Spellbound

Chapter Fourteen

           

Morning arrived quickly much to Sakura's surprise. Syaoran was still asleep, so she checked his temperature and found he seemed to be ok for the most part.
She stood and dressed herself, ate quietly and then made her way to the medical tent. She saw men and women tending to each other's wounds and Children crying over lost siblings and parents as she made her way through the camp. She felt saddened seeing all the pain and anguish and she couldn't help but feel partly responsible.

She entered the medical tent and moved to start on her duties. Her work kept her mind occupied, at least, but during her breaks she was plagued by those wandering thoughts.
"Sakura!" Eriol called out.
She stood and hurried over, "Sorry-I spaced out..." she stopped when she saw Syaoran. His expression was serious and rather cold. "Is something wrong?"
Eriol smiled, "I'll be letting you off early today."
She blinked in confusion. "Alright."
"Come with me." Syaoran murmured.
He turned and left the tent, and she followed behind. The air felt tense and rather uncomfortable.
"Are...you feeling alright now?" she asked.
"I feel fine, thank you for asking." Syaoran answered.

She nibbled her lip. Something was wrong.

They entered their tent and Syaoran sat down. "Have a seat."
Sakura sat down.
"Sakura, I need to know about your magic."
She froze. "I've already told you all that I know." She said.
He raised his brow, "Have you really?"
She stayed silent and he sighed heavily.
"Sakura, I don't know why you feel the need to hide anything from me. I need you to tell me everything-I can't keep letting you off." He said.
She felt her eyes tear up. She knew he was right, but she was terrified.
"You need to make a decision. I can't keep you, or my people safe, until you tell me everything." Syaoran said.
She started shaking and he watched her for a moment. He wrapped his arms around her neck and rested his head on her shoulder.
"It's been nearly a year. Why won't you tell me anything?" he whispered.
"Stop." She whispered, "Please."
He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "I can't."
"You know almost everything-what more is there I can tell you?" she asked.
"There is no way you can be a healer. You don't display the right traits, and there have been several instances you've been able to protect yourself." He pushed her.
"I don't know what I am! There are times where I can just do things-I told you, it's like an instinct." She whispered.
"How much do the enemy know about your magic?" he asked.
She shook her head, "I don't know..." she whispered.
He didn't look so sure. "Sakura..."
"I don't know." She whispered, "I don't know..."
He sighed softly. "Very well then."

Syaoran left the tent and she sat in silence, staring at her hands. She needed to make a decision-that was what he had said. She had been thinking about it for a while, and she felt there was only one course of action she could take.

...

Syaoran returned not long after dinner. Sakura looked up from her notes, which had been bound on Syaoran's request as he was getting tired of the large pile of paper constantly lying around.
"How are things...?" she asked quietly.
He sighed. "About what you'd expect."
She returned her focus to her notes.
"Listen...I'm sorry for getting upset with you earlier. That wasn't fair." He apologised.
Sakura looked up and smiled, "It's ok. I'm not mad. I understand your frustration-you just want to keep everyone safe."
Syaoran nodded. "Even so, I feel I may have hurt you. Perhaps not physically, but..."
She stood and hugged him. "Thank you for worrying about me."
He returned her embrace and lightly kissed her temple.
Sakura parted from him when their meal arrived, and she sat down with him. "What will happen with everything now?" she asked.
"I'll send word to the other kings. We'll probably discuss the attacks at our next meeting again." Syaoran replied.
"I see," she murmured.
He smiled, though half hearted, "I highly doubt we'll act just yet. They might not think it's worth it."
"Why not?" Sakura asked.
"If they don't think there's an incredibly dangerous threat then they see no point. The enemy doesn't have a weapon to use against us, and we have the advantage with magic, so in their eyes we're doing them a kindness." He shrugged.
"Weird way of thinking, but ok." She said.
"It is a bit." He agreed. "What would you do?"
"I guess my first step would be to try and make some peace treaty with them. Otherwise I don't know-I'm not very well versed in politics." She murmured.
"A peace treaty? What would you offer?" he asked her with a smile.
"I don't know." She confessed.
He set his empty plate aside, "It starts to get more frustrating as you think about it, doesn't it?"
"It does. How do you deal with it all?" she asked.
"I try to focus on what's best for the people." He murmured. "I just remembered-there was something I was going to give you when we got back from the market..."