by SAKURA AKA MICHELLE
Sakura did not realize the extent of her longing to be with her relatives until she saw Tomoyo again, after so many years. She almost wept when she saw her but luckily, she managed to keep her emotions under control.
The trio was having dinner in the Hiiragizawa castle’s grand dining room. Eriol was sitting at the head of the impossibly long table, with both ladies sitting at both sides of the table. Sakura looked across the table at her beloved cousin and was alarmed when she felt the sudden rise of tears forming in her eyes. She quickly blinked her eyes to keep them at bay, while she continued to munch on her dinner.
Tomoyo had turned into a great beauty and Sakura was glad to see that she was happily married with the King of Hiiragizawa castle. Even a dumb person could have seen that the two of them were very much in love with each other. I could get diabetic by looking at the two of them together, Sakura mused while stuffing more food into her mouth to hide her grin. If only I can be like this with Syaoran, without any pretense…
“Sakura-chan, I don’t mean to be rude…” Tomoyo started to say but paused hesitantly to look at her long lost cousin. “Did you bring clothing with you?”
Startled, she looked down at her own gown. The colour had already started to fade but she did not mentioned about the condition of her gowns to Yelan. After all, she was a guest in the Li castle and she should not be pressing her host for new gowns. Thus, she had made do with whatever gowns that Syaoran’s four sisters had passed down to her. Nevertheless, she was grateful for their help.
Sakura shook her head. “I only brought an extra gowns and nightgowns. I wasn’t planning on staying long.”
That had Eriol’s attention. He paused in the middle of his dinner and directed all his attention on Sakura. “What did you mean by that?”
Sakura squirmed and sensed a change in attitude in the King. I have to be very careful around Eriol! “Well… I said I wasn’t planning to stay for long.”
Eriol nodded, “Care to explain that further?”
Tomoyo shot her husband a warning glare, which he calmly ignored. Sakura fidgeted in her seat and she had trouble looking at him directly in his eyes. “I… Er… I was planning to go back to the Li castle?” She immediately winced at what she said. She had not intended for her answer to sound like a question.
“Sakura-chan, I think it is best for you to stay with us until Syaoran comes back,” Tomoyo said, trying to diffuse the tension in the dinning room. Eriol was clearly upset about something and that something was Sakura. Tomoyo could not fault him for this as she was worried about her as well.
“You were planning to head over to Kinomoto castle yourself,” Eriol stated plainly.
Sakura could only stare at the man. He can read my mind! Tomoyo gasped, “Surely you don’t intend to go there alone? It’s dangerous; we still do not fully know what is going on in there!”
Eriol sighed and leaned back against his high-backed chair. “Precisely. You will only put yourself in danger. Imagine what the mastermind there would do if they knew you are the real princess.”
Tomoyo stood up and rushed to Sakura, her eyes pleading. “Let Syaoran handle this,” she said. “And stay with us while he sends us word.”
Sakura had stopped eating. She stared at her folded hands on her lap miserably. “I… I can’t stay here,” she finally choked out her words, the tears brimming in her eyes threatened to spill. “It is a terrible feeling… to be unable to know what happens over there.”
Tomoyo patted Sakura’s back in an effort to comfort her. She, too, had tears in her eyes.
“One question,” Eriol started and both ladies turned to look at him. “Why didn’t you send out a notice once you were safe in Li Kingdom?”
Sakura brushed a stray tear away from her cheek and took in a deep breath. “I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I thought I was in unsafe territory so I couldn’t possibly be asking for pen or paper to pen a letter. What can I say? I was still young. Then, before I realize it, I was mingling in the castle as if I was part of the family. I simply forgot…”
Eriol nodded, his expression grim. “When did you realize your Clow book was missing”
Tomoyo could feel Sakura’s body tensing up under her hands. “I don’t know,” she murmured and tried very hard to think about it, recalling where she had last left it. “I knew I had it in my clothes while I was running away from the Kinomoto castle… I don’t know where I lost it.”
“Did you think someone else had stolen it?” Eriol asked seriously. “Right under your nose?”
Her reaction was swift; she stood up instantly and slammed her fists down onto her table. The plates on the take shook with a clattering sound. “That is impossible! I told no one about my true identity! No one has been alerted to the presence of the Clow book. I…” she paused and her eyes widened as she tried to recall something very important. Something yelled at her within her body, willing her to remember that most important piece of information from her past. “No one knows who I was,” she started and then looked up at Eriol with frightened eyes. “Except Hikaru-sensei… We met by chance in the inn… Could it be…”
It must be him! Sakura thought. She looked at Eriol and the latter nodded his head to confirm her suspicions. The shock had left her paralyzed and she fell back onto her chair, trembling furiously. She hugged herself and rocked in the chair. Tomoyo knelt down beside her and hugged her tightly, infusing some of her strength into her cousin. “I have trusted the wrong person!” Sakura sobbed.
“Hikaru-sensei had reappeared in the Kinomoto castle about a month ago,” Eriol explained and began pacing in the dinning room. “With a lady about your age with him. He has the Clow book.”
“Sakura-chan, you have to be strong!” Tomoyo interrupted. “Your family needs you!”
“I heard something happened to otou-sama,” Sakura said in between sniffs. “I need to know.”
Eriol paused his pacing to look at her pained expression. “A few days after Hikaru-sensei appeared, King Kinomoto had fallen from a long flight of stairs in the middle of the night. It was said that it was a terrible accident but I have my doubts. Hikaru-sensei had been attending to him since then.”
“He wanted to murder otou-sama!” Sakura exclaimed with a murderous look. “He will be severely punished for that!”
“Calm yourself down!” Eriol admonished and she fell silent. “It wouldn’t do any good for you to burst into the castle proclaiming that Hikaru-sensei should be trialed for murder; we have no evidence. That is why Syaoran had to go in first, to understand the situation and sift out information about this.”
“Why does he want to kill otou-sama?” Sakura asked brokenly. “Why?”
“We don’t know,” Eriol answered with a sigh. “But we mean to find out.”
“And have me waiting here like some bread waiting for mould to set in?” Sakura asked. “I am not going to wait for news to reach here. I have to know what is going on in there!”
“You will only put yourself in danger trying to protect your own family from harm,” Tomoyo said gently. “No one must know that the real Princess Kinomoto is still alive. It is too risky.”
Eriol seemed to be debating with himself internally. His facial expression showed it all. Then he paused and glanced at Sakura. “At least stay with us tonight.”
Sakura stared at him, incredulous. Did I hear wrongly? Stay with them for only tonight? Did he mean that I can go home tomorrow? Tomoyo had the same thoughts too. She looked ready to chide Eriol for his decision to let Sakura go.
“Syaoran is going to kill me for this,” Eriol groaned. “He stated specifically in the letter that you should stay with us until we receive word from him before we can set off.”
“We?” Tomoyo inquired politely, though she felt inclined to scold Eriol off.
“We as in Sakura and you,” her husband replied. “I will have to wait a day or two after you set off tomorrow just in case a letter from Syaoran is on its way here.”
Sakura beamed and ran to hug Eriol. She felt a great liking for this man immediately. “Thank you!” she exclaimed. “Thank you so much!”
“There is one condition that you have to promise me,” he told Sakura as she stepped back. “You will have to be under disguise to eliminate any suspicions they may have. Unfortunately, the only disguise that I can think right now is as Tomoyo’s lady’s maid.”
“I’ll do it! I’ll do anything as long as I can go back home!” She said cheerfully and ran over to hug Tomoyo as well. “I’ll be happy to be your lady’s maid!”
Tomoyo laughed and returned the hug. “Silly. You will only be acting as my lady’s maid.”
Sakura nodded her head. “I know. Do you have any uniform ready for me?”
“Oh!” Tomoyo exclaimed with a smile. “You won’t be wearing any uniform! I forbid you to do that! Instead, I’ll have some simple gowns for you to wear.”
“Won’t that create suspicions instead?” Sakura asked, puzzled over Tomoyo’s decision.
“Definitely not,” Eriol replied instead. “The people over there might think that the gown is your uniform; Tomoyo’s creativity in fashion can be seen from the way our staff wear their uniform.”
Sakura nodded, “No wonder it felt strange when I lay my eyes on the guards in this castle; their uniform is unique.”
Eriol pulled Tomoyo to his side and planted a quick kiss on her forehead, the possessiveness was clear to Sakura and she blushed in response. She was thinking of Syaoran; both man behaved similarly. “All thanks to my dear Tomoyo.”
Sakura cleared her throat, “Well… I guess I should turn in early. I guess it will be a tiring day for us tomorrow.”
“Of course! It’s exciting, isn’t it? We won’t know what is going on until we see it with our own eyes!” Tomoyo exclaimed then fell silent when she caught the warning look from her husband.
“You are not going for an adventure,” he said. “You have to be very careful with each step you take. One wrong step could prove to be fatal.”
“Yes,” his wife lowered her head and replied meekly but not before she winked at Sakura, who caught her wink and tried to muffled her laughter.
To be continued...