Lanturn: I'm so sorry it took so long to update the new
chapter. I've been working on charcoal portraits and mangas
too much for the past few weeks to still type up stories. My
hands need a rest.
Also, I know Yue is Sakura's guardian, but just for the sake of the story having villains, pretend that he's not.
This chapter will not be in Syaoran's POV as usual.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yue's POV
Chapter 14: The Shot
I kneeled in front of the empress.
"Your majesty wanted to see me again. What is it that your majesty want today?"
"Look at me Yue." The queen commanded. "Which couple do you think we should break up first, Daidouji and Hiiragizawa, or Xiaolang and Sakura?"
She is plotting something evil again. Well, I think Daidouji and Master Eriol are in a very deep relationship already, and if we don't break them up right away, their love might be too strong for us to destroy later on. But then there's Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran is Queen Yelan's only heir; he shouldn't be in a relationship with Sakura, even if they are only going to be friends.
"I think breaking up Sakura and the prince should be done first."
"Precisely." The empress agreed. "Tomoyo and Eriol won't last long. They are capable of destroying their love by themselves, because I already know that Tomoyo is not the clow mistress. Eriol knows he is not allowed to marry her under no circumstances."
The queen continued. "However, Sakura, she's the real clow mistress. I've felt her power ever since she arrived to the palace, and was certain she was the one after she got her clow book back. This does not mean I will allow Syaoran to fall in love with her. I do not like Sakura, and I want Syaoran to marry Meiling."
"I understand, your majesty. That way, Syaoran and Meiling won't have to share your power with anyone else that's not part of the Li clan when they marry each other. But if the prince marries Sakura, by law, you would have to give a portion of the land and power to Sakura."
"Exactly."
"But Sakura has magic herself. Is that still not good enough for her to enter the royal family?" I asked
"If she was marrying Eriol, being Clow Mistress would be enough, but this is my son we're talking about. Meiling is the only person that's suited enough for him."
I bowed. "Your majesty, I know what you want me to do. Do not worry, I will break up Sakura and Prince Xiaolang as quickly as I can."
"Good. If I am satisfied with your accomplishments, we will make our alliance of our nations sooner, and I can help you sooner to fight off your enemy countries, and maybe even share a tiny bit of my magic with you."
"Thank you, Queen Yelan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Xiaolang." The queen began. "Since you gave me such a valuable jade statue for my birthday present a few days ago, I have a gift for you."
I stepped forward. The queen continued. "This will be your new slave, Yue." I bowed.
"But I don't need another servant." Protested the prince.
"I don't care. This is my way of saying thank you, so you better accept him." The queen said.
"Fine." The prince left, and I silently followed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Syaoran began introducing. "This girl is Sakura, if you have any questions about work here, feel free to ask her."
"Pleased to meet you." Sakura and I greeted each other politely. She smiled warmly at me.
This is sure weird. The empress said Sakura is an evil girl toying with the prince's heart. Tomoyo mentioned to me that Sakura is a violent person with not much manners. She was sent to jail because she killed a citizen. But the emerald- eyed girl standing in front of me seems like a rather humble harpy. Has everyone been lying to me, or did she really fall in love with prince Syaoran and changed to a more uncold person?
Syaoran grinned. "Okay, I've got a meeting with Meiling about a New Year's party we're planning, see ya later."
Here's my chance to mess with Sakura's mind. "I hear that Princess Meiling is Prince Syaoran's fiancé, is that true?" I brought up the subject innocently.
Unexpectedly, Sakura was indifferent, showing no signs of jealousy. "Yeah. The empress plans seeing grandchildren before her miserable life ends, so.......... yeah, their engaged."
I tried again. "I got to say, the prince and princess look like a pair made in heaven. They are the best match, both being beautiful, confident, and intelligent. Do you think they're great together, Sakura?"
She strugged her shoulders. "Yeah, sure, why not? Look, I'm not really fond of having this conversation with you. I'm just not into that gossip, lovy dovy talk. I honestly don't care who likes who, or who and who is a pair made in heaven. Now if you'll excuse me, I still have a lot of work to do, bye."
I watched as she stomped off. So she 'does' care after all. Stupid girl, acting so tough on the outside. Well, after talking to her, I only discovered one thing, Sakura is in love with the prince.
But that doesn't matter. Syaoran and Meiling will end up together, and she'll be shoved aside. How can a servant girl compare to a princess anyway?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nighttime:
I sneaked out of bed, and went outside Meiling's window. I could see the lamp still on, so I assumed she's not asleep yet.
Quietly, I hid behind the trees.
I used my powers to cause a loud banging noise outside. When princess Meiling didn't hear it, I repeated the noise over and over again.
Finally, Meiling angrily opened the door, and was lured outside. She is clutching in her hand a paintbrush. I used my magic, and made her dropped the paintbrush.
"WHO WAS MAKING THAT NOISE? I KNOW YOU'RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE! YOU MADE ME MESS UP A WORD WHILE I WAS PRACTICING CALLIGRAPHY. I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, SO SHOW YOURSELF!"
"Shut up, the whole world could hear you." I stepped out.
"Who the hell are you?" She stared at me.
"My my, the princess shouldn't swear."
"Hey you, you made me mess up writing my entire essay because of you're banging. Now I'll have to rewrite the whole entire damn thing. The least you can do right now is apologize."
"I don't want to." I picked up the paintbrush that she has dropped. "Apologize to me for yelling so loud, and I'll give you back your brush."
"Do you know who you're talking to?" She glared.
"Sure. You are Princess Meiling, cousin to prince Syaoran, and soon will be his wife. You probably even be queen one day, but then again........ You probably won't.
"What does that mean?"
"Ever heard of a certain person named Sakura? The prince fell for her the day he met her, and now that we all know that she's the clow mistress, you can just forget about marrying the prince."
"The empress won't allow them to wed. She hates Sakura." Meiling said.
"The queen isn't in charge of running her son's life you know. Anyways, I was sent here from Prince Syaoran to deliver a letter."
I handed her the fake letters from Syaoran, explaining that he wants to break up with Meiling.
"Good night princess. Try and get some sleep will you? You really need it."
"Give me back my brush."
"I'll keep it until we meet again. I have a feeling it won't be a long time from now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning:
"Syaoran Li, you are soooooo dead!"
"Meiling? What are you doing here so early?"
"What does it mean you want Sakura now? Huh?"
"What?"
"I once asked if you liked Sakura, and you said no. You even said you'll ask the empress for permission to marry me. But now......."
"I'm sorry Meiling."
"Sorry isn't enough! I'll win you back, just watch me."
Meiling stormed out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What did I tell you? You won't become Syaoran's wife after all." I smirked, leaning against the tree outside Meiling's chamber that night.
She threw her inkbottle out the window aiming for my head. "What are you doing here now? You made fun of me last night already, and rubbed the fact that my fiancé doesn't want me in my face already. Leave me alone."
I grinned. "Didn't you say you wanted to win Syaoran back? How are you going to do that by just practicing calligraphy inside your little room every night? I expected some action from a girl with such a temper such as yours."
Meiling sighed. "I knew something like this would happen from the day Syaoran and I were engaged. We both didn't really believe in love back then, so we agreed to the queen's arrangements. Syaoran and I slowly got closer, and I fell in love with him. Yet, he treats me like a sister or cousin, and don't have any special feelings for me.
When Sakura came into the palace, Syaoran changed. He developed patience, and both him and Sakura stopped being so cold towards everyone. I said I would get Syaoran back, but right now, I don't think I should......."
"But what Syaoran is doing right now is wrong. Even if he doesn't love you, he agreed he would marry you, and a promise is a promise no matter what. Even if you give Syaoran to Sakura right now, he wouldn't be happy with her. Just think about it, they have nothing in common, and the empress hates Sakura. Soon, they would break up anyway."
I have to make Meiling fight for Syaoran.
Meiling stopped writing. "Do you think I 'should' break Sakura and Syaoran up? That's so cruel though."
"Are you saying that what Syaoran did to you wasn't cruel? He played with your feelings."
Meiling looked like she was about to cry. "But I don't want to get in the middle of Sakura and Syaoran's love. The truth is, I don't even have to fight with Sakura. The battles won't even have to start, and I've already lost the war."
I got angry. "What if you win? How can a peasant like Sakura compare with you? You're beautiful, smart, and you are willing to sacrifice your love."
Meiling blushed. "You think so?"
"Of course. Listen to me, I'm telling you the truth."
Meiling hesitated. "I'll think about it then. By the way, what's your name?"
"You can call me Yue."
"Thanks for talking to me Yue. I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday. You're a good friend."
I grinned. Friend? Maybe. I'm a friend to the queen, but definitely not to her. I'll use that girl's love for the prince to get what I want.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lanturn: I'm sorry there weren't no S+S moments in this chapter, but I'll add some E+T next chapter. Stay tuned!
By the way, I named this chapter The Shot, because Meiling's feelings were hurt. Kinda stupid, but naming chapters after clow cards is so difficult.
Review!
Also, I know Yue is Sakura's guardian, but just for the sake of the story having villains, pretend that he's not.
This chapter will not be in Syaoran's POV as usual.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yue's POV
Chapter 14: The Shot
I kneeled in front of the empress.
"Your majesty wanted to see me again. What is it that your majesty want today?"
"Look at me Yue." The queen commanded. "Which couple do you think we should break up first, Daidouji and Hiiragizawa, or Xiaolang and Sakura?"
She is plotting something evil again. Well, I think Daidouji and Master Eriol are in a very deep relationship already, and if we don't break them up right away, their love might be too strong for us to destroy later on. But then there's Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran is Queen Yelan's only heir; he shouldn't be in a relationship with Sakura, even if they are only going to be friends.
"I think breaking up Sakura and the prince should be done first."
"Precisely." The empress agreed. "Tomoyo and Eriol won't last long. They are capable of destroying their love by themselves, because I already know that Tomoyo is not the clow mistress. Eriol knows he is not allowed to marry her under no circumstances."
The queen continued. "However, Sakura, she's the real clow mistress. I've felt her power ever since she arrived to the palace, and was certain she was the one after she got her clow book back. This does not mean I will allow Syaoran to fall in love with her. I do not like Sakura, and I want Syaoran to marry Meiling."
"I understand, your majesty. That way, Syaoran and Meiling won't have to share your power with anyone else that's not part of the Li clan when they marry each other. But if the prince marries Sakura, by law, you would have to give a portion of the land and power to Sakura."
"Exactly."
"But Sakura has magic herself. Is that still not good enough for her to enter the royal family?" I asked
"If she was marrying Eriol, being Clow Mistress would be enough, but this is my son we're talking about. Meiling is the only person that's suited enough for him."
I bowed. "Your majesty, I know what you want me to do. Do not worry, I will break up Sakura and Prince Xiaolang as quickly as I can."
"Good. If I am satisfied with your accomplishments, we will make our alliance of our nations sooner, and I can help you sooner to fight off your enemy countries, and maybe even share a tiny bit of my magic with you."
"Thank you, Queen Yelan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Xiaolang." The queen began. "Since you gave me such a valuable jade statue for my birthday present a few days ago, I have a gift for you."
I stepped forward. The queen continued. "This will be your new slave, Yue." I bowed.
"But I don't need another servant." Protested the prince.
"I don't care. This is my way of saying thank you, so you better accept him." The queen said.
"Fine." The prince left, and I silently followed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Syaoran began introducing. "This girl is Sakura, if you have any questions about work here, feel free to ask her."
"Pleased to meet you." Sakura and I greeted each other politely. She smiled warmly at me.
This is sure weird. The empress said Sakura is an evil girl toying with the prince's heart. Tomoyo mentioned to me that Sakura is a violent person with not much manners. She was sent to jail because she killed a citizen. But the emerald- eyed girl standing in front of me seems like a rather humble harpy. Has everyone been lying to me, or did she really fall in love with prince Syaoran and changed to a more uncold person?
Syaoran grinned. "Okay, I've got a meeting with Meiling about a New Year's party we're planning, see ya later."
Here's my chance to mess with Sakura's mind. "I hear that Princess Meiling is Prince Syaoran's fiancé, is that true?" I brought up the subject innocently.
Unexpectedly, Sakura was indifferent, showing no signs of jealousy. "Yeah. The empress plans seeing grandchildren before her miserable life ends, so.......... yeah, their engaged."
I tried again. "I got to say, the prince and princess look like a pair made in heaven. They are the best match, both being beautiful, confident, and intelligent. Do you think they're great together, Sakura?"
She strugged her shoulders. "Yeah, sure, why not? Look, I'm not really fond of having this conversation with you. I'm just not into that gossip, lovy dovy talk. I honestly don't care who likes who, or who and who is a pair made in heaven. Now if you'll excuse me, I still have a lot of work to do, bye."
I watched as she stomped off. So she 'does' care after all. Stupid girl, acting so tough on the outside. Well, after talking to her, I only discovered one thing, Sakura is in love with the prince.
But that doesn't matter. Syaoran and Meiling will end up together, and she'll be shoved aside. How can a servant girl compare to a princess anyway?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nighttime:
I sneaked out of bed, and went outside Meiling's window. I could see the lamp still on, so I assumed she's not asleep yet.
Quietly, I hid behind the trees.
I used my powers to cause a loud banging noise outside. When princess Meiling didn't hear it, I repeated the noise over and over again.
Finally, Meiling angrily opened the door, and was lured outside. She is clutching in her hand a paintbrush. I used my magic, and made her dropped the paintbrush.
"WHO WAS MAKING THAT NOISE? I KNOW YOU'RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE! YOU MADE ME MESS UP A WORD WHILE I WAS PRACTICING CALLIGRAPHY. I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, SO SHOW YOURSELF!"
"Shut up, the whole world could hear you." I stepped out.
"Who the hell are you?" She stared at me.
"My my, the princess shouldn't swear."
"Hey you, you made me mess up writing my entire essay because of you're banging. Now I'll have to rewrite the whole entire damn thing. The least you can do right now is apologize."
"I don't want to." I picked up the paintbrush that she has dropped. "Apologize to me for yelling so loud, and I'll give you back your brush."
"Do you know who you're talking to?" She glared.
"Sure. You are Princess Meiling, cousin to prince Syaoran, and soon will be his wife. You probably even be queen one day, but then again........ You probably won't.
"What does that mean?"
"Ever heard of a certain person named Sakura? The prince fell for her the day he met her, and now that we all know that she's the clow mistress, you can just forget about marrying the prince."
"The empress won't allow them to wed. She hates Sakura." Meiling said.
"The queen isn't in charge of running her son's life you know. Anyways, I was sent here from Prince Syaoran to deliver a letter."
I handed her the fake letters from Syaoran, explaining that he wants to break up with Meiling.
"Good night princess. Try and get some sleep will you? You really need it."
"Give me back my brush."
"I'll keep it until we meet again. I have a feeling it won't be a long time from now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning:
"Syaoran Li, you are soooooo dead!"
"Meiling? What are you doing here so early?"
"What does it mean you want Sakura now? Huh?"
"What?"
"I once asked if you liked Sakura, and you said no. You even said you'll ask the empress for permission to marry me. But now......."
"I'm sorry Meiling."
"Sorry isn't enough! I'll win you back, just watch me."
Meiling stormed out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What did I tell you? You won't become Syaoran's wife after all." I smirked, leaning against the tree outside Meiling's chamber that night.
She threw her inkbottle out the window aiming for my head. "What are you doing here now? You made fun of me last night already, and rubbed the fact that my fiancé doesn't want me in my face already. Leave me alone."
I grinned. "Didn't you say you wanted to win Syaoran back? How are you going to do that by just practicing calligraphy inside your little room every night? I expected some action from a girl with such a temper such as yours."
Meiling sighed. "I knew something like this would happen from the day Syaoran and I were engaged. We both didn't really believe in love back then, so we agreed to the queen's arrangements. Syaoran and I slowly got closer, and I fell in love with him. Yet, he treats me like a sister or cousin, and don't have any special feelings for me.
When Sakura came into the palace, Syaoran changed. He developed patience, and both him and Sakura stopped being so cold towards everyone. I said I would get Syaoran back, but right now, I don't think I should......."
"But what Syaoran is doing right now is wrong. Even if he doesn't love you, he agreed he would marry you, and a promise is a promise no matter what. Even if you give Syaoran to Sakura right now, he wouldn't be happy with her. Just think about it, they have nothing in common, and the empress hates Sakura. Soon, they would break up anyway."
I have to make Meiling fight for Syaoran.
Meiling stopped writing. "Do you think I 'should' break Sakura and Syaoran up? That's so cruel though."
"Are you saying that what Syaoran did to you wasn't cruel? He played with your feelings."
Meiling looked like she was about to cry. "But I don't want to get in the middle of Sakura and Syaoran's love. The truth is, I don't even have to fight with Sakura. The battles won't even have to start, and I've already lost the war."
I got angry. "What if you win? How can a peasant like Sakura compare with you? You're beautiful, smart, and you are willing to sacrifice your love."
Meiling blushed. "You think so?"
"Of course. Listen to me, I'm telling you the truth."
Meiling hesitated. "I'll think about it then. By the way, what's your name?"
"You can call me Yue."
"Thanks for talking to me Yue. I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday. You're a good friend."
I grinned. Friend? Maybe. I'm a friend to the queen, but definitely not to her. I'll use that girl's love for the prince to get what I want.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lanturn: I'm sorry there weren't no S+S moments in this chapter, but I'll add some E+T next chapter. Stay tuned!
By the way, I named this chapter The Shot, because Meiling's feelings were hurt. Kinda stupid, but naming chapters after clow cards is so difficult.
Review!