Agent08 Reporting for Duty!
"..." - talking
italic font - thoughts/exaggerated words
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions
Now...on with chapter fourteen!
The Night of the Masqeurade Ball
Sakura sat up in bed, feeling a lot better than ever. She swung her feet over the bed, and got out of her night gown, and into proper clothing. She skipped her way to the kitchen, making a racket of noise.
"Hi, Li!" Sakura chirped as she took her seat by the kitchen table.
Syaoran turned around, with a white cloth hanging from his shoulder, and forks and spoons in his hands. The kitchen area smelled of baked pancakes, and freshly made strawberry jam. Had Syaoran made all this just for Sakura?
"Hey, Kinomoto," He greeted, and set the plates and cutlery down on the table. He took his seat across from her, and seemed to be in a very good mood. How could she blame him, when just the other day they finally called a truce?
"What do you want to do this afternoon?" Sakura asked, as she took a huge bite of her breakfast.
"Oh," Syaoran replied, "I was thinking of going to the Post Office. I have a letter for my Mom, and I just thought I'd send it in as soon as possible,"
"Oh?" Sakura said, "What about?"
Before answering, Syaoran took a bite out of his breakfast, and a gulp of milk. He wiped his mouth, and then said, "Oh, Mother just sent in a fruit basket! It's just a thank you letter, to tell her that we received it,"
"Really?" Sakura said, "I haven't seen it."
Getting up and retrieving it from the living room table, Syaoran brought in the fruit basket that was filled with all different kinds of juicy and organic fruits.
"Oh." Sakura said, and finished off what was on her plate. She waited a few minutes for Syaoran, but it didn't take too long. When they finally finished everything, they put on their coats, and made their way into the village, where Syaoran would mail his letter to his Mother.
As they waited in the long line just to get the letter into the hands of the post man, Sakura and Syaoran began to fidget in their spots. Sakura began to twiddle her thumbs, while Syaoran stood on the tips of his toes, and then back again on his heels. He did that for a while, until someone in front of them suddenly gasped.
"It's Princess Sakura!" the lady in front gasped, "And Prince Syaoran!"
Syaoran and Sakura froze in their spots, and looked each other square in the eye. They both blushed a deep shade of pink, and began to make foolish explanations and excuses to the people around them, because they all started making way for such royalty.
"No!" Sakura shrieked, as she took the woman in front of her and placed her back in her spot in front of her. She had moved out of the way, to make way for the two of them, but Sakura obviously objected to all their actions.
People everywhere in the Post Office were stepping aside and making room so Syaoran and Sakura could go to the very front of the line. Because of such attention that they weren't used to getting for the past five months, the pink blush that crept upon their faces was there to stay.
They both laughed nervously, and kept on placing people back in their spots in front of them. "No, no, no!" Syaoran began, "You're mistaken. We're not royalty! Really."
But no one believed them. So with a sigh of defeat, Syaoran and Sakura moved towards the front of the line, where the employees that worked at the Post Office went down low for a respectful bow. Syaoran and Sakura nodded to all of them, and being in this situation before, they totally knew how to act.
"You may rise," they both said in unison. They all stood up, but didn't start to work again.
"Well," Sakura piped up, "Continue on with your duties." Everyone began to walk around again, and scuttled off to do their own business. Sakura waited patiently by one corner while Syaoran sent the letter to his mom.
"If you please," Syaoran began, "Send this to my mother immediately. She is wanting to know how I am doing on my own," The man standing before him shook his head vigorously.
"Yes, sir, right away, sir!"
Syaoran turned around on the desk, and leaned on it. "It's nice to have some respect around here again," he said to Sakura.
Sakura snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you not gotten respect? These people are wonderful." She replied.
"Yes, well," Syaoran said, "I haven't been in one of these situations in a long time,"
Sakura nodded, and knew full well what he was talking about. Living in a cottage for five months and doing your own chores for once in your life was quite a leap for them. Getting attention like this wasn't something they had gotten in quite a long time.
Suddenly, a girl that worked at the Post Office scuttled towards them, with her head bent down low. She seemed quite shy, and didn't want either of them to see her face. She obviously got what she wanted, because during the whole time they had been speaking to her, they didn't see anything of her except her uniform.
"You have a letter," the girl said, "From the King and Queen. They say it is urgent, and that you must read it as soon as possible,"
Sakura took it from the girl, and nodded in thanks. "Your work is greatly appreciated," Sakura began, "Go on with your duties,"
The servant girl ran off to do her work, as if relieved to be out of the presence of such people. They weren't offended. They were use to that kind of thing when it came to them.
Sakura's eyes widened with every sentence that she read in the letter. Syaoran watched her, as she gasped and raised her eyebrows as high as they could go. She seemed to be really surprised, but he couldn't imagine just what she was surprised about reading. Either there was a serious family problem, or something else.
"Would you believe it?" Sakura exclaimed, as she thrust the letter into his hands, "Take a look at that! Read it! Go on, read it!" Sakura urged.
Syaoran flipped the letter open, and began to read it, having the same reactions as Sakura.
King Fujitaka Kinomoto, and Queen Yelan Li Cordially invite:
Prince Syaoran Li, and Princess Sakura Kinomoto
To the masquerade ball, held at the Castle, October 28th, beginning at 19:00 until whichever time our guests choose to leave. You are obligated to come, as Prince and Princess of your country, and as the son and daughter of the King and Queen. Costume is required.
Also, because you are Royalty, and are expected to arrive in a nice manner by most of our important guests, we will be sending carriages down to your cottage.
Hoping our invitation is accepted,
King Kinomoto, Queen Li
Syaoran ended the letter with a shocked look on his face. "I can't believe it!" Syaoran said, as he crumpled the piece of paper up in his hands. "That's today!"
Sakura gasped, and grabbed the already crumpled paper from his grasp. "What?" she screamed.
She un-crumpled it, and re-read the letter. After reading it a second time, Sakura crumpled it herself in anger, and threw it into a waste bin.
"You!" Sakura screamed, as she walked towards the girl that delivered her the letter. The girl seemed quite frightened, but Sakura didn't mean to do such a thing. She was just angry that they had received the letter at such late notice. "Why didn't I receive this letter earlier?"
With her head still bowed down low, the girl replied, "I'm sorry, ma'am!" she sounded quite scared. "There was a mix up at the Post Office! We would have sent it to you this morning, but this moronic little boy bumped into the post man and made him drop all the letters in the box and there were hundreds of letters I - "
"Wait," Sakura said, stopping the girl from rambling on like an idiot, "What do you mean that you would've sent it to me this morning? Didn't you get this weeks ago?" Sakura asked, waving the letter infront of her face.
"No, ma'am. We got it quite early this morning."
"What time?" Sakura asked suspicously.
The girl stood on her tip toes and twiddled her thumbs, both Syaoran and Sakura's actions joined together. It seemed she was trying to remember.
"About five AM in the morning, ma'am. We were going to send it at seven AM, just like all of our letters, but that stupid little boy I told you about..." and she went on ranting about things Sakura didn't care about. Sakura nodded at the girl, and scurried back to Syaoran.
"I can't believe them!" Sakura said, "They sent it just today! JUST today! They sent it only today so we wouldn't have a choice to think about going or not! We absolutely have to go, whether we like it or not. It's too late to say anything now,"
Sakura was pink with anger. So was Syaoran. They both hated it when their parents did this. They both knew that their son and daughter absolutely hated the dumb formal balls held and created by their parents. They knew it was just some stupid way to get them closer together as friends. But there was no need for that since they already were.
"This is perfect," Sakura said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. They stepped out of the Post Office, and began to go walking around aimlessly throughout the village. "How are we supposed to get a costume in just six hours?"
"I don't know about you, but I know what I'M going to be for the ball," Syaoran replied.
"Oh?" Sakura said, "What?"
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out." Syaoran said mysteriously, as he stepped into a store filled with different kinds of costumes. "Wait out here, and don't you dare peek inside to see what I'm buying!"
Sakura rolled her eyes, and nodded. Just waiting fifteen minutes, Syaoran was out, and ready to go wherever Sakura wanted. He was surprised to discover that she wasn't in any need to buy a costume. Apparently, while he was in the store, she had thought up a perfect idea of what she was going to be, and didn't need to do any shopping because she already had a dress.
It was well into the afternoon when Syaoran and Sakura had finally finsished shopping for stuff that they thought the cottage would need, and walked back home to the cottage to get ready for the ball. Thankfully, being the girly kind of girl that she is, Sakura brought her make-up that she hadn't used in ages, (five months to be exact) and beautiful dress shoes. She didn't think that she would ever need these in a cottage, but brought them anyway, just incase of an emergency. Sakura complimented herself greatly for that.
Just as the time approached when they would be heading off for the ball, Syaoran waited quietly in the living room for Sakura. He had gotten ready for this event a lot faster than she did, and because of that, he had to wait for what seemed like eons. Neither of them saw what the other was wearing. They were really secretive about this, so they made a deal that Sakura would get dressed in the bathroom, and Syaoran would get changed in the bedroom. That worked out nicely.
Just minutes before the ball began, Sakura was still not ready to go. That was bad, because Syaoran heard the carriage arrive, just outside the cottage. He heard the hooves of the horses halt to stop, and the coach man knock on the door.
With a sigh, Syaoran walked up to the bathroom, and knocked impatiently. "Sakura Kinomoto! The carriage is here. Come on, get out!"
It sounded like Sakura was in a hurry. "In a minute!" she replied.
With another sigh, Syaoran walked out of the living room area, and to the front door. He opened it, and saw that there were two carriages instead of one.
"What?" Syaoran said, "I thought my mother only sent one carriage."
And then it hit him. He specifically remembered reading that they were sending carriages to take them to the ball. Nota carriage. He felt really stupid.
"Um, good sir," Syaoran said, "Princess Sakura is still in the process of getting ready for the ball. Would you mind if we waited for her?"
The coach man shook his head respectfully. "I'm sorry, sir. Your Mother wishes that you arrive as soon as possible, with or without Miss Sakura. She won't accept you being late,"
Syaoran knew it. His Mother always hated it when he was late. He was going to be if he didn't leave soon. But what about Sakura?
As if reading his mind, the coach man said, "The other coach man will explain to her. She will meet you there."
With another sigh, Syaoran agreed, and went into the carriage. It wasn't a long ride there, and he expected that Sakura would show up just minutes after he did, but she didn't. Typical. Sakura was always fashionably late.
The ball started, and people began flooding into the ballroom. People were dressed as the most peculiar things. As if to flatter Syaoran and Sakura, the majority of the people attending the ball were dressed as Princes or Princesses. Syaoran wasn't flattered about this at all. Just really annoyed. People were also dressed as animals, like peacocks, and chickens...It was the most unusual ball ever. And of course, everybody's had on some type of mask. After all, it was a masquerade.
"Mother, may I leave yet?" Syaoran asked through gritted teeth. He was smiling as best he could, but it seemed like his smile would always seem to falter.
"Not yet, Xiao Lang!" His Mother answered, with a smile plastered onto her face also. "Just twenty minutes into the ball and you flee from it like it's a fatal sickness. By the way, where is Sakura?"
Syaoran shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But you can't be too surprised that she's late, mother. She always is,"
"Now don't say that about her." Yelan scolded, "Now go and greet people on the dance floor."
"But Mother - "
" - Xiao Lang Li! Do as I tell you,"
With a growl, he glared at his Mother, and walked to the middle of the dance floor, where he began shaking hands with all of his Mother's important guests, and close family friends that had been invited.
He was just about to finally go crazy with all the "Glad you could make it," greetings, when the announcer said, "Miss Sakura Kinomoto, Princess of Japan,"
Everyone's head turned, including Syaoran's, and he saw Sakura, standing at the top of the winding stairs, looking more beautiful than he'd ever seen her in his life...Well, to him at least. She was wearing a yellow corsette, and a yellow skirt, which puffed out at the bottom, circling her tiny waist perfectly. She was carrying a yellow fan, just to accessorise, and a tiny bit of pink blush. Her hair was down, auburn ringlets framing her gold sequined butterfly mask.
Smiling, Sakura walked down the stairs, and everyone watched, as she silently made her way down to the middle of the dance floor to meet Syaoran.
When she got there, she curtsied, and bowed her head towards him. In return, Syaoran bowed for her. Sakura held up her hands in a dancing position, and Syaoran took them, and they began to waltz, along with everyone else in the room.
"Hi!" Sakura said cheerfully. "What are you supposed to be?"
Still dazed because of Sakura's beauty, he answered, "I'm dressed as King,"
Sakura laughed, and noticed how he was dressed. With the forest green suit he was wearing, with a gold flowing cape just trailing along behind him, she wondered how she didn't notice what he was pretending to be.
"A - And you?" Syaoran spluttered.
Sakura giggled, and Syaoran spun her around. After doing so, he continued to waltz with her again. "I'm...I'm my Mother," Sakura replied shyly. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, without the help of her make-up.
Syaoran stopped moving his feet, and Sakura did also. "Sakura," he began, "This is supposed to be a costume ball,"
Sakura put on a confused look. "I know. That's why I'm dressed as my mother,"
Syaoran shook his head slowly, and brough his hand up to her cheek, making her blush a much deeper shade of pink. He stroked it gently, and said, "Sakura, you are your mother,"
At that sentence, Sakura's head snapped up, and she gazed directly into his amber eyes. There was something there that she hadn't noticed before. She hadn't known how beautiful they looked...How intense they seemed to be. They were a rich colour. Almost like gold.
Sakura suddenly snapped out of her thoughts, when she heard Yelan speaking to her. "It's so wonderful that you decided to join us, Sakura!" she began, "Not that either of you had a choice," she laughed at her own stupid joke. She went on to say that there were still guests that needed to be greeted by the Prince and Princess. So they scurried off, greeting any other guest that they thought they hadn't spoken to yet.
"Hi!" Sakura chimed, as she stuck her hand out to shake the man's hand that stood before her. "It's a pleasure to have you here in my castle!"
The man in the Prince costume took her hand, and shook it. "Hello. My name is Kenji Oruto. The pleasure is definitely all mine," the man named Kenji said in a seducting voice, one that Sakura would never fall for. He took the back of her left hand, and brought it up to his lips, where he gave it a peck.
Syaoran saw this from far away, and he was surprised to see that his fists were in balls. He kept on watching, as the man and Sakura chattered away. By instinct, he knew Sakura was starting to get annoyed by this guy. He'd seen it many times before. A guy would hit on Sakura, Sakura would get annoyed and steer him away, but in the end, someone would always end up getting hurt. Mainly the guy hitting on Sakura.
In anger, Syaoran turned to get a drink, and saw Sakura striding towards him. "Hey," she said briskly, taking his re-filled glass and drinking it for herself. "That Kenji Oruto guy I was talking to sure is a pain in the neck."
"Oh?" Syaoran said, "How?"
Taking one last gulp of Syaoran's drink, Sakura shook her head. "Oh, nothing important. He wants to dance that's all. But I told him some lie about me having to dance with someone else," Syaoran felt the jealousy rise.
Syaoran watched her, as Sakura looked at the few people on the dance floor. "You know," Syaoran said, "You're going to have to dance with someone, or he'll know that you were lying to him,"
Sakura stroked her chin thoughtfully. "You make a good point. I never thought of that. Come on, dance with me!" Sakura said.
Just as she pulled his arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor, a lady came up to them. A blonde haired one with hazel green eyes. She was dressed in a pink gown, and wore a blood red lipstick. It wasn't a very good combination, although pink was the "in" thing to wear.
"Hello," the lady began, "I'm Eimi Juelo. It's a pleasure to be in your prescence," and she went down low into a bow. "I work for the local newspaper, and I would love to write an article about you, and how you communicate with other people, in a good way, Miss Sakura,"
"Oh?" Sakura said, "Go on. I'm quite interested,"
With permission to go on, Eimi nodded, and said, "I already know what I'm going to put in my article. But all I need you to do now is dance with a man, just for show."
Sakura gave Syaoran a nervous look. Eimi noticed this, and spoke. "Is there a problem? Because if there is, there's no need for me to make this article, really," Eimi insisted.
Not wanting Sakura to turn down an offer to be put in a newspaper, Syaoran spoke for her and said, "No, of course there's no problem. Princess Sakura and I just have...Somethings to discuss. Is there any man in particular that you would like her to dance with?"
"Well..." Eimi said, as she looked at the men at the room with an interested eye. "That one," she said, as she pointed to a man just a few feet away from them. To Sakura's surprise, she was pointing at Kenji Oruto. There was no way she was going to dance with him. She was just about to turn the article down, when Syaoran spoke for her once again.
"Of course she will!"
"That's right! I will not - WHAT?" Sakura screamed.
Laughing nervously, Syaoran pulled Sakura into a corner of the dance floor. He held his hand over her mouth, and kept it there until she finally shutup and let him speak his peice. She wasn't too happy about his descision. She glared at him the whole time he was talking.
"Sakura, dance with him." He insisted. "I mean, It's no big deal. How can you turn down an article about yourself? I mean, this could be good publicity for you."
"Do I even need good publicity? Everyone here knows that I'd never treat anyone badly, so why on earth would they need me to dance with a man for an article in a newspaper?"
"Sakura," Syaoran said calmly, "It's just for show. Dance with him for goodness sake."
Syaoran had no idea what he was saying. That was the last thing he wanted her to do. He was afraid that the jealousy in him was starting to show, so to cover up, he tried to make it look like he had no problem with Sakura dancing with another man.
Sighing in defeat, Sakura agreed to dance with Kenji. Syaoran watched with jealousy. It had been so long since Sakura danced with anyone other than Syaoran. Her first slow dance was with him, even her first kiss. Syaoran had the right to be jealous, but why was he in the first place?
"So..." Kenji began, as Sakura and himself waltzed through the ballroom. "I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to a social gathering held in my Father's Palace. I'm sure - "
"With all do respect, Oruto-san, I'm not interested," was Sakura's short reply. Not wanting to hear any lame excuses as to why she should go with him, Sakura left Kenji, and went to her Father, who was innocently watching people have fun on his throne.
"Hello, father." Sakura greeted, as she kissed him on the cheek. "This ball was a great idea,"
Fujitaka replied, "Thank you, daughter." He then looked her up and down to see what she was wearing. "Good Lord, what are you wearing?"
Fingering her clothes, Sakura looked down on him with an angry face. "Don't you like it, father?"
"Like it..." Fujitaka began, "Like it? I love it, Sakura. That dress looks absolutely stunning on you. You're Mother would be in awe if she saw you wearing her wedding dress,"
Sakura felt her cheeks grow hot, and her Father laughed as he brought his hand up to her cheek. "I see that you and Prince Syaoran are finally starting to get along," he commented.
Sakura's face brightened up, "We are, kind of, I guess. So does that mean we can move out of the cottage?"
Fujitaka chuckled. "Nice try."
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Hope you liked it! Au revoir :)
Signing Off,
Agent08 - My life as a secret agent xD