The Handkerchief

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. There is an original char in here though. ;)

Key:

- Dream State - , Flashback , ' thoughts ', " Dialogue "

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T - (May change rating later)

Summary: Once upon a time there was a young prince who was lonely. One night he met a young princess, who danced with him and cured his loneliness for a while. However, before he could get her name she was gone, and the only clue she left behind was a monogrammed handkerchief with the initials S.K.

Pairings: Sakura/Eriol, Syaoran/Meilin, Eriol/OC, Syaoran/Sakura, possibly more

Author's Note: Just so you know, the "Eriol/OC" in the pairings list does NOT mean that this is going to another one of those stories where the OC is the most awesome person, like, evah, and sweeps the unsuspecting FC off their feet while the rest of the cannon is left gaping with their mouths open like fish in a bowl. You have my word. ;)

(Epilogue)

1 year later

The wedding was an event unlike any other previously held at the mansion. Magic was thick in the air as doves flew overhead. Trees and flowers on all sides of the clearing were in full bloom whether it was the season for them to bloom or not, their petals and leaves sparling as though they'd been sprinkled in tons of glitter. Hundreds of thousands of people had shown up for the occasion, including the new Li clan head Syaoran Li and his new wife Meilin. Eriol stood near the altar in a suit made of a dazzling sapphire blue. He glanced over at the brunet and exchanged a smile with the man he'd once thought of as his rival in love. What a mistake it would have been if he had never discovered that the young man had never intentionally tried to steal the love of his life away from him. Surely, they would not have become as fast, close friends as they were today.

On that note, he glanced at his step-sister, who was sitting beside the married couple chatting animately with Meilin, and couldn't help but smile. How quickly Tomoyo had forgotten whatever it was she had hated Syaoran for all those years ago, insisting that since Sakura was happy now, it no longer mattered that Syaoran had once broken her heart when they were in elementary school. It warmed Eriol's heart to know that Tomoyo was so forgiving.

The pianist stopped playing whatever song it was that he'd been playing and switched without any apparent signal to the song Eriol had handpicked just for this occasion. Reflexively, Eriol turned his head to observe the beautiful young woman walking down the aisle towards him. For an instant, she looked unbelievably surreal in a dress Tomoyo herself had made, that Eriol's heart froze. Petrified with terror, he wondered as she walked if this all wasn't some kind of cruel illusion or fantastic dream that would end the instant their eyes met. Yet the moment came and left as she stepped up beside him and offered him a brilliant smile, banishing the doubts from his mind as though they'd never existed in the first place.

'This is no illusion, my love. This is really happening.' Sakura's telepathy was getting much stronger now that she was practicing it all of the time. Of course, it helped that he'd given her Sierra's powers to augment her own, trusting that she would never use them for evil.

'I know' he thought back, smiling wryly as they turned to give the conductor of the ceremony their partial attention. 'Though, after all the years I spent searching for you... I think I've earned the right to be astounded that you are actually here.'

Sakura sent him an amused glance from the corner of her twinkling eyes, then, to his surprise, he found himself recalling their meeting of so long ago with perfect, and rather vivid, clarity. He observed the youngsters dancing, saw the little girl with the brown hair and bright green eyes, then found himself wondering how it was he'd ever been confused. How many of the girls he'd ever dated had even bore a small resemblance to that girl beside his younger self?

Staggering a bit in surprise of just how powerful Sakura was becoming, his lips twitched as he tried not to reveal to the officiator that neither of the two of them were paying any particular attention to what he was saying.

'Oh come on now, don't tell me you knew it was me when we ran into each other two years ago...' Eriol commented.

'I couldn't even recall -that- memory until the night of your birthday last year when you took me into your special corner of the garden and we made the magic come to life.' Sakura allowed. 'But I did feel something the day we met...'

Another memory floated through Eriol's mind, this time, he was looking at himself as he'd stood in the front of the classroom on that first day, letting Tomoyo write his name on the board for him while he cast the spell that allowed him to understand Japanese (not that he needed that now). She shared her feelings of the memory, and Eriol nearly drowned in the sea of familiarity she had felt at the time of seeing him. Wondering how it was she could know this stranger, uncomprehending of why it was that when she looked in his eyes she knew she'd found her perfect match without ever having even spoken to him once.

'Tell me that you didn't feel it too...' Sakura smiled wryly, knowing he could do no such thing.

Eriol took in a deep breath just as the pastor encouraged them to speak their vows to one another. Kneeling to the ground, he took one of her hands in his and kissed it, causing her to flush a bright pink. "Sakura," He said aloud, for everyone to hear, "I have loved you since the very first day I met you, all those years ago in my garden. Such a pure-hearted spirit to have chosen me... I thank my lucky stars every second that I managed to find you again after all of this time. I will stay by your side, now and forever... as we walk into a new beginning, together."

Beaming ecstatically, Sakura said her own vows, and the two exchanged rings, sealing the promise of undying devotion and unconditional love for the rest of their lives.

"I now pronounce you man and wife."

Eriol needed no prompting as he swept the surprised Sakura into his arms and kissed her without reservation.

The End

~Rozu