Story Title: Portrait of a Cherry Blossom

Author: CCSakura

Disclaimer: Very Simple. Cardcaptor Sakura: Not Mine; Plot: Mine

Other: I decided to give a little change to the majority of the plots…Sakura is but a lowly maid when she enters the house of Li to serve as a maid. Intrigued by Syaoran, the cryptic painter, she secretly helps him paint…until he decides to do a painting of her…

Chapter One: A Maid

"Have you ever served before?" There was a tone in his voice that made the girl tense. She looked away, unable to stand the glare in his eyes. "No, sir," she whispered. He looked thoughtful for a while and unfolded her trembling hands.

"I see that you have had your share of hardships, but I hope that you will not use it as an excuse in my home," he told her sternly. Sakura blinked back a few drops of tears that were threatening to spill. She stayed silent in response.

Sighing, the man stood and glanced to Fujitaka. "I will see how she does for a week. If her work is satisfactory, I can continue to keep her. If, however, she manages to slack off…she will immediately be sent home. And the pay will be as agreed." Fujitaka nodded in response and looked sorrowfully at his daughter.

"You may come now, since I see you have your belongings." Sakura slowly stood to her full height and she couldn't hide her legs that trembled underneath her old dress. But she eyed her new master, determined, and carefully held up the bundle of cloth to her stomach.

She refused to look at her father as she followed her master out of the door. There was silence between the two as she followed where his boots landed. And she watched as the stone ground of the streets slowly accumulated drops of water. Her vision grew blurry, but she hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She refused to show any weakness.

When the crunching of the boots halted, she dared to raise her head and was stunned by the size of his home. It was huge…a mansion in her eyes. She eyed the red brick and the glossy windows. How she yearned that she could have lived a life of such comfort…

There was a short and rapt banging in front her and she realized that her master had knocked on the door. She lowered her eyes again and began counting the dots on her bundle. She was almost at fifty when she heard the swish of the door. She could see the scornful face of a girl her age or so.

"What took you so long, Syaoran?" she whined, "I was waiting forever for you to come back…" Sakura felt a strange loathing at the girl's way of trying to squeeze out pity and love. She looked away as her face contorted in disgust.

"I'm sorry Mei Mei…It is hard to find and choose a good maid for us." The girl's brown eyes shrunk under a sudden pout. "Who cares how good they are? If they can work, then that's good enough." She began sniffing. "And I was so worried that you had gone away forever…"

"Come now, Mei Mei, you know I'd never do that. And I did find a good maid…or so I think. You'll never know until they start…" His eyes wandered back to Sakura and quickly bounced back to the girl. "So can I come home?"

"Oh…yes…" The girl jumped back a little and Syaoran walked in. Sakura hesitated, unsure of what to do, and she caught the girl's malicious gaze.  Sakura refused to back down, though, and stared back with equal intensity until the other backed down.

"You'll be in the maid quarters." She told her disdainfully. "A woman named Tomoyo will inform you of your duties and time of work. So I suggest you get up there quickly. You'll need to change out of those rags." With that, she tossed her black hair, and seemed to float after Syaoran.

Sakura still stood there, seething under the humiliation. All right…if I have to live under the same roof as that girl…But I have no choice. Who will take care of father? Where can he possible get the money for food? I have to do this…no matter how it costs me.

She took a step inside the entrance and admired several trinkets that hung from the walls. It was a corridor that branched off into three others. And it was only then that she noticed that no one was there to guide her. Cursing the black-haired girl, she decided to go left and noticed the light from the other end that spilled out from the bottom of the door.

Okay, maybe here is the right way…I guess I'll have to just see…but I can't make such a stupid mistake on only my first day! Sakura gritted her teeth and continued walking. She noticed the smoothness and quality of the other door and had a feeling that it was not the maid's quarters.

She sighed and turned around. Okay, not the right door… She was almost back at the intersection that she heard footsteps to her left. If it's that little whining brat…I'm not going to let her have the chance to see me lost! She flitted into a depression in the wall and waited.

In the darkness, she could see outlined in the light, the figure of a girl…but it was not the girl that her master had called "Mei Mei". She sighed and quickly stepped out. The girl in front of he r gasped and jumped backwards in shock, but she smiled as she saw Sakura.

"I'm sorry that I startled you," Sakura told her apologetically, "but I didn't want anyone to see me…" She didn't know how to say about that black-haired wimp's effect on her…The girl tossed back a strand of grayish hair and laughed. Her eyes were full of merriment. "You were hiding from Meiling," she informed Sakura knowingly.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So that's her name…" The two girls shared a laugh and Sakura held out a hand. "I'm Sakura Kinomoto and I guess I'm the new maid here. Except…I can't find the maids' quarters."

The girl in front of her laughed. "Well, I'm Tomoyo Daidouji and the master sent me here to find you. I guess he knew that Meiling would dump you. The quarters are right behind us, by the way."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I should have known. What about the door in front of us?" Tomoyo peered behind Sakura's shoulder. "Oh, that one? It leads to the master's kitchen and leisure room." Sakura sighed. "Good thing I didn't go inside…"

Tomoyo laughed. "That's always a good thing…but now I need to take you to the quarters. And you'll need to know your rounds and chores…" Sakura followed her and was pleased that when making an enemy, she had found a new friend.

[A/N] Okay, I've just discovered that I love writing these. I'm not going to say: If I get five reviews, I'll post the next chapter. I'll post it when I think it's the right time, but it would be nice to get some reviews…

Umm…if you do review…can you please tell me what you would like to see? This is a S+S fic…and I might include E+T…it won't change the plot much.