Sakura sat in the carriage completely in silence, and Syaoran could tell she was furious by the look on her face. She had her jaw clenched and her gaze was hard, as if she was trying to put up a wall to protect herself from something.

"What are you so angry about?" he asked curiously. "I'd like to know."

"I shouldn't say." She said quietly.

"Why not?"

"Won't this just give you another chance to punish me if I say something wrong?" She laughed bitterly.

"Fine. I won't do anything, I swear it."

She looked at him for a minute and refused. "No."

"Why?"

"Why should I have to tell you how I feel?" she snapped. "Because I'm your wife!?"

He stared at her, stunned.

"Here's what I'm pissed off about-why all men fear ruining their reputation! Drop the pride and pull your act together!" she shouted.

He slapped her, and she glared at him. For the first time since they'd gotten married he saw her crying, but he couldn't understand why. He sensed a much larger story behind her words, but didn't ask nor did he want to. Sakura looked away in shame but couldn't stop her tears or her sobs. She covered her face with her hands and cried her heart out, and all Syaoran could do was listen.

When they got home it was late; Sakura changed quickly and slipped into bed with her back to him, and as she felt his weight on the other side of the bed she began to feel tense again. The room was dark and all that could be heard were the evening birds outside. She felt him slip his arm over her waist and she began to feel even more tense.

"I know you won't tell me about your past, and that's fine, but don't hide your feelings."

She trembled and collapsed, her state of mind in complete chaos. For the time he held her it was gentle and sweet, and when she finally fell asleep it was surprisingly easy.

The morning brought with it another sunny day, and when she woke Syaoran's arm was still over her waist. He was still asleep, and she dared not to move in case she woke him. She felt extremely embarrassed that he had comforted her the night before, and she'd be caught dead before it ever happened again.

She could feel his breathing against the back of her neck, and as her hip felt stiff she gently rolled over despite it meaning she had to face him and her body pressed against his. She'd gotten used to being in bed liked this with him, and sometimes she wondered if it was his own personal way of getting back at her for all her problem making.

I wonder what I should do today… she thought to herself.

She thought about going to go see Tomoyo, but she didn't feel like dealing with the stress of dealing with her husband's crappy attitude. She smiled and decided on something simple to take her mind off of the past evening's events and continued to lie in bed for some time.

After a while Syaoran finally woke. He didn't say anything as he sat up and pulled away from her, standing and walking over to the bathroom for his usual morning shower. Usually he'd say something to her-some sort of morning insult or to tell her what he had to do for the day. Sakura lay there completely stunned for a moment, but then shrugged. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it, closing her eyes, and was about to fall back to sleep when she heard a few voices talking.

"Sakura's still in bed for now, perhaps it's best to leave her for a little while." Syaoran said.

"As you wish, My Lord." Mira replied sweetly.

She heard the door close and Sakura burrowed herself further under the covers and fell back to sleep for a little while longer.

She woke later to someone ripping the covers away from her body and calling out her name. "Lady Sakura, it's time to wake up!"

She groaned. "What…?"

"Come on!"

Sakura opened her eyes to see Mira leaning over her. "Good, you're awake."

"What time is it…?" Sakura mumbled.

"A quarter to eleven. I'm surprised Lord Syaoran allowed you to sleep this late."
Sakura sat up. She was surprised too-very surprised.

"Where is Syaoran?" she asked quickly.

"He's working in the study." Mira replied.

"Oh." Sakura replied dully.

"Let's get you into the bath, shall we?" Mira smiled and walked her over to the bathroom, pulling her nightgown over her head and drawing Sakura's bath. Sakura stepped in when it was ready and allowed the maid to wash her hair and skin, and then she relaxed for a while.

…

Syaoran looked up as Mira walked in and he returned his focus to the page.
"What is it?" he asked.

"I just thought you might like to know that your wife is awake." She replied.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Well…she did sleep in a little late…"

"Does it matter? I'm busy right now." Syaoran said.

Taken aback, Mira left and he looked out the window, spotting Sakura sitting in the garden. She had something in her hands, but he couldn't make out what it was, so he returned to focusing on his work.

Sakura gazed at the flowers for a moment and then back at the page on her lap, and began drawing the picture that had formed in her mind. It was where she spent most of her day, rarely moving from her spot of choice as she continued to draw all of the delicate detail and the shading, along with the background detail and the foreground. When she finally walked inside it was dark and she was starving, so she walked up to the bedroom and placed her neatly finished drawing inside her wooden box and headed down to the dining hall for dinner.

She was just in time and sat in her usual spot, and when she sat down she noticed a glass of red wine placed with her meal. She was confused and thought that they had gotten it wrong and looked to Syaoran who also had a glass, so she shrugged it off.

She ate quietly as did he, and neither of them spoke. She picked up her glass and drank from it, and immediately recognised the sweet taste; it was her favourite brand of red, but she'd never told him. Was it just some coincidence that he knew? There was no possible way-unless…
She smiled to herself and savoured the taste. If there were some way she could thank him, she'd like to at least try.

...

That night Syaoran sat in the lounge alone lost in thought. The phone rang beside him and he picked it up and answered, only to find that it was Eriol. "Oh, it's you."

"Oh, you're so kind. Tomoyo's been panicking about Sakura for the last twenty-four hours-is everything alright?" Eriol asked.

"Well she cried herself to sleep…but I haven't really spoken to her today. I've been giving her some space because Tomoyo asked not to do anything to upset her." Syaoran answered.

Eriol stayed silent for a moment. "Do you mind if she speaks with you for a moment?"

"Alright." He waited for a minute and there was a brief pause as his friend handed over the phone.

"How is she!?" Tomoyo frantically demanded.

"If you want you can talk to her-she literally just walked into the room."

Sakura looked up from the floor, snapping out of her daze, and saw Syaoran holding the phone out to her. She walked over and took it from him, and held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Sakura-how are you doing?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura smiled. So, her sister was worried about her… "You don't need to worry. I'm alright."

"But last night…"

"I said you don't need to worry-I'll be ok. Hey, I overslept this morning. I can't believe I did something so stupid…" she half laughed.

Tomoyo sighed. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you, alright?"

"I will." Sakura replied softly, and handed the phone back to Syaoran. She then left the room after picking up her sewing needle and threads, and headed back to the bedroom.

After the phone call ended, Mira entered with a tray of hot tea and set it down on the coffee table for him. As he picked up his book she walked around and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"I thought you might like a shoulder massage." Mira smiled.

"I know what you're up to. You should quit." He said as he brushed her hands away.

"You're allowed to be with whomever you like." Mira smiled flirtatiously.

He closed his book. "Does marriage seriously mean nothing to you?" he asked.

She looked at him blankly.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mira, but I won't be unfaithful. Now please get out."

She left quickly, and he sighed. Hopefully now she would stop.

…

The next morning Sakura woke feeling a lot happier than she had been in a long time. She looked beside her and found that Syaoran was already up, and then she heard a knock at the door.

The door opened, and Mira walked in. "Oh, wonderful, you're already awake." She said as she walked over to the draws to pull out some fresh clothes for Sakura.

She dressed Sakura in an emerald green skirt with a crème top and brown corset. Her hair was pulled back with a silver clip and on her feet were some simple brown heels.

Mira pulled the corset tighter and Sakura nearly lost her balance. "Sorry, My Lady." She apologised.

"No, it's fine." Sakura murmured. She thought that she'd done it on purpose for a moment but brushed it off as an accident. "Thank you, Mira." Sakura smiled, and headed down to the dining hall.

She sat in thought as to how she could thank Syaoran for giving her some space and buying her favourite wine but couldn't really think of anything. She sucked at housework as she had been out of practice for a good few years, and she wasn't confident with her cooking.

That's probably the only thing I can do… She thought to herself dully. She didn't particularly want to cook-she hated it along with all other duties that were expected of the perfect wife and the perfect woman.

After eating, she headed towards the kitchen where she met the cook for the first time. She was a sweet young woman, though she appeared to be timid, and Sakura smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry I haven't taken up my duties as his wife just yet, and I don't think I will for quite some time, but would you mind if I took over tonight?" she asked.

The girl smiled sweetly. "Of course, I don't mind."

"May I ask your name?" Sakura asked.

"It's Ami, My Lady."

Ami had her light brown hair pulled back in a long braid down her back, and she wore a white apron over her brown dress. On her feet she wore lace up boots that protected her feet well from harm in the kitchen, and around her neck was a gold circular pendant. Her eyes were two different colours; one eye was blue while the other was brown, and they were filled with warmth and kindness. Her skin was pale and soft despite her work in the kitchen, though her nails weren't in the greatest condition.

"I hate to admit it, but at least it's not in front of him… I'm not that great at cooking-would you mind helping me…?" Sakura blushed.

"I wouldn't mind at all; it would be my pleasure."

"Thank you, Ami. May I have a look at the recipe books?" she asked.

"Of course. Right this way."

Ami led her towards the cupboard with all the recipe books inside, and Sakura looked for anything that might have what she was looking for. She sat down at the small table and began to flick through them, looking for the dish her father had once taught her how to make when she was just a small child.

"May I ask what you're looking for?" Ami asked.

"Um…well actually, it's something my father taught me when I was small…" Sakura said.

"If that's the case, perhaps you can describe it to me."

Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, it's a vegetable soup with a tomato base, but it has basil, garlic and rosemary through it."

"It sounds like it might be an original recipe. I haven't come across it in any of our recipe books." Ami said.

Sakura groaned, but Ami smiled. "Why don't we go out and buy the ingredients, and then we'll figure it out together?" she suggested.

Sakura hugged her. "Thank you!"

"I'll come up with some sort of excuse to allow you to come with me-don't worry." Ami smiled, and she walked out of the kitchen.

Sakura leant back in her chair and sighed with relief. After a few moments Ami returned with a happy smile. "We're allowed to go out and buy ingredients for dinner." She said.

"What in the world did you tell Syaoran?" Sakura asked.

"I just asked if I could borrow your company for a while." Ami replied.

Sakura was surprised. She stood and Ami gathered her things and they headed out; Sakura hadn't really been out in the main part of town on her own or with anyone else but Syaoran. She was too busy running off to see her sister instead.
They headed towards the food market and with her basket in hand, Sakura began to look for the ingredients she could remember. She reached for the carrots, potatoes and various other ingredients she could think of, and Ami filled in the rest.

"You need spring onions." Ami said.

"Oh…"

"And capsicum…"

"I get it-I suck!"

"Please forgive me!" Ami begged her.

Sakura shrugged, "It's not that big of a deal. You know what you're doing and I'm grateful." She smiled.

Ami smiled back, "Thank you."

They continued gathering the rest of their vegetables and herbs and then headed back home. Sakura sighed-she couldn't really remember the last time she'd cooked a meal.

"Forgive me for asking, but how much do you know about cooking…?" Ami asked quietly.

"Er...to be honest, I'm pretty terrible. I'm very clumsy, so I used to stay away from the kitchen a lot. I think mother was grateful I did." Sakura replied.

"Well, you should remember most of the basics then." Ami smiled.

"Sort of..."

Ami continued to smile, "Whenever you want, I can always give you a lesson."

Sakura smiled, "Thank you."

Back at the house they sorted the ingredients and Ami instructed Sakura on what to do. She listened carefully and tried her best, and though her cutting wasn't always the best she always put as much effort as she possibly could into what she made.

"You're supposed to wait until-never mind…" Ami mumbled.

"Sorry, I remembered that's how my dad did it. Tomoyo used to tell him off about it too…"

"Is there a specific reason?" Ami asked curiously.

"It has something to do with enhancing the flavour or something. My father passed away when I was seven, so I don't remember much. I used to practice this dish often though…but for some reason I can't remember it now." Sakura murmured sadly.

Ami smiled gently. "It's ok. Try tasting it when it's done to see if it's right." She suggested.

"Alright…"

"I need to start preparing lunch now-do you mind?"

"No, that's fine." Sakura murmured.

Ami smiled and began gathering together what she needed and began preparing their lunch.

"Honestly, I'm kind of glad you haven't taken up your duties…" Ami confessed. "I really enjoy my job here, and while I don't get paid much, I'm still able to support my daughter."

Sakura looked at her with surprise. Ami didn't have a ring on her left hand and she certainly didn't look like the type of person to be a mother.

"Surprised?"

"A little…" Sakura confessed.

"Avery is everything to me." Ami said softly as she started making some pastry. "She's four now. She doesn't know who her father is and I'd like to keep it that way since it happened on the street in the dark."

The look on Amy's face was painful, and it seemed like a topic best left to be at rest.

"I'm sorry to hear that…" Sakura murmured.

"Actually, I'm kind of glad it happened in a horribly strange way. It was Lord Syaoran who found me-he gave me a job and said that I could work here. It was really kind of him."

Sakura felt almost relieved to hear something like that about him. She smiled softly to herself and remembered the other night when he had comforted her, and then she felt utter dread and scowled. That will never happen again-ever!

She heard laughing and snapped out of her thoughts, finding Ami laughing at her. "What?"

"Sorry, it's just that you had an amusing expression on your face." Ami replied.

"How rude!"

Amy laughed even harder and Sakura pouted. Then she smiled and laughed as well.

…

Syaoran sat at the dinner table wondering where Sakura had gotten to all day; he knew that she'd been out with Ami, the cook, but he wasn't sure why. She certainly hadn't disappeared from the house at all-he'd have known straight away since he'd asked all staff to notify him of such events if they were to occur. Instead he waited patiently for her like always, and then he heard footsteps.

"Here."

His meal was placed in front of him not by a maid, not by Ami, but by Sakura herself. He was speechless for a moment, unable to believe what had just transpired.

"I know it doesn't look amazing like Ami's does, and I don't cook all that well, but I at least wanted to thank you for yesterday." She said quietly.

He looked up to see her looking away embarrassed, so he tried some of what she had made. "I don't think I've had this before." He said.

"No…My father taught me how to make it." She replied.

He smiled. "It's lovely, thank you."

She spun around on her heel. "One meal is all you'll get from me. I'd probably end up giving you food poisoning with anything else anyway…"

She heard him laughing and she smiled, and then took a step forward to walk away. He caught her hand and she stopped for a moment, and turned her head.

"Why won't you sit?" he asked.

She smiled, "I'm a little tired, so I think I'll go lie down for a while."

He released her hand and allowed her to leave, and Sakura headed back to the kitchen.

Ami looked over at Sakura as she entered and smiled. "What did he think?"

Sakura hugged her tightly, "I did well!"

"That's great!"

Sakura pulled back and smiled. "Thank you for all of your help, Ami. I think you deserve to go home to your daughter."

Ami smiled, "Thank you so much."

Sakura watched as Ami left and she sighed. She wondered what it would be like to have children, but quickly brushed the thought aside as it was replaced with unsettling fear and anxiety.

No.

No children.

Not yet.

Feeling extremely tired, she headed upstairs and walked into the bedroom, collapsing on the bed and falling asleep without any thought to how she was dressed.

Bonk. They're sort of coming to realise their behaviour isn't the best hahaha