Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Heart's Treasures ❯ Solstice Ball: Preparations ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Heart's Treasures: Part 9
By: Starlight Rose
Email: starlighto_rose@hotmail.com

A.N. Yes, I know it's been months since I last updated. But all I can say is my life has been
VERY busy. Besides the fact that I actually have a life with friends albeit nerdy friends, I also
have school and a boyfriend. Within the last half a year I've gone through enough to make my
life an official soap opera if it wasn't before. I got some college friends (as opposed to high
school friends), went to some parties, gained a real social life. I broke up with my old bf of 4
years who was an asshole and got together with my best friend for the last 4 years who
incidentally has liked me for 7 years and I'm very happy with him now. I've had lost of odd
family situations to deal with and between all that and a lack of motivation and inspiration for
writing, I've finally finished this chapter. This is was originally going to be longer but I figured if
I tried to end it where I originally planned to it might be several more months before I got
anything up. So I'm posting what I have finished writing. Don't expect anymore soon. I'll write
when I feel like writing. You just need to be patient. I mean I've waited for about five years for
one story to be continued and it still hasn't so, six months really isn't that bad in comparison. So
try to enjoy this chapter (and I mean really enjoy it because it might be a few more months before
the next one) and review (I like very long detailed reviews) because if you don't review instead of
it taking me a few months to update I might just drop the story altogether. Honestly that would
not be a bad thing for me because that means I can focus on my life even more so if you want me
to continue try to make me happy so I want to continue.

Disclaimer: The original tale of Thousand Furs belongs to the Brother's Grimm (well sort of, but
I'm not getting into the messy business of explaining the history of fairytales). CCS and its
characters belong to Clamp. This story belongs to me however, so DON'T STEAL! I worked
really hard on this and I will be pissed if anyone stole my idea or my story.

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Syaoran had a headache. A headache that he attributed mostly to the delegates from the Solarian
Kingdom. He had always thought that his ministers were fodgy old men that were annoyingly
stubborn and dense, but the Solarian delegates were ten times worse than any of his ministers had
ever been. He had spent the last week locked in a stuffy room with them trying to reach a
compromise in terms of an alliance. The heat of summer added to the frustration of dealing with
the Solarian delegates had created the most monstrous headache Syaoran could ever remember
having and that included the time he accidentally got drunk from chugging an entire bottle of
wine when he was thirteen and woke up with a hangover. The headache he had now made the
hangover seem like a pleasant memory.

Unfortunately for everyone else, when the King got a headache he also tended to get irritable.
Much more so than normal. Thus as a result the servants had learned to take circuitous routes
about the castle to avoid the irritable King. It had been that way for a week, a very long week. It
used to be the King was irritable everyday, but it was a much more manageable irritable. Then
suddenly about two or three months ago the King started being polite and almost pleasant. It was
a great improvement and the servants, especially the ones that had to deal with him often, were
overjoyed by the change. No one really knew what happened but no one wanted to push their luck
and ask either.

But all that changed a week ago when the delegates from Solaria came. Truth be told, no one
really liked them. They were for the most part, rude, arrogant, and condescending and none of the
servants could really blame the King for his bad temper if he had to dance attendance to and try to
negotiate with the delegates for an entire week. For the entire week Syaoran had been closeted
with the delegates, his mother, and his ministers trying to pound out a peace agreement, but the
Solarians were too arrogant to accept anything the Faunians were willing to offer and demanded
more than what the Faunians would offer. So the peace talks were taking a long while to go
absolutely nowhere and that was frustrating Syaoran to no ends. He was almost thankful that the
Summer Solstice Ball was that night because it proved to be an opportunity for him to escape the
heat and boredom of the counsel room, though he was exchanging it for the boredom of the
ballroom.

What Syaoran really wanted to do was to draw his sword on the arrogant Solarians and force
them to agree to at least some points at sword point and then leave the oppressive heat of the
council room to go in search of Sakura in the garden. The one thing Syaoran could think of to get
rid of his bad mood and his headache was spending time with Sakura. Unfortunately Syaoran was
fairly certain his mother would not approve of the plan seeing as how it lacked a certain elegance
of style and just plain tact. Though he doubted she would have really minded the idea too much,
numerous glances shot in her direction had ascertained that the Queen had as much of a headache
as her son.

It was with a sigh of relief that Syaoran finally left the council room for lunch. Since everyone
was getting ready for the ball that night, he thankfully did not have to return to that room again
until the next day. Syaoran immediately went to the garden hoping to find Sakura there. It had
been a week since he last saw her and throughout his time in the council room Syaoran had
wanted to storm out and see the gentle girl.

He missed her terribly. He hadn't realized until then what a great stress reliever, Sakura's
presence proved to be for him. Her smiles were the one thing that managed to draw him out of his
bad moods and having not seen her for a week thanks to the Solarian delegates made Syaoran
more irritable than he liked to imagine. He knew that it was unlikely that he would actually find
her in the garden at that time especially since the preparations for the banquet that night were
likely to keep her busy, but still something nagged at him telling him to go to the garden.

As he entered the cherry grove the lovely sight of Sakura standing with her hair cascading down
her back stopped him in his tracks. She stood with the large fur coat laying on the ground and her
slender figure showing clearly through her plain gray frock. Something about the way she stood
there stirred unfamiliar feelings in Syaoran and he suddenly felt a longing to hold her in his arms.
Startled by his thoughts he cleared his throat causing Sakura to whirl around to face him.

"Syaoran!" the girl cried happily at seeing him. Then suddenly remembering herself she curtsied
to him and quickly snatched up her coat and wrapped it about herself once again hiding her figure
underneath the odd coat. Her hair she tucked into the coat as well. Lowering her head humbly she
murmured, "I thought you were busy with the Solarian delegates, My Lord."

Syaoran frowned at the formality in Sakura's manner. "Syaoran. My name is Syaoran. I believe
I've asked you to call me that before. Why all the formality Sakura? Have I upset you somehow?"

Sakura blushed at the tenderness with which he talked to her. Keeping her head bowed to hide her
blush she replied, "I'm sorry Syaoran. It's just it's been a bit since I last saw you since you've
been so busy with the delegates and I wasn't…I wasn't sure anymore if I should be so informal
with you."

"I'm sorry I've been so busy recently." Syaoran sighed wearily as he explained, "The Solarian
delegates are being very obstinate and I can say honestly I will have no grief when we are finally
rid of them." He purposefully stepped forward and lifted her chin so that her glorious green eyes
were staring directly into his and continued, "But you should not take that as a sign that you
should start being formal with me. You are my friend, Sakura, and I hate formality among
friends."

Sakura smiled up at him reassured by his kind words and gentle manner. "Are the Solarians that
bad?" she asked timidly.

Syaoran grimaced and replied, "Worse! They are the most arrogant, stubborn, ill-mannered
people I have ever met! And for me to be saying that means a lot! Even I realize I can be rather
unpleasant to be around on occasion but these delegates are even worse than me!"

Sakura stifled a giggle at Syaoran's outburst and said sweetly, "You've always been kind to me."

"That's because you are easy to be with and I enjoy your company. I don't know how anyone
might be unkind to you." Syaoran told her with a soft smile. It was amazing how this slip of a girl
could bring out the best in him. "I'm just glad that after another week they'll be gone.
Unfortunately that's still a week away and I have to deal with going to this stupid Summer
Solstice Ball tonight."

"It couldn't be that bad. The ball tonight must be really grand. The kitchen staff has been busy
preparing food for tonight's banquet since yesterday night." Sakura asked her eyes bright at the
memory of the balls she had attended in Flora. She didn't really miss the balls so much as she
missed her friends and family. The thought of her family made tears start stinging at her eyes but
before they could fall she bit her lip and forced a smile on her face. "I wish I could see you in all
your nice clothes for the ball."

"I wish you could too. Having you at the ball might make it actually bearable." Syaoran replied as
he thought of Sakura in a grand ball gown with her beautiful auburn hair cascading down her
back like he had just seen her dancing in his arms. Syaoran shook the thought away knowing that
it was an impossible wish and he should not have such feelings for Sakura. She was after all only
a scullery maid, albeit a very pretty one, and foremost she was his friend and Syaoran knew that
he should not have such thoughts about his friend.

"I wish I could too." Sakura muttered softly when an idea came into her head. Maybe it would be
possible for her to attend the ball after all but in the guise of her true self. The thought of dancing
with Syaoran caused a warm flush to suffuse her and Sakura decided that if only for one night
even if she were risking her life she wanted to dance with her gentle Syaoran. "I need to get back
to the kitchen's now. Chiharu needs my help." Sakura said stepping away from Syaoran, her mind
upon the evening's ball.

Syaoran grabbed her hand as she was about to run away and upon an odd impulse that he couldn't
understand nor stop kissed her hand causing her to blush and with a courtly bow said, "I eagerly a
wait our next meeting, My Lady."

The blood drained from Sakura's face as she said with a panicked voice, "I must go." She pulled
her hand away from him and turned to run away afraid that Syaoran had somehow discovered her
identity.

Syaoran saw her face go pale and fearing that his teasing had hurt his best friend said quietly,
"I'm sorry for that Sakura. I was only teasing. Please don't be upset with me."

Sakura merely nodded before fleeing back to the kitchens. Syaoran stood and watched her go
wondering about Sakura's odd reaction. Then as her figure ran out of sight he turned around and
sighed heavily. It was time for him to go prepare for the ball. Though he knew no amount of
preparation would help him deal with the fawning court ladies that his mother would be ruthlessly
throwing at him.


Sakura ran back into the kitchen where Chiharu greeted her cheerfully. Sakura smiled back at
Chiharu and asked her timidly, "Chiharu?"

"Yes?" The cook replied kindly.

"We'll probably be finished with most of the cooking by the time the ball starts right?"

"Probably. We'll probably have a few of the smaller things to cook, but otherwise we should be
done if not when the ball starts soon after that. Why do you ask?"

"Well I kind of wanted to go see the people arriving. They must look really magnificent in their
dresses and jewels. I used to help my mistress dress up when she went to balls and she always
looked so lovely. I thought it might be nice to see that again." Sakura told Chiharu while silently
asking forgiveness for the white lie she had just told. But she wanted to even if it was just for one
dance to be able to meet Syaoran as his equal. "I promise I won't be gone long. I'll be back in
plenty of time to finish the preparations for the banquet and to help clean up."

"Hmm…" Chiharu said looking Sakura over. Something in her manner told her the girl was
not telling her the whole truth, but the request was harmless enough. Besides, the girl had stayed
in the kitchen too long and needed a break. For the past week the entire kitchen staff had been
kept busy with preparations for the ball and the extra load of cooking for the Solarian delegates
was not helping any. Thus Sakura had been kept busy from morning to night cooking and had
very little chance to rest. Chiharu knew that also meant that that kept the girl from seeing
whoever the young man that she was infatuated with. With a kind smile Chiharu told her, "If you
promise to be quick about it then I suppose after we finish with the preparations then you can go
see the guests arriving for an hour."

"Oh, thank-you!" Sakura exclaimed. She would have her chance to see Syaoran in all his finery
and for the first time be her true self and not hide behind the soot and course clothing of a servant.


"Must I wear this awful outfit?" Syaoran said in what Takashi would have called a whine if it
wasn't for the fact that Syaoran was a king and kings did not whine.

With a raised eyebrow Takashi replied, "Her Majesty insists that you look the part of a king
tonight so she has personally picked out this suit for you. If you do not wish to wear it, Your
Majesty, then speak to the Queen about it." Then as if as an after thought he added, "I have no
say in the matter, though that suit does look awfully uncomfortable."

Syaoran glared at his impudent servant who was grinning openly at him, Takashi being one of the
only servants not afraid of him and one of the closest people Syaoran had to a real friend, Sakura
not included. Though Syaoran did consider Sakura his best friend he also knew he was starting to
have feelings for her that friends shouldn't have for one another and Sakura also did not know he
was king.

Suddenly an idea came to Syaoran as to how he could avoid the mass of crown-seeking eligible
young women, "Takashi, this is a masquerade ball is it not?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Takashi replied suspiciously.

"Then shouldn't I be wearing a costume? Say a hunter might be a good costume." Syaoran
suggested reasonably.

"Of course it would be sire, if you can get the queen to approve of it." Takashi replied.

"Am I king or is my mother?" Syaoran asked crossly.

"You are sire, but your mother is in charge and I will not cross her."

"Do you want to be beheaded?"

"I rather like my head, hence why I'm crossing you rather than Her Majesty. You won't behead
me."

"You're overconfident." Syaoran growled defeated. "Fine I'll wear this thing, just no crown. I
refuse to wear something that would make it even more obvious who I am."

"As you wish sire." Takashi replied as he continued helping his king prepare for the ball.


"Chiharu…I'm done with my chores and the guest are arriving at the gate. May I go see them?"
Sakura asked putting her broom down.

The cook smiled at the girl and told her, "Go ahead dear. But if you could be back in a half
hour that would be really nice."

"I promise to be quick." Sakura told her eagerly as she smiled happily and ran to her room. Once
in her room Sakura removed her coat and carefully washed her hands and face in a basin of water.
Then moving over to the tiny chest with all her most precious possessions, she opened it and
removed her bag and took from it the dress as silver as the moon. The dress that her best friend
had given her on her birthday, the fateful day she had to leave everything she loved behind and
become a poor waif. As soon as she removed the dress from the bag, it's brilliance lit up her tiny
room. Then from the bag she removed a pair of silver slippers and a few pieces of jewelry to put
in her hair, as well as a silver mask. Finally from the bag she removed her mother's ring. Putting
on the ring first she prayed silently to her mother to guide her and help her find her gentle
Syaoran. Then she donned her dress and everything else that went with it and sneaked into the
garden.

From the garden she entered the castle and walked boldly towards the ballroom. The servants
wondering around the halls and the guards guarding the doors let her pass with no question
assuming correctly that the beautiful lady that walked past them was a foreign princess. None of
them guessed that she was also the scullery maid, Thousand Furs. As she approached the doors to
the ballroom, two servants threw the doors open for her. Stepping through the doors and
surrounded by a halo of light created by her dress, Sakura stood like the moon, beautiful and
mysterious. All eyes in the room turned to look at the new arrival and all stood stunned by her
overwhelming beauty. Sakura smiled happy to be able to if only for a night be her true self.


Let me reiterate, review! Nice long reviews or emails if you want me to continue writing. As long
as I continue getting lots of support, I'll continue writing though it might take me a long time.