Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura, its English counterpart, or
anything like that. All I own is the storyline and added characters.
I used the Japanese version for my story, even though I watch the English Cardcaptors (which they stopped showing!). This is merely because this version is better defined and the characters are more agreeable to me. Also, this fic takes place in an alternate universe, or AU. The main characters are all in their late teens or early twenties.
This story is purely fiction. Any resemblance to real advents or another story is purely coincidental. (I read that in a book. ^_^)
Okay! This story hasn't been updated in a loooooong while. So if anyone is still paying attention to this, um, enjoy!
~*~
Sakura hummed to herself as she brushed her hair to a soft glow. Even though the appointed dinner wasn't in three hours, the usually disorganized queen had already bathed and was patiently waiting for Tomoyo to bring the dress she had chosen earlier.
It was very soon that her nurse hurried in, coaching several servants with the proper handling of the precious gown they held between them. "Okay, okay, don't let it touch the ground, DON'T LET IT- that's good, now hang it up there, come on, careful- good. Okay, now bring the soaps, no, regular is fine." She turned around and her jaw promptly dropped open to see her mistress sitting serenely on her gilded chair, all ready to be dressed. Her large eyes blinked slowly as she struggled to take it in.
"You're- *ready*?" she gasped. Sakura was ALWAYS late. No exception. So why.
"I am," Sakura said calmly, bowing her groomed head. "If I could have my dress, please? . Thank you."
The servants hurried forward and began to drape the gauzy underskirts around her waist. Tomoyo blinked and quickly joined in. Only when it was done and Sakura was paying a surprising amount of attention did the suspicion plant itself in her brain.
"Forgive me, mistress, but I'm rather surprised at your readiness. Usually I have to drag you out of bed and force you to look presentable," she remarked, with a teasing smile.
"Well," Sakura chose her words carefully, "I just felt that as an international meeting the dinner had to be treated with a little more -care- than usual. Don't you agree?"
"Of course," Tomoyo responded, equally careful, "but you seemed to never care so much before. Perhaps you have had a revelation?" with a searching look.
"Perhaps," her ladyship responded with a smile, and the conversation was done.
~*~
A soft blue figure dropped to the ground, quietly thanking the driver for his kindness in letting him ride in his cart. The driver smiled and tipped his hat. "Anytime." With a crack of his whip, the cart was rattling along the road and the rider was alone.
He turned and began to softly run, toward the high wall surrounding the castle. He reached it, and after looking around carefully to make sure he was unwatched, began to climb. The people of the Sakura Valley were so trusting, not to post a guard.
He leapt down soundlessly and for a moment lay in the grass, listening. Finding nothing troublesome he crept down to the west tower. He paused only briefly before sliding into the entrance and out of sight.
~*~
Brastillion hummed to himself as he brushed his hair to a soft glow. The manservant who had reluctantly dressed him now fixed his oily hair. Syaoran silently pitied him from his corner as he pulled on the soft brown robe he had been given over his black clothes. Cerbran watched them both. He had not changed at all, but it hardly made a difference.
A soft chime signaled that dinner was ready. They walked out, following a little handmaiden who spent more time shooting shy little looks at the extremely handsome General then leading them. The object of her affections was completely unaware of this and spent his time rehearsing everything he had been instructed to say. He knew he had erred greatly in the matter respecting to Keroberos- but he really was a stuffed animal, Syaoran thought irritably.
Cerbran's eyes narrowed slightly as the thought passed though Syaoran's mind.
An extremely done up little gnome of a man was hopping outside of the door leading into the dining hall, shouting for all he was worth. As they drew closer the brown-haired man could make out what he was saying. "No, no, no! Nothing good will come of this, I tell you! I've been here all my life, and never have I seen her act this way! Why you can't see too is beyond me! Look at them! What do you make of that, eh?" Syaoran had no idea what he was talking about. He glanced at Cebran, but the seer look emotionless as always. Then the gnome-man caught sight of them. He smiled at them a bit bitterly and said, "Well, I hope the meal you receive is satisfactory. They insist on feeding the livestock gregah and I swear the chickens are positively drooping! My prize pig won't even eat the stuff! Starving, she is!" "Gregah?" Syaoran asked, before he could stop himself. He'd never heard of it. "Nasty herb that supposedly strengthens the mind and body. I daresay it does in small doses, but they're stuffing it down the beasts' throats! Too much will knock you flat. The cursed thing even tries to warn you itself with its hideous taste. I'm Hardlin, by the way." Then there were all the proper introductions. Hardlin turned out to be the castle chef-in-chief. His obvious knowledge of food and his doubts of the dinner made his guests slightly uneasy, but when he bowed them inside, all doubts vanished. Foods of all kind adorned the beautiful table. The room was fantastically decorated in ways that he had never dreamed existed- but the Sun Clan never concerned itself with frivolous bother like that. He chanced a glance at the advocate beside him and saw his gelatinous mouth beginning to water. Syaoran himself couldn't quite recall when he'd ever felt so hungry, but prudently restrained himself. The queen sat at the head of the table, looking positively stunning in robes of soft pink swathed in gold. The stuffed animal again sat on her shoulder. A dark-haired man he hadn't yet met sat at her left. He bore a resemblance to his queen, excepting his look of instant dislike as his eyes set on Syaoran. A silver-haired man sat on his side, bright gray eyes making the General oddly uncomfortable, though he looked gentle. Various other important personages were sprinkled along the table, but none else caught his eye. Queen Sakura's ladies-in-waiting were arranged at a separate table behind her. Again he saw the maid who had followed them into the sitting room. She looked oddly familiar for some reason he couldn't place, as he was sure they'd never met before. She saw him looking and promptly winked one blue eye. He started and looked away. The royal lady caught sight of them, and a smile lit her happy face. "Welcome!" she cried, standing up and beckoning them closer. The rest of the party stood up as well. All but the queen and her advisor bowed. Syaoran was seated at the queen's right, across from the dark-haired man whom he learned was the General of the Sakura Valley army, Touya. What sort of forces those might be Syaoran didn't much care; these people had not battled in hundreds of years. The healing priest Yukito smiled unnervingly at him and tried to launch him in a conversation, but the black-clad man seemed a bit tongue-tied. Though his soothing personality might have failed in bringing forth any talk from Syaoran, he surprisingly found someone to speak with in Cerbran. Both dealt with magic and it was later learned they were of the same order. The women next to Brastillion suddenly turned around and began to speak to him energetically. Not missing a beat he responded as though they'd been chatting for hours. Syaoran correctly interpreted this as a sign that they were both well trained in politics. He rolled his eyes slightly, but next moment he felt eyes on his back and turning around saw the queen staring at him. She blushed as their eyes met but rather gracefully began to talk to him. "I hope you are enjoying the meal?" "Indeed," he replied. "It looks delicious, despite the cook's warnings." She looked slightly surprised, but then smiled, both exasperated and amused. "Hardlin? Yes, he's very picky about what's to go into a dinner. Especially on occasions like these." The stuffed animal suddenly intruded by flying of his mistress's shoulder and down the table. A vast amount of the guests ignored him entirely as he grabbed a dumpling, dipped it into a sauce meant for the leeks, and neatly returned to his former position, reclining with a satisfied sigh. He stared at his dipped entrée and very solemnly said, "I love dumplings." There was a brief silence. Sakura tried to reanimate the conversation, but the diminished Keroberos turned to Syaoran and said, "Do you like dumplings?" "I've. never tried them," he answered honestly. The yellow beast glared at him as though his worst suspicions had been confirmed. A small part of him wanted to yell, "What the hell does it matter?!" but that was not his way. He calmly stared back before the Sakura Valley general cleared his throat and began to question him about the Sun Clan army. Syaoran was not one of the elite few who can have nice conversations and say absolutely nothing; instead he responded with monosyllables. In the end, coincidentally the end of the dinner, both had gathered that the other army liked to fight. And that was all. Sakura had looked upset when her general and advisor cut off her conversation, and continually grew gloomier as it became increasingly apparent they would have no chance to speak again. As the chime that came at the end of the dinner rung, however, she pulled a smile and thanked them all. The crowd that rose up promptly smothered him. As it grew thinner elbows and feet stomped and poked until he felt sore. Finally he managed to escape. As he walked to the door he felt a palpable sense of relief. Suddenly someone popped up in front of him. "Excuse me-" He stepped away, but the person had the same idea and ended up killing his foot. "Sorry-" "It's fine." She smiled and Syaoran realized it was that maid, Tomoyo if he recalled correctly. "The queen would like to meet with you, around eight. At the southbound terrace. Can you make it?" "Sure," he began. Tomoyo smiled and left. Syaoran was about to leave before he suddenly realized there were about fifteen terraces at the southern wing wall alone.
~*~
Sakura tapped her fingers, fingered her hair, straightened pictures on the wall, and basically bounced around until Tomoyo walked in. When she did her mistress grabbed her and yelled, "Well?!" Tomoyo blinked before slowly peeling her queen's fingers off her shift and guiding her back to her seat. "I believe you're overreacting, Sakura, dear." "Am not," she said eloquently, and stuck out her tongue. "Well," Tomoyo said, toying with her hair, "Well." Sakura glared malevolently at her. "He'll be there." Sakura whooped and grabbed her friend. "Cool!" Tomoyo laughed and brushed her hair out of her emerald eyes. Her eyes twinkled. Sakura caught it. "What?" Tomoyo merely shook her head. The queen put her hands on her hips and glared. The raven-haired girl laughed again. "Well, I knew it had to happen." "What?" "Look at yourself!" Sakura glanced at herself and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She looked questioningly at her cousin. "You," she pointed at the other's cheek, "are blushing." Sakura looked surprised, but her cheeks did feel hotter than usual. "You've been fiddling with your hair. I know because it's really messy," she added swiftly as Sakura made to speak. "You've been running around the room just waiting to hear if you could meet him. And before dinner, for the first time ever, you were ready before I came in." "So?" the queen asked suspiciously. "You have the biggest crush I have seen in years on Syaoran Li!" she said, and was triumphantly met with a brighter flush of the queen's cheeks.
"No," she began to protest. "Sakura," Tomoyo said severely, and the other wilted under her gaze. She shifted in her seat. "Well, he's really cute," she said defensively, and her friend burst out laughing. "You're as in love as my nursemaid was," she said fondly. "Really?" Sakura asked, feeling suddenly shy. "Did it turn out?" "Huh? Oh, she fell for my father's prize steed. Crazy, she was, but I loved her anyway." Sakura looked at her. Suddenly the maiden's eyebrows contracted. "Wait. does he which terrace I meant?" They looked at each other before Tomoyo shot out of the room before it was too late.
Oh, shut up! I know it was all long and sappy and it'll probably get worse, but :P. Did you like it? Should I scrap the S+S thing? Review!
I used the Japanese version for my story, even though I watch the English Cardcaptors (which they stopped showing!). This is merely because this version is better defined and the characters are more agreeable to me. Also, this fic takes place in an alternate universe, or AU. The main characters are all in their late teens or early twenties.
This story is purely fiction. Any resemblance to real advents or another story is purely coincidental. (I read that in a book. ^_^)
Okay! This story hasn't been updated in a loooooong while. So if anyone is still paying attention to this, um, enjoy!
~*~
Sakura hummed to herself as she brushed her hair to a soft glow. Even though the appointed dinner wasn't in three hours, the usually disorganized queen had already bathed and was patiently waiting for Tomoyo to bring the dress she had chosen earlier.
It was very soon that her nurse hurried in, coaching several servants with the proper handling of the precious gown they held between them. "Okay, okay, don't let it touch the ground, DON'T LET IT- that's good, now hang it up there, come on, careful- good. Okay, now bring the soaps, no, regular is fine." She turned around and her jaw promptly dropped open to see her mistress sitting serenely on her gilded chair, all ready to be dressed. Her large eyes blinked slowly as she struggled to take it in.
"You're- *ready*?" she gasped. Sakura was ALWAYS late. No exception. So why.
"I am," Sakura said calmly, bowing her groomed head. "If I could have my dress, please? . Thank you."
The servants hurried forward and began to drape the gauzy underskirts around her waist. Tomoyo blinked and quickly joined in. Only when it was done and Sakura was paying a surprising amount of attention did the suspicion plant itself in her brain.
"Forgive me, mistress, but I'm rather surprised at your readiness. Usually I have to drag you out of bed and force you to look presentable," she remarked, with a teasing smile.
"Well," Sakura chose her words carefully, "I just felt that as an international meeting the dinner had to be treated with a little more -care- than usual. Don't you agree?"
"Of course," Tomoyo responded, equally careful, "but you seemed to never care so much before. Perhaps you have had a revelation?" with a searching look.
"Perhaps," her ladyship responded with a smile, and the conversation was done.
~*~
A soft blue figure dropped to the ground, quietly thanking the driver for his kindness in letting him ride in his cart. The driver smiled and tipped his hat. "Anytime." With a crack of his whip, the cart was rattling along the road and the rider was alone.
He turned and began to softly run, toward the high wall surrounding the castle. He reached it, and after looking around carefully to make sure he was unwatched, began to climb. The people of the Sakura Valley were so trusting, not to post a guard.
He leapt down soundlessly and for a moment lay in the grass, listening. Finding nothing troublesome he crept down to the west tower. He paused only briefly before sliding into the entrance and out of sight.
~*~
Brastillion hummed to himself as he brushed his hair to a soft glow. The manservant who had reluctantly dressed him now fixed his oily hair. Syaoran silently pitied him from his corner as he pulled on the soft brown robe he had been given over his black clothes. Cerbran watched them both. He had not changed at all, but it hardly made a difference.
A soft chime signaled that dinner was ready. They walked out, following a little handmaiden who spent more time shooting shy little looks at the extremely handsome General then leading them. The object of her affections was completely unaware of this and spent his time rehearsing everything he had been instructed to say. He knew he had erred greatly in the matter respecting to Keroberos- but he really was a stuffed animal, Syaoran thought irritably.
Cerbran's eyes narrowed slightly as the thought passed though Syaoran's mind.
An extremely done up little gnome of a man was hopping outside of the door leading into the dining hall, shouting for all he was worth. As they drew closer the brown-haired man could make out what he was saying. "No, no, no! Nothing good will come of this, I tell you! I've been here all my life, and never have I seen her act this way! Why you can't see too is beyond me! Look at them! What do you make of that, eh?" Syaoran had no idea what he was talking about. He glanced at Cebran, but the seer look emotionless as always. Then the gnome-man caught sight of them. He smiled at them a bit bitterly and said, "Well, I hope the meal you receive is satisfactory. They insist on feeding the livestock gregah and I swear the chickens are positively drooping! My prize pig won't even eat the stuff! Starving, she is!" "Gregah?" Syaoran asked, before he could stop himself. He'd never heard of it. "Nasty herb that supposedly strengthens the mind and body. I daresay it does in small doses, but they're stuffing it down the beasts' throats! Too much will knock you flat. The cursed thing even tries to warn you itself with its hideous taste. I'm Hardlin, by the way." Then there were all the proper introductions. Hardlin turned out to be the castle chef-in-chief. His obvious knowledge of food and his doubts of the dinner made his guests slightly uneasy, but when he bowed them inside, all doubts vanished. Foods of all kind adorned the beautiful table. The room was fantastically decorated in ways that he had never dreamed existed- but the Sun Clan never concerned itself with frivolous bother like that. He chanced a glance at the advocate beside him and saw his gelatinous mouth beginning to water. Syaoran himself couldn't quite recall when he'd ever felt so hungry, but prudently restrained himself. The queen sat at the head of the table, looking positively stunning in robes of soft pink swathed in gold. The stuffed animal again sat on her shoulder. A dark-haired man he hadn't yet met sat at her left. He bore a resemblance to his queen, excepting his look of instant dislike as his eyes set on Syaoran. A silver-haired man sat on his side, bright gray eyes making the General oddly uncomfortable, though he looked gentle. Various other important personages were sprinkled along the table, but none else caught his eye. Queen Sakura's ladies-in-waiting were arranged at a separate table behind her. Again he saw the maid who had followed them into the sitting room. She looked oddly familiar for some reason he couldn't place, as he was sure they'd never met before. She saw him looking and promptly winked one blue eye. He started and looked away. The royal lady caught sight of them, and a smile lit her happy face. "Welcome!" she cried, standing up and beckoning them closer. The rest of the party stood up as well. All but the queen and her advisor bowed. Syaoran was seated at the queen's right, across from the dark-haired man whom he learned was the General of the Sakura Valley army, Touya. What sort of forces those might be Syaoran didn't much care; these people had not battled in hundreds of years. The healing priest Yukito smiled unnervingly at him and tried to launch him in a conversation, but the black-clad man seemed a bit tongue-tied. Though his soothing personality might have failed in bringing forth any talk from Syaoran, he surprisingly found someone to speak with in Cerbran. Both dealt with magic and it was later learned they were of the same order. The women next to Brastillion suddenly turned around and began to speak to him energetically. Not missing a beat he responded as though they'd been chatting for hours. Syaoran correctly interpreted this as a sign that they were both well trained in politics. He rolled his eyes slightly, but next moment he felt eyes on his back and turning around saw the queen staring at him. She blushed as their eyes met but rather gracefully began to talk to him. "I hope you are enjoying the meal?" "Indeed," he replied. "It looks delicious, despite the cook's warnings." She looked slightly surprised, but then smiled, both exasperated and amused. "Hardlin? Yes, he's very picky about what's to go into a dinner. Especially on occasions like these." The stuffed animal suddenly intruded by flying of his mistress's shoulder and down the table. A vast amount of the guests ignored him entirely as he grabbed a dumpling, dipped it into a sauce meant for the leeks, and neatly returned to his former position, reclining with a satisfied sigh. He stared at his dipped entrée and very solemnly said, "I love dumplings." There was a brief silence. Sakura tried to reanimate the conversation, but the diminished Keroberos turned to Syaoran and said, "Do you like dumplings?" "I've. never tried them," he answered honestly. The yellow beast glared at him as though his worst suspicions had been confirmed. A small part of him wanted to yell, "What the hell does it matter?!" but that was not his way. He calmly stared back before the Sakura Valley general cleared his throat and began to question him about the Sun Clan army. Syaoran was not one of the elite few who can have nice conversations and say absolutely nothing; instead he responded with monosyllables. In the end, coincidentally the end of the dinner, both had gathered that the other army liked to fight. And that was all. Sakura had looked upset when her general and advisor cut off her conversation, and continually grew gloomier as it became increasingly apparent they would have no chance to speak again. As the chime that came at the end of the dinner rung, however, she pulled a smile and thanked them all. The crowd that rose up promptly smothered him. As it grew thinner elbows and feet stomped and poked until he felt sore. Finally he managed to escape. As he walked to the door he felt a palpable sense of relief. Suddenly someone popped up in front of him. "Excuse me-" He stepped away, but the person had the same idea and ended up killing his foot. "Sorry-" "It's fine." She smiled and Syaoran realized it was that maid, Tomoyo if he recalled correctly. "The queen would like to meet with you, around eight. At the southbound terrace. Can you make it?" "Sure," he began. Tomoyo smiled and left. Syaoran was about to leave before he suddenly realized there were about fifteen terraces at the southern wing wall alone.
~*~
Sakura tapped her fingers, fingered her hair, straightened pictures on the wall, and basically bounced around until Tomoyo walked in. When she did her mistress grabbed her and yelled, "Well?!" Tomoyo blinked before slowly peeling her queen's fingers off her shift and guiding her back to her seat. "I believe you're overreacting, Sakura, dear." "Am not," she said eloquently, and stuck out her tongue. "Well," Tomoyo said, toying with her hair, "Well." Sakura glared malevolently at her. "He'll be there." Sakura whooped and grabbed her friend. "Cool!" Tomoyo laughed and brushed her hair out of her emerald eyes. Her eyes twinkled. Sakura caught it. "What?" Tomoyo merely shook her head. The queen put her hands on her hips and glared. The raven-haired girl laughed again. "Well, I knew it had to happen." "What?" "Look at yourself!" Sakura glanced at herself and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She looked questioningly at her cousin. "You," she pointed at the other's cheek, "are blushing." Sakura looked surprised, but her cheeks did feel hotter than usual. "You've been fiddling with your hair. I know because it's really messy," she added swiftly as Sakura made to speak. "You've been running around the room just waiting to hear if you could meet him. And before dinner, for the first time ever, you were ready before I came in." "So?" the queen asked suspiciously. "You have the biggest crush I have seen in years on Syaoran Li!" she said, and was triumphantly met with a brighter flush of the queen's cheeks.
"No," she began to protest. "Sakura," Tomoyo said severely, and the other wilted under her gaze. She shifted in her seat. "Well, he's really cute," she said defensively, and her friend burst out laughing. "You're as in love as my nursemaid was," she said fondly. "Really?" Sakura asked, feeling suddenly shy. "Did it turn out?" "Huh? Oh, she fell for my father's prize steed. Crazy, she was, but I loved her anyway." Sakura looked at her. Suddenly the maiden's eyebrows contracted. "Wait. does he which terrace I meant?" They looked at each other before Tomoyo shot out of the room before it was too late.
Oh, shut up! I know it was all long and sappy and it'll probably get worse, but :P. Did you like it? Should I scrap the S+S thing? Review!
