There, standing on her doorstep, were Syaoran's parents. Sakura was utterly speechless as she stood there in her floral crème dress with lace sleeves, her hair pulled back into a pony tail and a pencil tucked behind her ear out of habit while she drew. She regained herself quickly and smiled.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked.

"We apologise for the intrusion, but before anything else-is our son home?" Rena, Syaoran's mother, asked politely.

"Sorry; Syaoran's out for the afternoon." Sakura replied.

"Good. We'd rather speak with you alone anyway." Syaoran's father spoke.

Sakura leant against the doorframe, "No offence, but I don't trust you." She said stonily.

"Why?" His father asked. "We've already told you we can't harm you."

"What, is your memory really that bad? You seem to be forgetting that you wanted me dead less than two months ago. Of course I don't trust you. So why should I talk to you without having some sort of line of protection in place?" Sakura snapped.

"She has a point." Rena murmured.

"What do you want to do then?" he asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Whatever, come inside." She muttered, stepping to the side. "I'll call my foster parents."

They stepped through and Sakura led them into the lounge, allowing them to take a seat while she went off to call Freya. She waited for her foster mother to pick up the phone, and when she did she felt relief.

"Hello?" Freya answered.

"Hey, it's me." Sakura said as she walked up the stairs to her study to pack a few things up and close her study door.

"Oh Sakura, what can I do for you?" Freya asked cheerfully.

"Can you come over? It's urgent." She murmured.

"What's happened?"

"I have a few uninvited guests." Sakura sighed.

Freya stayed silent for a moment, confused. "What do you mean…?"

"Syaoran's out for the day and I'm home alone and his parents are here to talk to me." She said so fast that her head nearly span.

"Ah, I see. I'll be over shortly, but I'm afraid that Yuui can't come until later. He's got some work to complete." Freya said.

"That's fine. How long will you be?"

"Hmm…Ten minutes? I'm just around the corner. I was picking up a few things from the shops for tonight."

"Alright. I'll see you shortly." Sakura said, and then ended the phone call.

She placed the phone back in the kitchen and walked into the lounge room where the two royals were sitting patiently. "Can I get you anything to drink?" She asked.

As much as she hated it, she decided that she should be polite and show some respect even if she felt that they didn't deserve it.

"Tea would be lovely." Rena replied with a sweet smile.

Her husband on the other hand shook his head, "No, thank you for the offer."

Sakura wandered back off to the kitchen to boil the kettle and pulled three cups from the cupboard, and she wondered if she should text Syaoran to let them know his parents had dropped by, but dropped the thought. She knew he'd come straight home and wouldn't leave her side, and if they wanted to speak with her alone then it must be about something important. She quickly made their drinks, the third for her foster mother, and carried them out into the lounge. She placed the queen's on the table in front of her, and then placed her own down before going to answer the door as she heard the doorbell ring. Sakura re-entered the room with Freya, who took a seat and waited for Sakura to go and get her drink.

"Thank you Sakura, how lovely of you." She smiled.

"You were coming anyway." Sakura shrugged as she took a seat across from the two royals.

"Does Syaoran know his parents are here?" Freya asked the two adults.

"I don't know." His father replied. "Has anyone told him?"

"If you're implying that I've told him anything, then you're sadly mistaken." Sakura muttered as she sipped her tea.

They sat in an awkward silence, and Freya decided that she would speak.

"Well, Sakura, what have you been up to recently?" she asked with a smile, trying to break the ice.

"Planning a wedding." Sakura replied stiffly.

"That's right, it's not long off, is it?" Freya said.

"I have two days to finalise designs and get them in, while also getting the bridesmaids in for measurements." Sakura said as she pulled the pencil from behind her ear and placed it on the table.

"That sounds…utterly stressful…" Freya murmured quietly to herself.

Sakura sighed, "So, what is it you wished to speak with me about?" she asked the king and queen.

"There are a few topics in which we would like to discuss with you in regards to your marriage to our son." Syaoran's father spoke.

Sakura looked to Freya who smiled comfortingly.

"What…are they…?" she asked.

"We would like you to speak with him about returning to the castle to take up his duties. He's been gone for far too long." Syaoron said.

"You want me to talk to him? Why can't you do it yourself?" Sakura asked sceptically.

"He won't answer our texts or our calls." Rena replied.

"Ah yes, his famous phobia." Sakura rolled her eyes. "If you wait around long enough you can actually talk to him face to face-as a family." She smiled, sipping her tea.

"We're asking you because he'll listen to you."

"I'll bite back my retort for now, but I strongly advise that you are the ones to speak with him about this matter, not I." Sakura said.

"Fine." Syaoron said. "Are you aware that as his wife you will need to provide an heir to the throne?"

"OW. CHILL OUT I'M NOT EVEN TWENTY." Sakura shouted. The room fell silent for a moment and she calmed her temper. She took in a deep breath and spoke again. "The decision to have a child will be between Syaoran and I, not made by anyone else, thank you." Sakura smiled a little more politely.

Silence fell between them and the queen looked to her husband and Freya, "Perhaps I could speak with Sakura privately for a moment?"

Freya looked to Sakura to see if she was ok with this decision, and she nodded. Freya stood along with the king, and the blonde walked them into the kitchen and shut the door to give the two women privacy.

Syaoran sat across from his friend on the couch, who was sulking about the news about Chii. Chii was unavailable all week due to royal business, and he couldn't go and see her because her fiancé was nearly always by her side practically every minute of every day.

"Aww, are you disappointed that you don't get to see your 'not' quite girlfriend all week?" Syaoran teased.

"Shut up."

Syaoran laughed. "You suck dude-just elope already."

"I can't believe you of all people is suggesting that. Chii doesn't want to leave, but at the same time she wants to. Trust me, we've talked about it." Fai said.

"Chii's better off with you than with that prince-I don't like him one bit." Syaoran muttered.

"Gee, when you don't like someone, you really don't like them-and usually for a good reason."

"I know his motives." Syaoran said unhappily. "I don't want him anywhere near my best friend."

They moved onto a different topic of conversation for a while, and Syaoran sighed.

"I can't believe it's only a month until the wedding-does time really go that fast?"

"You organised it." Fai shrugged.

"Yeah I know."

"So, are your parents coming?" Fai asked casually.

"Yeah…I'm not sure how I feel about it though." Syaoran said.

"How have you been feeling lately, by the way?" Fai asked casually.

"Better, I guess." He shrugged. He looked at his watch and sighed, "I should probably leave. There are a few things I need to get done before we have visitors tonight."

"Oh, you guys have Freya and Yuui over tonight, right?"

"Yeah."

"That will be good-for the both of you."

"Yeah, I suppose it will." Syaoran said as he stood.

"I'll see you later then." Fai said as Syaoran left.

"Yeah." The prince murmured.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably in the presence of her soon to be mother-in-law. She smiled kindly and picked up her cup of tea, drinking a small mouthful. She appeared surprised at the flavour.

"I don't think I've ever had a blend like this before-it's quite lovely."

"It's home made." Sakura replied, fidgeting with her hands.

"I see. You have quite the talent." Rena said kindly. They fell into silence for a brief moment, and then she spoke up. "How is my son?" she asked softly.

Sakura looked at her with surprise. The queen's blue eyes were full of sincerity and regret, along with overwhelming sadness and guilt.

Sakura sighed heavily. "Do you want the truth?" She asked.

"To be honest, no. But that's me being selfish; I need to know what's happening with him." She replied quietly.

"Kazuma has us in therapy." Sakura said, "Syaoran's better than he was, but the medication is just a band aid. If you want to help him, you're going to have to try and reach out and understand him."

She watched as a silent tear crawled down Rena's face. She nodded, "Alright, and you?" Rena asked the young nineteen year old.

"As long as I'm with Syaoran I'll be fine. I've got the support of many friends, I know that, but he's different." Sakura replied.

"I see. You truly love him?" The queen asked softly.

"He means everything to me."

Rena looked away with a sad look on her face. "We've caused our son so much pain…I won't blame him if he never forgives us." She whispered sadly.

"I think that what hurt him the most was that the two people the taught him so much about acceptance and judgement, judged the one person he cared for the most before meeting them." Sakura said quietly.

"I'm so sorry Sakura, we only wished to keep him safe from those who were after you."

Sakura stared at the queen with disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Rena realised her mistake and shock settled in. Freya and her husband re-entered the room, followed by Syaoran who had just gotten home.

"Well, tell us." Syaoran said as he walked over, having overheard the last piece of the conversation. "I'd certainly like to know."

"No, I can't…" his mother whispered, her voice thick with pain. "They threatened to kill you…" she whispered as tears made their way down her cheeks.

"What do you mean?" He asked angrily.

"We couldn't protect her because they threatened to kill you." His father murmured.

"Who is 'they'!?" he shouted.

Freya placed a gentle hand on Syaoran's shoulder, "Syaoran, calm down." She murmured. Syaoran calmed himself down and sat on the couch beside Sakura. Freya then turned to the two royals, "Now, answer his question. These two have been kept in the dark for long enough."

The king sighed. "The assassins that are after Sakura are also the gang members she's been running into frequently on the street. She might remember a tattoo of a black crest on their arm-a wolf curling around the moon?"

"So you do know the man who killed my parents-where is he!?" she hissed.

"You can't go." Rena whispered.

"Why not? You haven't seemed to care about my safety before all of this." Sakura snarled. "And don't give me any bullshit about how special my magic is-I don't need it."

"It's far too dangerous. The man you'll be up against is an extremely deadly man." Syaoran's father spoke seriously.

"He killed my family!" Sakura shouted.

"Exactly!" he snapped. "Your parents were far too powerful to have been able to die so easily, which is why I am warning you now-do not pursue him."

Sakura clenched her fists in anger and frustration, "So what am I to do?" she growled. "Sit back and wait until he kills me!?"

Syaoran placed his hand over hers and she almost immediately calmed down. He smiled comfortingly, "It will be ok."

"How can I believe that, Syaoran?" Sakura whispered. "You've seen what they did to my back…what they branded me with…"

Syaoran turned to his parents, "So, are you still being threatened by them?"

"For now they have their guard down. They weren't expecting Tiffany to push Sakura off the balcony."

"And what are you going to do?" Syaoran asked.

"If we're discrete, we can do a little bit of investigating. Yes, we know the man Sakura, but no, we do not know where he is." His father spoke.

"If we find out his whereabouts and the reason behind your family's massacre, what will you do with the information?" The queen asked.

"What do you think?" Sakura snapped.

The two adults sighed. "We'll see."

Freya walked into the kitchen with the two royals and spoke with them in hushed voices. They seemed to be arguing from what Sakura could tell, and after a few moments they re-entered the room.

"We should be leaving," Rena said with a smile, "thank you again for the tea."

Sakura stood to walk the two to the door, and as his father walked past her he spoke quietly to her.

"Look after him."

She gave a small nod and watched as the two royals left with each other before closing the door and returning to the lounge room to sit with Freya and Syaoran.

"You three seemed to be having a heated argument." Sakura muttered as she sat down.

"It wasn't anything interesting, trust me." Freya murmured.

"Why were they here?" Syaoran asked.

"Apparently they wanted to talk to me." Sakura smiled.

"About what?"

"This and that."

"This and that?" He repeated.

"Yep. It was totally interesting stuff." Sakura said sarcastically.

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Come on, at least tell me."

The doorbell rang and Sakura smiled, "I'll get it."

Syaoran groaned and Freya smiled. "Are you sure you really want to know, Syaoran?" She asked with a giggle.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure." He muttered.

"She was very sarcastic throughout the conversation." Freya said.

"I'm surprised they put up with that."

"They didn't have much of a choice-they threw her in a cell for three months." Freya shrugged. "And I was sitting in on the conversation, so they couldn't do anything."

"Well at least she had you there…" he murmured.

"They wanted to talk to her about her duties as your queen." Freya told him honestly with an amused smile.

"Oh I bet that went down well." He muttered. "Wait-did I just hear you right?"

"Yes you did." Sakura mumbled as she entered the lounge.

"And what did you say?" He asked.

"That any decisions about our lives would be made by us!" she snapped, her face bright red.

"Well at least they bothered speaking with her. I didn't think they would." He muttered.

"Oh come on, they are sorry." Yuui said as he sat down.

"It doesn't change what they did."

"I know-I'm still angry as well, but I also know why they had to do it. I also hear that you both had to be graced with the rather unfortunate information… I didn't wish for you to find out so soon." Yuui said unhappily.

"So soon? I could have been killed!" Sakura snapped.

"If you knew you would have rushed head on into danger." Yuui replied calmly.

Sakura fell silent, knowing it was true.

"Alright, why don't Sakura and I start preparing dinner?" Freya suggested. "The two of you can be idiots together."

Sakura stood with her foster mother and headed into the kitchen, trying hard not to laugh while the two men sat there completely stunned.