Disclaimer: Now we all know I wouldn't be here writing fan fiction if I owned CCS I would be off creating another season of it! So clearly I don't own CCS or any related characters.

Story format…

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

Seen Change…

Chapter 8

The Queen of the North and the Princess of the West

Last Chapter …

…she turned back to face him again.

"By the way about earlier I just um…" she paused for a moment before continuing.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life."

He was a little taken back by this as it had just come after their rather hearted argument. And so gave the only reply that came to his mind.

"You're welcome."

She smiled at him and closed the door behind her.

For a moment he stared at the door before turning to leave to go to dinner.

The rest of the night his mind refused to leave thoughts of the girl behind the door or her very beautiful smile.

The next morning…

Sakura learned that throwing a pillow at the window did not stop the sunlight from coming in and shining in her eyes.

She cursed the sun and it stupid sun shin-e-ness.

She had never been an early riser and waking up with sun glare in her eyes was not her idea of a good morning.

For the first time in her life she longed for when her brother would barge into her room in the morning and hit her with a pillow or throw cold well water on her to wake her up.

Then someone knocked on the door.

She herd the door open and someone shout "Hey are you awake yet?"

She groaned, when she recognized the voice.

It was because of that man and what he said to her last night that she had hardly gotten any sleep at all.

Her mind had refused to rest and now he had the nerve to come in and wake her up when she was trying to get back to what little sleep she had!

She looked out from under the blanket she was trying to hide from the sun under.

"Are you people always up this early?" She asked not even trying to hide her agitation.

"It's a part of life around here so if you want to be fed today don't complain. You're not my only responsibility you know. I can't wait around for you all morning."

He handed her a basket of fresh bread and jam. She thanked him and took it from him gratefully. She had regretted not eating anything last night and was very hungry.

There was another knock at the door and the young seer maiden walked in.

"Good morning Lady Sakura, Prince Syaoran." said Tomoyo with a bright smile on her face.

"I hope you two are getting along better today."

"Good morning Miss Tomoyo I was not expecting to see you again so soon."

Sakura was surprised by the young woman's unexpected appearance.

Still she had always seemed like the kindest of the group, aside from the shooting of her brother. But Sakura had truly enjoyed her company during the journey to the city.

"I don't doubt that" Tomoyo replied. "I am here to fulfill a promise of a long awaited bath."

"Finally! Thank the heavens." Sakura said and ran over to Tomoyo.

"Please say we are going now. I have felt so filthy for days"

It had been almost five days since she had bathed by this point and the idea of a nice hot bath was music to her ears.

"Yes unless there are any objections." She said while looking over to Syaoran.

"It's fine with me. Just make sure she cleans out the wound on her leg and that it is properly bandaged afterward." He ordered and then left the room.

"My, my, he is awfully concerned with your well being isn't he?" Tomoyo asked Sakura.

"That man care about my well being? I highly doubt that."

"I am sorry you feel that way Lady Sakura, you kind of look cute together."

"You must be mad!" Sakura yelled

"I am only teasing." Tomoyo giggled.

But the mischievous look in her eye told Sakura otherwise.

"Well let's get going." Sakura said and ran over to the door.

She was desperate for that bath as well as a change of conversation topics.

"Go? Go where?" Tomoyo asked

"To the bath house, you said…"

"Oh yes" Tomoyo cut her off.

"Well you see the prince has been a little dubious about allowing you to go out to use any of the group baths like the ones we use. He has trusted me with you, so I decided it is best to run your bath in his privet bathroom. I'm sure you understand. You do have a history of spontaneous escape attempts."

"Surely you would not hold such a thing against me Miss Tomoyo." Sakura said in a teasing tone.

Tomoyo walked over to a door Sakura had not really noticed before and opened it to reveal a rather spacious bathroom.

"That's his bathroom I thought it was a storage room or a closet." Sakura said rather flabbergasted.

"No I am afraid you are currently occupying his only closet."

The room looked like a small hot spring. The edge of the pool was surrounded with round stones for a more natural look. The hot water came out of a bamboo reed that had been cut in half and perched high on the wall made of the same round stones to create a mock waterfall and was currently filling the pool with hot water.

"The royal palace was built over some natural hot springs. All the bathes have hot running water like this one. It is truly amazing." Tomoyo said enthusiastically.

"This room seems rather feminine does it not?"

"I am not really surprised. This room once belonged to one of his sisters. But when she got married she decided she needed a larger room, namely his, and kicked him out of his old room. I guess he has gotten used to it over the years."

"I must remember to bring this up next time I see him." Sakura said.

She was already imagining how she could torment him with the story. Years of going at it with her own brother made using silly stories against a person almost second nature to her.

"Please enjoy your bath Lady Sakura. I will be back shortly with a change of clothing for you." Tomoyo said closing the door behind her.

Sakura stared at the door for a moment sighed and began to undress.

Later…

Syaoran was on his way back to his room after his morning training session with Eriol. They have only been back to the Imperial city for three days and he was already getting restless.

Ever since the war had begun and he had formed his team the group had spent very little time it the city.

Most of the time they were out on missions, would return for a day's rest and be out again with new marching orders from the war council.

They have been keeping to this vigorous pace for more then a year.

But this time they had been ordered to remain.

Besides the fact that they had their special guest who needed to be guarded, the Queen had felt that they all needed to rest in order to recharge a little.

He did not like the idea of sitting around while Li Kingdom soldiers were out fighting and dieing in the fields but Eriol and Tomoyo had also felt that the group needed decent food and beds for a while and some time to enjoy the last days of summer before the snows came.

Tired and unhappy warriors did not make good fighters so he had to concede and relived them all of their duty until further notice.

He knew they would most likely be here as long as the Kenard princess was their prisoner.

Still he was pleased when he went down to the training grounds for his morning practice and found them all there waiting for him.

It meant they could at least use the free time to hone their skills and teamwork and even squeeze in a little fun in between.

But it had not been a very productive morning. His mind kept wondering so he cut the morning session short, much to everyone else's delight.

(Anyone care to guess what or who was on his mind?)

Luckily for him Tomoyo had volunteered to keep watch on the Kenardian princess today so he was off the hook. She had apparently noticed that the two of them could not really spend long stretches of time in each others company.

His mother had sent word for him to meet with her after he was done with his practice but he had decided it would be better to clean up before going to see her.

It was a pity Tomoyo did not tell him that Princess Sakura would be using his bath today. So he got quite a shock when he accidentally walked in on her.

A young angle smiling in satisfaction as the warm water enveloped her body.

Sakura did not notice when he came in, she had been too busy delighting in finally getting to wash off all the dirt and grim from the last couple of days.

Her hair and skin were finally able to regain their shine.

Although the warm water did sting the wound on her leg a little it was a small price to pay.

She had been cleaning the last of the dirt from her hair with the falling water when she turned to see the Li prince openly staring at her as if he was in sock to see her standing in his bath.

Nether one reacted for a long moment.

When Tomoyo had said she was taking her to the bathes he had assumed she meant the one the girls all shared not his privet bath. Now he had just been caught openly staring at the girl or rather the woman before him and he had no clue of what to do now.

She however must have reacted on instinct.

In the next second she turned bright read and screamed bloody murder!

"Wait I wasn't peeping I swear!" Syaoran said backing up a bit.

"Great now she'll go back and tell the warmonger I'm some kind of shameless dog"

Eriol must have heard her scream because seconds later he came running into the room just in time to see a wood bath bucket collide with his princes' head.

The princess was yelling at him to get out and throwing things at him to make sure he got her point.

"Whispering sweet nothings to each other once again I see." Eriol said with a smirk.

Syaoran scowled at him.

"Why don't you try helping me out with some damage control instead of standing there while I get pummeled?"

"I am very sorry my dear prince but such action could only serve to invoke the lady's wrath which is currently set on you to turn upon me. Sadly for my own sake you are on your own." Eriol said while bowing at the hip.

"Cowered"

Giving up, Syaoran got off the floor and slowly started to approach the Kenardian princess in order to calm her down.

"You stay back! You pervert." she yelled while trying to use her arms to cover herself up.

She was surprised when a towel was flopped onto her head.

"Stupid I have already told you I am not that kind of a guy. So stop caterwauling, cover up, and get out of there."

She wrapped the long towel around herself and quickly got out of the water.

She was beside herself with anger over what he had just done on top of ruining her nice warm bath.

He grabbed a green robe that had been hung up near the door and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"There, happy now?" he asked.

"No I am not. This does not make up for you peeping on my while I was bathing!"

"I was not peeping. I am a crowned prince and a gentleman for goodness sake. I don't do that kind of thing, period, understand?"

"Actions speak louder then words. Or open jaws for that matter." She said angrily.

"Fine don't believe me, I don't really care what you think ether way. Besides you hardly have anything worth peeping at."

Not surprisingly that comment earned him a strait slap across the face.

"You are the most horrible person I have ever had the misfortune of meeting!" she yelled "Have you meet you fiancé yet?"

She slapped him again and stormed off to her closet and slammed the door behind her.

"Very smooth, you're a real prince charming." Eriol said with a mocking voice.

"Be silent!" Syaoran growled back at him and rubbed the red marks she had left on his face.

"If you ask me it serves you right for saying such a thing."

They turned to see Tomoyo standing in the doorway with an armful of fresh clothing and a glowering expression on her face.

"You should know better then to enter a bathing area without first knocking when you are sharing quarters with a woman." She said as she stalked by him to Sakura's closet, where she entered after knocking louder then necessary to prove her point.

"Women!" Syaoran growled as he left the room in a rage.

"Not a word." he told Eriol as he staled past him.

And Eriol's cheerful humming as they walked did not help ease his inflamed temper.

Back to the Girls…

"That man is insufferable!" Sakura yelled while Tomoyo helped her dress and re-bandaged her wounded leg.

"Lady Sakura please try to not be too upset. Yes it is true that men can be insufferable imbeciles. Sadly I have come to realize that all men are like that. It is simply something we woman must learn to live with, else our species would die out."

Tomoyo's new dress was a light blew dress trimmed with a royal blue bodice. It dropped slightly off her shoulders and ended in long bell shaped sleeves that covered her hand up to her knuckles. The skirt ended above her ankles. And matching slippers finished off the outfit.

They continued talking about the woes of men and boys while Tomoyo fixed up Sakura's long hair.

"I have to ask Lady Sakura I have heard in passing that you had short hair why did you decide to allow it to grow out?"

"Well ever since my engagement my free time has become much more limited. I constantly travel from my home to the King's castle and back again. I help my parents with their work and must go wherever they send me. I could not find the time to keep visiting by hair dresser. Besides that Seiya told me he likes it better longer anyway. He said its more princes like."

"Do you always feel the need to yield to his will like that?" She asked.

"I…I don't, I just… well I…"

Sakura was unable to come up with a reply. She had never really stopped to notice before just how many of her decisions were being made for her over the last year.

Seeing that she was becoming uncomfortable Tomoyo politely changed the subject.

"Well if you don't mind Lady Sakura I have a request of you."

"What is it that you need from me?"

She looked at the Tomoyo and the starry-eyed expression on her face.

"If you recall back in the mountains I mentioned I sewed as a hobby. Well I would really love if you would model some of my dresses for me. Please say yes. It would be a blessing to finally see some of my dresses on human beings."

"I wouldn't mind at all. You have been very kind to me since the beginning of all this. It's the very least I can do to repay your kindness. But will it be all right with Mr. high and mighty?" she asked

"Do not worry about the prince he owes me for offering up my coven's services to his blade. He won't dare deny me."

"About your coven, where did you all come from? Are you all from the same city somewhere? Are you all nobles or traders, or something along those lines?"

Sakura noticed that a very sad expression fell upon Tomoyo's face when the subject changed to home.

"No, we grew up as simple mountain people. I hold some command over the group because my mother was the head of our village. It has not been long since we left but our home is nothing but a distant memory now."

Sakura's felt a great sadness in Tomoyo's voice.

She instantly thought back to what Prince Li had told her last night. About friends and family of his warriors being killed or captured while defending their home. She had not thought he meant these worriers. After all he could have been referring to anyone in the royal army.

Her mind flashed back to the gossip that had circulated during the early days of the Li Kingdom invasion campaign.

Some information that she had long brushed aside as not important flooded her mind. It was about one of the first of the border villages in the mountains that had been marked for destruction during the initial invasion. King Takon had marked a trade village of magic users for elimination because he did not want the spell casters to be able to lend aid to the Li army.

They had been defeated but not without horrible losses on both sides. It was among the first and one of the bloodiest battles of the campaign, Lunarea village.

Sakura wondered if this girl and her friends had been among the survivors.

It would explain their ability to use magic. That was a rare ability anywhere and yet Prince Li had somehow managed to gather together a rather large group of them under his command.

If that were the case it would answer a lot of questions about why all this was happing and why it seemed so important to the Li prince.

"I am sorry to hear that." Sakura finally said.

"Well if it helps I am really looking forward to trying on some of your dresses on. When can we start?"

"That's wonderful." Tomoyo said while giving her a hug.

"Maybe I can have some ready by tomorrow. This will be so much fun! I am going to start to work on them right now."

She ran out of the room stopping only to say farewell as she ran out the door, locking it behind her.

Sakura was sad to see her go, now she was all alone again.

Elsewhere in the palace…

In his anger Syaoran had nearly forgotten about his mother asking to see him.

He hurried past the throne room. This time of the day she would likely be in her privet study just beyond it.

He knocked before entering.

She was there looking over some maps trying to plot the best spots for the royal legions to try to bunker down for the quickly approaching winter.

Anyone who was in the northern mountain range and did not have adequate shelter and supplies by the time the snows begin to fall might not survive the winter.

She was worried because there were many signs that were hinting at the possibility that the snows might be coming early this year.

An early snow is a situation that could prove to be a disaster if it comes to pass. Especially if the Kenard princess is still in their custody when the time comes.

"There you are I have been waiting for you all morning." She said when she looked up to greet him.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting mother."

"Well it can't be helped. Your father also had a terrible since of timing and you are his son after all."

He smiled at her complement.

"It's really not all that important. I wanted to speak to you about yesterday's mishap with the Kenard princess."

"I take full responsibility for that mother. Please do not blame any of the others." He said

"I am not blaming them dear; she is clearly the source of the problem. A problem I hope to rectify before anything else happens." She told him

"What do you plan to do?" he asked

"I am not sure yet. I will decide by later tonight. And I will tell her of my decision myself. So if it is not too much trouble for you I would like you to bring her down to the dining hall this evening for dinner."

"You want her to have dinner with us."

"I want another chance to meet the young woman, under slightly less tense circumstances if possible. I want another chance to speak to her, one on one this time. So come sunset bring her to me. And then I will decide what is to be done about her behavior."

Later that evening…

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Sakura thought to herself as she finished fixing her hair with the help of a silver hand mirror and brush Tomoyo had lent to her.

She had an uneasy feeling ever since she found out that the Queen had requested that she join her for dinner.

Sakura felt nothing good could come of such a meeting. But she was not exactly in a position to refuse the offer.

Tomoyo had given her a simple but elegant green evening dress to wear. The was light green with long bell sleeves that came only half way down her arm and a dark green corset to give the dress a elegant look.

She wore her hare down with matching headband that tied on the side with long tails hanging down one side of her head.

There was a knock on her door.

"Are you ready, dinner will be served soon?"

"Yes I'm ready." She called back to the inpatient prince. That was his third time knocking in the last ten minuets.

She heard the door unlock and he came in.

"Come on." He said.

"Do not call on me as if I were a pet." She said as she walked to the door.

He took a moment to look her over.

He had to admit that despite the annoyed look she was giving him, she looked pretty cute.

He shock the stray thought out of his head.

Syaoran offered her his arm, which she took, and lead the way to a small dining hall that his mother often used to host special guest.

He walked slowly reminding himself that her leg was still injured. He could tell she was trying to hide the fact that it was still paining her.

So by the time they reached the dinning hall Queen Yelan had already taken her seat at the head of the table.

Yelan gestured for the two to be seated.

Yelan carefully looked over the girl as her son lead her over to the table and pulled out a seat for her. He sat her opposite of himself and to her own left side.

Sakura could feel the Queens stare boring into her and did not meet her eyes.

Yelan had wanted to know more about this girl. And she wanted another chance to examine her now that she had recovered from her long trip.

Her aura was unusually strong for someone who did not posses any kind of magical power.

Yelan examined her closely. The girls spirit and heart were transparent to her mind.

Her spirit seemed so different from the terrible darkness that radiated from the Kenard Royal family. It was pure and filled with so much hope.

The Queen could not sense any greed or strife in the young woman's heart only a true desire to help as many people as she could.

The princesses' reputation as a humanitarian was no facade to gain political power or support.

It seemed she really was everything her people believed she was. Their Star of Hope in a time of unrelenting darkness and despair.

Yelan also noticed her son kept looking back and forth between them wondering if one of them was going to say anything to the other but not daring to break the silence himself.

They were more then half way through the meal before the Queen at last spoke.

"Tell me Princess how did you like the city on your outing yesterday?"

Sakura groaned inwardly.

By outing she was referring to her escape from the palace.

Sakura decided it best to be as aloof as possible until she understood just what the Queen's true intensions were.

"Your city is as beautiful as the stories say your majesty, but surprisingly hard to get out of once one is inside."

"Is that so? I am sorry you did not enjoy yourself more. By the way I was told this belonged to you"

Sakura was surprised when the queen pulled out her tiara. She had not forgotten Syaoran had taken it but she had not had a chance to ask him what he had done with it.

"Yes it does and I would really like it back if you please." She said reaching for it and glaring angrily at Syaoran who looked relaxed under her evil gaze.

"May I ask where you got this? The craftsmanship is exquisite. But it does not seem to have been made recently." Queen Yelan asked.

"It is a family heirloom. My grandmother gave it to me before she died. It's very important to me." Sakura said while taking her most prized position from the older woman.

"It once belonged to my great grandmother from a few generations back. She married into the Kinomoto family about a hundred years ago." Sakura explained trying to be as polite as possible with our reviling to mush information about her family lineage.

"Oh how nice." Yelan said while handing it back to her.

"Tell me what family your great grandmother heralded from?" she asked as if she already knew and Sakura had a feeling she did.

She had fallen right into the Queens trap as she probed for the information she wanted from the younger girl.

"She was the only daughter of the Tsubasa clan that generation."

"Wait a minuet." Syaoran jumped in.

"Wasn't the Tsubasa clan the name of the former royal family of Kennard?"

"Yes Syaoran, and mind your manners. Sakura's ancestor was the sister of one of the old Kenard Kings. This means of course that this young woman is a lineal descendent of the former royal clan of Kenard. Technically when the main branch was wiped out during the revolution one of the lower houses should have inherited the throne but the Takons rose to power during the chaos of the revolution after the last Kings sudden and rather mysterious death." Yelan explained.

There had been a lot of speculation by members of the world council that the Takons had had a hand in the last king's death, as well as the sudden deaths of many important government officials and army officers, along with a long series of possible successors and competitors to the Kenard crown.

The whispers of murder, betrayal, and treachery were all too common.

With the government in shambled it was not long before the country fell in to disarray and a civil war broke out.

The Li clan had once been close to the Tsubasa royal family before war so Yelan knew all about the various branch families of Kenard.

Most had been wiped out during the revolution.

The Kinomoto were one of the only surviving branch families.

The tiara had been proof that her suspicions about Sakura had been right and gave her further insight into Prince Seiya's motives and why he so badly needed this girl.

"You mean to say that Takon is marring you to help him legitimize his clam on the throne and you are letting him!" Syaoran shouted at her.

"What I do or don't do or who I marry or don't marry and why is not your concern its mine. Why do you care anyway?" Sakura shouted back.

"You are even more stupid then I thought it's as clear as day that he is just using you and you seem to be the only one who doesn't care."

"I am doing what is right for my family and the Kenard people. I'll have a lot more power to aid them. And Seiya wants to change things for the better you just wait and see." She said in a calmer voice.

"Fine, feel free to marry a miserable tyrant and ruin your life just don't say I didn't warn you."

"Well you're just a…"

"That's enough children." Yelan stepped in before the argument could escalate.

"You two can argue politics and political marriages all you want on your own time. Not at my table."

They both took the hint and sat back down. They had both been leaning over the table to yell at each other.

She signaled the servants to come in and they started to clear the plates and prepare to serve desert.

"Now that that last bit information has been confirmed. I must address one more problem with you this evening young lady." Yelan said

"I must first admit you are a very resourceful young woman and far more courageous then I originally took you for. That being said your behavior since you have been our captive has been more troublesome then I imagined it would be. I understand your frustration with your current situation. But you must understand we can not risk you trying to escape and possibly being hurt again. So I must insist you not try any more stunts like you did yesterday."

"I will not promise you that" Sakura said bluntly.

"I thought you might say that. A great pity really, I was hoping to propose a compromise with you." Yelan said coyly.

"What kind of compromise?" Sakura asked.

"Well I feel it would be unfair to simply leave you locked away in my son's closet everyday; particularly since we are not sure just how long your 'visit' with us will be. So if you agree not to try to escape again and cooperate more with us, I will allow you some freedom to move around the palace and have access to a few select places."

Syaoran jumped up before Sakura had a chance to reply.

"Mother you can't be serious. She'll try to run away again. And what if somebody finds out who she is? It is way too risky to just let her roam around free and unescorted."

"I did not say she would be unescorted."

The queen rang a small bell that was sitting next to her.

"Hey, hey, ho! Did you ring?"

A small yellow plush toy with wings flew in from another room and landed on the queen's open palm.

"Tell me you're joking." Syaoran said while hitting his hand to his forehead.

"Not at all. Princess Sakura this is Keroberos. He will be your escort during your free time. He will stay with you during the day to watch over you, keep you from trying to run away again, as well as keep you out of trouble and out of places you shouldn't be." Yelan explained.

"More like getting her into even more, he can't even keep himself out of trouble." Syaoran complained while dozens of Kero related incidents came to memory.

"Your just jealous kid because I get to spend all day playing with the really cute and nice lady and you don't." Kero said while sticking his tongue out at him.

"Oh believe me you two can have each other. I couldn't care less."

"Um pardon me." Sakura said.

Their arguing had almost made them forget she was even there.

"I'm sorry but who or what is that strange toy."

"I'm no toy!" He said flying over to look her in the face.

"I am Keroberos garden beast of the seal, Kero for short."

"What seal?" She asked.

"That's a secret. But the point is I am a guardian with no one to guard right now. So when Queen Li asked me if I would like to be your guardian while you were here I thought it might be fun. Way more fun then working with the kid over there he is way too serious. I bet you'll be lots more fun to be around. What do you say girly want to be friends?"

"Well I don't really know…"

"Think before you reply princess. With some luck your stay with us won't be a long one. This deal would make things a lot easer on you until your prince comes for you." Yelan said.

Sakura looked hard upon the queen trying to figure out what her game was.

"I suppose your suggestion does sound reasonable." Sakura finally replied.

"Very well I agree. I will allow Keroberos to be my guard and I will not try to escape again. Anything is better then being locked away all day in that cramped closet for who knows how long."

The Queen smiled at her.

"We have an accord then." She said while shaking the girl's hand.

"Why do I have the feeling this will end up as causing me even more trouble." Syaoran said out loud to himself.

"I thought you would be happy my son. Now you and your friends can enjoy your free time with out the burden of having to guard the princess."

"Whatever. I'll still be the one who has to keep them both out of trouble and clean up after their messes."

His mother smiled at him but said nothing as desert was brought in.

Kero sat on Sakura's shoulder getting to know her and her scent.

Soon they would all be off to bed and by morning the Northern Queen and the Western Princess's new arrangement would be put to the test.

Syaoran could feel the migraine coming on already.

Alright another chapter down. 23 long pages and serious writer's block could not stop this story. No way. Remember to read and review. Nothing helps me get going like great reviews

Next Chapter

War, Murder, Marriage, Kidnapping, Appeasement, Money, Power, Control Good and Evil, playing politics is a dangerous game. Politics is a game that has taken control of Sakura's life. But if she doesn't watch her step it may have a hand in ending it. As the young princess is about to go from up to her neck to way over her head.

Next time on Star of HopePolitics: A Mean and Deadly Game.