Disclaimer – I do not own CCS but Sapphies mine and so is the evil queen lady as soon as I get round to naming her. I don't own the Westlife song 'Queen of my Heart' which inspired me to write this story and also feature in this chapter.
Sorry this took so damn long, I'm not sure why it did seeing as I've had it sitting here on my hard drive for quite some time. Anyway, on with the story.
Queen of my Heart – Changes and Revelations
Rita noticed a change in Lilly, one beyond the intricately made clothes, the flawless makeup and the perfect hair. One that may or may not be only skin deep.
She could see a sparkle in her friends eyes like never before that seemed to light up the entire room. Her eyes were suddenly the brilliant emerald she had always presumed them to be. There was a change inside her that was obvious in her every step.
For the first time in the few years that they had known each other, Rita could see that she was truly happy.
She smiled at the scene that was playing before her eyes.
They made the perfect couple. They were like yin and yang, two separate entities combined to make the perfect whole and neither could exist without the other and neither even wanted to try. She knew it was true for his eyes also held the same sparkle that had never before been seen in her king.
They were the perfect match, she so bright and beautiful full of light, joy and love, him so dark, brooding and handsome full of hope and suddenly finding a new reason to live each day in the girl at his side. It seemed that everything about them just seemed to match perfectly from one to another.
It too was obvious in the way they stood together the rest of the world seemingly fading away around them. It showed in the way they interacted like there was no one else there and the way they looked at each other as if nothing else mattered anymore. But the thing that displayed in the best was the way that they continued to dance even when the music had stopped playing.
'Their love speaks so loud that it drowns out all the words, the sounds and anything that isn't part of the two of them,' she though to herself as she looked at the two, smiling at her friends new life. 'You deserve this Lilly, or whoever you are. You deserve to know that whoever you may be, you are loved.'
Sakura's gaze drifted among the many faces looking up at her all wearing the same awe stuck look upon their faces.
She knew who she was now. She had to be Sakura, she didn't think she could go on if she wasn't. All these people in the crowd, something told her she knew them and she could feel their names nagging at the back of her mind.
"Whose that?" she heard a little girl ask as she and Syaoran walked gracefully down the steps. "She's pwetty," she nodded looking up.
The little girl had ebony hair, ivory skin and eyes as blue the midsummer night sky. She was wrapped in her fathers arms looking up at Sakura with more awe than anyone else.
"Sapphire," she whispered to herself seeing the name fiting so perfectly to the child.
The little girls father nodded at the childs response as tears of joy welled in his eyes. "That's auntie Sakura," he replied.
'she's part of my family,' Sakura thought to herself. 'i'm a part of that.'
"This is where you belong Sakura," Syaoran told her.
She looked at them. The three of them stood together, the child, the mother and the father. Sapphire was a perfect mixture of the two, his hair her eyes and smile, Sakura could almost see herself in the child.
She nodded. She knew it was true. It felt so right, so natural and so perfect to be at his side. She felt as though if she ever left it she would lose a part of herself, that she would no longer be complete and that he would take a part of her with him.
Maybe he already had. She remembered the way that Rita had often told her how her eyes seemed dull with pain but now as she had seen herself in the mirror she had seen a brilliant light shining through them.
Maybe when she had been taken away from him part of her had been left behind and that part had always been with him waiting for her to return to the one she loved.
She loved Syaoran so much. They had only found each other a few minutes and already she could feel a connection and a sense of chemistry between then that she couldn't stand to be without.
She wasn't sure how she had survived life without him, but now she couldn't bear to be away for too long. It was amazing how her life could become so wonderful in a matter of seconds.
Syaoran led her to a group of people. All of them seemed so familiar, she recognised each and every one of them yet she struggled to find their names.
"Tori," she said suddenly as a name came to her looking to the young man with the small child in his arms.
He smiled and wrapped his little sister in a hug. "I was so scared we had lost you forever kajuu," he said happily.
"don't call me that," she said angrily her lady like appearance faltering as she stomped down as hard as she could on Tori's foot.
"I'm glad your back Sakura," said the woman beside him, the child's mother.
Like Sapphire, her name was reflected by the colour of her eyes. They were a deep red colour like stone of her namesake.
"Ruby," she said.
The woman nodded.
'How could I forget them all?' Sakura asked herself. 'How could I have forgotten all these people so close to me, especially Syaoran, so easily? Now it's all coming back, as if I never even forgot, as if I never left. I feel as though part of me was always here.'
'I feel like I was drawn here,' Sakura continued to think to herself starting to zone out. 'I feel like I was drawn to Syaoran, just to be near him even if I couldn't be with him at that time.'
"Where have you been all these years?" a girl with pale skin, the darkest black hair and violet eyes. She looked about Sakura's own age and she was one of the most familiar of all, next to Syaoran of course.
'Madison,' she thought to herself. 'My best friend in the entire world.'
"She's been right under my nose this whole time apparently," Syaoran teased wrapping one arm around Sakura's waist and pulling her closer to him showing that he wasn't going to let her get away from him again.
Sakura giggled at the gesture and knew her friends would want a further explanation. "I'm only just regaining my memory," she explained. "Occasionally I'd have these flashes of things, of castles and kings and queens and of Syaoran, but I always just presumed they were the normal daydreams of a servant girl," she chuckled.
"You were working as a servant girl?" Madison asked screwing up her nose at the thought of it. "I see what he meant by right under his nose."
"But I guess they were all true, and it's all coming back to me," she added sighing happily and leaning into Syaoran's arms.
The first few chords of a song began to play. Sakura smiled as she found it so familiar, it was one of her favourites.
"So here we stand, in our secret place," Sakura sang softly in time with the music. It seemed to take her away for a little while. She could see herself and Syaoran together in front of her eyes just as she had always dreamed as Lilly, the nameless servant girl, but now she knew it was a reality she couldn't bare to leave again.
"May I have this dance?" Syaoran asked her, whisking her back to this beautiful reality.
Sakura nodded as he took her hand in his and led her to the dance floor.
Sakura sighed contently as Syaoran took her delicate figure in his powerful arms. She felt so safe and protected here in his arms. She felt complete and hoped she would never have to let go again.
"I love you," he whispered in her ear as their bodies moved in perfect harmony with each other and the music flowed around them.
They easily became caught up in each other as though the three years of misery, pain and a feeling of loss hadn't even occurred.
They didn't notice the way that people around them had stopped dancing. Or how everyone had moved into a wide circle around the dance floor so they could watch the two. They didn't notice the whispers of amazement to see Syaoran with a girl, let alone one who had been presumed dead for so long.
They didn't notice it all fade away until all that was left was them and the constant waltz beat of the music they danced to.
So here we stand in our secret place
Where the sound of the crowd is so far away
And you take my hand and it feels like home
We both understand it's where we belong
So how do I say, do I say goodbye
We both have our dreams
We both want to fly
So lets take tonight
To carry us through
The lonely times
I'll always look back, as I walk away
This memory will last for eternity
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back to your arms again
But until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart
So lets take tonight and never let go
While dancing we'll kiss like there's no tomorrow
As the stars sparkle down, like a diamond ring
I'll treasure this moment till we meet again
But no matter how far away you may be
I just close my eyes and you're in my dreams
And there you will be
Until we meet
I'll always look back, as I walk away
This memory will last for eternity
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back to your arms again
But until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart
I'll always look back, as I walk away
This memory will last for eternity
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back to your arms again
But until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart
Queen of my Heart
Sakura felt as though she was floating on air. She no longer felt the ground under her feet or much else for that matter. All she could feel were Syaoran's strong arms wrapped around her waist.
She treasured it, the feeling of completeness and happiness that she hadn't felt for so long. She treasure the feeling of his arms around her, the feeling of his chest rising and falling against hers, the spark of electricity she felt as he touched her skin.
She treasure the warmth that filled her as he caressed her cheek and the tingle that spread up and down her spine from where his hand rested lightly as they dance.
She closed her eyes on instinct as she gave in to all these feelings of pleasure, euphoria and anticipation that consumed her as he gently nestled his hand under her chin and drew her towards him into the sweet and passionate kiss that she had unbeknowestly longed for three long and lonely years.
Suddenly the two were brought back to reality from their own secret world they had slipped into by a loud applause. It seemed that the music had stopped long before they had stopped dancing, and that the people had moved away giving all a clear view of the king and his one true love that had been lost for so long.
The two blushed from the attention that had been drawn to themselves but remained in each others arms.
Syaoran smiled cheekily as he took a bow and his guest applauded loudly.
"Kiss her again," he heard a voice that was easily recognised as Eriol's call from the crowd.
Syaoran turned to Sakura raising an eyebrow at her as he prepared to oblige his strange friends request. Sakura smiled and closed her eyes as she too was ready to oblige.
And as everything began to disappear and the air was filled with a harmonic song just for them, they shared a kiss that would not be their last.
She screamed.
It was all she could do right to dispel the frustration. She only knew one thing for sure, she wasn't going to let it end this way.
They could count on it.
~ *©*~
Done, a nice long one to make up for the immensely short ones you've been forced to put up with for so long. Everything is finally working out for the best, but then if you've read as many S+S fics as I have you know that doesn't usually last long.
Sorry, no happy ending yet. I can't just end it leaving the evil queen lady hanging.
Please review.