I am extremely sorry for the delay. I want to be regular with my updates but I just don't believe my chapters are good enough. This chapter is short. I will, hopefully, make the other chapters longer than this one.


Married?

by: xArcherx

Chapter One

He was completely amazed.

There was no other way to describe it. Li Yelan was a very busy woman who certainly did not spend her time in her son's bedroom watching him wake up from a disturbed slumber.

"M-Mother." He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. No, he hadn't imagined her; she was standing in front of him with a very disapproving look on her face.

"Xiao Lang." There was something in the way she said his name. He was used to having people call him 'Syaoran' and there was only one person, apart from his Mother, who used his real name.

"Yes?" he tried not to cringe when he met his mother's gaze; there was something in her eyes that unnerved him. Was it disappointment? Disgust? Condescension?

She moved closer to his bed and sat on its edge, her eyes still scrutinizing his face. He resisted the urge to gulp and instead held his head high. The silence was depressing and Syaoran wanted nothing more than to bolt.

"It's been a month, Xiao Lang." Her tone was accusatory and she spoke clearly, enunciating each word. "And your wife is not home yet."

It hit him like a slap. He simply stared at the ground, his lips pressed into a thin line. Her words brought him immeasurable pain – pain beyond acknowledgement, pain beyond feeling. He could feel her eyes bore into his face and he kept his face devoid of emotion as he replied, "She is going through a lot right now. I don't want to disturb her."

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that Xiao Lang?" she was sceptical. She cocked an eyebrow while she waited for an answer.

Instead, he replied with a smile that froze her heart for a moment. It was a bitter smile that she had never seen on his face before. It was unbecoming; but as much as she wished her son would smile more than he usually did, she realised that this particular smile of his was something that was far worse than his grim disposition.

She longed to ask him what was wrong. Yelan may be a severe Mother, but she knew her children well enough to understand when they needed to be left alone. She stood up abruptly, causing Syaoran to look at her in surprise. She nodded curtly and left the room.

Yelan understood better than anyone that you cannot force a flower to bloom or the sun to rise. It was the will of one's own self that made things happen.


Hiiragizawa Eriol stared at the sky, his eyes registering each and every star visible that night. A figure shifted in the shadows. Eriol smiled to himself before asking pleasantly, "Why, Spinel, I always thought Ruby Moon was the impatient one."

"Eriol-sama should know better than that."

The young man tore his gaze away from the sky and glanced into the water at his feet. It reflected his face – his surreal blue hair, eyes the colour of sapphires, and his fair complexion – before dissolving into nothingness. He stretched his arm, his palm facing the water and muttered an incantation.

The water immediately showed him the image of a girl with bright green eyes and light brown hair. He stared long at the picture, wearing a cynical smile. The image shifted and was replaced by a woman with flowing red hair and brown eyes. The figure hidden by the shadows immediately called out, "Eriol-sama..."

He was calm and collected. "Time can heal, Spinel." He turned away from the water and moved away gracefully, but not before casting another glance at the water, that was now erasing the image of a certain young man with intense amber eyes.


"I want everyone to say it again." The teacher underlined the word in the blackboard and stared at the class severely. "Come on now. Loud and clear."

Tomoyo mouthed the word aloud with many other people. Her eyes strayed yet again towards the girl sitting next to her, who was far from being in the mood to learn Italian. Tomoyo resisted the urge to sigh and willed herself to listen to the teacher. After all, she was the one who had been so keen on learning Italian.

"That's better." The teacher seemed satisfied. Her shrewd eyes searched the rows of students and finally settled upon the girl Tomoyo was sitting next to. Tomoyo immediately understood her intent. "Ah, Kinomoto-san. Would you mind telling the class the meaning of this word?" she underlined the Italian word for the umpteenth time.

Tomoyo nudged Sakura who blinked a few times and stared blankly at the teacher. "H-Hoe?"

"Kinomoto-san," The teacher repeated, in an exasperated tone, "Will you please tell me the meaning of this word?"

Sakura stood up and stared at the board, "Undici." She pronounced the word correctly, much to everyone's surprise – including Tomoyo. "Hai. It means...eleven."

"That's right." The teacher smiled, pleased. "You may sit down now, Kinomoto-san. And I expect you to pay more attention in class."

Sakura blushed and nodded. "H-Hai."

Tomoyo looked long and hard at the girl. "Sakura..." she whispered. "Since when did you know Italian?"

The look on Sakura's face made Tomoyo regret her words immensely. It was a pained look, and she unconsciously rubbed her ring finger – the one that held a beautiful diamond ring. She smiled, "Xiao Lang had an inclination towards Italian. So he made me learn it along with him." She focused her attention on the teacher, clearly unwilling to let the conversation continue.

Tomoyo could feel the gloom settle over her as she turned her head towards the teacher who was questioning another student. Tomoyo watched as the boy mumbled, clearly not knowing the answer to the question.

Oh Sakura, Tomoyo thought sadly, What happened?


I think I am going to take it slow with this fanfic. However, my plans change all the time. I will try my best to not just abandon this story. Thank you for reading. If you have any comments, do review.