Chapter Six: Tomoyo
Sakura awoke in one of the most elegant rooms she had ever seen. When she had arrived the night before it had been nearly midnight and she was practically asleep. She was greeted by a handful of unfamiliar faces and taken to a room to rest. This is where she now was, but with light illuminating everything around her so she could take it all in.
Later she would realise that her room was one of higher quality than the one's occupied by servants of the household, but couldn't even compare to most of the other rooms in the house. However, having lived in the teahouse most her life, Sakura was finding it hard to take in the fact that this was where she was now to live.
Everything was white in colour, making the whole place look immaculate and untainted, a feeling enhanced by the feeling of silk sheets against her skin. The room was exceptionally large compared to what she was used to, and she had her own en-suite bathroom, which looked just as untouched as everything else.
Stepping out of bed, Sakura's small toes softly crept around the room, trying not to touch anything in fear of tarnishing the purity that radiated from every object around her. The large queen size bed was the centre piece of the whole room which also managed to accommodate a large wardrobe built into the wall, her own large dressing table, equipped with mirror, and smaller tables next to the bed.
The bathroom was just smaller than the bedroom and held a large bath along with toilet and sink, all following the theme of the bedroom. Sakura took her time to inspect all the bottles and lotions that decorated the shelves around the room.
After taking full advantage of examining everything in sight, Sakura opened the wardrobe to find it full of elegant clothes, kimonos and dresses that had been beautifully embroidered with detailed designs. The one that caught her eye straight away was pure white silk and she held it in front of herself as she studied the mirror, admiring the way that she now felt like part of the room.
This dress was not embroidered with anything, but had two small delicate straps that hung over each shoulder. It seemed plain and simple as she put it on and looked at it following the curves of her body, which was well developed for her age, and just touched the floor by her feet. Twirling in front of the full-length mirror on the wardrobe, Sakura admired her reflection. Picking up a small ivory clip from the dressing table, she loosely put up her hair in a French twist, leaving two strands hanging down on each side of her face.
Now feeling the part, Sakura started floating around the room, gently holding the skirt part of the dress as she twirled around deciding that she must still be dreaming. A gentle breeze drew her attention to the large glass doors that were hidden behind loose lace curtains that swayed in time with the wind. Stepping through these doors, Sakura found herself on a large balcony that overlooked the most breathtaking sight.
The gardens seem to stretch out to the horizon and held a range of what seemed like every type and colour of flower that existed. Petals shone in the morning light, highlighting the paths that left a complex trail weaving in and out, between trees and past small streams. Sakura could imagine walking between these flowers for the fiftieth time and still managing to find a part of the garden that she hadn't visited before.
A cough shocked Sakura, causing her to spin round and find someone in her room by the door. Running back into the room she started to gather her old clothes and make her way towards the bathroom.
"I'm so s.sorry," she managed to stutter. "I didn't mean to put on these clothes. I mean. I was just looking at them and. well, I'll change straight away." Before Sakura made it into the bathroom, the girl grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Don't worry. They're for you. You're supposed to wear them." After feeling reassured by her words, which came out in a smooth soft voice, Sakura looked up at this girl who stood in front of her. Her hair was long with a slight wave and in the blackness of it all, there was a slight glimmer of violet that shone through.
Suddenly realising that she had someone to talk to, Sakura asked, "Umm. where am I?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Master Syaoran." Wei was a tall greying man and one of the higher-ranking servants in the Li household. He had been trying to his young masters attention for a few minutes now as he stood by the door of the dojo. He repeated it a bit louder this time, "Master Syaoran".
Syaoran had been training all morning, refining his sword techniques as he stealthily moved around the room, swiftly waving his sword in a focus manner. Finally picking up the sound of Wei, his concentration stopped and he put down the sword. Catching his breath, he walked over to find out what was needed of him.
"Your mother wishes to speak with you."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The other girl had now introduced herself as Tomoyo, another house geisha, and was trying to make Sakura feel at home. She had explained about house geisha's and that they were a common present amongst the extremely wealthy.
"Present? . That makes us seem like objects!" Sakura had listened carefully until this sudden outburst. Tomoyo looked confused.
"Calm down Sakura. It won't be any different from in a teahouse. It's just that now you'll be here for just one person. He'll be your Oniisan."
At the mention of 'oniisan', Sakura got even more worked up. "But I already have an Oniisan!"
"Oh," Tomoyo exclaimed. "Sorry. But you must have realised that you were leaving all that behind when you left the teahouse to come here."
"Well, I wasn't really told much. Kima had said goodbye so I knew I was leaving, but I had no idea where I was going or what for. At first I was just sad to be leaving everyone I knew, but Kima said I'd still be able to see them. It didn't even occur to me that I might never see him again."
Sakura's emerald eyes had clouded over as her anger melted into tears that she was only just managing to hold back. Tomoyo moved closer and put an arm around Sakura to comfort her. Being nearly three years older, Tomoyo was taller than Sakura, and easily held the smaller fragile frame of Sakura in her arms as she broke down into tears. Not only because she had just realised that she had lost her oniisan, but also realising that she no longer had the only family she had ever known.
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Syaoran had reluctantly left his training and followed Wei to a large conservatory where his mother was sitting, accompanied by his four sisters. He knew something was about to happen, as the youngest of his sisters, all of which were older than him, was trying to hide a big grin which the others had learnt to do, while he could still read Feimei like a book. However, he knew better than to question what his mother was up to so instead he waited for her to speak.
"Syaoran. I have something I need you to get for me." Here she paused but wasn't waiting for a response. "You remember the truffles we had at your sisters birthday celebrations? Well, as you know that celebrations are being prepared for your big day tomorrow and I wish for you to go and collect me some."
"Truffles? But aren't those the ones that are only available in the next town? It will take me ages to get there and back. Can't you send someone else, I do have my own things to do you know." Straight after this outburst Syaoran regretted opening his mouth.
Fortunately Yelan let his remarks slide and just waited silently for his next response. Realising what he had to do, Syaoran nodded his head, giving a slight bow towards the female members of his family and left the room before setting out on his journey.
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Tomoyo had been telling Sakura about her oniisan in an attempt to calm her down and explain the situation. It seemed that she had been a present as well after leaving her teahouse.
"I've been here for nearly three years now and it's so much better than where I was before. I mean, my life wasn't bad before, don't get me wrong, it's just. how do I put it? Well, I guess it's just simpler here. You always have the same faces greeting you each day, you get to know your oniisan a lot better and only really work for him. Also, due to this family's position, we get a really high standard of life even when we're only just. well. the entertainment."
Tomoyo paused to see that Sakura was listening intently but the tears were welling up in her eyes again, ready to roll down her flustered cheeks.
"Don't worry. You should be pleased with your oniisan. Some geisha are sold to men twice, maybe three times their age, and god only knows if they are actually nice people."
"But what if my new oniisan is like that? How can I just be given to someone when I don't even know who they are or what they're like?!"
"You haven't met him yet? Oh, please don't cry. He's not anything like those horrible ideas in your head."
Sakura suddenly starred at Tomoyo, eyes wide, and asked, "So you know him? You know what he's like?"
"Well, not exactly know him. I've seen him a couple of times and he's definitely not much older than you, and even though he always looks very serious, the whole family is like that.
I was scared of Eriol when I first meet him, he seemed so solemn and I thought he looked disapprovingly towards me. What I later found was that they all had to act a certain way in front of the elders.
As soon as I met him properly though, he was completely different - kind, caring, listened to me and asked loads of questions. It was like he found me fascinating and couldn't draw himself away from me. It made me feel the same. I wanted to answer everything he asked and let him learn as much as he could about me, and me about him."
"Tomoyo." Sakura interrupted. "Do you love Eriol?"
Shocked by the question, Tomoyo hung her head low to hide her blushing cheeks. "Of course not. How could I? I'm only a house geisha."
"That doesn't mean you don't have feelings."
"Sakura, you have to understand, that we are here to entertain, and for company. Love is not an option. If you fall in love, it will end up causing you more pain than having to be a geisha to someone you didn't like."
"How so? At least if I loved my oniisan I would be able to talk to him and be close to him. And I would also be happy just to have had the chance to meet him."
Tomoyo smiled at Sakura's innocence.
"But then you would have to watch him when he falls in love with another, and marries. Could you really bear that?"
This thought hit Sakura hard. She had never thought of it like that as she had always been wrapped up in her dreams and fantasies. The good thing about her dreams were that she decided the outcome. She would fall in love and they would love her back. She had never thought about the actual reality of it all.
"Miss Konabe?" The voice of an older woman called from the door interrupting Sakura's thoughts. Looking round she saw a maid, dressed in a simple black dress complete with white apron. "The mistress of the house wishes to see you now. If you would follow me."
"Oh, ok." Sakura stood up, starting to panic about the meeting. It had been sprung on her with no warning so she wasn't in the least bit ready. Then what if they didn't like her? Would they send her back to the teahouse or would they just sell her on?
"Calm down" Tomoyo said to Sakura. "Konabe? Is that your name? It was rude of me not to ask before."
"Umm. yes, well, it's my geisha name."
"Don't panic. She'll like you a lot more if you're confident. I'll come back and see you again later, or if you want my room is just down the hall, third door to the right."
With that Tomoyo left and Sakura had to practically run after the maid who had already started down the corridor the other way. In such a panic, she hardly looked where she was walking until the maid stopped and she was stood in front of a large wooden door, finely crafted with patterns of cedar trees. It seemed familiar but Sakura had no time to admire its detail. Instead she had just managed to catch her breath when the door where opened from inside to reveal the mistress of the house.
AN. Sorry it always takes me so long - I have to get the inspiration. Still, thanks for the reviews and I'm really gonna try and get better at updating quicker. Also thanks for putting up with me!!
Sakura awoke in one of the most elegant rooms she had ever seen. When she had arrived the night before it had been nearly midnight and she was practically asleep. She was greeted by a handful of unfamiliar faces and taken to a room to rest. This is where she now was, but with light illuminating everything around her so she could take it all in.
Later she would realise that her room was one of higher quality than the one's occupied by servants of the household, but couldn't even compare to most of the other rooms in the house. However, having lived in the teahouse most her life, Sakura was finding it hard to take in the fact that this was where she was now to live.
Everything was white in colour, making the whole place look immaculate and untainted, a feeling enhanced by the feeling of silk sheets against her skin. The room was exceptionally large compared to what she was used to, and she had her own en-suite bathroom, which looked just as untouched as everything else.
Stepping out of bed, Sakura's small toes softly crept around the room, trying not to touch anything in fear of tarnishing the purity that radiated from every object around her. The large queen size bed was the centre piece of the whole room which also managed to accommodate a large wardrobe built into the wall, her own large dressing table, equipped with mirror, and smaller tables next to the bed.
The bathroom was just smaller than the bedroom and held a large bath along with toilet and sink, all following the theme of the bedroom. Sakura took her time to inspect all the bottles and lotions that decorated the shelves around the room.
After taking full advantage of examining everything in sight, Sakura opened the wardrobe to find it full of elegant clothes, kimonos and dresses that had been beautifully embroidered with detailed designs. The one that caught her eye straight away was pure white silk and she held it in front of herself as she studied the mirror, admiring the way that she now felt like part of the room.
This dress was not embroidered with anything, but had two small delicate straps that hung over each shoulder. It seemed plain and simple as she put it on and looked at it following the curves of her body, which was well developed for her age, and just touched the floor by her feet. Twirling in front of the full-length mirror on the wardrobe, Sakura admired her reflection. Picking up a small ivory clip from the dressing table, she loosely put up her hair in a French twist, leaving two strands hanging down on each side of her face.
Now feeling the part, Sakura started floating around the room, gently holding the skirt part of the dress as she twirled around deciding that she must still be dreaming. A gentle breeze drew her attention to the large glass doors that were hidden behind loose lace curtains that swayed in time with the wind. Stepping through these doors, Sakura found herself on a large balcony that overlooked the most breathtaking sight.
The gardens seem to stretch out to the horizon and held a range of what seemed like every type and colour of flower that existed. Petals shone in the morning light, highlighting the paths that left a complex trail weaving in and out, between trees and past small streams. Sakura could imagine walking between these flowers for the fiftieth time and still managing to find a part of the garden that she hadn't visited before.
A cough shocked Sakura, causing her to spin round and find someone in her room by the door. Running back into the room she started to gather her old clothes and make her way towards the bathroom.
"I'm so s.sorry," she managed to stutter. "I didn't mean to put on these clothes. I mean. I was just looking at them and. well, I'll change straight away." Before Sakura made it into the bathroom, the girl grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Don't worry. They're for you. You're supposed to wear them." After feeling reassured by her words, which came out in a smooth soft voice, Sakura looked up at this girl who stood in front of her. Her hair was long with a slight wave and in the blackness of it all, there was a slight glimmer of violet that shone through.
Suddenly realising that she had someone to talk to, Sakura asked, "Umm. where am I?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Master Syaoran." Wei was a tall greying man and one of the higher-ranking servants in the Li household. He had been trying to his young masters attention for a few minutes now as he stood by the door of the dojo. He repeated it a bit louder this time, "Master Syaoran".
Syaoran had been training all morning, refining his sword techniques as he stealthily moved around the room, swiftly waving his sword in a focus manner. Finally picking up the sound of Wei, his concentration stopped and he put down the sword. Catching his breath, he walked over to find out what was needed of him.
"Your mother wishes to speak with you."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The other girl had now introduced herself as Tomoyo, another house geisha, and was trying to make Sakura feel at home. She had explained about house geisha's and that they were a common present amongst the extremely wealthy.
"Present? . That makes us seem like objects!" Sakura had listened carefully until this sudden outburst. Tomoyo looked confused.
"Calm down Sakura. It won't be any different from in a teahouse. It's just that now you'll be here for just one person. He'll be your Oniisan."
At the mention of 'oniisan', Sakura got even more worked up. "But I already have an Oniisan!"
"Oh," Tomoyo exclaimed. "Sorry. But you must have realised that you were leaving all that behind when you left the teahouse to come here."
"Well, I wasn't really told much. Kima had said goodbye so I knew I was leaving, but I had no idea where I was going or what for. At first I was just sad to be leaving everyone I knew, but Kima said I'd still be able to see them. It didn't even occur to me that I might never see him again."
Sakura's emerald eyes had clouded over as her anger melted into tears that she was only just managing to hold back. Tomoyo moved closer and put an arm around Sakura to comfort her. Being nearly three years older, Tomoyo was taller than Sakura, and easily held the smaller fragile frame of Sakura in her arms as she broke down into tears. Not only because she had just realised that she had lost her oniisan, but also realising that she no longer had the only family she had ever known.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Syaoran had reluctantly left his training and followed Wei to a large conservatory where his mother was sitting, accompanied by his four sisters. He knew something was about to happen, as the youngest of his sisters, all of which were older than him, was trying to hide a big grin which the others had learnt to do, while he could still read Feimei like a book. However, he knew better than to question what his mother was up to so instead he waited for her to speak.
"Syaoran. I have something I need you to get for me." Here she paused but wasn't waiting for a response. "You remember the truffles we had at your sisters birthday celebrations? Well, as you know that celebrations are being prepared for your big day tomorrow and I wish for you to go and collect me some."
"Truffles? But aren't those the ones that are only available in the next town? It will take me ages to get there and back. Can't you send someone else, I do have my own things to do you know." Straight after this outburst Syaoran regretted opening his mouth.
Fortunately Yelan let his remarks slide and just waited silently for his next response. Realising what he had to do, Syaoran nodded his head, giving a slight bow towards the female members of his family and left the room before setting out on his journey.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tomoyo had been telling Sakura about her oniisan in an attempt to calm her down and explain the situation. It seemed that she had been a present as well after leaving her teahouse.
"I've been here for nearly three years now and it's so much better than where I was before. I mean, my life wasn't bad before, don't get me wrong, it's just. how do I put it? Well, I guess it's just simpler here. You always have the same faces greeting you each day, you get to know your oniisan a lot better and only really work for him. Also, due to this family's position, we get a really high standard of life even when we're only just. well. the entertainment."
Tomoyo paused to see that Sakura was listening intently but the tears were welling up in her eyes again, ready to roll down her flustered cheeks.
"Don't worry. You should be pleased with your oniisan. Some geisha are sold to men twice, maybe three times their age, and god only knows if they are actually nice people."
"But what if my new oniisan is like that? How can I just be given to someone when I don't even know who they are or what they're like?!"
"You haven't met him yet? Oh, please don't cry. He's not anything like those horrible ideas in your head."
Sakura suddenly starred at Tomoyo, eyes wide, and asked, "So you know him? You know what he's like?"
"Well, not exactly know him. I've seen him a couple of times and he's definitely not much older than you, and even though he always looks very serious, the whole family is like that.
I was scared of Eriol when I first meet him, he seemed so solemn and I thought he looked disapprovingly towards me. What I later found was that they all had to act a certain way in front of the elders.
As soon as I met him properly though, he was completely different - kind, caring, listened to me and asked loads of questions. It was like he found me fascinating and couldn't draw himself away from me. It made me feel the same. I wanted to answer everything he asked and let him learn as much as he could about me, and me about him."
"Tomoyo." Sakura interrupted. "Do you love Eriol?"
Shocked by the question, Tomoyo hung her head low to hide her blushing cheeks. "Of course not. How could I? I'm only a house geisha."
"That doesn't mean you don't have feelings."
"Sakura, you have to understand, that we are here to entertain, and for company. Love is not an option. If you fall in love, it will end up causing you more pain than having to be a geisha to someone you didn't like."
"How so? At least if I loved my oniisan I would be able to talk to him and be close to him. And I would also be happy just to have had the chance to meet him."
Tomoyo smiled at Sakura's innocence.
"But then you would have to watch him when he falls in love with another, and marries. Could you really bear that?"
This thought hit Sakura hard. She had never thought of it like that as she had always been wrapped up in her dreams and fantasies. The good thing about her dreams were that she decided the outcome. She would fall in love and they would love her back. She had never thought about the actual reality of it all.
"Miss Konabe?" The voice of an older woman called from the door interrupting Sakura's thoughts. Looking round she saw a maid, dressed in a simple black dress complete with white apron. "The mistress of the house wishes to see you now. If you would follow me."
"Oh, ok." Sakura stood up, starting to panic about the meeting. It had been sprung on her with no warning so she wasn't in the least bit ready. Then what if they didn't like her? Would they send her back to the teahouse or would they just sell her on?
"Calm down" Tomoyo said to Sakura. "Konabe? Is that your name? It was rude of me not to ask before."
"Umm. yes, well, it's my geisha name."
"Don't panic. She'll like you a lot more if you're confident. I'll come back and see you again later, or if you want my room is just down the hall, third door to the right."
With that Tomoyo left and Sakura had to practically run after the maid who had already started down the corridor the other way. In such a panic, she hardly looked where she was walking until the maid stopped and she was stood in front of a large wooden door, finely crafted with patterns of cedar trees. It seemed familiar but Sakura had no time to admire its detail. Instead she had just managed to catch her breath when the door where opened from inside to reveal the mistress of the house.
AN. Sorry it always takes me so long - I have to get the inspiration. Still, thanks for the reviews and I'm really gonna try and get better at updating quicker. Also thanks for putting up with me!!