Chapter Five- To the Palace

~*~*~*~*~*~ = Sakura's POV

I==D====== = Syaoran's POV

------;---@---;------ = Eriol's POV

o/'o/'o/'o/'o/'o/' = Tomoyo's POV

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* = Nakuru's POV

'___' = Thinking "_____" = Speech

Hey!! Thank you very much to all that reviewed, and I apologize that I took so long to write this chapter! I was kinda lazy. ^-^'

Disclaimer- I own the plot and any characters that I might make up, otherwise, CCS belongs to Clamp.

Well here ya go..!

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When the mist cleared, I saw a dark figure standing before me in a garden. I couldn't tell who or what it was, because it's face was covered in shadow. Its shoulders were hunched over and it looked so miserable. Well, I guess it didn't look sad, since I couldn't really see it's expression, but there was just this feeling in the air, that made me feel like crying. I walked towards it, curious, and sad for it. As I reached my hand out to it, it's head turned towards me. 'Who could it be?' I could almost see its face and then-

"THUD!"

"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?!" Tomoyo rushed into the room when she heard the noise.

"H-hai..I'm fine.." I groaned, cradling the arm I fell on. "I guess I just fell off the bed."

Tomoyo sweat-dropped. "Sakura-chan...!" She giggled. "Oh well, it's good that you're awake now, breakfast is almost ready and I was going to come up to call you down anyway. Now go get ready, and come down to eat, all right?"

"Ok", I replied. Tomoyo smiled, then headed back downstairs. She was so nice to me! Even though we weren't real sisters, she always treated me like one. In truth, we're second cousins, but her mother died when she was very young, and her father could care less about what happened to her. Our mothers were cousins, and they had been very close, so for Oka-san's sake, we took Tomoyo in. Oh yeah, by the way, her real last name is Daidouji.

~*~Later~*~

I bounced down the stairs and helped Tomoyo set the table. Then, we all sat down to eat. "Itadakimas!" I gobbled down my pancakes happily, but noticed Otou-san was hardly even touching his. "Otou-san, is there something wrong?" 'He's probably tired from yesterday' Last night, he had rode home, obviously at a very high speed, and exhausted himself. The moment he got home, he fell asleep. Tomoyo and I were very worried about him and barely got any sleep last night.

Otou-san looked up at me sadly. "Sakura-chan, Tomoyo-chan, I have something to tell you." He paused and took a deep breath. "First of all, only two ships came back, with only a bit of cargo, and after I paid the sailors, there was none left."

"Then where did all that jewelry and gold come from?" Tomoyo asked.

"Jewelry and gold?" Otou-san replied, obviously puzzled.

"Yes, we found it in your pack on Ginger," I explained, also dragging it out of the cupboard we put it in. "See?" I opened the bag and showed its contents to Otou-san.

Otou-san's face grew very white, instead of happy like I thought he would be. "The cat...." He whispered hoarsely. A few tears threatened to spill from out of his eyes, but he managed to keep them in. "That's the second thing. On the way home, a huge storm started, and all the thunder and lightning spooked Ginger, so she took off into the forest. Anyway, when the rain stopped, I tried to find a shelter for us to stay, since it was getting dark. Then, we stumbled into the most amazing palace I've ever seen. I decided to take a chance, and walked through its gates. There was a dainty little butterfly fluttering in front of me, and so I decided to follow it. It led me to a room where there was food and drink on a table next to a bed. There was also a little card that read, 'Huan Yin'"

"Chinese?" I asked.

"Hai, Chinese, and it means 'Welcome'. So I assumed I was welcome. Then, when I finished the food, the butterfly appeared before me once again, and led me downstairs to the stables where Ginger had been groomed and fed, but by whom, I did not know. Anyway, I decided to take a walk in the garden, and there I saw cherry blossom trees. I thought you would like it if I managed to bring a sprig back to you, so I picked one off for you." Otou-san got up, and rummaged through his pack, then came back to the table with a sprig of cherry blossoms. He handed them to me, then sat back down. "Here it is."

"Arigato Otou-san!" I smiled cheerily. 'How kind of him to remember me even when he was having so much trouble!'

Otou-san forced a smile, then continued. "Well, as soon as they came off the branch, this terrible beast appeared before me! It talked! It ranted and raved on about how I had been welcomed into his palace, and in return, I had stolen from his gardens. Then, he made as if to swipe my head off, when this strange bluish cat appeared! It started reasoning with the monster, and soon the monster stalked off back into the palace. Then the cat told me....he told me that" Otou-san gulped, a tear rolling down his cheek. "In return for sparing us, I must let one of you stay with the cat and the monster at the palace for a whole year." Otou-san finished, and started trembling, sipping some tea to calm his nerves. "Oh yeah, we've got one week", He added quietly. "And it said you'd be treated like a princess, and not a bit harmed. I don't care though, neither of you will go!"

Tomoyo and I stared wide-eyed at him, it hadn't completely sunk in yet, and half of it sounded too bizarre to be true. However, we knew our father would never lie about something like this. 'I can't let my family suffer, just because of my stupid request for some flowers...I guess that I...

"I'll go!!" Tomoyo and I yelled at the same time. Then we looked at each other strangely.

"No Tomoyo-chan, it was my fault we're in a situation like this right now, I must go", I said quietly.

"Sakura-chan..." Tomoyo had tears in her eyes. "Perhaps you are right, but I will go, no matter what you say!"

"Neither of you will go! You two must flee to the city while I go to stall for time", Otou-san said desperately. "He asked for one, he shall get none."

"Otou-san, that couldn't be the right thing to do, since we'd be losing you in the process. I'll go." I stated firmly.

"Sakura-chan-" Tomoyo started.

"No, don't try to change my mind!" I said quietly.

My sister and father sat and contemplated it awhile, both knew that when I made up my mind, it really was made up. They were lost in their own thoughts, I couldn't tell what they were thinking.

Otou-san sighed heavily. "It's only a year, I guess, if you really have to, then, all right." Tears were shining in his eyes. "All right."

Tomoyo added, "We'll all go together to send you off."

I nodded solemnly. "Then it's settled. In a week, I'll go."

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We all got up from the table like nothing horrible had just happened. We had all decided that for Sakura's last week home, we would act normal, so as not to make anyone more upset with crying and protests. I had also decided for myself that I would go with Sakura to live in the palace for a year. I'm not sure what good I would do, but I just know, that I can't let anything happen to my little sister!

---;--@One Week Later---;--@--;---At the Palace@--;---

"Has everything been prepared?" I asked Nakuru. It was the day they were supposed to come, if they even came at all, and I seriously hoped they did. If they didn't, it was probably our last shot at ever defeating this curse, going right down the drain. It's not like I ever intended to actually send Syaoran after them.

"Yup!" Nakuru squealed. Her voice, as a butterfly had become less louder, but then again, this was Nakuru. She flitted around happily. "Would you like to see the room I prepared, Eriol-sama?"

I smiled. "Sure, lead the way." I really, really hope this works. Stress had started turning my fur white, which I hastily turned back into its normal color, whenever I noticed a white hair, I'm only sixteen after all!

I==D======I==D======I==D======I==D======I==D======I==D======I==D======

I paced around my room, dressed in my royal robes. Mother had always said, "No matter the rank, ladies are ladies, and you are a prince. You must be a gentleman and make a good impression!" After she said that, she would always make some servants haul me up to my room, and stuff me in my custom made robes. I guess I was just acting on instinct, even though those days were long gone. I knew Hiragizawa thought I couldn't care less about my life as a human, the past or the future, but in some ways I guess I missed it.

Anyways, I dreaded this day that a silly girl would come, stinking up the air with her perfumes and thinking that just for being a woman, I would instantly fall in love with her, which was exactly what Hiragizawa wanted. Oh yeah, I hate him, and I'm going to tear him apart the next time I see him, or maybe I'll go downstairs right now and have a little word with him.

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I smirked, hearing Syaoran come thundering down the stairs. "Right on time." I looked out the window, they had come after all, and were almost here.I looked back at Syaoran in his imperial robes. "Yes, you've got the idea. Make a good impression."

Syaoran growled at me, and made as if to bite my head off, which I must admit, scared me some, but then held himself back. "Whatever." He rolled his eyes.

Nakuru darted innocently between the two of us, obviously very excited, too. "I wonder which one will come?"

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We rode to the palace, each on our own horse. Otou-san was on Ginger, and Tomoyo and I were riding on two lovely snow-white mares that had 'mysteriously' shown up at our front door one day. Obviously, the residents of the castle were kind enough to send us mounts so we didn't have to walk. I really hoped they were not as evil as Otou-san claims they are. I was actually kind of looking forward to this. Maybe this will turn out to be a great experience for me, after all, everything happens for a reason. I don't believe that we could have so much bad luck in a row, so perhaps this is a good thing!

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I sighed, looking at Sakura. She was always so cheerful, and forever looking on the good side of things. I must admit, she could be a bit dense at times, but she always meant well. I admired her for her wonderful smile, and how she never let anything get her too down. I was going to come along to the palace with her, to make sure nothing does. Somehow, I'll sneak in, without anyone noticing me, and just kind of keep an eye on Sakura. I never thought that I, Tomoyo Daidouji would be sneaking around places like a thief, but I supposed it's necessary in a dilemma like this.

I glanced at Otou-san. I felt so bad for him! To think, he thought he would be losing just one daughter today, which was bad enough, but I'll be going, too, which makes two daughters. I hoped he would be all right while we were gone

Then, I looked up, and saw the palace. It looked absolutely beautiful! There were sprawling gardens in front of it, all well taken care of. The palace itself was made in the Chinese style obviously, since we were in China. One thing that struck me as odd was that none of the villagers had mentioned any nobility living around here at the moment, although there had been a prince a while ago. He had disappeared mysteriously, in the same year that China's most respected sorcerer had vanished.

Anyways, my eyes were glued to the beautiful place in front of me, evidently, so was everyone else's. We rode up to the gates, which had stone dragons on both sides. The gates themselves were decorated with dragons and phoenix going up and down the bars, which were a gold color. As soon as we approached the gates, they swung wide open, beckoning us to go in. We rode up to the magnificent palace, my eyes darting around, trying to take in all the sights. Oh how I wished I had my sketchbook, or at least a journal!

When we reached the doors, which by the way, were ten feet high each and really, well, royal looking, they swung open. A small blue cat stepped out, and bowed to us. "Welcome."

I stifled a gasp, astonished at the talking cat. Otou-san had told us about it, but it was even more queer in person, Still, I felt respect for the little creature, and so immediately clambered off my horse and made a slight curtsy. I felt really plain next to all this finery, and wished I had worn a better dress.

The cat nodded to Otou-san and asked, "Which one?"

Sakura stepped forth and said, "Hello, I am the one who is staying." She smiled, and curtsied awkwardly. She was not used to this kind of etiquette, I however, had been in lessons since I could talk. I smiled, despite the situation we were in.

The cat smiled, or as much as cats can smile, and nodded. "We will be glad to have you with us." Then he turned to Otou-san. "You may go now."

Otou-san hesitated, as though he was going to speak against the cat. The cat gave him a look, and Otou-san sighed resignedly. "Yes sir." He looked at Sakura, with tears in his eyes, and went up to hug her, starting to weep.

"Daijoubu Otou-san! It'll only be for a year", Sakura whispered softly.

"Right", Otou-san replied. Then he gave her one last look, before the cat spoke again.

"Go to the stables with your other daughter, and let your horses rest a while. There will be some provisions for your trip back home", The cat said sternly.

Otou-san bowed, and began to walk towards the stable. "Come Tomoyo-chan."

'Time for the plan Tomoyo!' "Hai." I began to walk towards Otou-san. , but then I tripped on a stone "Ahh!"

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura rushed over to me. "Are you ok?!" Concern shone in her eyes. Otou-san rushed over, too. The cat stared at me. I think he knew that I was faking it, and also what I intended to do. I made myself not think about him, and continued my charade.

"I'm fine, but I think I sprained my ankle", I told Sakura. Then I looked at Otou-san, "I'm ok, just go to the stable without me."

"Demo, Tomoyo-chan! You can't ride home by yourself!" Otou-san protested.

"Daijoubu", The cat spoke. "I'll give her an escort home, as soon as she's well enough to travel."

Otou-san looked at the cat, as if debating wether or not he would be worth trusting. "It's all right, it won't be any trouble for me."

Otou-san sighed. "All right."

"Now go to the stables, and then you may go home", the cat said.

I walked up to Otou-san." Good-bye for now Otou-san!" We hugged for a moment, and then I let him go home. I turned around to the cat. "It's all right. Don't trouble yourself to give me an escort back. When my leg gets better, I'll go."

"But Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura protested.

"No no! I'll be fine!" I grinned.

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So, how'd you like that? I know it was really actually rather boring, but just stick around for the next chapter! I promise it'll be better! But just one thing..notice that this fic is not labeled as "action", so don't be expecting any action! ^-^