Agent08 Reporting for Duty!

"..." - talking
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Now...on with chapter nineteen!

I Love You This Much

Sakura shivered as she walked the empty castle halls. The entire Kingdom was coverd in snow, blanketed in white silkiness. The weather had become damp, and the wind became harsher than usual. Snow and rain fell together, making everything look cold and depressed.

Although that was usually how it looked in Sakura's Kingdom, the people didn't act anything like cold or depressed. Ever since word got out that Sakura and Syaoran were engaged to be married the next year, everywhere they went people would congratulate them. Not to blow their cover, and to not show that they were furious happy with the arrangement, they both plastered smiles on, and thanked them graciously.

Yes, Syaoran accepted the engagement. It took him the entire month to adjust, but to his Mother, it was all definitely worth it. Fujitaka felt the same way also, but he certainly didn't reel Sakura into their arrangements while she was kicking and punching, unlike Syaoran. His daughter felt that if those were his wishes, than that is what she would do. Hands down, no complaints. He congratulated himself greatly for bringing up such an obedient little girl.

Sakura shivered once more, and brought the scarf higher up her neck. Knowing where everything in the castle was, she walked the halls with her great instinct, and arrived at a partly opened door, a candle flickering lightly through the darkness. She smiled, entered the room, and giggled when she found her Father asleep in his study once again.

Just as usual, her Father had a book on his lap, with his arms on the table, his head falling on top. She didn't blame her Dad for doing so almost every night. After all, he was the king, and if he wanted to fall asleep in his study after a long hard day of work, than that is what he will do.

She scurried out of the room to find a maid. Fujitaka and herself had decided to give the servants a vacation, since Christmas was fast approaching. If Sakura's calculations weren't correct, then it would only be three days. Once she had found a maid, she immediately ordered a blanket to be sent into her Father's study, and that no one must wake him. The maid bowed her head, and did what she was told, but not before congratulating Sakura on her engagement to Syaoran. It took most of Sakura's strength to try and not roll her eyes. Instead, she smiled her beautiful smile, and thanked her.

Not wanting to hear anymore praises about her engagement to Syaoran, Sakura walked through the halls as quickly as she could. Her heels clicked everytime she took a step, making an echoing noise throughout the empty space. Seeing more servants arrive for duty, Sakura walked faster, hoping that they would not ask her annoying questions like, "When will the wedding take place next year?", or, "Have you picked you wedding dress out yet?".

Sakura was so caught up in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice her steps becoming quicker in pace. She was basically speed walking when her long gown got caught on the bottom of her shoe. Not having anything to balance on, Sakura tripped, and fell face forward onto...Syaoran?

"Ah!" Sakura shrieked unexpectedly. Her skirt went fly forward with her, because the stitch that held everything together had gotten ripped when she brought her knee up, while half the skirt was underneath her foot. She felt Syaoran's rough and firm hands take hold of both her shoulders, and he helped her stand up.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked, looking Sakura up and down. His face suddenly filled with colour, and he averted his eyes quickly from Sakura's body.

"Yes, I'm alright," Sakura replied, but to her, Syaoran didn't seem to be feeling very well. "What's the matter with you?" she asked, walking closer towards him. Syaoran took two steps back, which only made Sakura take two more towards him. "Stop moving! You're face is really red, I'm trying to check if you got sick! The weather's been really harsh, so I'm only doing this for your own goo - "

" - You're skirt, Sakura," Syaoran interrupted, averting his eyes again. He pointed with his right hand to Sakura's ripped skirt, and covered his eyes with the other. Apparently, when Sakura had tripped and ripped her dress, it got more damaged than she thought! A long thin slit ran up her left thigh, revealing her underwear. Sakura suddenly gasped, and whipped the right half of the skirt to the other side.

"Yeah," Syaoran said, with a smirk on his face, "That's what I thought,"

Sakura blushed deeply, and muttered a thank you for warning her. After doing so, both Syaoran and Sakura stood together in the awkward silence. Ever since they found out that they were engaged, they hadn't spent much time talking, but avoiding each other. Although they were both used to the fact that they were engaged, looking at each other just seemed to make them feel awkward.

"So," Syaoran began, his hands shoved into the deepest part of his pockets, "You should get that fixed by Martha," he said, pointing towards Sakura's thigh.

"Yeah, I will," came Sakura's reply, but nothing else. She searched her mind for certain things to talk about. Before, this never seemed to be a problem for her since she was such a chatterbox, but now, with Syaoran, she seemed to run out of things to say. "What will you be doing this afternoon?" Sakura asked stupidly, knowing full well that Yelan was going to take him Christmas shopping.

"Oh," Syaoran said, seeming relieved that Sakura had finally said something, "Mother is taking me into town today to get some presents to put under the tree. I thought she told you?"

Sakura hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Oh, yes!" She exclaimed, as if she had just remembered, "She did! How stupid could I - ? " She noticed Syaoran's sly smirk. "Don't answer that!" she quickly added. Syaoran chuckled, and waved goodbye. Sakura smiled and waved back, and began to make her way to her room.

After just a few seconds, Sakura clutched the damaged skirt into her hands, and angrily muttered to herself never to speed walk again.

xxxxxx

Syaoran turned to his right, making sure he was out sight from Sakura. He leaned against the wall, and slid down on his back with a great sigh. He knew he had seen Sakura naked before, but the incident that had just happened a few minutes ago was just totally unexpected!

Suddenly, he heard footsteps heading towards him, and he quickly stood up regaining his posture. He saw his Mother turn the corner that he just had, and saw that she was already dressed to go into the village. She slowly raised her eyebrow, and gave him a weird look.

"Hello, Mother," Syaoran said, "Are we going into town already?"

"Yes. How come you're not dressed?" she asked.

Syaoran looked himself over. He looked fine. "Mother, I'm wearing clothes, aren't I? Let's just go into town!"

Yelan gave out a wicked laugh. She had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't seem so loud. When her laughter suddenly died down, she saw that it was now Syaoran was giving her the weird look. "Son, you can't possibly go into the village as a Prince looking like that!" she said as a matter of factly.

"Why can't I go into town as myself?"

Yelan looked at her son, speechless. "Well...I'm sure you can go into town looking like that, It's just that...You would never want to go into town dressed in those rags six months ago," she stated, looking hurt and shocked. She only meant well.

Syaoran noticed this, and smiled as his thanks. "I've changed during those six months, Mother...Now, can we please just go shopping? It's three days until Christmas, and I still haven't bought anything for my lovely Mother,"

Syaoran smiled a shocking smile as he looped his arm into his Mother's, leading the way to the horse drawn carriage. "My, my!" she said, as she giggled, "You certainly have changed!"

xxxxxx

After Sakura arrived at Martha's, her personal designers, she was in a different skirt, and the ripped one was bundled up into her arms, as if it were a child. Martha looked towards Sakura in disappointment, and took the skirt from her.

"Goodness me, Princess! What have you done now?" Martha said, obviously angry for damaging the skirt that she had made for Sakura just one year ago.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Oh, I just...tripped on it, that's all. As you can see, I made a rather long cut through the side. If it were any smaller, I would've kept it because it gave the skirt a nice look, but it reveals a little too much,"

Martha snorted. "A little? Darling, if you wore this skirt, men would be goggling their eyes at you with drool dangling from their mouths!"

"Or some would cover their eyes in disgust," Sakura muttered under her breath, thinking about Syaoran.

"What was that, darling?" Martha said. She was now beginning to sow the dress back together, and spoke as she threaded the pink string through and through, making all the right loops.

"Oh, nothing," Sakura replied, watching as Martha fixed her skirt.

"So, my dear," Martha said, a suspicious gleam in her eyes, "How are things going with your beloved, soon-to-become husband?"

Sakura sighed, and brought the palm of her hands up to her temples. "Don't even bother to wait for an answer," Sakura said, "You can obviously tell how things are going!"

Martha laughed. "Oh, my sweet, it's absolutely lovely of you to accept the engagement just because of your mother. I'm sure Syaoran didn't take things too well, either, did he?"

"You think?" Sakura replied sarcastically.

Martha laughed once more. They went on to talk about Christmas, and how neither of them could wait. They talked about the weather, clothes that Martha would absolutely love to design for Sakura, although she already had Tomoyo for that, and other things that girls would always talk about.

Sakura left Martha's place feeling happy and energetic. She really needed that talk with Martha, and after having it, she felt like going shopping.

xxxxxx

Syaoran and his Mother walked through the village, arm in arm, and stared in awe at the beautiful things in display. Just twenty minutes after shopping did Syaoran have his hands full with bags and bags filled with Christmas gifts and items that his Mother thought that she would need - which she probably wouldn't, might I add.

Syaoran moped behind his Mother, his arms sagging with the weight that all the different bags gave. He was just about ready to tell his Mother that it was time to go, when he heard a sudden gasp. He saw Yelan, standing before a window, her hand to her mouth, and her to wide eyes. Syaoran walked up beside her to see what the big deal was, and to his confusion, it was only a piece of jewelry.

"That is absolutely beautiful!" Yelan stated, stepping inside the shop, Syaoran following suit. She had practically demanded for the beautiful piece of jewelry out on display, but the man at the counter simply said that it was not for sale. Yelan pounded the counter with her first, obviously angry that she couldn't get the beautiful accessory. She thought that if she was ever going to convince the man to sell it to her, she needed to be gentle.

"Let's just say that it was on sale," Yelan suggested, "How much would it cost?"

"Queen," the counterman said, "It would be four-hundred dollars. In cash,"

Yelan's eyes widened. But, she couldn't blame him for setting the price so high. She sighed, and simply thought that she wouldn't need to buy it, even though she had a perfectly good use for it. Although she was Queen, and was quite wealthy, she had to pay for certain things, and if it meant saving money and not buying certain pieces of jewelry, than she wouldn't buy it. She began to leave the store, when Syaoran had stopped her.

"I'll pay for it," he offered, taking out four hundred dollars.

Yelan's eyes grew wider. "Son!" she exclaimed, "I don't even carry that amount of money with me! Why would you?"

Syaoran shrugged. "I don't know. I like to be prepared."

But still, the man disagreed and stated once more that the accessory was not for sale. It wasn't until Syaoran offered to pay two hundred more dollars for it that the counter man was convinced. He happily took it out of its display case, and put it in a bag for them. Yelan left with a sly grin on her face, Syaoran with a smile also, happy that he had made his Mother happy.

"Just call that my Christmas present for you, Mother," Syaoran said, as they left the store.

Yelan raised an eyebrow. "My present, son? No, no! That's not my present! That's your present for the Princess!" she said, grabbing the tiny bag from Syaoran, and shoving it into his face.

"M - My present for S - Sakura?" Syaoran asked.

"Why, yes! You made things better for me when you bought it yourself! Because if I bought it than that would've meant that it was from me, but since you did, it's not!"

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Mother, but - "

" - I'm sorry, Son, did you already have a present for Sakura?"

"Well, no, but - "

"Then that settles it! This will be the gift for Sakura! Oh, no! That can't be it!"

"And why not?"

Yelan hesitated for a while before she spoke again. It was as if a light bulb had flicked on inside her head, and she had the best idea in the world. Not only did the light bulb trigger the idea, but it made her quite energetic, making her speak quickly and excitedly.

"Oh, it's PERFECT!" Yelan shrieked, dragging Syaoran to the horse drawn carriage, where she began to explain everything to him. "On the night of our Christmas Ball, you will present Sakura with her Christmas present, and also announce that the two of you are engaged! It's the perfecct setting, perfect scene - everything! This is brilliant!"

"Wait one second, Mother!" Syaoran said, unsure about the whole thing, "I thought everyone knew already that we were engaged?"

"Oh no, darling! Only all the servants, our family members, and some of your close friends. Sakura's also. I'm sure that they haven't told anyone yet. They probably thought that it was some kind of big secret. Oh, Syaoran, this is going to be absolutely great!"

"But, Mother - "

"Xiao-Lang, please do this for me?"

Syaoran hesitated. "Fine. I will, but you're going to have to tell me what to say!"

Yelan snorted. "Of course, my love! I'm not going to let you announce your engagement without me telling you what to say!"

Syaoran snorted like his Mother. That was so Yelan-ish of her. "But, you said that the accessory couldn't be the only gift for Sakura. What else could it be?" he asked suspiciously.

Yelan had the same mischievous gleam in her eye that she had used on Syaoran more than once. "You'll see," was all she said, as she told the coachman to take her to the floral shop. On the way, she told Syaoran what he would do, say, and wear at the Christmas Ball. He rolled his eyes when she told him which cape to wear, and when she saw, she hit him on the arm, saying that red cape would go perfectly with his green suit. She seemed to be saying the word, "perfect" a lot.

xxxxxx

Sakura was dressed in a stunning sky blue gown on the night of the Christmas Ball. Her hair was up, with the occasional curly strand of hair hanging from her head on each side. Instead of using a nice pink blush, like she did for the costume ball in October, she wore a lovely peach one that mixed in nicely with her skin tone. Her high heels were just an inch high, making her just a little less shorter than Syaoran that night.

Speaking of which, Syaoran was dressed in what his Mother had told him to wear. His green suit, and his beautiful red cape, which descended all the way down to his mid-section mixed in beautifully with the Christmas spirit. Although his Mother basically forced the maid to make Syaoran's skull bleed by trying to comb out his messy brown hair, Syaoran showed no sign that it had effected him in any way. His chocolate brown hair was still just as attractive as it was before.

People filed into the ballroom, and the announcer began to announce them. Surprisingly, the woman that had interviewed Sakura from the last ball arrived, and made her way towards Syaoran and Sakura, who were standing side by side. She greeted them with a warm hello, and began to tell them how well the newspaper sold when Sakura was in it.

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Eimi said, with a glass of wine in one of her hands, "We sold lots of copies! It sold so much copies that I got a raise in my salary! I just had to thank you, Miss Kinomoto."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, Juelo-san!" Sakura replied.

Eimi inched closer towards both Syaoran and Sakura, as if to say something quite secretive. "Well, ever since the newspaper came out, so many people have been wondering the same question, but were too shy to ask. So, I decided to step up. Are you two...Involved?" she asked.

"Involved?" Sakura questioned, "How do you mean, 'involved'? "

"You know," Eimi said, "Are you two a couple?"

"As a matter of fact," Sakura began, "We are," and Eimi's face began to brighten. In her eyes, what Sakura had just said was another article for her to put in the newspaper, and a higher salary. Knowing that she would probably tell everyone in the room, and ruin his announcement that evening, Syaoran quickly added something.

"...We are going to announce it later tonight, whether or not we are a couple." he said.

Eimi's face faltered, but she tried hard not to show it - which she failed at doing. "Oh. I see. Well then I will be waiting for that announcement!" was all she said, before she walked away and began to talk to other people.

xxxxxx

Hours passed until Yelan finally gave the "okay" for Syaoran to make the announcement. He was sweating quite hard, and was trembling like he was naked in the middle of winter. He had remembered everything his Mother told him to say, and the gift he had for her was in his pocket. He was all set, and ready to go. Or so he thought.

You see, Syaoran wasn't the best public speaker in the world. He was bound to have stage fright sooner or later. Sooner, rather than later, actually.

Syaoran stepped up on a small platform, with Sakura trailing behind him. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

"You'll see," Syaoran replied. He cleared his throat a few times, but when no one was paying attention, his Mother began to tap her spoon against her glass of wine, making an annoying "tinking" sound. Everyone turned to face Syaoran, and their ears were all his. That's when the stage fright hit him, and every single word that he was told to say by his mother completely left from his mind.

"L - Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to have you hear this evening," he began rather smoothly. He stuttered a bit at the beginning, but, he looked into Sakura's questioning eyes. That, for some reason, gave him the ability go on and speak. Even though he had absolutely no idea what to say. So, he basically winged it.

"Tonight, is a very special night. Not just because it is Christmas, but, because, I am here to announce my engagement with a special someone. That special someone is here tonight, and I would love for you to meet her, even though I'm sure all of you already have. Please meet my lovely, soon-to-become bride, the Princess of Japan, Sakura Kinomoto,"

Gasps broke out through the entire room. People looked from side to side, wondering if anyone else knew of this shocking news. Chatter began to arise, and Syaoran's voice was drowned. Sakura gave him an angry look from his side, but returned that look, telling Sakura with his eyes that he would explain later. He looked towards the audience, and saw Eimi. He could practically see the cash signs in her eyes.

Yelan began to do what she did just minutes before, tapping her spoon against her glass, and the people's attention was turned towards Syaoran once more. "Yes, yes, I know it may come as a shock to you all, but I love Sakura very much, and to show this beautiful woman truly how much I love her, I have given her a special Christmas present."

The crowd grew silent, wanting to know what he had gotten for Sakura. Syaoran reached into his pocket for the tiny black velvet case, and held it before her. Sakura gasped, and took the box from him. She hesitated to open it, but seeing the suspicious eyes of the crowd, and the pleading look for Syaoran to just open it, she opened it slowly and cautiously, just in case it was some kind of trick.

Inside, was the piece of jewelry that Yelan had seen on display. It was a beautiful bracelet, with pink diamonds hanging from it, carved into beautiful cherry blossom petals. The pink diamonds shimmered into the light, and the entire room gasped, and broke out into applause. Sakura's eyes filled with shock, as she took it from the small case, and brought it up to her face to inspect it. She saw the crowd still applauding, and saw this as her chance to speak to Syaoran about what in bloody hell was going on.

"This wasn't necessary!"

"I'll explain everything later!" he replied.

He cleared his throat a few times, and the attention was back on him. This time, he wasn't talking to the people, but to Sakura infront of them. "My sweet Sakura, each petal on that bracelet symbolizes my love for you. Each petal only goes to show that I love you, this much," he said, gesturing with his arms. He spread them apart widely, and the crowd began to laugh at his cuteness, which was exactly what he hoped they would do.

Sakura's confused face turned into a smile. She too was amused by Syaoran's speech. Not necessarily convinced, but certainly amused.

"But, that's not all," Syaoran continued, "If you only think I love you that much, you're wrong. Men? Show her how much I love her!" He said, talking to some men, up above everyone else on stairs, with buckets beside them. Syaoran signalled to them, and they all nodded, and dumped whatever was in the buckets, out, onto the people.

Out of the buckets poured more pink cherry blossom petals. They showered the crowd, and applause and laughter began to erupt from the large room. The petals landed on everyone, everything, and some even in the punch. It covered the ground almost as much as the snow outside did, and everyone began to play around with them, throwing it into the air as if it were confetti.

Syaoran looked over to Sakura, who was now wearing the bracelet. She looked up into the men above her, and let the cherry blossom petals fall onto her face, and into her hair. When she looked back at him, the petals were tangled in her auburn brown hair, and she smiled at him, mouthing a "thank you so much". She ran towards him, and gave him a huge bear hug. He lifted her from the ground and swung her around and around. Along with the applause and laughter from the crowd, "aww's" joined in. And another word, which Syaoran and Sakura hadn't expected them to chant.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss!" They chanted over and over.

Sakura looked at Syaoran nervously, to the crowd, and to her Father. To her surprise, she saw him smiling, and Touya beside him, fuming like an angry bull. She knew that if she kissed him, Syaoran would be seriously injured not a few moments after.

Syaoran was looking at Touya also, and he tried hard to swallow the knot in his throat. If he kissed Sakura, she would be the last person he would ever kiss, because he knew what Touya was capable of and what he was not afraid of doing.

Suddenly, while the crowd was still chanting for them to kiss, their parents joined Syaoran and Sakura. Surprisingly, they were telling them to kiss also. They said that if that was what the people wanted, than that's what they should do. They hadn't come this far into the night not to have something exciting happen. So, with the okay, and the assurance of her Father that Touya would not harm Syaoran, Sakura dove in for a kiss.

It was the most exhilerating kiss Sakura ever had from him. Maybe being in front of people while doing so got her excited. She heard the room grow louder with applause, and so she pulled him closer, giving the kiss more warmth. So much warmth that it could have kept them warm during the cold winter.

Sakura felt Syaoran wrap his arm tighter around her waist, and just for a second, that one second, she wished that everything he said to her that night was true.

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Aww, cute, eh? Read and Review!

Signing Off,
Agent08 - My life as a secret agent xD