Story Title: Portrait of a Cherry Blossom

Author: DarkxDiamonds

Other: Jeezers! We're up to chapter thirteen! Yes, I know, chapter twelve wasn't much of a confession, was it? But don't worry! I have basically everything planned out!

Oh, yes, and a lot of you asked some questions. I'll try to get them all in a nutshell. I based the master/maid story of Girl With a Pearl Earring and the love thing? Pah, purely my love of S+S. AND THE ENDING OF THE STORY…YOU WILL SEE! PLEASE DON'T ASK! EVERYTHING IS WORKED OUT AND YOU WILL SEE! I PROMISE!

Chapter Thirteen

"Syaoran…do you think this dress will do?" Meiling scanned herself in the mirror. "Perhaps…the waistline is too large. I feel so much larger…than I really am." She made a quick glance at her stomach and looked at Syaoran. "Syaoran! Are you listening to anything I've been saying?"

He waved his hand vaguely. "Of course. You think you look fat in the dress you just have." There came an angry blush on Meiling's face. "I did not! You're scrambling my words up! Don't you care about how I'm going to look on our wedding day?" He blinked. "I thought that was your business."

For once, Meiling didn't have anything to retaliate with. She stared at shock at her fiancé as he gazed numbly off at nothing. Her bottom lip began to quiver and her eyes grew a little larger. Without a word, she turned and stormed out.

Syaoran watched her leave, his eyes dull and unfocused. There came a spark of life when a footstep was heard and a certain maid entered the room. "Mistress…she seemed a little unwell when she left. Is…she ill?" Syaoran shook his head. "Not in the way that you think, Sakura. She'll be fine. She's a strong person." He really hoped he was right.

-- Later --

Something was wrong with the atmosphere in the home. Tomoyo immediately felt it as she entered from the day's shopping. It hung like a blanket of gloom…she could even feel the effects it had on Sakura's mind. Her eyes grew wide with the question, but she knew best not to ask.

Sakura, meanwhile, had snuck off to her room. When all was silent, Tomoyo could have sworn that she could hear the scratching of a pencil being waved furiously on the paper. She sighed and wondered when the chaos would end. When at least one of them confessed.

But she didn't have long to wonder. Her eyes began to fade and a calmness engulfed her face. Standing motionless in the hall she slowly began to smile and finally entered her room.

:: The Next Day ::

From the moment she opened her eyes, Sakura could feel something different. There was something…heavy…in the air above her. Sitting up, she knew what it was. Syaoran's marriage…was the day after tomorrow. A cold hand gripped her heart relentlessly and she felt like she couldn't breathe. The air around her wasn't pure enough. And she felt it never would be.

Tomoyo stirred on the other side of the room and Aya turned restlessly. She smiled sadly, wondering what their dreams where. Whether they were as complicated as hers. Whether any of them had felt anything like she did today. She shook her head. Probably not.

She had to get up…her chores weren't going to do themselves for her. At a brief moment as she polished the staircase, she realized what she had succumbed to. A life made for pleasing others, for giving up anything she had dreamed for. A small tear tricked down and disappeared on the wood she had been cleaning.

And it hurt her even more to know that because of the position she had been reduced to…her love and dreams were impossible. No matter how hard she tried…they would always be higher. And she hated it. Hated it with all her heart. Hated how she could never be what she had envisioned. Hated the goal…that would never be just what she desired. Swallowing her bitterness, she continued her work.

::Later::

"Sakura!" Meiling handed her a small note. "As you know…the wedding is very soon. So I'll need you and Tomoyo to go to the church and help set up. Aya will stay here…just to help me with the chores. Now go on!" Sakura gave a feeble smile and exited carefully. Her heart beat restlessly and the same, cautious heat crept over her back again. No! she wanted to shout, you…you can't love him! Not like I do!

But what Tomoyo said was true. If she was to survive anywhere, her true emotions couldn't be seen. They would have to hide…somewhere. A secret cabinet, dusty with age, hidden in the back of her mind. Maybe…it would become forgotten…so that she would never have a need to brush off the dirt and shake out the dust from the contents.

Tomoyo noticed the coldness the moment she saw Sakura gliding down the steps. She looked at her quizzically, but Sakura simply blinked. "Mistress would like us to go to the church and help set up for the wedding. Since I don't know the way…I need your guidance, Tomoyo-chan," she stated, her voice emotionless.

Her friend nodded and went up a step. Pausing, she glanced at Sakura's erect back and her frozen face. It was painful…to see the one you loved taken away right under your own eyes. And to be helpless, unable to do anything. Tomoyo felt a strange need to protect Sakura…but how could she? They were both maids, bound to serve and never to be served.

But as she began wiping the windowsill, a blank sheet of light once again covered her face and as she stood, wiping the same spot for the fortieth time, a smile crept across her gently features and she swayed in time with the wind outside.

[A/N]: Gomen! So it's really, really late! I'm sorry! XD But I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! ~ Lori