For The Sake of Love3 For The Sake of Love
The Plot Thickens...

A little something you should keep in mind. Whenever you see this "______" It denotes a change of scenery, or character. That's all I wanted to point out.

__________

" Dawn has been awake a long while now, bard, you should be up as well.."

I grumbled in my sleep, but finally, after I was deprived suddenly of my blanket, I opened my eyes.

" You must learn to wake up earlier, bard."
" Well, Lady, I have not been as fortunate as some to receive such training."

The old woman smiled. Old woman?

" I thought you were a young girl the last time I saw you."
" I'm only young when the moon is out."
" Oh, beg your pardon, thank you for enlightening me." Interesting information to add to my story.

Carefully packing my belongings, I found she'd been up and refreshed long ago. I was downstairs in a flash, partaking of a fine meal of bread and cheese, washing it down with sheep's milk. As soon as all was in order we trekked onward towards the great Peonyflower city-state, of which I'd visited quite often. She smiled in fond remembrance of something, though I'm not exactly sure what. I didn't inquire. It would have been rather rude to interrupt someone's daydreams so abruptly.
To amuse myself on this journey I tuned my lute - having ignored it for nearly two days flushed me with guilt. I plucked out a tune that seemed to fit the morning. It brought Sakura back to the present with a smile on her face.

" I remember that tune. Tomoyo and I used to sing it when we were small."
" The Lady of Ivystand?"
" Yes...I haven't heard much of her lately."
" That's of no surprise. Considering the ordeal you've been put through." I didn't look up.
" Tell me, you hear things don't you? How has the Lady of Ivystand been?"
" Much sorrow dwells over both the lands of Peonyflower and Ivystand. It is only now that I understand its cause."

Sakura's smile melted into a sad frown. I bowed in apology.

" Forgive me, lady. I didn't mean to upset you. Here, let me try again."

I began to strum out a jig, something I'd learned in Peonyflower. Her smile returned, as she laughed. I laughed with her, walking a little faster as I saw the front gates of Peonyflower. The guards nodded courteously as we passed, offering Sakura assistance, which she refused. As we passed through, I noticed a parchment hammered to one of the bulletin walls, new from the looks of it. Walking up, I restrained a gasp that nearly tore from my throat. It was an invitation to a ball in honor of the Duke. But, that wasn't what had startled me.

" All elligible maidens are invited to the Duke's Masquerade Ball. All others will leave in vain, but one will stay, to become the bride of Peonyflower's esteemed Duke."

That wasn't a good sign. There must have been a misunderstanding, I was certain the Duke wouldn't purposely do this. Sakura was coming over! I couldn't let her see it. Quickly, hands on her shoulders, I pushed her away towards the marketplace.

" Come, we should be going."
" What were you looking at just then?"
" The Duke is holding a ball, and invites people to come. Why don't we attend?" A half-truth, but for a good purpose.
" Oh, that's a splendid idea. Why don't we?"
" I'm glad you approve. Come why don't you find something suitable to wear in the market?" I handed her a pouch of coins.
" Oh, but you don't have to..."
" Be my guest. It's the least I can do for you." I harried her to town, while in my mind wondering how I was going to avoid catastrophe...

I hurried Sakura to one of the local shoppes, finding to my luck that it was owned by a seamstress. I pushed her gently inside, then made as if to be searching for a wedding bouquet. The owner soon came in from a backroom.

" How may I help you?"
" My mother and I..."
" Oh, is that your mother?"
" Y-yes." I motioned for Sakura to play along. " As I was saying, my mother and I are shopping for my sister. She's been invited to the ball, and we need to get her a new gown."
" I don't see why the poor lass can't shop for herself."
" It's a surprise." Very good, Sakura.
" Oh, indeed? Well, in that case. Can you give me her measurements?"

This was Sakura's cue, and I left her to her bidding, to search out some clothes of my own.

______


" Syaoran, you really must learn to grow up. You're almost 19! You've reached your prime, and you still wish to remain single?"

How could I make my mother understand? She'd mock me for being a foolish boy if I told her about the Jinn's Spell. Or the fact that I would have to remain faithful in Sakura's absence so she could return. Was I to throw away 4 years of dedication to my dear Sakura at the last moment? She would laugh. That was my mother. She was sly, cunning, a manipulator at times. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was running the kingdom more then my father. But, that wasn't true. What I was saying was irrational. She was my mother, and she wanted the best for me. Look, I tell myself, see how the worry wrinkles her eyes? She doesn't want to die without at least seeing me happily settled down.
Well, she would see that day. And it will be with Sakura. And we would be happy. Just not now, all I needed was a little more time...but mother was not a patient person.

" Syaoran, are you still fretting over the last marriage agreement?"

She made it sound like yesterday. The last marriage agreement was the one I wanted to stick to.

" Syaoran, dear, I know she was your friend. But, she's dead, gone. You saw."

That was one memory I'd like to forget. The Jinn had left a dead...something...that looked like Sakura for someone to find. We were the ones who were to find it. And of course, that let the devil off the hook because the whole incident looked like Sakura had fallen down the stairs accidentally...Curse Cherese. CURSE that no good jealous...

" Syaoran, its time to pull your heart out of the past and lean toward your future."

All I wanted to do was lean towards Sakura, having her there beside me as we walked down by the clear brook near here. Maybe picnic along the way. That little grove of silver birch would have made the perfect place...we'd sit together, maybe she'd lean against me - there was always a chilly wind blowing, then I'd reach into my pocket and pull out the little velveteen box, and getting down on one knee I'd...

" Syaoran!" My mother snapped. I blinked.
" I don't feel to well today, mother. I'm going to go rest up a little."

She dismissed me with a exasperated wave. She thought I was being immature...but I was mature as any other child, and I was proving it. I wouldn't go dancing off with the next feminine voice. I would only be satisfied with her, not someone who was about the same, or remotely the same...her.

______


I watched as the seamstresses wrote down each of the measurements that were required. It was ingenious of that bard to request the dress for my younger self instead of now. The ball then was going to be at night. Perfect. Unless the moon was absent this night, I would be able to enjoy a taste of happiness once again, as a girl...That's when a spark of hope came to me. Each time I became my girl form, it seemed a little bit older then the last. That could mean that I was still me, growing and changing. Which means that the spell is only an illusion! Another greater spark sent me aflare. Syaoran wasn't any older then I when we'd parted. If the young girl at night is really me, then surely Syaoran could be no older then that..

" Oh, lady, you are so lucky to have a daughter going to the ball."
" How, so, madam?"
" Don't you know? The Duke is holding this party for all the elligible maidens."
" What?" I had to grab hold of one of the walls. I'd been hoping my guess was true, but this wasn't the reassurance I'd asked.
" Oh, yes. If your daughter is lucky, he will ask her to marry him, and you'll be living in the lap of luxury."

The seamstress continued, then looked down at the measurements for the first time in surprise.

" Oh. That's peculiar. I just had a dress made this morning that fits you perfectly." The woman laughed, putting a hand to her forehead," Imagine the coincidence. Let me go and get it for you."

I nodded vaguely. So I've traversed the wide plains and wilderness, survived the tortures of so many things, only to return to my love's unfaithful heart? No, maybe it was better this way. I could never expect Syaoran to wait for me so long. He must have grown tired of waiting for someone with no hope of returning...I couldn't fault him for that. Turning to flee out the door, I found myself looking into the deep concerned eyes of the bard. It was for the first time that I noticed he wasn't as young as he seemed. He was still a young man, but compared to my moonlight self, he had seven to 8 years more senority. I was brought back from my reverie by his voice.

" What's wrong, lady. Can they not have the dress ready soon enough?"
" Oh, if it were only that...why didn't you tell me the ball was to find a bride?"

______


I stopped. How did she find out? Oh, those gabby seamstresses...no matter, what's done is done.

" I didn't want you to get the wrong impression. I'm sure, the Duke was a negative supporter till the end."

Sakura didn't seem at all convinced.

" Look, you won't know until you actually go there."

Sakura wasn't convinced.

" Miss Sakura, if you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me."
" Why you, pray tell?"
" I am a bard. And as a bard, I beg of you, go to the ball. You've given me a tale that is seared into my memory, and like it or not, you've become the storyteller. And as a good, and might I add, honest, weaver of stories you shouldn't leave your audience hanging by a thread. That being me."
" Couldn't you possibly create your own ending?"
" Lady! I may not be able to vouch for how many audiences I've left at ropes end, but I can assure you that by my vow as a bard, it is against every one of my morals to change a story that is not my own..." I put on an obviously insulted look.
" Very well, very well. The seamstress has a dress for me, I hope you have something suitable as well."

I gave her my best grin. I still haven't lost my touch. With a hand combing of my messy black locks, I whistled as I waited outside the door. Soon, Sakura emmerged with a wrapped package. When I asked to see it, she slapped my hand away with a mock-scowl.

" And ruin the surprise? Never!"

I only laughed.

The dress did turn out to be quite a surprise. As I looked over, Sakura came out of her room dressed in a gown of ocean green, seeming to almost sparkle. I smiled in amusement. She was right, it was suitable. Especially since she'd once more transformed to her younger self. As I watched her something occured to me. Her younger self seemed much older then 15 years, though younger then myself...so the spell must not have affected her original growth...and since Sakura and Syaoran were roughly the same age...

" Sakura, exactly when was it that you were sent away?"
She looked sad," It was the Autumn Harvest in the 5th year of Yew."
" Yew. Sakura, that was only 4 years ago! You weren't away for that long..."
" Yes, I know. I realized it in the seamstress shop. Why, did you believe I'd been away for long?"
" At first..I mean after all, I hadn't known about the curse, so I'd just assumed..."
" Assuming is not always a good thing."
" I should have made the connection sooner. We are talking about the same Syaoran..." I mumbled, laughing at my own stupidity.
" What?" She hadn't heard me mumble.
" Nothing. Nothing." I dismissed the subject," So, are you ready to go?"
" I am."
" Are you all right?" I noticed her eyes were trembling.
" I'm fine."
" Are you sure?"

Sakura smiled, but her smile wavered.

" He only waited 4 years for me..." Tears sprang like a fountain. So that's what's been bothering her.
" Sakura, trust me, if the Duke is the kind of gentleman you describe him as, then this was not his decision. Had I been him, I'm sure I would have waited much longer." I added silently," I know it. The Syaoran I know isn't one to falter."

That reassurance seemed rather empty. I sighed. If this is what it's like to fall in love, maybe the hassle wasn't worth it for me. It was already hard enough helping the love-conquered along, what would it be like once I became one too? No need to worry about that for now, in the mean time our coach was waiting. As I sat next to the driver, Sakura sat calmly in the back, nervously twisting the ribbon on her mask. Finally, I reached down and grabbed it firmly in my hand.

" That mask is much more fragile then it appears. If you tear it, what would HE think?"

Sakura stopped, and I turned back around.

______


" Sir, do you need assistance?"
" No, Darin, I can handle it."

I continued to fasten my doublet in place as I heard the musicians below tuning their instruments. The ball was about to begin. Then why did I feel so awful?

" You're wishing Touya was here, aren't you Syaoran?"

I turned around. Eriol was standing, feet apart, casually flipping at a piece of worn fabric on my cabinet. The night that Sakura had been whisked away, Tomoyo had fled in an awful sob. Eriol had been there to comfort her. They'd been inseparable since. Rumors were spreading that the Duke of Catrech would soon propose to the young Princess of Ivystand. I wasn't sure what the Father Prince of Ivystand, or the Mother Princess would say about the matter. That was the titles parents were given once their first child had passed their 15th year. My mother was the Mother Duchess, my father the Father Duke. This made it easier to distinguish between the junior and senior of the family, and still left the parents the respect of not being addressed like they were old and winded.

" Yes I do. It was a pity he hadn't been there that day."
" Yes, a great pity."

Touya was the older brother of Cherese, though the resemblance is almost non-existent. He and I had become good friends when the Meliyao family and mine had paid a visit to the Chorvala mansion to pay our respects to the grieving family. Touya was older then me, and it stands to reason that he should have been the one invited to the Chorvala Birthday Dinner, not Cherese. But, a family disagreement had put him out of his father's favor, and Cherese went instead. I hadn't seen Touya in a long time, and right about now, his company would have been nice.

" Oh, well." I sighed.
" Come on, Syaoran. The guests are starting to come in."

I walked out my bedroom door, down the stairs and towards the entrance way. As I came to it, I began to greet the guests, and not surprisingly, most of them parents with their proud little daughters. Pity this was a masquerade. Many of these girls wore such elegant masks, that I wondered if they were using it instead of their real face. I wondered whether I should be judging their costumes rather then their true selves.

______


The bard was right of course. No use being anxious. I straightened the green ribbon as best I could and carefully secured it around my face so that nothing, but my mouth was showing. With careful steps, I got off the coach when it stopped at the mansion gate, so as not to snag my gown on the door. The bard offered me his arm, and I carefully ascended the long flight of stairs to the door. With a rapt knock, a servant opened, and let us into the front room, where the hosts were greeting the guests. That's when I saw him...after 4 years of absence, my heart only yearned for him more. But, I had to restrain myself, as painful as it would seem. This would be a great shock to him. With a deep breath, I heard the bard whisper.

" Go on. There he is."

I walked up, and dropped into a delicate curtsy. He didn't smile, but merely greeted me with a curt nod, and polite bow. I couldn't say I wasn't disappointed. I'd hoped he'd recognize me the minute I came in, but that was merely a fantasy. This was real, and the mask I wore did its job perfectly. I only smiled sadly as he turned to the next guest, and continued into the manor that was his home.

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The next chapter will be the last one. Watch for it! This is your good friend, DragonLass saying, Sayonara for now!