the Duke. " No, I am sorry for my son's reaction. He was quite close to Meiling and such implications have blinded his good judgement."

The Duke nodded, straightening out his clothes. " I should bid you goodnight then. It was just my surprise that under torture...Meiling, a woman, brought up royally and only trained in martial arts for a few years could withstand torture...and Keili, a peasant Kinomoto, in our territory, cannot speak and cannot say word...but can cause you to leap to such defences."

He turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing in the shocked silence of the dining room. He turned around and smirked. " You must care deeply about this little wench....it has gone beyond the fact that she warms your bed at night, hasn't it?"

Syaoran fought against Yamaki and Eriol's restraining arms and then settled for a glare as the Duke as he turned around and walked out of the room. Sakura stared at the Duke and she rubbed her arm and her lips absently as she stared at Syaoran. He had attacked his own uncle, reprimanded his own people-for her?

Syaoran turned around, Lady Rita waiting for him with shocked blue eyes. She dabbed at his hand and he heaved a sigh before turning and meeting Sakura's eyes.

Sakura felt her breath hitch in her throat at the expression in Syaoran's deep amber eyes. Never such an expression had she seen on Syaoran and she could only stare back at him.

" Xiao-Lang?" Lady Rita asked and Syaoran jerked his gaze away from Sakura and Sakura's shoulders dropped. She turned away slowly, wincing as someone passed by her and spit on her dress.

She kept walking, even as someone sneered, " Filthy Kinomoto spy!" She kept walking even as someone else shoved into her heard, making her fall to the ground. She picked herself up and kept walking.

This wasn't her home. This wasn't her place.

She was causing so much trouble.

So much trouble for Syaoran....so much trouble for the Li family....just so much trouble.

*************

Sakura walked down the hallway slowly, taking in deep breaths. She wanted to go back. She should go back, to the Kinomoto land, back to her father. Maybe her father could break free of Oribia's curse...maybe he would welcome her home....

She shook her head, smiling ironically. Like that would ever happen.

She watched the windows yearningly, wanting to break free of all her problems. Everything was just weighing her down, bearing her down and she sometimes wanted to fall, wanted to give up-just to she could breathe again. Breathe without worrying; breathe without having her soul and heart hurt with pain and tears-

" Kinomoto."

Sakura froze and turned around slowly. Who was it?

Then she turned and met teary cerulean blue eyes.

Lady Rita...

It didn't shock her that Lady Rita was talking to her-no, what shocked her was the look in Lady Rita's eyes. It was a mix of anger, desperation and fury. Lady Rita never let emotions control her much, and usually kept that goddess like expression on her face much. This time, she had let it go.

" Get out," Lady Rita whispered, her voice quiet and soft and Sakura had to lean in to hear her.

Her eyes widened as Lady Rita's voice grew louder. " Get out. Get out of my Kingdom. Get out of my fiancé's life. Get out of my home, get out of my LIFE!!" She screamed.

Sakura stumbled back, shocked. Her jaw dropped and she stared at Lady Rita in disbelief. Lady Rita, so composed, so beautiful, so graceful-was reduced to the shaking mess that was in front of her right now.

Lady Rita pointed at her with a trembling finger. " Every day, I hear your name. Everyday, I hear it pass by MY fiancé's lips. HE'S MINE, can you not see? I've been in love with him all my life and I am not letting him get distracted by a Kinomoto!! You could be a filthy spy, a dirty peasant, revealing all our secrets to our enemy-" She shook her head, and with a disgusted sob, she pushed Sakura away from her.

" SO PLEASE, just get out! Stop causing so many problems for us! Ever since you came, everything's just gone wrong!! SO LEAVE! Get out! GET OUT!"

Sakura had heard enough. She twisted on her heel and ran down the hallway, away from Lady Rita's shuddering sobs, away from the guilt and the angry harsh words, and ran out the door and into the hard whipping air.

She ran down the hills, towards that river of solitude but she bumped into someone on the way.

" Wha-Keili?"

Recognizing the voice, Sakura groaned inwardly. NO! She pushed him away and ran away from him, but he had grabbed her wrist and swung her back to him.

She fought against him hard, banging her fists against his chest, tried to kick him and wrench away from his hold, but Syaoran was determined to hold her to him and she gave up, her shoulders shaking with surprised sobs.

" Keili?" He whispered, amber eyes concerned. His fingers went out and touched her cheek, which was covered with tears. Her body shuddered with longing as his fingers touched her skin and she pulled back from his touch. This wasn't right. It wasn't right.

Syaoran dropped his hand and said quietly, " Look, Keili, I'm sorry about what happened earlier, I just-well, I am the Prince of the Li Kingdom, I have certain expectations and what came out-I really didn't mean any of it, at all! I really-you-just-"

He fought for words and Sakura was able to pull away from him. Turning her back to him, she struggled to breathe.

" Keili? Keili, is it what the Duke said? I'll kill that bastard with my own bare hands, did he say anything else to you? I swear, that Duke-if I could get my hands on him right now, I'd make sure he would've wished that he was never born-"

No! Sakura waved her hands in sharp movements in the air, her eyes angry. Syaoran's eyes grew wide as she motioned, No! I won't stay. I'm leaving. Gone.

" What.." Syaoran trailed off as Sakura turned her back on him and began to walk back to her room to collect her shirts.

" No, Keili!!" He grabbed her hand and Sakura halted, her body freezing up. He turned her around slowly and his amber eyes were desperate. " Don't go!! I still need you! Meiling-Meiling is still lost and you-you were the last one EVER to see her! I can't just let you go!! And-And-"

He choked up and Sakura stared at him , trying not to concentrate on their hands. He doesn't like you....it's just the spell...

She stared at him and watched his amber eyes burn as they connecting with hers. " Don't leave-not until I've found Meiling-please," Syaoran said softly.

His eyes were captivating and she felt it all flow away. Lady Rita's harsh words, the Duke's amusement and his burning words-it all just melted off of her.

The Prince stared at her for a few moments and shook his head. " What you do to me, Kinomoto....what you do to me..." He turned away and Sakura pulled him lightly and he turned around confused.

She pointed to their clasped hands and his cheeks turned bright red. " Oh-right..." He let go of her like her hand was on fire and Sakura watched him shift uncomfortably as an embarrassed blush spread over his face.

And then Sakura smiled. She smiled brightly and shook her head, grinning mad as she walked away from Syaoran. She turned back and caught him scuffing his feet on the ground, a slight upturn to his lips and her smile turned even broader.

She would stay...for him. Until the shirts were done, she wouldn't leave.

Three shirts left. Three more shirts to make. And then, would her brothers be free-and then, Oribia's powers would be useless-and then they would get back their Kingdom and get back their father. And finally, they would live happily ever after.

a/n: lol, i hope ya'll liked dis chapter. not too sure about dis one, a lot more emotional and the castle is getting a lot more dangerous. so sakura might be stayin, but since more people believe that she might be a spy, who knows wat could happen right? and do ya'll thinks Syaoran is under a spell by Nadeshiko? or is his feelins real?

aight, ppl review! and yeea, i did make a mistake in da last chapter. it was Yukito who came to meet her, not Yamaki. Aight, ppl?

Aight! see ya latez,

'nuff luv,

~starjade~