Spellbound

Chapter Twenty-Three

           

Sakura stirred as she heard the clanging of metal as her door opened. She heard a grunt followed by a shout of pain and a thud on the floor. She lifted her head weakly and spotted someone lying on the cold floor.
He groaned and forced himself to sit up.
Sakura felt immediate fear slam into her, knocking the air from her lungs. Why was...
"Syaoran...?" her voice felt so quiet she wasn't sure he'd heard her.
He looked over and she met his amber gaze. Tears slid down her cheeks where she lay on the floor, unable to move.
"Sakura-!" Syaoran rushed over to her, pulling her weakened body carefully into his arms. "What did they do to you?" he asked.
"Syaoran, why are you...?" she managed to whisper.
"I can't explain it to you right now. Are you ok? What did they do to you?" he murmured.
"They're making sure I'm too weak to put up a fight..." she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "Syaoran, they're going to break the barrier-"
"We know what they're trying to do. That's why I'm here." He said softly.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I let my guard down..."
"We both did." Syaoran said, shifting her body slightly. She whimpered as he shifted her, so she was resting comfortably against him, and he checked her for injuries very carefully.
He spotted the deep cut on her hand from when she had struggled against Lydia, as well as several small cuts and bruises. She was covered in multiple lacerations and burns, and he noticed her ribs were broken.
Her dress was completely torn at the back, likely to make it easier to torment and abuse her. He held her close.
"Syaoran, they'll hurt you-you need to get away." She begged, "Please,"
"No." He murmured. "I'm trained to deal with torture. I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."
"Syaoran please-"
The door crashed open and the general stepped through. "Alright you two, break it up." He grinned.
Syaoran held Sakura protectively and the general sighed.
"Break them apart. Tighten his chains so he can't move. Pull her to her feet." He ordered.

Four soldiers entered behind him and walked over to them, tearing them apart. Before Syaoran could fight back, he was kicked, hard, in the ribs, shattering them. As he struggled for air, they lifted his arms above his head and slid the chains over a hook, while they tightened Sakura's chains to the point she couldn't even twist her body.
"Please, don't make him watch!" she begged. "I'll do anything, so please!"
"Seems it wasn't a very good idea to come here, your grace." The general smiled.
Syaoran glared at him.
"If I'm not mistaken, Sakura had two miscarriages, am I correct?"
A ripple of shock made its way through Syaoran's body. How did he know? Neither he or Sakura had told anyone except for Eriol.
"I assume you're wondering how I came by that information. It's quite simple-my men are good-exceptional, in fact."
"You bastard." Syaoran hissed.
He turned to Sakura and lifted her chin. "You must both be devastated to have them happen one after the other. Perhaps...we should try again?"
Syaoran suddenly felt very cold. "Don't you dare," he hissed, "Don't."
Sakura felt hot tears stream down her face.
The general laughed. "I'm just kidding. I'll be back in a few hours-leave them be."

Syaoran watched him leave with the soldiers following behind. Sakura whimpered in pain unable to find any relief. She waited in silence until she was sure they were alone.
"I'm sorry." Syaoran murmured.
"Whatever you do, don't use your magic until you have to," Sakura said, "They have devices built into every cell that detect it and immobilise you if you do."
"How fast are they and how much does it take to set them off?" he asked calmly.
She swallowed. "I've been releasing magic bit by bit...it hasn't noticed."
"Alright."
"It's quick though," she whimpered and tried to adjust herself, but the tightened chains gave her little room to work with.
"Syaoran, they'll try to break you in this place." She whispered. "You need to leave now."
"But-"
"They will use me to break you. Physical torture isn't their specialty, it's psychological torture." She sobbed.
"I can't just leave you here." He said.
The door clanged open and the general walked back in. "Oh, guess I lied about being a few hours. Are you two ready? I sure am."