Sacrificed To The Banished Prince

Chapter 11

Sakura groaned as she regained consciousness. She was confused, dizzy, and scared because her entire body was in pain, specifically her neck.

'...What happened?'

One moment she was getting some fresh air on the balcony of the palace, and then she heard a scream before passing out.

Green eyes crept open slowly, only to widen in surprise. There was nothing in the small, dark room but a worn table and chairs set. The woman was on the ground in a heap with her wrists tied together in front of her body with rope. When she struggled to sit up, she hissed and brought her bound hands to her neck, where she felt the familiar sticky sensation of flowing blood.

'I'm injured! Have I been bleeding all this time? How long was I unconcious?' Indeed, she felt light-headed, but not so much that she would immediately faint from the blood loss.

It was nighttime. There was little to no light in the tiny cabin, just a bit of moonlight that shone through the one window.

Wincing, Sakura managed to get to her feet, stumbling to the side before catching her balance and taking a calming breath. That was when she finally noticed a figure across the room. 'Is that...a man?' Careful to not make any sounds, she crept forward until she could confirm that it was, indeed, a man. He was dressed all in black with a mask covering his face. He was sitting cross-legged against the wall with a sword lying across his lap while he slept.

'Is he supposed to be keeping an eye on me and fell asleep on the job?'

Glancing at the door to the cabin, she frowned. She wasn't sure what to do. She could try to just sneak out now and hope there was no one else outside to witness it. She could attempt stealing that sword, kill the guard, and take the weapon with her on her escape for a better chance of defending herself. Lastly, she could stay put and hope that help was on the way. The third option was her favorite, but she shook her head to rid of it when a wave of nausea washed over her.

'It won't be long before I pass out again from losing too much blood. If help is on the way at all, they might not arrive in time.'

Sakura had very little hope that anyone would come looking for her because there was no reason for it. Sure, she'd volunteered to help rid the second prince of his curse, but he could always find someone else. There was nothing special about her. Despite her depressive thoughts, something had changed in the Haruno woman over the past month. Before, she might've sat and accepted her fate because there was so little to live for, but now an unseen force drove her to fight, to not give in to the terror.

So, Sakura tiptoed closer to the guard, staring unblinkingly for any sign that he was only pretending to be asleep. 'Once I grab the sword, I'll have the tiniest moment to kill him before he kills me.'

Taking someone's life was something she never wanted to do, but this person was obviously going to do the same to her if she didn't try to stop it. Even if they were paid to do it, that meant they weren't a good person. The logic did little to stifle her self-disgust.

She took a slow, quiet breath before latching onto the sword's hilt with her bound hands. The man's eyes opened. A choked sob left Sakura's mouth as she plunged the blade into his stomach. He grabbed onto her throat with both hands, squeezing tightly as a gurgling sound met the air. She gasped, releasing the weapon and trying to pull away as his fingers dug into the wound already marring her skin. Tears ran down her cheeks as she clawed at his hold. It got to the point that she was seeing stars before he finally died from the stab wound.

The poor woman fell onto her bottom, coughing as she finally inhaled. Her vision was flooded with black blotches, and her head was spinning like crazy. In her delirium, she managed to think, 'I have to move. There's no time to waste!'