by SAKURA AKA MICHELLE
Sakura awoke with a start when the shaking got a little violent. She blinked at her bright surrounding, unable to focus clearly and her mind still cloudy. She raised a hand up to shield her eyes in an attempt to block out some of the light. That was when she saw a dark shadow right beside her. Her natural instinct was to push whoever he was away with all the strength that she could muster to put some distance between them so that she has some time to escape. She panicked instantly when the person grabbed her hands; she screamed for help as loud as she could and struggled in vain against the person’s strong grip.
Her scream for help was silenced off halfway and she gasped in surprise when their lips met and she froze. The grip on her wrists went lax and her ‘attacker’ stepped backwards quickly, looking quite embarrassed himself and that was when Sakura realized that it was only Syaoran.
“Man, your scream could wake up the dead,” he commented, still unable to make himself look at her in the eyes and then turned his back to her, suddenly remembering that she was still in the bath. “I thought something had happened to you so I came in without your permission. I’m sorry.”
Sakura was at a loss of what to say, her heart was still thumping at a rapid pace and it seemed that it would not calm down that soon and a blush was plastered to her cheeks. Not knowing what to do, she looked down bashfully only to realized that she was still in the middle of her bath. She let out a soft squeak and slid further down into the waters in an effort to cover herself.
Just then, a loud knock sounded on the door and the two quickly turned to stare at it in horror before looking at each other. The knocking continued, though it was louder this time round and a feminine voice called out, “Syaoran, is everything all right? I thought that I heard a scream. Syaoran?”
“It’s my mother!” Syaoran exclaimed softly to Sakura, who sat wide-eyed in her bathtub. “What should we do? We can’t let her know that you’re in here!”
“Syaoran? Are you all right? I’m getting worried out here,” his mother called out again.
“I’m all right! I’m all right! I just dozed off in the middle of my bath,” Syaoran called out in reply while trying to think of a best way to deal with this inconvenient situation. “I’ll be ready in a while!”
Syaoran then grabbed a big towel from his cupboard by the side of the room and flung in over the wooden tub in such a way that it covered Sakura totally without revealing anything. He then whispered to her, “Do not make any noise. I’ll try to make her go as fast as possible.” He waited for her to nod in reply before leaving her in the tub to confront his worried mother. He donned on a bathrobe and poured some water from the water pitcher on the small cupboard next to his bed over his head before steadying himself to face his mother.
Yelan stood outside with a frown marring her forehead. “That is a very bad habit for a prince,” she chided. “There is something that I wish to discuss with you in private,” she told him and walked past her son into his room without any warning. Luckily the bathtub in which Sakura was currently in was shielded by an opaque screen in the right corner of the room, thus giving her some protection against being discovered easily.
Syaoran closed the door uneasily and turned to find his mother sitting calmly on his bed, while he was wishing that she would leave as soon as possible. “What it is you wish to talk to me about, mother?”
Yelan sighed, “It’s about the our visit to the Kinomoto castle, of course. And yes, we will still be visiting them as planned so don’t give me that hopeful look on your face. It’s about the princess. It was rumored that she is quite a hot-tempered lady and a total change from what she used to be when she was young, before she escaped from the rebel attack. I thought that you ought to know about it since we are going to visit the castle.”
“Totally different?” Syaoran asked curiously.
“Perhaps it is due to the harsh environment that she had lived before. I heard that she ill-treats every servant in the castle she could see. She was a docile child when she was young. I really wonder what may have caused this dramatic change in her behaviour.”
“Is there any possibility that she might not be the princess after all?”
“Nonsense!” came the angry reply. “They have verified the identity of this Princess Kinomoto by the Clow book that she had carried with her when she came back to the castle. In case you do not know what a Clow book is, it is a piece of heirloom that is specially passed down to every first born female of Queen Kinomoto. In addition, the irises of every Kinomoto are emerald. There is no mistake that the current Princess Kinomoto is that one that they were looking all over the place for so many years.”
“I was just thinking about it, that’s all,” Syaoran commented and earned himself another glare from his mother and he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Yelan stood up, preparing to leave, but paused when she remembered something else. “Another thing Syaoran, King Kinomoto is critically ill and Nadeshiko is pressing us to put forward the wedding for the both of you. It was said that he might not last more than a month...”
Syaoran stood up as well, his expression grave. “What happened to the King?”
“I’m not too sure about that,” Yelan answered honestly. “I’ve asked the messenger about it and I was told that he had quite a bad fall from the long flight of stairs and has been bed-ridden and sickly since then. Nadeshiko is very worried about him as well.”
“It must have been tough on her,” Syaoran empathized. “When are we setting off?”
“I have asked for our things to be prepared. We should be able to leave in an hour’s time. Meanwhile, you can make arrangements for Sakura to be brought to Hiiragizawa castle.”
“Yes, mother,” Syaoran replied and watched his mother exit from his room with grace. Only when the door clicked shut did he allow himself to relax and heaved a huge sigh of relief. Then he turned to face the screen and told Sakura, “She’s gone now. I’ll leave the room for you to dress up. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Sakura remained in the bathtub, too shaken by the news that Yelan had brought to get up. How can they have found the princess when I am right here in Li Kingdom? She thought desperately. How is that possible? Someone has really stolen my Clow book when I thought that I have misplaced it all these years! Someone must have taken over my place without anyone knowing and that person must have hurt otou-sama!! I must go back... I must go back now! I must... But how? Sakura thought desperately. Then she remembered the conversation between mother and son. Syaoran is going to Kinomoto Kingdom! I can ask him to bring me along. He would not turn me down. I must let him know!
With that in mind, Sakura got up quickly and began dressing up only to realize that the only clothing that she had with her was the one she had wore while she was with the guards. Disgusted at the thought of wearing it again, she threw it aside and went to rummage Syaoran’s wardrobe for something decent to wear. She picked up a plain white long sleeve shirt that proved to be too long for her that she had to tuck much of them into the black trousers that she had chosen to wear, and had to roll the sleeves up to the elbows but still it kept slipping off. I must look terrible in these... This is the second time I am wearing Syaoran’s clothing... Sakura thought and then started blushing all over again. She patted her cheeks in an effort to brush it off then squared herself before moving towards the door, wondering if Syaoran was waiting for her outside.
She opened the door and took a peek outside, just in case someone else was out there in the corridor, who might have spotted her if she were to jump out instead. The coast was clear and the only person out there was Syaoran, who was leaning arms-crossed against the wall, looking pensively into the space. He jerked away from the wall when he heard Sakura call him from inside the room. He flashed her a grin and walked into his room, watching her attempts to stop blushing and that was when he realized why; she was wearing his clothes, again.
“So now my room has become your room and my clothes become yours?” Syaoran teased and shut the door firmly, making sure it was locked. “I sure do hope that the owner of this room belongs to you.”
Sakura blushed even further and squirmed uncomfortably in her oversized clothing. “I didn’t mean to wear your clothes without permission,” she protested immediately. “It’s just that I don’t want to wear those filthy clothes that was on me while I was held captive.”
Syaoran nodded in understanding, but that grin was still on his face and that irked Sakura just a little. He thought that she still looked wonderful and lovely in that shirt and trousers of his. However, he thought that she looked somewhat different, though he could not tell at the moment. Moving closer to her, Syaoran grasped her arms and pulled her forward to him, intending to tell her about his departure and his intention of bring her to Hiiragizawa castle to keep Meiling away from her. She moved nearer to him willingly and looked up at him, opening her mouth to tell him something but he did not hear it, for he was too dumbstruck by what he saw.
This Sakura had emerald eyes.
To be continued...