A couple of weeks passed and the cold of winter started to settle in. Pristine white snow layered the earth and with Christmas being just around the corner, various lights and ornaments decorated the village.

Syaoran had asked Sakura a few days earlier if she'd like to go out and choose something for herself as a gift from him, and as she walked beside him spinning her parasol she spotted some children running across the road and felt immediate fear. They made it across safely and she sighed, and he squeezed her hand.

"You were thinking about Carla, weren't you?" he said.

She lowered her eyes. "Yes…"

"Her injuries have healed rather well, which is a relief." Syaoran murmured.

"She's still having trouble moving around…" Sakura said with worry.

Syaoran nodded. "It will take quite some time before her movement will get back to normal, but she'll be ok."

She nodded, and they continued walking down the path; Sakura began to feel the cold a little more and she shivered. "Sometimes I don't know if I like winter or if I despise it." She muttered.

He laughed. "I don't mind it." He said, "But sometimes it does get a little too cold for my liking."

He led them inside a jewellery shop which was rather warm, and Sakura gave a sigh of pure relief. "Wow, it's so warm." Sakura breathed.

She walked over and had a look at the lockets, staring at the expensive hand made jewellery sets. She hated how everything was so expensive-she honestly wouldn't mind a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine. Although she had wanted a locket for years, but her mother would never buy her one, she felt awkward asking Syaoran for one.

The one that caught her eye was made of platinum and was an ovular shape; in its surface were engraved three delicate flowers, and the petals each had diamonds while the leaves had deep green emeralds. With the locket were small, delicate emerald and diamond earrings that matched, and as she looked at the price she nearly swore. Fuck!

"It's a delicate piece, isn't it?"

She looked up to see the jeweller, a middle-aged man with strange yellow eyes, smiling kindly at her.

Syaoran walked over and the jeweller smiled. "I assume you're this young lady's husband?" he asked.

"Yes."

"She's got an eye for the finer things-things that aren't usually seen by others who walk into this shop." The jeweller said with a cryptic smile.

Sakura looked at him with confusion and then to Syaoran. Syaoran was looking at the locket and smiled in understanding, "Yes, she does."

Syaoran turned to Sakura, "Why don't you go wait outside for a minute-I need to speak with him about something."

"More cryptic answers, I see?" she rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you owe me a warm drink."

She walked out of the shop with the sound of the bells at the door clinking and looked around for somewhere where they could sit and get a drink. There was a café down the road, and she wondered what they served there, so she began to walk down the street. She was unaware of the three who were following her, and as she walked down the street she felt someone grab her from behind and pull her into an alleyway, slamming her against the brick wall.

"Hello again."

She could feel her heart pounding and realised who she was facing. It was the same three men who had accosted her several weeks earlier. She was about to move to punch him, but he was quicker.

"Move and I'll cut your pretty throat." He threatened, placing a knife against her skin.

She panicked as she felt the cold blade against her skin, and her mind screamed for Syaoran.

"Looks like she is from a rich family-or married to someone who is." One of the others, a black-haired man in his twenties, spoke.

"I say we take her by force and afterwards, demand a price for her ravaged body. Considering she's not pregnant, I'd say she hasn't been screwed in a good few months."

Sakura felt all her blood drain from her body as she heard what they were planning for her. She felt absolute fear and began to feel the panic set in.

"I think not." A familiar voice snarled.

They looked over and a fist made contact with his face; the blade fell from Sakura's neck and to the ground with a clink and the leader of the group stumbled backwards holding his hand to his bleeding nose. "So, you're the husband." He laughed.

"Are you the three who stabbed her shoulder those few weeks back?" Syaoran growled.

"Congratulations-you found the culprit."

Syaoran stepped to the side and the police stepped through, arresting the three men. Syaoran watched as they walked past, and he placed a gentle hand on Sakura's shoulder, ushering her away from the dark alleyway.

While the police spoke with her, he checked her for any injuries and was relieved to find that there wasn't any. When they were finally left alone she hugged him.

"Do you want to go home?" he asked.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm ok-you still owe me a drink." She mumbled.

He sighed and stood, taking her hand in his, and they walked down to the nearby café together.

…

That evening at dinner Sakura noticed that there were two wine glasses set out again; she looked to Syaoran and he smiled as she sat down, and Ami walked out with their meal. She set it down and Sakura was confused as to how he knew what her favourite meal was-she'd never told him that she liked Carbonara!

"You're asking Tomoyo all about me, aren't you?" she mumbled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He replied.

She smiled, "There's only one way you could have possibly found out what my favourite dish was-and that was through Tomoyo."

"Actually, I asked your mother." He confessed.

"My mother?"

"I didn't think you'd tell me, so I asked your mother."

She blushed and looked away. "What else…?"

"Hm?"

"What else…did you ask her…?"

"That's a secret." He smiled, keeping the rest to himself.

She rolled her eyes and picked up her silverware, beginning her meal.

After sitting in the lounge for a while, they headed to the bedroom to get ready for bed. Sakura sighed as shivered, rubbing her arms in a vain attempt to warm herself up.
"If you're feeling cold, why don't you take a hot bath?" Syaoran suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea…" Sakura said, and turned her head sharply. "No looking!"

"Ok, ok!"

She began to untie the brown corset around her torso and allowed it to drop to the floor. She peeled off her top and then stepped out of her skirt before disappearing into the bathroom. She drew herself a hot bath and slipped in, feeling relief from the freezing weather.

She allowed herself to relax for a while, and when she noticed she was getting goose bumps on her skin she decided to get out. Sakura looked for the warmest nightgown she had and pulled it on, but it gave her little relief from the cold after she was out of the tub. She walked over to the bed and was about to slip in when she gave a squeak of surprise.

"What?"

"Um. Nothing."

He raised an eyebrow at her and she turned around, trying to hide her embarrassment.
She didn't realise that with the cold he'd sleep without clothes on. Perhaps it was more comfortable…? Ugh, she knew that it was easier to warm up by sharing body heat.

"Is it the cold?"

"No-no." She mumbled.

Sakura didn't know what to do or what to say. She slipped in beside him but was as stiff as cardboard.

"Sakura?" he murmured.

"W-what?"

"Seriously, what the hell is it?"

"I can't say it." She squeaked.

She heard him get up after a minute, and when he slipped back in beside her she immediately relaxed. "You could have just asked." He said.

"What was I meant to say? Could you please put some pants on-I'm freaked out by how attractive you are beneath a sheet?"

He stayed silent for a few minutes and she went completely red, and then he burst into laughter. She felt so embarrassed by what she had just verbally vomited and was utterly shocked. He finally stopped laughing and sighed into her shoulder.

"Turn over so I can see you," he said softly. She rolled onto her other side still blushing, and he brushed his fingers through her hair. "I love you, you know that, right?" he murmured.

She felt tears drip down her face and he wiped them away. She smiled and leant in close, kissing him softly. "I'm glad…" she whispered softly.

He kissed her again, gently, and Sakura blushed as they lingered. "We should go to sleep…you have work tomorrow…" Sakura said.

She felt him smile, "You're the one that oversleeps." He said.

"Then-"

He cut her off with another kiss, and as he parted she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Was that necessary?" she asked.

"Perhaps not, but you responded." He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes and reached over to turn off the lamp, only just achieving her goal before he caught her hand.

"What is it…?" she asked.

He held her hand, bringing it down to rest between them. He didn't say anything, so Sakura squeezed his hand, and then tried to go to sleep.

…

Two weeks passed quickly. While Syaoran was out, Sakura wandered around the streets and played with the children at the orphanage or stayed at home and continued with her sewing and caused trouble of her own kind.

Christmas Eve had arrived and Tomoyo and Eriol were over for the night to celebrate with them. Tomoyo drank her usual beverage of hot tea, while Sakura drank iced tea with her sliced fruit.

"So, how has your week been?" Eriol asked Syaoran casually.

"Don't ask." Syaoran muttered.

Sakura smiled as she remembered the last two weeks recent events and compared to four or five months ago where if she had done what she had, Syaoran probably would have been angry, but rather he was just a little worn out.

"So, what has Sakura been up to now?" Eriol asked.

"I suppose you could say that chasing geese around the house was one of her little activities." Syaoran said.

"Okay then…" Eriol raised his brow, completely bewildered, but the couple didn't elaborate.

Sakura couldn't stop her fit of giggles as she sat on the couch beside Syaoran who simply shook his head.

"What else did she do?" Tomoyo asked curiously, completely unsurprised by Sakura's behaviour.

"She went and got herself completely covered in mud; she walked in with a really unimpressed look on her face-I still don't know how she managed to get so filthy." Syaoran said as he looked at Sakura who had immediately stopped laughing.

"What else did she do…? Oh, she knocked herself unconscious by tripping on the edge of her skirt, she fell in the fountain pool in the garden-"

Sakura cut him off by placing her hand over his mouth. "I think you've embarrassed me enough, thank you." She smiled.

"It sounds like you've had a very interesting two weeks." Tomoyo smiled.

"Indeed."

"What about you two?" Sakura asked.

"The same as usual, I suppose." Tomoyo smiled.

"That's boring…" she muttered under her breath.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Tomoyo wondered aloud, changing the topic of conversation.

"Didn't think that far." Sakura confessed.

"Chasing geese, according to you." Syaoran said as he rolled his eyes.

"Shut up." Sakura snapped. He laughed and Tomoyo giggled, while Sakura pouted.

After dinner they sat and played cards until late; Sakura was falling asleep at the table but wouldn't admit it, so Syaoran called the game to an end and decided to call it a night. Once Tomoyo and Eriol had left the table and disappeared up stairs to their respective guest room, Syaoran gently woke Sakura who had fallen asleep at the table.

"Did I fall asleep…?" she mumbled.

"Unfortunately, yes." He replied.

"Oh…"

He lifted her from her chair and she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder as he carried her back up to their room. He placed her on the bed and unlaced her corset, removing it carefully, and walked over to pick out a nightgown for her. As he walked back over to her he sat down on the edge of the bed and shook her awake again. She groaned.

"You need to get changed." He said softly.

"No…" she mumbled.

"You won't let me change you, will you?" he rolled his eyes.

She stayed silent and for a moment he thought she'd gone back to sleep until she cracked open an eye. "Go ahead. I dare you." She said tiredly.

She's half asleep. He thought to himself with a sigh. Even so, he didn't, and she smiled.

"I thought you were going to, but you surprised me." She said as she sat up. She looked exhausted, like she could fall asleep just sitting up.

"I didn't want to upset you." He murmured.

She smiled and hugged him before pulling away and peeling her dress over her head. He looked away quickly and waited, and she poked him. "You should change too." She said.

He looked at her and smiled. "I won't be long."

She slipped into bed and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost straight away, and he changed his clothes and slipped in beside her after turning off the lights. He fell asleep not long after and held her close, breathing in her scent along with the warm night air.

Morning came quickly and when Sakura woke she found Syaoran to still be asleep. His arms were secure around her waist and she didn't want to wake him, so she carefully moved so that she could get up. She sighed and wondered over to the bathroom, and when she got back she found he was awake.

"Morning." He greeted.

"Sorry…did I wake you?" she asked.

"No, I was already awake." He shrugged.

She pouted, and he laughed. "You're mean…" she mumbled as she climbed back into bed.

"Well, I could say that you're a pest, but you already know that." He smiled.

She couldn't help but smile at his comment. "Fine, you win."

"I know."

She rolled her eyes and pushed his shoulder lightly, and then he looked over at the clock. "Suppose we should go meet Tomoyo and Eriol out in the lounge." He said.

"What time did you say we would meet?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Around ten." He said.

Sakura looked over at the clock and raised an eyebrow. "Well…looks like you should have woken me up an hour ago…"

"I didn't want to wake you-you were so tired last night." He said.

She giggled and got up, pulling on her dressing gown. He followed after her and they headed for the lounge where Tomoyo and Eriol were waiting, and as they walked in Tomoyo looked at Sakura expectantly.

"You're late." She said.

"Sorry-I overslept." Sakura muttered.

"Of course, you did." Tomoyo sighed. "Well, at least I had my tea." She shrugged.

"Is that all you care about!?" Sakura shouted.

"Apparently." Syaoran said as he sat down.

"Well, since we're all here now, I'll give you two your gifts from me." Tomoyo smiled.

Sakura watched as her sister stood up and walked over to the small tree that they had set up together the day before while Eriol and Syaoran had been discussing work related things in the study.

Tomoyo walked back over with two small parcels in her hands; she passed one to Syaoran and then one to Sakura, who smiled.

"May I?" Sakura asked.

"Please," her sister smiled.

Sakura felt bad for undoing the care her sister had taken in wrapping her gift and untied the string around it. She began to pull away the paper when she felt something soft and gentle beneath her fingertips; she pulled the neatly folded material out and smiled.

"It's a winter shawl." She smiled softly.

"I knew that you didn't have anything to give you extra warmth, so I thought that it might be a nice for you." Tomoyo smiled. "It's a soft material, so it shouldn't irritate your skin, and I thought that if it were white it would go with most of your clothing. Look closely around the edges."

Sakura unfolded it to find that around the edges her sister had embroidered intricate cherry blossom patterns in gold silk thread all around the edge. She smiled, "Thank you, I love it."

"I'm glad." Tomoyo smiled cheerfully, and then turned her attention to Syaoran. "You can open it if you like." She said politely.

"Thank you." He replied.

He opened the small box he received from Tomoyo and smiled. Inside was a bronze and silver wolf-shaped broach with copious amounts of careful detail to show the fur and paws. Its eyes were two ice blue gem stones, stones that Sakura had never seen before.

"Thank you for the gift." Syaoran thanked Tomoyo with a polite smile.

"I thought it would suit you in a strange way." She said thoughtfully. "I suppose it had something to do with your character."

He smiled, "Is that so?"

Sakura sighed and stood. "Let's see…"

She walked over to the tree and found the two parcels that she had labelled with their names, and then walked back over and passed them their respective gifts.
She looked at Eriol sceptically, "I'm sure you'll get a good kick out of it, since Tomoyo's your wife."

Tomoyo looked at Sakura with confusion whereas Eriol just smiled. Syaoran shook his head and pretended not to know.

Tomoyo opened her parcel to find a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings inside; they were a very simple pattern with just a small sapphire stone and then a single diamond teardrop.

"They weren't too bad for the price…and I thought that since I couldn't make it for your birthday it could be part of your present." Sakura mumbled.

Tomoyo smiled, "You're so adorable."

Eriol opened his gift from Sakura and laughed. "Fair enough."

"I am not married to you." Syaoran muttered.

"Face it-you are and always will be." Sakura smiled sweetly.

She sat down beside him and rested her head on his shoulder as if to tease him a little more, and Tomoyo giggled.

"You don't mind if I give you your gift a little later, do you?" she then asked him.

"That's fine." He smiled.

Sakura smiled and he returned his attention to his best friend. "Well, what's that look on your face for?" Syaoran asked.

Eriol smiled. "Sakura's got an extra gift in her pyjama draw from the two of us-well, Tomoyo mostly."

Sakura blinked and stared at him blankly. "You went through my pyjama draw?"

"Of course, not-Tomoyo placed it there yesterday."

Unsure of what her brother-in-law was up to, Sakura stood and walked out of the room and back up the stairs to her bedroom. She opened her pyjama draw and found the parcel, opening it and let out an ear-piercing scream.

Syaoran looked at Eriol and sighed. "I'm guessing from that incredibly high pitched scream of hers, it was lingerie."

"How'd you figure?" both asked.

"I've heard the scream before." He sighed again.

Tomoyo burst into a fit of giggles beside Eriol, who was also laughing. Sakura came bursting back into the room, her face bright red, and everyone looked at her.

"Oh, you think that's so hilarious!? You shouldn't waste money on things that will never be worn!" she screamed.

"How can you be so sure?" all three of them said at the same time. Sakura looked at them with pure horror and ran out of the room again.

"What do you think she's doing?" Eriol asked. Syaoran shrugged.

"Well I think she's actually too embarrassed to face anyone right now, so she's probably gone and locked herself in the bedroom." Tomoyo smiled.

"You've witnessed something like this before?" Syaoran asked with surprise.

"Yes; when we were kids and our doctor was still seeing her-I think she was about nine-he saw her trip over her own two feet and fall into the koi pond in our back garden. She was so embarrassed she hid in her room soaking wet, and our mother said that he was the quickest to be able to coax her out of her room after such an incident." Tomoyo explained.

"Sounds like they were close." Eriol said.

"Yes… She had piled the furniture in front of her door rather high too, and he helped her put it all back despite mother's protests."

Syaoran remembered hearing something about that when he was eleven. He smiled, wondering what his father would do with Sakura if he were still alive.

"Let's wait and see for a little while-maybe she'll come out on her own." Tomoyo said with her usual smile.

"Alright." Syaoran agreed.

They sat in wait for Sakura, hoping that maybe she'd come walking down the stairs on her own. Syaoran was getting anxious and becoming worried, while Tomoyo sat quietly drinking her tea.

"Tomoyo-"

"No." She declined, cutting across him. "Why don't you try?"

He sighed and stood up, walking up the stairs and down the hall. Sure enough, she had locked herself in their bedroom.

"Sakura?" he called out. No answer. "Could you please come out and sit with us?"

"Hell no!" she cried.

"Then can you let me in and tell me what's wrong?"

There was a click of the door unlocking but it didn't open. He twisted the handle and opened the door, stepping into the room. She was sitting beside the door on the ground with her face buried in her knees. He looked over at the draw which was now closed and sighed.

"Surely it can't be that bad?" he said as he was about to take a step towards the set of draws.

She quickly grabbed his hand to stop him, her face still bright red from earlier, and shook her head vigorously. He sat down in front of her and took her hands in his. She looked up at him and he smiled.

"You embarrass easily, you know that, right?"

"Quiet, you." She mumbled.

He looked at her delicate hands and squeezed her fingers gently. He decided to ask the question that had been lingering on his mind for months, the one he had avoided entirely so as to not upset Sakura. He knew she was upset more about the implications of what was in the draw than the actual clothing itself.

"May I ask why you're worried about intercourse?" he asked.

She was so surprised he was able to just say it so casually that her face went bright red again. It took her a few minutes, but she settled her nerves and sighed.

"I'm afraid of the pain." She whispered. "There are other factors too-but... I can't tell you everything yet…" she whispered.

He shook his head. "It's ok. Take your time. But I am glad you told me that-otherwise I would never have known."

"Thank you." She smiled softly, feeling relief.

"Will you come out and join us again?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, "I suppose I should…" She mumbled.

They stood and walked out together, heading towards the lounge once again. Neither of the two who were sitting and waiting patiently said anything as Sakura sat back down, while Syaoran picked up a couple of parcels.
He passed one to Tomoyo, one to Eriol and two to Sakura who looked at him with surprise.

Tomoyo opened her gift and smiled, "Ooh yay, I've been wanting a new set of knitting needles. I even got some threads too-thank you."

"I asked Sakura's advice-she said something practical would suit you fine." He said.

"Sakura knows me so well." Tomoyo smiled cheerfully.

"Well I am your sister…" Sakura muttered.

Eriol held up the pocket watch that he had received as a gift from Syaoran and smiled. "Simple."

"You broke your last one, right?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks."

Sakura bit her lip and opened the larger parcel sitting on her lap first; it was a box, and as she opened the lid and removed the paper she realised that inside were two tailored dresses. She looked to Syaoran briefly and he smiled, and she pulled out the first dress; it was a lilac colour with a low square neckline and white lace embellishments. The sleeves were full length and the dress had been designed to be worn in the winter, so the material was nice and warm.

The other was a beautiful hunter green colour, with black lace embellishments and the sleeves sat off the shoulders but were full length. The neckline was also quite low-perhaps lower than usual-and as usual the back was lace up. The sleeves were lined with lace as was the skirt, but it was a soft comfortable lace unlike the itchy kind that she often found uncomfortable.

"I've been spoilt…" she mumbled. "I don't know if I can open my second gift."

"Come on-open it!" Tomoyo encouraged her cheerfully.

Sakura picked it up and carefully unwrapped it, and as she opened the small box she was too shocked for words.

Aaand that was chapter twelve! How did you like it? You'll be finding out about Sakura's past with Dimitri soon.