The Guiding Star

Treason: Chapter Four

By: Sakura

“I have no right, I have no right, I have no right.”

Xiao Lang continually repeated that sentence in his head non-stop as he packed. Sakura belonged to Shui Ken and there was nothing he could do to help her. Maybe if his mission never existed he might be able to…but no one was allowed to turn down the Li Elders. He dropped his few possessions in a corner and sat down at his table, holding his head in his hands. Why was he so worried about one girl? Why should he lose sleep just because of her? But when he thought of her - her sweet smile, the sparkle in her emerald green eyes - he knew he could never forget her. Her image would forever be imprinted in his mind.

Getting up, the Chinese Prince was about to continue packing when he heard a commotion outside of his room, in the sitting area. Walking out, he saw a girl - Sakura’s handmaiden - trying to push her way past the guards. But the two men were much stronger than her and held her back.

“Please let me go,” she implored, “it’s important for me to see Prince Li! My mistress needs his help!” Ignoring her words, the guards roughly pushed her to the ground. As they moved to unsheathe their swords, Xiao Lang commanded for them to stop. Both guards turned, astonished to see the Prince, dropped to the ground and bowed to him. Xiao Lang approached the girl and Tomoyo stood up, brushing herself off.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her. “What’s so important that you must disturb the peace of the night? Don’t you realize people are sleeping right now?”

Tomoyo went on her knees, half-afraid, and bowed at his feet in respect. “Please help me,” she begged him, “my mistress…she needs help and I don’t know whom to go to. I believe you’re the only one that can help. She needs you.”

“You don’t mean Sakura?” he said alarmed. Tomoyo looked up, tears in her eyes, nodding. “What happened? Is she okay?” he asked, his voice suddenly filled with wild concern.

Tomoyo shook her head. “She’s not okay,” she answered, “not since she left suddenly earlier. But then she came back long after you left and she wasn’t alone. Shui Ken was with her.”

Xiao Lang’s breath drew in sharply. Shui Ken was with her…His hands clenched into tight fists. “He appeared to be dragging her along,” continued Tomoyo, “and he wouldn’t let her go, even when she asked him to leave her alone. She told him she didn’t want him or anything to do with him but no matter what she said, he ignored it. I was in her room, waiting for her to return at the time and he pushed me out of the room when he pulled her along.” The handmaiden burst into tears, her hands covering her eyes. “Prince Li, I’m afraid he’s going to…” she choked out, “and Sakura doesn’t want to…I don’t know what to do…”

Reaching for something, Xiao Lang withdrew an object from underneath his pile of possessions. “Lead the way,” he commanded Tomoyo. Tomoyo nodded and hastily stood up, running back to Sakura’s home, with Xiao Lang close behind. His guards were about to follow when Jin Chi stopped them.

“Let him go,” he told them, watching the Prince leave. “This way, he can finally begin his mission.” The guards didn’t answer, not knowing what he meant.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Please…” pleaded Sakura, “let me alone. I don’t want to do this.” Shui Ken forcefully kissed Sakura, effectively pinning her against the wall. He gripped her chin in one hand and stroked her hair, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Then letting go of her, he undid the top button on her collar and was about to continue when something caught his eye. A gold star pendant shimmered brilliantly while nestled at the base of her neck. Shui Ken was captivated by the object for a moment and held it in his hand. Suddenly remembering what he was trying to do, he released the necklace and looked at Sakura. Sakura was trembling, completely frightened out of her mind. Shui Ken smirked and pushed her bangs out of her face and kissed her again. Sakura braced her hands against his chest and tried to push him away but he gripped both of her wrists with his hands. “Don’t fight me,” he told her, “just give in. There’s nothing else you can do.”

Tears streamed down Sakura’s face when Shui Ken kissed her. “Xiao Lang,” she thought, “you promised…how could you break it?” When Shui Ken began pulling her closer to him, Sakura immediately protested against this action. “No!” she cried. “Let me go!”

Suddenly, the window coverings burst open, revealing a crouching figure, dressed all in black, a mask covering his face. Sakura’s eyes widened as the figure leapt forward and knocked Shui Ken to the ground, forcing the latter to release Sakura. Sakura leaned against the wall for support and watched as the figure unsheathed a sword and held it in both hands; the blade’s tip touching Shui Ken’s neck.

“I believe she told you to let her go,” said the masked figure in a low voice. Shui Ken watched the figure intently, a look of amusement in his eyes.

“You think you can kill me?” asked Shui Ken loudly. “I’d like to see you try.” The figure tightened his grip on his sword but before he could make another move, Shui Ken’s guards filed into the room, swords drawn, pointing them at the would-be assassin. Shui Ken stood up, his hand lowering the blade. “Just drop it,” he told him calmly. The figure, seeing he was grossly outnumbered, dropped his sword, causing it to land on the wooden floor with a loud clatter. One of the guards approached the figure and tore off his mask, revealing Prince Xiao Lang. Sakura gasped aloud and her knees, no longer able to support her, gave way and she crumpled to the ground.

Xiao Lang turned the second she fell and tried to catch her, but he faced an impenetrable wall of guards. Tomoyo was at hand, however, and catching Sakura before she fell, supported her mistress as she stood. Sakura watched, wide-eyed and speechless, at the younger of the princes. Xiao Lang had tried to…save her…But why? A guard forced the black-clothed Prince to turn around and face Shui Ken. Shui Ken smiled, an expression of near delight in his eyes as the chief guard pronounced sentence on his brother.

“Prince Li Xiao Lang,” spoke the chief guard, “for attempting to assassinate Prince Shui Ken, ninth son of our former Emperor, you are charged with treason. You will be jailed until further notice and judgment will be given to you at a later date.” Xiao Lang seethed inwardly with rage and controlled himself from launching himself at Shui Ken and finishing him off then and there. He knew that would simply be a declaration of death for himself.

With his hands tied behind in his back, two guards placed firm grips on Xiao Lang’s shoulders and began to steer him out of the room. Xiao Lang looked back as they pushed him out, back at Sakura. Her hands covered her mouth and fear was in her eyes…fear for him. Something shiny at her throat caught his eye almost immediately. A gold star set within a pink circle! Before he was completely out of the room, Xiao Lang mouthed the words “I’m sorry” to her. Then he disappeared from sight as the majority of the guards left, forcing him forward. Two guards remained by Shui Ken’s side.

Shui Ken was smiling to himself, immensely pleased by the turn of events. He knew Xiao Lang hated him and that his true colours would appear sooner or later. This worked well in the ninth son’s favour, for now he had a sure-fire way to get rid of the fifteenth son. No one could save him now. The first son was far too busy, trying to prepare himself to take his role as the next Emperor. The second son had suddenly been called away by the Li Elders on some mission. The third and fifth sons did as he wished, Shui Ken having twisted them around his finger at an earlier date. The sixth and seventh sons had been sent with a small army to far distant regions of China to recover lands lost and conquer new grounds.

The Chinese Prince turned around to face Sakura and Tomoyo, his robes whirling as he turned. Sakura was staring at the ground, trying to avoid his gaze. “I’ll be back later,” he told her, “seeing how there are some things I need to take care of regarding Xiao Lang’s treachery.” At the mention of Xiao Lang, Sakura quickly looked up and her soft emerald green eyes locked with Shui Ken’s cold grey ones. The look in his eyes…Sakura immediately adverted her gaze again and Shui Ken hid a smirk. But the smile dissolved in an instant. He had noticed the look of significance between Sakura and Xiao Lang just moments before and wondered briefly what it meant. Jealousy crossed his heart, but he drove it away. No matter; it was time to get rid of Xiao Lang…for good. Without so much as a farewell to the handmaiden and her mistress, Shui Ken left with his guards.

As soon as Shui Ken stepped out the doorway, Tomoyo went forward and closed the door while Sakura collapsed and sat by her bedside, her head buried in her arms. Tomoyo sat down on the bed and stroked her mistress’ shoulders comfortingly. “He came back,” she cried into her arms, “he said he was going away, that he was breaking his promise…but he still came back.” Sakura lifted her head, tears streaming down her face, confused. She turned to her handmaiden. “I don’t understand this. He was supposed to leave today but instead, he’s stuck in a cell because of me.”

Tomoyo looked away, fidgeting with her hands, as she answered, “I told him to come.” Sakura stared at her with surprise. Tomoyo immediately turned back to face her. “Please don’t be angry with me,” she beseeched her mistress. “I know you hate Prince Shui Ken and…I knew I couldn’t do anything by myself, so I went to Prince Xiao Lang for help. And he agreed…”

“What have I done?” thought Sakura. “It’s all my fault he’s where he is now. I’m so sorry, Xiao Lang…”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Xiao Lang leaned against the wall of his cell, deep in thought. He had been thrown in moments before, landing face down on the brownish yellow hay, stripped of all his robes except for his white button-down shirt and white pants that he wore beneath them. His cell wasn’t very large and it was without any windows. The only source of light he had was from a torch lit in the hallway. The bars were made with thick wood, strong enough to hold in an ordinary man, but with his powers, Xiao Lang could have escaped easily. But escaping that way would be too troublesome. There had to be another way…

He had acted so rashly! And Shui Ken…he must have suspected something or why would he have raised his voice earlier? He could hit himself for not seeing that sooner. Still, Xiao Lang did not regret his actions in any way. He was glad he was able to help Sakura and draw his brother’s attention away from her, even if for a short while. But his mission…he couldn’t forget about that. What did it matter now? If the Li Elders heard about how he tried to kill his older brother, they would dismiss him in a second.

The Chinese Prince stood up, surveying the small cell again. Since he had never been in there before, he never realized how unkempt it was. The conditions were rather appalling. Of course, special attentions were never paid to prisoners. Hearing footsteps on the pavement echoing through the hallways, Xiao Lang immediately settled back in the hay, pretending to act forlorn and even maybe helpless. Two guards appeared at the door and Xiao Lang looked up, watching them intently.

“You’ve got a visitor,” barked out one of the guards. The wooden door opened and a figure dressed in robes a rich shade of green, a green hat to match, and his long ponytail resting over one shoulder, entered the cell. The figure raised his hand and waved the guards away and they nodded, closing the cell door and locking it. Then they took up positions down the hallway. The man lifted up his head and grinned impishly at Xiao Lang.

“Wing Kuen!” cried Xiao Lang with surprise. Remembering the guards, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “What are you doing here?” Wing Kuen held up a scroll in the dim light, then handed it to Xiao Lang.

“You must leave,” said Wing Kuen, “the Elders want you to see them immediately.”

“The Elders?” repeated Xiao Lang. “Even after what I did earlier?” Wing Kuen nodded.

“I have no idea what your mission is, brother,” he replied, “but it must be very important if the Elders ask for you specifically. Whatever the case, we have to get you out of here; and fast.”

Xiao Lang raised an eyebrow. “And how do you expect me to do that without causing a commotion?” Wing Kuen merely grinned. Holding up his ponytail, he withdrew a small dagger from his robes and in one swift motion, he cut it off and held it up. Xiao Lang was shocked. What did he think he was doing? Had he gone mad?

“Here,” said Wing Kuen, holding out the braid to him. Xiao Lang took it, a bewildered expression on his face. Wing Kuen proceeded to remove his hat and his outer green robes, leaving on an identical set of white pants and shirt. “Wear them,” he ordered, “because it’s the only way you’ll be able to escape. You’re more known for your short hair and no one would suspect anything when they see you with this braid and me here with short hair.” Seeing Xiao Lang hesitant to do as he was told, Wing Kuen repeated his request in a harsher tone. Of course, not wanting to let his brother’s efforts go to waste, Xiao Lang donned the forest green robes and the hat, which incidentally kept the braid in place. Wing Kuen smiled at the result.

The two half-brothers, Wing Kuen and Xiao Lang, were often told how similar they looked physically. They had approximately the same height and stature as well as the same shade of brown hair. The one major difference between them was their eyes; Xiao Lang had amber-shaded while Wing Kuen’s was slightly maroonish. As well, they were both magicians and shared a close bond, being only one year apart and having similar personalities. It was Wing Kuen who helped him through those tough months of training; training alongside with him as well.

“Wing Kuen…” said Xiao Lang softly. Wing Kuen simply smiled.

“I’ll be just fine here,” he told him in a carefree tone, sitting on the hay and leaning against the wall. “Don’t worry about me!” His expression suddenly became serious. “But I am worried about you,” he added, “seeing how it will be harder for you to complete your mission without the star pendant.”

“Pendant?” repeated Xiao Lang. An image of a small gold star set in a pink circle flashed through his mind.

“Yeah,” answered Wing Kuen, not noticing the change of expression on his younger brother’s face. “You should remember, the one with a gold star…”

“…in a pink circle?” interrupted Xiao Lang. Wing Kuen nodded.

“You do know what I’m talking about then,” the older Prince said cheerfully, resting his arms behind his head.

“Sakura…Kinomoto Sakura has it!” Wing Kuen bolted up immediately.

“You mean the Japanese Princess?” he asked incredulously. “She has the star?” Xiao Lang nodded in response. “That would mean she has magical powers, as well,” said Wing Kuen thoughtfully. “She’ll be a great ally. You better bring her along with you.” Seeing Xiao Lang stare at him, Wing Kuen added, “you need that star more than anything. And besides, aren’t you in love with her?” Xiao Lang turned as red as a beet.

“I…never…said…that…” he choked out. Wing Kuen acted as if he didn’t believe him and chuckled at his brother’s expense.

“Xiao Lang, you better go now,” he said, a serious expression on his face again. Before Xiao Lang could object, Wing Kuen raised his voice. “Guards! I’m ready to leave now!” Pushing Xiao Lang to the door, Wing Kuen settled back into the hay, his back to the door, showing his short brown hair but trying to hide his eyes. The guards appeared and unlocked the door, letting Xiao Lang step out. Xiao Lang kept his head slightly bowed and his eyes on the ground, following the guards out of the prison.

Moments after the guards and Xiao Lang left, Wing Kuen murmured something to himself softly. “Goodbye, brother, and good luck.”

Author’s Note: Everyone, please take just a few seconds of your time to review this chapter/fic ^_^. I’d really appreciate it! Thanks!

This chapter was kind of weird…does anyone agree with me? My mind’s kind of…not with it lately. Too much to worry about, I guess. It might be stress. *sighs* I know, this chapter came out very, very late…Lately, I haven’t had time for anything…Maybe in a week or so, when everything is back to normal, I can work on my fics more, but at the moment…Oh wait, after this week, exams are coming up. o_O I’ll see what I can do…

So, anyone hate Shui Ken yet? *sighs* Maybe he’s too…er, mean. Especially to Syaoran. *shrugs* I’ll try to get into more detail about the other sons later, though they are rather unimportant characters in this fic. Obviously, we’re beginning to get into Syaoran’s mission *smiles* and he won’t be going alone.

Author’s Note to Starlight Rose: *mutters “I don’t like my library.”* I went to look for the book you suggested, but they didn’t have it (even the bookstore didn’t have it). They had one book by that author, but not the book you mentioned. *grumbles darkly* Oh, well, thanks for the suggestion =). I did find another history book, however, but I just haven’t had any time to read it.

*Sakura
~The Animé Archives Team