Fated to be together
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own "Cardcaptor Sakura" and
this story is completely original. Any resemblance to any
story is pure coincidence, so please don't sue or flame me.
Summary: Prince Eriol meets lady Sakura by chance and falls in love with her. However, another unexpected visitor from China will change the fate of everyone forever. S+S, E+T, a little of E+S, this is my first fanfiction, so I'll greatly appreciate it if you read and review! =)
Characters: Sakura ---daughter of the esteemed baron Fujitaka
Tomoyo ---Sakura's cousin and best friend, also a baroness
Eriol---Prince of Japan
Syaoran---future leader of the influential Li Clan in China I'll add in other characters from time to time, but these are the four main characters
General setting: sometime during the elizabeth period(knights and stuff like that)
Italics Character's thoughts
(Brackets) notes from the writer (me!)
"speech bubbles" conversations
---place--- setting of the scene
Chapter 1 : A chance meeting
---In a carriage headed for the capital city--------------------- ---------------------
I shouldn't have been away from the palace so long. Please, mother, hold on until I get there.
Eriol was dressed in his finest doublet and hose, and with a worried frown, recalled the events of the the past week. He had been attending a function at the university he was attending in London when a speeded envoy had rushed in and broke the terrible news that his mother had taken ill and was on her deathbed. He had been so aggrieved by the news that he had immediately booked the first passage to Japan, and they had been rushing day and night with hardly any rest for the prince so that he could reach the palace as quickly as possible.
To think of his beloved mother suffering and wasting away while he was trying his best to reach her was almost too much fot the gentle prince to bear, and silent tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes when he thought of her laughing smile, the care and concern that she had lavished on him since young. He had missed her warmth and cheer, and to think that he might never see her alive again.He brusquely brushed his tears away, sweeping his fears aside. He must not cry now. His mother needed him. Looking out the window, his eyes were drawn to a flowerstop tucked in the corner of the street. Struck by a sudden impulse, he signaled the carriage to stop and moved towards the shop.
Entering the cool interior, he was greeted with a fresh smell of flowers and by the beautiful sight of delicate blossoms swaying gently in the breeze from the window. Bending down slightly to free a single crimson rose from its vase, he breathed in a deep breath of its familiar fragrance, a scent that always lingered in his mother's bedroom, and smiled gently as he thought of how much his mother had loved these blossoms.
Looking up, he was surprised to meet a pair of beautiful emerald eyes looking at him with something akin to curiosity, obviously not recognising the prince. He was momentarily stunned by the beauty of this angel before him: shoulder-length auburn hair softly framed a flawless face set with the most enchanting emerald eyes he had ever known. Her soft smile seemed to illuminate the entire room with its radiance, chasing away the gloomy cobwebs in his heart momentarily Her eyes were easily the most striking feature that captured his attention, for the vibrancy and openness he saw in them caught at his heart. She seemed to radiate an aura of warmth and friendliness, something he had sorely missed in his sojourn in London.Why do I feel as if I've known her all my life?
"How much does this bundle of roses cost?" He asked the lady, mistaking her for the flower clerk. Her answering laughter was like the sweet chiming of bells.
"Oh, I'm sorry you're mistaken. The flower clerk has just gone inside to help me get some new stock of ribbons. You see, I'm just a customer here." Her sweet melodious voice was friendly and even open, and immediately put him at ease. The flower clerk bustled in with a small handful of assorted ribbons.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I made you wait. Were you enquiring about the price of the roses? They're a silver pence each. "
Turning back to the lady, she handed her a few coloured ribbons to choose. Eriol smiled.
The green ribbons would set off her luminous emerald eyes beautifully.
The lady carefully paid for an assortment of ribbons, ranging from the light blue to the cheerful yellow. She hesitated when reaching for the green ribbon, as if remembering something, but left it alone on the table and paid for the rest in her hands.
Before Prince Eriol could ask her name, she swept him a polite curtsy and smiled cheerily at him before stepping out of the shop. With a start, Prince Eriol came to his senses and hurriedly paid for the roses, and almost as an afterthought, bought the green ribbon and another navy blue one from the startled flower clerk. He scanned the street for her when he stepped out, but there was no sign of the beautiful lady he had just seen. He climbed back into his carriage and rushed back to the palace, preoccupied, the scent of roses slowly filling the carriage.
---In the palace------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
He knelt by the bedside, gazing with barely concealed pain at the look of suffering on his mother's face. She was so pale now, with deep sunken eyes a mere shadow of her former cheerful self. She seemed so frail, so weak. It hurt him to see her like that, so listless, so different from the person she once was.
"Eriol.."
" Yes mother, I am here at last."
"I've been waiting for you.it's been such a long time since I've taken a good look at you.How much you have grown.I am so proud of you.so very proud of you."
" Mother, say no more, rest for now. You will get better soon. I promise."
He openly wept as he watched his mother trying to breathe labouriouly. Even if he had to employ the best physicians from all other countries, he would make sure that she would get well. She must!
" Eriol, listen to me. You must find a wife and take over the reins of leadership from your father soon.We are both getting on in years and you are not getting any younger.Promise me that you would love and cherish her.That was my mistake. Promise me, Eriol. Promise me..."
"I promise, mother. Please, try to hang on for father and I until we find a way to cure you. Please mother!"
The tears were now falling profusely from his cheeks, but he didn't care. His voice broke as he begged his mother to hold on. He could not bear to lose her now, not now.
---In Prince Eriol's room---------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Worn out by his emotions, he was surprised to see his father sitting on his bed when he opened the door. As his father's aggrieved face rose to meet his eyes, Eriol was shocked to see how much his father had aged so much in his brief years of absence from court. His once dark locks were snowy white now, and wrinkles adorned his once youthful face, as if time had chiseled lines of worry and burdens onto his face. His once vibrant eyes were sorrowing and hurt, and it was evident that he had taken the news of his mother's illness very hard.
"Eriol, your mother and I have decided to hold a ball in the honour of your birthday, and we want you to choose your future bride from the ladies who are invited. The invitations have already been sent out to all the eligible ladies as well as the princesses in the neighbouring countries, so prepare yourself for the ball on the morrow."
He was too tired to argue. He had always known that his would be an arranged marriage, its main purpose to strengthen the countries ties with another for stability and peace in the country. There was a time, when he was 14 or so, when he had tried to rebel against this unfair act, wanting to have the freedom to choose his bride and to choose the way he lived his life. His mother could only looked on helplessly as his furious father taught him just what he thought of his son's disobedience, and it was only to save his parents any more heartbreak that he accepted his fate.
He was trapped, his responsibilities as a prince and heir to the throne dictating his every action and his every word, his thoughts and feelings were not allowed to interfere. His mother's words echoed in his mind: "Promise me that you would love her.That was my mistake."
He knew what she meant. Theirs had been an arranged marriage and she had not shared his father's feelings for her, living in silent misery all those years.She had loved another before the king, and had been forced to part from her fiance to marry the king. She had been the faithful wife and caring queen, but there had always been a quiet sadness about her, as if there was something she had lost and never regained. The king was a kind and caring person, but.their parents had arranged the marriage and there was nothing they could do. She could only watch as her fiance married another, settled down and had children.
He broke out of his reverie and nodded curtly to his father, inevitably sealing his own fate. That night, he lay atop his bed looking at the stars outside his window, his late thoughts before he slept were about a certain green-eyed girl.
---In the Kinomoto mansion--------------------------------------- ------
"Tomoyo, do you know anyone with dark blue hair?" Sakura asked her cousin curiously. "A very attractive guy with the darkest blue eyes I've ever seen."
Tomoyo looked at her cousin in surprise. This was so out of character for the girl, for this was perhaps the first (or second) time Sakura had ever asked about a guy. Besides that little serious boy she had played with when she was very young, that is. Tomoyo smiled to herself.
"Hmm.I don't think I know any guys with blue eyes.I'll tell you when I find anyone though. Why did you ask?" Tomoyo asked Sakura archly.
"Oh, I just happened to meet him in the flowershop."And there was something about him I found really familiar.Sakura shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but as usual, Tomoyo saw through her act.
"What's bothering you, Sakura? Don't try to hide it from me, we don't keep any secrets between each other." Tomoyo gave her a worried look. It really wasn't like Sakura to start mooning over a strange guy she had seen.
"There was. something about him.Oh, never mind. Tomoyo, will you accompany me to the temple tomorrow? I really don't feel so well, I was hoping that maybe a bit of praying might help. Anyway, we'll have to attend that ball tomorrow night anyway, so we'd better go in the morning."
Tomoyo agreed, and casting a worried look at her cousin, she allowed herself to be shooed out of Sakura's bedroom.
Why does he seem so familiar.Sakura soon feel asleep, as usual, dreaming of a serious little boy with chestnut brown eyes and another vague figure of a certain blue-eyed boy on a white horse.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
So how's it? Pls read and review! I love reviews! Second chapter expected to be up soon, so pls give me comments on how I should improve on this fanfic! =)
Don't worry, syaoran's going to appear in the next chapter. What's going to happen at the temple? Pls stay "tuned" for the next chapter! ---fallen-angel
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own "Cardcaptor Sakura" and
this story is completely original. Any resemblance to any
story is pure coincidence, so please don't sue or flame me.
Summary: Prince Eriol meets lady Sakura by chance and falls in love with her. However, another unexpected visitor from China will change the fate of everyone forever. S+S, E+T, a little of E+S, this is my first fanfiction, so I'll greatly appreciate it if you read and review! =)
Characters: Sakura ---daughter of the esteemed baron Fujitaka
Tomoyo ---Sakura's cousin and best friend, also a baroness
Eriol---Prince of Japan
Syaoran---future leader of the influential Li Clan in China I'll add in other characters from time to time, but these are the four main characters
General setting: sometime during the elizabeth period(knights and stuff like that)
Italics Character's thoughts
(Brackets) notes from the writer (me!)
"speech bubbles" conversations
---place--- setting of the scene
Chapter 1 : A chance meeting
---In a carriage headed for the capital city--------------------- ---------------------
I shouldn't have been away from the palace so long. Please, mother, hold on until I get there.
Eriol was dressed in his finest doublet and hose, and with a worried frown, recalled the events of the the past week. He had been attending a function at the university he was attending in London when a speeded envoy had rushed in and broke the terrible news that his mother had taken ill and was on her deathbed. He had been so aggrieved by the news that he had immediately booked the first passage to Japan, and they had been rushing day and night with hardly any rest for the prince so that he could reach the palace as quickly as possible.
To think of his beloved mother suffering and wasting away while he was trying his best to reach her was almost too much fot the gentle prince to bear, and silent tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes when he thought of her laughing smile, the care and concern that she had lavished on him since young. He had missed her warmth and cheer, and to think that he might never see her alive again.He brusquely brushed his tears away, sweeping his fears aside. He must not cry now. His mother needed him. Looking out the window, his eyes were drawn to a flowerstop tucked in the corner of the street. Struck by a sudden impulse, he signaled the carriage to stop and moved towards the shop.
Entering the cool interior, he was greeted with a fresh smell of flowers and by the beautiful sight of delicate blossoms swaying gently in the breeze from the window. Bending down slightly to free a single crimson rose from its vase, he breathed in a deep breath of its familiar fragrance, a scent that always lingered in his mother's bedroom, and smiled gently as he thought of how much his mother had loved these blossoms.
Looking up, he was surprised to meet a pair of beautiful emerald eyes looking at him with something akin to curiosity, obviously not recognising the prince. He was momentarily stunned by the beauty of this angel before him: shoulder-length auburn hair softly framed a flawless face set with the most enchanting emerald eyes he had ever known. Her soft smile seemed to illuminate the entire room with its radiance, chasing away the gloomy cobwebs in his heart momentarily Her eyes were easily the most striking feature that captured his attention, for the vibrancy and openness he saw in them caught at his heart. She seemed to radiate an aura of warmth and friendliness, something he had sorely missed in his sojourn in London.Why do I feel as if I've known her all my life?
"How much does this bundle of roses cost?" He asked the lady, mistaking her for the flower clerk. Her answering laughter was like the sweet chiming of bells.
"Oh, I'm sorry you're mistaken. The flower clerk has just gone inside to help me get some new stock of ribbons. You see, I'm just a customer here." Her sweet melodious voice was friendly and even open, and immediately put him at ease. The flower clerk bustled in with a small handful of assorted ribbons.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I made you wait. Were you enquiring about the price of the roses? They're a silver pence each. "
Turning back to the lady, she handed her a few coloured ribbons to choose. Eriol smiled.
The green ribbons would set off her luminous emerald eyes beautifully.
The lady carefully paid for an assortment of ribbons, ranging from the light blue to the cheerful yellow. She hesitated when reaching for the green ribbon, as if remembering something, but left it alone on the table and paid for the rest in her hands.
Before Prince Eriol could ask her name, she swept him a polite curtsy and smiled cheerily at him before stepping out of the shop. With a start, Prince Eriol came to his senses and hurriedly paid for the roses, and almost as an afterthought, bought the green ribbon and another navy blue one from the startled flower clerk. He scanned the street for her when he stepped out, but there was no sign of the beautiful lady he had just seen. He climbed back into his carriage and rushed back to the palace, preoccupied, the scent of roses slowly filling the carriage.
---In the palace------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
He knelt by the bedside, gazing with barely concealed pain at the look of suffering on his mother's face. She was so pale now, with deep sunken eyes a mere shadow of her former cheerful self. She seemed so frail, so weak. It hurt him to see her like that, so listless, so different from the person she once was.
"Eriol.."
" Yes mother, I am here at last."
"I've been waiting for you.it's been such a long time since I've taken a good look at you.How much you have grown.I am so proud of you.so very proud of you."
" Mother, say no more, rest for now. You will get better soon. I promise."
He openly wept as he watched his mother trying to breathe labouriouly. Even if he had to employ the best physicians from all other countries, he would make sure that she would get well. She must!
" Eriol, listen to me. You must find a wife and take over the reins of leadership from your father soon.We are both getting on in years and you are not getting any younger.Promise me that you would love and cherish her.That was my mistake. Promise me, Eriol. Promise me..."
"I promise, mother. Please, try to hang on for father and I until we find a way to cure you. Please mother!"
The tears were now falling profusely from his cheeks, but he didn't care. His voice broke as he begged his mother to hold on. He could not bear to lose her now, not now.
---In Prince Eriol's room---------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Worn out by his emotions, he was surprised to see his father sitting on his bed when he opened the door. As his father's aggrieved face rose to meet his eyes, Eriol was shocked to see how much his father had aged so much in his brief years of absence from court. His once dark locks were snowy white now, and wrinkles adorned his once youthful face, as if time had chiseled lines of worry and burdens onto his face. His once vibrant eyes were sorrowing and hurt, and it was evident that he had taken the news of his mother's illness very hard.
"Eriol, your mother and I have decided to hold a ball in the honour of your birthday, and we want you to choose your future bride from the ladies who are invited. The invitations have already been sent out to all the eligible ladies as well as the princesses in the neighbouring countries, so prepare yourself for the ball on the morrow."
He was too tired to argue. He had always known that his would be an arranged marriage, its main purpose to strengthen the countries ties with another for stability and peace in the country. There was a time, when he was 14 or so, when he had tried to rebel against this unfair act, wanting to have the freedom to choose his bride and to choose the way he lived his life. His mother could only looked on helplessly as his furious father taught him just what he thought of his son's disobedience, and it was only to save his parents any more heartbreak that he accepted his fate.
He was trapped, his responsibilities as a prince and heir to the throne dictating his every action and his every word, his thoughts and feelings were not allowed to interfere. His mother's words echoed in his mind: "Promise me that you would love her.That was my mistake."
He knew what she meant. Theirs had been an arranged marriage and she had not shared his father's feelings for her, living in silent misery all those years.She had loved another before the king, and had been forced to part from her fiance to marry the king. She had been the faithful wife and caring queen, but there had always been a quiet sadness about her, as if there was something she had lost and never regained. The king was a kind and caring person, but.their parents had arranged the marriage and there was nothing they could do. She could only watch as her fiance married another, settled down and had children.
He broke out of his reverie and nodded curtly to his father, inevitably sealing his own fate. That night, he lay atop his bed looking at the stars outside his window, his late thoughts before he slept were about a certain green-eyed girl.
---In the Kinomoto mansion--------------------------------------- ------
"Tomoyo, do you know anyone with dark blue hair?" Sakura asked her cousin curiously. "A very attractive guy with the darkest blue eyes I've ever seen."
Tomoyo looked at her cousin in surprise. This was so out of character for the girl, for this was perhaps the first (or second) time Sakura had ever asked about a guy. Besides that little serious boy she had played with when she was very young, that is. Tomoyo smiled to herself.
"Hmm.I don't think I know any guys with blue eyes.I'll tell you when I find anyone though. Why did you ask?" Tomoyo asked Sakura archly.
"Oh, I just happened to meet him in the flowershop."And there was something about him I found really familiar.Sakura shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but as usual, Tomoyo saw through her act.
"What's bothering you, Sakura? Don't try to hide it from me, we don't keep any secrets between each other." Tomoyo gave her a worried look. It really wasn't like Sakura to start mooning over a strange guy she had seen.
"There was. something about him.Oh, never mind. Tomoyo, will you accompany me to the temple tomorrow? I really don't feel so well, I was hoping that maybe a bit of praying might help. Anyway, we'll have to attend that ball tomorrow night anyway, so we'd better go in the morning."
Tomoyo agreed, and casting a worried look at her cousin, she allowed herself to be shooed out of Sakura's bedroom.
Why does he seem so familiar.Sakura soon feel asleep, as usual, dreaming of a serious little boy with chestnut brown eyes and another vague figure of a certain blue-eyed boy on a white horse.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
So how's it? Pls read and review! I love reviews! Second chapter expected to be up soon, so pls give me comments on how I should improve on this fanfic! =)
Don't worry, syaoran's going to appear in the next chapter. What's going to happen at the temple? Pls stay "tuned" for the next chapter! ---fallen-angel