Chapter Twenty Four

Card Captor Sakura

Crystal Tears

~starjade~

Confrontations

Three figures stealthily crept out of the carriage as it rolled into the Kinomoto Grounds. After hushed fighting , quite a lot of pushing and arguing , one crossed their arms , and flounced , staying near the carriage.

The other two snickered and crept off.

Meiling brooded. She hated this. She hated everyone. She especially hated..

" What in all the worlds is GOING ON?" Touya croaked as he stumbled out of the carriage rubbing his head. Eriol probably took off the spell , and Meiling glared at him. It was so much better to have this obnoxious boy under a spell. At least his mouth would be shut.

" Look , you useless idiot , get back in the carriage , and don't say a word!" Meiling commanded , turning around , pretending her job was quite important. ( Which it wasn't)

Touya growled , deep inside his throat as he looked at their surroundings. The horses neighed and shifted uncomfortably as the night wind whipped around the two lone figures.

" Where is everyone? Why is it dark? Why-"

" You ask too many questions!! Now go knock yourself out , unless you want me to do it for you!" Meiling burst out , furiously. How come Syaoran won the 'rock , papers , scissors' fight? Grr...if only she did rock instead of paper...

Then she wouldn't be stuck with this baka!

Touya glared at Meiling , not very sure she could see him. He stumbled away from Meiling and glanced around himself , scrutinizing everything he could see. Wait a minute...he recognized that building...and that horse...and those gates...and that castle...and the Kinomoto sign on the castle....

" WHERE AM I?" Touya finally burst out.

Meiling huffed. " Your Kingdom , oh great one."

Touya huffed. " Be quiet , you little-"

Meiling exploded , " Excuse me? You think you can tell me to-"

Touya came closer as he retorted , " Damn straight! I'm the prince-"

Meiling shoved her way toward him and stuck a finger in his face. " Who the hell cares if your a prince-"

Touya rose his finger and snapped , " I can get you arrested for this-"

Suddenly a voice behind them said with laughter in their voice , " Why don't you just kiss and get it over with??"

Touya and Meiling whipped around to see Eriol and Syaoran standing behind them , both of them laughing their heads off.

Meiling and Touya slowly looked at each other and finally began to realise how close they were to each other. If a passer-by saw them....they might think they were....

" EWWWWWWWW!" Both of them yelled, blushes growing on both of their faces. Syaoran rumbled with laughter as Eriol smirked. He knew that was going to happen...

As the bickering between them starting again , Syaoran muttered to Eriol , " What do we do now? Do we go to Sakura and-"

Eriol smirked. " Nope. I go to Tomoyo and you wait 'till tomorrow!"

Syaoran gasped. " WHAT? I have to wait and you get to go to your lovebird?"

Eriol just smiled mysteriously. " Trust me. Wait here with these to lovey dovey idiots and I'll be back."

Syaoran muttered , " Tomorrow morning..."

Eriol glared at him , knowing exactly what Syaoran was thinking...

" You'll see me in an hour!" Eriol retorted and stalked away , leaving a smirking Syaoran and two oblivious 'lovey dovey idiots.'

~~~~~*****~~~~~~

Tomoyo rolled around in her bed , trying to get some sleep. She could not sleep at all , all these thoughts were rampaging through her head. Finally , frustration grew in her veins , and she growled. She yanked her covers back , and searched for a candle and match.

" Where is that bloody candle?" she muttered , angrily as she stumbled around the room. Finally , someone handed the candle to her and she grinned , victoriously.

" Thanks!" she said , and turned around ready to strike the match...

Until she realised something very important.

There was no one in her room...

Yet someone handed her a match...

Tomoyo whimpered as she slowly turned around , getting the candle ready so she could use it as a weapon , in case someone tried to kidnap her , or something horrible and dramatic like those tales that her mother used to read to her about the princesses who were kidnapped and taken away by dragons-

" OW!" She yelled as she smashed straight into the person.

" OW!" The person yelped back.

They both stared at each other in the darkness , and Tomoyo quickly struck the match and lit the candle , with shaking hands.

Soon , navy blue hair and twinkling concerned eyes met hers. Tomoyo backed up quickly , shock overcoming her body. No...she was hallucinating , she was dreaming , soon she'd wake up and-

Slowly , she reached out with one hand towards her love.

" Er-Er-Eriol?" she squeaked as she tried to touch the him. " This isn't a dream....is it?"

Eriol chuckled softly. " No , my love. It isn't."

Tomoyo nearly melted at his words as tears rose to her eyes. " Eriol...you came...." She whispered as she stood up and collapsed into his arms.

Eriol wrapped his arms around her as well , burying his face in her shoulder. " I came...and I'm never going to leave."

The tears that had rose to her eyes spilled past her amethyst orbs , causing her body to shake. Eriol held her closer as Tomoyo shook.

" Eriol?" she whispered.

"What?" he asked.

" I...." she started and looked down.

Eriol prodded her with his eyes , encouraging her to continue.

" I....I hate your guts!" she yelled , and pushed him away from her. Eriol stumbled back, shocked to the core as Tomoyo began to laugh.

"Excuse me?" Eriol asked , a hint of humour alighting his eyes.

" You took THAT long to come? Tell me at least you did something SMART and brought Syaoran with you!"

Eriol laughed as Tomoyo hit him on the arm.

" WHAT IS SO FUNNY! You never even WAITED for me to tell you how I FEEL when you told me you loved me!"

Instantly the atmosphere turned sombre as Eriol turned his eyes to hers. " What do you feel?"

Tomoyo stared at the serious expression in his eyes and shivered. She knew how to answer him. She smiled.

" This."

With that one word , she rose and pressed her lips against his. Eriol was stunned and stumbled back , before responding on instinct as he wrapped his arms around her waist , bringing her closer. He began to kiss her back , as Tomoyo rose her arms burying her hands in his hair. She shivered as he began to trace circles on her backside , causing her to fall against him once more.

She broke away , and Eriol shook his head with surprise. " So you really really hate me , don't you?"

Tomoyo laughed. "Damn straight!"

Eriol laughed and sat down , bringing Tomoyo into his lap. " Yet , I still love you Tomoyo...."

Tomoyo grinned at him. " And I love you..."

Eriol thought of the ring in his pocket , but as Tomoyo snuggled up to him , he soon forgot about it.

( And no , they are NOT going to be doing anything DIRTY.....Remember , he's only got an hour!)

~~~~~~****~~~~~

Sakura wearily climbed down the stairs to the breakfast hall , wishing she could run back upstairs. She had no energy today to face the Kichari's glares , to face the perverted Prince and the disapproving faces of her parents.

She wanted to escape from it all. Finally she put on a cheerful face , and jumped the rest of the stairs like normal.

She skidded into the breakfast hall , and bowed to the frowning Kicharis. The Prince gave her a cold glare as she settled herself beside him and she grinned back.

The Prince set his jaw in determination. He sure as hell wouldn't let a WOMAN get to him! He would show her!

Sakura turned to Tomoyo and was shocked to see a dreamy expression on Tomoyo's face. She was nearly humming with pleasure , as she twirled her hair around her finger and stared into space. Sakura waved her hand in front of her friend's face and snapped her fingers , breaking Tomoyo out of her trance.

" Want to come down to earth , now?" Sakura giggled as Tomoyo flushed.

Tomoyo picked up her cup , shrugged.

" What?"

" Your extra happy today. What's up?"

Tomoyo grinned . " Nothing. It's just another happy day , in my happy world. I am so very happy. Sometimes I wonder if happiness , is really happy days , because this day is the happiest of all my happy days!"

Sakura blinked at her and Tomoyo smiled. " What?"

Sakura just rolled her eyes. Really , Tomoyo could be mental , sometimes! As Tomoyo began to hum once again , Sakura began to eat her breakfast.

But she was soon interrupted when the idiot beside her stood up.

" Excuse me , everyone , I would like to say something."

Queen Kichari smiled mischievously as Queen Kinomoto nodded. " Yes , what is it Prince Melikon?"

Prince Melikon smiled hideously at Sakura. " Today , if you remember , is the official agreement of our marriage."

Shocked silence was the answer to this announcement. Sakura froze. What? Wait a minute...he was right! After a week.....they were to make the official agreement....she had totally forgotten!

" No.." Sakura started but Queen Kichari interrupted.

" You do remember , do you not? Instead of making a huge spectacle of this , I have decided to sign the marriage contract silently. Why make so much ruckus?"

Sakura stood up slowly. " You can't do that!"

Prince Melikon turned to her , and smiled innocently. " What do you mean , my soon to be wife?"

Sakura growled , as Prince Melikon smirked at her. He was getting her back for yesterday , she knew.
" We should , uh..." Sakura fumbled , trying to make up an excuse. Finally she said , " We shouldn't do this silently! We should announce it to the whole world! Yes...that's it!"

Nadeshiko turned angrily to Fujitaka. " Why didn't you inform me of this?" She hissed , and Fujitaka looked worriedly at Sakura.

" I'm not so sure about this marriage , anymore , Nadeshiko..." he trailed and Nadeshiko's jaw dropped.

" Now you notice?" she whispered in a high pitched voice. Queen Kichari turned to her.

" What is it , Nadeshiko? Surely you can tell your soon to be family??" She said , her eyes glinting.

Tomoyo clutched onto Sakura as Sakura started to sway. " This isn't happening ," Sakura muttered as Melikon put an arm around Sakura , brushing Tomoyo off.

" Of course it is , dear. We are to be married , quite soon! Actually , we will be legally married...right now!" He brought a parchment out with a flourish.

Sakura jerked herself away from him. " DON'T TOUCH ME!" She yelled , and Melikon raised his arms in defence.

" Oh , come on dear. We can have a real big wedding ceremony later. First , we make it legal!"

He sneered at her while the others weren't looking and Sakura shuddered.

Fujitaka cleared his throat. " Um....I think we should prolong this a bit more..."

King Kichari slapped Fujitaka on the back. " Hey , old friend. You don't want to make our children suffer anymore! See how clearly they need each other?"

At this Melikon grabbed Sakura and kissed her on the cheek. Sakura howled.

" EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" she yelled and pushed Melikon away from her with all her strength. He toppled away and she pointed a finger at the shocked Kicharis.

" I don't care what you say , I WILL NOT MARRY THIS IDIOT!" she yelled.

Queen Kichari's smile was strained , and she bared her teeth. " Now , Now , little girl , calm down..."

Melikon growled as he rose. He had had enough. He wasn't going to let this feisty, opinionated girl make a fool out of him. All girls were his slaves. Including her.

He stomped over to her and grabbed her arm. " You , Sakura Kinomoto are MINE!" He yelled the last word and Sakura backed up. " You are my property , you will behave as my property. You will marry me. ME! You will be my slave for a year , and I don't care what happens! No one can stop this marriage! Especially not you!"

Sakura whimpered as he dug his fingernails into her arm as Fujitaka yelled and Nadeshiko raced toward the two.

While all this happened , a door crashed open and four figures stood in the doorway.

" No one can stop this marriage? Let me be the first to try!"

The fierce statement hung in the air as a man walked forward , a sword in hand. Sakura's heart dropped and rose as she stared at the man. She clutched her chest as her eyes filled with tears. Longing ripped at her as she stepped forward , blinking as to see if this was just a dream.

" Sy-Syaoran?"

a/n: Hahaha...SYOARAN CAME BACK! Muah ah ah ah ah! I am so eeeeeevil! I am so EEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL! I left you at a cliffy! A CLIFFY!

hehehehehehe...

Okay.....we are soon ending Crystal Tears. *wipes away a tear* I'm so sad....I don't want it to go! Maybe....if I get some ideas and some ENCOURAGING reviews , I'll make a sequel , but I'm not very sure. I probably won't , though.

Syaoran has come back and Eriol and Tomoyo are together , and Meiling and Touya are just......fighting! Hehehehe....I am so evil...You know I really gotta stop saying that.

Next chappie: The *cough cough* fight between Syaoran and *cough cough cough!*