Author' s Notes- I hope that you all enjoy this chapter... I SAID, ENJOY IT! Oh yeah, I'll put 1 disclaimer every few chapters.
Disclaimer- I do not own CCS. I would love to own it though.
Chapter 7
Disappearing Doubts
" Oh Sakura... " Sakura heard Uncle' s voice call out.
Suddenly, thunder rang out, the once vast blue expanse overhead rapidly turning a dull grey- black colour. Flashes of light lit the grey- black sky occasionally, and commuters on the streets looked up, surprised at the sudden arrival of a storm.
" Sakura! " Uncle cried out, even more urgently, beckoning her to come to him in an impatient hand motion. Thunder rang out, as if agreeing with him. Sakura whirled around, her auburn locks whipping as she turned around to face him.
A fork of lightning struck. A clap of thunder. Sakura and Uncle raced to the front porch... " BOOM! " Another clap of thunder followed. Next, before anyone knew it, rain beat fall from the heavens and onto the Earth below. The beatings of rain could be heard on the roof and on the ground everywhere. Commuters along the road ran to get to a nearby shelter to dry off.
Sakura and Uncle stepped inside. Uncle pulled off his hood... revealing a face. One of the more perfect faces on the planet. His face was striking and had such strong features that it made others wonder if he was made from stone. His kept, black hair was neatly combed and his spectacles hung heavily, threatning to slip off his small nose. He had dark, serious raven black eyes that made him look uncannily like someone. His features were as if sewn into such a serious look and a smile looked out of place.
Sakura gaped. Not at him, but at the grandeur of the house!
A mini- chanderlier hung from the ceiling and sofas of expensive quality funished the space below it. A thick, fur carpet was under a heavy glass table which was in the centre of the circle of sofas. In the room opposite it, a long table stood, cushioned chairs taking up the space and champagne glasses stood by on a nearby table. There were another two rooms, one pink, for Sakura and another dark blue, for Uncle.
There was another curious brown door that stood alone at the end of the hallway. The kitchen was not as grand as the rest of the rooms, but he had a rare commodity- a refridgerator. " Not many people can afford one... "
Each room was seperated and everything was neatly organised. Sakura' s mouth hung open, taking in the splendid sight.
Oh Sakura, why couldn' t she see through Uncle' s mask? Why she did trust so quickly? Why did she fall into the trap of which was going to break her heart inside out? Why should she fall through so much misery? Why...?
Somewhere in the castle
" Mother! " A voice cried out echoing in the hallways. Queen Yelan turned, with much poise and dignity, to face her only son, the living reminder of her late husband, who had lead the troops to the front borderfor a night raid. Unfortunately he lost his life when it was shot by an arrow. The arrow had driven through his heart, casting his family, namely Queen Yelan and their children into a state of despair.
Prince Li took the death of his father, that blow, the heaviest. As the only two "men " in the household, it was the King' s job to guide his son to become a good ruler for the welfare of the town' s folk. Overnight, after the King' s death, layers of ice barriers were built up around him, one after the other. No one could get through to him, except his family at occasional times.
At the school for " royal " students, his cold attitude had put him as an outcast, someone who just did not belong. He could not bear to look in any mirror , for every time he looked, all he saw was a reminder of his late Father. He could not bear it. He hated the way he looked. He distorted his handsome face into a mean, ugly smirk and not one person at school would befriend him.
" Mother! " a sharp, cold, commanding voice rang through the air again, waking Queen Yelan from her train of thought. " Yes, Xiao Lang? " Queen Yelan replied, concernedly, for Xiao Lang usually never talked unless absolutely necessary.
" Don' t call me that! " Li barked out harshly.
Seeing his mother flinch at his tone, which came out harsher than he had intended to, he cringed and looked down, before mumbling, " Sorry, okaa- san, I...just..." Li hesistated before continuing, " It' s just that... my name reminds me of Father... "
Tears glistened, threatening to spill out of Li' s eyes, but he steeled himself and held firm. When he looked up from the ground, he saw his mother, her face down to the floor, uncontrolled tears already flowing down the contour of her cheeks, hands folded in her lap. Seeing her so absorbed, Li stepped back, bowed, and backed out of the room softly and slowly.
The door clicked shut. Li shook himself, reminding him to be his cold self again. The guards outside her room bowed respectfully at Li, who in turn nodded. He turned around and stalked away. " I' ll tell her next time... " Li mumbled incohorently.
Back to where Sakura is...
Sakura glanced down at the numerous volumes of words on the glass table and sweatdropped. Uncle sighed and sat down beside her and started to patiently explain to her...
4 hours of continuous studying later...
" Yawn... " Sakura stretched out. She, with a quick mind and hunger for learning had memorised some basic facts and Mathematical theories, though she wasn' t really good at it, and was tired.
" Would you like to train? " Uncle questioned, his head jerking in the general direction of the curious door.
Sakura' s head shot up, surprised. " O..ok..." Sakura nodded, her voice trailing off. There was pin- drop silence before the sound of shuffled footsteps resounded. Sakura looked up. Uncle was already moving! Sakura hastily got up from her chair and bounded after him.
" CreaK! " The door' s hinges creaked heavily as it swung open.
Sakura' s eyes bulged out, her mouth forming a perfect ' O '. It was a basement gymnasium and training centre! With walls to scale and many other training items! Swords, spears, shields, daggers and other weapons stood in one corner, arranged neatly according to their type in a corner.
" Why should I train? " Sakura mused to herself. She glanced over at Uncle calmly, and looked at his face with indifference. She was too young to be attracted to him. Grasping a sword, she swung it around and almost cut herself. " Whoah! " Sakura let out a cry of shock and dodged, dropping the sword.
" I wonder... will time fly by once again in a leisurely way, or in pain... like.. the other two times... with Master and Father... " Sakura thought, her mind, at the same time, registering the moves Uncle was teaching her.
" Why must I train? " she asked in her mind, reverting to the previous thoughts.
And this is the END of Chapter 7. Another CLIFFY!! Muahahahahahaha. Cackles EVIL laugh
Why should Sakura train? Hmm... I' ll reveal all in the next chapter.
Oh yeah, my year- end exams are coming... Could I get at least 50 reviews before I update again? It' s in 26 days from ( 7/ 9/ 06 ) and I only need 17 reviews from now. ( 7/ 9 /06 )
Look out for my next chappy!!!
BubblyEmerald