Syaoran was carrying Sakura to nearby tree, the strength in his arms was nearly gone. Her unconscious body was limp and dripping with water. Syaoran felt as she would fall or slip out of his arms any moment; his tired body pleaded him to drop her, but he pushed on. He needed to get her some place dry.

The cold rain came down heavily…

Syaoran staggered towards the tree, which seemed so far away in his eyes. It was a single tree standing in the middle of a dead, empty battle ground. The tree almost seemed out of place, contrasting greatly with its dark surroundings. Syaoran had no idea how it got there but blessed the person who planted it there in his mind.

He dragged on foot in front of the other, his boots soaking wet and filled with water, his feet freezing cold, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his left leg, which was caused by a deep gash cut by an evil sorcerer, who now laid dead long behind them, a long sword sticking up from his bloody chest. Sakura and Syaoran had barely escaped their battle with this sorcerer, Kalen, who had been constantly threatening the town that they were living in. But right before Syaoran pierced his heart with the sword, Kalen had cast a hex on Sakura, and she had fallen unconscious at the spot. Syaoran had no idea what had happened to her, but all that mattered to him was that she was still alive. He was sure whatever effects the hex had on her was curable… and if they weren't, well, all he could do was hope for the best.

"Sakura, don't worry. You'll be okay… We'll be okay," Syaoran panted. His head hung low, his wet hair sticking to his face.

The tree was only a couple of feet away. Syaoran took one more step and painfully kneeled down, slowly lowering Sakura towards the ground. His left leg screamed in pain, blood tricking through his pants. He let out a small grunt and noticeably winced. Syaoran gently laid her head down on the soft soil. Once he set Sakura lying flat on her back, Syaoran collapsed onto the ground, his arms and legs outstretched. He closed his eyes and felt little drops of water falling on his face.

"Oh well," he said to himself, "at least the rain's not as heavy as it was out there."

Looking to the side, he saw a small mound with something thin sticking up from it. Syaoran made a note to go fetch his sword after it stopped raining, that is, if he still had the strength to. The rain seemed as if it wasn't going to stop anytime soon, and the clouds seemed to be getting darker.

After a couple of minutes, Syaoran sat himself up, leaning on one arm, and looked down at Sakura. She looked so lifeless and limp just lying there. Her arms were sprawled over to her sides, one of her hands still clutching the Star Wand. Sakura's skin was icy cold and her body was drenched with water. There weren't any visible effects or physical effects of the hex, but everything about her just seemed… dead.

Taking off his gloves, Syaoran wiped away the hair from her face. He gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and frowned when he noticed how cold she was. More drops of water fell onto her face, sliding off of her cheeks and landing onto the ground. Syaoran shifted so that he was hovering over Sakura, blocking anymore raindrops from fall spilling onto her face.

Syaoran was scared, not knowing what to do. He had only learned a handful of healing spells but wasn't sure which one he should use. He didn't want to take the chance of worsening the damage.

"Sakura, you can't stay here," he whispered to her, even though he knew she couldn't hear him, "I'm not sure what that sorcerer did to you, but I can't do anything for you. I just can't… I'm sorry, but I have no other choice."

Deciding on his last resort, he brought out a small vial from his inside pocket and twisted off its cork. Bright green liquid shined and glowed through its glass, almost hurting Syaoran's eyes. He lifted Sakura's head up and opened her mouth, tilting the vial so that its liquid poured out. The hand that was holding the vial was nervously shaking. After her mouth was filled with the green liquid, his finger pushed Sakura's bottom lip so that her mouth closed.

Syaoran closed his eyes and hesitated before whispering a short spell.

Suddenly, Sakura's body started to glow, a golden light shining around her. She floated out of Syaoran's arms and hovered above the ground. Syaoran watched her Star Wand slip out of her fingers and fall right beside him. And in a sudden flash, Sakura disappeared, leaving him alone underneath the tree.

Syaoran's eyes lingered at the spot where she had been for a couple seconds, before dropping his head and softly crying to himself.

A/N: This was done for livejournals's 31days challenge for September 18, 2005's "Arrangement in Black and Gold" theme. The unclear ending is for you imagination. Let me know what you think happened to Sakura in the reviews. Thanks for reading!