Author's note: When I'm drowning in writer's block or just wanting to slam my head on a wall while writing Knight, I imagine ideas of side stories, one shots or background stories that won't affect the main plotline of the story in any way. And while it's a fun way to keep generating fresh ideas, it felt weird to think but not write the scenes. So, uh, I did, and this is the result.

Every chapter will be completely random and won't contain any spoiler of the future or previous chapters of the main story (Knight). This will contain multiple pairings, AU, fluff, removed scenes, tears, splattered blood, and possibly broken limbs. So, enjoy~

Side story 1 : Set 12 years before the main story's beginning

Footsteps light and measured, Nadeshiko walked through the hallway with worry etched all over her face. It happened again. The third time this week, her precious little daughter had refused to attend her lessons or eat anything the maids brought to her.

Placing a hand over her flittering heart, she quickened her pace to her daughter's bedroom. Her nanny had told her Sakura had barricaded herself in her room since breakfast. Nadeshiko should've come to her as soon as her little Sakura started showing signs of distress, but for the past weeks, she was too worked up, too busy, to pay close attention to her only daughter.

She should've been a better mother, a better listener, but she couldn't. The whole country was in chaos and she and her beloved husband had to make multiple public appearances to ease their citizens' growing panic.

What of the kingdom's future?

The king has no heir!

Surely we are doomed. Doomed!

Pausing at the double doors of her daughter's room, she pushed stray tendrils of hair behind her ear before knocking.

"Sakura?" She called softly. There was no response.

Carefully, Nadeshiko twisted the knob and gently pushed the door open. Sakura's room was a mess, her books lay open and were scattered everywhere, her sheets were rumpled and her toys were in disarray, as if she'd thrown everything she could get her hands on out of anger. It wasn't like her daughter at all. More than anything, her little Sakura liked peace and order. Every little thing that her big brother had disorganized sent her into a tantrum.

Nadeshiko's heart ached at the thought, and she blinked away the tears that suddenly burned the back of her eyes. She wanted to be strong, she has to be. Her husband and her daughter needed her now more than ever. She was queen, and her strength reflected to her people.

"Sakura?" She called again as she walked inside the room, lifting her heavy skirt so she can step over the mess littered on the floor.

There was a bundle on the bed. A bundle so small there was no doubt that it was her daughter, curled up under her sheets and probably crying.

Resisting the urge to cry herself, Nadeshiko sat on the mattress, beside the quiet bundle. She smoothed her hands over where she guessed her daughter's head was. She had always comforted Sakura this way and hoped that this time it still would.

"Sakura? Mommy's here. Talk to me, poppet," she said, as gentle as she can, hoping that it can reach her stubborn daughter's ear.

It did, and a few seconds later the bundle shifted and green eyes emerged from under the sheet and stared at her. Nadeshiko saw no tears, but that only worried her more.

"You skipped your lessons again?" She asked as she ran a hand over her daughter's tangled auburn hair. "Tell mommy what's wrong, poppet, and I'll make it all better."

Instead of answering, Sakura sat up and stared out the window of her room. The sheets bunched around her lap and her little hands fisted it.

Instead of probing, Nadeshiko waited patiently, giving her daughter all the time she needs to open up. Though she remained silent, she continuously ran her hands through her daughter's hair, knowing that it calmed her.

"Mommy," Sakura said a few minutes later and turned to face Nadeshiko, whose hand dropped and fell to her lap.

"What is it, poppet?"

"He–" Sakura hiccupped and swiped a hand over her stinging eyes. "–he said we will rule together," she said in a whimper as the dam of tears finally broke. Sobbing, she drew her legs close to her chest and buried her face on her knees.

Nadeshiko's heart broke and she found herself speechless. Sakura has always been quiet, but she knew that her daughter's emotions rose sharper than others. She knew that, and that's why she always had something to say to her should she need it. But what words can she offer her now, when she was just as lost as her?

"Touya," Sakura continued. "He told me I would always be his queen. We will rule the country together–" she broke off with a sob. " –he told me he'll never leave me. Mommy…I don't want to be alone!" Sakura shouted as she scrambled to Nadeshiko and gripped her forearms. With tears glistening in her emerald eyes, she sent her mother a silent plea. A beg that Nadeshiko didn't know how to answer.

"I don't want to steal Touya's tutors! He didn't like it when I touch his things, and he will be mad at me once he finds out his title will be passed to me. I don't want to! If Touya's not going to be king, then I won't be queen either!" An endless stream of tears ran down her flushed cheeks and dripped on Nadeshiko's gown.

Disregarding the painful ache in her chest, Nadeshiko smiled and pulled Sakura closer, enveloping her in the warmth and safety of her arms. "Dear poppet," she murmured as she ran her palm over Sakura's back, waiting for her sobs to subside.

She sobbed and wailed, wetting Nadeshiko's bodice with every tear and breaking Nadeshiko's heart with every snivel. Still, she held her daughter close, offering the comfort she needed and waiting for her tears to subside, despite wanting to cry herself. If she could, she would take all of her daughter's pain, but she couldn't. Not this time.

What had happened has caused a deep wound on her family, one that might never heal.

"Sakura," Nadeshiko said as she urged her daughter to look at her. Emerald eyes that mirrored her own were still filled with tears, but the dam was now back, now more fortified than the last. "Daddy and mommy misses Touya, too," she whispered. "But your daddy and I has to take care of our citizens as well."

Sakura nodded, understanding lighting her eyes. Despite that, her features were still marred with sadness. She sniffled.

"But mommy has to ask you to take Touya's place." Nadeshiko saw the resistance in Sakura's face the instant it appeared, so she hurried to add, "You…you have to safeguard Touya's position while he's gone. And so, you must be queen. Can you do that, poppet, for Touya?"

With a voice thick with emotion, Sakura asked, "But…only until Touya comes back, is that right, mommy?"

Nadeshiko stopped breathing, her throat constricting in an attempt to swallow back the lie that was about to leave her lips. A lie that she knew would control her daughter. A lie she knew her daughter might hate her for once the truth comes into the light.

"Yes," she replied, her voice as shaky as her smile.

In an instant, Sakura's features brightened and she grinned, her sadness immediately forgotten. "Then, I'll be the best queen who has ever ruled our country!"

With a soft smile that concealed the shattered pieces of her heart, Nadeshiko replied, "I know you will be, poppet."