Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Cardcaptor Sakura (although I do own my own OCs… which just happen to be mostly evil, its seems. Muhaha.).
Ch 1: The First Petal Unfurls
"Sayonara, Otou-san, Onii-chan! (A/N: I'm pretty sure that means 'Goodbye, Father, Brother!')" Sakura Kinomoto called out, waving a frantic hand, a bright, fake smile plastered to her face. Her eyes were fixed to the wagon that creaked farther and farther away from her along the road.
Her father turned around, his kind eyes sad although a small smile on his lips. "We'll be sure to be home soon, Sakura-san," he yelled back.
Sakura's older brother, Toya, was hunched over on the wagon, giving a dull thwack with the reins of the horses now and then. He raised an arm and gave a floppy wave, not turning around. He didn't seem to care much about leaving; of course, you could see that was not true if you looked at his face.
His expression was worried.
He did not trust his sister to be taken care of by that woman and her two daughters that stood next to the young girl. It was just a gut feeling, and Toya's gut feelings were seldom wrong. It must be the hints of magic in his blood from his mother's side of the family…
Toya was snapped out of his reverie by a thud sound that vibrated the old wagon. "Toya," Yukito Tsukishiro called out as a greeting, smiling his charming smile with kind eyes. He had jumped onto the wagon.
Because he and his older brother Yue had no family and lived alone, he was as close to the Kinomoto family as if a part of it. He had decided to come along this long business trip to the big trade city far away along the coast, although Yue had decided to stay at Tomoeda.
"Sayonara, Sakura-san!" Yukito's waved, "I'll make sure to bring you a souvenir!"
"Uh-huh!" Sakura nodded, hearts in her eyes. She absolutely adored the older boy, and was heartbroken at seeing him also leave.
"Don't break anything at the castle, kaiyjuu (A/N: 'Monster')," Toya added in a careless manner.
"Onii-chan!" Sakura yelled, furious, "I won't! And I'm not a monster!"
As the wagon dwindled more and more into the distance, until they were just a little black smudge in the countryside, Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes. She longed to run to them, and to go along, even if it meant leaving her beloved little village of Tomoeda. Although, it didn't make much of a difference, seeing as she would be leaving the village anyways.
Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko, had passed away when Sakura was only three, although the lovely woman had been only seventeen years old. Nadeshiko had been part of the Hong Kong court until marrying Sakura's father, Fujitaka. Through her, however, Fujitaka was able to find people to take care of his daughter while he was away on his business trip to the coast. He believed that she should live a life like her mother did, even if for just a while.
Shuirobara Kozu (A/N: Her first name means 'Scarlet Rose'), a beautiful lady with two lovely daughters, Yurihana (A/N: 'Lily Flower') and Kireinacho (A/N: 'Beautiful Butterfly') had agreed to take in Sakura for the time being. These high-class women lived in the capital Hong Kong, among the Li clan royalty, and promised him they would take wonderful care of Nadeshiko's only daughter.
Sakura was scared at the prospect of going to the fancy court. After all, she was nothing but a country girl; yes, people said she was cute and pretty, but what was that compared to the finery and frippery of the high-class court?
"Well," she thought determinedly and optimistically, "I'll just do my best to fit in. After all, I know I won't be staying, and I know I won't have a high position there. I'll just make some friends with the ladies-in-waiting or something and be happy."
Although, with the Kozu family, she'd probably be in contact with higher-class people more often than she would like. Sakura had even heard Shuirobara was determined to have one of her daughters wed the Li clan prince: Syaoran Li.
Village girls who had been lucky enough to visit the capital and catch a glimpse of the prince cooed over him. Sakura guessed it was mostly the idea of all the money and power, along with his supposed good looks. No boys, however, had ever interested her except for Yukito.
"This'll be an… an… adventure!" she told herself. "And when Otou-san and Onii-chan and Yukito-san come home, I'll have even more stories to tell than them." But she did not imagine the immensity of the story that would bloom around her, its petals opening one by one. She bid goodbye to her family one last time before smiling and looking forward to the future at the Hong Kong court. The first petal had just unfurled.
End of Ch 1
Nya! Hello readers, this is Angelicat! Reviews, please, and tell me what you think about it so far!
Shuiro and her daughters are very similar to the evil stepmother and stepsisters in Cinderella, although I don't plan to make the rest of the story like Cinderella.
Also, about the Japanese names. To get them, I just looked up translations of English words into Japanese, so to people who speak Japanese or something and are wondering about how the names probably don't make much sense or whatever, sorry. Although I want to learn Japanese, I can't and don't know it, so have to rely on an internet dictionary.
Now, about the Japanese honorifics. I decided to use them because it just wouldn't sound right without them. I found out the meanings of them from the beginning intro in xxxHolic books, also by Clamp. These definitions are from the book, and might help you out of you aren't familiar with them:
-san: This is the most common honorific, and is equivalent to Mr., Miss, Ms., Mrs., etc. It is the all-purpose honorific and can be used in any situation where politeness is required.
-sama: This is one level higher than "-san". It is used to confer great respect.
-dono: This comes from the word "tono", which means "lord". It is an even higher level than "-sama", and confers utmost respect.
-kun: This suffix is used at the end of boys' names to express familiarity or endearment. It is also sometimes used by men among friends, or when addressing someone younger or of a lower station.
-chan: This is used to express endearment, mostly toward girls. It is also used for little boys, pets, and even among lovers. It gives a sense of childish cuteness.
-sensei: Literally meaning "one who has come before", this title is used for teachers, doctors, or masters of any profession or art.
-blank: Perhaps the most significant difference between Japanese and English. The lack of honorific means that the speaker has permission to address the person in a very intimate way. Usually, only family, spouses, or very close friends have this kind of permission.