A/N: Hello, peoples! I'm back with chapter two of The Storyteller. I apologize for being late. I hope this makes it up at least a little.

Discliamer: I do not own CCS. CLAMP does.

Chapter Two: The Raven Gang and The Princess

"Well, about three more miles left to go until I reach the next village, the Li village. I heard that the Li family is quite prestigious." Sakura sighed softly and looked out into the distance.

The sun shone brightly over the vast desert. Silence filled the air as only a few creatures were heard and seen before hiding under rocks and behind plants.

"I hope Touya is there."

The silence was then disturbed by the sound of people walking and camels. Sakura turned around to the source of the noise. "A caravan," she whispered. She had been traveling by foot for the past two days and hadn't heard anyone else until now.

Sakura turned around and lowered the straw hat on her head to hide part of her face. She continued walking in the direction she was headed and kept her distance. She would ask the caravan for a ride but she didn't want to give them any trouble. She could take care of herself.

"Sir, there is a young girl walking directly in front of us. She looks suspicious if you ask me."

General Cheng looked out and saw the girl his servant mentioned several feet away. She had tan skin, most likely from being in the sun so much. She wore a yellow sun dress that reached slightly below the knees with a pair of comfortable jeans. Sandals adorned her feet and she wore a straw hat on her head.

What made her suspicious however was the fact that attached to her backpack was a weapon. She wore a sword and was headed towards the Li Village.

"Sir, what shall we do? Should we stop her?" a guard asked. The general continued to stare at the girl. Then he looked ahead of her and saw a group of horses coming their way.

"Let her be. Besides, it seems there's trouble ahead."

Sakura looked ahead and saw a pack of horses and their riders. "This is the second group I've met today. And to think all in a span of an hour." She continued walking. "They should pass me soon."

However, the group didn't pass her but stopped in front of her instead. One person came off of his horse first. Sakura assumed that he was the group's leader. He was taller than her with black hair and red eyes. You could tell that he was muscular through his black shirt and jeans.

Sakura stopped and looked up from under her hat. 'Well, this will be interesting.'

He circled her and stopped in front of her once again. A smirk was evident. "Look what we have here."

Sakura smiled. "May I help you?"

"What is a cute girl like you doing out here all by yourself?"

She continued to smile. "I'm afraid that's none of you concern."

"Sir, the Raven Gang stopped in front of that girl! What should we do?"

General Cheng held up his hand and smirked. "Let's wait a bit. We won't do anything unless we have to. Besides, she wouldn't be out here alone with all those weapons if she couldn't defend herself."

The gang laughed. "What spunk," one of them said.

Sakura merely looked at them. "If that's all, I guess I shall be going."

"Wait."

Sakura turned towards the voice and saw another member walk up to her. "You have a lot of weapons on you; especially for a girl." He spoke in a teasing voice. "Are you sure you can handle them all?" He reached out for one.

"Don't touch them." The young girl's smile turned into a small frown and her tone was serious.

The member was shocked about the sudden change of attitude for a moment. His smile soon returned tough and he still reached for the sword at Sakura's side. "Aw, don't be like that." He touched the sword and gripped the handle.

In one swift movement she moved her leg and froze her foot only millimeters away from his face. "I said don't touch them."

Sweat dripped off of his brow as he froze in place. The other members watched in silence. Slowly he let go of Sakura's sword. "You have some moves there."

Sakura lowered her foot. "Thank you." She got a better look at the member. He had black hair and brown eyes. He was in reality a handsome guy.

"You're good…for a girl."

She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

He shrugged. "No matter what, guys will always be better." He smirked. "That's all I'm saying."

Sakura looked unbelieving. "How true do you think that is?"

"Very true. Do you know in legends and heroes of the past, there has never been a female who was stronger than a male?"

Sakura frowned and turned towards the gang. "Is that really true?"

A few of the other members shook their head. "You could never believe anything this idiot says. Yamazaki is a natural born liar."

"Hey!" Yamazaki protested.

Sakura frowned even deeper. "If that's all you want to tell me then I better get going."

"Since you don't believe me I'll just have to prove it to you." Before Sakura could say anything he aimed a punch at her direction.

"He's getting ready to fight her, sir!" The servant and guard were getting anxious.

The general shook his head. "Not until she really needs our help."

Just then a girl about Sakura's age emerged from her carriage. "What's going on? Why did the caravan stop?"

General Cheng along with the others turned towards the voice. "Good day, Princess Tomoyo."

Princess Tomoyo was a petite girl with raven hair and lavender eyes. She wore a dress that was long but cool and suitable for the desert and sandals. "What's wrong, General? Why'd we stop?"

"I'm sorry your highness. We'd noticed a suspicious girl ahead of us and were keeping an eye on her. The Raven Gang has caught up with her though. He and a member are in a fight."

Tomoyo looked out into the distance and her eyes widened. Then she started to smile. "Move over a bit please." She pushed the general over a bit and sat down. "This is getting interesting."

No comments were made as they watched Princess Tomoyo entertain herself.

Sakura was still in the middle of the fight. The first punch by Yamazaki was so sudden that her hat flew off when she dodged it. She blocked another punch with her arm and pushed his arm on the side, delivering a punch of her own.

Yamazaki dodged it and sent a kick aimed at Sakura's face.

She dodged it by jumping backwards. Then she kicked him off of his feet, causing him to land on his back.

About to get back up he stopped as he instantly felt pressure on his neck. He looked up to find Sakura's foot pressed on his neck and she held her sword directly above his heart.

Sakura held a determined look in her eyes. But, it turned into an amused one and a smile could clearly be seen. "What was that you said about guys always being better than girls? You might want to change your theory."

This time the gang laughed even harder than the first time they did. Sakura placed her sword back and removed her foot. The gang still laughed. "That was a good one."

Yamazaki frowned. "Shut up." He then turned and saw Sakura hold out her hand to help him up. He knocked it away and stood up. "I was caught off guard."

"Caught off guard? Dude, you started the fight. You caught her off guard and she still beat you!" another member said. The gang laughed even harder.

Yamazaki continued to frown. "I want a rematch."

The leader shook his head. "Not now. Later." He smiled. "One defeat is enough for today. Besides, we should leave before that caravan comes any closer. The princess is on that caravan. They would want us around. Let's go." He turned towards Sakura and smiled. "Young lady, you have earned my respect. I hope we meet again someday."

Yamazaki glared at Sakura. "We'll meet again someday for sure." He went back on his horse and rode off with the others.

Sakura stared at the group and just rode off. "That was certainly…interesting." She bent down to pick up her hat.

"Hey! You there!"

She looked behind her to see the same caravan from earlier. A young girl waved on it. 'First that gang and now this girl. What's next?'

The caravan stopped and Sakura walked over towards the girl who jumped down and shook her hand. "Hello, nice to meet you! You fought that Raven gang member so well! That was so cool."

A bewildered Sakura shook her head. "Thanks."

"You just have to come with us! You're headed to the Li Village, right?" Sakura nodded. "Well, so are we! Come and ride with us!"

Sakura didn't know what to say. She had never met anyone like this girl before. "Um…okay then."

"Great! Come on up!" They both climbed up and the whole caravan started moving again. That's when the girl laughed nervously. "I'm sorry; I got so excited I didn't even tell you my name. My name is Princess Tomoyo."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You're a princess." Tomoyo nodded her head. "Please to meet you, Your Highness."

"Please, I prefer you to call me Tomoyo. I want us to be friends."

Ah, ok."

"What's your name?"

"I'd prefer you to call me Storyteller. It's what I'm known as in other villages."

Tomoyo looked inquisitive for a moment then smiled. "So you're that girl the children in other villages talk about. You've got a lot of fans." Sakura blushed. "Okay, then I'll call you Storyteller. I hope you love the village. I'd like to head one of your stories someday." After that they started talking about random things until they arrived at the village.

Sakura had many thoughts running through her head. She didn't expect any of this to happen. She certainly didn't expect to meet a princess. One though stood out the most though. 'At least I'm still headed towards the Li Village.'

A/N: That's the end of chapter two. Thanks for all of the reviews I've been getting for my fanfics. Whenever I read a new one or see I'm added to someone's favourite list for something I start freaking out. I really appreciate it. It makes me feels great. Once again, I'm really sorry for the late update. One of the reasons for it is because...writer's block again (sweat drops). The usual I guess. Aside from that school started three weeks ago. Guess what peoples? I'm a tenth grader! I'm a high schooler now! Yay me! lol On a serious note though, I'll try a little harder to update more frequently. She Will Be Love will be updated as soon as possible...meaning when I get out of my writer's block (woe ish me). I hope you enjoy this chapter. Until next time...please R&R. Bye!