Authors Notes: This is my first Alternative Universe fic so I'm not really sure if it's any good. I apologise if some the characters seem OOC due to the change of roles. Also a warning that there might be some hintings of shounen ai and shoujo ai. If you are offended by this then I suggest that you don't read. The main couple however will be eventually Syaoran/Sakura.

With that said I hope you enjoy my fic. ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura, which was created by the lovely wonderful ladies of Clamp.

Entwined fates: Chapter one

The young auburn haired girl sighed, staring longingly out of her bedroom window. For almost her entire life it seemed that that the things she saw out of her window were her only connection to the real world. The view was magnificent, but how could this possibly matter when she knew she could never be a part of it? Heaving another sigh she moved a way from the window. Her name was Kinomoto Sakura and although she may have looked like any other girl she was actually a princess. And as one would expect, she was quite pretty, blessed with long shining golden-brown hair and gleaming emerald eyes.

To many, being a princess would be the greatest thing in the entire world. Sakura however thought very differently. Sure she could see why people might like the idea but she knew that it definitely wasn't everything it was made out to be. In fact she would have traded places with any normal girl for only one thing, the gift of freedom. With a fiery passion she hated being cooped up in the palace. Truthfully it was rather big but when you've lived in it for over fifteen years you were bound to know every corner, twist and turn so it wasn't like there was any new place to explore. She was free to roam the palace gardens which had plants even more beautiful than the ones described in books. She loved to walk in the gardens which seemed to go on forever but just like the palace it eventually got boring.

Now and again she would visit the city and would look forward to those trips for days before. Unfortunately her Mother and Father didn't allow her to go out as much as she would have liked, claiming that it was dangerous and that anything awful could happen to their little girl. Sometimes she argued back but was never able to come close to changing their minds. All she wanted was to have fun, make friends and walk through life making her own choices, not having all decisions made for her and being constantly told how to act. It frustrated her greatly that people would treat her like royalty and not like a real person. Even on her trips into the city she could not maintain a normal persona as palace guards were always ordered to accompany her. Everyone would make a big fuss about her being there and would bow and complement her when really she hated it when everyone made a big deal about her. In the end it would only cause her embarrassment. The girls there would look upon her with both admiration and jealously making Sakura want to yell at them and explain the restrictions that being a princess really brought upon someone. She knew that they would never listen though, too diluted in their dreams of royalty.

"Idiots, they don't know how lucky they truly are." she mumbled, letting her body fall back on to the bed. "I'd gladly be out there, even doing some hard work than being stuck up here. Life isn't fair at all" she groaned as she buried her head into her pillow.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Sakura-hime, may I come in?" spoke a voice.

"Yes." she answered quickly pulling herself off the bed.

A middle aged woman walked in and bowed. "Excuse me for intruding your majesty but the tailor has arrived and is in the fitting room waiting for you."

Sakura stared confused. "Tailor?"

"Yes. He is here to fit your dress for the banquet."

"Banquet? But Father just had one a couple of weeks ago!"

"Yes, but now he is arranging one for our country's new friendship with the Fuya kingdom. Didn't you know?"

"It must have slipped my mind…"

The woman broke into a smile. "The Kingdom has just received word of it and everyone is tremendously excited. I'm sure you must be too!"

"Oh uh, why yes of course." In actual truth she was dreading it. The rulers of Fuya had to be the most boring people Sakura had had the displeasure of meeting. The country of Fuya was very large and rather rich and although quite far from Kinomoto, Fuya and Kinomoto were able to from a good friendship and trust with each other.

While Kinomoto wasn't a rich country it did however possess great beauty. Recently Kinomoto had presented Fuya with some of the countries finest arts and gifts in hope of developing a long lasting bond of friendship. Fuya had been flattered but Sakura was shocked at how expensive the gifts were and was sure that the by offering Fuya these gifts it was the only way to impress them and gain their friendship. Being rich and pompous, Fuya only accepted the best. As well as friendship, an alliance was made in that if ever either country were to be attacked the other would come air them in their time of need. Although Kinomoto hadn't being attacked for hundreds of years now and was indeed a peace loving country and given its history's nature would want to avoid war at all costs.

Sakura was sure that everyone would be running around crazily trying to get everything ready, only the best for the Fuya-jin after all. "I hope I won't have to sit at the same table as the Fuya king's daughters." Sakura thought to herself. Last time she had seen them all they done was complain and talked only of themselves. But knowing her luck she probably would have to sit with them. She suppressed a sigh.

"I'm sure you will be anxious to see how your dress will turn out." said the maid still smiling with excitement.

"Oh yes." she replied with fake enthusiasm. With that she followed the maid to the fitting room.

Another afternoon wasted in such a futile activity. However I do suppose I wouldn't have anything better to do anyway.

****************************************************************

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in."

A young brown haired man opened the door and entered. At the window sat beautiful looking woman. Quickly he approached her and bowed. "You wished to see me mother?"

"Yes, Syaoran. I just wished to inform you that the troops have left."

"Left?! But-but when?" cried the boy in shock.

"They left for Kinomoto this morning." replied the woman, unsurprised by her son's reaction.

"But I thought- I wished to fight with them!"

"It would have been illogical to let you participate in such an affair. Besides that, something could happen to you."

"I'm stronger than ten of our best soldiers put together using only small portions of my power! Please let me help Mother! I'll make sure they get to Kinomoto without trouble. I'll make sure that they will not fail."

"Our soldiers are well aware of their task. I have faith in them."

But you don't have faith in me. "But-"

"Syaoran!" Instantly he turned away from his mother to see where the other voice had come from. "Father!" He bowed deeply as the man approached him. "I expect you to show proper respect to your mother as well as my decisions." The man said sternly.

"I am sorry Father. I did not mean to argue or show any disrespect to either you or Mother. Forgive me."

"The time in which you may show your true powers in battle has not yet arrived. I do know however that that time shall soon come. The only question is shall you be ready for it?"

"I will. I've studied hard and continuously. I know that I am ready to face whatever stands in the way of my path. I will serve and bring honour to the Li Kingdom no matter what it takes!"

"Your determination is inspiring but there is still great weakness in you. You are not as powerful as you perceive yourself to be. Rush in with an attitude like that and you will most certainly get yourself killed."

Syaoran's eyes widened. "But!"

"Accept what has been said and continue with your training. Instead of boasting your strengths find your weaknesses for within you there are many. They will be your downfall."

Syaoran clenched his fists together and looked away doing whatever he could to hide the distress his father's words had caused him.

"I'm sure Hiiragizawa-san will be more than happy to assist you. You should go see him. He will help you achieve your full potential."

"You must realise that Syaoran is doing immensely will with his studies." said the woman in much softer tone.

"I'm aware of this. However in such times we need all the power we can conjure and simply put the boy is not yet strong enough. He needs to be, for he will play an important role in our quest for control and conquest."

"I understand. I will have Wei-san rearrange his schedule to add an extra hour of magic and combat training."

"Better make it two."

"Is that not a bit much? Anymore and I fear it will be inevitably too much for him."

"If he cannot handle this then he will be absolutely useless to our plans. I thought you a direct descendant of the great Li warriors would have understood that there is no room for failure."

"Do not worry Mother. I shall not let you or Father nor the Li Kingdom down."

"Let us hope not." replied the Emperor. "You are dismissed."

Syaoran bowed and took his leave.

"Yes the time will soon come."

"Kuso! I can't believe they still do not think I am good enough. I could take out the entire Kinomoto army myself!" Syaoran muttered angrily to himself.

"With such fabrications I can see why they are question you." came a soft voice. Quickly looking up he saw his older sister Fuuti standing there. "Onee-sama?"

"Surely you can't believe you are that strong?"

Syaoran gave an exasperated sigh. "Of course I don't but I know that I am strong. Mother and Father just don't seem to see this."

"I understand your frustration. No one likes for people to underestimate them but for our Kingdom to succeed we need a powerful heir. Mother and father are just nervous. Plus I am sure they wouldn't want for you to get hurt."

"That's what Mother said… But I really am trying my hardest."

Fuutie gave her younger brother a kind smile. "I know you are little brother."

"What are you doing over here anyway?" he asked curiously.

"I have something that I wish to discuss with Mother."

"She is with Father just now."

"Oh." Syaoran noticed that his sister looked disappointed.

"I'm sure Father won't mind being disturbed if it is something important."

She shook her head. "No, it's all right. I wish to speak to Mother alone anyway."

"Have you seen Eriol-sama?"

"No but it is more than likely that he is in his study chamber. You know how he likes his privacy."

"All right. Goodbye then!"

Fuutie gazed sadly at her brother as he ran off. "Good luck with your training little brother."

**************************************************************

Sakura skipped through the hallways happily. Her parents were not able to make it to dinner tonight so it would just be her and her elder brother, perhaps even Yukito would join them too. Touya was four years older than her and would soon become the King of Kinomoto. Sakura loved her elder brother dearly but because of his position she was not able to spend as much time as she would have liked with him. Touya was rushed about and told what to do even more than she. She felt sorry for him but he had Yukito of course. This made her slightly jealous. Tonight however they would talk about things that concerned them, not just Kinomoto and their duties.

"Hello!" she cried as she ran into the dinning room.

"Yep, I told you it was her all right. You can hear those pounding footsteps from miles away." said her brother to the other young man standing next to him. "Are you sure you're a princess and not really a monster?"

Sakura clenched her fists together. "I am not a monster!"

"With an appearance and attitude like that it would be sure easy to mistake you for one." Sakura was just about ready to hit her brother when she noticed someone else standing there. "Yukito-san!"

"Hello, Sakura-hime." said the silver haired boy bowing. "I hope I'm not intruding. Since the King and Queen are unable to make it to night Touya-ouji invited me for dinner. Is that all right?"

"Hai! Of course!" replied Sakura cheerfully.

The young man smiled. "Arigatou."

With that Sakura ran over to the table and sat herself down on a chair. Yukito-san was her brother's best friend and they spent almost all their time together. Yukito had always been around since she was born and also lived in the palace. In all honesty Yukito felt like a brother to her just as much as Touya did. Where Yukito had came from however she did not know. She knew he didn't have any parents so figured that perhaps someone who worked in the palace had found him and brought him to her parents who decided to keep him. Her parents didn't treat him as a son but allowed him to stay in the palace and enter the royal chambers where she, Touya and her parents slept. Maybe they had kept him as a play-mate for Touya.

"Sugoi! The food looks really amazing!" cried Yukito with delight.

"Hai!" agreed Sakura. She turned to her brother. "Onii-chan what have you been doing today?"

Her brother groaned and turned away. Sakura blinked in confusion. "Hoe?"

Yukito gave a small chuckle. "Touya-ouji has been preparing his speech for the banquet. However it isn't coming along so well."

"Yuki! I told you all ready that you don't need to call me Ouji!" groaned Touya.

"Gomen, I forgot that no one else was around. I sometimes worry that people might think that I'm not showing you the proper respect." he replied apologetically.

"We're best friends of course I don't expect you to call me that. Besides who gives a damn, what anyone else thinks?"

The silver haired boy smiled brightly. "Arigatou To-ya." Touya smiled upon hearing Yukito's nickname for him.

"Everyone else around here calls me princess so please don't you do it too." added Sakura gently.

"Arigatou Sakura-chan."

The three went on through dinner laughing and enjoying themselves, and for a short time Sakura and Touya were able to forgot their duties and have fun. Sadly as dinner came to an end so did the fun.

"I hate the dress I have to wear for the banquet." complained the auburn haired girl.

"It can't be that bad." replied Touya.

"It is! It's like an exact replica of all dresses I've wore before it! It's pink and so plain and boring. I'd rather go in peasants ropes than that."

"Well we all have to do things we don't want to." he justified.

"Yes, but it isn't fair! I swear sometimes I hate being a princess!"

Touya sighed. "Trust me when I say that you're a lot better off than a lot of other people in the world."

"Maybe so but I still can't stand this. I can't do anything for myself. From what I wear to the very thing I eat, they're all decided by someone else! And the duties I am forced to do have no meaning at all!"

"They are not meaningless. They are for the good of the country." he replied growing irritated by his sister's arrogance.

"Nothing I do is for the good of the country! You, Mother and Father are what matters for the country! Mother and Father are rulers over the land soon you will be too. But what am I? I am a mere princess with no real purpose who is forced to go along with it!"

"Stop being so god-damned selfish!" yelled Touya finally. "I'm not exactly looking forward to having the weight of an entire country place upon my shoulders! I would much rather just be a prince and have someone else become King. But that decision is not mines to make and so I must do what I was born to do. I cannot deny my duties to the Kingdom and neither can you."

On the verge of tears Sakura pushed her chair out from the table and ran out.

"Sakura-chan!"

Touya grabbed his friend's arm stopping him from going after her. "Wait."

"But Sakura-"

He sighed and sat back down. "She needs time to think and calm down."

Frowning, Yukito nodded and followed Touya in sitting back down. "Will she be all right?"

"Sakura is actually a lot stronger than she looks and soon she will realise what she has to do."

"Poor Sakura, it must be difficult being stuck in the palace while all the other girls her age are outside free to roam where they like. You must feel envious too, To-ya." He pointed out sadly.

"I would be if I didn't have you. Over the years I've finally been able to accept what I must do for the country but Sakura has so much freewill and energy that the life of a princess isn't suited for her. I've noticed this for awhile now but I never realised how sad it was making her. I regret that I haven't been there enough for her."

The smaller boy held his head low. "I feel guilty that I've been able to spend so much time with you while Sakura-chan is by herself."

"It's nobody's fault. Besides Sakura would never hold it against you, she loves you."

Yukito smiled slightly. "Hai, I feel like Sakura-chan is just like a younger sister to me."

"Yes, she-" Suddenly he stopped.

"Toya?"

"I…"

"What's wrong?" the other boy asked worriedly.

The taller boy snapped out of it and shook his head. "Uh, nothing I think. I just had a strange feeling."

Yukito blinked. "A strange feeling?"

He nodded. "Yes, as if something were about to happen."

Yukito gazed at his friend with grave concern. Ever since they were little Touya had been able to sense things others could not. It was like a sixth sense almost. Yukito had though of it as an amazing ability but if something bad were to happen…

"Come on, I still have to work on my speech." announced the other boy getting up to leave.

"Toya, this feeling, what could it mean? Is something bad going to happen perhaps?"

"It probably wasn't anything at all, don't worry about It." replied Touya reassuringly.

Yukito gave a small smile and nodded. "Hai."

Touya frowned as Yukito walked in front of him.

I pray that it means nothing, for their sakes…

***********************************************************

Syaoran knocked heavily on the large chamber door.

"You may enter." He went in and closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry to disturb you but-" He stopped realising that the sorcerer seemed to be in great concentration. He sat on a large chair with his eyes tightly shut.

"I will be with you in a moment." he stated.

The chestnut haired boy nodded. Hiiragizawa Eriol was his mentor, the one who had taught him how to control and channel his powers, and although he looked only a year or two older than Syaoran, he was in fact over one hundreds years of age. And in those hundred years he had been a loyal servant of the Li clan and the strongest magician in the country. He had been teaching Syaoran magic since he was five yeas old and in the past ten years they had developed a special relationship. Syaoran had great respect and admiration for his master and one day hoped to be as strong as him.

Lifting himself out of his chair he walked over to his young student. "The Emperor has sent his troops to the Kinomoto Kingdom?"

"Yes Mother said they left this morning."

The sorcerer sighed. "And so it is beginning."

"What is beginning?" Syaoran asked curiously.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"I really wanted to go help fight."

"Don't worry you'll get your chance."

"Mother and Father, they still don't think I'm powerful enough to amount to anything." He stated sadly.

"What you need is patience, and I daresay so does the Emperor." replied Eriol. "The attack on the Kinomoto Kingdom happened a lot sooner than I had first anticipated."

"I-I'm sure Father knows what he's doing."

"Yes, he does. He knows what he wants and how to get it. Anyway what is it that you came to see me about?" asked the blue haired man turning back around to face Syaoran.

"I was wondering if you could train with me now. Perhaps you could show me some new techniques, anything that will help me improve."

"Yes I thought that was the reason you came by but I'm afraid that I am in the middle of something gravely important at the moment." replied Eriol regrettably.

Syaoran's face fell in disappointment. "I understand. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."

"Not at all." answered Eriol kindly. "I sensed Fuutie-hime's presence earlier. Perhaps she will take the time to train with you."

"Yes, maybe." He still couldn't help but feel disappointed. His eldest sister was strong but seeing that he was next in line to rule the Kingdom he had a lot more training than her both physically and magically and was all ready stronger her. Syaoran frowned slightly realising that his sister had looked somewhat sad when he had seen her.

"Well I will leave and let you get back to what you were doing." He said as he walked towards the door.

"Thank you. Syaoran-ouji we will train later I promise."

He smiled slightly. "Thank you." With that he left.

"He is quite determined isn't he?" chimed a small voice.

"Yes that he is." Suddenly a strange small cat like creature with wings appeared floating in mid air.

"Awww I wish I could train with him. He's so cute!" said another voice, and the next moment a teenage girl appeared.

"You would end up rendering him unconscious." replied the cat-like creature.

"Would not!"

"You don't know your own strength."

"It was Eriol-sama who made us so strong!" she cried hugging her master.

"Do you think he realised anything what is about to happen?" asked the cat.

"No. I am afraid that poor Syaoran is too blinded by the Emperors desires as well as the rest of the Li clan to truly see what is going on." sighed the navy haired man.

"Do you think anyone else is aware?"

"If they are then it is most likely that they would keep their worries to themselves. Speaking against the Emperors wishes is one of the highest disrespects after all."

"So it shall continue as prophesied?"

"I am afraid it will, Spinal-sun."

"What will we do now then?"

"There is nothing that we can do. For now we will just have to wait."

"Aw but waiting is so boring!" wailed the girl.

"I understand how you feel Nakura but please be patient." he said gently stroking his creation's face.

"Okay…"

All we can do now is wait…

*************************************************************

Nightfall came and Sakura had finished packing her things. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand being locked away in this place any longer. Her brother couldn't possibly understand how she felt. She had been trapped away in this cage of loneliness for to long and now this was her chance to escape. The Kingdom would be fine with out her. Her parents were the only ones allowed to make decisions after all. And after that Touya would take their place.

She crept down the hallway to her brother's room. She longed to stay for longer but she knew she had to leave now. If Touya found her he would try to prevent her from going. She took off her necklace and bent down placing it at the corner of her brother's bedroom door. She was sure he would see it. She just wanted to show him that even though she was leaving she still cared.

"Onii-chan I love you so much, but I'm afraid I can longer stay here. I hope that one day I will be able to see you again. Please take care of Mother and Father and especially Yukito-san. Farewell…" With that she faded into night hoping to finally escape this prison once and for all.

Authors Notes: I hope that was all right and not too bad. I guess it's a big change for Syaoran who in the anime and manga acts like he hates Eriol, whilst now he admires and has great respect for him, lol. I read somewhere that Fuuti is the name of Syaoran's eldest sister, so sorry if I made a mistake and got the name mixed up with one of the other sisters. .I apologise for any grammar and spelling mistakes. No matter how many times I look over it, there still seems to be lots. -_-;

Any feedback or advice on how I could improve would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading. ^_^