Chapter Five: The Riot

What could he possibly want to do with the Li Village? I haven't heard about him being anywhere in a long time now.

"Storyteller."

I mean, of course I've been to a lot of very small villages that don't hear outside news until much later on, but I should've heard something by now.

"Storyteller."

Whatever it is, I won't let him take over such a beautiful village without a fight. I must get the Queen to allow me to help in any way possible.

"Storyteller!" Sakura stopped in mid motion as she heard her voice being called. She caught her boomerang like weapon in mid air and realized that it was Tomoyo calling her. She was so into her training and thoughts that she didn't notice anyone was calling her. Prince Eriol and Prince Syaoran were there too.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I'm sorry. You wanted to talk?" Meanwhile, all Tomoyo could do was stare at Sakura. She stood there nervously. "Um…did I do something wrong?"

Tomoyo just continued to stare. "You're amazing… You wield that spiral shuriken like a pro." Sakura, Eriol, and Syaoran sweat dropped as Tomoyo went back to her usual perky self. "I want to master a weapon too!"

Eriol shook his head. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, I promise. Please?" Eriol looked a bit doubtful. Tomoyo turned back to Sakura and gave her a pleading look.

Sakura gave in. "You know, I could teach her something like archery. I'd make sure she doesn't hurt herself or get into any problems too. It's a good defense weapon for her."

Tomoyo smiled and faced her fiancé again. "See? I'll be fine I promise."

Eriol sighed and eventually gave in. "Fine, it may be of good use to you anyway."

Tomoyo squealed in delight. "Thank you so much!" She gave him a peck on the cheek. "You won't regret it."

Eriol smiled. "I hope not." Syaoran merely shook his head.

Sakura smiled as well. "Is this the only thing you guys came for? What's up?"

After asking that question, all three became serious. "We need to talk," Syaoran said.

"So can you tell me more about this Commander Lang?" Sakura sat down with the others as they talked about the upcoming war.

Syaoran sighed. "He was once the general of our army. He was a good one too. He's an expert when it came to planning and war tactics. He was one of our best too. However, he allowed all of the power to go to his head. He wanted to be more than the General of the Army. He wanted to be king."

"Of course he couldn't take over a position like that so easily so he was removed of his position and kicked out of the village," Sakura guessed. She had a feeling it went somewhere along those lines.

Syaoran nodded. "Exactly. Of course he didn't take it too lightly. He intended to return for this village one day and now that day is getting nearer and nearer by the second."

Eriol spoke up. "That's why we want you to leave as soon as possible. We don't want to put you in any danger."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't do that or more exactly…I don't have the heart to do that."

Tomoyo looked at her worriedly. "You don't have any family to hold you back. It's not as if you have a reason to stay."

"Ah, but you see, that's where you're wrong. I do have a reason to stay and I do not plan to leave until I've fulfilled it. I'm willing to stay in the village even to help as a guard." Sakura was determined and kept her ground.

Syaoran gazed at her curiously. "Would you care to tell us exactly what you're reason is?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm not ready to tell anyone just as yet. Perhaps later."

Tomoyo, Eriol and Syaoran all looked at each other and shrugged. Syaoran finally took a deep breath. "All right you win. However, I hope you know that this is a dangerous thing you're getting yourself into. I realize that you're a skilled fighter, but this is war. You can't battle just one on one anymore like we saw you do. People have no morals. Commander Lang is the type of person who'd go into someone's home and slaughter the whole family without a second thought. He has no heart. You'd be putting your life on the line."

Sakura was grim. Oh, trust me; I know what he's like. She nodded. "I understand. I realize what I'm getting myself into. This is something I want to do. I have to do this."

"I realize this. Clearly you don't intend to listen to what I'm saying so we might as well let you do as you wish."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you very much." She then grew serious once more. "Have you told anyone outside the castle about this upcoming war yet?"

Eriol shook his head. "Why, no. We haven't told the villagers as yet. We plan to tell them though. They need to know what's going to happen from us."

Tomoyo shook her head. "I agree. To hear this type of news from the wrong group could spell out chaos."

At the moment the servant Kiya came running in. Her cheeks were flushed from the running she just did. She stopped in front of the group and bowed before them. "Forgive me for interrupting but there is a riot outside of the castle…and the Raven Gang is leading it!"

Syaoran stood up startled. "A riot? About what may I ask?"

"They're talking about some kind of war, Your Highness."

Eriol groaned. "Leave it to them to find out about everything first! Now we have a riot on our hands!"

Tomoyo stood up as well. "We must get going and see that this ends at once!" They all ran out of the gardens to attend to the matter.

There was an enormous uproar at the castle gates. Angry faces could be seen all around. The people were confused and wanted answers and who better to lead them than the Raven Gang themselves.

The leader of the gang stood in the front, the guards trying to hold them back. "We demand to see Queen Yelan at once!"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to wait, sir. Now please go back!"

"Why should we have to wait when the war isn't going to wait on us?" One of the villagers yelled out angrily.

The guard glared, irritated. "There has been no mention of any war as yet. I ask once again…go back. I'll have to use force if you don't."

"Go ahead and try it!"

"What is going on here? I demand an answer!" The crowd went silent as they turned to see none other than Prince Syaoran standing on top of the wall. His arms were crossed and he wore a scowl. "I will not tolerate such behavior. What is going on here?"

This was a completely different side of Syaoran the village was seeing. He was usually friendly but you could tell he meant business. The Raven Gang leader bowed before Syaoran and spoke up. "We meant no harm Prince Syaoran."

"It doesn't seem as if you meant no harm, Ryu; not in the very least." Syaoran stared hard at him.

"We only want to know about this war that you didn't tell us about." Ryu returned the same stony stare. Some of the other villagers were bold enough to mumble in agreement.

Syaoran kept the same stare as he continued to speak. "Well, clearly you and the rest of the gang didn't even give me a chance to announce anything. However since you did I guess this time is best." He looked out into the crowd. "It is true what you have heard. There is a war coming and Commander Lang is leading it."

This gave the villagers quite a shock and some started talking worriedly. "We do not know when he intends on coming but I can assure you that it will be very soon."

He looked at them kindly, finally releasing his stony glare. "Of course I have not forgotten about all of you. We'd never willingly put you in any harm or danger. That's why we intend to keep this battle as far away from the village as possible. The army will keep their eyes out outside the gate of the village and let us know of when they come. They'll fight out there. We also have a plan. If something does happen you all know what to do."

The villagers started to calm down a bit after hearing this bit of information however… "How do you know if that plan will work for sure? You said you don't know how they'd come so how do you know they haven't already read what your tactics are?" They all turned to see Takashi speaking angrily.

"You realize who we're dealing with, right? This is Commander Lang! He was once the general of our army. He was one of the best generals we ever had. Do you think that just guarding the outside of the village would be enough?"

Syaoran glared at him. "That's enough, Takashi."

The village was riled up again. Takashi narrowed his eyes. "Do you really know what you are doing?"

Suddenly out of no where a dagger grazed Takashi's cheek and landed behind him on the ground. The second time that day the village went silent. As he held his now bleeding cheek he followed the path the dagger came from to see Sakura standing on top of the gate not too far away from Syaoran. Where did she come from?

Sakura stood there angrily staring at Takashi. She held another dagger in her hand. "Why must you always be in things like this? Tell me are you really this hard headed or just plain stupid?"

Takashi could only frown silently as she continued. The villagers were too stunned by her attack on Takashi and therefore listened as she spoke. Even Syaoran was surprised by her actions.

She looked up at the crowd. "I know that I haven't been here very long so I don't know much about this village. I do know one thing; you have no reason to be rioting. Do you honestly think that Prince Syaoran would not have told you about the war? I can tell from the time I've been here that the royal family that lives here cares a lot about the people residing in this village. Do you think they'd sit back and do nothing and let you all suffer?" Sakura took a deep breath and smiled. "Now that we've gotten that straight please listen to whatever else that has to be said."

Syaoran was too busy admiring the control she had with the people. They didn't object to anything she said and listened quietly. Of course, a lot of the reason is probably due to the fact that she just threw a dagger at Takashi but he also noticed that they truly respected her. Syaoran finally came to himself and became serious once more. "Yes, I know that we can't simply guard the gate and expect us to be okay. However as I said before, we do have a plan. We're not unprepared. We have a great general as well and besides," he smirked. "I taught Commander Lang about tactics."

"I heard there was a riot outside. Is this true Syaoran?" Queen Yelan gazed at her son worriedly.

"I'm afraid so, Mother. However, there is no need to worry. The matter has been dealt with promptly." Syaoran bowed.

Queen Yelan nodded. "That is good to hear." She smiled. "I also heard that the Storyteller was a great help to you as well."

Prince Eriol affirmed it. "She spoke to them and got them to listen to what had to be said."

"She was an excellent help," Tomoyo added.

Queen Yelan turned to face Sakura. She looked away slightly embarrassed making the queen smile even more. "You did a good thing. Thank you."

Sakura blushed and bowed politely. "It was my pleasure."

"Now I've been thinking about this war that was coming up. You're a guest here and I don't to put in any danger. However, something tells me that you don't want to leave. And therefore, I won't make you."

Sakura was stunned and couldn't move. As the words started to process she realized that she wasn't being forced to leave. She could stay. Soon she had a smile that reached all the way up to her emerald eyes. She bowed once again. "Thank you, Your Highness." This was perfect. Now she could do exactly what she had wanted to do. Help out in the war as much as possible. Commander Lang would be in for a surprise.

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. It was kinda rushed so I hope it isn't too bad (didn't have much time). Thanks for all the reviews! Until next time!