¡§Wh¡Kwhere am I

A Fairy Tale Princess

Chapter 6: Silence of the Night

Syaoran wished Sakura a good night and closed her door. He felt refreshed after a warm bath and changing into his new green clothes. He smiled to himself as he recalled Sakura¡¦s lithe figure in her pink nightgown, draped in a curtain of metallic gray moonlight. Syaoran had searched for the other traveler, but his door was locked and no one answered his knocks. The innkeeper did not know anything about her guest either.

Syaoran sat down in the hallway, partly to wait for the mysterious stranger to return, partly to guard Sakura¡¦s room from more drunken farmers. The silence of the night always held a spell over him. The serenity brought back memories, unearthed his deepest feelings, and took in pains. In this particular night, he thought of his Princess. He replayed the scene of her death back in the city square. The only regret was that he was not able to protect her. Or, at least, accompany her. He leaned his head back and began to recall a particular day a few years ago, even before he took the position of General of Tomoeda¡X

¡§Sakura, I¡K¡¨ Syaoran stammered before the Princess.

¡§Yes, Syaoran-kun?¡¨

¡§Will¡Kwill you marry me?¡¨ he took out a marvelous ring decorated with pink quartz intertwined with emerald. It was symbolic of their love¡XSakura¡¦s pink with his green.

Princess Sakura of Tomoeda gazed into his brown eyes, arms wrapped around his green suit of armor. ¡§Yes I will, Syaoran-kun,¡¨ she began to cry from happiness. ¡§Yes I will¡K¡¨

Syaoran was called away for a small trip the next morning, and when he returned after two days, the Princess changed.

¡§Sakura¡K?¡¨ he called. The Princess turned around and watched him with dull, lifeless eyes.

¡§Yes, Commander?¡¨ her words tore Syaoran¡¦s heart. She had never called him by his title, not even the first time they had met.

¡§Is¡Kis something wrong?¡¨ he asked fearfully.

The Princess walked over to Syaoran and pressed a small object in his hands. She whispered, ¡§Remember your place, Commander. I cannot marry you.¡¨ She walked away, leaving Syaoran in tears, clutching at his ring.

He decided to visit the Princess in her chambers later that night, but the guards would not let him in. ¡§I am checking on her safety. Stand aside,¡¨ he commanded.

¡§The Princess is safe. She does not want you to enter.¡¨

Syaoran sighed: the personal guards to the royal family were not under his command. He spoke loudly, ¡§Princess, I wish to speak with you.¡¨

A small voice answered him from the other side of the door, ¡§I cannot marry you¡K I am only allowed to marry a prince. My father said that he will pick a husband for me when the time is right.¡¨ She paused, stifling a cry, ¡§We are not meant to be together¡K Please, Syaoran, forget me. It is too painful to know that you still love me. I love you too, but¡K please just forget me.¡¨ She began to cry in her room, her childish sobs muffled by her thick mattress.

Syaoran stood at her door, too shocked to move. He loved her so much, and he knew she loved him too, but they cannot be together. He eventually returned to his room, drowning in his own sorrow. The love they had for each other was so strong, but they would have to try to forget it, because they were not meant to be together.

Syaoran woke up the next day to answer the King¡¦s summons. The King ordered him to go to the southern border and train the knights there. His mission would take one whole year. Syaoran salute mechanically and began to leave to pack.

¡§Syaoran,¡¨ the King called his name for the first time. ¡§Take this year¡Kto forget her.¡¨

Syaoran continued to walk away.

A year passed like a dream forgotten, and Syaoran rode back into the castle, wearing a new white armor and replacing his jade sword with a crystal white one. The King greeted him, informing of his promotion to general, due to his splendid accomplishments and natural skills in leading. Syaoran gratefully agreed, and the ceremony took place one week after. During the whole time, Syaoran did not see, or attempt to see, the Princess. While he had buried his feelings deep inside, his love for her was not completely forgotten. Unfortunately, despite his dread of meeting her, his seat was next to the Princess during the grand ceremony.

As Syaoran sat down quietly beside the ever-beautiful Princess, she smiled up at him. ¡§Welcome back, Syaoran-kun¡K¡¨

¡§Th¡Kthank you, Princess,¡¨ he replied carefully.

And as if nothing had ever happened, Syaoran and Princess Sakura rekindled their friendship. He was also appointed Guardian of the Princess, much to her delight. They always spoke to each other, laughed with one another, and cried away sorrows in each other¡¦s company. However, one thing had changed: they never mentioned their feelings ever again.

¡¥And now¡K¡¦ Syaoran thought, returning to the present. ¡¥Now¡KSakura is here¡Klike a¡Ksecond chance.¡¦ He shook his head fiercely, ¡¥No! My love is for the Princess. I love her for who she is, not for what she looks like.¡¦ But no matter how much he told himself that, he still somehow believed the two girls were exactly alike, both inside and out.

Syaoran slowly nodded off to sleep, still sitting against Sakura¡¦s door. As he dreamed of his Sakura, a shadowy figure stepped over him to enter the other room. ¡§Sleep well, General.¡¨

Author¡¦s Notes¡X

So~ Good? I liked it ^ ^- A few replies to readers¡¦ questions / comments:

Font problems ¡V For me, I can view the fanfic perfectly in Internet Explorer, but not in Netscape 6. I think it is just problems with fonts with your windows. I am writing these in Microsoft Word 2000, so I think my fonts are not the problem¡K (written in Times New Roman, size 10, then converted to HTML format to submit). The only thing that does not show up when I submit the post is a long line (divider that I place between end of chapter and Author¡¦s Notes).

More S+S ¡V Was this S+S? It¡¦s kinda like S+P (Princess), but¡K hey, they¡¦re the same people! Even Syaoran thinks so, deep inside ^ ^-

Mysterious stranger ¡V Clow Card? Clow Reed? Dark Empire? Hm~~~ Keep guessing ^ ^-

Cliffhangers ¡V I seem to end in a lot of cliffhangers ^ ^- Sorry~ But makes waiting for the next chapter that much more exciting, ne?

Length, details, updates, etc ¡V Sorry if these chapters are short, I¡¦m trying my very hardest to update every single day (as opposed to the 3 days I said before). On details¡K I am writing these off the top of my head, outlined very briefly ahead of time, so I am not too careful about minute details, but I am conscious of everything I write¡K don¡¦t think I put something in for no reason ^ ^-

Next chapter will be up in less than two days! Enjoy your weekend!