Disclaimer I don't own CCS! CLAMP does, and they ROCK because of it!
Plans and Dinner
The inside of the castle was covered in elaborate designs, with tapestries and pictures of the past Kings and Queens. The walls inside were white as well, made of the same stones that Syaoran had never seen before. They stood on a red carpet, with silver borders and designs on the two parallel hems. It led to a grand throne against the wall of the room, which obviously indicated that this was the Throne Room. On either side of the red cushioned chair, were two smaller chairs, belonging to Princess Sakura, and Prince Toya.
The King had gone ahead to sit down leisurely down on his throne, tapping his fingers against one of the arm rests. His two children sat on their respective sides, Keroberos going to sit beside Sakura.
"I am rather grateful that I was sent a message just before your arrival. You came earlier than expected." The king explained, still smiling brightly. Now that Syaoran noticed it, the King looked worn out. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked like he was ready to drop down on the floor from exhaustion. Princess Sakura had her eyes closed, and her head was leaning on a hand that was propped up on a cushion. Kero soon fixed that, by gently pushing her with his head.
"We would have come on the planned date, but the Queen insisted on leaving earlier." Yue spoke, gaining a nod of understanding from his Majesty.
"Well then, let's not talk on why you came earlier than expected; we have a Wedding to discuss." The king spoke, after a few minutes of silence. Yue nodded.
"The Wedding will be held in a year's time, when the first Sakura tree blooms. This will give Sakura and Prince Syaoran to get to know a little more about each other." The king exclaimed, going into a detailed discussion with Yue. Syaoran looked to the floor, crossing his arms over his chest.
'I'm not going to enjoy it here, that's for sure.' He thought, looking up at the Princess. Her gaze was enough to make him look away. She did as well, sighing lightly.
Even though he knew that Sakura was not looking at him anymore, he still felt eyes on him.
Prince Toya was glaring at him, clearly upset about this marriage. His little sister deserved much better than this cold hearted man standing before them.
It was only half and hour later that the discussion halted. It was already time for Dinner, and many of the castle's servants were impatiently waiting outside the throne room door.
The king looked away from the two men before him, and stood up. He clapped two times, and the doors swung open. About 15 servants appeared all wearing aprons. One however, was not. She had long black hair and navy-blue eyes. She walked towards them as the others were busy attending to a long and beautiful oak wood table, folded up behind the King's throne.
She bowed politely to them, hands folded against the front her black dress.
"While Dinner is prepared I will show you to your rooms. Your luggage is already in there, and they need sorting out." She explained. Her voice held kindness, and she had some sort of friendly nature to her. To him, most servants talked to the higher class with a straight face.
She led them through a series of hallways, all of them much like the Throne room in design. Statues and empty suits of armor lined the walls, staying immortal for centuries at a time.
They passed through several more hallways before the navy eyed girl stopped in front of a couple oak doors. She looked at both of them before opening the doors to allow them into the first room.
"This is Yue-sama's quarters." She said standing by the door frame.
The room was casually decorated, with a large four poster bed in the middle. The covers were a Sapphire blue, with white pillows and sheets. To the right was a large Oak wardrobe, looking newly polished. The two windows that sat on either side of the bed were surrounded by sapphire curtains, pulled back to allow the sun to shine its light through the room. The floor was white marble like the rest of the Castle's floors.
A fireplace was set against one wall, with a rug and cream cushioned chairs and a couch.
Lining the back wall was whatever luggage that the winged Advisor had packed for the journey.
Yue turned to look at the girl, gesturing his hand towards the bags on the floor.
"You may pack whatever clothes you find in the Wardrobe, I will deal with the rest." He said, gaining a polite nod.
"It will be done when you get back from Dinner." She replied, still smiling. She walked past them, towards another door that led from Yue's room to another room. It appeared to be a common room, with a large brick fireplace. Red cushioned chairs sat in front of the fireplace, resembling the ones that Princess Sakura and Prince Toya had been sitting on before.
There was a wool rug that sat under the chairs, soft to the touch. Book shelves lined the walls, filled with many books Syaoran had never seen before in his life. At the back of the room, was a glass door, leading out to a balcony with white railings.
"This is the Common Room, it is for your access only. Servants will come in here to clean though, so I apologize if you ever get interrupted." She said, receiving nods from both men. She walked across the room, opening yet another door to reveal a bedroom.
The walls were painted Emerald green, with white runes set at the top of the walls. White curtains were opened to reveal large glass windows.
The four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room, with blankets that matched the walls around them. A large oak wardrobe stood beside another fireplace, with Syaoran's bags sitting against the wall nearby. A cream rug sat at the hearth, with emerald cushioned chairs just like the ones in the Study and in the Throne room.
Syaoran turned to the girl, his arms crossed over his chest.
"You may do the same with my bags." He said, his voice showing no emotion. She curtsied and nodded.
"Bathrooms are across the hall, and they are for your use only, unless you give permission to any visitors." She explained, gaining nods from the two men.
A loud ring echoed throughout the palace, making the girl yelp in surprise. Already her attitude was starting to annoy Syaoran, and he felt like he was ready to strangle her.
"Dinner is ready, and his Majesty is awaiting your return. I will take care of the baggage." She exclaimed, curtsying as Yue and Syaoran walked past her. The Advisor turned around to look at the girl.
"May I ask you for your name?" He asked, with such politeness in his voice that almost made Syaoran want to gag.
The girl curtsied again, standing up straight before replying.
"My name is Tomoyo." She replied, smiling.
"Very well then, if I ever need your assistance, I shall know what to call you." Yue replied, before turning around and starting to walk. Syaoran hesitated, following Yue as they made their way back to the Throne room.
The Throne room had changed since the last time they had been in there. There were other tables lined across the room, filled with many of the villagers that had greeted them when they had arrived.
The King and his two children were seated at the largest table, surrounded by nobles. His eyes traveled over Sakura, who looked positively bored out of her mind. Prince Toya did not seem bored however, for he was busy talking with a few men around him. A woman he had never seen before sat beside him, looking about the same age as Prince Toya. She had long brown hair, and brown eyes. It was then that he realized that this woman was Prince Toya's bride to be, Tohru.
As they entered, the King turned his attention to them, politely motioning to two chairs in front of him. As Yue took the seat directly in front of his Majesty, Syaoran found himself having to sit in front of Princess Sakura. She smiled sweetly at him, and he avoided her eyes as he sat down.
A few minutes passed, and the King stood up, raising his arms out wide in front of him. At this, all chatter ceased in the hall, all heads turning towards the Monarch.
"Many years have passed without peace in our lands. Many people have died in both countries that should have lived on with their lives." His great voice echoed through the room, uttering a deep and rumbling voice that Syaoran thought that the King would never have.
"But tonight…tonight we rejoice in celebration to a bonding that has never taken place among our people. Peace will reign once more, and no innocence shall be destroyed!" He continued, gaining hundreds of excited cheers in response. The King smiled, and the room quieted once more.
"So in response to these happy times, I have invited you all into my company. Eat, and enjoy yourselves!" He finished, just as many servants entered from the doors and started to swiftly place plates and bowls of delicious food onto the tables.
The King sat down once more, and began a friendly conversation with Yue as he ate.
Syaoran began to fill his plate with things that he thought to look the most delicious. First he tried the steak, then the mashed potatoes with a strange gravy that tasted like mint. Each time he cut into his meat, he felt aware of eyes glancing up at him every so often. He looked up at the Princess before him, who was intently watching him and copying his movements until she found that he was watching her as well.
He scowled at her, and she just smiled sweetly, bringing up her fork and placing a slice of ham into her mouth. He dismissed it, and went back to eating silently. Again that same feeling rushed over him, and he looked up at her again. She was copying him!
He waved his knife back and forth in front of his face, and she did the same. He sat back and crossed his arms over her chest; yet again she did the same.
"Why are you copying every movement I make?" He asked, pure annoyance shining through his voice.
"Why are you copying every movement I make?" She repeated, a soft giggle passing through her lips.
"Quit it."
"Quit it."
Syaoran growled, and yet again Sakura growled as well.
"Is this your idea of fun?" He asked.
"Yep!" She replied, placing another piece of ham in her mouth and starting to chew.
Syaoran glared at her, and began eating again. Sakura sighed when he began to ignore her, and she looked down at her plate.
'This isn't working...' She thought.
After the first course was Dessert. Different kinds of cakes and pastries were lined up on the tables, all of different and strange flavors. Syaoran had turned his attention mostly on the cherry pies and trifle.
Most conversation had turned to him now, and he answered with full explanations. He would have answered the way he liked –one sentence answers- but upon feeling both Yue's and the King's eyes on him, he felt that he must behave in the way they wanted him to behave. He felt trapped like a wild animal in a steel cage. His mind was trying it's hardest to try and free him, but every wrong move he made, he would have to pay the price later.
Dinner ended about an hour later, and the Throne room had started to quiet down. Many had already gone home, and the King had already said his farewells as he got up to retire to bed. The nobles left after that, followed by the rest of the Villagers.
Princess Sakura stood and nodded to Yue and Syaoran. Silently she left, followed by Prince Toya and Tohru.
As Syaoran walked down the halls with Yue, he kept feeling Yue's eyes on him.
"What?" He demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. Yue kept his gaze on him, an angry glint in his eyes.
"Your behavior was unacceptable." He replied, his voice showing no anger. It was annoyingly calm and conceited.
"What do you mean? I answered all the questions, and answered them as politely as I could." Syaoran retorted, a slight growl in his voice.
"You did not control your temper with her Highness's actions! The King warned me of what kinds of things she would do just to drive a suitor away." Yue exclaimed, all calmness in his voice extinguished.
"What was I supposed to do! Ignore it!" Syaoran questioned, his voice raised out of anger.
"Exactly." The Advisor replied, opening the door to his quarters, and shutting it behind him. Syaoran was left alone in the hallway, staring angrily at the door. He carried on to the door to his room, slamming it shut.
His things had been put away, just as Tomoyo had said she would. He found his bed clothing in the wardrobe, quickly pulling them on once he had managed to get his original clothing off.
He practically threw himself onto his bed, growling as his head hit his pillow.
"What does he know? He has no clue how I feel about his whole thing." He said angrily, before closing his eyes and drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
A/N/ Please read and review! I'd like to thank the reviewers from the first chapter! Continue to read my story!
In the next Chapter/ An insight about Sakura's feelings towards the predicament she and Syaoran have found themselves in. Stay tuned!
