Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Dreams of Amber ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5

 

 

Sakura nodded along as Lu gave her instructions about her job and how to handle the kids—especially Yuan. It was officially her first day as a nanny and she desperately wanted it to go without a hitch, but she couldn't get rid of the feeling of foreboding.

 

“You shouldn't be too harsh on Master Yuan. He's just a kid after all, who's been deprived of his mother's love,” Lu said. “You should be a friend to him, not a nanny. That was the mistake the other nannies made. They tried to boss him around and you can't boss the young master around without suffering the consequences,” she giggled. “Miss Lien practically channels her brother. His opinion matters a lot to her—she does what he does, which is why it is very important for you to make Master Yuan listen to you.”

 

Sakura nodded again. This was going to be a lot more difficult than she had thought.

 

“But I think you'll manage,” Lu continued looking at her appreciatively. “You seem different from the other nannies.”

 

Sakura smiled and felt a bit of her confidence returning.

 

Lu stood up. “Well come along now, let's go upstairs to their room. They should have woken up by now.”

 

“Don't tell this to the kids but Master Li will be here for lunch. He wants it to be a surprise,” Lu whispered as they ascended the stairs.

 

“Oh.”

 

“And umm… try not to lose your temper on the very first day.”

 

Sakura blinked. “Why would I?”

 

Lu stopped in front of a room. “Well let's just say that the kids have a very unique way of welcoming every nanny.” She smiled slyly and gestured towards the door. “Go ahead.”

 

Sakura's eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

 

The maid shook her head. “Nothing, just remember—Tit for Tat!” And with a mysterious wink, she walked off.

 

Sakura stared at her retreating figure and turned to look at the room she was standing in front of. The door was slightly ajar and the room was dark and silent. Too silent. She gulped and tried to figure out what Lu's cryptic remark meant.

 

`Or maybe she was just trying to scare me. The children are probably asleep.' Feeling slightly braver with that thought, she pushed gently at the door.

 

Lu's remark became immediately clear when a bucketful of water—placed strategically on top of the door—toppled over, soaking her and giving her a bump on the head.

 

Her yelp of surprise was drowned out by a pair of high-pitched giggles. She looked up to find Yuan and Lien laughing at her expense. Lien was a bit restrained but Yuan was clutching his stomach and rolling on the bed.

 

`Try not to lose your temper on the very first day,' Lu's words echoed in her mind and she tried to calm herself.

 

“Good Morning, Lien and Yuan. Thank you for the wonderful welcome,” she said loudly over the laughter, and felt her anger ebbing slightly when they stopped laughing to gauge her reaction. “Though I must say it wasn't very original.”

 

Yuan frowned. “What do you mean?” He seemed slightly miffed at the fact that she wasn't creating a scene or yelling at them, and immediately Sakura felt her confidence return fully.

 

“Oh come on! A bucket of water on top of the door? That's so boring and overdone. Couldn't you come up with something more exciting?”

 

Yuan and Lien were now staring at her. This was obviously not the reaction they were expecting from her. “Something more exciting? Like what?” Yuan asked.

 

Sakura entered the room and drew back the curtains. “Like I'm going to tell you. You should come up with it yourself. Else where's the originality in that?”

 

She felt the stares following her as she examined the huge bars fitted onto the windows. She frowned—the bars made the room almost seem like a prison cell.

 

“What's the need of these huge bars?” she turned and asked the kids, who were still staring at her.

 

“I don't know. They were always there,” Lien answered, then adding as an afterthought, “Why? Aren't they supposed to be there?”

 

Sakura shook her head. “No, I didn't mean it like that. Well, did you two brush your teeth?”

 

Lien nodded. Yuan was still looking at her in an odd way.

 

“And did you two take bath?”

 

Before Lien could answer, Yuan retorted. “What a stupid question! Can't you see we're still in our PJs?”

 

Sakura's lips thinned.`Try not to lose your temper on the very first day,' Lu's voice spoke in her mind again.

 

“Okay then, get going,” she said cheerily. “Where are all your clothes kept?”

 

Lien pointed to a wardrobe standing in front of their beds and Sakura walked towards it, hands outstretched to open it.

 

“Wait. Aren't you going to change?” Yuan suddenly asked. Sakura turned and observed him. His look almost seemed to hold a challenge. She immediately understood what he was playing at.

 

With the bucket-of-water trick, he had wanted her to run away from the room and be forever apprehensive of entering it again. Or make her lose her temper and yell at them. But since she was doing neither of those things, he was looking for other ways to make her leave or get angry. Well two could play at that game.

 

“Why do I need to change? It's just a bit of water. It will dry soon.” She shrugged. He was now genuinely looking confused and she suppressed the urge to giggle at his look.

 

She idly wondered how they had managed to play that trick. Surely they couldn't have come up with it themselves. She had a sneaking suspicion that Lu had helped them and decided to confront the maid later.

 

 

~

 

 

Sakura felt extremely pleased with herself as she stood outside the dining hall and watched the two kids eat their breakfast. Despite getting soaked, she had managed the first morning with the kids quite well and she was beginning to understand how to handle Yuan. He was constantly trying to challenge her into losing her nerve and the only way out was to beat him at his own game. Yelling at him would be like giving into him.

 

She smiled in satisfaction as she remembered how he had grudgingly obeyed her. He still didn't seem to like her, even though he had silently acknowledged the fact that she was not like the other nannies. But he would probably stop playing any more pranks on her from now on.

 

“Just remember—Tit for Tat!” Sakura blinked, remembering Lu's words from earlier that morning. Of course! Tit for Tat! She couldn't let him get away with that prank. It would make her seem like a pushover. She was so going to get even with those kids.

 

~

 

 

 

Sakura giggled and suppressed the urge to rub her hands in glee as she stood beside the door in Yuan's and Lien's room, a bucket full of water in her hands. She had decided that she was simply going to throw it on them as soon as they came up after eating their breakfast. She even had an excuse ready for her prank, “I forgot to greet you back after your heartfelt welcome.”

 

She chuckled and fell silent when she heard some noise downstairs. The kids had probably finished their breakfast by now. It had already been some time since she had come up.

 

Standing in the room alone, her eyes again fell on the bars fitted on the windows, making her wonder again about their purpose.

 

`Perhaps they are there to prevent the children from falling if they look too far out of the window,' she thought. But that didn't ward away another nagging feeling that the bars were placed not to prevent anyone from going out, but to stop anyone from getting in.

 

She shook away the thought as she heard noises outside the door. Sounds of fast footsteps climbing up the stairs and two high-pitched voices, clearly belonging to the kids, drifted in.

 

Straightening herself, she tightened her grip on the bucket. A click announced the opening of the door and without waiting, she closed her eyes and blindly swung the bucket, emptying the water.

 

A surprised gasp came from the doorway and she slowly opened her eyes to find a pair of amber eyes staring at her in shock.

 

A pair of amber eyes incidentally belonging to a certain Li Syaoran who was now standing stunned and dripping wet in front of her.