This chapter might be changed later, just to warn you, because I like to go back and fix a few things every now and then when I think that something is wrong. But please review!!!!! They're appreciated so much!!!! This chapter is dedicated to them!!!!!

The Amber Eyed Gladiator: Forbidden Games

By: Sakuratenshi89

Chapter Three

Emperor's Palace, Tokyo, Japan, 85 A.D.

The banquet was now over and it was time for the dancing, the best part had just begun. As usual, men were lined up to get one dance with the beautiful princess, all in hopes of courting and possibly in the future, wedding her.

"Princess, dance with me!"

"No, with me! He's just after your money, dance with me!"

"As if you aren't after it either!"

"Ignore them, dance with me!"

Sakura rubbed her head, feeling a migraine coming; this one was a big one. How was she ever going to get out of this situation?

The crowd of men suddenly parted, giving way to the tall fellow who had stood up and given the toast to the Kinomoto family before. He walked toward Sakura, his steps full of confidence, he looked almost cocky.

He bowed deeply before Sakura and when he stood up, he said, "May I have this dance, your highness?"

Sakura gave him a tight smile before turning her head towards her father and Tomoyo, who both nodded, giving their consent; she reluctantly held her hand out for him to take.

They began dancing around the marble floor, they looked just like other couples around them, but they seemed to give off a sort of silvery glow. They seemed to make the perfect couple, her, a princess, him from a very wealthy and old family. He was handsome, she was beautiful, they seemed perfect, well not to her.

"I'm sorry, if I'm rude, but who are you?" asked Sakura, even though she knew perfectly well who he was. She was testing him.

He smiled and apologized, "I'm sorry, I was the rude one wasn't I? I am Paulus Julianus, the second, here at your service."

"Paulus," said Sakura, then she gave him a genuine smile. "That's a nice name."

"Thanks, you can call me Paul. I like it myself, I'm glad my parents gave me a decent name, even though it is my father's," laughed Paul, his deep sea blue eyes twinkling.

Sakura watched him thoughtfully as they continued to dance. He really was a decent man. He was very different than all the others she had ever known and she really liked him, which didn't happen very often. Paul was a handsome young man, only a few years older than her, she thought. He really did have nice blue eyes too, set in a tanned face, framed with honey blond hair. He was like a Roman god in real life. He was everything a girl could ever ask for.

"How old are you princess?" asked Paul, interrupting Sakura's thoughts.

"I'm sixteen, what about you?" asked Sakura.

"I just recently turned nineteen," he said. "Only three years older than you."

'I can count,' thought Sakura, irritated, she put on a smile and said, "Really? Well happy belated birthday."

"Thank you princess."

"I heard you're the heir to the Roman throne."

"I am."

"Do you want to be?"

"I suppose I do, because I believe I can help the people and that I can continue the works that my father has started. But in other ways I don't want to. I can't stand being guarded and enclosed in a palace for the rest of my life and I wish for freedom. But it is my duty to be the next emperor and I cannot just give it up."

"I see."

A silence fell upon the two, for Sakura, it was a great relief, to Paul, it was frustrating, the princess was obviously not very talkative. The dance ended and they left the ballroom and walked outside, feeling the cool night breeze brushing their faces lightly and soothingly.

"Have you heard of the Colosseum, princess?"

"Yes I have, it is a great accomplishment I heard and that it will change Roman history and world history forever."

"It is very grand. Would you ever like to go see one?"

"Not really, I find the actual games rather appalling," said Sakura quietly.

"Really?" asked Paul, curiosity aroused. "You're one of the first people I've heard that from, do explain."

"It is barbaric, people shouldn't think of killing as a sport. It isn't. Watching two people battle for their lives is something that does not exactly appeal to me. It is sickening. I don't know why it was even started; it is barbaric, watching men kill each other. It's not fun."

"True. But it makes the people happy."

"Why not make the people happy using a different method?"

"I don't know," mused Paul. "I guess us Romans have always thought of the gladiator games as fun and highly entertaining and to get in does not cost a lot of money."

"What if you were the person out there?" asked Sakura, she was not about to let this topic drop any time soon, Paul could see. "What if you had family to live for but you got killed? Would you find it so great to be out there and fighting for your life while people cheered you and your opponent on, wanting one to kill the other? Is it as appealing then?"

"I get your point princess," said Paul gently.

Sakura blushed, she really hadn't meant to go on and on about it, it's just that she really did not like watching those disgusting games. "I'm sorry."

"There's really no reason for you to be sorry, I completely understand why you said the things you did and I'm actually beginning to agree with what you said. It makes sense now that I think about it and it is rather disturbing."

"I'm glad somebody agrees with me. Well, if you don't like the games very much, why do you attend them?"

"It's mostly because of my father and my future as the emperor," explained Paul patiently as Sakura sat down on the marble steps and leaned her back against a beautifully carved pillar. "My father and my people like the games so much and it pleases the people and we all wish to see the people happy. It makes the people happy to see that we, the royal family, are there watching with them. So I go with them."

"I see," said Sakura.

"Maybe one day you can come and see a game with me," suggested Paul.

"I'm not sure," hesitated Sakura.

"Come on princess," begged Paul. "Just one game."

"But Rome is very far away and I've never been outside of Japan before."

"Think of it as an adventure."

"A very barbaric adventure," muttered Sakura.

Paul laughed then begged her again, "Please princess? I'll arrange everything and you can even bring a friend."

"Well I suppose Tomoyo would want to come too," said Sakura, her resolve quickly weakening as she saw the cute puppy dog look on Paul's handsome face. "And it would be a rare experience. I'll have to ask Daddy."

"Tomoyo?"

"My cousin, the one who sat next to me during dinner."

"Ah."

"You don't know her?"

"No, I do know who she is, I was just so interested in you, I forgot about her for a second there. I believe that she is the daughter of Sonomi Daidouji, who was a relative of your mother, the late Queen."

Sakura got a misty and faraway look in her eyes. "Yes, her mother is a cousin of my mother. They were the best of friends."

"Tell me about your mother," said Paul quietly as he sat down next to Sakura and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'd like to know more about her, from what I heard, she was a great person, beautiful on the inside and out."

"That was true. She was the best mother a girl could ever have, but of course I didn't know her for very long. She died when I was only three, but the memories I have of her are those I cherish the most in my heart. She was the whole world to me. She understood me."

"I would have liked to meet her."

"You will someday."

"How do you know?" Paul asked, removing his hand from her shoulder and enclosing her small hand with his own large one.

"I'll even bet that she's watching over us right now and smiling down on us."

"I wasn't originally the heir to the throne you know. I had an older brother."

"What happened?"

"I lost my older brother when I was young," said Paul sadly. "He died when I was eight, he was only twelve."

"How'd he die?" asked Sakura, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"He was never very strong to begin with, but he was the best brother I could ever have. He protected me from out parents even though he was so sick. He loved me more than my parents ever will."

"I would like to meet him one day."

"He's watching over us, just like your mom is," smiled Paul.

"Mmm."

Paul placed his head on top of Sakura's.

"Do your parent's not love you?"

Paul stiffened. "It's not quite like that, well not exactly anyway."

"You can talk to me about it."

"Are you sure?" Paul asked, hesitating. "I really wouldn't like to burden you with my family problems."

"No, it's fine."

"All right," Paul relented. "Well my parents are the type who don't show much love. Being the emperor and the empress they have a duty to protect the country and protect the people. All they care about is popularity with the people, fame, how they're going to make history, and money and how they're going to get more of it. I was raised by my nurse, who to me is like my mother, she retired when I was old enough to look after myself, but still looks after me whenever I'm sick."

"I'm sorry," said Sakura softly.

"It's not your fault."

"I know."

"My older brother always took care of me, he always took the blame whenever I did something wrong. He died and my parents never knew that he was always the innocent one; I was the one who did everything they didn't like. He never did anything wrong, yet he was called the 'family disgrace' and I was the 'family angel'. It was more like the other way around. I'll never forgive myself for letting my brother die with all of my blame," declared Paul his blue eyes shone bright with unshed tears.

"I think your brother knew that he was going away soon," said Sakura wisely. "He didn't want to see his little brother suffer like he did so he took all the blame, so you would be innocent. If he saw you like this, pitying yourself and blaming yourself right now, he would be angry. All that he had done for you would have gone to waste. Move on Paul, your brother did it for you. You should accept it and move on."

"But I have moved on," argued Paul. "It's been eleven years already."

"No you haven't," said Sakura. "If you have then you wouldn't remember all those terrible memories, you would only remember the good times. That is moving on."

"I'm trying," said Paul huskily.

"Tell me more about yourself," said Sakura. "I'd really like to know you better."

"So would I," said Paul, lifting his head off of Sakura's, making her look up at him.

"You probably know most about me already. I'll tell you about myself some other day, but right now, I want to know about you."

"Well, I was raised to be the best I could be. My parents raised me up so that I would marry a girl of high class, preferably someone richer than we were, so we could become even richer. Even though we are the richest family in Italy, I'm not bragging, because we are the royal family. They wanted me to be the perfect prince. I learned everything that was possible, music, fine arts, books, poetry, everything. I could probably do everything you know how to do."

"Really?" asked Sakura, interested.

"Yes."

"That's very intriguing," said Sakura. "I've never met a man in my life who would ever admit they could do everything a woman could do. You're the first."

"You're the first I've ever told this to, not many people know this," admitted Paul. "I don't really like announcing this to people I've just met. But with you, I feel like I've known you for a long time."

"Maybe you have," said Sakura, amused. "I know how you feel, you do seem rather familiar, but I would know if we've met before."

"So would I, but it doesn't matter," shrugged Paul. "What's past is past."

"But sometimes the past is important," said Sakura.

"My, you're just full of wise remarks today aren't you princess?" teased Paul.

Sakura pushed him playfully on the shoulder, "Be quiet. I can't help it when I say things like that, it just, well…comes out naturally."

"Ah, so tell me, wise one, why is the past important?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You've taken history right?"

Paul nodded. "Of course, it was part of my curriculum."

"Well history is important right? And it is in the past, so the past can be important. For example, the day you finished building the Colosseum. That's a very important day in the past isn't it?"

"True," muttered Paul. "Why didn't I see it like that?"

"Because," said Sakura smugly, "I'm smarter than you. Admit it!"

"Never!" said Paul, looking scandalized. "The day I admit a woman is smarter than me is the day I die!"

"Then," Sakura said in a low voice, "get ready to die!!!"

The two young people began chasing each other around the palace, getting strange looks from other guests and servants. But they didn't care; they were having the time of their lives.

Li Palace, China, 85 A.D.

"My son, take care of yourself," whispered a beautiful Chinese woman as she glanced out the window of her room. She sat in her chair rigidly; her still raven black hair was pulled back. Her amber eyes held much wisdom and concern for her lost son.

The Chinese royal family had just surrendered a few days ago to the Japanese army. They were now under the control of the Kinomotos. That wasn't very important though, the most important thing was one of the worst things that could ever happen to the Li family. One of their family members was missing. Li Xiao Lang. The heir to the Chinese throne, the future leader of the Li Clan, but most importantly, beloved brother, and though unbeknownst to him, beloved son.

"Ma-ma."

Yelan Li turned around. "Yes Feimei?"

"Is little brother ever coming back home?" asked the girl, Feimei, she had been the closest to Syaoran, being the closest to him in age, only older than him by two years. She was his best friend, and his favorite sister.

"I don't know," murmured Yelan sadly. "I don't know."

"Ma-ma?" Feimei asked in a small voice.

"Hmm?" Yelan lifted her head slightly from her embroidery in her lap to indicate to Feimei that she was indeed listening.

"I hope he will come home soon."

"So do I Feimei, so do I."

"Is there anything we could do to help him hurry home?"

"We can't interfere with what Destiny has in store for our Xiao Lang," said Yelan in a low voice. "But we can guide him when he is in need, or when he is down. We can't abandon him, we need to stay by him the whole time."

"I understand Ma-ma," said Feimei wisely.

"Ma-ma," said Fanren, the oldest at twenty-nine came walking into Yelan's chambers, "There is a messenger here to see you."

Yelan stood up and sighed. She placed her unfinished piece of embroidery on her chair and left the room.

'Although Ma-ma doesn't normally show it, she really cares for little brother,' thought Feimei. 'Perhaps she finally realizes the way she treated him when he was growing up. But what if it is too late now? What if little brother never knows that Ma-ma cares for him? Will he die knowing that Ma-ma never loved him; he was just recognized because he was the only son and the heir to the throne and the clan? No, I can't think that way, little brother is not dead, he is alive and we all know it perfectly well. Syaoran can't die after everything he's gone through, it would be too easy. He is strong, he will survive through all this.'

"What were you just talking about?" asked Fanren.

"Xiao Lang," said Feimei quietly. "I miss him."

"I know, so do I," Fanren sighed. She remembered all those times when Xiao Lang would come running into her room when he was young because he had had a nightmare or had been hurt badly. She was practically his mother, more so than Yelan. Yelan was always busy and so she never had time to pay attention to her children. So Xiao Lang had sought for some motherly love from his eldest sister.

"He was like your son, wasn't he?"

"Yes," said Fanren. "In many ways, he was."

"I wish that Ma-ma could have seen how much Xiao Lang needed a mother. She was always so busy taking care of the kingdom after father died a few years after he was born."

"I think Xiao Lang holds some resentment towards Ma-ma for the way he was treated and ignored by her," said Fanren quietly. "He once asked me why he was born into this family. Did you ever see the way he would look at Ma-ma so coldly whenever she addressed him? He had become a completely different person. He hated her for the way she would never help him and dress his wounds when he had come back from a horrible session with the Elders. She was never there when he broke his arm, when he had his first nightmare, she was just never there."

"I know Fanren," said Feimei. "But we always had each other. You, me, Fuutie, Shiefa, and Xiao Lang. It was always the five of us." She spoke of the other two sisters that made up the royal family.

Fuutie had married and disappeared soon after her marriage. It made sense, for she had married against the will of Yelan and the Li Elders. The man was not respectable, they had argued, he was not from a good family, he was poor and had little to offer. But Fuutie had been stubborn, she loved him and he offered her love, which was all she would ever need in her life. Yelan then threatened to disown her second eldest daughter, but before she could, Fuutie had eloped and run away.

Shiefa was traveling the world; she was the adventurous one that could never stay in one place for very long. She had left them at the young age of twenty, four years ago. She had not come home, except for once. That was the last time that the Li siblings had all been together, all five of them. Her visit home was brief, only staying for a few days before leaving once again. That had been two years ago. They still received some messages from her every now and then whenever she was able to find someone to bring the message. From those messages, they understood that Shiefa was having the time of her life and there were very few words to describe what she felt.

Feimei and Fanren were now the only ones left at home.

"That was what got us through," smiled Fanren. "That was what got Xiao Lang through. Though we are now down to three, we will continue to pray for our sister and brother. We are still family and family stays together no matter what."

Feimei smiled weakly. "I made a promise to myself that I would stay here to wait for little brother's home coming. I will wait for him forever if needed."

"And I will wait with you," said Fanren lowly. "For he is also my beloved brother."

'Oh little brother, come back to us soon!'

A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers from my first two chapters, even though there weren't many!!!! Thanks to Avelyn Lauren, AnonymousT, Kawaii Bunnii, Rumpleteasza, AnimeObsessionFantasy, Time Warp, Ice Jayden, SibylSofiana, and dreamschemer.