I'm so happy I finally decided to update this story. It's like, ahh. Yay.

Chapter 7

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Sakura sat alone in her bedroom thinking about nothing in particular.

Okay, that was a lie.

She always remembered Cyou being sweet, but she never thought that he'd remember her wanting to be the princess. And now, she wanted to be as far from the castle as physically possible.

And that arrogant, horrible creature that was the prince.

"Kinomoto?" a voice called from the door. Sakura sighed, jumped off her bed, and hastily put on a robe to hide her undergarmented body.

"Li-sama?" She bowed deeply and invited the prince into her bedroom grudgingly, not appreciating his eyes that lingered on her scantily-clothed body. She hugged the robe closer to her.

"Hey. Uh, I wanted to... what's this?" he asked, fingering the silk dress sprawled across her bed. "It's cute."

Sakura blushed. "It's a gift from my friend." She quickly packed it back inside the box. "It's nothing."

He smiled. "Have you tried it on yet? It would look beautiful." She started to shake her head, but he stopped her. "No. I command you to put on this dress." And with that, Prince Syaoran exited her room, leaving her kind of freaked out.

A few minutes later, one of the maids that Sakura met on her first day in the castle arrived in her room, prepared to put in her into the extravagant dress for no reason. I mean, absolutely no reason.

"Who is it from, Sakura-san?" Naoko asked quietly, remembering Sakura's wishes for no one to call her by her last name.

Sakura sighed, half in happiness and half in annoyance. "It's from a friend.. I haven't seen him in years, then he suddenly shows up here and gives me a dress that'll probably take him five years to pay off." The smile that she tried to hide escaped. "Isn't that sweet?"

"Very," Naoko said, slightly in awe as she tied the back up. "He sounds nice."

Sakura laughed. "Pretty much."

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"Uh."

Sakura stood in front of the mirror, watching Naoko add a quick 'do to her hair before she went and met the crazy prince. She was positive that he was mentally insane. I mean, going around and commanding people to put on dresses was a strange behavior pattern.

But, seeing herself in the dress made everything better.

She didn't know how Cyou knew her size, or the fact that that there was absolutely nothing about it that she didn't love. The gorgeous beading down the corset matched up with the gathered bottom perfectly. If she knew where Cyou was, she would hug him. And maybe other things. Ahhh.

"Sakura-san?" Naoko called, breaking Sakura's train of thought.

"Uh. Yeah?" She stepped away from the mirror and followed Naoko to the middle of the room.

"Take this." She placed a tiny silver band in Sakura's hair. "Now come. The prince awaits." Sakura wasn't sure if the last part was sarcastic or not, but she assumed the former.

As they walked farther away from her only comfort zone, Sakura began to wonder what would transpire once she saw the prince. There was no denying his amazing body... and his horribly arrogant attitude. Which totally ruined her fantasy.

"Okay. Here we are." Sakura looked to huge twenty foot tall doors in front of her. "Sakura-san, you'll be fine. Go." Naoko gave her a quick hug before running off, leaving her alone.

After taking a deep breath and saying a quick prayer, Sakura pushed as hard as she could against the doors, revealing a huge ballroom ten times larger than anything she had ever seen. In the middle of the room stood Prince Syaoran Li, who had exchanged his normal clothes for much more expensive attire. When he saw her he smiled, walking towards her slowly.

"Your friend has excellent taste," he observed. She blushed, finding the situation slightly ironic.

"Thank you." She fidgeted with her fingers, avoiding his gaze. He smiled.

"Do you know how to dance?" he asked suddenly, as a quartet that she failed to notice began to play in the background. Her blush deepened.

"What do you think?" she laughed, taking his outstretched hand. "Waltzing wasn't exactly one of my priorities growing up."

His other hand rested on her waist, taking a moment to admire the fabric of her gown. "It was for me."

She had to admit, he was a spectacular dancer. Of course, she was spectacular at milking a goat.

Sakura felt herself relaxing as she attempted to dance, the close proximity of her and the prince of Li Kingdom not bothering her as much as it should. His touch was tender, though she knew it was from experience.

"I hate to be rude, Li-sama, but, why are we here?" Sakura asked slowly, not being able to hold her tongue any longer. "It seems a little unconventional."

Syaoran laughed. "I'm not one for convention. And a dress this beautiful deserves to be worn, doesn't it?" He paused, and looked at her closely. "I brought you here to apologize."

Sakura looked at him skeptically. "You don't seem like the kind of person that apologizes."

He sighed. "Well, I am now. When you sneaked into my room..." A smirk tugged at his lips. She blushed. "I wasn't myself... I, uh..." He smiled sheepishly. "I had a little too much wine."

Sakura tried not to laugh. He was drunk? It seemed strange... but then again, it wasn't unreasonable for him at all. "Oh."

"Sorry if I offended you." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She winced. He frowned, and leaned away from her. "Sorry." The dance continued, easing some of the tension between the two.

As she danced with him, Sakura felt some of her presuppositions about Syaoran fade slowly. Although her eyes were on her feet for the majority of the time, when she looked up he was looking at her compassionately, not with ravenous eyes. He led her gently, slowing down to accompany her speed. She almost felt like she was dancing with the prince of her childhood fantasy instead of the arrogant prince of her reality.

Sakura felt her heartbeat quicken when she accidentally bumped into his chest, and her face heat up when she felt his breath on her ear. Suddenly he wasn't the horrible beast she had painted him to be. He was the compassionate prince of the Li Kingdom, who picked her to dance with. She laughed as he spun her into the air, then set her down as though nothing had happened.

And suddenly, without warning, he leaned in and kissed her.

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