Author's Note: HI! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. Reviews mean a lot to me. Okay, lame words, but what the heck. I suppose you guys are all really anxious to feast your eyes on chapter 3, so skip this and READ! {And review! XD}
By the way, I forgot to mention this in the second chapter, but Syaoran's blindfold comes off before Sakura's veil.
Disclaimer: Skip this too. I don't own Card Captor Sakura.
I Choose Sakura
By: Wings of Jade
Chapter 3: Unexpected
Meilin hoped fervently that Syaoran would be able to tell between her and the fifteen other contestants. After she had been ordered to remove the ring, Meilin thought that the chances of Syaoran picking her would be damn low.
Syaoran, pick me, pick me, Meilin thought. She felt his hand close over hers. Frantic, Meilin grasped his hand, thinking that Syaoran would get the message. She was Meilin.
Syaoran simply moved on, not giving any sign that he had seen her. Meilin's hopes dropped a couple of feet, but maybe Syaoran wasn't allowed to dawdle around just one girl. Meilin waited for him to finish, and then heard Seiichi, the king's advisor, tell Syaoran that it was time to choose his wife.
Prince Syaoran had to start from the end. As he approached her, Meilin resisted the urge to shout, 'Syaoran! I'm here! I'm here!' and was forced to wait. I'm right here…grab my hand, Syaoran…thought Meilin.
Syaoran brushed right past her.
Meilin glanced at him under her veil. He stumbled, and blindly snatched a random hand. The girl was pulled forwards. He had chosen someone—but not her.
I am doomed, thought Meilin sadly. This isn't going to do us any good at all. Seiichi instructed the mystery girl to remove her veil. Meilin found a new point of view.
Well, at least it's not going to be Sakura, she thought. Sakura has a one out of sixteen chances of being chosen, and that just can't be her, so I…She never got to finish the thought, because she caught sight of the girl under the veil. The thought died away.
Kinomoto Sakura.
~*~
Something hit Syaoran, hard, when Seiichi announced, "Kinomoto Sakura". He had been quite sure that it was Meilin. He knew that the chances of picking Meilin were narrow, but somehow, he always pictured himself pledging love to Meilin, not some other bimbo. Syaoran hardly looked at 'Kinomoto Sakura' while Seiichi ploughed on with some dumb speech.
Finally, Seiichi told Syaoran, "Your wife-to-be will be resting somewhere else, and the wedding will be on your sixteenth birthday. You and Kinomoto Sakura will—er—meet once a day, in the evening. I'm sure you'll find Sakura to be a very suitable wife."
"I hardly deny the fact," Prince Syaoran retorted coldly. Seiichi chose to ignore him.
"Kyoko," called Seiichi to a lady, "Please escort Sakura to her room. I will be with her shortly after." Syaoran stole a look at Sakura. She kept her head down, and her cheeks were rosy. Her auburn hair curtained her round face, and her eyes, when she looked up, were a brilliant jade hue. Okay, thought Syaoran. At least she isn't ugly. Syaoran hated himself for thinking that. Oh great, now you've turned shallow-minded now, eh? You are such a jerk, Syaoran, really.
Sakura walked past Syaoran. Her eyes met with Syaoran's for a second—just for a mere second—but Syaoran could have sworn tears were gathering in them.
~*~
Sakura felt her eyes water. Prince Syaoran wasn't even interested in knowing her name. Why did she agree to get herself into a mess? Why did she have to make the choice of actually attending the choosing? Now she was betrothed to someone who would probably never notice. She glanced his way for a second, and quickly averted her eyes, because she knew that if she stared any longer, the tears would run down freely.
~*~
"Lady Sakura," Seiichi said politely, bowing and taking a seat beside her. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Takeda Seiichi. I am the king's chief advisor." Seiichi thrust out his chest slightly when he said 'chief'. Sakura noticed this and some of her anxiety ebbed away. So he was one of the snobby and self-flattering types. No problem. Sakura knew that all she had to do was look at him and nod every once in a while so that he thought she was listening. Probably some more waffle, Sakura noted.
"Now, Lady Sakura, I understand if this has come as a shock for you. It's not a very…good way to choose a wife, in my opinion, but it is the family tradition, and if I ever uttered so much as a word of my disapproval, my head would immediately be detached from my neck.
"I'm sure that you will come to accept Prince Syaoran. Her Majesty the Queen came to love King Li at once, so I have no doubt that you will have the same reaction.
"You will meet with Prince Syaoran once a day. In the mean time, we will have fittings for your wedding dress. It will take two weeks, I assure you, because this is an important event and the dress must be absolutely perfect. Then…" Seiichi talked non-stop about what Sakura would also do. Sakura found herself nodding, but not to show that she was 'listening'…
"…And that's all you need to know," Seiichi finished finally. Sakura gave one last nod sleepily. "I shall go now," Seiichi told her. "Rest well, Lady—er…Princess Sakura." Seiichi smiled at her and left. Sakura yawned.
"I doubt I'll ever rest well," Sakura muttered.
~*~
Tomoyo waited anxiously outside the palace gates. The guards had absolutely refused to let her in, so she was forced to bide her time, sometimes trying to sneak a peek into the windows.
Finally, Tomoyo heard a man shout something about Syaoran's new bride, and Tomoyo hoped fervently that his words were 'Kinomoto Sakura'. Please, please, please, she begged. Please let it be Sakura.
Suddenly, about fifteen girls filed out noisily, grumbling and tearing off their veils. Tomoyo wove in and out of the ladies, trying to spot Sakura—if she was there.
There was no need for that, however. Meilin was heading straight for her, cheeks flushed a dark scarlet, her eyes overly bright. On her face hung a furious glare. Her crimson veil matched her cheeks, which was wrinkled between her fingers. Her hands were in fists. She stomped up to Tomoyo, threw her a ferocious glare, narrowed her eyes, and told her angrily—
"Sakura is Prince Syaoran's bride. They're going to get married in two weeks. Happy? You win the bet, I lose." Tomoyo wanted to clap her hands delightedly in victory, but the look in Meilin's eyes stopped her. Her eyes had jealousy and rage, but they were also tinted with sadness.
~*~
The more he thought about it, the more he regretted it. He shouldn't have said everything so coldly as if Sakura wasn't even there. It probably gouged a wound into her heart. Maybe eternally.
Prince Syaoran fingered his robe. It doesn't matter to you, he told himself firmly. You marry her, you forget about this, and we'll all live happily…never after. Syaoran rose quickly from his seat. The thought was too much to bear. He had to get it off his chest.
He was going to go see Sakura.
~*~
Sakura gazed at herself in the mirror. Her silky auburn hair was slightly tousled now, and her eyes seemed to have lost their usual brightness. She shouldn't have done this in the first place. She was helping Tomoyo, but hurting herself.
A gentle knock sounded on the wooden door. "Er—Princess Sakura?" greeted an uncertain voice. "Is it—Is it okay if I come in?" Sakura brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She swore that the voice belonged to Prince Syaoran.
"Um—yes, Your Highness," she replied tentatively. "You—uh…don't need to hesitate at all. You can come in whenever you want." Sakura wished she hadn't said the last sentence. It sounded quite…wrong.
"Okay." She heard Prince Syaoran jiggle the doorknob. "Sorry—um…Princess Sakura, but the—the thing…it's locked, you know…can't come in." Sakura wished the air of uneasiness would disappear. She didn't want it. She sighed. Now she had to go and open the door to meet her so-called 'future husband'. She regretted moving at all—after crying and then staring at herself for hours, she hardly felt like doing anything else.
With a great effort, Sakura rose from her chair, walked across the room, and opened the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sorry! I just had to leave you guys at a cliffhanger! XD Well…okay, maybe I didn't have to, but you get the message—I felt like it. I guess this chapter isn't exactly long, and I'm not updating for long periods of time, but trust me, my time is limited, and I am constantly busy, so updating will be a little problem. Enough of the A/N now. It is your turn to:
RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEVVVIIIIIIIEEEEEEEW…or I will discontinue the story, put EVEN MORE cliffhangers, and make the plot stupid. I don't think you want that, do you? XD