Spellbound

Chapter Six

           

Pain rippled through her side and radiated through her ribs and back. The very notion of breathing was painful. Sakura could hear people moving around outside and Sakura guessed that people were going about their regular routines.
She opened her eyes and blinked, trying to adjust to the light. As she came to, she realised someone had dressed her in a light weight garment.
A hand cupped her cheek and she looked over, finding Syaoran sitting on the edge of the bed beside her.
"How are you feeling?" Syaoran asked softly.
She swallowed. Her throat felt dry.
"I'm ok." She replied.
His expression suddenly turned into a frown. "Oh really? And I'm supposed to believe that's the truth?" he asked coldly.
She was quiet for a moment. "It's painful, but I'm ok."
He leant over, their noses almost touching. He didn't look pleased at all. "Do not do that ever again."

She flinched. Why was he so angry? She looked into his eyes and beneath his anger she saw something she knew well-fear.
"Why are you so upset?" she asked.
He only looked more agitated. "Why am I so upset? Probably because you didn't alert me about what it might do to you." He raised his voice and she fisted her hands in the sheets to try and keep herself calm.
Someone entered the tent and Syaoran left, probably to go blow off some steam.

Meiling walked over carrying a basket with salve and clean dressings in it and moved to untie the garment Sakura was wearing to gain access to her wounds. The medic didn't ask anything or say anything, which was common for her, and Sakura was grateful for that. She knew Syaoran would probably demand answers later, but she wasn't ready to tell him.
Meiling applied some of the salve to her wound and then dressed it before tying Sakura's garment back into place.
"Is she awake?" Eriol called out before entering the tent. He smiled upon seeing Sakura conscious, "How are you feeling?"
"It's painful." She answered honestly.
"I'm not surprised. I don't think I've ever seen healing magic quite like yours. It's pretty much unheard of." He said, watching her for a reaction.
Sakura looked away and didn't say anything.
"Well, I wouldn't do it again. Syaoran's really worried and for a while he was afraid we might lose you."
"He seems pretty angry about it even though he agreed to it." Sakura muttered bitterly.
"It might have been better if you told him everything about your magic." Eriol added. "Which you haven't."
"It's not important." Sakura murmured.
"It is to Syaoran." He said. "You seem to heal fairly quickly-I'm surprised."
"How many days has it been?" Sakura asked, ignoring his comment about the extent of her abilities being important to Syaoran.
"Two days, roughly. From the rate you're healing, you should be up and moving in the next one or two days. There's a pile of work for you to complete as well once you're better."
"Thank you." She said quietly.
Meiling stood and left with Eriol, but not without giving Sakura a comforting pat on the head first.

Sakura lay there feeling a mixture of confusion and exhaustion. She rolled onto her uninjured side and curled her legs up to her chest despite the pain. Memories of her past came flooding back and she closed her eyes to rid herself of the images, but it was no use. The mind had a funny way of tormenting a person.
She lay there, alone, for a long time. She didn't know how many hours had passed.
Syaoran entered the tent and lit the lanterns. She guessed it was nearly dark.
"Are you able to sit up?" he asked softly from where he stood, lighting the last lantern.
"Yes..." she murmured and shifted her body, so she could sit up. It didn't hurt as much as she expected, and she felt relief.
He walked over and sat down beside her, "We need to talk."
Sakura felt ill. "Can we talk later? I'm not feeling very well."
"No."
She lowered her eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me about your magic sooner?" he asked gently. He knew well that he needed to approach this carefully if he were to get any answers.
"Because I didn't think it mattered. You ordered me not to use my magic, so I didn't say anything more." She answered.
He lifted her chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. He didn't look angry nor displeased, but there was something.
"Thank you for helping me." He said softly.