She was bent over a long scroll of parchment as she penned out her cursive words with quill and ink. Syaoran peered over her slender shoulders.
"Princess-"
She turned around and motioned him to keep quiet. "I'm thinking, Syaoran! I'm writing this to a very special person."
He nodded, but he could not help feeling curious and hurt. Was she writing to the lad who she had taken an apparent fancy too? Or that handsome prince from the richest neighbouring country? He wanted to peep, but decided to step back because he respected her choice. He looked at her lovely hair, her bright eyes focused in concentration and her rosy cheeks. The corners of her mouth curled into a sweet smile as she held up the long letter triumphantly.
"I'm done!" she said, looking back at Syaoran with an accomplished grin on her playful face. She held up the parchment to the sunlight streaming in beams through the tall windows and watched the light dance on the thin paper. "I hope he will get to read this one day!"
"He?"
She looked at Syaoran, noticing the scowl on his good-natured face. "Don't worry about it, Syaoran. You know you are my most important person-" she paused, then covered her mouth with her delicate hands. "Oh, you did not hear that!"
He couldn't help a smile. She always made him smile. She rolled up the long parchment deftly and tucked it into the sleeve of her cloak.
"I'll tell you about what it is, Syaoran!" Sakura said, leaning in to whisper. Her wisps of hair tickled Syaoran's cheeks and he blushed bright crimson. "It's about..."
She pulled back and frowned. "No, I won't tell you. It's crazy."
"I'd like to hear about it, Princess," offered Syaoran. He looked at her expectantly, but tried not to seem too curious. She was after all, a Princess...
She gazed into the windy sands of Clow Country in the distance. She pointed at the ruins. "Those look pretty. Your excavation is going good, Syaoran."
Dang, she's changing the subject! He grumbled inwardly.
"I had this dream," Sakura started softly, not knowing Syaoran was not entirely listening. "A sorceress told me I would lose my most precious thing to me, I hope I am not being too paranoid writing this long story about my memories with you..."
He smiled darkly at where she was pointing, his mind drifing off to the site where his dream was nearing its realisation. He never wanted anything more... than to complete his father's dream...
Those ancient writings, he thought, as he closed his eyes. He had to do some research on them before heading back for the night.
"... and I don't want to forget you, Syaoran."
"Huh?" He snapped back to the study room where they were. His heart had flown out to the ruins on the sea of sands and back, and he heard absolutely nothing of what Sakura said. She looked slightly hurt, but the frown was replaced with a smile.
"But you'll always be here for me no matter what, right?" she asked gently, her arms around his neck as she settled next to him for a hug.
"'Course I will," promised Syaoran. "Now, back to the letter..."
"The letter?" Sakura frowned. "You were not listening, Syaoran! Anyway, it's only a dream, it won't come true, will it?"
"It won't!" Syaoran agreed again. He noticed they were too close for comfort. He felt his knees grow weak at her sight of her emerald orbs...
"It would be a terrible, terrible thing if I could not recall who you were," she whispered in a barely audible voice. Syaoran heard nothing of it. He was worried about getting lost in the depths of her green pools.
Syaoran awoke to a soft distinct cry in the middle of the night. He reached beside him, trying to find Sakura's soft hand, but she was not there. He rubbed his eyes. Her bed was clearly empty. Panicking, he slipped into his slippers and thundered down the stairs because he had the feeling she went there.
There was Sakura, holding a familiar piece of parchment close to her heart, her cloak strewned on the mahogany floor. He blinked in surprise. What was happening, now? He had seen it somewhere before, had he? Was it the clue to the next feather? Or was it something... something from far, far away? His homeland?
"Princess Sakura?" He asked cautiously. She did not hear him. She was crying! Tears ran down her face and onto her hands as she brought them to her eyes. He tried to recall what the parchment was about... the letter! What letter?
"Syaoran..." she reached out for his hand. "I-I'm sorry."
"For what, Princess?" he asked gently, giving her hand a warm squeeze. "What have you been reading?"
"About us," she whispered. "I don't know why I seem to be able to recall ..."
He looked away in shock. Why was Yuuko not intefering with her remembering them this time?
"I p-paid a price," Sakura answered timidly, not looking his way.
"What is-"
"Don't worry about it," Sakura assured him, hiccoughing slightly. "It's something I can afford. Touya had it sent over."
His eyes almost dropped out in shock. Yuuko, agreeing to a simple deal? That had to be wrong.
"I had this memory about writing the letter, Syaoran, when you got back the last feather," she explained, wiping her tears. "Somehow, I had never lost this parchment along our journey."
"Oh, Princess," he whispered, drawing her into an embrace. "I'm sorry."
"Sakura," she whispered back. "Call me Sakura."
He felt tears spring to his eye and he started tearing on her shoulder. She stroked his hair gently.
"I'm sorry," she said sadly, her lips tickling his ear. "I will never know how much pain I caused you when I asked you who you were."