Sorry, the first chapter's kinda short... Anyways, I was dying to write this. ^^ So here it is. I'll probably be updating every two days... Yeah... I don't own CCS or anything, so... okay... Please R+R!! ESPECIALLY REVIEW!!! (Which you kind of have to read to do, so...)

"Father!" Sakura's eyes were wide and shocked. "No! What happened?"

"Sakura…" Touya said softly, but his words were wasted. "Look, Sakura, please. A princess must retain her dignity, even whe—"

"Dignity?!" the girl all but shrieked. "Father is DEAD! HE WON'T EVER COME BACK!" She collapsed, covering her red eyes with her hands.

"Sakura, he was my father, too."

The princess couldn't hold back her tears anymore. They fell, mixing with the blood on the floor.

One Week Later

"Sakura." Touya knocked on the door. He was worried about Sakura's health. She was the princess, the only legitimate child of the king, so she could not be allowed to suffer like this. Not only was he worried about the kingdom, but if his only sister suffered like this, he didn't know if he could bear it himself.

He sighed. If only he had been born after the king had married. Then, so much responsibility wouldn't have to fall on Sakura's shoulders. She was only fourteen right now.

At last, a voice issued from the room. "What is it?" The worlds sounded slightly muffled, and were shaky. Not to mention, hoarse.

He went in. Sakura had her head buried in a pillow, and she didn't look well. She lifted her head, and he could see that her eyes were a dull red. She'd been crying. Again.

"Sakura…" he hesitated, not knowing how to make the words better. "Sakura, Yukito and I have been thinking about… about getting you a fiancé."

"What?" the princess didn't look like she had quite heard properly. Her eyes were still dull, so it was possible that she hadn't.

Touya took a deep breath. "We've been thinking about getting a husband for you. Not now, in a few years, of course, but an engagement should be settled soon. The person who marries you will inherit this entire kingdom. I don't want you to have to do everything for yourself, you know."

This time, Princess Sakura had heard clearly. Too clearly. Her dull green eyes, rimmed with red, were now bright and clear, and suffused with anger. "Never." she hissed. "I will never, ever give Father's lands away, not to anyone. And I will definitely not give them to a treacherous, lying, boy!"

Touya had forgotten how deeply she hated anyone who was male, except for her close family and friends. "Please, princess," he begged, "you can't do this all by yourself! It will break you! And, we won't choose anyone without your consent."

The girl was adamant, her royal heritage clearly manifesting in her eyes. "NEVER!" She screamed, her voice unnaturally high, not because of rage, but because of whatever had caused her voice to become so odd after her father died. "I WILL NEVER MARRY! THE DAY I MARRY WILL BE THE DAY—" she paused, not quite sure what to say. At least, she drew a shaky breath. "When I marry," she vowed, "I will set aside all my memories of Father. And that will never, never happen. I will never forget him. Never."

Touya tried again, stubbornly refusing to let his sister – his heart and soul – live her life like this. "Sakura, you—"

She didn't even let him finish her sentence. "NE—" Before she could finish her sentence, though, her eyes widened, and her hands flew to her throat as she collapsed. She tried to speak, but no sound came out, and then she passed out.

In alarm, Touya yelled out, "Get a doctor in here! HURRY!" Almost instantly, a doctor appeared, who Touya suspected had been following Sakura for the entire day in worry, ready to come at a moment's notice.

After many tense minutes, the doctor came out. "Your Highness," he said gravely, "she's… lost her voice."

The entire hallway – servants, attendants, ladies-in-waiting, and even a few nobles – was silent for a minute in shock.

Tomoyo, Sakura's best friend and lady-in-waiting, said stiffly, "You can't mean… she… will never talk again?"

With a sigh, the doctor said sadly, "I'm afraid so… The loss of her father made her emotionally unstable, and she was crying and screaming too much. It made her voice weak and her throat raw. And, with this… recent shock, her body has forced her to forget how to speak altogether, in an attempt to calm her. I'm afraid… although there still is a chance of her recovering, it may be impossible for her to regain it."

The Next Day

Sakura cried. She had lost her voice. First her father, and now her voice. Was there nothing else in the world left for her? As she rubbed the last of her tears away, she thought. She thought of everything in the world that she had – Touya, Yukito, Tomoya, her memories, a home.

And that day, she decided. She decided that she would never cry in front of people again. No matter what happened, she would never let anyone know when she let out her tears.

In the near future, she was definitely going to have a lot of tears.

Not much of an ending, I know... ^^ It's gonna get better in a bit, don't worry! I know poor old Syaoran's just DYING to come out. Too bad, wait one more chapter!

Review!!! Please, please, please review! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!! JUST ONE CLICK (and then some typing.)