Chapter Twenty Two

Card Captor Sakura

Misty Dreams

starjade

A Trial

Tense, was the only word for the scene. The air taught with emotions riding high and an almost fear carrying above the crowd like a rain cloud, ready to crash down with thunder and rain at any given second.

The wife of the soon to be King was being tried for treason. The small wooden courtroom was filled from top to bottom with people of all different castes and the Judge at the front of the room had a stern look on his face.

The crowd was speaking loudly, their voices carrying high and jumbling together into a roar of noise. The Duke entered the room, followed by his men, smirking with a high and mighty expression as he whirled into his place behind the prosecutors desk.

" ORDER!" The judge yelled, his mallet hitting the desk with such an explosive sound that the whole courtroom seemed to drop into silence at once. The judge's small eyes surveyed the crowd and landed on the Duke.

" Where is the defendant?" He asked, simply.

The Duke's red eyes gleamed. " She is getting...suitable...for the trial."

At those words, Sakura walked into the courtroom, followed closely behind by Tomoyo and the baby. Tomoyo's eyes were swollen but Sakura kept her head held high, her green eyes taking in the scene with a calm, serene look which surprised the crowd. She was spoken of as the weird witch who had randomly appeared at the castle and seduced the prince. And the crowd hated her.

The silence, once again, erupted into jeering and boos. Not a flinch could be observed from Sakura as she fought with herself to stay calm. She reminded herself of what Eriol was risking as he rode off to retrieve Syaoran, what Tomoyo was risking as she walked with her, tears full for Sakura's pain...she reminded herself of her brothers, lost in the realm between reality and fantasy, cursed to be swans...and she reminded herself of her father, lost in Oribia's curse.

It was the least she could do. The least she could do was fight, with the honour of the Kinomoto Kingdom.

" SILENCE!" The judge was yelling. The crowd quieted, with disgruntled murmurs between the townspeople as Sakura settled behind the desk.

" Now," The judge started, with a tired look on his face, " Please tell me what's going on here." The judge looked to be a stern, elderly man with greying hair and a moustache that drooped around his mouth. Bushy eyebrows hid small eyes as he sat, almost lazily, on the judge's seat.

" From what I hear, this girl is from the Kinomoto land. She is married to...the crown prince, is she not? And she is being tried for...both witchcraft and treason?" He said, an incredulous tone to his voice.

The Duke stood up. His red eyes gleamed with cynical cleverness as he placed a hand on the podium in front of him and pointed his finger straight at Sakura. Sakura could not help but wince as he shouted, at the top of his lungs, " THAT WOMAN IS A WITCH! She cursed the prince, she cursed this household and she cheated on her husband!"

The crowd exploded into chaos at these words and the Duke smirked as he watched the effect his words were having. Sakura felt her fingers clench and she glared at the Duke. He raised his eyebrows at her and she turned her face away, anger seeping through her veins. She was tired of these accusations. She wasn't a witch, she hadn't laid any curses on anyone and she hadn't committed treason!

Yet she could not defend herself...she could not speak...no one knew her side of the story..

" DUKE JEL TYRAN, I beseech you, please keep your voice down when you give me an answer and I would prefer no accusations until the evidence has been shown and I have been thoroughly convinced that what you are saying is correct," The judge announced, his eyes trained on the Duke.

The Duke seemed to pulsate for a second with fury, probably, Sakura thought, because he was being spoken down to by the Judge. But he recovered and walked around the podium, his eyes taking in the crowd and Sakura with one sweep.

" The first time I met this woman, I was quite suspicious. Who wouldn't be in my position? Here was a girl that Prince Xiao-Lang dragged in from the Kinomoto Kingdom, scrawny, small and malnourished. She had a wild look in her eye...like a mad dog," He said, his eyes sweeping in the crowd with what could only be called as the skill of a masterful speaker. He looked at the Judge and shrugged his shoulders.

" The funniest thing was that she could not speak a word...yet Prince Xiao-Lang INSISTED that she be protected and treated like royalty," He proclaimed, his eyes once again turning towards the crowd, his red eyes narrowing in anger."Might I remind you all, of our ongoing feud and war with the Kinomoto Kingdom? Might I remind you all that Prince Xiao-Lang's own cousin was kidnapped and maybe even killed by the Kinomoto Kingdom? And do I have to remind you all that this woman, who is not quite appealing in ANY sense, somehow got Prnce Xiao-Lang, who is engaged to my daughter, to not only fall in love with her but to MARRY her as well?"

His voice roared across the courtroom and Sakura's fingers clenched onto the podium so hard that her knuckles were turning pale white. Her green eyes were lit with restrained anger and fury as she watched the Duke pace back and forth in front of the Judge.

" Then, right when this all was happening, Prince Xiao-Lang honourably went back to the Kinomoto Kingdom to find Meiling Li, who, might I add, has been announced dead. I don't know if this was part of this witch's plan, but it could be, for just a few days later, we find her performing an UNHOLY act with another man on our LAND!" The crowd seemed to gasp even though Sakura knew that everyone had already receieved knowledge of this act.

" Treason, I say! Treason of the highest measure! SHE SHOULD BE EXECUTED! With no mercy, whatsoever!" The Duke finished, his face red, his finger shaking as it pointed accusatorily at Sakura, his expression twisted with supposed emotion. But from his blood red eyes, Sakura could tell that all he felt inside was pure, unadulterated triumph. And she hated him, more than anyone else in the world.

The crowd was murmuring with an almost murderous tone and she could feel the hate-filled looks piercing holes through the back of her dress. Tomoyo had begun to weep beside her and Sakura reached out and grabbed Tomoyo's hand in reassurance.
The rest of the trial was a blur. She could not concentrate. All she was focused on was Duke Jel Tyran's words...and how, it might be too late to save her brothers.

Eriol galloped across the Kinomoto countryside, his eyes searching out far and wide. He had traded in his Li emblems and signs at the gate before coming to the Kinomoto lands, for fear of assassination or murder once people found out he was a high caste citizen of the Li Kingdom.

It's a sad day when we're afraid to be ourselves to each other, he remembered the guardsman say before he was carried off in the boat. The gatemen had probably seen enough people lie about who they were, where they were from...

It was true. We were all afraid to be ourselves, Eriol thought to himself as he gripped the reigns tighter. The only person who wasn't afraid to be herself was Keili. The Kinomoto girl who never denied who she was and where she was from.

And right now, she was probably in trial...fighting for her life.

Eriol spurred the horse on, his teeth gritting. Syaoran had better show up and get his ass back and save the life of a girl he had dragged into his own land for his own selfishness. Sakura never wanted to COME to the Li Lands in the first place...and this was all Syaoran's fault.

Eriol had gotten a hint off one of the farmers while riding here that a chestnut haired man had indeed passed through, asking where the "Wilds" usually lived.

Eriol entered a thick woodland and sped through the narrow pathways, his eyes intent on his goal. A few moments later, he heard a distant yell...and a clash of weapons.

Syaoran...his intuition called out, and Eriol sped up. Syaoran was close by...he knew it.

Witnesses were brought up, many claiming to have curses set upon them because they hadn't served Sakura the right food, or because they had looked at her in the wrong way. Many claimed to see Sakura chanting spells underneath her breath and others claimed that she had been seeing this supposed "lover" since the beginning of her stay in the Li lands. Many of them mentioned the fact that she sowed starwort and that it was part of her spells to take down the Li Royal Family.

Sakura did not listen to the rest of the accusatory claims and stood, staring stonily ahead as she blocked out all the accusing words. She would not take this blows, she would put up an ice shelter around her heart.Yet herbody betrayed her as she felt herfingers dig hard intoher palms, hard enough to draw blood.

Finally, the Judge turned to Sakura, his small eyes taking her skinny, weak body in, her hollow face and her bright green eyes. He then asked, quietly, his voice resounding in the courtroom, " Do you have anything to say, Keili is it? Do you have anything to say to defend yourself?"

Sakura felt her fingernails dig into the wooden podium. She stared at the Judge and willed herself to keep quiet, to not break the curse just to defend herself, but how hard it was! She wanted to spill forth the words she had been keeping in so long! She wanted to shout, I AM NOT EVIL and hear it resound, over and over and over...

But she could not say a word and the Duke smirked at her. Tomoyo jumped to her feet and spoke, " Judge, please, Keili has an illness and cannot speak or defend herself but I can speak for her! She did not do any of these things, I swear to you, she is a kind hearted soul and she would never hurt anyone! She did not perform treason, she was attacked by another man! She is not a witch, she just has unusual hobbies and Syaoran did indeed marry her but to protect her-"

" Why would he want to protect a Kinomoto? He hated them, remember?" The Duke cut in. " And also, I do recall that your child was dead when he was born, was he not? And that Keili here, supposedly " breathed " life back into him?"

Tomoyo froze and her jaw worked. " She-She knows the skills of midwifery, she did not-"

" I do think that your child will grow up to be quite a mutation if a witch blew life into him. Do you not agree?"

" SHE IS NOT A WITCH-"

" ORDER!" The judge yelled and Tomoyo breathed hard, but Sakura placed a hand on Tomoyo's arm. Tomoyo turned around, her amethyst eyes bright with frustrated tears and Sakura slowly shook her head.

Don't. Don't do this. Don't endanger yourself.

" I can't just let them do this to you, Keili!" Tomoyo whispered heatedly but Sakura just smiled at her.

You've done enough.

Tomoyo stared at Sakura with wide eyes and whispered, " He has to come back. He has to. He has to get you out of this...this mess the Duke put you in! It's just not fair, Keili. You're innocent..."

It was madness. Dark skinned men, muscled and dangerous, were all fighting against what seemed to be only one person with dark hair. They were spinning around in what Eriol recognized in a few seconds as the Li style of fighting, their swords flashing silver in the sunlight.

The Wilds were winning though, and that was clear for they were only fighting with wooden sticks but their numbers and skill were outnumbering the other two.

And then Eriol's eyes widened with shock. The person in the middle of the fray was...

" SYAORAN!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Syaoran didn't look up but Eriol then heard a cry behind him and he whirled around, his muscles tightening in defence.

It was a girl whose long hair went to her knees, her face pale and her clothes, the same as the Wilds, animal skins covered in beads. But there was no mistaking it. Her ruby red eyes were soft and looking at him with almost a shocked recognition and Eriol dropped his pack on the ground, his mouth open in shock.

" Me-Meiling!" He cried, and raced to the younger girl, wrapping her up in a hug. He felt her cry against his shirt but he held her tighter, feeling tears rise to his own eyes as well. This girl...he thought she was dead!

" Eriol, Eriol...before anything else, please help Syaoran! He thought...he thought the Wilds were going to kill me and attacked them and now-" Meiling started and she shook her head. " I can't fight against them, Eriol...they've become...my family..."

Eriol stared at her with shocked eyes. But he could not do a thing because right hten, Syoaran let out a strangled yelp as one of the men had smashed their wooden stick across his back, breaking the stick into two and god knows, what it did to Syaoran's back. Eriol clenched his teeth adn grabbed his sword, racing into the middle of the fray, standing over Syaoran's weak body.

" DON"T!" He shouted, putting his hand up against the Wild's. They stared at him with uncomprehendng eyes, and he could see them making the connection between Syaoran and him, classifying him as the enemy as well. " Don't hurt him!"

They could not understand. They raised their weapons and Eriol raised his sword, prepared to fight no matter what...if it could save Syoaran, Meiling and Keili, he would.

Sakura gripped Tomoyo's hand tighter as they watched the Judge scribble on his papers before he got up. The whole courtroom stood up as well, the atmosphere filled with suspense and anticipation.

" Is he making his decision now?" Tomoyo hissed. " But it usually takes them a few days to-"

The judge cleared his throat and opened his mouth. " From all the evidence and points gathered, I have made my final decision. The final verdict is-"

" Wait!"

Everyone stopped. Sakura and Tomoyo whirled around and their eyes widened.

It was...

Queen Yelan stood in the middle of the courtroom, her posture regal and her clothes flowing behind her royally. A bejeweled crown sat on top of her head and three soldiers were surrounding her. The crowd instantly bowed, and the Judge looked at her surprised.

" Queen Yelan, your majesty," The Judge spoke. " What's wrong?"

Queen Yelan's eyes swept the room and found Sakura. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw set.

" I am aware that you are about to pronounce your final verdict, but before you do...I would...I would like you to consider one thing. If...If in fact, my son's wife is..." She stopped and swallowed before continuing, " If my son's wife is pregnant with his child, please, do not execute her. Her child will be the next King or Queen after Xiao-Lang and I will not allow one of the royal family to be killed."

Everyone looked at Sakura and the Judge looked at her through bushy eyebrows. " Keili, please tell us if you are indeed pregnant with Prince Xiao-Lang's baby."

Sakura stared up at him and then looked at Tomoyo. Tomoyo looked at her hopefully, and Sakura knew what Tomoyo wanted her to say. She should say that she was pregnant. Save herself from death. But she could not lie anymore. She was already lying to all of them, they all thought she was poor...but she was indeed part of the royal family...she was already causing so much pain to this family...and to Syaoran...if Syaoran came back and realized that Sakura had said she was pregnant, then he would in fact NEED to impregnate Sakura in order to make this true. It was too many lies, and if they found out...

Sakura slowly shook her head and the Queen nodded, slowly at Sakura's answer. "Thank you, Judge." The Queen said shortly, before walking out of the room.

The Judge then got up once more and he boomed out, " Since that is over, I will now announce the final verdict. The defendant...is..."

Sakura held her breath, even though she knew the answer already and she knew it would not change...

" Guilty..."

Sakura closed her eyes.

" The defendant will be sentenced to death..."

Tomoyo let out a scream as she fell back to her seat, her hands gripping her baby tight to her.

" To burning for witchcraft and treason..."

The crowd erupted into cheers and howls of triumph.

" Three days from today."

Sakura felt the world spin out of control and she sat down heavily on the chair as she heard the Judge walk out of the room and the townspeople walk out as well and the Duke come up to her, whispering, " See you in hell, witch." Before walking off.

Death...

Soldiers grabbed her arms, pushing her to the door and she felt Tomoyo shove something her hands, whispering in Sakura's ear that everything would be okay if she believed, but Sakura could not even muster the strength to smile at Tomoyo and felt herself being shoved towards the door. As she walked in front of the soldiers, down to the stair to her prison, she looked at what Tomoyo had shoved into her hands.

And then a brightness came to her eyes.

The basket of starwort and the four and a half shirts.

Maybe she would be able to save her brothers, after all...

a/n: Heyyy...another chappie finished and one more step closer to the end of Misty Dreams. I have a few ideas for new stories, but the chapters I loaded gotttt deleted as well glare Soo I'm rewriting them, and they will be up as soon as Misty Dreams and a few of my other ongoing stories are dun. Examms are finally finished, thank goddd, sooo you guys mite be able to see more regular updates, lol.

aight, see ya latez. If you have any suggestions or suggestions for this story, please tell me by either reviewing or emailin me , aight? Thankss anddd bye!

luvyalotz,

starjade