Author's note: Remember me? I hope you do coz I'm really sorry for the delay. I meant to post the chapter a week before, but there is a problem in my computer and I'm unable to access NOTE: Becoz of this problem I may not be able to update for a while. I'm at my mom's workplace at the moment, and I can't update till my computer's fixed. The only site I'm able to access is my mail. So please send me a review and I'll view it through mail. Sorry for my slow update, hope this problem gets fixed soon. Anyways here's the next chap!

Chapter 8

Two weeks had passed since the arrest and Syaoran was glad that Sakura was back to her usual chirpy self. It was dawn when he entered the palace. Unable to sleep he'd gone training though he had really wanted to meet Sakura, but when he went there a few minutes before she wasn't there which wasn't surprising because he'd never seen her around in the day time.

He turned around the usual corner, down the long, lonely corridor that led to his room. To his amazement, he could hear noises from his usually quiet room and they weren't just noises they were freakishly deafening noises of four familiarly annoying high pitched voices.

Frowning he pushed open the door, and at once all the movement in his room stopped except one. Something small, brown and full of feathers zoomed at him, which he caught skillfully but gently.

"What are you doing in my room?" he demanded glaring at his four maddening sisters, who were staring at him frozen in their positions.

Fuutie was standing on his bed grasping a butterfly net in her hand, Fanran just beside her with her mini make up kit, Sheifa near the window with a piece of ribbon and Feimei near the cage of his bird. Spotting her brother Sheifa straightened herself and explained,

"We were just trying to dress up your pet. We're sure she'd look cute with a little make up," the other sisters nodded in agreement.

"Now listen," Syaoran hissed in a dangerously low tone, "She is a bird not one of your dolls. You girls are twenty, not six year olds. So act your age and SCRAM!" he yelled slamming the door on their faces.

Both Sakura and Syaoran sighed as the Li sisters left. (A/N: Sorry if I made them too evil!)

"They aren't bad," Syaoran muttered, "Their brains just go on a vacation once in a while," he fell back on his back shoving his chestnut bangs out of his eyes.

That evening at sunset, Sakura was skipping along the streets of the busy market place. She was going for a walk up to the cave of the mystic valley. Sure, she hadn't regained her full powers yet and nothing had yet appeared in her mother's diary, but sakura just wanted to see the beautiful flowers again. So she took the familiar path leading to the cave. It was dark when she reached the edge of the forest, she was about to go towards the cave but she heard voices, so changing her mind she slipped behind some trees and decided to wait until they had left.

There were two men, who looked like soldiers, but there was a different symbol on their arm bands. Instead of the Li insignia there was a picture that looked like a serpent. They're probably soldiers of another kingdom she thought Wonder what they're doing here…

"Everything's going out as planned sir," said one man.

"Good, I hope your men haven't been spotted by the villagers," said the other man.

"No, so far they haven't. If everything goes well then our men will surround the city by sunset tomorrow,"

"Then tomorrow at sunset we'll attack. They won't suspect a thing. It'll be over before they know it," the man grinned widely showing all his white teeth.

And with that the two men left and Sakura let out a huge breath. She had to tell Syaoran what she'd heard. She ran towards the palace as fast as her feet could carry her.

She managed to sneak inside the place gardens and was about to enter the palace hallways, when she realized that her shoes were very muddy. Of she left prints around then someone might find her. So she quietly removed her shoes, hid them in a bush and than ran into the palace, her small feet moving noiselessly on the soft carpet. She knew where Syaoran's room was and she ran towards the familiar passageway that led to his room. On the way she nearly bumped into two maids but fortunately escaped behind some pillars thankful that Li palace had so many pillars.

"Did you hear something?" one of the maids asked the other.

"No," replied the other whose voice Sakura recognized as the haughty maid who had found her on the floor of Syaoran's bedroom, when she had been hurt.

"Maybe it was a rat," said the first maid.

"Then we'd better send someone to get rid of it, before it goes to the kitchen,"

Her partner nodded and the two of them left.

Sakura came out of hiding once they'd left and shot of to his room. She was about to knock, wondering if he was there, but on hearing footsteps coming down the hallway, she quickly swung open the door and dashed inside, shutting the door softly behind her.

Fortunately there was no one there. For the first time Sakura had come to his room as a girl and thought that it looked different from a girl's view than a bird's. She walked to his big bed and ran her fingers over the soft, warm blanket. It was full of his autumn and sandalwood smell that she suddenly longed to lie down on it for a while. She looked around her, and making sure no one was coming she gently lay down on the bed, burying her head on the pillow.

It was so comfy that Sakura didn't notice the door opening. Someone entered and slammed the door behind them. Sakura shot up on hearing the noise and saw Syaoran standing near the door. He had a cold and hard look in his eyes and his facial expression was unreadable. Sakura suddenly got frightened, seeing the look on his face that she jumped off his bed and knelt down before him, bursting into sobs,

"Oh I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I really am…please forgive I didn't mean to come in here…I really didn't…" she apologized over and over again her face buried in her hands and tears spilling between the gaps of her fingers on to the carpet.

Syaoran stared at her surprised. He had been angry with his mother because she had started the usual talk of his marriage that he had yelled at her and had stormed into his room. He had never expected to see Sakura there. He looked down at her as she continued crying. He knelt down next to her

"Sakura…"

But Sakura paid no heed to what he said and went on rambling, "I'm really sorry…It was just that I liked your smell so much and the bed looked so cozy, oh please don't throw me in that horrible prison cell again…"

"SAKURA!" Syaoran said loudly grabbing her shoulders firmly. "Listen," he went on but in a more gentle tone,

"I'm not going to take you to jail, you silly girl. Who gave you that idea?"

Two fingers parted and a tearful emerald eye looked into his amber ones which were now warm and gentle and much to Syaoran's amazement Sakura suddenly leapt off the ground throwing her on him, forcing him to fall back on the floor.

"Syaoran! You're back," she said gleefully

"What do you mean?" Syaoran asked blushing. She sat up on his lap releasing her hold around his neck and smiled at him.

"When you came in, you looked so different, like how I saw you in the court. Your eyes were all cold and distant and I got scared thinking that the nice Syaoran I know was gone forever,"

Syaoran had to bite the insides of his cheek to prevent himself from bursting into laughter at her childish reply.

"I'm still the same person, you know,"

"Yeah well you looked really scary."

Syaoran stared at her innocent emerald eyes and grinned. She was really an unpredictable girl, sometimes her eyes are full of sorrow, misery and determination and she seems like a woman and yet sometimes she's so innocent and child-like. She suddenly jumped off his lap and sat on the carpet staring at her hands. Syaoran realized that he was blushing.

"Um…what were you saying about my smell?" he asked remembering what she had said earlier.

"Oh, you heard that," she said, her voice clearly stating that she hadn't wanted him to hear it. Syaoran nodded looking curiously.

"Well, everyone has a smell you see. My father smells of sea, my brother smells of new parchment, my second brother had the smell of the fields and my mom smelt of the early spring. And you…..well you smell of autumn and sandalwood. And I like your smell the most," she added the last part softly blushing slightly.

It took Syaoran some time to process her strange explanation. And suddenly he found himself walking towards and he gently buried his head in her silky auburn tresses.

Sakura was very surprised at his actions and she let out an inaudible gasp. She heard him draw in a deep breath and he whispered,

"And you smell of cherry blossoms," Sakura blushed different shades of red on hearing this. He stepped back quickly and clumsily ran a hand through his messy hair, making it even worse.

"I…uh…what was the reason you came here?"

Then Sakura remembered the real reason she had come to see him. She quickly told him everything that she'd overheard. He nodded once she'd finished and handed a piece of parchment to her,

"Do you remember what the symbol on their arm bands looked like?"

Sakura nodded and drew a strange looking symbol with a serpent on the parchment. It was ungainly drawn but Syaoran seemed to recognize the symbol. His face grew stiff for a second but he quickly changed his expression back to normal.

Sakura studied him. She suddenly felt weak in the knees; she had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. She sunk on his bed and mumbled,

"S-sorry, I just felt dizzy,"

"It's ok," he replied as she lay down on his bed and then he sat next to her. He suddenly felt her hand clutch at the back of his shirt, a pair of frightened emerald eyes was gazing at him,

"Syaoran, do you think there might be a…war?" Syaoran noticed that her voice was shaking, but it wasn't the only thing that shook, her whole body was trembling. And he saw that look in her eyes again that look of sorrow and misery. It was obvious that she must have seen a lot of bloodshed recently and didn't want to see it again.

He smiled a little and said consolingly, "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I don't think there's going to be a war,"

That seemed to cheer her up a bit; she smiled back at him and then closed her eyes curling herself like a ball on his bed.

But Syaoran knew that it wasn't going to be as simple as that.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Sakura had left a few hours after that and Syaoran had been up all night thinking about his next move. The Northern Kingdom was planning to attack, and he had to handle it alone. He knew that Lord Kenji or his father would never believe it if he told them. He stared at the piece of paper in his hand, wondering what to do next…

Author's note Oops! I guess I got carried away. There's way too much fluff in that chapter. I can't believe I wrote that! Anyways I don't know when I'll be able to update next. So I'll give a preview of the next chapter instead.

Next time:

"Oh No! My vision's coming true! I have to save him!

Syaoran!"

Plz check out my other story My pet wolf cub, Chocolate.

Till we meet next time,

Signing off

sakura doll.