Disclaimer: Whoops! I don't own CCS. My bad. Only Meeko and Duan.
With the Crown Placed Upon my Head....
By: Sakura1301
Chapter 5: Forgiveness (Part 3)
The winter light shone through a window, making the sleeping figures face and skin glow.
Sakura felt warm and fuzzy all over. She giggled in her sleep when something furry tickled her nose. She buried her face in it. It smelled of shandlewood and autumn leaves. She shivered a little. She felt warm but at the same time, she felt cold. The 'thing' she was holding was emitting heat. She pressed her body against it and pulled her right leg over it. She felt a little uncomfortable though. She still had her dress on when she was placed in bed. And her dress was making her itch a little, but she ignored it.
Li Syaoran had awoken with a yawn. He was about to stretch but heard somthing giggle. He looked to his left. He almost jumped back but last nights events flashed through his head. He felt her bury her face into his fur like she did the night before. He saw her shiver then press her body fully onto his body then she lifted her right leg over his back. He almost yelped but held it in. He was quite comfortable in that position, but, he was quite imbarrised by her actions. He laid as still as he possibly could except, her hair was tickling his nose! Her hair smelt good but if he didn't get that hair to stop tickling his nose, he was gonna sneeze!
Sakura was extremily drained from last nights events. She just wanted to sleep more, but something was starting to move. Then a noise could be faintly heard. Then all of a sudden, a loud noise erupted. Well, to her at least, because her ear was almost, right next to the 'things' mouth. But actually, the noise wasn't that loud. "ACHOO!" Sakura jumped up. She had immediatly let go of Li's furry body. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. She felt awful. And dizzy. She opened her eyes to see something furry. It was brownish gray and it was....breathing!? Sakura jumped back further and was now breathing harder and faster. She stared at Li. Li had jumped out of bed and was now standing on the ground, eyeing her.
"W-what were you d-doing?!" She asked. She was terrified. Almost scared to death. She was afraid that he was trying to do something to her when she was asleep. "I did nothing. I only gave you some of my body warmth to warm you up last night. Because you had passed out in the snow in the forest and couldn't produce your own heat." Sakura was so scared, that she couldn't answer. She had gotten off of the bed and was standing on the other side from Li. She felt dizzy. She tried to run towards the door but had only gotten about a yard away from her bed before she fell to the ground. She was burning up. She tried to stand, by grabbing onto the window sill and pulling herself up. She held onto the window sill and held her head with her hand. She was breathing hard. Li slowly walked around the bed towards her. She then colapsed. Li ran and caught her on his back before she had hit the ground.
She was burning up. He could tell. "TOMOYO!" He yelled. Tomoyo appeared in the doorway as soon as he called for her. "Get Kaho. Now!" "Yes sir!" Tomoyo disappeared from the room. Li dragged Sakura back onto her bed. He hopped onto the bed and looked at her. She had beads of sweat dripping down her forehead. 'Hurry Kaho.' Li thought.
~5 minutes later~
Kaho rushed into the room with Tomoyo following her. "What happened?" She asked. "She fainted when she tried to walk." "Okay. Well, Tomoyo, lets get her changed out of this dress. Syaoran, you might want to leave." "I was just leaving anyways." He said as he left. He closed the door behind himself as he left.
Li Syaoran paced back and forth in the west wing til he heard something sneeze. He made his way towards the balcony, where the sound came from. On the table sat little Kero, staring at the Clow book in deep thought. Li Syaoran snuck up behind him. "Why does that Li brat have the Clow book?" He questioned himself. He froze as he felt a warm breath breathe down his back. His hair stood end on end. "And what are you doing here stuffed animal?" The voice questioned. Kero jumped and slowly turned his head so that he was facing Li, face to face. "Hehe....hello Li...." "I asked you a question." "Oh, what question?" "Why are you here?" "Oh....hehe....that question....well I was just....gotta go! Bye!" Kero flew out of the room at top speed. "I wonder what he was doing. Snooping around most likely." He said to himself. "I wonder if that girl is okay." He said as he stood on top of the balcony looking at the white forest surrounding his castle. "That was the best sleep i've had in a while though. I wonder why? Maybe it was that girl? Nah. Couldn't be. Or could it?"
Sakura was now in her bed in her pajamas. She was awake and was listening to Tomoyo. Tomoyo was telling her of what happened last night.
"And thats how you got back here. It was actually really nice that he went after you. I think its sooo romantic...*sigh*" Tomoyo said with stars in her eyes. "He's actually a hunk if you ask me. But I already have a man of my own. *Sigh* Eriol is sooo dreamy...." Tomoyo said. Sakura sweatdropped. "Remind me to thank Li for rescuing me later." "Okay."
Li had left the West Wing and had headed back towards the guest room where Sakura was. It had been about thirty minutes since he left and decided to check on Sakura. The doors that went to Sakura's room opened and Tomoyo hopped out of Sakura's room with Kaho following her.
They spotted Li not far from where they stood and made their way towards him. When they finally came up to him to inform him about her conditions. "How is she?" Li asked. "She's going to be fine Master Li. She's in bed now. If you want, you can go see her." "Thanks Kaho." Li headed for Sakura's room. Li had always liked Kaho. But as a mother sorta. Because when his mother died, Kaho had comforted him when he was at his worst. She had always been there for him and treated him as her own son til he turned fourteen. Thats when she had decided that he was old enough to take care of himself.
He knocked gently on the door with the back of his paw. A faint 'come in' could be heard on the other side of the door. He pushed the door open and stepped in. He closed it gently. He looked up to see Sakura with her nose buried in a book. She looked up to see Li. She smiled at him a warm and friendly smile. He took it that she wasn't mad at him. He slowly made his way towards the bed. She placed the book down by her side. He stopped a few feet away from her bed and stared at her. She pulled her feet over the beds edge and fell on her knees to end up hugging his neck. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Yeah. Thanks to you." "Huh?" He was puzzled by her last words. Why was she thanking him? "I don't get it. Why are you thanking me? You should be thanking Kaho." "Well, first off," She began as she pulled her face away from his neck and sat down on the cold floor. "You saved me from dying out in the forest, then you helped me warm up by sharing your body heat. And I must thank you for that." He just stared at her like he didn't understand but actually, he understood perfectly.
She started to get dizzy again and started to sway back and forth with her hand on her forehead. Her eyelids were halfway shut. She slowly stood up and sat on her bed. Li looked at her with worried eyes. Sakura looked into his eyes. For the first time, she had actually seen worry and not anger or hatefulness. She gave him a weak smile. "Im okay. Just a little dizzy. Thats all." She said. "You should stay in bed. Your sick. Your not fit to leave your bed yet." "I know." She pulled her feet back into bed and pulled the covers up til they came to her waist. She leaned against the backboard of the bed. Her eyes were slowly closing. It had only takin several seconds before she fell asleep. Li walked to the other side of the bed and hopped up onto the bed. He sat there and watched her. She looked very uncomfortable in that position. Her eyes opened slightly and she slid down til she laid flat on the bed before she fell back asleep.
Li sat there quietly as he watched her sleeping form and thoughts ran through his head. 'For some unknown reason, I feel attached to this girl. Even though, I just met her yesterday, I feel as if she is the one. The one to break the spell.' He thought.
~In the Kitchen~
"Hey! Whats for breakfast?" Kero asked as he flew around the cooks head. "Well, if you would just STOP flying around my head! Then I might cook something." "Sheesh. Sorry!" Kero said as he landed on a counter nearby. "Now can have some breakfast please!?" "Fine, what do you want?" "Pudding!" "For breakfast?" "Yeah!" "Okay. If thats what you want." Cook pulled out a bow and other items as he got ready to make some pudding. Cooks name was Shef. He was Li's special cook. He had always made the best and only the best. Now shef was different. He looked like a very large foil box. With eyes, a mustache, a mouth, and arms. Not to mention his cooking hat.
Tomoyo had walked in. "Hey Shef. Hey Kero." "Hey Tomoyo." Both said in unison. "Have you seen Eriol? I've been looking for him everywhere!" "Nope, haven't seen him." "Yeah, same here." Kero and Shef said. Tomoyo shruged. "Thanks." "No prob!" Kero said as Tomoyo left.
~In the Library~
"I know it has to be her!" Eriol was arguing with Touya. Eriols voice echoed in the library. It was a very large room with tons and tons of books. "But how can you be sure!?" "I don't know! I just have a feeling that she is the one. Can't you feel it?" Eriol said as he lowered his voice. "I feel it too. But I felt it last time, when that other woman was here. And was she the one? Noooo. She wasn't! I just don't see the point of getting our hopes up for this one also. She could be another dud!" "But...but I just know its her! You can even see it in her eyes! She has a good heart! Can't you see it!?" "No. I can't. All I see are pools of emerald." "How can you be so blind!?" "Im not. I just don't think its her. Thats all. I may have that feeling, but that same feeling had accured also when the other two women stayed here." "I can't believe that you don't see it! How could you not!?" "I just don't." "But we can't wait much longer! Syaoran's seventeenth birthday is only six days away!" "I know. Theres nothing we can do about it!" "But how do you know!? We might be able to help! All we have to do, is get them to fall in love with eachother! If the spell doesn't break, then we know she is not the one!" "But by then, it would be too late." Touya said in a stern voice.
Tomoyo was walking down the hall when she heard yelling down the hall. As she went down the hall, the voices grew louder and louder. They were coming from the library. The only place she didn't look. She smiled to herself. She finally knew where he was. She went down the hall faster. She finally came to the library and stood at the door and watched the two men argue.
"All im asking you, is to help me get them to fall in love!" "It's harder than what it seems!" Tomoyo had chose that moment to butt in before it broke out into a fist fight. "Hello boys." Eriol had stoped short of his last sentence. "Oh, uh, hi Tomoyo! How are you this fine morning?" "Oh, im doing fine." "Oh, uh, thats great! So, how is Syaoran and our guest?" "Both are doing fine. Except that cold Sakura has. And Syaoran is tending to her." "Y-you mean he's actually being nice!?" "Yup!" Tomoyo said as she raised her head high. "Are you thinking what im thinking?" He asked. "What? Their falling in love? Of course! Their perfect for eachother! Their like this." Tomoyo said demonstrating by crossing her forefinger and middle finger together. Eriol and Touya looked at her fingers. "Well, I must be going. See you two around." Touya said as he exited the library. "Well, how about we go check on them?" Eriol asked. "Good idea! C'mon! Lets go!"
~Back in the Village~
"Where is she!? She usually comes out every morning for a walk or somthing! Is she sick?" Meeko asked Duan. "Not possible sir." "And how would you know?" "I don't know. Its just a feeling." "Like what?" "Like she's somwhere else." "Hmm....Why don't we go and ask Fujitaka?" "Great idea Meeko! I should of thought of that!" Meeko rolled his eyes. Sometimes, his partner could be such a dip. "C'mon. Lets go." "Im right behind ya Meeko."
~Back at the Cottage~
Knock knock. "Fujitaka rose from his chair at the table. He had been sitting there ever since he had returned. His hair was a mess and his eyes had rings under them from lack of sleep. He cracked the door open and peeked out. There, on his front porch was that pest. Meeko and his sidekick, Duan. Fujitaka opened the door further. "May I help you?" He said in a scratchy voice. "Yeah. Is Sakura here?" "Oh. No, she's not here." "Then may I ask where she is?" "Yes, she is visiting someone." "Who?" "Im sorry, but thats all I can tell you. Have a nice day." With that, he shut the door in their faces. They were such pest. Like an itch on your back that you can't reach. He sighed and headed for bed.
~Outside~
"Okay, what just happened here?" Duan asked. "We were just kicked out." "How can we be kicked out if we weren't even in?" "Its a way of speech baka." "Oh." "Well, if he wont tell me, then ill go and find her myself!" "Great idea! Why didn't we do that in the first place?" "Because baka, its gonna take too long." "Oh. Well, then lets get started then!" "Great idea baka!" He said with sarcasim in his voice.
~Back at the Castle~
"Shhh! Quiet Eriol! They'll hear us!" "Sorry!" Both were by the door trying to get a peek in. Both pushed the door til it was wide enough to peek into. "Where are they?!" Tomoyo said as she poked her head in. Eriol did the same. Both scanned the room. "There!" Eriol said. "Where? I don't see them?" "On the bed! You can bearly see them cause we're so short." Eriol said. "C'mon. Lets get a closer look." Tomoyo said as she hopped into the room. Eriol tried to stop her but it was too late. She was already near the bed. He sighed and hopped in after her. Both stopped at the edge of the bed. "I can't see anything!" Whined Tomoyo. "Give me a lift." "But...fine. But if we get caught, its your fault." "Fine. Now lift me up!" Eriol wrapped his wooden hands around her 'waist' and lifted her up.
Li's ear twitched. He lifted his head up and took a glance around. Nothing. He placed his head back on top of his paws and closed his eyes. 'C'mon! Can't you lift me higher!?' 'Im trying to!' Li's head shot up again. He was possitive he heard somthing. He looked around again. Nothing. His gaze landed on Sakura. She layed there peacefully sleeping. He layed his head down once again but this time, he kept his right eye cracked open a little. He saw somthing move out of the corner of his eye but kept still. There it was again. 'C'mon! Just a little higher!' He still didn't move. Suddenly, the end of a paintbrush poked up from the edge of the bed. He jumped up on all fours and growled while bearing his Canines. 'He knows! Lets get out of here!' A male voice said. The paintbrush fell to the floor. He walked closer to the edge of the bed while carefully stepping over Sakura's sleeping form. Just as he was about to look over the edge, two 'sticks' ran towards the door. He jumped. He landed in front of the door, blocking the exit. The two 'sticks' froze. It was Eriol and Tomoyo. "Why were you spying?" He asked, with a hint of anger in his voice. "Uh, we weren't spying! We, were just, uh, checking on you! Thats all!" Tomoyo said as she tried to sound as convincing as possible. "Sure. Like I suppose to believe that. You were spying. Weren't you?" Tomoyo and Eriol sighed. "Yes sir. We were." They said in unison. It was best if they didn't lie. It would only get them into deeper trouble. "Its good to hear honesty." "You mean, we're not in trouble!?" "No, I didn't say that. You both will get what you deserve. Your punishment will be.....To dust the whole Library...." "The WHOLE library!?" Li knodded. "And fix dinner tonight, plus, tomorrow, you two will be Sakura's servants for the whole day." "The WHOLE day!?" The said in unison. "That is all. You are dismissed. And don't let me catch you snooping around again. Is that clear?" "Yes sir." Both said while slowly hopping out of the room. Li smiled. It was sorta fun being the head person of the castle. He hopped back onto the bed and curled into a ball and fell asleep.
~About an hour later in the Library~
"Suuuurrrrreeeee....You said that you would take the blame! And your lying didn't help either!" "Aw, take a chill pill! At least we don't have to clean up the whole castle like Touya did that one time." "Yeah. That was pretty funny. What did he do again?" "He accidentally set the kitchen on fire while trying to make some bulgogee. (Korean meat)" Both had a long way to go before they were done cleaning. The library had about 400 stacked bookshelves. And they had about 378 to go.
~In the Guest room~
Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She was still tired. She tried to get up, but this time it was different. Her whole body hurt. She moaned in pain as she tried to lift her head off of her pillow. It hurt so bad. She needed water. Her throat hurt and her throat felt dry.
Li's ears pricked up again. Thinking it was Tomoyo or Eriol again. He glanced around the room again. He heard another moan. He looked where the sound was coming from. It was Sakura. Her eyes were open and she was trying to speak. But it came out in another moan of pain. She didn't notice that Li was right there.
She was tired, but she couldn't sleep. Her eyes scanned the room. On the dresser was a glass of water fromt the night before. She didn't care if it was month old. She just needed water.
Li watched in curiosity. She had a strong will. He could tell by the first time he met her.
Even with the pain racing through her body, she lifted the covers and pulled her legs over. She slowly stood but fell instantly to the ground. Li was about to help her up but stopped as he watched her get back up on her own.
She felt hot, tired, pain, and thirst all at the same time. She weakly made her way towards the dresser. Her mind kept repeating, 'Water' as she made her way across the room. When she finally made it, she grabbed onto it for support. She looked to her right, and there. The water was only a few feet away. She reached across the dresser to grab the glass that held the precious liquid. Her form started to shake and as it shook, the table shook. The water glass started to wobble toward the edge. Her eyes widened as she saw it fall to the floor and shatter. She dropped to her knees and stared at the broken glass. Her arms hanging from her side.
Li watched. He thought she was going to breakdown in front of him. But to his suprise, she got up slowly and headed towards the door. He quietly got off of the bed and followed her. He heard her say, "Must, get water." It was very hard to hear but he could barely make it out. She sounded so weak.
She made it to the door but couldn't pull the heavy doors open. She dropped to her knees and slowly lowered herself to the ground. She was to tired to care anymore. The cold floor felt good on her back as she laid there. Her hair glistened as it laid on the floor. She made a small sigh and closer her eyes. Her small amount of energy almost leaving her. She had just enough energy to keep herself breathing.
Li watched. He wanted to help, but was curious to see what she would do. So he stood there and watched.
She laid there. Her chest heaving up and down faintly. She started to talk to herself. But it was in a low tone, almost to low to hear. She chuckled to herself. "Hehe. I never thought that I would ever end up in an enchanted castle like this. All of the creatures living here are so friendly except for Li.
Li's breath froze.
"I think, that deep inside, he's actually a kind person. Or wolf I should say. I hope he doesn't have anything against me. I...I think im starting to like him. Agh. So tired. I think i'll go to sleep. Again. Right here." She said. She closed her eyes and this time, sleep came.
Li released his breath. He thought she would say something like 'He's a beast.' or 'He's cruel.' He was thankful that she didn't though. She hopped off of the bed and headed for the door. He was gonna get a glass of water for her, but first, he had to put her back into bed.
To be continued...
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I know I know. Long Chapter. Sorry it took so long to post. At least I got it out! Next chapter coming soon.
