Author's Note: For those who were asking, yes, I did get this idea from Ella Enchanted. I LOVE that book! And it's a movie now! A movie I haven't seen, yet, but still! Okay, individual replies since I'm sugar-high right now:
Afza-Chan: Get up off your knees; your begging has paid off! Lol. I'm eating a pixie stick so don't mind if I just start rambling. I have a tendency to do that. And I drew this really adorable picture yesterday of this girl with her hair blowing in the wind. At least, I thought it was adorable. I didn't show anybody else. And I just woke up like half-an-hour ago. That's me. Mrs. Sleep-Till-Two-In-The-Afternoon. Heh. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
ScarleT RoSe5: I'm glad you like it. This story's kinda been spinning around in my head for a bit ever since the Ella Enchanted movie came out and before I saw the movie I thought 'Hey, you've got to read the book again first' so I did. It was so hard deciding whether to make this a Sailor Moon fic about Serena and Darien, a Rurouni Kenshin fic about Kaoru and Kenshin, or more specifically Kenshin-Battousai since rurouni Kenshin would NEVER take advantage of 'Kaoru-dono', a Yu Yu Hakusho fic about Hiei and Botan, or a Card Captor Sakura fic. THEN I couldn't decide whether to make it Sakura and Syaoran or Tomoyo and Eriol. I think I picked the best choice, don't you? And Tomoyo/Eriol is still in this fic anyway!
AnonymousT: Déjà vu is so fun. I got déjà vu this one time when I was like… Wait, now I can't remember! --;;;;; Oh well. I have selective memory anyway. Thank you for reading my story and for adding me to your Author Alert. I do feel so honored! bows Lol. Can't make any loud noises, huh? Late night review? I know how you feel, pal. I'm up late at night constantly. On the weekends that is. Thanks for reading and I hope you like the chapter!
Cimsonskies: I'm going to make it BIG? Really? Oh I would really love that! I love to write. It's like my dream to write a best seller someday and have everybody read it. Then I would go back to my current's school's ten year reunion and be like 'IN YOUR FACE, MICKEL, JAMES, ADAM, JOHN, FRANK, etc! I MADE IT BIG! sticks tongue out at all of them in an immature fashion then goes and steals all the food on the snack bar table'. Lol. Yeah, exactly like that. Thank you for reading.
Sweetest-Angel: Thank you for reading. I'm glad you like the story. I didn't expect to get so many reviews for just one chapter. I was like 'whoa' when I signed on and say like 'You've Got 13 new messages' and it didn't just stop at thirteen! Thanks for being one of them and I hope you like the chapter. I personally do, although it may be a little OOC of Sakura to kick someone in the balls .
Fleur137: Thank you! And it'll get even funnier when Syaoran finds out that she's controlled. sings Chain reactions, chain reactions. Do do do do do. Hope you like the chapter and hope you review again! But, then again, what story writer doesn't hope for reviews? sings AGAIN All I want for Christmas is reviews! Oooooh, baby! ignores the howling cats
AnimeObsessionFantasy: I'm glad you thought so. Syaoran-chan just thought it necessary that the reader understand that his mother had secret meanings to everything she said. Lol. He didn't want you all to be lulled into a false sense of security! Right, Syao-chan? Eriol: He's not here. Me: Where is he then? Eriol: smile With his mother. Me: O.O He's a goner…
Sailorgirl686: Yeah, I know. It's like one of my favorite books. That's where I got this idea from. Thought it'd be really funny and stuff. I never thought I'd get this many reviews for it though. Well, I'm glad you liked it enough to review and I hope you like this chapter, too. I have absolutely no plan for this story, just a general idea. I've found that I write better that way.
Liljane69: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I am SO sorry! I can't believe that I did that! ;; and would you believe that Eriol HIRAGIZAWA is my FAVORITE character in ALL of CCS world? And I spelled his name wrong? ;: I'm SORRY Eriol-kun! Eriol: It's okay. Really. Just don't do it again. Me: I won't. Thank you for correcting me! I'll fix it in the first chapter when I get the chance.
Maru: I hope this will be interesting and yeah, Ella Enchanted was my main inspiration for this fic. Well, that and this Inuyasha fic called Entrapment which is based on the same EE idea. I hope you like the chapter and thanks for reviewing for the fic. It makes me so smiley and happy to see reviews when I open my AOL inbox. It makes me day. goes all starry eyed. Hint hint. Nudge nudge
Yume Rinku: Haha! I will and I am. Right here. Your review made me laugh. You know what would be really cool? If you typed all those 'SHOW!'s at the speed of light by accident and then when you finished, you discovered that you'd typed 567, 588, 903,257, 684, 324, 896 'SHOW!'s by accident? I would find that hilarious! Or is that just me?
JsPaulina: Blah blah blah Thank you for your review blah blah blah. Lol. My sister just like kicked my grandmother out of the chair she was sitting in. Don't get any wrong ideas. My sister's one and she's going to be two next month, but still. She's a little brat who ALWAYS has to get her way. AH! I'm rambling. Hope you like the chapter. I'll shut up now.
Psychicbunny452: Are you serious? I can tell you, once upon a long time ago, I would try to do that and it would suck so horribly. So I went on a mini-break type thing from writing because, in my opinion, the best kind of story is a funny romance so I wanted to write one, but I couldn't get the funny part down. I'm glad I'm getting it this time around! Lol. Thanks for your review.
Tracy-kin: Lol. I got your hints. Thanks for that 'mature' comment. I can't tell you how many times I've been called immature. Since like the fifth grade, a zillion! IN YOUR FACE YOU PEOPLES WHO CALLED ME IMMATURE! sticks her tongue out at them Lol. Okay, maybe I am just a little bit immature. But, hey, I love being the way that I am. Lol.
Wake-Robin: Thank you. This is my update-y thing. And only what two to three days after my last update. Heh. That's a record for me. Poor I Wish is on hiatus though. The readers of that story must be so disappointed in me. And then I'm still working on other fics because I used to have like four up before FF.Net took them down. I have this Soujiro-Misao AU fic coming up and then an Inuyasha-Kagome, Miroku-Sango AU fic. I love to multi-task, I guess.
SS43v3r: Me is glad you like-y my ficcy. Lol. Thanks for reviewing. I hope you check out any of my other fics too although it's safe to guess from your penname that you mostly like Sakura/Syaoran. Heh, and to think this fic was almost centered on Tomoyo and Eriol instead. Lol. Hope you like the chapter and that you review again!
SaKuRaKiNoMoTo: Hey there, was that a hidden advertisement for you fic in that review I spotted, hmmm? Lol. Not that I mind or anything. Here, I'll advertise for you: EVERYBODY GO AND READKAWII-CHERRYBLOSSOM-SAKU'S FIC FINDING MY WAY. Lol. See, I make a good advertiser! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like the chapter. I sure liked writing it.
Kura-chan: Your penname reminds me of Bakura all of a sudden. Lol. Thank you. I am so honored to receive a review from the wonderful, fabulous, talented, perfect you. I bow down to you WFTP-ness. I'm glad you like my story and I hope you review again. I live for reader feedback. Well, that and sugar.
SyaoranzCherryBlossom: The wait is over. The next chapter is here! And they have met! And they… Don't like each other. But that's to be expected, ne? Lol. Now all you have to do is wait for Syao-chan to discover Sakura-chan's secret. Oh, and you'll have to wait for Eriol and Tomoyo to start sticking their matchmaking noses into it. Can't have a story with Tomoyo's matchmaking and her 'Ho ho ho's, now can we? Lol.
Suzu: They have met! trumpets and drums sound as confetti rains down upon the people of the world The prince and princess have met! It was hate at first sight! the confetti, drums, and trumpets stop as the crowd goes 'Huh' What? Did you expect them to fall in love right away? What kind of story is that? Psssh. Lol.
FanficPixie: If you like this plot then you should definitely go read Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. That IS where I got the idea from, after all. It's a really good book. I've read it before, but then the movie came out so I read it again and lo and behold, I got a fanfic out of it. Go me! Woooo! Glad you liked the chapter, hope you like this one, and thanks for reviewing. Hey, just because I'm in a rambling mood, doesn't mean I can't give out the customary reader-reply. Lol.
Kawaii Bunnii: Oh yeah. Syaoran just wants you to know that there is nothing safe and innocent about his mother. He's in there right now with the lion as a matter of fact. Well, not in this chapter seeing as he's busy being put in pain by Sakura, but, hey, so's life. Heh. You'll see what I mean when you read on. mysterious horror movie music
Heykyra13: Wah! My first reviewer! Thank you thank you thank you thank you! I'm glad you liked it. I hate being conventional, can you tell? I hope you like this chapter too and I hope I maintained that 'speaking to the reader' thing. You know, I hadn't even noticed that I did that until you pointed it out. Lol. Oh well. I'm not known for noticing things. Eh.
Thanks to everybody who reviewed and for those who haven't… What are you waiting for? The Age of the Dawn of the Apple Rulers? You'll be waiting a long time, people. Me and the Apple Rulers aren't strong enough to take over the world yet.
Sakura
My great-grandmother wasn't exactly a genius. I mean, it was her who got this stupid curse invoked on our family in the first place. And, if that wasn't unfair enough, it's only on the female side. Why couldn't I have been born a boy? In any case, if my great-grandmother hadn't decided that she wanted to marry the lover of one of the most vindictive witches in the country, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess.
But she did and we are.
The instant great-grandmother married great-grandfather, the witch appeared at the ceremony and cursed her with the most terrible, horrible, evil, vile, cruel... You get the point. Even years after hearing my late mother tell the story, I can still remember the spell that did this.
"You think it's fun
You little bitch
To steal the lover
Of a with
I'll show you fun
And so I say
Every command you hear
You must obey."
So, basically, if anybody says a command, like "Go to sleep" or "Pick up the dishes", I have to do it. If I don't I get this unbearable headache that will make me pass out if it gets bad enough, and even if I do pass out (I've tested this. Having this curse on me has made me quite rebellious) I'll still feel the pain. I've been more or less safe so far as the only people who know about my curse are Father, my elder brother Touya, and my best friend and personal servant, Tomoyo.
And I probably would have continued on being safe... If I hadn't met him.
"Sakura-chan!" I looked up from where I was picking cherry blossoms in the fields (Mother would always find this funny. "My little Cherry Blossom is picking cherry blossoms[1]!"). They were my favorite flowers, no matter how vain or conceited that makes me sound. Tomoyo loved them, too, actually. Tomoyo seemed to love anything having to do with me. Me, included.
"Yes, Tomoyo?" I asked, facing her. She had an excited look on her face and her eyes were gleaming mischievously. "Okay, what's happened? What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything, Sakura-chan." She said sweetly. "However, there's something you must do now."
"Which is...?"
"Come greet our guests!" What guests? Not that I could have refused the offer anyway considering that 'Come greet our guests' was a command so when she tugged my arm and started dragging me out of the field, I could do nothing to resist. I wasn't left clueless for long. Tomoyo-chan filled me in as we walked. "It's the most wonderful thing. They just pulled up in a carriage in the courtyard. There was a chestnut haired prince with this really serious look on his face and a girl with black hair and red eyes who looked really annoyed and she was yelling at this really cute navy haired guy with grayish eyes and glasses!" Dreamy sigh from Tomoyo. "He really is cute, Sakura-chan. From what I could hear from the other servants and especially from the way your brother was shouting at Fujitaka-san, you're getting married."
I froze. "What?"
"That's why they're here. Prince Syaoran is here to spend the next six months in your company and then the two of you are getting married." I blinked. She wasn't serious. I waited for her to say something like "I got you, Sakura-chan!" and start laughing, but she didn't. Then I started panicking.
"I can't get married! I'm too young to get married! I won't! I refuse! I won't marry except for love and I refuse to fall in love! I'll become a spinster and... And spin Sters! I don't even know what a ster is, but I'll spin one if it means I don't have to get married!"
"Oh calm down Sakura-chan." I calmed down. Stupid curse. "It'll be fine. Let's go meet them!"
I'm doomed.
"There you are, monster. Don't you know you have company?" I turned to see Touya standing in the hallway along with Yukito, a boy from the village who Touya had taken a liking to and invited to live in the castle. They were best friends. Yukito-san smiled at me I felt my cheeks heat up immediately. Okay, maybe I had more-than-friendly feelings for Yukito-san. Another reason not to get married! What if he suddenly decided to come to my chambers and say something like:
"Sakura-chan, I've been so blind all these years! How could I not have noticed what a beautiful and free-spirited woman you've become? Please, forgive me and make me the happiest man alive by becoming my wife!"
…. Hey, I can dream, can't I?
"We were on our way to see them right now, Touya." Tomoyo said cheerfully. "We've got to hurry up, Sakura."
"Never mind. They're right here." Father stepped up from behind Touya and Yukito, producing the three people Tomoyo-chan had told me about. I eyed them all warily. The black-haired girl was giving me a piercing death glare, the navy-haired boy looked amused and winked at Tomoyo, making her blush, and as for the brown-haired one... Well, I couldn't tell anything from his gaze. It was so cold. I already didn't like him. "Sakura, this is Meiling Li." The girl nodded her head in my direction. "Eriol Hiiragazawa." The navy-haired boy winked at me this time. "And Prince Syaoran Li, your fiancée."
What, was I supposed to be pleased to meet him? Either way, I put a wide smile on my face and walked up to Prince Li. I was going to be stuck with him for six months. I might as well try to be civil. "It's a pleasure to have you here, Syaoran-san. I'm Sakura."
He gave me a glare. "You're way too happy about this. Are they paying you or something?"
"Iie [2], but..." Well, excuse me for trying to be nice. I dropped my smile and glared right back at the prince. Father noticed the obvious tension between us and laughed nervously.
"We'll just leave you two to get acquainted." He started to usher everyone down the hallway. The girl, called Meiling, was screeching something about not leaving that 'green-eyed bimbo' alone with her 'Syaoran-chan' because I might try and 'put moves on him'. Oh please. The only moves I wanted to put on 'Syaoran-chan' was a push out the door and into the lake.
Note to self: Give Prince Syaoran a tour of the lake.
"You seem very rude." I said slowly, still determined to be cheerful and polite despite that fact. His glare didn't soften one bit.
"I usually am when I'm forced to be in the company of people I hate."
"You don't even know me. How can you hate me already?"
"It's quite simple actually. What, are you a fan of the 'there's good in everyone' philosophy?" He said it in a mocking tone, so I didn't tell him that I actually was. I couldn't see the good in him, however, so maybe there WASN'T good in EVERYONE.
"And what philosophy do you bow to, Syaoran-san? Tactless For Dummies?" We glared at each other again. Okay, so this first meeting was not going well. It didn't really matter to me, since I didn't want to marry that baka [3] in the first place, but getting stuck with him for the rest of my life wasn't very appealing.
"It's no wonder our parents had to arrange this marriage. I can't believe that you are capable of getting a husband on your own." My glare intensified, quite a feat since I wasn't exactly a glaring-type of person. In fact, in Tomoyo's own words "There's no point in you trying to glare at someone, Sakura-chan. Your eyes are just so big and green and innocent and your face is just so kawaii that you just end up looking adorable instead of threatening!" And that was supposed to be a compliment given while I was busy glaring at her for eating the last rice ball.
"Jerk."
"Shut up." I glared at him again, opening my mouth to tell him off when I felt a headache coming on and immediately re-closed it. Shut up was a direct command. I was stuck. So I gave him my most effective glare to make up for it. "Cat got your tongue, Princess?"
I glared even more, unable to tell him what a jerk he was being. He raised an eyebrow. "That was easier than I thought. Whatever. I'm going to go find Meiling. Have a nice day, princess."
A nice day for me would consist of getting to kick him where the sun doesn't shine. And he just directly told me to have a nice day...
"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"
I coughed, hiding a laugh, and looked down at the prince currently curled up in a ball on the floor, moaning in agony. I'm sorry, did I hurt you? I'd ask you if you were alright if you hadn't told me to shut up. I grinned as I turned away from the pained prince and walked gracefully down the hallway in search of Tomoyo.
Maybe this arrangement wouldn't be so bad after all.
End Notes:
[1] For those of you who don't know, Sakura means "Cherry Blossom".
[2] Iie: No
[3] Baka: idiot.