Chapter Two

Card Captor Sakura

Misty Dreams

~starjade~

A Memory

A Year Before....

Softly , like a breeze floating in soft waves over the water, rippling on gentle tendrils of air was a young girl's voice. Sweet and quiet , it was , full of innocence and happiness.

The voice brought out the birds twitters and the rustles of leaves...it caused the sun to blanket the world in a coat of warmth and glitter on the lakes like a pot of diamonds hanging in the air.

A King with sad eyes watched over the girl as she sat in the garden , swinging back and forth in the whirl of cherry blossoms. A tear ran down his cheek as he watched his only daughter hug herself tightly as if she was blocking out a crash of cold air in the warm day.

His daughter was sad...

Someone at the door knocked loudly , startling him out of his stupor. Quickly , wiping his cheeks and positioning the grand crown on his head once more , Fujitaka opened the door.

In walked his trusted advisor ,smiling gently at him.

" Fujitaka , you mustn't dwell in the past. She died so long ago , you should be over that stage in your life and going on." The advisor said , his eyes watching as Fujitaka settled onto the couch.

Fujitaka closed his eyes tightly and could almost feel the gentle touch , the brush of her hair across his face , her smile...

" I can't forget Nadeshiko , advisor. She's a part of my soul..." he trailed off , knowing that the advisor wouldn't understand.

The advisor nodded. " I know you can't forget her....and I'm not asking you to. But your going to have to remarry in the next month or so."

Fujitaka frowned. " Why?"

The advisor shrugged helplessly. " In the Kinomoto book , it says clearly on page one hundred and four that ever ruler must have a spouse. We have held it off as long as we could , King Fujitaka."

Fujitaka's head bowed. " I just can't..."

The advisor patted Fujitaka's arm. " Think of it as helping your children. They haven't had a mother figure in their lives for so long...."

Fujitaka remembered that sweet lilting voice that floated through his window....the sadness that coated the voice like a dark cape that only clothed the pained and the weary.

" Alright..." Fujitaka sighed. " For my children..."

~~~~~****~~~~

Touya and Yukito ran through the hallways , their feet pounding on the wood floors. They burst into Sakura's room , their faces stricken.

Sakura rose from her bed , her face confused. "What's wrong , brothers?"

Yukito gestured helplessly. " Our new...stepmother...downstairs..."

Sakura's emerald eyes widened. " Stepmother??"

Touya nodded , his voice cold. " I can't believe it. Father remarried to keep the Kingdom... how could he even think of replacing Mother?"

Sakura's eyes filled with tears. A new mother....she couldn't see it either. How could she replace Nadeshiko?

She sighed. She knew her father was unhappy , maybe he needed a woman in his life to make him happy...

Sakura rose her face to her brothers and shook her head. " Touya , Yukito , we should respect our new stepmother. Of course she can't replace Mother....but Father needs a wife....can't you see how sad he's been these past days?"

Yukito nodded. " He has been quite lonely....I guess we should give this woman a chance..."

Sakura grinned at her brothers. " Lets go see her , then!"

The three trooped out the door and down the flights of stairs to the front parlour. The discovered their other brothers , Hiro , Kosumo , Eidan and Yamazaki were already there. Sakura looked through the crowd of people , searching for her father.

Finally , she found him and she grinned.

" Father!" she yelled and ran towards him. Her father smiled and wrapped her in a hug.

A cough was heard beside them. Sakura looked up and gasped. It was a stern looking woman , with thin lips and black hair pulled tightly away from her face in a tight knot and wrinkles lining her forehead. Her eyes were small and her nose was pointy and her eyebrows were deeply arched and she rose one at Sakura.

" And who is this?" she asked Fujitaka.

Fujitaka smiled fondly at Sakura. " My youngest child....Sakura."

The woman smiled , though her smile seemed forced. " A pleasure."

Sakura stared at his woman. Why did her eyes grow so cold when she saw her?

Her brothers made their way through the crowd and the woman frowned deeply. As all introductions were made , her father looked at the stern woman.

" Please meet your stepmother , children. Her name is Oribia and I hope you'll make her feel welcome in our home."

Sakura tried to smile at her new mother but Oribia glared at her.

" I'm sure we'll have a rather...pleasant time....shouldn't we?" Oribia said , her voice drippy and saucy.

Fujitaka smiled , tiredly and after a few closing statements started to make his way to bed and the crowd soon dispersed.

Soon , Sakura was alone with her mother.

" Hello , Oribia. Shall I lead you to your room?" Sakura asked , cheerfully.

Oribia gave her a dirty look and looked around herself carefully. Then , without warning , she grabbed Sakura's hair and pulled her towards her. Sakura yelped at the pain.

Oribia stuck her face in Sakura's and growled , " I don't want anything to do with children , and I will make sure that you children will be gone from my life. For you , you cheerful , petty brat , you'll get the worst punishment of all. Now shut your trap , and do whatever I say. Otherwise you'll be in for it!"

With that she flung Sakura away and Sakura landed on a heap on the floor , her head throbbing with pain. Oribia snorted and spit at Sakura before she turned around and swept away.

Sakura's eyes filled with tears. Her father mustn't have been aware of this Oribia's real personality...how will he ever live with her?

Sakura never missed her mother more than she did now...she wrapped her arms around her legs and let a tear fall down her cheek.

" Mother , come back to me...." she whispered.

~~~~~****~~~~

As the months flew by , Sakura was forced to do Oribia's dirty work. Not a word of complaint was ever uttered from Sakura's lips and she did it respectfully. Everyday , she'd pray and wished....she wished for a happy life with her father and her brothers away from Oribia.

Oribia treated her brothers painfully as well. No matter how well they did in their studies , their work , anything that gave them joy , Oribia would suck their happiness away like a whirlpool , throwing criticism , insults in their faces. She fired all the servants , except for one who was her personal maidservant and made her brothers do the housework.

Her brothers plotted against her in private , but never a word of complaint in front of her. This was their stepmother , after all , and that called for respect.

But Sakura and her brothers were not aware of the poison that flowed through her veins instead of blood...they did not know the true wickedness that made up Oribia's heart....but they were soon to find out.

As soon as the flutter of the wing of a Swan....

~~~~~****~~~~

Sakura bent down in front of her garden , carefully planting her herbs. Ever since her mother had died , Sakura had grown interested in the healing arts.

She planted as many herbs as she could , plants that helped her heal cuts , bruises and even major injuries. It always helped when her brothers came back from war, fighting with the Li Kingdom.

She was quite partial with the herbs , and never let them out of her sight. She knew that if she could save one life , she would give up her own to save theirs.

" Sakura!" Oribia screeched.

Sakura looked up startled. Oribia was calling her! Quickly she wrapped her skirts in her hand and leapt into the mansion , hurrying up the stairs and grabbing a cloth bag , which she slung over her shoulder. She hurried to Oribia's vast room and halted a the doorway , panting.

" Yes?" she asked , her voice out of breath.

Oribia glared at her. She was standing on a stool , wearing a loose pink dress.

" Didn't I tell you that you were to fit me in my dress?" Oribia whispered , dangerously.

Sakura nodded. " Yes you did , but I was busy tending to my garden and I-"

" SHUT UP AND DO IT!" Oribia yelled at the top of her lungs. Sakura jumped startled.

" Alright.." she whispered and quickly opened up her cloth bag. Taking out a couple of needles , she stuck some in her mouth and took a measuring line.

She started to round the Queen , tightening what needed to be tightened and loosening what needed to be loosened.

Oribia sighed , bored. She checked her nails and said out loud in the quiet room , " I'm thinking of renovating the whole castle."

Sakura didn't know what to say so she kept quiet.

" I was thinking of replacing these horrid gold carpets with red ones and maybe refurnish the front parlour. I was also thinking of getting rid of that horrendous garden-"

" NO!" Sakura shouted , the needles from her mouth dropping to the floor.

Oribia blinked and whirled her head towards Sakura. " Excuse me?"

Sakura's face stared back strongly at Oribia. " Don't get rid of the garden. I will not allow you to do this!"

Oribia cackled. " And why not?"

Sakura glared at her. " My mother started that garden and she loved that place more than any place in the world. I need that Garden.....it contains my herbs that I use all the time and-"

Oribia guffawed. " Do I care about your mother? No! Do I care about you?? NO! The garden will go down!"

Sakura's eyes widened. " You better not , or I'll-"

Oribia scowled. " Or you'll what , Sakura? What will you do?"

Anger flooded Sakura and she whirled on her heel and stomped out the door. Oribia's eyes were wide with surprise. This was the fist display of anger and emotion in a long time...

Oribia got off the stool and cried , " Where are you going , missy?"

She chased after Sakura as she stomped down the hall and was about to grab her arm when a voice interrupted them.

" What is going on?"

Oribia's face changed. It was Fujitaka...

" Oh , Fujitaka , darling..." Oribia started , but Sakura interrupted her.

" Father , Oribia wants to get rid of the garden! The one that Mother loved so much!"

Fujitaka's eyes filled with tears. " Oribia? Is that true?"

Oribia glared at Sakura and whispered , " No , I would never do such a foul thing!"

Fujitaka nodded. " Lets make sure that never happens , then."

Fujitaka walked off , alone in his stupor. Oribia wrenched on Sakura's arm.

" You will pay , missy!" She growled and stomped off to her room. Sakura rubbed her arm and stared after Oribia , her eyes wide with fear.

What was Oribia capable of?

~~~~~~~~~******~~~~~~~

The front parlour was silent with a cold atmosphere that made the warmest hearted person shiver with the ice like air that seemed to surround the room.

" Prince , we have another woman who would like to see you..." the advisor said , his face down in respect and fear.

The prince's face was bowed and he nodded slightly. The advisor beckoned to the woman who stood at the doorway. She pranced in , her skirts full of petticoats , and her shirt tight against her skin. A silk cloth was draped over her arms and jewels hung around her neck and on her fingers.

All the advisors and all of the Prince's sisters hung around him , smiling at the woman , hoping that she would be the one that would catch his reluctant eye.

" May I present to you , Princess Korila of the Lachester Kingdom." The advisor called out and she started to walk down the red carpet , her hip wiggling , her smile flirtatious and growing wider as she saw the Prince.

" Hello , Prince Li," the Princess called out , her voice whispery and sweet.

The prince looked up only once and scowled hard at her face. His amber eyes flashed with dislike and ridicule.

" Did you get that dress out of the garbage dump? What are you doing here? Go back to wherever you came from and don't come back!" The prince roared out and everyone's shoulder's sagged. He didn't like this one either!

The girl , however flushed hard " Excuse me! How dare you treat a lady like this-" she was about to continue , but a bodyguard had grabbed her arms and was dragging her out of the room. The prince was now fit to be mad. He got up from his chair and started to pace the room.

" Why are you people bringing me these fools?" He yelled at the advisors.

One of his sisters went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. " Come on , Syaoran! We went through a hundred woman and you haven't preferred one of them!"

Syaoran scoffed. He was a handsome man , with bright intelligent amber eyes and a soft face. He had chestnut hair that hung in bangs that framed his face and a solid build from years of Martial Arts training. He grew up a serious boy , with not one stroke of kindness in his heart.

He was polite when he was forced to be and he hardly ever smiled. Yet when he did , he looked like all the other sixteen year old boys out in the Kingdom , enjoying their lives.

In order to be King , he had to have a wife. Yet he was so picky , that even through a hundred woman , they had found not one that even sparked any interest in that ice rimmed heart of his.

Futtie and the other sisters were beginning to think it was hopeless. He just sat there on his throne , yelling at all the woman that entered the room.

No one really realised the turmoil going through that stiff man's heart. He wasn't as cold as everyone thought he was and he was looking for a woman. He had not found her yet , but he knew who she was.

Every night she would look at him with her bright green eyes but not one word would be spoken from her sweet lips. She was the girl who smiled at him in every one of his dreams. And he would not rest until he found her.

a/n: Aww , isn't that sweet? I love your reviews , absolutely! But I need more! I need more reviews!!!! Lol , please review my story and I promise more chappies , aight!

Luvyall!

~starjade~