Sorry about the misunderstanding last chapter. I worded the lines wrong. I meant, they were stuck in the snowstorm, not their hands were stuck. I've revised it. Also, I hadSyaoran calling Sakura by her real name and not her fake one, which is Meiling. I'm surprised no one noticed, but I've changed that too.
Sorry, I can't add kissing and falling in love anytime soon, because it would be too OOC. I'll try and make it up to you later, though.
For the ignorant "Chinese like to slap people comment": I'm Chinese and most of the people I know are, and no one I know likes to slap people. I can understand why you said that, though, but it was only for the context of the story.
Chapter Four
Sakura was aware that someone was pulling her, but she couldn't see anything but white haze, nor was she able to feel the hand of Syaoran through her numb, thinly-gloved hands.
A gasp rose in her throat as she felt herself being jerked forward, but the sound didn't escape her frozen lips. She was being jerked again, and she stumbled over her feet, reaching out her hands in instinct to stop herself from falling. To her surprise, her hands made contact with something hard and solid.
She opened her heavy-lidded eyes and winced as her eyelids pulled apart, bits of ice melting slowly under her eyes. It made no difference as she couldn't see a single thing in the pitch black darkness. She traced her hand over whatever she was still touching, but found her hands could not feel.
She saw a sudden spark and within seconds the space around her glowed with a dim light. She adjusted her eyes and she that she and Syaoran were in a cave. Somehow, Syaoran had managed to start a fire with some wood that was left, even though he hadn't been able to see a thing. Though the fire provided some light, it was far too small to provide much warmth.
Wow. That was convenient. They had been stuck in a blizzard, but found a cave, and even got firewood all ready for them! It was like a story, Sakura thought. She would've rolled her eyes, but was afraid it might hurt. Besides, she was grateful.
"How long are we going to be here?" she asked, hoping Syaoran wasn't in one of his moods.
"Until the storm dies down," he said harshly, as if she was stupid. Well, hoping certainly hadn't helped her this time.
"Oh. Um, anything I can do?"
"Yes. You can shut up. What do you think there is to do? You're so stupid, no wonder you're nothing but a servant."
She sighed at the response, which she had gotten used to brushing off.
"What, was my answer unsatisfactory for you?"
"Excuse me?" Sakura had no clue what he was talking about.
"Every time I say something, you always sigh."
If she didn't know any better, she'd say his tone was bitter.
"Sorry."
He sneered at her. "You're always sorry this and sorry that. Pathetic."
It took a lot of her will not to glare right back at him. What else could she say? He was a prince. She was his servant. Servants did not- could not stand up to their superiors, no matter the situation.
She shuddered as the cold front blew in. The cave offered protection from the snow and most of the cold, but it didn't stop the winds from gusting in through the opening. Being a servant, she only had thin clothes on. Syaoran, on the other hand, was covered head to toe in warm furs and looked quiet comfortable.
"Cold?" Sakura looked up in surprise into the prince's eyes. They seem to have softened- No, she shook her head. It must've been the fire casting illusions.
"No," she muttered, forcing her teeth not to chatter, but even so, her voice came out soft and shaky.
"You lie too much for your own good. Do you want to get slapped again? Though I doubt you would feel it right now."
Sakura couldn't respond as her cold her body growing frigid. She couldn't stop shaking now, and it took too much energy to try. She moved closer to the fire, but it didn't help her much. Staring at the amber flames dancing gently, Sakura finally realized what was in Syaoran's eyes. Fire. A determination. A determination for what, she didn't know, but she knew the fire in his eyes was far greater than the one in front of her.
"Whatever kingdom you're from, I'm sure they didn't teach you to ignore your master."
Master. How she hated that word. She was not his slave.
"What do you want me to say?" she said, her voice soft and defeated. "I can't say I'm sorry and every time I talk you tell me not to."
Silence.
The seconds passed and she grew panicked. She shouldn't have stood up to him. What if he fired her? What if-
He smiled.
Oh no. What did that mean? Maybe he was going to take pleasure in getting rid of her. Wait- did Syaoran Li, the ice prince, just smile?
It was a very nice smile, she thought vaguely. She hoped there wasn't something wrong with him…
"Why are you staring at me as if my face has been disfigured?"
'Because it has been!' Although disfigured wouldn't be the word she would use. More like…handsomefied. Okay, so it wasn't a word but still…
She had been staring so intently at him, she didn't notice when the smile turned upside down.
"I was wondering when you'd get tired of all this shit," he spoke.
"All this shit..?" It was getting harder for her to talk and she was shaking like she was having a seizure.
He smirked at her. "I knew it would only be a time before you…snapped. There's only so much a person can take." His leering voice made chills run through her body, if that was even possible in the condition she was in.
"Come here." He patted the spot next to him. Glancing at her, he shook his head and changed his mind. He got up and sat next to her.
The minutes passed and Sakura felt herself growing warmer. As if sensing this, Syaoran moved closer to her and they were almost pressed up again each other. A shudder ran through Sakura, which Syaoran felt.
"Are you still so cold that you're shaking?" he frowned.
"No…" She felt relieved that her voice was steady again.
He moved closer and she shuddered again. She felt so uncomfortable. What was he doing?
He studied her face. "You fear me," he said flatly.
She didn't reply.
He leaned in, testing her. He got his reply when she drew back. "S-stop. Please."
He laughed hollowly. "You think I'm going to rape you." His face was devoid of emotion. "After all the times I told you, you still don't trust me. You think I would sink that low? I could have any woman in the country, and you think I would touch you?" His voice did not rise, but it was soft and cold.
He looked at her in disgust, which was even worse than his voice. He moved away from her. Suddenly, she wished he hadn't. She wanted him to be close to her again, which was stupid, she told herself.
He stood up and took off his coat. Seeing her expression, his face turned stony. "Relax. I told you, I'm not going to do anything."
Under his coat, he wore many layers, so he was still well protected. He bent down in front of her and gently laid the coat over her cold body.
"Did you know if two people are close to each other, they grow warmer because they're sharing body heat?" he asked. He strode over to the other side of the cave.
Sakura didn't know what to say. Once again, she had thought wrongly of him. She felt much better now, and it was all because of him. And she had thanked him by thinking he would harm her. She was a horrible person.
When she awoke, the coat was still over her body. She looked around but didn't see Syaoran anywhere. He left her, she thought in horror. She deserved it. But what was she going to do now? She couldn't go back to the castle and even if she could, she didn't know the way back. She would most likely be attacked by a savage animal before she got out the forest.
"What do you look so worried for? I'm nowhere near you," she heard a sour voice say. Her heart leaped at the familiar voice.
"What, now you're happy to see me?"
"You're here," she breathed.
He rolled his eyes. "No, really, I'm just an illusion caused by your idiotic mind."
"I thought you left," she admitted, ashamed. "I mean, I would've deserved it, but I was scared."
He scoffed. "Anyways, storm's over. We better get going."
They trudged outside. It was hard to walk because of the thick, heavy layer of snow on the ground.
"Syaoran?"
"What?" he bit out annoyed.
"Your coat," she said, holding it out to him.
"Wear it. Can't have you freezing to death."
"But I can't wear your-"
"Just put the damn thing on!" he snapped.
They were walking uphill now and the snow tumbled down sometimes. She slipped on a patch of ice. He caught her arm. "Careful." The sudden change in his tone was weird.
They reached the top and Syaoran peered over the edge, his face serene. Sakura had never seen him so peaceful. "Look."
She did, and felt her breath catch, or more like felt her breath being taken away. They were overlooking the kingdom. Rows and rows of houses peaked out from the ground. The sun was just rising, casting an orangey glow over the snow-covered rooftops. They were lucky, because the Li kingdom didn't get much sun in the winter, especially after snowstorms.
She squinted. In the far distance, she could see a familiar landscape. "Is that the Kinomoto kingdom?" she asked hopefully, though she tried not to show it.
"Yes." He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Nothing. I just never knew they were so close."
"The Li's and the Kinomoto's were once the same land. I guess you wouldn't know that since you weren't born here."
"What do you mean the same land?" she questioned, her stomach doing a weird twist.
"They were once the same kingdom until they spilt."
"Why?"
"Shortly before King Fujitaka's daughter was born, his wife left him. He was a lord then, and he was angry. He wanted power to make his wife suffer. He organized a rebellion and took advantage of having a surprise attack. We had no choice but to give up. Now, we're way stronger than they are, and next time, we'll take what's rightfully ours."
Her mind spun. He was lying…he had to be. But what reason did he have to lie? He didn't. All along her father lied to her? She didn't know what to believe.
"But what will happen to the people of the Kinomoto's?"
"Nothing. They'll live as they always do. We Li's are not cruel."
Sakura thought back to the day she first arrived. The king had given her captor money to feed his starving family. She knew her own father would've ordered the execution of the man.
"When is the next attack?"
He glared at her. "Why are you so interested all of a sudden. I can't tell you when the next attack is."
"I just find it stupid, that's all. This war, I mean."
He stared at her. "War is essential. You a servant, you don't understand."
She gritted her teeth. She would get to the bottom of this and that was a promise.
But for now, she would just enjoy being here. Being with him.
