by SAKURA AKA MICHELLE
Little Sakura shriek and ran away from her captor, who was trailing closely behind. Laughingly, she shouted back, “I give up!”
Syaoran slowed down and caught Sakura in no time for she had already stopped running. “Caught ya!”
Sakura pouted and made a face, “I let you win!”
He grinned back and pulled Sakura to the living room, where the rest of his family were having tea. The moment the two of them entered the room, everyone turned silent and just stared at Sakura, who shrunk back behind Syaoran in response, clinging onto his hand.
“So she will be staying here until the age of eighteen?” Futtie, Syaoran’s eldest sister asked.
Yelan signed, “Yes. Is there any other questions, girls?”
“May I ask one last question?” Fanren asked shyly and waited for her mother’s answer.
“Sure,” Yelan replied, granting her youngest daughter permission to speak freely.
“Will she be married to Syaoran?”
“What?” Syaoran demanded upon knowing that he was being discussed.
Yelan waved Syaoran away, “Meiling has already been promised to him. Besides, we need to keep out bloodline pure so that our future generations would be more powerful.”
“That’s true,” Both Feimei and Shiefa agreed.
Not wanting to be ignored, Syaoran went straight in front of his mother, pulling Sakura along with him. “Good day, Mother.”
“My greetings to you, Queen Li.” Sakura said uncertainly, wondering if she had said it correctly.
All could do nothing but to gape at Sakura’s manners. Yelan beamed at her and exclaimed, “What a darling girl you are! It is a waste that you are not a princess.”
At the mere mention of the word princess, Sakura turned pale drastically but all was forgotten when Syaoran said, “Would you like to have a pudding?”
Sakura leapt into the air with joy and practically jumped up and down. Syaoran sweatdropped while the Queen laughed heartily, “Oh. what joy she had brought to us!”
Sakura sat down on the couch quietly by the Queen’s side, munching happily on the pudding Syaoran had given her. Everyone was contented with watching Sakura’s every movements and mentioning that she was a cheerful girl. She did not know what all of them were talking about but just smiled whenever she heard her own name.
“Can I have one more pudding please?” Sakura asked when she had finished her first one.
“Wei,” Yelan called out to her servant.
“Yes, your highness?” Wei came forward hurriedly and asked.
“Please bring more pudding for this young girl.”
“Certainly,” Wei answered and then turned to Sakura. “May I have the empty cup?”
Sakura looked up at him and smiled, confused. It was when Wei repeated is question that she realized that he meant that he would like to have the cup from her. She shook her head and slid off the high couch and told Wei, “May I follow you to get the pudding?”
“Well. certainly, if the Queen permits it.”
Sakura looked at Yelan and asked, “May I?”
The moment Yelan nodded her head, Sakura ran off ahead of Wei, who had to speed up to catch up with her. Yelan laughed at the scene.
“Are you giving Sakura away, Mother?” Syaoran suddenly asked, catching Yelan by surprise.
“Why would I do that son?”
“But you said.”
Yelan smiled and patted Syaoran’s head, “Sakura has to get married when she reach eighteen. Naturally, she will leave the castle for she does not belong here.”
“Then why did you bring her here?” Syaoran argued.
“She is an orphan, Syaoran. She needs someone to take good care of her until she can take care of herself.”
“Oh.” Syaoran drawled out, though he did not understand his mother. “May I take my leave, Mother?”
“Sure,” Syaoran permitted. “Go ahead son.”
When Sakura returned with a cup of pudding in each of her hands and a bright smile on her face, she was disappointed that Syaoran had already left. She looked at the extra pudding in her hand and bashfully offered it to Yelan, who accepted her offer.
“Thank you Sakura. You are a generous young girl.”
Again, Sakura smiled. She wiggled her way up the couch and ate her pudding peacefully and exclaimed that it was delicious.
Little did she know that her family treasure was in danger.
To be continued...