All I've Ever Wanted

"Did you have a good birthday yesterday Sakura? A whole fifteen years old!" An elderly woman with kind brown eyes asked as she opened the curtains to let the sunlight pour into the great bed chamber. She wore a worn blue dress with long sleeves and a big skirt that ended just under her ankles; it was accented with a white apron that had many smudges on it and the embroidered crest of the Kingdom of Celeste. Her dark gray hair was tied neatly in a bun at the nape of her neck and she wore no jewelry or make up; what need would a maid have of that stuff anyway? The great room did not belong to Sakura of course; she was nothing more than a mere Lady-in-waiting for Queen Yelan. But The Queen did permit for her Lady-in-waiting to have a small cot prepared in the room for the girl's use.

You must realize that Sakura's unconventional heritage could easily put her into danger had she dormed with all the other servants of the Celestian Palace. Those of Celestian descent do not look very much like Sakura; her features are too reminiscent of those from the Kingdoms along the seas; light hair, tanned skin, and vibrant colored eyes. Her slightly tanned skin and sun kissed brown hair already made her stick out, but her bright green eyes just make her too different to be acceptable as a common maid. Most common maids and servants of the Celestian Palace were Celestian, so they were very pale and had dark eyes and hair. So Sakura was kept close to the Queen who had smuggled her into the Palace, and if anyone ever raised a question about the girl's heritage they would simply say that she was an orphan of Luminian savages that the Queen had selflessly saved.

And because Sakura was raised in the Queen's close quarters, she was treated far better than any other Lady-in-waiting was; especially considering that for most of her life she was still too young to be a Lady-in-waiting for anyone. She was taught how to read, took lessons for the harp and in singing, and was fed proper food straight from the Queen's personal kitchens. She was also well clothed from the endless closets of the Queen; mostly from clothes the Queen had made when she was pregnant and expecting a daughter… but she had a son obviously. But that is not to say Sakura was spoiled, Queen Yelan made sure that did not happen. She treated the girl well, but there were limits. She couldn't very well have Sakura grow up to be a stuck up servant, especially because no servant has the right to be stuck up. And Sakura wasn't stuck up in the least, she was surprisingly very humble.

"You best wake up soon, the Queen already left to go to Court." The Elderly maid added as she moved to the next set of curtains and opened them up, letting more sunlight flood into the room. "She expects you to meet her there, the only reason she did not wake you up before was so that you might sleep in a bit. Almost like a last birthday present. So get up now."

"Oh Lian… I'm getting up. Slowly." Sakura replied a she sat up and tossed the old cotton blankets toward the end of her cot. She was squinting because of the sudden brightness of the sun that now engulfed the entire room. After rubbing her eyes for a few minutes, she rolled out of her cot and made her way toward her small wooden chest in the far corner of Yelan's room where she kept her small wardrobe. She fished out her own blue dress and apron and disappeared behind a dressing screen where she quickly changed. Sakura then walked out toward the large bay window as she combed her fingers through her long sun kissed brown hair which was nearly waist length. She braided her hair with ease and as she stared out into the snow topped mountains that surrounded Celeste, her emerald eyes sparkled. She let out a sigh, and reached toward the necklace of pink jade that forever hung around her neck. She brought it up to her lips and kissed it; it was just a habit that she developed ever since Yelan had explained it was a gift left for Sakura from her birth mother.

Of course, Sakura has no idea of her real birth family or origins in general. All that Yelan revealed to her was that both her parents died of unfortunate causes, she had a brother, and that the pink jade necklace was all that her parents left her. It might seem cruel that Yelan did not tell Sakura the full truth, but she was very young yet and finding out such a big truth would have drastic effects on Sakura. Not to mention the entire Kingdom. If Sakura owned up to her heritage, she could over throw King Xiao Lang's hold over Lumina. But she was still too young to be able to do any of that, Yelan always figured she'd reveal the truth to Sakura when she turned eighteen. That would be in three years, so until then Yelan would try to educate her to the best of her ability so that when she was old enough Sakura could take hold of her country with pride and skill.

"Alright Lian, I'll leave for court now." Sakura announced as she tucked back a few free strands of hair behind her ears and patted down her dress so that the creases would fade away a little bit. She then slipped on her wool knee high socks and her pair of brown shoes and began to make her way toward the door.

"Alright Sakura, but make sure you roll back down your sleeves. You know how inappropriate that is, especially in court." Lian reminded, knowing of Sakura's habit to adjust her clothes for comfort, "And do make sure you don't make a ruckus when you slip in. Just go straight behind the Queen and stand there like the good girl I know you can be when you try. Don't be a klutz."

"I know Lian, I know!" Sakura shouted as she rolled down her sleeves and exited the room, shutting the door behind her. She let out another sigh, and began to make her way toward the main room where Court was to be held. Court was a daily event, where all the Lords and Ladies and anyone of status would attend just to be involved in the happenings of the Kingdom. Most of the time, the people just attended to get a glimpse of the King who ran the country and his prized beauty of a Queen. That's not to say the people liked their King very much, they actually just went so they could gossip about what a fool the King was for cheating on her with various Ladies in the court. A few of those Ladies actually got pregnant and had children, unfortunately for the King they were all girls. So none of them could compete with the Crown Prince for his title.

After several long minutes of traveling through the various hallways and corridors of the Palace, Sakura eventually made her way toward the main hall. She slipped her way through the crowds of overly dressed Lords and Ladies and slowly made her way to the end of the room where three ornate chairs sat upon a slight podium, the thrones of course. In the center sat King Xiao Lang, to his right sat his only son Prince Syaoran, and to his left sat the bold beauty that was Queen Yelan. Sakura made her way toward them, and eventually took her place at the left directly behind the Queen. Most days she would just stand there patiently until Yelan raised her right arm ever so slightly, which meant that Sakura was summoned and would be assigned some small task such as, fetching her water or to remember something for her. Otherwise, Sakura would just stand and listen to the issues at hand.

Currently, the floor had been given to a somewhat well-to-do farmer who was trying to explain why this year's winter would effect how much crops he and all the farmers would be able to contribute to the palace for taxes. He was trying to convince the King that if the standards were lowered, all the farmers could manage to pay the tax as well as support their families. Sakura honestly felt for the man, he was just trying to get by.. but it did not seem like the King was even listening. When the farmer finished making his case, the King looked down at him with his nearly black eyes glaring at the poor soul.

"You dare to ask such a request of your King? Do I not protect your farms from invading forces?! I will not have a treacherous peasant try to tell me what to do." Xiao Lang yelled as he motioned his guards to come forward, "Take this traitor to the dungeon and alert the farmers that the tax has been raised. Failure to pay the tax will result in the loss of their land."

Harsh? Clearly. Unnecessarily Harsh? Obviously. But no one would dare say that out loud, they hardly dare say it in the silence of their own minds. Anytime anyone made a reaction against the King's opinion, that person would be jailed and most likely killed. The King clearly liked to make his subjects fear him, that's what made him feel in control. The only person to have ever stood up to him that was still alive was the Queen. He may be a fierce and controlling man, but he was smart enough to know that if he had the Queen removed, he would be causing a war with another kingdom which would lose him an ally.

The crowds watched as the poor farmer was dragged out of Court, most of them watching with a slight sense of sympathy. After a few moments, the crowd returned their attention to the King, awaiting for the next business to be brought up. An official stepped out from the crowd, and after unraveling a long paper with a list of today's events, announced the next person who was to take the floor. To everyone's surprise it was the Crown Prince himself. He stood up from his seat beside his father, and walked down to the center of the floor and faced him. The crowds erupted into whispers and it was no wonder why.

Prince Syaoran was not the Crown Prince, he was also extremely attractive and would be approaching marriage age within the year. He was currently nineteen and a very hot topic among any group of maidens. His features were in a word, perfection. From his firm jaw line to his high cheek bones, and not to mention those wondrous caramel brown eyes, he was a sight to see. And that's not even including his body, he was in excellent shape with all the activities he's involved in; such as fencing, riding horses, and karate. And it's needless to say that whenever he's practicing any of these activities, a crowd of overly perfumed girls from various ages follow.

"What's this that my own son has to request of me? Perhaps a bride? Too impatient to wait until your birthday?" King Xiao Lang quizzed as his stern brow raised ever so slightly. It was not an everyday occurrence that his son would ask anything of him, normally his son would just do all that he could to please his father.

"No Father. I request your permission to go on a journey to the Witch of the Wood and ask her to tell me what she foresees for my future." The young Prince asked in his strong voice, making numerous girls present at the Court swoon. "Once my journey is accomplished I will meet you in the Summer Palace that is Lumina."

"A journey to the Witch? Well my son, if you wish to see how many more Kingdoms we conquer you may see this Witch." King Xiao Lang replied quickly, without very much care. He was about to wave off his son, until the Queen interrupted him.

"And just who will be joining you on this journey of yours?" Yelan asked, her voice full of concern and her eyes full of worry.

"I will take a suitable amount of soldiers with me, no more than seven I should imagine. We shall travel on horseback the whole way and we will be heavily armed." Syaoran replied with rising annoyance. 'I came here for my father's permission not yours.' He thought as he awaited her response.

"Well that's all fine and nice, but how shall you eat?" Yelan began showing far more of her emotions than usual. She then turned her attention to her husband, "The last thing you and I want is for your only son and heir to die because of poorly cooked or lack of food. If he goes on this journey he should take a someone who would be a suitable cook and attendant for him. Only the very best for him, you know."

The King was now put into an awkward position. To disagree with his wife at all always cost him many of his subjects respect. But now that she was making a request about his son and acting with all this concern, he had no way to refuse her. He let out a sigh and turned to his son, "Your mother is clearly right. The journey shall be permitted as long as your mother selects someone suitable to attend to you and your men."

With that the subject was close and the Prince, who was currently glaring at his mother, was forced to accept the guidelines for his journey. All he could do was pray that his mother chose a strong man to accompany him on his journey. The last thing he needed was someone weak that would only delay his journey. The Prince reseated himself beside his father, and Court continued as it usually did until noon when it was dismissed.

-

"But M'Lady, who shall you pick to accompany the young Prince?" Lian asked as she stirred some tea for Yelan who was seated in an armchair beside the fireplace in her bed chamber.

"I've thought it over many times, but I've come to a decision that I feel will have a very suitable result." Yelan replied as she took the tea and sipped from it. Her eyes then fell on Sakura who sat on the floor just beside her chair embroidering a handkerchief with the Crest of Celeste as she hummed quietly. Upon feeling eyes on her, the young girl looked up curiously at the two adults in the room who were looking at her. Naturally, she had not been listening to the conversation because she had all her concentration on her work.

"What is it?" Sakura asked as she sat down her work on her lap and an eyebrow rose up ever so classically clueless.

"I want you to accompany Prince Syaoran on his journey. You're quite capable in the kitchen and I'm sure you'll be no trouble at all, you're so tiny. I've already sent for supplies to be stored in a carriage which you will ride in, of course." Yelan replied with a big smile on her face. Naturally she had an ulterior motive, and her thoughts drifted to her best friend Nadeshiko. They used to talk for hours about how their children would get married so that they could be like sister. And there was a time when it looked like that would be true, but with the war and all… well you know.

"Me?!" Sakura squealed in surprise. She on the other hand had no idea of Yelan's motives, she could not get passed the thought that she was going to be in the presence of him for more than a few hours. She also knew that there were thousands of girls who would actually kill her for being allowed to spend time with him. "M'Lady, I could never. I'm hardly a cook and hardly capable of traveling."

"You shall do fine Sakura, I'm also having some simple cotton dresses made for you so that in the event your in town you might be able to blend into the crowds. Wearing a maid outfit from the kingdom is going to make you seem rich compared to the townsfolk." Yelan added with a bit of excitement, "I already have a bunch of things planned out. You have nothing to worry about."

Sakura tried to explain how nervous the whole thing was making her, but it was clear that Yelan's mind was made up and it was really no use arguing with her. She could only imagine how much more this would separate her from the other maids. Her living in Yelan's quarters had already separated her from them, but this would just rid herself of any chance of her being friends with any of them. Sakura let out a sigh and shook her head, hoping nothing too terrible would come from this. It's not like she asked for it to happen..

-

"She's making me take a child with me! You must be kidding me." Syaoran yelled as he pounced forward on his opponent while thrusting his fencing sword hard toward his opponent's neck. His opponent retreated and blocked his openings, he then thrust forward and hit the Prince straight in the stomach.

His opponent then removed his face mask and looked toward the Prince with his Black hair glistening in the sunlight. "Cousin, did you really expect her to pick some burly man to accompany you?" He quizzed as he let out a sigh and watched his breath rise in the cold mountain air.

"Eriol, I can understand maybe a strong grown woman, but I doubt that child has no idea how to even ride a horse. She'll have to ride with someone the entire time and there's no way I'll put up with that." Syaoran said with annoyance growing in his voice, this was just meant to be a simple journey. Adding a girl to it would just add complications.

"No one would. Didn't you hear that your mother's preparing a carriage for the girl and that'll be wear she'll leave food supplies for us." Eriol corrected, then immediately regretted it knowing how his cousin would react.

"A CARRIAGE?!" Syaoran shouted, throwing his sword down into the snow covered grass, "You must be kidding. The journey will take twice as long if we travel like that. I can't stand that woman. She wasn't involved in my life before, so why should she start caring now?!"

Did you enjoy? Well I sure hope you did. I'd also like to mention that the attire worn in Celeste is sort of reminiscent of clothes worn in like Versailles, very ornate and big skirts and what not. Just not the powdered wigs and all sleeves are long, it is after all quite cold in Celeste. Showing more skin than your hands and neck exposed to the world would be considered very.. inappropriate. Also if I accidentally called Celeste, Celestia my bad. Originally I named it Celestia, but I changed it to Celeste. I tried to correct myself as much as possible, but I'm only human. A review now and then would be lovely… but I won't beg.

Sincerely,

LoveMelodies