Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to CLAMP.

Chapter 13

"There used to be a row of cherry blossom trees right there," Fujitaka said, indicating the spot where a few houses stood. "Four of them, to be exact. Beyond them is the castle. You can't really see it now."

Sakura closed her eyes and imagined. Her mother must have stood in her place years before, looking out the kitchen window at a sea of gentle pink. It was beautiful; Sakura knew it deep in her heart. She turned to her father and smiled. He returned a small grin as she handed him a dripping plate for him to dry. The King of Kinomoto was washing dishes in the Daidouji House. Sakura sighed. The lunch she just had would be the last meal she would be having at her Aunt Sonomi's for a long time. Back at the dining table, Syaoran and Touya were probably still glaring at each other.

"Sakura," her father whispered while putting away a bowl. "I'm sorry you couldn't spend more time with your sister."

A knot tied itself in her throat. She had tried everything in the past weeks to take her mind off of Aishi's death. Nobody brought it up either, not even Syaoran. But in time, Sakura understood she would have to face the fact. She wondered if the feeling could be washed away by running water like washing off the sauce on the fork she was holding – the feeling not of pain but of shock.

"I'm sorry too," she watched the water splatter in the sink. "And I'm sorry we lied to you."

Fujitaka ruffled her hair. "You know, we should stop all this apologizing," he said. "Let's go back in."

"Father," Sakura stopped at the door. "Can Aunt Sonomi and the others come to the wedding?"

"I don't see why not," he replied, smiling.

For the first time in days, she felt relieved. Soon, the prince sitting across from her brother wouldn't be the same person anymore; soon, he would be her husband.

- -

It was the strangest thing. A week ago, the original wedding plans were cancelled; Queen Yelan didn't want the wedding to be held in They only had seven days for set-up and preparation of the traditional Li marriage, and apparently the queen pulled it off. Rumors said that it seemed just as good as the wedding would have been if it was held in the bride's kingdom. And now, Sakura was on the way to Li in a palanquin. Her dress was red with golden embroidery on it, and she had a matching piece of silk cloth covering her face. It was not to be removed until the bride and the groom were alone in their room. She thought it was funny, how she still had to hide her face.

Sakura lifted the cloth up; it was placed upon a large crown on her head. That was also a part of her wedding gown. She peeked out the window and saw a dozen people in front of her palanquin. They each had an instrument in their hands. Behind her were a bunch of girls who were holding baskets of confetti. None of that would be used until they'd reached the Li Kingdom, Sakura guessed. Tomoyo's carriage was nowhere to be found; there was no way she could see her fathers – it left before Tomoyo's. She did, however, see Meiling and her followers. She wondered if they were feeling hot. The sun was beaming down on them and their capes were black.

"Princess Sakura," said the guard that was riding on a horse beside her palanquin. "We are you in the land of Li now. Soon we will reach the capital, and from there we will head for the castle."

Sakura was so startled by the sudden conversation that she drew her head back in and the curtains down. Moments later, she regretted it. What she had done to the guard was like slamming the door in his face.

Still, she was in the Li Kingdom already. She should be praying for good luck. If she fell while walking, and that is very possible because of the cloth…

She yelped. The horns and trumpets were being blown; colorful confetti flew in through the window. Her heartbeat increased as she pulled the cover down. All she could see were her hands, her lap, her feet, and the floor. Sakura took a deep breath and looked straight ahead at the redness hiding her face. The palanquin stopped moving and was put down on to the floor. Footsteps approached; the veil was lifted, her surroundings brightened, and a gust of wind blew by with the sounds of cheering and applause. This is it.

- -

"Silence, please," a sharp voice commanded. It did sound happy, though. "Wei, you may proceed."

"As you wish, my Queen," the man called Wei said. After a brief speech of gratitude, he cleared his throat. "Prince Li and Princess Sakura, if you would step up."

Sakura looked up at the floor on the right side. Syaoran's feet began to move forward; she imitated him and stopped as he did after five steps.

"The groom and the bride," Wei announced, "Are to bow to the Heavens and the Earth."

She watched Syaoran kneel and followed. They both leaned forward and she felt her forehead touch the floor.

"Next," Wei continued as the two got up. "They are to bow to their elders."

Sakura was about to repeat the process when she felt Syaoran's warm hand grab her wrist. They moved to the left. She caught a glimpse of her father's shoes as she went to pay her respects. The "elders" must have meant their parents.

"Thirdly," said Wei while Syaoran pulled Sakura back to where she thought they stood at first. "They are to bow to each other, and by doing so, they will be bound as two equals. Together, they will go through whatever comes their way."

The crowd started clapping. Syaoran turned Sakura so that they were facing each other. He stepped away to create some space between them. Sakura found herself drawn to the ground and kneeled down; she knew her movements were simultaneous with Syaoran's even though she could not see any part of him. Once her forehead came in contact with the floor, she would be married to Li Syaoran; a new life was ready to begin.

- -

The Li castle was not much of a palace. It was more of a large manor – a very large one. There were three sections. The front was for the King mostly, and politics. The building was two stories high; it was the second tallest in the place. The tallest was the tower in the middle section, which was for daily activities. Sometimes the king would invite his guests there to the little lake. All those who lived there stayed at the back, newlyweds included.

"It's here!" she whispered.

Five figures, two of them tiptoeing, went down the hall. They left the dinner; behind them laughter and shouts for more food ensued. It was nightfall – the sun had set and the temperature had cooled down. The conditions were perfect for them.

"Come! And keep quiet," she said again, pressing a finger to her lips. They made a turn and a room stood before them. It was the only room around, perfect for a husband and wife.

"I apologize for my wife," King Li said to Fujitaka.

Queen Yelan narrowed her eyes. "If you're not going to help then don't speak a word."

"This is so exciting," Tomoyo giggled.

"That's the spirit," said Yelan. "Now, come on, Miss Daidouji."

Eriol sighed. The three men stayed behind and watched the two women creep up to the door. He'd never seen the queen act like that before. "Your Majesty," he looked at King Li. "Is this alright?"

"No," he rubbed his temples. "But in trivial matters I have no say."

Fujitaka chuckled. "I just hope they don't go overboard."

"It's our job to assure that, I think," King Li said. "Eriol, go closer. If the situation goes bad, you come to us and report."

"Sounds reasonable," Eriol muttered, pushing his glasses up. He walked up and kept ten feet between the girls and him.

"I feel kind of guilty doing this," Yelan squatted down by the door. "But a mother's got to watch over her son."

Tomoyo suppressed a giggle. "If they find out that we're spying on them on their wedding night, Sakura would blush so hard!"

"They'd both turn as red as tomatoes."

"You know, you'd want to keep it down," Eriol whispered just as they began laughing. "I can hear you all the way from here."

Yelan covered her mouth and nodded. Eriol shook his head. Never meet a queen on her son's wedding night.

"I hope Xiao Lang's gentle with her," she said with a smirk. Tomoyo chortled.

"Your Majesty!"

"Well, I'm not young anymore," she said, getting up to take a peek into the room. "Grandchildren would be great –"

"What is it?" Tomoyo asked.

"No one is in there. Wha – they're not…"

Tomoyo jumped up and looked in the hole. "I don't see anyone either…why is that?"

"They've eloped," Eriol stated simply. Yelan and Tomoyo gasped.

"They can't have," Yelan cried, sounding furious. "How dare you say that?"

"Where do you think they went, King Fujitaka?" questioned the king of Li with an amused expression on his face. Yelan had stormed into the room and was turning it upside down.

"I don't know, but it should be a safe place," he replied and King Li laughed.

"I should go calm her down. Excuse me."

Fujitaka nodded. He smiled at the four in front of him and looked up at the dark sky. Sakura…

- -

"Are you cold?" Syaoran asked. They walked through the ankle-high grass; thousands of stars twinkled overhead.

"N-No," Sakura whispered. She looked around. "It's a little bit spooky though…"

Syaoran smiled. He wasn't sure if she could see it though. "Sakura, stay close to me."

"I – hoe!"

"Sakura?"

"I-It's okay," she said as she reached for Syaoran's hand. "Only a rock."

"Why are we whispering? There's no one here –"

Sakura stopped and whimpered. "There are a lot of…people here."

Syaoran wrapped an arm around her. "It's a graveyard," he said. "But I'm here with you."

"I'm sorry I dragged you out."

"It's fine. My mother would probably spy on us if we stayed."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he rested his chin on the top of her head. They went on walking, stopping every once in a while to check the tomb stones. Accompanying them were the rustling of the grass, croaking of the frogs, and chirping of the crickets. "Beautiful night," he gazed up. "I wonder if we can see a shooting star."

"I'd like that," Sakura smiled a little. She stopped again in front of two white marble tomb stones. They would sparkle under the sun, just like Sakura's tears the first time she visited them.

"Do you think these two would've liked it?" Syaoran squeezed her shoulder.

"I think they would've liked a lot of things," Sakura kneeled down and caressed the names – Kinomoto Nadeshiko and Kinomoto Aishi.

"Did they ever catch that man?"

"Who cares? Let him run."

Syaoran sighed and kneeled beside her. "She is also an in-law of mine."

"We are to bow to our elders…"

For the forth time, their heads kissed the earth. Sakura didn't want to get up. She stayed there, her forehead pressed against the cool bed of grass. It was nice, just kneeling there and being close to the remains of her loved ones. She felt peaceful.

"Now that we've finally finished bowing," Syaoran cleared his throat and reached in his coat. "Let's get married."

This made Sakura sit up. She tilted her head as he pulled out a pair of small teacups out along with a bottle of wine. "But we just got married."

"Yes, but we still have to do something. Hold this –"

He handed her one of the cups and poured the liquor into it. "I hope you're a good drinker."

Sakura brought the cup to her lips but Syaoran told her to wait.

"May your mother, your sister, and every soul that resides near bear witness to us," he said and locked his arm around hers. His cup, though, still faced him and vice versa.

Sakura grinned.

"Let's drink."

The End

Note: Well, it's over! And they lived happily ever after, haha. I think this was pretty okay for a story I started when I was twelve. I hope you enjoyed it! Also, the wedding. I based it on the traditional Chinese wedding, and all they really do is kowtow and then some other stuff. The last part of Wei's thing, when Sakura and Syaoran bowed to each other, was something I added. In addition, the very last scene with the drinking and the arms locking together, that too is a part of a traditional Chinese wedding. :) Syaoran is from Hong Kong after all.

Thanks to all my great reviewers! Many of you stuck with me :) And special thanks to my sister, because she's the one who had to pick out my ridiculously silly mistakes and typos.

Today is July 13th, the date of the wedding. Till death (and beyond) does S+S part!