Before you read:

I haven't yet read every single chapter of Tsubasa, but for this stories purposes I really didn't need to. This story takes place after Syaoran and Sakura return to the kingdom of Clow. I don't know if she eventually got back her memories of Syaoran or not, but in this story she did and they are all getting ready for Sakura's seventeenth birthday.

Chapter One: (What's Wrong Birthday Girl?)

Sakura sat silently at her window, contemplating the hectic scene below her. There were hundreds of people, all of them getting ready for her birthday party. It was days like this that made her despise being a princess even more than usual. She didn't see why they all wanted to celebrate. It wasn't like this was just another birthday party. Didn't they know what was going to happen after she turned seventeen? So why were they rushing things?

"Sakura." A voice called from the door way. It was a male voice, and on a normal occasion she probably would have been quite annoyed by the intrusion, but she knew this voice and she loved it too much to hate.

"Syaoran!" She squealed, jumping from her seat and pouncing at the startled boy. "Boy am I glad to see to you!" She hugged him fiercely then pushed him away and sunk to the floor. "I can't stand this! Why is everyone so happy?"

"Well…" Syaoran began, stumbling towards Sakura and helping her up. "It's because they don't really have a princesses' birthday to celebrate every day you know." Seeing the dejected look on Sakura's face made him keep talking. "Your subjects love you very much. Every one of your birthdays is a reminder that they won't be able to celebrate with you forever. It makes them sad, and sadness fuels people's hearts and makes them do things they normally wouldn't."

Sakura walked over to the window and reassumed her perch. "I can understand that… but don't they realize that this birthday is going to be different than all the others. Why don't they understand that the sooner I turn seventeen, the sooner I'll be gone?"

Syaoran scratched his head awkwardly. "That's not- you don't know that for sure."

Sakura laughed. "Believe me Syaoran, this is one of the few things that I do know for sure." She looked down at the people once more. "Before my parents died… they had arranged for my brother and me to get married. My brother was able to weasel our way out of the agreement, and it was fine for him because he's a boy, but it's different for me. The minute I turn seventeen there will be ball after ball after ball. Almost every single night I will have to fraternize against my will, and be forced to choose my one and only love out of a group of complete strangers. It's what happens when a princess comes of age. Everyone wants a peace and the princess is just the defenseless animal caught between all the ravaging dogs."

"You don't have to choose…" Syaoran was getting uncomfortable, a fact that was becoming increasingly more apparent by his fidgeting.

Sakura looked at Syaoran. "I appreciate your concern, but it's something that can't be avoided. If I don't choose a husband within the first year, everyone will gossip. They'll come up with all sorts of lies about me, my brother, and even the kingdom. We'll loose credibility as a royal family, and people will began to take my brother less seriously. They'll overlook him at important parliament meetings, and he'll be the last on the list to be invited to every social event. By me not taking a husband, the Kingdom of Clow could very well fall into ruin… and I couldn't do that to my brother. So don't you see? Taking a husband is one of the most important things a princess has to do."

"But that won't necessarily happen." Syaoran mumbled.

Sakura smiled sadly. "Yes it will. It always has, and I'm no different from all the other countless princesses who had to do it too." She sat up straight. "It's my duty."

Syaoran looked away. Something was just so worrying about her sudden air of confidence. "But…" He began, not quite sure of what he was about to say. "Isn't your duty also to your heart?"

"Yes…. Yes it is…." Sakura whispered. "And my heart is telling me not to care what people will think… and it hurts so bad at the thought of marrying a man that I don't love, but my heart isn't always what I need to be listening too. Sometimes my head needs to take charge."

Syaoran suddenly got angry. He turned to face her. "But why now?" He yelled. "Why would you choose this time to listen to your head?" His face was flushed, but he calmed himself down. "I've known you for so long, and ever since I've known you, every time you needed to make an important decision, you would close your eyes and wait for your heart to talk to you. Why would you change that now?"

"Because." Sakura began, her eyes filling with tears. "I am an adult now, and that's what adults do…."

Syaoran felt a pang of guilt wash over him, but he quickly wiped it away and stormed out of the room, a cloud of anger hovering over him.

Sakura watched his back disappear down the hallway, and sighed.

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The next morning came quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly for Syaoran. He awoke in a bitter mood, which wasn't made any better by remembering the fact that the next day would be Sakura's seventeenth birthday. His heated thinking was interrupted by a knock on the door. He looked up surprised. What in the heck would anybody want with him at this time of the morning?

He walked over to the door and opened it--nothing. Not even a cat lingered in the dark streets in front of his house.

'What was that all about?' He thought, and finally looked down. Sitting there on his doorstep was a tiny peace of white paper. He picked it up and unfolded it. Inside there was a short message written in the flowery handwriting that he had come to love.

"Meet me at the site." He read out loud.