Sakura rarely dreamed, and even when she did, her dreams always had to do with the war. They were memories of harsh battles, of herself knee-deep in blood, of terrible black fires engulfing her village, leaving nothing in their monstrous wake. But mostly, her dreams were images of death. Kakashi's death, Sasuke's death, Naruto's death…
Usually, she didn't dream at all. And each night that passed without having to relive the most painful moments of her life, she thanked whoever was out there for taking pity on her.
So, when she succumbed to sleep that night, laying as far away from Arthur as possible, she wished with all her might for a few hours of peace and sweet oblivion.
And then suddenly she was floating in water.
She instinctively slapped her hand over her mouth, hoping to preserve whatever oxygen she had left. She gasped loudly when she realized that she could breathe without a problem.
Well, it's not like you haven't been through weirder experiences, girl…
She took a look around, trying to decipher where she was, though her efforts were in vain. With her visibility reduced to just a few meters ahead on every side and little light reaching her from the surface, it was nearly impossible to tell what could be hiding in the shadows. The water was dark, but strangely, it did not make her eyes sting. She couldn't make out the bottom of the lake, and there was no way to tell how deep it was. All she could see was the endless expanse of water.
This is a dream; this is a dream…
She tried to keep her heart rate down, but despite her effort, she couldn't help the feeling of nervousness that settled upon her. For a dream, it felt terribly real.
Movement in the corner of her eye snapped her out of her thoughts, and she immediately looked up ahead of her. There was a woman there, with pale skin and long hair that Sakura would guess was blond, though it was hard to tell in the darkness. Her ivory gown spread around her form in the water, ethereal and at the same time unnerving as if the cloth itself had a mind of its own.
Sakura's hand flew to her side, expecting to feel the familiar worn leather of her weapons' pouch, only to find it was not there. She let out a gasp, looking down at her hip to make sure that she was not mistaken. She never took her pouch off.
Impossible!
She looked up at the woman again. She was approaching, slowly but surely reducing the distance between them. Sakura narrowed her eyes, intending to take a few steps back. She gasped in alarm again when she realized she couldn't move.
What's going on, damn it?!
She struggled, but it was like someone had robbed her of her ability to control her muscles. She could not feel the water on her skin, almost as if she were trapped in an air bubble that was simultaneously immobilizing her completely. It was an unnatural sensation, that left her feeling helpless and at the mercy of the ethereal woman.
Sakura wanted to warn the woman to stay back, though, in her current state, any threat would probably sound utterly ridiculous. She found that no words would come out of her mouth, no matter how hard she tried or how much she screamed in her own head.
Stay back! Stay the hell back!
The woman was in front of her now. Her skin looked even paler in close proximity, and a silver diadem with an iridescent stone in the middle decorated her forehead. There was an unnatural glow around her, and it seemed to follow the ripples of her dress.
Sakura narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth at the woman the way a cornered animal would, desperately trying to convey that she wouldn't go down without a fight.
The ethereal presence stared at her, ice-blue eyes boring into her, making her feel exposed and vulnerable. Sakura wasn't sure whether the woman could hear her thoughts or not, but she wouldn't be surprised if she did. Dream or not, this place was the pale figure's realm and they were playing by her rules, whatever those were.
The fabric of her gown billowed lazily around her as the woman extended her hand towards her. Sakura growled lowly in her throat, survival instincts taking over. In her state of complete immobility, she was little more than a caged animal, and if it meant keeping herself alive, she'd give herself over to those basic instincts in a heartbeat.
You dare lay a hand on me and I'll bite those fingers off!
With the magnitude of a thunderstorm, a chuckle echoed around her, one with the water trapping her.
It has been centuries since I last encountered a childling such as thee…
The voice was smooth and deep, but unmistakably feminine. It radiated power and wisdom, a lot like Kaguya's had, though without the crippling terror that had followed each of the Otsutsuki matriarch's words.
Sakura's eyes widened, frantically shifting left and right in order to locate the source. A moment later, she realized that the source was none other than the regal-looking woman now standing uncomfortably close to her. If Sakura had any doubts about whether the woman could listen to her thoughts or not before, they were long gone now. She could hear her speaking in her mind as clear as if she were moving her lips to form sentences.
But she didn't move her lips once…
Another chuckle echoed around her.
Hush now, childling, and listen to these words of mine.
There was something about the woman's voice that immediately made Sakura cease struggling to free herself from her invisible bounds. It was not intimidating but commanded respect and Sakura realized that despite being submerged into what appeared to be a really dark lake, she was indeed a lot like the proverbial fish out of the water.
Thy road is a harsh one, fraught with death and peril. But as it always has been, a Sword always needs its Sheath. One cannot be without the other, for it will be bare and empty and devoid of glorious purpose. When the skies grow dark and the northern wind blows, the Sheath becomes the Sword and the red flower grows.
Sakura chuckled humorlessly in her head. She had heard enough prophecies in her life to recognize one when she heard it. She frowned. But I…I don't understand.
A ghost of a smile graced the woman's face, so small that Sakura nearly missed it.
So it was, and so it will be.
The kunoichi's frown deepened. I don't understand. What do you want from me?
The stone resting in the middle of the woman's forehead shone with an unearthly glow as she raised her hand once more, and traced Sakura's jaw with her fingertips. Her touch was feather-light, nearly unnoticeable, and it was quite possible that the young medic wouldn't have felt it had she not been following the pale woman's every movement.
Oh, childling, this is not about what I want from you. This is about what you are willing to give.
Sakura's eyes widened. Wait! At least give me a clue-
The woman touched her Yin Seal and then all she could see was bright, blinding light.
Sakura's eyes snapped open, and she gasped for breath, her chest heaving at the memory of being trapped in the dark waters of that lake. She flexed her fingers to make sure that her limbs had regained movement, though she knew that she was being paranoid. Raising her hand to her face, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, breathing heavily.
She rose from her makeshift bed and silently walked out of the cave, the chilly morning breeze cooling her heated skin pleasantly. Walking to the edge of the forest, she perched herself on a tree branch with one swift jump. She leaned her head against the tree, breathing in the comforting smell of wet leaves and damp earth. It was a familiar smell that made her relax instantly. It reminded her of home, when Konoha still was the Village Hidden in the Leaves. This place was a lot greyer in comparison, with not enough rivers or lakes or fields, but she was willing to latch onto anything that would provide her with some semblance of comfort.
The sun had not quite risen yet, its first rays just barely reaching the lower part of the tree trunks. Somehow, she felt as if the sun was duller in this part of the world, less bright.
No sun will ever be as bright as Konoha's…
Still, there was something serene about the morning mist shrouding the valleys in the distance, the bald mountain tops shining like jewels.
A lot like the jewel the woman in her dream had been wearing.
When the skies grow dark and the northern wind blows, the Sheath becomes the Sword and the red flower grows, she remembered the woman's words.
What could that possibly mean? How could a sheath become a sword? The Sword was obviously Arthur. How could it not be? He was the chosen one, the returned King, the one meant to restore balance.
But where did a sheath come in?
As far as she knew, Arthur had pulled the blade from the stone. No one had ever mentioned a sheath. Not an actual one, at least.
Could it be that the Sheath is also a person? Could it be that when that woman spoke of a Sheath, she meant…me?
Sakura shook her head, her brow furrowed. No, it can't be me. I don't belong in these prophecies. Hell, it could be Bedivere or Percival. It could be anyone.
She ran a hand through her hair, cringing at the tangled mess of knots and grime. I will not be governed by prophecies made by others. Not the Mage's and not this woman's, whoever she was. I make my own fate. Her eyes darkened. Naruto was the chosen one too. The child of Jiraya's prophecy. What good did that do to him?
Orange-hued rays of sunrise kissed her face, warming her cheeks and drawing her eyes away from her lap and towards the horizon. Brilliant gold and pink bled like fire in the east, over the valleys and beyond the mountains. They bathed the world in their comforting light, reflecting on the beads of morning dew sliding down the leaves.
The light should have brought her warmth, but this rare cloudless morning only acted to solidify the reality of her losses and of everything she was going to lose in the future. Of everything she was scared to lose.
She took one last breath, hoping to keep the crispy scent of dawn inside her lungs for a little while longer, and jumped down from her place on the branch. The walk back to the cave seemed longer than ever before, but she used the little extra time to gather her thoughts.
The others were still asleep, and Sakura was thankful for that. She didn't have the strength to deal with Bedivere or Bill just yet.
And she certainly wasn't in any position to face Arthur.
Not after the…incident.
She chuckled humorlessly to herself. The incident…She felt thirteen years old all over again. Truthfully though, she couldn't quite name what had happened between them. Training, a joke, a mistake…Nothing seemed to fit. How could she aptly name something that left her thoughts such a jumbled mess?
She wished she knew what went on in Arthur's mind. She wished she knew if his thoughts mirrored hers, though she highly doubted that. Arthur was…Arthur. Arrogant, self-centered, caring, painfully handsome Arthur.
I'm…I'm not ready for this…
She was not ready to answer her own questions, and she was not ready to face her own internal turmoil. Most of all, she was not ready to explore what the little stirrings in her belly meant.
And yet, as she made her way inside the cave, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened, had Bill not interrupted them.
XxxOxOxOxxX
Sakura pulled the hood of her cloak further down her face as they entered the village on foot after spending three days traveling on horseback.
Stagside Village was a larger community than she had expected, though it still was just about twice as big as a neighborhood back in Konoha. The streets were narrow, muddy, and noisy, with the village crier and traders calling out their wares. Workshops, from metalsmiths to food-sellers, with big signs hanging above them showing their owners' trade were open to what she guessed was the main street.
Her boots splashed in the mud as she walked over wheel tracks, trying to avoid the bigger puddles. Fortunately, the village seemed busy enough that they wouldn't attract too much attention to themselves. Though Bedivere's informants were almost sure that word of the bounty on their heads had yet to reach this part of the Realm, Sakura was not willing to risk being seen. Her pink hair stood out like a sore thumb, and amidst the sea of browns and blacks and dirty blonds, someone would definitely notice her as an oddity.
The main street gave way to smaller alleys, leading deeper into the village, away from the market and to where the common folk lived. The farmers and the laborers and the numerous beggars. The houses were basic, made of a wooden frame with the gaps filled with woven strips of wood, and thatched roofs.
In the distance stood what Sakura guessed was the church, though compared to the churches she'd seen in Londinium, it looked a lot more than just a big house with a bell. Right beside it stood a mill.
The faces of the people were dirty, their cheeks hollow and sickly. For a community that was supposed to be largely self-sufficient, they looked worse than she could have ever imagined. Even the animals looked criminally malnourished. One was not supposed to be able to see a horse's ribs with the naked eye. She couldn't possibly imagine how high the child mortality rate was in this place.
She'd never seen a village in such a deplorable condition ever before.
Looking around, her gaze fell on a building that stood out like a sore thumb among the rest. It looked like the tower of a castle, with battlements and a medium sized wall encircling it. The drawbridge was down, and she could see the silhouettes of guards standing atop the small barbican.
"There," she whispered to Percival, who stood beside her. "That's where we're supposed to go."
He nodded and nudged Bedivere, who shifted his eyes to the fortified residence. "There is no way to circumvent the castle. There are guards everywhere. They will see us the moment we step foot out in the open."
Sakura hummed thoughtfully. I could put the guards under a genjutsu, but I've never done it on such a scale and I'm not Sasuke. If the guards start dropping unconscious like flies, people will notice. She frowned and dismissed the idea. No, the risk of something going wrong is too high and I'm not willing to gamble with our chances right now.
She turned to Bill, who seemed to know the area better than the rest of them. "Can't we circle around the village? We could slip past them without noticing."
The man shook his head. "Not an option. There's only one other exit from Stagside and it will be guarded. Even if it weren't, that road leads straight to the Wetlands."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "The Wetlands?"
"Marshes," he explained. "An endless expanse of treacherous ground that can swallow you whole if you don't watch your step. I've never crossed them and I'm not about to do it now for your sake."
She wanted to roll her eyes, but she had to admit that Bill was right. It did not sound like the kind of place anyone would enjoy. "We must keep a low profile and not draw any attention to ourselves," she concluded. "We're already at risk just by being here. This whole village is a nest of Blacklegs. We need a plan and information."
Rubio nodded. "The lass is right. We need to take cover too. We've been standing out in the open for far too long."
Sakura inwardly agreed. Think, Sakura, think…
"Is there any place here where we could stay without raising suspicion?" asked Arthur, crossing his arms across his chest. "It would be bloody convenient if we could gather information there too."
"You ain't asking for much, are you lad?" Bill snorted. "The only establishments in this village that could possibly offer both are the church and the brothel-"
Sakura's eyes lit up. "That's it!" she said, cutting Bill off.
The man looked at her questioningly. "I don't follow."
She passed her gaze over each of their faces, landing on Arthur last. He was looking at her strangely, contemplatively.
A moment later, his blue eyes widened. "No. Absolutely not!"
Sakura smirked. "Does anyone of you know where I can find a prostitute's dress?"
TBC
Hiya guys!
I know it's been a while (again) but I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it's not overly interesting, but it's one of those transitional chapters as we move on to the next set-piece of our story.
On an unrelated note…Did any of you watch "The Dark Crystal: Are of Resistance"?! Oh my God, I'm in love! And upset…But also in love! And scared for my sweet baby Deet…But mostly in love!
I need Rian and Deet together, seriously! XD
Anywayyyy…I'll just stop my fangirling right here.
I hope you enjoyed this!
Lots of things coming up next with more dangerous situations and a lot more ArthurXSakura!
Drop me a review to tell me what you think of this chapter.
Until next time,
Lots of love!