The Guiding Star

Betrayal Revealed: Chapter Sixteen

By: Sakura

She was all alone.

Looking about her, all Sakura could see was that she was by herself in the vast, endless darkness. The feeling of loneliness was overwhelming her so that her tears fell without her even realizing. All of a sudden, she was running in the pitch black with no idea where she was headed, as her eyes were blinded by her own tears. But upon hearing approaching footsteps, footsteps not her own, they echoed so eerily in the emptiness that she ran even faster. Someone called for her to stop, but she didn’t pay heed to their words. Suddenly, a tall hooded figure caught her arm and turned her around to face them. That figure then pulled off his hood, revealing a slightly messy-haired man with warm amber eyes. She had gasped out his name in recognition.

“Xiao Lang…” she whispered. He held her hand in his and kept it close to him. It looked as if he had been about to speak when the tip of a sword suddenly protruded from his mid-section and withdrew back quickly, mercilessly. Someone had stabbed him from the back, someone completely hidden away by the endless black night. The blood poured from the open wound and, as he released her hand, Xiao Lang fell to the ground, unmoving, lying in a pool of his own blood. It was as if someone had ripped her heart from her chest. “No!!!” she cried, dropping down beside him and holding his cold body. “Xiao Lang, no!!”

Sakura had awoken with a start, her entire body shaking with fright. Chi Yuen was instantly by her side, his hands on her still shivering shoulders.

“Sakura, what is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, a look of deep worry on his face.

“I… I…” she stammered. She couldn’t find the words to express what she saw. Chi Yuen seemed to understand immediately and he drew her into a tight embrace. Sakura felt her shivers slowly dying away.

“It was only a dream,” he said soothingly. “It didn’t mean anything… Don’t worry about it.”

Sakura hoped that she could believe that with all her heart, but she couldn’t erase the image of Xiao Lang lying dead before her…

~*~*~*~*~*~

Someone was crying.

Xiao Lang looked around. All he could see was infinite darkness. But he could hear someone near him, crying almost silently. Who was shedding these tears of sorrow?

The sound of footsteps echoed in that vast darkness. But they were receding into the shadows, rather than approaching him. Whirling around, he saw a hooded figure running away from him. That person was the only one there in that black, empty place aside from him. A voice in his head told him, he didn’t want this person to leave his side, and he immediately took chase.

“Wait, wait!” he called after them. “Stop; don’t go!” The figure did not slow down, but Xiao Lang sped up instead, stretching out toward that person and grabbed their wrist. “I said wait!” he cried, pulling that person short and forcing them to turn around. The hood fell away, revealing a girl with long brown hair and soft emerald green eyes. She stared at him in surprise. Xiao Lang stared back at her, his expression mirroring her own.

“Xiao Lang…” she exclaimed in a faint whisper. He couldn’t believe it. The only one with him here in this nightmare was the one he wanted to see the most. Instinctively, he pulled her close to him and rested it on his chest, his hand covering hers. With his other hand, he reached to touch her face.

“Sakura,” he began, “I…”

But in a flurry of cherry blossom petals, the girl suddenly disappeared. Xiao Lang clenched his fists, but all he had to show for it was a handful of petals. The flowers all continued to flutter to the ground and the Prince found himself all alone again. One hand was on his chest and he was breathing hard. It felt like he was going to break into pieces. “Sakura, don’t go!” he cried, as all the petals were lifted by a strong wind and disappeared into nothingness. There was nothing left but pitch black…

“Sakura!!!”

Slowly opening his eyes, Xiao Lang found himself staring up at a white ceiling. “Was all that a dream?” he mumbled aloud, feeling dizzy and a little disoriented still.

As he tried to prop himself up, all the pain came rushing back at once and he fell back on the bed with surprise. His entire body throbbed as he remembered the most recent events. Chi Yuen had nearly killed him…rather, Xiao Lang was astonished that he was still alive. Being able to feel every ache and pain in his body attested to that. That meant the past events were not a dream…but he began to wonder where he was. Looking around, he noticed someone had taken off his shirts and bandaged the wounds on his shoulder. His right arm had been wrapped in some stiff material and he couldn’t move it at all. It was still broken. His body had been bruised and slightly singed, but he had been neatly cleaned up and all wounds were spoken for. Glancing around the room as he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, careful not to rip the bandages, he found he was in a simple room with nothing more than the standard table with chairs in the center and a bed to the side. His sword was propped against the wall beside the bed and his shirts were neatly mended and folded, placed on the table. There was one chair pulled up next to the bed, but whoever its occupant was, they were not there now. His only clue to the seat’s owner was that they used the small bow lying on the table beside his shirt, and also next to quiver of arrows and a strange little jar.

“Thank you, doctor,” a voice called cheerily in the hallway. “I’m going to go check on him now.” Before Xiao Lang had time to react, the doors opened, and a tall woman swept regally into the room, a mature air about her. She was strikingly beautiful, with her long raven black hair arranged into many neat braids, creamy white skin, and eyes the shade of polished jade. In her hands held a worn pouch, which Xiao Lang later recognized to be his, but for the moment, he couldn’t stop staring, with his eyes widened, at the woman. He would still have believed he was dreaming if his arm hadn’t been hurting him so. Wordlessly, the woman crossed the room and sat in the chair beside his side and smiled pleasantly at him. Xiao Lang couldn’t find his voice and said nothing at her approach. He still stared at her in shocked silence. When she spoke, her voice was sweet and amiable.

“It’s been a very long time, hasn’t it, Xiao Lang?” she asked.

Xiao Lang’s mouth was dry, but he managed to find his voice again and spoke to her for the first time in years. “Wing Kay…”

~*~*~*~*~*~

With the gold star whirling and the white wings glowing faintly, Sakura used her key to lock the red ring and it fell into the palm of her hand. She stared at it sadly for a moment, remembering the person she was with the last time she sealed a ring spirit.

“You’re incredible, Sakura,” said Chi Yuen in awe, “being able to seal such a thing so easily.”

“Oh, no,” she protested, flushing slightly, “it’s not me. It’s the ring that seals the spirits.” She watched as Chi Yuen sheathed his sword, noticing that there was a strange figure carved out at the end of the hilt. “But you’re even more amazing, Chi Yuen,” she added, “since you were able to battle that fire spirit so easily.”

Chi Yuen smiled ruefully. “It was only luck,” he said cheerfully, as the two of them left the forest. “But, who would have expected to encounter such a strange spirit out here? And it could have killed us if it tried. Did you come across other similar spirits before?”

“Twice,” Sakura answered briefly, suddenly falling silent. She didn’t really want to talk about Xiao Lang with Chi Yuen right now.

The fact was, at the moment, Sakura was still worried about Xiao Lang. The dream she had the night before was so vivid, so realistic, it was as if it had really happened…

“…have it?”

It was then that Sakura realized that Chi Yuen was speaking to her. “Sorry,” she said, “what was that?”

“Could I have that ring?” Chi Yuen repeated. “It’s really beautiful and I’d like to study it a bit.”

“Sure,” Sakura answered absently, surrendering the ring to him. Her mind was still on Xiao Lang and she thought of little else for a long time. Chi Yuen pocketed the ring and as they headed back to the inn they were staying at, he watched her out of the corner of his eye, an expression of great amusement on his face.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The prince obediently stayed still as Wing Kay took off the bandages around his shoulder and he watched her as she worked. She didn’t seem to be the least bit fazed at the amount of blood that poured from his deep shoulder wound, and diligently continued to clean the wound and replace the bandage. To see her again like this, it was really like a dream for Xiao Lang. It had been four years since he had last seen her and she was more beautiful and more kind than he remembered her. When she finished, Wing Kay looked up at him and caught his gaze, their eyes locked for a few timeless moments, broken only when she looked away with a slight blush.

“Er…um…” Xiao Lang stuttered, trying to find the words to speak again. “How did I get here?” he finally asked.

“We found you,” she answered, as she stood up to put the bandages away. Xiao Lang watched her every move, drinking in the very sight of her. “The doctor and I,” she added, as she settled back in her chair by his side. “We had heard something strange when we were heading back to the clinic and he wanted to investigate it. Imagine our surprise at finding you completely unconscious. I almost thought that, after I had finally found you, I wouldn’t be able to see you smile for me again.” She suddenly turned away, not letting him see the tears threatening to fall.

“Wing Kay…” he murmured quietly. She suddenly turned around again to face him, smiling. Any trace of tears had long since vanished.

“The doctor said you were at the brink of death,” she continued, “but that, somehow, you hadn’t let go of your life. ‘Stubbornly clinging on to it’ was how he put it.” She laughed somewhat weakly, not sure what else to say. To see the man she loved on the verge of death had been a huge shock, even bigger than the one of finding him all the way here in Zhongxian, a town so far from the capital. But before she could say another word, Xiao Lang had reached out to her with his good arm and pulled her to him, holding her close in a tight hug. She slipped her arms around his neck and held him close to her, as well. “You’ve grown up a lot, Xiao Lang,” she whispered. “And I’ve missed you so much… You’re still everything to me…”

“The countless number of times I wanted to drop everything and go look for you…” Xiao Lang murmured quietly into her ear. “I’ve missed you, too…” Wing Kay suddenly broke the embrace, pulling away from him.

“Are you sure it’s me you missed?” she asked with a wry smile. “This ‘Sakura’ seems to be very important to you.”

At her words, Xiao Lang stiffened the slightest bit. “How do you know about Sakura?” he asked.

Wing Kay was on her feet, suddenly restless, and walked toward the table, her back to him. “You were…” she began hesitantly. “You were calling for her in your sleep. Telling her not to leave you.”

That was something that Xiao Lang couldn’t explain… He knew he loved Wing Kay, would always love her… But, at the same time, he really cared about Sakura. He didn’t want anything to happen to her… He still had his promise to keep. But how to explain that to Wing Kay… When he looked back at Wing Kay, he could see that she no longer wanted to know, since she had already changed the subject.

“I’ll go see if the doctor can see you now,” she said quietly without looking at him, slowly edging back toward the door. “I’m sure he wants to see how you’re doing now, and…” When she looked up, she suddenly found Xiao Lang standing before her and she took an involuntary step back in surprise. He had gotten up and crossed the room to her. He had grown so much taller from the Xiao Lang she remembered, his face was no longer childish, and he had turned to a mature young man. With the closed doors at her back and the prince standing before her, she didn’t bother to look anywhere else, completely immersed in his intense gaze. His eyes hadn’t changed, still full of warmth and love… Holding her cheek in his hand, Xiao Lang leaned down and kissed her. Wing Kay, though surprised, returned his kiss with her own and then hugged him again. She still loved him too much…

Pulling her close to him again, Xiao Lang whispered, “Don’t worry… You’re still the only one I love…” The tears that Wing Kay held back now fell… Tears of utter happiness at being with the one she loved again…

The doors abruptly opened at this time and the doctor entered, an eyebrow raised at the pair before him, followed by a light chuckle. He was an elderly man with long, greyish-white hair pulled back into a ponytail, a bit of a slump in his shoulders that denoted his age, but still with a spring in his step and a good sense of humour. He was a kind man that cared only for helping people recover to their normal health, not judging a person by who they were. He was the type to help anyone, regardless of how rich or poor, good or evil, they were. He believed everyone had the right to be healed and that everyone had the right to live.

“Wing Kay,” he said in mock sternness, “the patient has to be resting in bed. He still needs to recover from those numerous wounds.” Wing Kay and Xiao Lang broke their embrace in embarrassment but the doctor continued, with a twinkle in his eyes, “You can continue being lovey-dovey after I finish checking on him. Ah…” he laughed. “How nice it is to be young again.” Wing Kay led the prince back to his bed and he sat down on the side. She bowed to the doctor as he seated himself next to Xiao Lang, and stood next to them as he did his check-up.

“My, you’re looking fairly healthy for a man that was unconscious for more than four days,” the doctor told him with a smile, as he looked over the wounds left unhealed on the prince’s body. “My name’s Ching Tai Sun, just a lowly doctor that does his best in helping people. But…” he added gravely, gesturing to Xiao Lang’s broken arm. “I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about this arm. I’ve never seen bones broken in such a fashion. It’s a real mystery to me. Then again,” he laughed, “you did the impossible and still lived when I actually expected you to die! You are really something else…”

Xiao Lang stared at his right arm expressionlessly, but said nothing.

“What I can do for you now is to put it in a cast or brace,” Tai Sun continued, “to keep the arm in place. You don’t want to move it around too much or you’d risk breaking it further or ripping your arm out of place. However, I heard you’re a magician from the Li clan. Perhaps they have a healer that can heal this arm for you with magic. Because ordinary means would be unable to help you at all.” Seeing the sudden wariness in the prince’s eyes, and his gaze darting between Wing Kay and doctor, the latter sighed in understanding. “Yes, I know all about you. Wing Kay never said a word about it to me. It’s rather famous news, actually, even in a town so far from the capital as this: the runaway prince that tried to kill his brother and stole away aforementioned brother’s concubine. With the way Prince Li is combing China for you two, it’d be a wonder if people didn’t know.”

“Prince Li Xiao Lang, fifteenth Prince of the former Emperor,” the doctor said to him, “has never visited this clinic and was never treated by me. The only person living here is a simple farmer that had been gravely hurt somehow and has stayed here in my home to recover. Am I correct?” Tai Sun smiled at him and Xiao Lang relaxed, instinctively believing that he could really trust the elderly man, and smiled in return. “Ah, Wing Kay,” Tai Sun said suddenly. “May you please go and purchase some more bandages? We’ve used up most of what we have in this store on this young man. And I’m certain he will require more on his journey.” Wing Kay nodded and bowed to him in acquiesce. With one last smile to Xiao Lang, she hurried out of the room to fulfill his request.

“I love that girl as if she were my own daughter,” said Tai Sun suddenly, with a touch of sadness in his voice. “She’s been with me since I met her four years ago. What a mischievous rogue she was then!” The doctor laughed at the recollection. But the laughter immediately subsided and he faced Xiao Lang seriously. “Prince Li,” he said, “will you take her with you? She needs someone like you. I’ve never seen her as happy as when she is with you.”

The prince was stunned by this sudden request. Take Wing Kay with him? Could he really do that? Just a few minutes ago, he had been taken up in the moment of being in the presence of his old love and had done so much he never expected himself to be able to do, but to have her stay with him on his mission…

~*~*~*~*~*~

It hadn’t been more than a week since she had last seen Xiao Lang, but Sakura missed his presence keenly. She was beginning to have second thoughts about leaving him… What if it had all just been a misunderstanding?

Sitting alone in her room, Sakura hugged her legs even closer to her as she sat by the table. No… She was only kidding with herself… The only reason she wished for it all to be a misunderstanding was simply because she wanted to be by his side, to assure herself that her dream was not also a reality. Above all else, she wanted the prince to be safe from harm.

Still, on a different note, Chi Yuen was a good person and he really helped her out whenever he could. Sakura liked him a lot, however, she knew it was nothing like what she felt for Xiao Lang. She loved him; and thus, could never forget him even if she tried.

The sound of a chair being thrown to the ground and breaking in the room next door startled Sakura out of her reverie and she stood up. That was Chi Yuen’s room…

Quietly slipping out of her room, she crept toward her companion’s room and had opened the door just a slit when someone yelled, “Why didn’t you kill him off?” She jumped back in surprise at the sudden outburst and wondered who was speaking. It didn’t sound like Chi Yuen, at all, for the voice was deep and guttural. Was someone in there with him?

Making her way back to the door, she knelt down by the side and peeked in through the slit. From where she was, she could see Chi Yuen sitting by the small round table holding the small teacup, an expression of indifference etched across his features. He wasn’t alone, either. Another person, entirely clothed in a dark grey cloak with their face completely hidden from view, was pacing the floor before him, in apparent agitation. The person suddenly stopped and wheeled around to face Chi Yuen.

“You had the chance to finish him off right then and there!” continued the cloaked figure. “Why didn’t you do it? Why did you let him live?”

Chi Yuen merely glanced up at the person from his cup, the air of boredom never lifting. “There’s no reason for him to die yet,” he answered, coolly. “That prince brat is still too important in my plans. If I killed Xiao Lang now, I can just forget everything I did to get to this point. Still,” he added, a cold smirk forming on his lips, “I hurt him enough the last time we met that he wished he had died.”

The Japanese princess fell back with a loud gasp, but quickly covered her mouth with her hands. “What was that?” asked the cloak person, suddenly alert. “Someone’s out there.” Scolding herself for her carelessness, Sakura quickly crawled toward her room and had just reached the first circular pillar when the door opened and the unknown person stepped out. She crept behind it and hid from sight, hoping the darkness in the hall was enough to shield her. The light from the room lit up part of the darkened hallway and the cloaked figure glanced around, looking from one end of the hallway to the other. They saw nothing at all, aside from darkness and several pillars that supported the ceiling. The pillars…

Sakura’s eyes widened for a moment when she heard the footsteps slowly approaching and then she shut them tight, burying her head into her arms. She had drawn her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, trying to stop them from shaking with fright. If only… If only she wasn’t so weak and useless… She didn’t know what she would do if she got caught. At first, she thought that perhaps Chi Yuen would help her, but now, remembering what he had said just earlier, it was impossible. Because he had tried to kill Xiao Lang… “Xiao Lang…” she cried inside, with all her heart. “Where are you now? Are you all right…” A hand was slowing reaching out toward her from behind, trying to grab whoever was hiding behind that pillar…

“There’s probably no one there so stop wasting my time and get back in here!” called Chi Yuen in irritation. The hand withdrew rather hesitantly and the figure strode back into the room, closing the doors behind them. With her hands over her wildly beating heart, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her head back on the pillar for support. Her arms and legs were still shaking, but at least that person was gone.

Slowly moving back toward the door again, and as she reminded herself over and over to be more careful, she sat down and placed her ear near the door, hoping to hear what they were saying. Perhaps Chi Yuen would mention where he had last seen Xiao Lang, something she desperately wanted to know.

“And just when do you intend to get rid of that girl?” asked the deep, harsh voice again, a touch of impatience in their tone. “You’re just wasting time babysitting her.”

“I’ll be rid of her as soon as her usefulness is up,” Chi Yuen said, with a pleasant smile. “The only thing that girl is useful for is collecting rings. She’s completely useless in every other respect.” Unexpectedly, tears fell from Sakura’s eyes, but she never noticed them. So, she was good for nothing…?

“You mean you’re not in love with her?” asked the other in surprise. “I thought you only went along with her because you had an interest in her.”

Chi Yuen laughed out loud this time. “You’ve got to be kidding! I want a woman, not a child. I don’t enjoy playing with little children. Though,” he mused, “completely duping her has been quite a bit of fun! I can’t believe she never noticed how I intentionally separated her and that prince brat. She’s far too trusting and naïve for her own good. I don’t like my women to be so dumb.” Not wanting to hear another word from his mouth, Sakura immediately stood up and ran down the hall, wiping her tears away. She had been such a fool, falling for everything he had said. He thought of her as nothing at all…

“I know I heard something this time,” the cloaked person said, in a complete change of tone, heading to the door again. “Let’s see-”

“Don’t bother,” Chi Yuen ordered. The corners of his mouth turned up in a cruel smirk. “She’s already gone.”

His companion shook their head resignedly. “You really are a mean one.” Chi Yuen didn’t bother justifying that with an answer.

~*~*~*~*~*~

No matter how much he thought about it, Xiao Lang was still at a loss for a course of action. This wasn’t at all like the time with Sakura, where leaving her behind was out of the question. She had nothing for her in that palace - on a second thought, the prince chided himself, she had a very faithful handmaiden - but aside from that, there was no one to protect her. He honestly believed that there was no way Shui Ken could love Sakura. Wing Kay, on the other hand, had a nice home and people that cared about her. Still, he wouldn’t mind her accompaniment at all.

“Perhaps,” thought Xiao Lang, as he poked his right arm a bit with his left hand, “I can bring her with me and ask the Elders about it when I go to heal my arm. But what if they test her as they did Sakura?” He realized that, unlike Sakura, Wing Kay would be of “no use” to the magicians, being a normal person that lacked the special powers the rare few were given. He could still try, anyway…

But, more important than seeing the council about his arm or about Wing Kay, he had to find Sakura. His left hand clenched in a tight first as he thought of Chi Yuen and his deceptions. He had to get Sakura back from that lying, despicable …

Before he could brood over it further, the doors to his room suddenly burst open and Wing Kay stood there panting heavily as she leaned against the door, her arms filled with rolls of bandages. “Thank goodness,” she sighed with relief. “You’re still here…” Extremely exhausted, the girl sank to the floor, still leaning against the door, and still clutching the armful of bandage rolls. Immediately alert to the matter at hand, Xiao Lang got out of bed and knelt down, on one knee, by her side instantly.

“What do you mean?” the prince asked, a look of concern on his face. “What happened to you?”

“I was really worried that the guards had come to take you away,” Wing Kay began, as soon as she resumed normal breathing operations. “When I left the store, I saw many guards outside, just within the edge of the forest. They seemed to be loitering around there and, for a moment, I wondered if it could be you and that they knew were you were. I ran back here as fast as possible because I wanted to be sure they didn’t take Xiao Lang away…”

Xiao Lang stared at Wing Kay for a moment, thinking rapidly. Why would there be so many guards in Zhongxian? As the doctor had said, Zhongxian was far from the capital. If Shui Ken had sent them, he wouldn’t have sent many of them this far. Had they really discovered where he was? That would also put the doctor and Wing Kay in danger, too… But, if they knew he was here, why hadn’t they acted yet? That was very unlike Shui Ken. He hadn’t been diligently chasing them for months just to let him go for a few days… Unless…

The pit in his stomach dropped. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. His bangs covering his eyes, Xiao Lang stood up and grabbed his sword. Without a word, he strode out of the room and walked quickly down the hallway.

“Wait, Xiao Lang!” cried Wing Kay, going after him. He paused for a moment and turned to face her. “Where are you going?

“I know where Sakura is!” he answered. Without sparing another second, he turned around and broke into a run.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A short while ago, blinded by her own tears, Sakura had run from the inn and, not watching where she was going, continued running in a straight line, right into the woods. Everything was jumbled up in her mind. Chi Yuen had lied to her… Xiao Lang was almost killed… He must be hurt somewhere, alone… She had no one else she could believe in… She had to find Xiao Lang…

Stopping short at the edge of a small pond, Sakura dropped to the ground, burying her head in her arms, letting the tears flow faster. Something cold touched her neck and she realized it was the star pendant. It was all the fault of this pendant… It brought her nothing but trouble…Because of its powers, she was used for another’s selfish purpose… Because of it, she became nothing more than a tool… Clutching the pendant tight in her hand, she yanked it off her neck, snapping the small chain it was on and threw it into the lake, only…

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t throw it away. Even when she tried to toss that heinous pendant, her own hand stopped her, not releasing the star from its grasp. She couldn’t let go of the last link to her father, her old home… Her past…

The father in her memory smiled at her, putting the necklace around her neck and closing the clasp. “Keep this to remember me,” he said with a soft smile, “and your home. It’ll help you where you’re going now…”

“Otousan…” she whispered, the tears falling harder, “Oniichan… I… I want to see you again!”

“We can arrange that.”

Sakura suddenly froze at the unknown voice. Completely preoccupied earlier, she didn’t hear the arrival of Shui Ken’s guards. Biting her lip and holding back the tears, she slipped the pendant into a small pocket in her robes before turning around to face them, the defiant look never leaving her eyes. “What do you want from me?” she asked them coolly, hoping they couldn’t detect the shakiness in her tone.

“Oh, oh, the princess has some spirit in her, after all,” mocked one of the guards. “She’s not just a big crybaby, after all.”

“You know exactly what we’re here for,” piped up another guard. “We’re going to bring you back to your prince, since you are his concubine and all. Plus, we’ll get a nice reward if we capture you and bring you to him.”

The Japanese princess slowly got to her feet, mentally counting the number of guards. There were about nine in all. The problem was, she had nowhere to go, she realized, as she surveyed the situation. Being at the edge of the pond, the guards had surrounded her, cutting off any means of escape that wasn’t via water. And they knew she couldn’t swim, so there was no chance of her going through the water route. She was completely trapped. Sakura was well aware that she couldn’t swim and knew that going by water was not an option. However, deciding between drowning and returning to Shui Ken, the choice wasn’t difficult at all. Without another word, she turned around and dashed into the cold waters.

Even if they were surprised by the princess’ sudden action, one of the guards quickly hurried into the waters after her, seized her by the waist, and dragged her back to the shore. Sakura struggled to get out of his grasp, but completely in vain. She didn’t have the strength to defeat such a man on her own. The leader of this particular group of guards walked up to her and slapped her hard, her head turning in the direction of the slap. She turned her head back to face him, glaring angrily, her cheek turning red from the slap, and any trace of her earlier tears gone. He would have liked to strike her harder, but Shui Ken wouldn’t be at all happy with them to find visible bruises on his concubine. “Don’t make our job any more difficult,” he said callously. “We are supposed to bring you back to Shui Ken alive, not your dead body.” He grabbed her chin with one hand and pulled her head close to his. “Do you understand what I just said?” he demanded, in a low menacing tone. Sakura pursed her lips, determined not to answer him.

The head guard suddenly let go of her chin and fell forward, leaning against the princess’ shoulder, to the surprise of both the guard holding Sakura captive and Sakura herself. He wasn’t moving at all. But when the guard had fallen, Sakura’s eyes widened at the sight of the man before her. Li Xiao Lang stood behind the head guard, breathing heavily. He pushed the guard away from Sakura, letting him fall to the ground, already unconscious. Without another word, he reached out with his left hand and aimed a heavy cuff at the guard holding Sakura, knocking him out instantly. When she was released from his grasp, the prince immediately pulled her over to his side with his left hand. With her by his side again, the pair turned around and fled.

All this had mattered in a matter of seconds and the guards hadn’t the time to react until now. Instantly, all the guards drew their swords and took chase. As Xiao Lang led Sakura deeper into the woods, trying to shake the guards off, Sakura noticed for the first time that Xiao Lang’s right arm was in a strange looking brace and hardly moved at all. And although they hadn’t run for very long, the prince already seemed to be tired out and wearier than usual. It must have been because of his fight with Chi Yuen, Sakura realized, and Xiao Lang still hadn’t fully recovered yet. The prince suddenly stopped short behind a thick tree trunk and he held his left arm tight around Sakura, holding her close to him. He couldn’t keep running, he knew that. Most of his energy had been spent trying to heal himself and he hadn’t much left for fighting anyone, at this point. He was only able to get Sakura away from them because he had the element of surprise on his side. The guards weren’t useless at all; they were skilled trackers and hunters. And now they were hunting something very important for their master. Xiao Lang only hoped that the trees would provide enough cover so that he could rest for a while before continuing. It was then that he saw that Sakura was trembling in his arms.

“Hey,” he said softly, in a soothing tone, “hey, what’s wrong, Sakura?”

Sakura hugged him tight, not believing that it was really him. “I didn’t think I’d see you again…” she cried in a soft whisper. “It’s my fault you’re like this now…”

“Not at all,” Xiao Lang reassured her. His expression turned dark. “It was only because of my abilities. Or lack of. I’m not strong enough at all. I’m not strong enough to protect you. However,” he added, looking straight into her eyes, “even if I’m really not strong enough, I’ll do everything within my power to keep you safe.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “And I wouldn’t want Wing Kuen to be ashamed of me,” he said, with a wry smile. He knew full well that it was his brother that had spoken to him when he was at death’s doorstep just a few days earlier.

“Xiao Lang…” Sakura whispered, the tears threatening to fall again.

Xiao Lang suddenly clutched Sakura tighter, doubling over in pain. Before she could ask what was the matter, she felt something warm on her fingers: blood. The prince had been hit by an arrow. “We got him!” she heard someone cry in the distance. Xiao Lang, letting his guard down for but a moment, hadn’t realized that his right shoulder was visible outside the trunk and one of the guards shot an arrow into his shoulder. He dropped to his knees and the princess went down with him, since he was unconsciously still holding onto her. He reached behind him and pulled out the arrow swiftly, more of his blood running down his arm and back, and threw the shaft to the ground. He then reached to unsheathe his sword and, holding it shakily in his left hand, tried gripping it tighter but dropping it soon afterward. He was feeling really dizzy again, the pain from the fresh wound numbing his mind.

“Hang on, Xiao Lang, hold on,” whispered Sakura, keeping him from falling to the ground as she used herself as his support. “I’ll get you out of here, but don’t lose consciousness yet, please.”

“Forget it,” came a voice from under the bushes. Seven guards, save the ones that Xiao Lang had taken out of commission, had emerged from the shrubs, the trees, and the area surrounding them, encircling them completely. Each guard had their sword drawn. The one that had spoken stepped before Sakura and Xiao Lang, brandishing his sword. “We’ll kill that stupid prince right here and now. Shui Ken wants you alive but I think he could care less if this treasonous prince is dead or not. So, move aside!” His blade was held above him, ready to strike down.

“I won’t,” Sakura said firmly, eyes blazing. She wouldn’t let anyone hurt Xiao Lang anymore.

“Move!” growled the guard. “Or else, I can’t guarantee that you’ll return to your prince in one piece.” Sakura obstinately turned her back to him and looked down at Xiao Lang, biting her lip. She would protect him with her own body if she had to and completely covered him from the view of the guard. “You asked for it!” he cried. He brought his sword down with a mighty swing. Sakura instantly closed her eyes tight, waiting to feel the blade slashing her back. But it never came. Instead, she heard a loud thump beside her, as if someone had fallen. Opening one eyelid, both eyes then widened when she saw the guard lying facedown on the grass, an arrow protruding from his back. She heard something whizzing past her ears and, similarly, the six other guards fell to the ground, completely unconscious. A lone figure emerged from the woods and Sakura was surprised to see a woman approach them, carrying a little bow and a quiver of arrows. The unknown girl quickly retrieved all her arrows by pulling them out from where they landed but, strangely, not a single drop of blood fell from where the arrow was removed.

The woman knelt down by her side, a look of concern on her face. “Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“N-no, I’m all right,” stammered Sakura in surprise. The girl smiled at her, relief etched across her features. She was taken aback by the other girl’s beauty. Beautiful ink-black hair, eyes of the greenest jade, and the air of someone experienced with the world… The girl was helping Xiao Lang sit up and leaned him against the tree, wiping his brow with a cloth, as she quickly looked over his shoulder wound.

“We’ve got to get you to the doctor quickly, Xiao Lang,” she said, concern flooding back to her expression. “This shoulder wound needs immediate attention to.” When she was about to stand up, Xiao Lang clamped a hand on her wrist, stopping her.

“What did you do to those guards, Wing Kay?” he asked, rather weakly. His dizziness was taking over him, but he hadn’t forgotten what he saw. Wing Kay had shot all those guards with her arrows and they dropped instantly.

So this was Wing Kay, Sakura realized. This was the girl that Xiao Lang had always been in love with… She was so beautiful… No wonder he loves her so much, Sakura thought heartrendingly.

“These arrows of mine,” Wing Kay answered, pointing to her quiver as she deposited the arrows she retrieved, “have special properties when dipped into that little potion you saw in your room. If a normal person is hit by it, they instantly lose all of their energy and go unconscious for a few hours. However, if someone that can use magic gets hit, the same thing will happen, except they will also die as soon as their energy is drained. A friend of the doctor’s gave it to me, saying that, even if I am female, I should learn to protect myself better.” Turning to Sakura, she bowed to her slightly. “Hello, I’m Wong Wing Kay,” she said, introducing herself. “Thank you for taking care of Xiao Lang the past few months.”

“I’m Kinomoto Sakura,” Sakura said in return, but getting the feeling that Wing Kay already knew who she was. Wing Kay nodded and then helped Xiao Lang to his feet.

“We better get this guy back to the inn as soon as possible so the doctor can treat his wounds,” Wing Kay explained as she placed Xiao Lang’s left arm around her neck and gently guided him out of the woods. Sakura followed beside them, unsure of what to do. She couldn’t take Xiao Lang’s other arm as it was held close to him, still tied to the brace. But Xiao Lang turned his head, a little groggily, to face her.

“Stay near us, Sakura,” he said, in a low voice, trying to focus most of his energy on walking at the same time. Sakura followed closely behind him, feeling a bit like a third wheel but, more than anything, she was relieved that she had found Xiao Lang… She could let go of the nightmare that had haunting her since she was apart from him. Never again did she want to be parted from the Chinese prince…

And unbeknownst to her, the two masked people Sakura had always considered her saviours, Tan Shi Kuang and Yiu San Kong, were watching them from the distance as the trio made their way back to the town. These two had completely different plans in mind for the Japanese princess. The first step to their plans: getting rid of Prince Li Xiao Lang, using any means necessary.

Author’s Note: Well, how about that… Syaoran didn’t really die, after all. ^_~ I could never kill that person off, at least, not so easily. =Þ Heh, no one got a heart attack when he “died”, did they? ^_^* Sakura was just being evil, ehehe…

And Wing Kay finally makes a (non-flashback) appearance! Though, things don’t look too good for S+S if Syaoran still loves her, and his love being returned… They got a lot more “lovey-dovey” between Syaoran and Wing Kay than I had originally intended. -o- I must say, this fic writes itself sometimes. Meh~ We’ll see what happens, won’t we?

*hugs everyone that reviewed* I was both happy and pleasantly surprised at the number of people still with me on this fic. You’ve all motivated me to work faster and not diddle-dawdle with the fic. Thanks, everyone!

Author’s Note to rainbow dreamer: Good job! You guessed it right about the voice being Wing Kuen. ^_^ But, er, about the “why’d you make him die? I was beginning to like him”, were you referring to Wing Kuen or Syaoran?

Author’s Note to LiL DreameR: Acks, TNC has the absolute worst writer’s blocks ever! I am so stuck on how to write the next chapter. _ But, if you’d like, I can e-mail you when I finish the chapter for TNC, too. Just let me know~ =)

Author’s Note to Jurei: Yes, you definitely count as somebody, Jurei-san. ^_^ Hahaha, I wonder, myself, how it’s going to turn out at the very end… ^_^* I have some vague outlines and sketches for the upcoming chapters, but they only go as far as to the end of S+S’s mission, and nothing past that… *sweatdrops*

Author’s Note to Rosie: Oh, wow, my site did all that, Rosie-san? That’s so cool! ^___^ My main animanga site, The Animé Archives, has changed locations several times, for various reasons (usually because there’s not enough space or bandwidth or just too many ads). We’re currently located at and, I don’t remember at the moment, but I think the site listed in my profile is my blog? But for animanga, TAA’s the site you’re looking for. =)

Author’s Note to Trulie Hope: I’ve never really considered TGS an angsty fic, to be honest. ^_^* But is it turning into one? Oh, dear…

Author’s Note to hannagrace: No, mommy, no love triangle between those particular three people. ^_^ Is the fic really that dark? I hadn’t even realized that. Well, this chapter wasn’t all that dark, ne? =Þ But, how strange; your review never appeared on the FF.N page, but I got the review alert anyway via e-mail. o_O *pokes FF.N* What’s with ya?

And thank you Janny, laura, Phoniex-dragonmoon, Umiko Morimoto, Duckie-bumblebeez, Yukimi Takiro, Devie Saves, tagrina, silverymare, White Blossoms, and meemee for your reviews!

*Sakura
~The Animé Archives Team