Sealed In Our Fate...

Chapter 10 - Rescued?
The china tea set that was neatly set on his table was knocked onto the ground, spilling all the contents across the wooden floor and shattering the fragile glass. The prince groaned at his own clumsiness as he bent down and picked up the scraps. As he grabbed the largest piece of shattered glass, he accidentally sliced his skin with the razor sharp edges of the glass. He stared at his blood slowly layering his finger and felt uneasy for a quick moment, as if something extremely unpleasant was happening. He could hear screams in his mind and he saw a dim image of a shadowed girl flickering in his mind.

He shook his head vigorously. ‘Must be an illusion caused by pain. . .’ he thought. He left the pile of glass on the ground as he stepped up towards the window and took a long look at the clear night sky.

~*~

“Put me down. . . what do you guys want? I have nothing valuable, and there’s no use in kidnapping me since I’m just a servant. . .” Sakura tried to convince the bandits. She was still being carried by the muscular man who carelessly flopped Sakura over his broad shoulders.

One of the bandits broke into a big laugh. “It’s not money that we want, we already made a lot of those last night.” He licked his lower lip and rubbed his hands together, grinning at Sakura. “We just want to spend the night with some entertainment from you, that’s all!”

Sakura widened her eyes and felt a stream of fright running down her body. “W-what are you planning to do with me?” she asked nervously.

“Hah, that’s the beauty of it!” Another bandit answered. “You’ll see once we bring you to our hideout! The more surprising, the more fun it is!” He laughed hysterically, and the others joined in with their horrifying laughter.

‘I must do something...’ Sakura kept on repeating to herself, but there wasn’t much that she could do. She struggled to break herself free from the man’s arms, but the grip of his one hand already overpowered her whole body. She couldn’t kick herself free since the man had his other arms locked around Sakura’s legs, and her arms were already tangled with some very thick rope. ‘Helpless. . .I’m completely helpless. . .” Sakura relaxed her tensed muscles finally, her head dropped on the man’s back, crying.

The skinnier bandit who was directly behind the muscular man observed Sakura. “Oh my. . .” he started, “I think the little princess is crying! HAH! You should handle girls a little gentler, cap’n!” He roughly patted Sakura’s head. “Hey princess, shall I remind you that crying won’t make a difference? No one will save you, or in other words, no one CAN save you! So give it up, the ‘Dragon Eye Bandits’ has never been defeated by anyone before!”

As the bandits approached the next intersection, they were suddenly attacked! Before the eye could follow, two of the bandits had already lied unconscious on the ground. Punches and kicks appeared out of nowhere in lightning speed, and none of them was able to trace the moves.

“Who...w-who’s there?! Show yourself!!” One of them shouted. Another kick landed on him, swiping him off his feet.

The muscular bandit was startled to confusion. “Wh-what the?!?! What’s going on?? Who the...” A straight punch was sent across his face, knocking him down and sending him to tumble across the ground. Sakura, who was previously held across his shoulders, was sent flying viciously through the air.

“GGYYAA!!” Sakura shouted. She was tossed across the road all the way to the other side where her momentum was interrupted by a large brick wall. Sakura let out a faint cry as she tried to stand herself up and figure out what just happened. But before she had the chance too, the person scooped her off her feet as he ran out of sight of the bandits.

“Uuugghhh...” The bandits that were knocked unconscious groaned in pain as he stood back up. “What the heck just happened?” As he scanned across the scene, he spotted the muscular man lying on the floor with blood leaking out his nose and mouth. “CAP’N!!” He shouted and quickly approached him.

“Cap’n Cap’n!! Are you alright, cap’n??!”

The muscular bandit whipped the smaller bandit with the back of his hand so hard, that the slapping sound echoed in the dark night. “YOU IDIOTS!!! HOW THE HELL DID YOU LET HER GET AWAY??!”

The smaller bandit bowed his head way down and cried. “I’m sorry, cap’n!! I’m terribly sorry!! Please, spare my life!!”

“HMPH!!” The muscular bandit kicked the smaller bandit aside, wiped his face clean with the back of his hands, and stood up toughly. The other bandits quickly brushed their painful expressions away and gathered around the muscular bandit as well.

One of them piped up. “What should we do now? We’re not going to let that guy run away so easily, after wiping us out like that!!”

“Heh, who says I’m going to let him get away?” The muscular bandit replied with a big grin planted on his face. He slowed revealed a hidden knife under his sleeves, drenched with blood that’s still dripping at the end of the blade.

~*~

Sakura was still wrapped in confusion as she’s still being carried by someone. She slowly gazed upwards to catch a sight of her hero, and how startled she was to realized that the Prince came out and saved her!!

“P-Prince Syaoran!!” Sakura called his name out loudly.

“SHHH!!” The Prince hushed. “Do you want us to be caught again? If not, be quiet!!”

Sakura broke into tears immediately. “Ohh, Prince Syaoran! I don’t know what I’ll do if you didn’t come for me tonight...how? How did you know I was in trouble?”

“It was an illusion, an imagination, or perhaps a bad omen.” He answered dryly, his avoiding eye contact with Sakura.

Sakura buried her face in Syaoran’s chest and wept liked a child. “I’m so glad, your majesty. I’m so glad that you came to save me when I’m just a low classed servant. I’m so glad...” She broke into a deep cry, so emotional that it’ll break anyone’s heart just hearing it.

“Just shut up and go to sleep or something.” He suggested in a cruel way. To be honest, he couldn’t withstand watching her cry. He tightened up his embrace and pulled her closer to his chest as he continued running down the streets.

‘I can hear his heartbeat, pounding so fast...’ Sakura leaned her ears towards the Prince’s chest. The rhythm of his heartbeat calmed her down a bit as she closed her eyes and rested on his chest.

However, Sakura noticed his heart pounding incredibly fast and his breathing accelerating. His puffing was so strong that it was audible to Sakura’s ears. Droplets of sweat trickled down his cheeks and landed on Sakura’s face. Obviously, the prince cannot hold on much longer.

“Prince Syaoran!! Please, put me down!” Sakura cried out. The prince ignored and continued running, picking up his speed.

Sakura pushed herself away a bit, struggling to get off since the prince wouldn’t listen. The prince tightened up his arms and held Sakura back close to his chest. “Don’t be ridiculous...” he wheezed, “what makes you think I’ll save you then throw you away...?”

That left Sakura speechless for a while. She felt very weak and useless at the moment, feeling as though her existence was a burden to the prince. She averted her gaze to somewhere else, knowing that her stubbornness wouldn’t do both of them any good. As she looked down, she caught a glimpse at Syaoran’s waist with blood oozing out and staining his belt. The pumping of the blood up his wound was so hard that Sakura could feel it.

“Prince Syaoran!! You’re injured!! You must put me down and let me treat your wound!!” Sakura hollered in a worried tone. The prince, again, ignored her as he closed his eyes tightly pretending that he didn’t hear her.

Another round of tears flooded Sakura’s eyes. “I beg you...please!! I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens to you! Oh, your majesty! Just put me down and run!!” Once again, she bawled loudly and soaked up his shirt with overflowing tears.

“Ugghhhh!” The prince grunted loudly in pain. More blood gushed out of his deeply slashed wound as the prince grew weaker each step he took. He cried in agony with the last of his strength he was able to use, then slowly collapsed. Right before he fell to the ground, he twisted his body slightly so that he wouldn’t toss Sakura to the cold ground.

“GYAAA!!! Prince Syaoran!!” Sakura screamed as she fell across the prince’s unconscious body. “Prince Syaoran!! PRINCE SYAORAN!!” She shook him on his shoulders as she continuously called out his name. She must do something fast...she must wake up before the bandits catch up to them. But it seems like only a miracle would allow this to happen.

Familiar laughs and snickers came from behind the walls. The devils appeared right in front of Sakura’s eyes again, many time more horrifying than before. The bandits have caught up to them.

Sakura trembled as she glared with intensity at the bandits. She flung her body over the prince’s, trying to shield him from them. She closed her eyes and murmured something to the prince’s ears.

“Heh, thought you could escape from us, didn’t you princess?” The skinny bandit approached Sakura and pulled her hair, which made her yelp a bit.

The muscular bandit walked up to Sakura, his eyes glaring at her with anger. “You shall pay for what you’ve done...” He whispered with intensity. Immediately, he sent a forceful punch right across Sakura’s head, instantly knocking her unconscious as she fell right beside Syaoran.

~*~

A sudden splash of ice-cold water rejuvenated Sakura from her unconsciousness. Her whole body was shivering since the water immensely cooled her down in the cold night breeze. The first thing she felt was the pounding headache she received from the punch, the pain so great that it was almost unbearable. It took her a while to regain her vision because she was inside a small cave lit with nothing else but a small campfire. When she can feel the light stinging her eyes, she could also feel her hands and feet both tied tightly with thick ropes. She attempted a scream, but a thick cloth that filtered her voice sealed her mouth.

“Mmmppphh!! Mmmpphh!!” She cried in her muffled voice. Her eyes are still terribly blurry, but she could clearly see the silhouette of a man sitting near the campfire.

“So you have finally awakened.” The man sniggered. “I thought you would never wake up, so I refreshed you a bit with the water.”

Sakura blinked several times to clear her vision as she slowly recognizes the man in front of her was the same bandits from before. She had a quick urge to struggle herself free from the tight ropes, but it was tied too tightly that makes it impossible for Sakura to snap it at all. Kicking wasn’t any help either, her feet clamped together and her mouth covered up. Her hopes are diminished once again, until she just suddenly wondered ‘where was the prince?’

Beside her was Prince Syaoran, still deeply hidden in his unconsciousness. His wound was left untreated, his hands and feet securely tied up also, and more bruises were detectable on his face. Obviously, the bandits gave him another round of beating when he was knocked out. Sakura slightly shifted herself over and nudged him with her elbows.

‘Prince Syaoran...please wake up!’ She called silently. ‘Please, just wake up and everything will be alright...’ She continued nudging him and literally pushing him, hoping for him to open his eyes.

The bandit picked up a bucket of water and approached the prince. “No need to waste time doing that, I’ll lend you a hand.” Immediately, he tossed the whole bucket including water inside directly towards the Prince, resulting a loud CLUNK when the bucket attacked his chest and the water splashing across his face.

“MMMPPPPHHH!!!!” Sakura screamed as she sent an icy glare to the bandit. He through his hands in the air and shrugged as if he was innocent, then left the cave.

“Uuuurrrrggghhh!!” The prince groaned in pain of the water stinging his wound. It hurt so much as if they threw salt in his freshly cut flesh. He bit his lower lip and keep his pain from growing, causing his lips to bleed. His eyes opened slowly to adapt to the light from the flames, his head also suffering from intense headaches, along with his whole body of slashes and bruises. He slowly looked around this unfamiliar place and found Sakura right beside him, her eyes red from crying hand her face nastily bruised. “Sak...ur...a...” He uttered weakly.

“...................” Sakura muttered something, but her voice was completely absorbed by the cloth covering her mouth. Instead, she leaned her head against the prince’s shoulders, sobbing loudly.

‘I’m so sorry for getting you into this mess, Prince Syaoran...’ Sakura kept repeating in her mind, hoping her words can somehow transfer to his ears.

The prince had the urge to comfort her, but the ropes kept him from any further motion. He turned his head slightly, rubbing Sakura’s hair against his cold, bruised cheeks. “Don’t worry,” he whispered to her ears. “It’s not your fault.”

His assurance comforted Sakura a bit, but it also made her cry even harder. She was so surprised that the Prince didn’t blame her, but instead, whispered softly to her ears the words she wanted to hear the most. With that said, Sakura couldn’t help adding more blame to herself, feeling that she doesn’t deserve this kindness from the prince. The prince stared blankly at her reaction, hesitating whether to respond or not which resulted a long silence.

“Oh my, I just can’t wait!!” The bandits roared from the exterior of the cave. As they marched in, all six of them swaying and drunk, they brought along another unconscious victim all tied up and thrown across the shoulders of the muscular bandit.

Startled, both Sakura and Syaoran sat up straight in an instant and watched. They threw the victim carelessly on the ground, which resulted a loud thump and a tiny groan from the victim. Without doubt, another poor girl was kidnapped by them.

The muscular bandit turned around and headed towards Sakura. He bent down in front of her, turned her face towards his direction and stared straight into her eyes. “So how are you doing, my princess? Were my men rude to you in anyway? If so, don’t hesitate to tell me and I’ll beat them up for you.” He finished with a nasty grin as he removed the handkerchief that covered her mouth, waiting for her reply.

Sakura ignored him totally, turning her head away from him and closed her eyes.

“My my my, what attitude! But, I love challenges.” He forced Sakura to face him again by pulling her soft hair forcefully. He smiled, then worked his hands onto Sakura’s thick clothes. She screamed and struggled, but it was no help at all.

‘He’s going to do it!!’ Sakura screamed in her head. ‘NO! He’s really going to do it!!’ She closed her eyes to squeeze the tears out of her eyelids. ‘I must do something...I can’t let him do anything to me! I...I...’

Suddenly, the prince threw his body across and knocked the muscular bandit aside. Sakura stared blankly, and was slightly frightened by the angered expression spread across the prince’s face.

The bandit hoisted himself back up to his feet and shot a death glare at the prince, who glared back from below. But the glare on the bandit’s face disappeared into another nasty grin. To their surprise, he bent down and pulled the prince up onto his feet roughly. He grabbed his shirt and whispered to his ears.

“Don’t play games with me,” he whispered, “because you’re not going to win.”

After he finished, he formed a fist and punched it right at the prince’s wound. The prince screamed in agony, his face turning extremely red as he dropped onto the ground, unable to speak from the excruciating pain.

Sakura, eyes widened in shock, was just as speechless as the prince. At that moment, she really wished that she would just give herself to the bandit instead. Before the bandit could give the prince another kick on his ribs, the girl from behind suddenly screamed out “STOP!!”

Everyone averted their gaze to the girl who we thought was still unconscious. She bit her lip, and spoke up again. “Just stop every!! Don’t hurt anyone!! Why do you guys have to torture us anyways? Do you not have a heart in your chest, or were they ripped out?”

The bandits broke into a huge laugh after she finished. One of them even tumbled across the ground from his hysterical laughter. Sakura tried to catch a glance at who the girl was. Under the flicker of the fire, it revealed the face of the brave girl who spoke up. The other victim was Hua Zhi.



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