Author's Note: Thank you to everybody that has reviewed! Special thanks to Yiing-fa for all the suggestions! I apologize to everybody for the late update!

thoughts are in italics

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura

Last chapter:

Touya walked out and shut the door. His footsteps faded a few seconds later. Sakura finished packing all of her stuff but she felt as if she forgot something. A feeling was nagging at her, telling her to try and remember. Trying to remember something, she walked toward the bed, turned around, bent her knees, and flopped down on it. Suddenly, she remembered as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had another dagger under her pillow. It was the one that she had found in the park. Sakura sat up and lifted it out from beneath her pillow. For some reason, she decided to bring it. Sakura went back to her suitcase and opened it. She hid the dagger with the other weapons between all the clothes that she had. Finishing everything, Sakura took a shower and went to bed. Thoughts filled her mind once again. "It's June 24th. Tomorrow, I have to leave. What is going to happen? What are my parents going to do? What is the castle like? What is the royal family like? How will the contest go? How is it going to be? I can't believe it's the 24th of June already. I don't want to believe it."

End of Last Chapter

The carriage rolled down the bumpy road as it jolted upwards. Sakura's suitcase was held securely in her hand. She had left her house just a few minutes ago. She gave the money that she earned to her parents, telling them not to work. She made sure that everything was in order before she left. They had a nice breakfast and they all had said their goodbyes. It seemed too much of a dream to be real. No..., dream was not the word to describe it. It was more like... a nightmare, a nightmare that separated her from her family. Just a few weeks ago, she was living normally. After a few weeks, she suddenly was going to the castle entering a contest with the chance to be the future King's wife.

The carriage jolted again causing high, loud pitched screams from a couple of girls in the same carriage with her. The two girls that screamed where from a "high class". They sat right across from her. Even though Sakura barely knew them, she already found them annoying, and rude. She found out that one of the girl's names was Midori. She was the one with the short green hair and the brown eyes. The other one was Kotone. She had long red hair and red eyes. Both of them were wearing way too much makeup. They were talking loud enough for the whole carriage to hear them.

"I can't believe that I'm in the same carriage with these... these filthy pheasants," said Midori with a look of disgust on her face.

"I know, I should be able to ride in better conditions than this," agreed Kotone.

"They aren't going to win anyways, so what's the use of even letting them enter the contest?"

"I agree. The have no chance against us. I mean, look at them," she pointed her finger at everybody else. "Look how ugly they look. Look how gorgeous we look. The prince will fall for us in one single look."

"I know," said Midori.

The two girls erupted in high pitched laughter.

It seemed as if the other girls in the car couldn't stand it anymore. One girl decided to speak up for them. She had short brown hair with blue eyes as pretty as the sky. Her name was Sora.

"If you want something ugly to look at, why don't you look in a mirror?" said Sora.

The two girls immediately shut their mouths. They had nothing to say back.

"Y-y-y you'll regret it!" shouted Kotone.

"Yeah, you will!" shouted Midori. "When I become queen..."

"No, I'm going to become queen, not you!" shouted Kotone.

And with that said, they started to argue with each other. It was quite funny hearing their useless threats and seeing them pull at each other's hair and scratching each other. It was funny to see their pathetic attempts at "fighting", if that's what you even want to call that. The other girls in the carriage broke out in fits of laughter.

"Hello, my name is Hikari," said a girl with beautiful, long white hair and silver eyes. She was sitting to the right of Sakura. "It's nice to meet you."

Sakura smiled. "It's nice to meet you too. My name is Sakura."

"My name is Sora. Glad to meet you guys too," said the girl to the left of Sakura. "I hope we can become friends."

"Of course we will!" said Sakura. They continued to chatter, learning more about each other. There were occasional jerks of the carriage and shouts from the other girls that were still arguing. The carriage got more crowded as more people got on. The three girls became fast friends, even though they had just met each other. Time passed by a lot faster for Sakura with someone to talk to.

"Look!" shouted Hikari as she pointed out of the window. "There's the palace!"

Everybody stopped their chatter and whatever they were doing. They started gathering around the window of the carriage to get a peek outside, making sure not to lose their balance. Sure enough, there was the castle. There were other carriages there too.

"We are here at the castle, please step out of the carriage and follow me," said a man who had opened the carriage door as soon as the carriage stopped. "Please grab your belongings too."

One by one, all the girls anxiously got out. Even Sakura was in a hurry to get out. The carriage was stuffy with all the people in there. She barely had any room and ached all over from the bumpy ride. She jumped out of the carriage to be greeted by the warm sunlight on her skin. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue and the clouds were white and fluffy. The air was sweet and refreshing. It blew gently against her skin, leaving a tingling feeling behind. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She opened her eyes and set her suitcase onto the floor, right by her foot. Everyone else got out of the carriage and the carriage moved to where the other carriages were.

Gasps were heard from everyone, including from Sakura. They had never seen such a beautiful place. The grass was green and everybody was live with excitement. The palace was absolutely breathtaking. The flags waved proudly in the air, welcoming everyone. Sakura felt relaxed. Someone tapped her shoulder. It was Sora.

"Come on Sakura, we have to go, everyone is leaving."

Sakura picked up her luggage. Together, with her new friends Sora and Hikari, they headed to castle that would change their lives.

"Everyone, please walk past the gates and into the open space. Stand there until everything is settled. Please hang onto your luggage. The royal family will come to explain everything and welcome everyone," the servants said to everyone.

There was a never ending line of girls behind Sakura. She went into the castle and stood near the front with Sora and Hikari. They called 20 girls into the castle at a time. Many times, a girl would walk out with tears streaming down her face and her luggage in her hand, heading toward the carriages. Other times, a girl had to be dragged out by a guard and into the carriage.

"What do you think is going on?" asked Sora.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know," said Hikari in a small voice, a little worried herself.

"Chill, I'm sure everything will be fine," said Sakura trying to convince them. They moved forward in the line as 20 other girls were called. After 10 minutes, a few men stepped out to choose 20 women. Sora and Hikari were both chosen but Sakura wasn't. Sakura smiled and urged them to go in. "Don't worry about me. You guys go ahead and go in." Sakura plastered a fake smile on her face. She gave them a small push. They disappeared into the castle. Letting out a sigh, Sakura allowed the fake smile to be removed from her face.

"I wish you the best of luck, Sora and Hikari!"

Sakura stood out there. She would be next. What would happen to her friends? What would happen to her? After what it seemed like forever, she was called into the castle. She went over to a table that was open.

"Hello, welcome to the castle. Please tell me your name, starting with your last name first," said the man.

"My name is Kinomoto, Sakura."

The man got out a file that was labeled "K". He quickly searched through it until he found what he was looking for.

"Can you spell your full name for me? I just need to confirm it."

"K-I-N-O-M-O-T-O, S-A-K-U-R-A."

He crossed out her name. "Here is your room number and key. Please do not lose it. Head to the room over there," said the man, turning around and pointing in the direction in front of him. "You should see the other contestants there." He sat back down and looked at the papers in front of him.

Sakura took the key. "Thank you," said Sakura with a kind smile on her face.

The man looked up with a shocked facial expression on his face. "I'm sorry; can you repeat what you just said?"

"Uh… Thank you," said Sakura again.

The man smiled back at her, making Sakura a little confused. He let out a laugh. "You must be confused. You see, nobody else said thank you to me so it kind of shocked me when you did."

"Oh," said Sakura.

"Good luck with the contest!"

"Thank you!" Sakura walked toward the direction the man pointed her towards. A frustrating cry filled the air. Sakura quickly turned around.

"You have it wrong, I'm not married and I'm not 25! I'm eligible to enter the contest! I will be your future queen." Her voice faded as she was dragged outside.

"So that's why there were people being dragged into the carriages," mumbled Sakura to herself. She turned around and stared at everything in awe. The castle looked as beautiful as it did outside. While admiring everything, she walked straight ahead and into the spacious room where she was supposed to go. The sound of loud voices and squeals filled her ears. Sakura looked around the room for a place to sit when she heard a faint voice calling her name.

"We are in the front Sakura!" shouted Sora.

She recognized the voice. It was Sora. Sakura looked in the front of the room, looking for her friends.

"Over here! We are over here!" said Hikari. Sakura turned her head toward the direction she heard Hikari's voice and searched frantically for them. More people were coming in and they were pushing past her. Sakura kept looking until she found them. They were standing up and waving their arms in the air, trying to get her attention. Sakura smiled at them. She pushed her way through the crowd with her luggage in her hand. She inched her way to the front where her friends were sitting, trying not to trip over anything or anyone. Finally, she made it to the front. They were in the third row.

"We saved you a seat!" they screamed.

"Thanks!" Sakura yelled back.

She plopped down onto the chair between them. "So how did it go?" asked Hikari.

"It went fine."

"What? I can't hear you."

"It went fine," said Sakura in a louder voice. "How about you?"

"It went good for us too!" They sat there talking about random stuff. Once in a while you would hear them laughing. An hour later, a man walked in the middle of the stage.

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!!!" a loud voice pierced through the air, calming everyone down. Soon, the voices diminished into nothing. It was surprising how fast the room was quieted. All eyes were on the man in front.

"Thank you. King Xing Li and Queen Yelan Li will be explaining everything," said the man, as he gestured to the King and Queen. He took a quick bow and walked off stage.

Everyone stood up and curtsied. They King and Queen waited till everyone was seated again.

"Welcome to the castle!" shouted the King. "We hope you will enjoy your stay here. As most of you know, we are holding a contest. Whoever wins this contest will be the future Queen and will marry our son."

This time the queen spoke. "These are some of the people who will be judging with us. Please welcome them!" Applause filled the room. "These people are also from the royal family."

The King pointed to the man closest to him. "This isEriol Hiiragizawa. He is our nephew, also the prince's cousin." The King pointed to the lady next to him. "This is his wife, Tomoyo Hiiragizawa."

The queen stepped forward. "These are our daughters, Shiefa Li, Fanren Li, Feimei Li, and Fuutie Li. There are two more judges but they could not come here today. Of course the king and I are also judges. We will be passing out a book. Please read through it. It has the rules and more information about the contest." Yelan motioned for the servants standing on the sides to pass them out. As soon as everyone got a copy, the king and queen resumed talking again.

"It's almost 12:00 and I know that everybody has been exhausted and hungry. Like Yelan has said, please read through the rules. If you break one, you have to suffer the consequences and you might even be kicked out of the contest. Good luck to everyone," said the King.

"We will lead you to the place where you will eat. Then we will show everyone where you will be staying at. Everyone will be able to get their own rooms. (Author's Note: There are 100 contestants. It's not because the Li kingdom is small. It's because most women are married at this age in this story.You won't have to do anything for the rest of the day. When it is 6:00, please head down to the lunch room. Your booklet has a map and incase you get lost, there are servants whom you can ask for help," said Yelan.

"I know that everybody wants to see the prince," said Xing. "Well, here he is!"

The room got quiet. The prince walked onto the stage. Immediately, after they saw him, the room erupted in screams and squeals. The prince walked toward his father, his face emotionless but his eyes clearly showing disgust and anger.

"Ugh! Why did I have to be here? Every single girl here is just after the same thing. My body, my looks, the fame, the money, and the title of queen. I don't need a stupid woman to be my wife. I can do fine without one," thought Syaoran.

The screams and the squeals would have gone on forever if the King did not tell them to calm down and head to the cafeteria. The royal family ate at one table and the contestants ate at different ones. After they finished eating, the king had someone show them their rooms. Sakura opened her door and turned around. She locked the door and set her luggage on the floor. Turning around again, she took a look at her room. She immediately squealed in delight. There was a patio leading outside and there was a bathroom in her bedroom. There was a comfortable looking queen sized bed. The pillows were all fluffy. (Author's Note: You can decide on what kind of bedroom it is

She went into the bathroom. They had already supplied a toothbrush and toothpaste for her. Towels and the shampoo and body wash were already neatly piled on the counter. It was like she was living in an expensive hotel.

Sakura decided to take a bath. Then she would unpack and then read the booklet. Then she would go and explore the castle. After all, she didn't have to do anything for 5 hours.

She looked in the mirror. It had been three days since she could take a bath or a shower. Her hair was all messed up and her face had dirt on it. Sighing, she took filled the bathtub with water. She put some bubble soap in it that smelt like cherry blossoms. She watched the bubbles form. Sakura couldn't help but let out a childish laugh. She went back into her room and got out a change of clothes. She went back into the room. She locked the bathroom door and took off her clothes. She slid into the bathtub, letting out a sigh.

"Ah… This feels so good."

She relaxed herself and closed her eyes. Smiling, she stayed like that for a while. After a few minutes, she washed her hair. Then she washed her face. She stayed in the bath for a half hour, relaxing herself, enjoying being pampered. After the half hour, Sakura got out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around her. Putting, on her clothes, she drained the bathtub. She put on some lotion and walked outside, turning off the bathroom lights. Jumping on the bed, she set the alarm clock to 4:00 p.m. and set it back on the table. Sakura snuggled into the bed and fell fast asleep.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Sakura sat up and looked at the clock. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. It was 4:00 p.m. She got up and started unpacking everything. She put took out her clothes in her suitcase and put them in the closet in the room. She put her hair "accessories" in the bathroom. She got out the two daggers. She put one dagger under the pillow, hoping no one would look there. She kept the other one with her, hidden from all prying eyes. Once again, she traced her finger on the delicate pattern. When would she have to return it? Who did this belong to?

Her eyes fell on the booklet on the ground. She picked it up and sat in a chair. Opening the book, she started reading it. After all, it was required by the king and the queen. She had to read it, no matter how much she didn't want to. She tried her best to absorb all the information given her. Page after page. Word after word. Finally, she finished reading it. Letting out a sigh, she gently set the book on the desk, by her bed. She dragged her suitcase into the closet and shut it.

"It's 4:30 already huh? I should just go and walk around the castle. I studied the map in the book, I shouldn't get lost. There is nothing else for me to do after all." Feeling giddy for no apparent reason, Sakura got up and grabbed her keys. She walked outside and locked the door. She slipped the key into her pocket and took of in a direction. Smiling, she looked around the castle. Sakura had never seen such a beautiful place. Staring at the pictures, she wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her and everything happened so suddenly. Bam! She bumped into a man. She quickly got up and apologized with her head facing the ground.

"I'm so sorry! I was looking at the pictures and I wasn't looking were I was going," said Sakura frantically. She looked up.

"It's okay," said the man in a scratchy voice. "You can apologize to me by selling me your body," he said while looking at her up and down. His gaze lingered where it wasn't supposed to be.

Sakura looked at him disgustedly and walked away. Before she could, the man's hand shot out and grasped her wrist. His battered and bruised hands scratched her milky skin. She twisted her wrist to break free from him. His grip tightened on her arm, making her wince slightly. Then she remembered her brother's words.

"Do not show anyone that you can fight until you absolutely need to. In other words, act like you are weak until the situation calls for you to fight."

This wasn't a situation where she really, really needed to fight. What else could she do instead? Before being able to continue her thoughts, the man grabbed her other wrist and pushed her against the wall. He pinned her arms on the wall.

"I know that you want me, so why are you running away? I know you will enjoy this," he rasped out loud. His breath stunk badly, making Sakura scrunch up her nose.

Her brother told her to act like weak woman. Well, what would a weak damsel in distress do? You guessed right. Scream. That's exactly what Sakura did. She screamed.

"AHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Quickly, the man put his hand over her mouth to muffle the scream but it was too late. Footsteps echoed off the walls, each footstep getting louder by the second. The man turned toward the sound of the footsteps. Unknowingly, he loosened his hold on Sakura. Sakura took the chance to break free. The man noticed and gripped her wrist tighter then ever before. Then footsteps stopped. The man turned his head to look at who it was… only to be punched in the face. The man crumpled onto the floor, leaning against the wall. Sakura broke free of his grip. She looked at her savior and gasped.

"ONI-CHAN?!?!?!?!?!?"

Author's Note: I bet you thought that it was Syaoran didn't you? This chapter didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to be. How did you think of this chapter? Please review! If there is any kind of contest you might want to see in this story, please feel free to tell me! How do you spell Syaoran's sister's names? I had no clue. Please tell me if I spelled them right! Also, do you have any ideas on how the prince should meet Sakura? If you do, please tell me! Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!