Chapter 13

The Meaning of Power

'No, absolutely NO, I don't agree with this!" Kero told us as we shared the news. He was throwing the biggest temper tantrum yet as he learned Syaoran and I were engaged and will marry soon.

Before I could try to buy my way out of this one with promises of delicious food and candy, Yue addressed him with a disapproving face.

"Don't you want our mistress to be happy?"

"Yes... but... but... why him?" He wined while pointing at Syaoran who just sighted in an attempt to hold his composure.

"Because I love him" I told him, making everyone blush with the bluntness of my declaration.

"Sakura! You will forget about me, I know it, he will take you away from us forever"

Now I understood what the real problem was.

"Kero, how could I ever forget about you? Don't you know I love you too?" I told him as I kissed his check, taking him completely by surprise. "You will stay with me right?" I asked him, knowing full well he will never leave me behind.

"I guess I can stay to protect you from the brat, you know... in case he can't keep his dirty hands to himself!" And there it went... temper tantrum not avoided.

"You will not do such a thing, that I will make sure of" Yue told him as he grabbed Kero and took off knowing if he didn't, Kero would continue his tantrum.

"Well... that was fun" Syaoran told me with a playful smile. We had dreaded the day we would tell him but since father was leaving the next day and he had noticed the ring on my finger we had to bring it up.

"He will understand...someday... I hope" I continued slowly as I imagined Kero being mean to him throughout the years, concluding that "hope" was all I could look forward to.

We had told our parents the next day after that night. They were happy with the decision and were supportive. I learned the ring I was given had been Yelan-sama's and she had given it to him to give to me when the time was right. An heirloom passed down from generation to generation which made it even more special.

We had talked about how long the engagement should be and decided in a year's time we would marry. I still thought it was too soon as Syaoran had just turned 15 and I was still 14 years old but it seemed the year timeline was needed.

My father returned to Japan as expected but Touya and Yukito stayed behind with me. I had told Yukito he could return to Japan if he wanted to with my brother but he insisted that Yue will never forgive him if he did and he told me that as long as Touya and I were here, then he was perfectly happy staying in China.

I had not forgotten my wish to free Yue from sharing a body with Yukito and I had spoken with Yelan-sama about it too. She did not know of a solution but recommended I focus on recovering my power first and regain control of all the cards as a first step. She even thought maybe using my power at my limit could allow me to perform a spell to do such thing and in turn give me a year or two of balanced power should Syaoran and I decide to wait even longer to have children.

I never liked talking about these children I didn't' yet have but I could tell the Li family was anxiously waiting for that to happen. They talked about it every chance they got, particularly Yelan-sama and Shiefa. Comments like "Wouldn't it be nice to have kids play in our garden" or "Feimei may decide to go study abroad... it's going to be lonely if she leaves, how I wish our family would be bigger already".

Syaoran and I always blushed when they made such comments and attempted to change the conversation as quickly as we could. We really had not talked about it much but I think we both knew we would wait after getting married before welcoming a new life into the world.

The engagement was announced to the whole family including the clan in a formal engagement a few weeks later. I felt out of place there but knew it had to happen, my solace was in seeing some old friends including serious Kong and agile Jeong. Ryu was there too and introduced me to his son An whom he had spoken tons of to me since we had met. I was happy they were fine and thankful for their help in our battle. I didn't forget to thank them and offered my help in the future should they ever need it.

Tomoyo came to see me that July as promised during her school break. She was inconsolable when she found out I was engaged and she had not been able to record it. We almost had to reenact the whole thing to stop her tears.

She also told me she will take care of my wedding dress and put herself to work from day one making me look through hundreds of magazines with various styles for me to pick from with customized ideas she had thought of for some time apparently. Tomoyo left just in time to get back to school. I had really enjoyed my time with her, I had missed her very much.

The months went by more quickly than I had expected. Not only due to the never-ending wedding planning but also due to the intense studying. My neglected studies did not go unnoticed and Yelan-sama pressed on me to continue and finish them ahead of time. That meant that I was in that library with my private tutor most of the day and to my dismay, Syaoran nowhere in sight. He had told me he needed to work on some research that was very important among other things so I did not see him as much. My magic had returned, albeit slowly, and I had taken possession of 15 cards so far.

I tried not to use the cards often, not because I didn't want to but because I feared I would gain more power. I was in no rush to become stronger as I knew my life depended on it. Yelan-sama told me I still needed to practice control but my fears were evident so I avoided it as much as possible. I must say feeling my emotions back in control helped not only with my well-being but with my magic use. Since the stress of the battle was no longer there and I was enjoying my relationship with Syaoran I felt happy most of the time. I was finding myself slowly.

In days that I could not see him I would always sneak into his bedroom at night to spend some time together. Our nights were innocent but very necessary to me, for my day to be complete. In one such night he told me he had been working with his mother as he intended to become the leader of his family and allow for his mother to retire. He had hoped he could do so after the wedding so he had been working hard to gain trust with the clan to take that position despite his young age. This didn't surprise me, Syaoran had become very strong too. It was no small feat to have maintained my cards for as long as he did while still helping me whenever he could through the capturing of the new cards and also through the battle with Yuna D. Kairo. I was confident the clan would see his growth and give him a chance regardless of his age.

Syaoran also told me about his research which included the collection of various reading materials recording the lives of great sorcerers in history besides Clow Reed. He thought perhaps there could a clue to lead us to the secret needed for me to control my magic so that I could live a long heathy life.

When he told me about these plans for taking over the Li family role and helping me stay alive realization hit me. I had not realized how many things he was shouldering on his own. I had been so busy with my own studies to notice.

"Syaoran, you need to rely on me more, I will be your wife soon you know?"

"I love the sound of that" he told me with a smile before continuing "I just don't want you to worry about anything"

"I can't be this doll unable to make any moves for fear of breaking... I am strong too, I need you to trust me" I pressed, I wanted him to know we were a team.

"It's not that I don't trust you, I am well aware of how strong you are Sakura, it's just that it's my job to protect you... correction... it makes me immensely happy to protect you" he confessed as he started to kiss me, all my complaints suddenly forgotten. He sure knew how to play dirty.

Life continued until the most anticipated day arrived. My family was there including father, my great grandfather and Tomoyo's mother. Tomoyo had helped me put on the dress she had created. It was a beautiful red fitted dress that hugged my curves while elegantly covering my body. She did my make up in a natural way yet highlighting my eyes and lips. My hair, much longer now that it had ever been, was pinned to my head in an elegant bun with flowers adorning it.

Tomoyo was in tears when she saw me ready, telling me how happy she was for me. The moment was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. My father was ready to come get me to start the ceremony. He also chocked up when he saw me, telling me I looked just like mother which in turn brought tears to my eyes. How I wish she were here sharing this day with me!

I didn't have to look at my reflection in the mirror to know I had grown a lot since arriving to China. My body becoming more feminine with the passing of each day. The same could be said about Syaoran, now 16 years old, standing tall and strong, ready to protect me against anything.

The memories of our first encounter played in my mind, we were 10 years old when we met. All the moments that led to us to become friends and his declaration of love a few years later. The confusion that followed, having had no experience in love yet soon enough understanding he was my special person. Now, our magic taking me to his home country, to this moment, where we joined our lives forever.

I was excited and nervous as my father walked me down the aisle to my soon to be husband who was waiting for me with a beautiful smile on his face. He always looked at me in such a special way, as if I was the only person that existed even in a room full of people, as if seeing me could bring joy even in a dark day.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur. I too could only see him. We were declared married sealing our promise to one another with a kiss. A big feast followed in which we celebrated our union with our families, friends, and the clan members.

I never wanted for this day to end. The happiness I felt threatening to spill over in my heart. I knew it then that good things would come our way because here surrounded by everyone I loved I felt the strongest. I had come to learn that power did not come from within, it came from the love I shared with all of them...love truly is the meaning of power.

THE END

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Author's Note

This is it friends. I hope you liked it. If anybody is interested in exploring what could happen to Sakura and Syaoran after their marriage let me know, if there is enough support I may consider writing another short story with their new adventure in their lives together, perhaps with a few children to booth? Just let me know what you think, otherwise, I hope this story did the trick and gave you some closure like it did me writing it.