All I've Ever Wanted

"Come now Sakura, you must get a move on. They may leave at noon but I'd like you to be accustomed to your carriage and the layout. And I thought I might introduce you to a few of the soldiers who will be traveling along with you." Yelan said as she stood over the young maid and attempted to rush her along a bit.. but to very little effect. The young girl merely sat over her wardrobe trunk, looking through the cotton dresses Yelan had gotten made for her. Her emerald eyes sparkled like diamonds as she looked through the clothes made especially for her, she was so hypnotized by the clothes she had not even changed out of her nightgown.

"I'm sorry M'lady, but I just… I just." Sakura responded rather illiterately, the poor child was at a loss for words; she was just overwhelmed with happiness. The sun-kissed brunette continued to sift through the wardrobe trunk until she reached the bottom, where she found a gorgeous white gown with a small skirt that would reach the floor. It was clearly a summer gown, being that it was made of lighter material and colored so brightly. It was accented with white lace designed like cherry blossoms for the sleeves, neck line, and for the trimming of the skirt. Throughout the lace was a bright pink ribbon that weaved through it in the most elegant way. The young girl literally gasped upon discovering it, honestly what would a gorgeous thing like that be doing in a servant girl's trunk? "M'lady?" Sakura asked as she looked up at the Queen who stood over her.

"I just figured that you never know what situation you might be in, and that you must be prepared. Very logical, you know." Yelan explained, trying to sound very sensible but to very little affect. She was trying to use her stern attitude that she had picked up while living in cold Celeste, but she could not help but express her motherly fondness of Sakura.

"Or she just wanted to have a gorgeous dress made for you." Lian laughed as she appeared from behind a dressing screen with a towel in her arm. She had just set up a bath for Sakura, so that the girl might be clean for her journey because only the gods will know if the group will be lucky enough to encounter a hot spring or some clean body of water where they could bathe properly. "You'd best hurry your young self into the bath, lest all the water go ice cold on you."

"Oh, yes.." Sakura stated as she quickly rearranged the dresses back into the wardrobe trunk and stood up. She was about to run off to go bathe herself when she stopped, and turned around. She ran over to Yelan and threw her arms around her, "Thank you!" she exclaimed quickly, and then rushed off to her bath.

"What will you do without her? She's practically your own daughter and what mother would volunteer to send her off?" Lian said as she took one dress out of the girls trunk and began walking toward the dressing screen so that Sakura would change into that instead of her usual maid apparel.

"Because I want her to know him… her mother would have wanted her to." Yelan whispered as she turned around toward the fireplace to warm her hands. She was referring to her son obviously, it had always been the plan for the two children to fall in love and marry… unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. So this was the new plan, push them together and just hope for the best.

After Sakura finished off her bath, she changed into her plain cotton dress that was a light green color with very simple embroidery of yellow leaves trimming the neck, sleeves, and skirt. It, of course, came with a plain white apron which would cover the majority of the front of her skirt. The dress was long sleeved and it was cut modestly of course, she was after all a girl of only fifteen. When her hair finally dried, it was arranged in a very suitable bun well above the nape of her neck with a few shorter pieces hanging loosely about her face framing it.

"Now then, you're all prepared we'll make our way toward the stables where I've had a carriage all set up for you." Yelan began as she exited her bedroom with Sakura following only a half step behind her. As they walked through the various winding halls Yelan would make comments about the journey Sakura was going to embark on with the Crown Prince and his party; explaining what she'd be expected to do and what she was definitely to avoid. But to be honest, Sakura was not really listening… she was busy trying to keep her nerves from showing. As they walked through the halls she could tell all the lady's maids who passed knew where she was going and they hated her. She could simply tell by their hushed whispers and cruel stares that they resented her. Sakura simply reverted her gaze to the floor and her feet, it was easier that way.

When they finally arrived at the stables it was easy to tell which carriage was the one Sakura was going to be using. It was completely packed with various trunks and baggage of all sorts of shapes and sizes. It made Sakura's brows rose slightly, and made her even question if half of what was being taken along was necessary. She also wanted to laugh a little bit; the carriage Yelan had selected was technically not as ornate as the other carriages the Queen owned, but at the same time it was still far too elegant to pass along the roads without getting unnecessary amounts of attention. But the young girl couldn't very well say anything so she watched as the stable boys added a few extra trunks to the carriage instead.

"Now then, the only thing that's inside the carriage with you will by your wardrobe trunk. Most of the time they will be traveling so you'll have to occupy yourself with embroidery and whatever else you can come up with. Now the Prince is the only other person who is entitled to sitting in here as well and do try to not bring too much attention to yourself. Everything for cooking is attached to the back of the carriage so you need only grab it when you need." Yelan informed as she walked around the carriage pointing out each thing for the young girl. Eventually, she made her way back to the door of the carriage and opened it, "There are plenty of blankets under the seats so you can bundle up when it's cold."

Yelan paused then, as she looked down on the girl she had raised with an overwhelming feeling of concern. She was sending away her best friend's child, practically her own child, into the unknown. She smiled warmly and took off her own beige stole that was lined with fox fur and wrapped it around the sun-kissed brunette. "You'll be perfectly fine, I promise." Yelan said simply as she motioned the girl to go inside, "The knights will be arriving soon, and eventually so will my son. Be sure they eat well and that nobody gets sick."

"M'lady you're far too kind, I'll really do my very best to make sure everything goes right." Sakura replied eagerly with her voice dripping with sincerity. She stepped into the carriage and was about to sit down when she saw a beautiful caged cat like sitting in the red velvet seat across from her. She couldn't help but let out a small yelp, which received numerous laughs and stares from the stable boys hanging around.

"Oh my, I see you've met Kero." Yelan laughed as she peered into the carriage, "We're not quite sure what type of animal to label him as… You can tell he looks a bit like a cat but then he has those little wings on his back, and don't you let their size doubt you. He can fly quite fast. I plan to have him serve as a sort of messenger between you and I. Just incase there are any happenings that I should be aware of."

"Did you mention to her what I like to eat?" the small cat-like creature asked as it jumped around in the cage. The unexpected voice made Sakura react with another, but larger, yelp as well as jump up a bit.

"He also talks.. He's actually quite the chatterbox." Yelan added as she patted Sakura's hands in an attempt to have her calm down. She made a motion for the girl to sit down before continuing, "He's a glutton; He'll eat anything really so you don't need to be too concerned with what to feed him. Kero's a nice little creature, and I also figured he'd be decent company. And with that gorgeous yellow coat how couldn't you love him?"

The conversation was cut off when the sound of horse's galloping sounded from not too far away. Yelan's immediate reaction was to step away from the carriage and shut the door, right after giving Sakura's hand one last reassuring squeeze. The Queen then turned around to greet the group of knights who had come to join her son on his journey. The knights all dismounted their horses and gave the Queen a proper salute and bow. She acknowledged them with a subtle smile and a nod. After a few moments, another galloping sound was heard and around the corner came the Crown Prince Syaoran upon a pure white steed; the ideal picture of princeliness.

"Where's father?" Syaoran asked as he dismounted his horse, his question directed more toward the group of people standing about rather than his mother specifically. Nobody found it to be a surprise, on a regular basis he doesn't show the proper etiquette he's supposed to show his mother; he hardly even makes eye contact with her.

"He's busy." Yelan replied, returning her son's rudeness with the cold tone in her voice, "He sent me here in his stead to bless your journey, which I do. Now I have wished you luck, I'll retreat to the castle. Fare well."

The Queen swiftly made her way back toward the entrance, and upon her departure the group of men outside the carriage came together for last minute planning for the journey, which ended up becoming a conversation about the mystery girl inside the carriage. Yelan had shut the door before anyone had gotten a chance to even glimpse at what the girl might look like. The group did not even know what her name was..

"Listen to you, getting all excited. Watch her be a disgusting wretch, imagine how disappointed you'll be." Eriol exclaimed after listening to the other remarks of the knights. "Although, personally I would not mind if she was a beautiful little treat."

"Of course you wouldn't. You have quite the reputation with the ladies."A knight chuckled, knowing the vast history of Eriol's relations with women. Hell, everyone knew. At least half of the Lady's maids have had some sort of encounter with him and the other half he just hadn't gotten around to yet.

"Enough of this pointless chatter, we need to begin our journey. And since my mother has so kindly given us this unnecessary load to babysit, we'll have to men on either side to protect it. Had we been traveling lighter, this would be a lot different… but a large carriage decorated as this one is, will surely draw unwanted attention. So just get your gear together and we'll leave as soon as possible." The Crown Prince said using a sterner voice than usual. With that command, the men stopped their chatter and began to saddle their horses and prepare for their journey.

"He certainly sounds like a mean person if you ask me." The little yellow creature commented from the safety of the carriage as he floated over the emerald eyed girl's head. It didn't take very long for Sakura to accustom herself to the strange creature and within a matter of minutes they became friends. Currently, the two were glued to the small window of the carriage to see just who they'd be spending the next few weeks with.

"Well he might just be acting that way because of the people he's around. You can't be a softy around knights." Sakura said in an attempt to defend the princely stranger. All she knew was that he was Yelan's only son and that he couldn't be that bad of a person if he was related to her.. or so she thought anyway. In any case, she was giving him the benefit of the doubt which might be because of his devilishly perfect looks rather than his relation to Yelan.

"Hmph, maybe." Kero replied, genuinely considering what she was saying until he looked down at the human who was still staring intently at the Prince outside, "Wait a minute, are you blushing?"

"I don't know what you're tal-" Sakura began only to get cut off by the lurching movement of the carriage. The carriage had obviously been stationary so the sudden movement had caught the girl and creature by surprise and had also caused some things to fall out of place. Upon the movement Sakura had let out another signature yelp, "HOOOOOOOOOOEEE", and had managed to fall, not so, gracefully onto the floor.

"Keep making sounds like that and they're going to think you're crazy." Kero commented with a chuckle as he hovered above her, which only made her blush an even brighter red hue.

"Hush Kero! This is embarrassing enough!" Sakura exclaimed extremely embarrassed, but her complaint was met by little seriousness. Immediately after making the comment she started laughing, it must have been a ridiculous sound and sight as well. Luckily for her though, only Kero was around to see it… or so she thought anyway.

You see, upon hearing a yelping sound from within the carriage Eriol rushed his horse forward and peeked into the carriage to be sure that nothing had happened. Instead he saw a young girl who had clearly landed on the floor laughing with a strange creature hovering around. He let out a laugh, and after ensuring to the knights around that she was okay he galloped ahead to catch up with his distant cousin.

"She's quite cute actually, very young." Eriol stated as he eased beside his cold cousin, "With some creature with her, your mother must have given it to her to keep her company."

"Like I care. I just want to scare her, so that she'll ask to retreat back to the castle so she won't be my problem anymore." Syaoran replied not caring how cruel he came off. He was simply fed up with having to babysit the carriage, it attracts far too much attention and makes his mission three times more difficult than necessary.

-

After a few hours of traveling, it was clear that the sun was beginning to set. So they traveled until they spotted a clearing where they could set up camp for the night. Once there, a few of the men were setting up a few tents while others were gathering fire wood. The rest of them were out hunting for some fresh meat to cook, or rather fresh meat to have cooked. But while all the men were busy at work, Sakura was too shy to come right out of the security of the carriage. She knew she had a responsibility to start cooking, that was after all the entire point of her coming on this trip, but she didn't want to have to face a whole troupe of men that she didn't know.

"I'll come with you, so you won't be alone." Kero suggested as a means to get Sakura out the door. He figured that somebody, the prince in particular, might get angry and do only the gods know what. For extra assurance he tried nudging her forward with his head against her shoulder, not like it really moved her much; Kero is less than an eighth her size.

"I'm just trying to wait until they're not around. I don't want to actually have to face any of them, I don't know how they'll act." Sakura answered in a small voice, her fear evident at every word, "I'll just try to avoid they're gaze right? And you'll just distract them if they try to do or say anything, you know?"

"Fine, fine. Just get out there before somebody gets angry." Kero rushed her as he nudged Sakura forward again.

It took her a moment, but after exhaling she threw a worn blue cape around herself and stepped outside leaving Yelan's stole in the carriage where it was safe. Upon her first step onto the solid ground she surveyed her surroundings, everyone seemed pretty wrapped up in whatever task they were doing so she figured this was as good a time as any to begin cooking. Sakura made her way to the back of the carriage to where everything was stored. It took her a few minutes to maneuver her way through the mess of trunks and bags, but she eventually dug out a very large pot, in which she planned to make a thick stew of whatever game bird they caught for her to cook, as well as two smaller pots. She went over to the make shift fire pit that one of the younger knights had set up and put down her pots. She picked up one of the smaller ones, and walked over to the small river where they had settled by. She had to walk along the river a bit until she found a spot where the ice was broken, but once there she filled it with water and just as she was turning, her entire motion was stopped by a person standing directly in her path.

And naturally, knowing our Sakura, she was not at all slick and managed to spill the whole potful onto the feet of the person who bumped her. She immediately fell into a spell of apologies, she honestly could stop herself; the words just kept pouring out. And as she dropped to the ground to pick up the pot and sort of dry off the man's shoes she found that the body stooped down beside her to reveal a handsome face hidden behind the new fangled invention of spectacles.

"You need not apologize, my dear. I surprised you." The blue haired knight responded with a charming smile as he picked up the pot for her and stood upright. Instead of merely holding out the pot for her, he went so far as to refill it and walk it over to the fire pit for her.

Naturally surprised, Sakura slowly followed the knight back over to the fire pit and immediately thanked him, "Thank you very much sir, I truly appreciate your help."

"It's the very least I could do for a young maiden such as yourself." He replied, "But please, call me Eriol. Sir is far too formal for me."

"Oh, alright. Thank you very much Si-I mean Eriol." Sakura corrected herself. And then she stood there, unsure of what to say but certainly welcoming the human company; which is not to say the Kero was bad company, he just wasn't quite the same. She shook her head, realizing all the cooking she had left to do, and went back to the carriage to retrieve some vegetables and a small cutting board with a cooking knife. When she returned she found that the knight whom she had expected to have gone was still there, sitting on one of the logs that were placed as seating around the fire. "Oh?" Her littler mouth murmured in surprise.

"I thought you might enjoy some company whilst you cook… that and I figure I might as well get to know you since we'll be spending a lengthy amount of time together." Eriol explained sensing the young girl's confusion, "Now then, young maiden, tell me something about yourself?"

"Oh, well that's rather kind of you. My name's Sakura.. I've been in the Queen's service since I was no more than a toddler." Sakura answered with a small smile at the kindness she was unexpectedly receiving from this rather good looking knight. As she spoke she set up her cutting board on a log and began to cut various vegetables, like carrots, celery, and potatoes.

"Is that so?" Eriol began as his eyes refocused on the young girl working away, "Well that can't have been too long ago. You look very young."

"I'm not sure if you mean that as a compliment, I'm afraid." Sakura responded as she continued her work, tossing in the cut up bits into the biggest pot with the water now poured in it. "But I assure you sir, I'm hardly a child. I recently turned fifteen, hardly a week ago."

"My apologies, Miss. Clearly I was mistaken." Eriol said attempting to muffle a laugh; did this girl think herself a woman? She was clearly a child, her youth evident in nearly every aspect imaginable. He shook his head lightly then turned his attention back to the girl, looking at her through narrowed eyes, "Tell me then, would a lady such as yourself really prefer to live in the company of men so barbaric as us? Especially for so long, I'd wager that you'd leave and return to the comfort of your embroidery."

"Am I so transparent?" Sakura said hardly able to silence her laugh, if only this knight knew that in the spring she and Yelan would spear fish, sometimes even small game, just like woman of the Queen's native Kingdom of Aquane. "I'll do whatever my Lady asks of me, and she made the point that this mission is very important. She wants me to assure the Prince is properly sustained. Now if I ever wish to finish this meal for the lot of you, you'd best get on with whatever chore you're skipping out on."

"Whatever shall please the Lady." Eriol replied through gritted teeth as he slowly backed away from the fire pit area.

"A strange conversation if I've ever seen one." Kero stated as he appeared out of seemingly nowhere. He sat himself down on the log beside the cutting board as he watched, almost as if he was hypnotized. His stomach growled loudly, clearly he was hungry, but he didn't say anything hoping Sakura would catch the hint.

"Agreed. I'm not really sure what to make of it." Sakura nodded as she handed Kero a fair sized piece of carrot, then shrugged and continued her work.

-

"I don't think she's just going to up and leave. It'd probably take some effort to scare her off." Eriol reported as he sat in a makeshift chair in his cousin's tent, while his cousin preoccupied himself looking over various maps left open on the table with various knick knacks.

"She just said all that because she wants to sound faithful. You have to think of the typical conniving maid, especially in this kingdom. She's just sucking up to my mother, maybe she'll get a husband or something as a prize for spying on us." Syaoran explained, his voice full of disgust and annoyance.

"Or maybe she just wants to be nice and helpful." Eriol suggested. Though he was a native of Celeste, he liked to believe that there has to be some kindness in the world.. he wasn't into the whole cold attitude that most of the kingdom adapted to throughout the years.

"Oh please. Everyone has a hidden agenda Eriol, this isn't some fantasy world." Syaoran scoffed, giving his cousin a hard look. All Syaoran wanted to do was focus on the mission, find out his future, and become whatever he had to be to gain favor with his father. He was sure that the famed Witch of the Woods would be able to read him his future exactly how he figured it.

-

Late? Yes I know. My deepest apologies. But I do hope you'll forgive me and enjoy this new chapter. I tried making as long as I could, but I'm afraid even I tire of knowing what to write. In anycase, enjoy and how about a review every now and then? I'd appreciate it.

Sincerely,

LoveMelodies