Author's Note: Slow updates again… sorry! Well anyways, finally! I got the chapter out! Thanks to star muse my beta! Also, thank you mangalvr and KamichamaKarinLover25 for helping out!

Italics stand for thoughts.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura

Last Chapter:

"You won't believe this!" she yelled, happy that she could finally blurt out the words that she desperately wanted to say. "There's a girl here who's just as talented as me in embroidery!!" A bright smile adorned her face as Tomoyo beamed brightly at the women in the room. "Her name is Sakura Kinomoto!"

"Oh, you mean that super cute little girl that we saw the other day during dinner?" squealed Fanren.

"Yep," nodded Tomoyo happily.

The girls squealed as Yelan just started at them. "These girls will never change," thought Yelan.

End of Last Chapter

"NO! I refuse to!!" shouted an angry prince as he stormed across the room. His amber eyes were lit up dangerously. "Why do I have to spend time with those women?!"

"Syaoran," said Yelan as she sighed deeply, "You have to spend some time with those girls. It's a part of the contest too. You only have to spend 15 minutes with each of them. That's not that much."

"When you add them all together it is. There are around 100 people here. Spending 15 minutes with all of them will be wasting 1500 minutes of my time! That's spending 25 hours with them!"

"It's not like you have to hang out with them constantly. It's only during free time, dinner, breakfast, lunch, and all those other hours," reasoned the king, trying to calm his son down. "You only have to talk to one girl at a time too."

"You know what? Since you've just about planned out every second of my life, why don't you just go ahead and do whatever you want!?" Syaoran shouted, slamming the door behind him.

Yelan slumped down into her chair. "What…are we going to do?" The question was left unanswered. Silence greeted the distressed royal couple.

Meanwhile Sakura was writing a letter to her family. She didn't want her family to worry so she had written a few lies even though she didn't want to.

Dear Mother, Father, Touya, and Kaho,

I miss you guys a lot! I really want to be home again. The castle is very nice though. Everyone in the royal family is really kind. They are all very lively. I have made many new friends too. Everyone gets along here. Status doesn't even matter at all. We are all like sisters. Life is really nice. We had our first "contest". It was about embroidery. I think it was pretty easy.

So how are you guys doing? Be sure to take care of the garden! I forgot to tell you that before I left. Oops...Anyways, I hope everything is well. I would come back but the fee is too expensive. Oh, by the way, I told you where the money I saved up was. Remember to use it carefully. Hopefully it'll last. I think it will. )

Well, I have to head off to lunch soon so I'll end this letter here. I'm sorry it's so short. I miss you. Love ya guys! Bye!

Love,
Sakura

She folded the letter and carefully stuck it inside the small white envelope. Quickly she wrote on the front of the envelope, in nice and fancy handwriting, the address of her home. While licking the envelope shut, she scrunched up her face at the bitter taste on her tongue.

"Yuck," she mumbled childishly to herself. Sighing, she brought the envelope with her to the large metal box in one of the rooms of the large castle. The king was kind enough to let everyone write letters to their families. He would take care of all the sending fees and stuff too. Slowly, she let the white envelope drop into the box. Sighing, she headed to lunch.

Not much happened that day. The king had announced that the prince would be spending 15 minutes with each of them. They would be going in alphabetical order and someone would notify them when it was time for them to meet the prince. For the rest of the days, until further notice, they would be able to roam the castle freely, as long as they didn't mess with anything. Guards were packed tightly around the castle to ensure everything was alright.

Sakura roamed curiously around the large hallways by herself. Girls here and there were chatting excitedly about this and that. Soon, Sakura walked into a part of the castle no one was occupying. The place was deserted. Curiously, she walked up to a large heavy door and gently turned the doorknob. A click was heard. She pushed gently, causing door to groan loudly. Sounds of swords clattering suddenly stopped as the two men in the room looked curiously toward the unexpected newcomer. Sakura lowered her head and blushed, noticing that she was interrupting something.

"S…sorr…sorry!!" she finally blurted out embarrassedly.

A laugh was heard throughout the air. Sakura blushed even more. She lifted her head slowly, noticing that it was a training room. She met eye to eye with two handsome young men. One had messy golden hair and yellowish gold eyes. He had a bright smile on his face. The other had long, silver hair and matching piercing eyes. Sakura gasped at the sight before her, and her hands flew up to her mouth as she recognized the two men.

"Yue? Kero?" she asked uncertainly. She couldn't believe it! Was it truly them? Unconsciously, she stepped inside the room. The door slowly squeaked shut. However, no one paid attention.

Kero's smile brightened even more. "Sakura?" he asked, making sure of whom she was. The silver haired man, Yue, stared at her in surprise.

Slowly, Sakura nodded her head.

"We haven't seen you since you were 12!!" shouted Kero as he ran across the room and engulfed Sakura in a warm comforting hug. Sakura laughed with joy.

Sakura shouted out, "It's really you guys! It's really you! Where have you've been all these years? Do you know how much I was thinking about you two? It's really you! This isn't a dream is it? Is it?"

Yue smiled gently. "No, otherwise I'd be having the same dream. You haven't changed a bit… Personality wise that is. You're still all cheerful as usual. All bubbly and happy. You've grown quite a lot though. The last time I remembered you, you were really short and Touya kept calling you "shrimp" every chance he got." He ruffled her hair as Kero laughed.

"Hey!" shouted Sakura pouting even though she was smiling on the inside.

"You've grown prettier too!" remarked Kero as he spun her in a circle.

"My, my, Kero. I never knew you had those kinds of feelings for our cousin," commented Yue sarcastically. "Beware of Touya. He'll go chasing after you with a broomstick in his hand."

Kero stuck his tounge out childishly. "Speaking of Touya, how's my dear little grouchy cousin?"

"He's my cousin too you know," said Yue. "How are Aunt Nadeshiko and Uncle Fujitaka?"

"They are all good!! Everyone's alright. They'll be so glad to hear that you're back!!" shouted Sakura enthusiastically. Suddenly her smile faltered as a frown replaced it. "Why didn't you tell us that you were leaving? All you left was a note saying all these things. Suddenly you come back and you don't even tell us!" There was a long uncomfortable pause in the room. "Never mind about these things," said Sakura as she waved her hand in the air as if she was slapping a fly. She took in a deep breath and smiled gently. There was no way she was going to make this reunion with her cousins a sad one filled with uncomfortable questions. Her cousins must have had their own reasons and there was no need to make everyone feel guilty and upset. "All it matters is that you're back safe and sound. I'm really surprised, you know. With you coming back and everything…" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm blabbering, I'm just really excited that you're back. But…why are you guys in the castle, of all places?"

Yue and Kero gave each other a quick glance. "Well, I can see that you're a candidate for this contest," said Kero, trying to change the topic.

Sakura paused. Her smile had faded again. Why was there so much they didn't want to tell her? Why did it seem as if they were so far away, even though they were so close? Forcing another smile on her lips she spoke.

"Yep, it's kind of obvious isn't it?"

"I can imagine that you had thrown a fit when you had found out about this," predicted Yue.

"You bet! I was really, really mad," said Sakura. "I couldn't believe it! Of all things, the prince was hosting a contest to find himself a perfect wife. He doesn't even put others into thought! He didn't even care about the fact that some people had to leave their families when they were needed…"

"Actually," interrupted Yue. "He is the one who opposed this contest."

"What do you mean?"

"His parents and his relatives were the ones who organized all of this. He was completely against all of this."

"Oh," said Sakura.

"Yeah, he has some kind of grudge against the female population. Not including his family or children of course but…" said Kero. "He just refuses to get married to anyone."

"Why?" asked Sakura curiously.

Yue and Kero looked at each other. "Have no clue," they said at the same time. Kero shrugged.

"Anyways, have your fighting skills decreased by any chance?" asked Yue.

"I don't know. I haven't been using them in quite a while. Touya had forbidden it."

Kero laughed. "You would think that he would tell you the opposite and tell you to fight with all your energy."

"This is my brother we are talking about. He doesn't make any sense."

Laughter filled the air at the small comment made by Sakura.

"Anyways, are you still good at fighting?" asked Kero.

"Like I said, I don't know."

"Let's test it out," said Yue, ready for a small fight.

"Uh… guys, Touya has forbidden me to fight unless it's absolutely necessary."

Kero raised an eyebrow. "We're your cousins. He wouldn't care. No one else is in the room to witness your fighting so it doesn't matter." He stuck out his tongue. "Unless you think we're wasting your time and that we aren't worthy opponents?"

"Since when have you've been listening and obeying his orders?" asked Yue.

Sakura thought about it. "Good point." They all laughed again.

"I'll fight first," said Kero. "Weapon or bare hands?"

"Kero, you go ahead and do bare hands and I'll take weapons. You're better at bare hands then me and I'm better at weapons than you," reasoned Yue.

"Alrighty then! Let's get ready to rumble!!"

Sakura laughed. "Idiot."

They got into their fighting positions. However, just then, the door creaked open slowly and a man stepped inside. Quickly Sakura and Kero got out of their positions before the man noticed. They looked toward the door to look at the man stepping in.

"Syaoran?" asked Yue.

"Yep. What are you…" he trailed off. His words stopped as soon as he saw the girl in the room.

Sakura curtsied. "Your highness."

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.

"Oh, we haven't introduced her to you yet. She's Sakura Kinomoto," said Kero cheerfully.

"Isn't she the one who Tomoyo was talking about?" he thought. Syaoran looked at them. "And…"

"Oh, she was just wandering around and we saw her… or more like she saw us," spoke Kero

"So Syaoran, what are you doing here?" asked Yue.

"To train. Anyone up for a small fight?" he asked. Then his eyes landed on Sakura. "Wasn't she the one laughing the other day?"

"Oh don't worry about her," said Kero. "She won't do anything harmful. Just let her stay. She can just sit on the chairs in the corner of the room and watch us."

Syaoran had mumbled something out loud. "Whatever. Do what you want." Sakura curtsied again and sat on the chair in the corner of the room.

"I'll go first!!" shouted Kero. "Bare hands?"

"Kay," replied Syaoran. The battle had begun. Sakura sat on the sidelines, watching them fight.

"Wow… Kero has improved a lot since I last saw him. The prince is pretty talented too. Not talented enough to beat Kero though."

"Hey, I want to end this," remarked Syaoran after a few minutes of blocking all of Kero's attacks.

Kero sweatdropped. "You mean you were going easy on me this whole entire time?"

"Duh." Quickly Syaoran started attacking back.

"Wow, his movements are really fast!! Kero's definitely going to lose," thought Sakura.

After a while longer, Kero finally got tired and his blocking movements started getting really sloppy. The prince had left no opening for him to attack. Syaoran sent a really fast punch toward Kero's face and suddenly paused an inch away from his face. Kero backed away. "Wow, you've gotten really strong!"

"My turn," spoke Yue immediately. "Weapon?"

Syaoran nodded as they both picked a sword from the rack. They headed toward the center of the room again. Kero sat down by Sakura.

"He's really strong isn't he?"

Sakura slowly nodded her head, unable to look away from the fight that was currently taking place between him and Yue. She was absorbed.

She spoke to Kero, still not looking away. "He has a lot of good moves and strategies. Each move is packed with power and speed. His defense is really good too," she complimented. "I never imagined that the prince would be this strong. I thought he would be kind of weak. You know, being a prince and all that, having a lot of money, I thought that he was kind of spoiled."

"Are you kidding me? Him? Weak?" Kero laughed. "Wow! I can't imagine it. You know, it's easier to sit here and watch him fight then actually being up there and fighting against him. His moves actually hold a lot more power than you think they do. He's really strong to be able to beat me and Yue. He could probably take down a thousand men by himself. I'm not kidding you. Even though he is;s skinny, haven't you ever noticed his muscles?"

Sakura looked at Syaoran and blushed. You could see his slender muscles with the tight short sleeved shirt that he was wearing for fighting. He wasn't one of those over buff men who were nothing but muscle. His Highness was pretty well in shape and he had a nice body… Sakura blushed even further as soon as she thought of that. "What's wrong with me!?" she thought.

Kero spoke again. "How about you? Have you improved any? I remember when you were little you were able to fight well."

Sakura was glad that she had something else to talk about. "I definitely improved a lot. Even Touya said so. I don't know if I can fight as well anymore. I'm kind of rusty."

"Well, who knows? You just might be able to beat Touya one day. He's really strong; he beat me and Yue in a two on one! Then again, that was before. We've improved a lot you know? Touya's skills are probably just a little below the prince's." Kero droned on and on, not leaving a chance for Sakura to speak. After a while later, a large clatter was heard throughout the large room.

The sword was knocked out of Yue's hand. "You really have improved a lot Syaoran." They put the swords away and walked toward the chairs. Kero handed Yue and Syaoran a towel. "Thanks," they said.

Suddenly a pounding was heard on the door. "Your Highness, are you in there?"

Syaoran quickly shook his head.

Kero spoke. "Was there anything you needed?"

The man outside of the room spoke. "His highness just needed to show up for the first meeting with the ladies. Is he in there?"

Once again, Syaoran shook his head. Yue spoke. "No, I don't believe so. Have you tried the other rooms?"

"I'll go look again. Thank you!" The man's footsteps faded away as he walked farther down the hall. Syaoran let out a small sigh. Suddenly he tensed, noticing that the girl was still in the room.

"I'll be leaving. Thank you," he said rigidly. Why hadn't the girl left the room yet?

"See ya later buddy!" shouted Kero.

"Bye," said Yue.

"Bye." The door opened and shut.

"Well, do you want to continue fighting?" asked Kero after the prince was a long distance away.

"Maybe some other time. I think I should meet up with some of my friends right now. Thanks for the offer. Oh and, you guys are staying in the castle right?"

"Yeah, we'll be here for quite a while," said Yue.

Suddenly Sakura wrapped her arms around both of them. "Please don't leave again without telling me."

Yue and Kero smiled. "Don't worry," said Yue.

"Where can I see you guys?"

"Well, we should be in the training room pretty often this week. You might even see us around the castle," said Kero. "Don't worry. I know that we'll see each other again. If all comes to a fail and you can't find us, feel free to ask the prince. He's actually really, really nice you know? As cold as he sounds, he really cares for everyone. Anyways, if you ask him, he should tell you were we are."

"Kay…."

Sakura walked toward the door and stepped outside.

"Good luck Sakura," said Yue.

"Do your best!" continued Kero.

Sakura turned around to face them. She smiled. "Thank you," she said.

Walking out the door, she walked down the long hallways to her room. Shutting the door, she slouched against it. Unshed tears were angrily blinked back. A painful smile adorned her face.

Author's note: Sorry for the late update!! I stayed up till 2:00 last night and the night before working on this story. I didn't get much done though. Well, anyways, please leave a review and any suggestions if you feel like it! Thank you!

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