AN: Hello all I'm back again, surprisingly fast, and this doesn't usually happen, but I feel like writing and I'm not about to say no to any excuse to avoid studying :p First CCS fic, and I doubt it's an original plot (where is the possibility of an original plot anymore), but I'm going to try to make the story as original as possible. If you follow the TRC manga, then you might realise that I got the inspiration for Sakura's character from the Sakura in the "Infinity" arc of the TRC manga. I know Sakura will seem OOC in the first few chapters, but there's a reason for it, and I will get to it! Don't harass me about it when I haven't even started to sort out all the plot bunnies. ends rant I might be slow in updating later chapters, so please bear with me. As for now, read and review and hope you like!

The Kingdom of Kinomoto

The kingdom seemed to reflect the disposition of its rulers – Kinomoto country was always cold. It was bearable in the supposed months of summer, when the winds did not bite and it was possible to step out into the open without wearing layers of protective clothing. In winter, however, it was pure torture. All the lakes and the rivers would be frozen solid, and there would be blizzards and snow storms every other day. Occasionally there would be a respite, when it would be safe for the inhabitants of the castle to wander around outside. But when the gales came back, nobody dared to venture outside.

Not even the Princess.

It was during the Spring of the Princess's seventeenth year, that the changes began to take place. It all started with the threat of an invasion.

"Yes, Kinomoto-sama, there are rumours coming in from the West," the King's Prime Minister, Yue, reported. "It seems that the Princess..."

Kinomoto Touya looked thoughtful. "Sakura, huh? That's striking a bit low."

Yue inclined his head in agreement. "Precautions must be taken, Kinomoto-sama."

Touya glared. "Drop the titles, Yue. Nobody else is here." Yue looked away, but mumbled an apology under his breath. "As for precautions, arrangements have been made." He sighed in irritation. "A brat should be arriving here very soon."

Yue shot a curious glance at his close friend. 'A brat?' he thought, bemused.

Touya wasn't done. He looked pensive as he continued, "I only hope he can protect her... Where I can't." There was so much misery and helplessness in the King's eyes. He looked to be in perfect despair. Yue couldn't help himself.

He flew up to the King's throne and wrapped his wings around Touya, engulfing him in the warmth of his feathers.

XXX

"Sakura-chan!!"

A loud piercing shriek echoed through the first floor of the castle. Those who were unfamiliar with such incidents were startled beyond their wits, to say the least. Those who were accustomed to this, on the other hand, smirked in amusement and tried to reign in their laughter that was threatening to spill out any minute, out of fear of the Princess's fury.

Speaking of whom, there was a petite figure skulking around, two rooms away from her very own room. She wondered in desperation if she could make it back to her room before she was discovered. She highly doubted it, but on hearing the shriek run its course through the corridors, Sakura abandoned all her inhibitions and made a mad dash towards her room.

'Almost there,' she thought, the handle of the door mere millimetres away from her grasp, before she felt herself being dragged towards the ground. She made a very un-ladylike face, and thought darkly, 'Damn. And I was nearly there.' She resigned herself to her fate, and turned to face her closest, and only friend at the castle.

"Hey, Tomoyo-chan," she said sheepishly. "Didn't see you there." 'I'm getting too comfortable with lying through my teeth,' Sakura thought absently.

Daidouji Tomoyo wasn't buying it for a second. "You're avoiding it, aren't you?" She crossed her arms across her chest and looked at Sakura petulantly.

Nervous and wishing Tomoyo wasn't so perceptive, Sakura patted her bangs and stammered, "I have no idea what you mean."

"You can't keep running away, Sakura. He's going to call you and you will have to go down there and face it sometime." Tomoyo's voice was laced with sympathy towards her friend, and she winced internally as she saw the barriers come up around Sakura again, and the sparkle get snuffed out from her eyes. 'Never a good sign. Must have been the sympathy that did it this time.'

Sakura stood up stiffly, and smoothed down her rumpled skirts that had messed themselves up while she had fallen to the ground, running from Tomoyo. She looked down at her, and said in a dull, cold monotone, "Take me to them."

Tomoyo sighed and stood up as well. She was used to this routine. Her role as the Princess's best friend was over for now. She bowed deeply, and said, "This way, Your Majesty," and led her down to the main throne room.

Tomoyo was back to the role of being the Princess's personal maid.

XXX

Touya and Yue were waiting in the throne room, feeling more than a little apprehensive. They were not very pleased at the prospect of having a strange outsider protect the Princess, but they knew they had little other choice. They couldn't afford to risk her safety.

There was a knock on the door to the throne room, and it was opened to let in Tomoyo, who was bringing Sakura in behind her. Tomoyo looked a little upset, which baffled the two men, until they got a good look at Sakura's emotionless face.

'She's gone back to that state, huh?' Touya thought, bitterly. Yue placed a placating hand on the King's shoulder, sensing his disturbance. He got a stiff smile in return. Yue sighed, and wondered why Sakura was being so difficult about the whole thing. 'It all happened so long ago. She shouldn't be holding a grudge for so long. Why can't she see that it's starting to hurt her family?' Yue shook his head imperceptibly, to clear the thoughts from his mind and focused on the task at hand.

Tomoyo bowed before the King, while Sakura merely inclined her head. She looked back up at Touya and said, calmly, "Onii-sama, you called."

Touya grunted and replied, indicating to two seats to his left, "Have a seat. He should be here soon."

Nothing on Sakura's face changed, but her curiosity was piqued now. "Who should be here soon?"

'So she is interested, after all,' Touya thought, mentally smirking in satisfaction. He was happy that she was still capable of feeling, especially in front of him. "New safety measures. You're getting a bodyguard," he said finally, replying to her earlier question.

Sakura bristled. "I can take care of myself, Nii-san." The slight drop in formality did not go unnoticed by the others in the throne room, although nobody chose to comment on it.

"I don't doubt that," Touya responded, gently. "But I'll sleep easier knowing that someone's taking good care of you." If Sakura hadn't been listening closely, she would have missed him mumble, "Even if it is a damned brat." She had to work hard to keep her face impassive.

Sakura and Tomoyo had just seated themselves in their respective chairs, when a courtier entered the room and, bowing deeply, announced, "Li Syaoran seeks his Majesty's audience."

Sakura frowned slightly. 'Little wolf? Who gets named like that?'

"Send him in," Yue commanded.

The courtier went out and returned almost immediately with a young boy in tow. His brown hair fell in choppy bangs onto his face, covering his eyes. He made his way forward and knelt before the King's throne, placing his sword on the ground before him. It was an obvious sign of deference and submission.

Touya scrutinised every inch of the boy that he could see. He wasn't expecting a literal brat in his presence to protect his baby sister. "Take your weapon and rise."

Syaoran picked up his sword and raised his head to the King. "Li Syaoran, youngest son of the Li clan, to protect the Princess of Kinomoto country with his life."

Tomoyo was decidedly impressed with his declaration. She would be more impressed if she could see his eyes, but his hair was still being an obstruction. She glanced sideways to try and gauge Sakura's reaction and almost throttled her for the sheer blankness on her face.

Touya, still hesitant, told Li Syaoran, "You are to watch over the Princess at all times. Under no circumstance are you to leave her side. Arrangements will be made for your sleeping quarters to be put up in the room that connects to the Princess's room. Daidouji-san, the Princess's assistant, will detail you further on your duties." He paused, wondering if he should add the next line, but went on anyway. Sakura's wrath was something he looked forward to these days. "Even if the Princess begs and pleads, threatens or orders you to get out of her sight, you are to remain by her side. We do not want to have two deaths here, when we can just as easily have none."

Syaoran recognised an overprotective older brother when he saw one. He had no qualms about spending too much time around a girl. He had enough experience with that back home. He nodded once, and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Relieved that he didn't have to drive some sense into the boy, Touya turned to his sister. "Do you have anything you wish to add, before he starts performing his duties?"

Sakura had been seething in silent fury while Touya made his speech. All day by her side? It would be like having a puppy follow her around, only puppies weren't nuisances. And now her brother was asking her if she had something to add? 'Didn't he already cover every single aspect of my life with those few lines?'

Syaoran raised his eyes to meet the Princess's in anticipation of further orders, and Tomoyo gasped aloud in shock, unable to keep it in.

Ice cold met colder than ice, and all the other inhabitants of the room suddenly thought that the temperature had dropped sharply. If looks could freeze, Yue wasn't sure which one of the two youngsters would be frozen solid in an instant first.

Sakura calmly replied in the negative to her brother's question, and Syaoran bowed deeply to the Princess, his bangs once again hiding his face, along with the small smirk that had formed on seeing those cold eyes. 'What could have happened to her, to make her want to be like that? It's pretty obvious that she isn't normally an ice queen. She looks like she's fighting to keep her facade up. Oh, well. It isn't really my problem anyway.'

Wanting to be rid of the two indoor snow storms, Touya dismissed them, after telling Syaoran that he was to start his duties immediately. The minute the three teenagers were out of the throne room, Touya shivered and Yue fought for control over his face, that threatened to break out into a broad grin, very unlike his usual blank state. "Who do you think will break the other first, Touya?"

Touya looked at his best friend, and said shakily, "You're enjoying this? I never want to be in the same room as those two again. We don't need any more blizzards in this country."

Yue couldn't help it. The expression on the King's face and the earlier frostbite was too much for him to handle.

He let the grin win.

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura is CLAMP copyright. I'm just borrowing the characters. Feel like playing with them a bit. ;)