***READ AUTHOR'S NOTE IF YOU WANT THIS STORY TO CONTINUE***
Note: Firstly, thank you for all of the support that you've given even though I've been off fanfiction for almost two years now. Yikes. I appreciate all of the individuals who have favorited this story or favorited me as an author. That means a lot. But I do need reviews to continue. I won't be sure that people are actually finding this worth reading if I don't receive reviews. Even a couple worded review saying 'I liked it' is enough. With that said, let's continue onto the first chapter, shall we?
Simple Exchange
Chapter One
Dressed in a silk pale green empire waist nightgown, Sakura sat numbly, looking without seeing at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her honey locks gently, her fingertips running through them as the brush stroked down. She recalled what her father had told her.
"Sakura, a long time ago, before I met your mother, Ryu's father, Lian, and I were friends. We did just about everything together; we had been together since pre-school. But as we approached college, a group of influential members of the Li Clan, the Elders, wanted Lian to take over and become the leader. Lian didn't want to of course, but the Elders were persistent saying they would not only disown him, but cut him off from his family and inheritance entirely," Fujitaka explained to his daughter.
"But, why? How could a group of people be so heartless? And what's so special about the Li family? Touya and I grew up with Ryu and he didn't seem like anything special," Sakura asked, rolling her eyes at the last part statement.
"What makes them so special is the fact that they are royalty Sakura; they are direct descendants of the Emperor. They never wanted to take control of China; they just wanted to influence it in the shadows. And to lead this strong clan is a burden that Lian never wanted to bear. So, he thought he would pass it off to his sister… Nadeshiko," Fujitaka continued, causing Sakura to gasp audibly.
"Mom was a part of the Li family? And I have to marry Ryu? Gross! I am not marrying my own cousin father, you mark my words. I will not be a part of incest!" Sakura cried, outraged but utterly relieved at the same time to find a way out the mess she had gotten herself into.
"Nadeshiko was adopted into the clan at a young age Sakura. So Ryu and Syaoran are not really your family members. The Elders never let Nadeshiko forget that she was not of their blood and only wanted someone who was a 'true' Li to run the clan. But they still knew they had to do right by her since she grew up knowing all of the Li secrets. Their plan was to marry her off to one of the Emperors at the time; that way they would be rid of her and still have a spy to look over the inner affairs of China. The only problem with that was Nadeshiko and I were already in love. The Elders would never approve of me as a match for her, seeing how I was a ways away from their social standing and was quite a few years older than your mother, so I promised that I would bring them the Hand of Midas," Fujitaka explained, recalling the memory.
"What's the Hand of Midas?" Sakura asked, confused. Her father told her about all kinds of things he had found or was trying to find, but she had never heard him mention this one.
"The Hand of Midas is a piece of solid gold in the shape of a hand that turns anything it touches into solid gold as well," Fujitaka continued to tell his daughter a story that hadn't been told to anyone."It brings fortune beyond compare."
"And you gave that to them, didn't you?" Sakura asked, to which Fujitaka nodded the answer. "So then what are they asking for now?"
"When they found that I would give up something so valuable for your mother, they made me bring them back something every time I went on a dig. There was always some rare and precious artifact that they sought, and I was the perfect little scavenger boy," Fujitaka remarked bitterly.
"It was sort of like a payment. Nadeshiko was furious because she felt like a toy; something that could only be bought. But she knew that I was doing it so I could love her and live freely with her while knowing the Elders couldn't annul our marriage at any time. Then she got sick and when she passed… the Elders said it was my fault and that I would need to continue to bring them valuables otherwise they would ruin me as an archeologist and would have you and Touya taken away," Fujitaka finished.
"And I'm guessing you haven't brought them something in a while?" Sakura asked.
"It isn't just a something that you can pick up from the many sands in Egypt. This is something specific they have wanted: the cup of youth. Anyone who drinks from that cup is returned to the age where their body was at its best condition. And considering the Elders are all old, who can blame them for wanting it? I had tried giving them other things, but they wanted nothing else but the cup," Fujitaka explained.
"So they will hold me until you find this thing or else I'll have to marry Ryu and stay with him for the rest of my life?" Sakura asked bitterly.
"I'm so sorry Sakura, my darling daughter," Fujitaka told her in a heartbroken tone, taking his daughter into his arms.
A knock startled Sakura out of her reverie. She grabbed the matching robe that hung over the chair of her vanity and wrapped it around her lithe body before answering the door.
"Ryu," Sakura muttered darkly, seeing her fiancée standing before her with the ever present smug smirk upon his lips.
"Oh dear wife-to-be," Ryu answered mockingly, a hand upon his heart, "we will be married by the end of the year. I would think you would be pleased to see me."
"I would be much more pleased to see the reaper," Sakura drawled, trying to shut the heavy wooden door in his face, but he was too quick and too strong for her feminine movements.
"Now, now little cherry blossom, you will have to fulfill your wifely duties," he told her with a wolfish smile, "and I assure you, you won't be thinking you've seen the reaper once I'm through with you."
"I'll have you know that there will be nothing physical of this marriage. Do you understand me? I agreed to marry you, nothing else," she hissed at him in a hard, even tone.
"And I'll have you know it is part of the Li code that the marriage must be consummated in order for it to be found valid in the eyes of the Elders. In addition to the small fact, an heir must be produced by the end of the first year," Ryu corrected.
Sakura suddenly blanched at the thought. She had gotten herself way in over her head. Have sex, with him? And make another one of him? She shuddered at the thought.
"Ah, I see you're anticipating this grand event little blossom. Don't worry, the time will come soon enough. Just wait until our wedding night," he told her with another grin before walking away so she could be alone with her thoughts of disgust and anger.
She set her lips into a fine line and stared at the spot where her future husband had previously stood. She had gotten all of the information she needed from her father, so that was cleared. The problem of Ryu would never be dealt with. If it were up to her, Sakura would rather have him dead. She only had few things left to do before she could find a way to get herself and her father out of this horrible mess.
Shutting the heavy door, she walked to her bedside, picking up the phone. Thinking twice that it could be bugged, she set it down before she dug her cell phone from her purse, not feeling home at all. She and Ryu were to live in separate rooms until they were wed, and Sakura had yet to get her things from her home. That was the first thing she would do tomorrow. In the meanwhile, the Li household had hospitably provided clothing for her.
She took out the slim silver phone, flipped it open and went through her contact list. Finding the one she desired, she pressed the phone to her ear, awaiting a particular voice.
"Hello? Tomoyo-chan? It's me. Something has happened and I'll need you to pass the message on to Touya and Eriol as quickly as possible; they'll know what to do," Sakura began before she told her best friend and cousin of the problems that lay ahead.
If Ryu thought she would take this blackmail lying down, then despite the fact they had grown up together, he truly did not know her at all.
It had been a long and tormenting day for Sakura. She was emotionally and physically drained and had decided to go to bed early. No more than an hour into her sleep she heard a sharp rapping upon her bedroom door.
Seething, she threw off the covers, not even bothering the fix the strap of her nightgown that exposed her bare shoulder, ready to give who she thought to be Ryu a piece of her mind. She threw the door open, felt her rage leave her and held still.
"Sakura," he whispered her name tenderly.
This was not the brother she had expected to see.
"Syaoran… what are you doing here?" She asked wearily, who was suddenly self-conscious of her appearance began to fix the straps of her nightdress and comb her fingers through her hair.
"Can I come in? We need to talk," he stated once more, his soft amber eyes meeting her anxious emerald ones.
With a moment's hesitation she nodded before she opened the door wider so he could slip into her room, dreading the talk they would share.
TBC