Destiny

Chapter 20

By Sakura aka Michelle

December 23, 2011

A knock sounded on her door, to which she willfully ignored as she knew who it was at the door. No doubt it was Syaoran, for she knew he would be concerned about her sudden departure from her parents' bedchambers without first informing him.

Her room was as she had remembered from her memory which was deeply etched in her mind; she had longed to come back to the castle since she was young but never had the courage to speak out to Yelan for fear that she would harm her in some way. Syaoran, on the other hand, could be trusted but Sakura had so much fun being around him that she did not want to leave him and come back to her own country. It was a dilemma and a big price to pay for her choice at that time. Now, even though she was back in her own castle, she was not very happy at the prospect of Syaoran being wedded to the princess.

Would that be the price she had to pay for her decision to stay with Syaoran?

The sheer pinkness of her room gave her a sudden headache that she had some difficulties thinking clearly. She was overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her in the last twenty-four hours. First, she had reunited with her brother only to be thrown back into the darkness and fearing for her own life. Though Syaoran had somehow managed to save her and brought her back to the castle, she found out that Touya had somehow deceived her in an attempt to get back at her for her years of disappearance and last but not least, to witness Syaoran agreeing to the marriage between him and the princess, even though there wasn't any choice at the time he said it. Most important of all, her mother personally agreed with the marriage between them. Sakura did not know what was worst, Syaoran's agreement or Nadeshiko's promise to the princess.

Her head throbbed and she wrapped her arms around her raised knees on the bed and went into a fetal position as she touched her forehead to her knees in an effort to block out everything around her. She needed some time to think and she needed to be alone when she did that. The incessant knocking on her door did not help much but irritate her further.

"Sakura?" Syaoran called out and the knocking promptly stopped. Sakura stiffened on the bed when she heard him clearly from the other side of the door. "I know you are in there. Can you open the door please? We need to talk."

Sakura pouted to herself and resumed her fetal position on the bed, planning to ignore him. The thought of him agreeing to the princess brought her anger to another high level and that was enough for her to ignore him; her way of punishing him a little as she knew he would grow frantic by her lack of response.

"Sakura?" Syaoran called out again and continued knocking, making such a big din that her head swam. "Open the door!"

Sakura stubbornly refused to do as she was told and laid down on her bed. She pulled the covers over her head so that it covered her from head to toe and used the pillows to muffle the sounds. Squeezing her eyes shut, Sakura attempted to pursue sleep.

Thankfully, the knocking stopped after what seemed like a long time to Sakura and she visibly relaxed on her bed and stared blinkingly at the ceiling while thoughts continued to pour in her mind.

Syaoran had actually told me that he will only think about me and nobody else… I should trust him more. He deserves my trust and he has already done so much for me than anybody else.

Yes, he deserves my trust…

He deserves all my trust…

It was already morning when she reopened her eyes and she yawned loudly as she stretched herself on the bed, not bothering to stifle it. The morning rays of the sun filtered in through the windows and illuminated her room and she saw glimpses of pink here and there.

Her breath was caught in her throat with the sudden realization that she was not alone in her four poster bed. She was trying to get off the bed by scooting over to the side when a firm hand by her waist had pulled her back. She stiffened immediately and looked down at the offending hand. She gasped at the sight of a large arm clamping onto her waist and preventing any movements from her. Then, there was a slight movement behind her.

Sakura's natural reaction was to scream as she struggled to scramble away from whoever it was. Her captor's hands went lax as if surprised by her actions and she went sailing to the other end of the room, putting as much distance as she could, her heart thumping loudly within her chest as she stared at her own bed.

"What?" Syaoran asked, suddenly alert as he pushed himself up on the bed and looked around for any intruders. He uncovered his hands from his ears when Sakura's ear-splitting scream had stopped. "What's the for?" he asked accusingly at Sakura, who remained seated on the floor staring wide-eyed at him as if he had grown two horns on his head.

"How did you get in here?" Sakura asked, almost screaming as she tried to even her breathing from the frightening experience. "I locked the door after I came in!"

Syaoran swung his legs over the mattress and sat on the bed looking at her pointedly before glancing at the big cupboard in her room. Realization dawned on her almost instantly as she blushed deep crimson at her over exaggerated actions. Shyness suddenly overcame her when she realized that she had slept beside Syaoran for the whole night without knowing. She peeped at him and her blush intensified; Syaoran was so good looking in his night shirt and with his hair tousled. It was difficult not to ogle at such an attractive man.

"I thought there were some people trying to harm you when you screamed like that," Syaoran commented as he scratched his head sleepily after the adrenaline rush had subsided. He flopped down onto the bed again with a blissful sigh and signaled Sakura to come over, whom obediently complied although a little hampered by her slight limp and she was suddenly conscious of the flimsy nightgown she was wearing. She yelped when Syaoran tugged her down beside him and enfolded her in his arms as he drifted back into his dreamland.

Sakura struggled a little halfheartedly against Syaoran which only lead to the subsequent tightening of his arms; it did feel wonderful to have Syaoran hug her and she relaxed visibly after a few moments when she gave up fighting with him. Letting out a blissful sigh, she scooted nearer to Syaoran for warmth while he pressed her cheek against the crook of his arm and pulled her even nearer.

"I'm still angry with you," Sakura murmured as she poked Syaoran through his shirt with one of her fingers while trying her best to contain her blush at their nearness. It was the first time for her, being so intimately close with someone from the opposite gender.

"I know," came Syaoran's reply as he opened one of his eyes to look at her. "Will you forgive me? I promise you that I'll only be looking at you and nobody else and I'll give my name only to you and nobody else? I love you, Sakura and I know you love me too. Forgive me?"

Sakura could not help it but laughed at the timing of his proposal, amused, when they were both laying on the bed in each other arms. Her heart did warm up a little when he confessed his feelings clearly to her and she felt herself grinning from ear to ear. He looked a little hurt when Sakura found his proposal amusing and he was frowning slightly, perhaps to mask his worry from her. In her heart, Sakura knew that she had already forgiven Syaoran much earlier and she accepted his apology with a smile.

Giving in to her impulse and feeling quite bold out of a sudden, she leaned up to press a brief kiss right on Syaoran's lips before she retreated back to hiding in the crook of his neck out of embarrassment. Syaoran was shocked but recovered very quickly with a chuckle as he used a finger to tilt her face up to his so that she could receive his heart-stopping kiss.

Sakura felt so happy that she could die right at the moment as their lips crashed together again. Sakura literally melted in his arms.

That was the scene Touya witnessed when he crashed into the room through the secret tunnel, thinking that something terrible had happened, alerted by Sakura's loud screams. Touya stared in utter shock at the loving couple on the bed still pressed together far too tightly for his comfort.

The occupants on the bed jumped a little at the loud entrance that Touya had made and both sat up to find out what it was. Sakura gulped when she spotted the seething Touya and hurriedly try to disentangle from Syaoran's arms but he was holding her to his side so tightly that made any movement impossible. Touya stomped nearer to them and was speaking through his gritted teeth, "What are you try to do to Sakura in her bed?"

"Kissing her?" Syaoran replied nonchalantly and Sakura gasped in horror when she heard his reply. She almost fainted on the spot at that. Given Touya's overprotective nature over Sakura, he would surely rise to the temptation of bashing Syaoran up and she suddenly feared for what was about to come.

Indeed it came, with such suddenness that she did not know Touya had possessed. He forcefully pulled Syaoran out of her bed within a microsecond and was shaking him violently by the front of his shirt and shouting words not mean for the fair-hearted to hear. Sakura did not even have sufficient time to react to that.

"How dare you try to seduce my innocent little sister who has just came back to us and right under our own castle?" Touya had shouted angrily as he continued shaking Syaoran who had a devilish grin on his face. "And not forgetting the fact that you are two-timing my sister!"

"Touya nii-sama!" Sakura exclaimed, aghast at Touya's choice of word and his actions. "You are hurting him," she cried out and hurriedly went to separate the two men and to put some distance between them before they could actually do some bodily harm to each other.

"That's for trying to seduce my sister!" Touya exclaimed in triumph when he managed to land a punch to Syaoran's stomach successfully. Syaoran, on the other hand, chose not to retaliate, not with Sakura witnessing it anyway. If he wanted to pay back for the punch, he would have to do it when Sakura was not around.

"Sister-complex," Syaoran muttered and Touya drew back in shock at the phrase and he seemed to stagger back as if receiving a heavy blow. Syaoran made use of the opportunity when Touya was not alert to make a clear escape. He grabbed Sakura by her hand, intertwining their fingers together, and made a run for the door.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked when they neared the door and she looked down at her flimsy nightgown in dismay. "I am not dressed."

Syaoran halted immediately at her statement and spotted her robe near her bed and decided to risk himself from being captured again by Touya to grab the robe for her. "Open the door and get ready to run," Syaoran instructed as he made a mad dash back into the room for her robe.

Sakura obeyed his instructions without further comments and stood frozen when she caught someone standing outside her room with her fist raised, as if she was about to knock on the door. Both women stared at each other in wide-eyed shock and Sakura immediately recognized her.

The fake princess… looks almost like me…

"Who are you?" she asked icily and she glared at Sakura. "What are you doing inside this room? The Kinomoto castle forbids commoner into the inner castle. This room is off limits for everyone and is a direct order from the King himself. Guards! Take her away!"

Sakura took an awkward step backwards as the guards came near and collided into Syaoran's hard chest as he tried to slide the robe on for Sakura. Syaoran saw her too when he came close but chose to ignore her presence while he focused on helping Sakura into her robe and then with a gentle smile, he pressed a lingering kiss on Sakura's forehead with Touya and the fake princess as witnesses.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut when Syaoran leaned down towards her and she folded her clasped arms in front of her chest for some reasons she did not know, probably out of her shyness in the awkward situation.

"Prince Li," the princess gasped in surprise, shock and mostly agitation at Syaoran's open affections for Sakura. Her face paled when she realized Sakura was still in her nightgown and the meaning it implied. She looked accusingly at Syaoran and screamed at him, "How could you?"

"Why couldn't I?" Syaoran retorted as he tucked Sakura to his side after tying up the sash of the robe for her. "I am, after all, engaged to Princess Kinomoto Sakura."

"What are you talking about?" the princess shouted as she balled up her fists in her anger, her waist length auburn hair swishing behind her back as she shook her head in confusion. Her expressive black eyes were ready to kill Sakura but Sakura stood her ground as she stared back at her defiantly.

Wrapping an arm around Syaoran's waist possessively, Sakura's eyes hardened as she looked at the person in front of her. With as much pride she has ever had in her whole life, Sakura gathered up her courage and announced plainly, "I am the real Princess Kinomoto Sakura."

Sakura watched as the princess's eyes widened in pure shock at her words and her mouth opened as she started mouthing denials to Sakura's claims. The princess staggered backwards and seemed very disoriented out of a sudden. "No… This can't be…" she murmured as she raked a shaky hand through her hair in an effort to steady herself. "You are lying… I have been brought up as a princess ever since I could remember… There's no way I am not a princess… You are a liar! Imposter!"

Touya chose this moment to reveal himself as he stepped forward but not before sending a death glare in Syaoran's direction, to which Syaoran pretended not to notice. He simply looked at the princess and could not bring himself to be angry with her for the deception; she really believed she was the real princess of the Kinomoto castle from the desperate and hopeful look she was giving them. Hikaru-sensei must have led her to believe his lies and for that, this innocent young lady was suffering.

"The Royal members of the Kinomoto castle…" Touya started and paused, trying to find a gentle way to break the truth to the princess. "They have green irises."

The trio watched in surprise as the princess literally crumpled to the ground like the dead right in front of their eyes.

Hurray for our dearest Sakura! She just managed to shock the fake princess into fainting from fright. ^_^ How's this chapter? I've also updated Be My Valentine Chapter 16 as part of this week's surprise update for Xmas. Do read it if you have time and I'll appreciate it. Hee... Visit my website for more info regarding the updates. Merry Christmas everyone!