Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Heart's Treasures ❯ Solstice Ball: A Magical Dance ( Chapter 10 )

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

Heart's Treasures: Part 10
By: Starlight Rose
Email: starlighto_rose@hotmail.com

A.N. Again, sorry it took so long, but I've been busy. I'm still not very motivated to write but
I am trying at least. This chapter was again shorter than I had planned but I got tired of
writing, so I decided to post what I had. I just chose a good place to end it and ended it there.
Considering it's really only one scene it is pretty long. Looks like the Solstice Ball is going
to be three chapters instead of just one or two. Please be patient with me because I am really
trying. It is only thanks to people reviewing and seeming interested that I am even still writing.
So please continue supporting me by reviewing. Remember if you don't review I have very little
reason to continue writing. Also before I forget I'd like to thank Mediaminer.org for having
this story has a featured fanfic. I'm very honored by the distinction. Also college is starting
back up for me next week so I'll have even less time to write so expect the next chapter to
take a bit (as if you didn't already). I'll be busy with school soon.

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 stood on the fringe of the ballroom trying desperately to blend in with the surrounding
tapestry. He was garbed in a forest green outfit that consisted of tight trousers that constricted
his movements. A white shirt that wasn't too uncomfortable except for the tie that he wore at his
throat choking him and with so many ties, ruffles, and flounces to it that he was surprised that
his head managed to show through it. Over it was a stiff jacket embroidered with gold thread.
Syaoran was just thankful that he wasn't required to wear his crown with the stifling suit.

The ball had only just started and guest were only just arriving but the ravenous ladies of the
court had already started seeking him out in the hopes of snaring him for their husband thus
ensuring for themselves a crown. Tonight was going to be a long night. Syaoran wished with all
his heart that he could just sneak away from it all and wonder into the garden hoping to meet a
certain emerald-eyed scullery maid. It was a foolish wish at best considering Sakura was most
likely still busy in the kitchen, but one could always hope. And right now thinking of the girl
and meeting her again was the only thing getting Syaoran through the ball. He looked at the
grandfather clock a few feet to the side of him and groaned. He still had another three hours of
the ball left. That meant he had to try and keep himself as inconspicuious as possible and also
try to keep out of his mother's line of vision as long. The last thing Syaoran wanted was to be
dragged to meet every single simpering courtier in the hopes that he might find one attractive
enough to marry. The chances of that happening were fairly slim considering Syaoran had a
preferance for females that had some amount of intelligence to them and most the court ladies
seemed to have been bred for the pure purpose of having no mind of their own.

Suddenly a commotion close to the entrance caught the young king's attention. Everyone in the ballroom had stopped short and were staring at the top of the stairs. Apparently some great beauty had entered. That did not interest Syaoran in the slightest since the courtiers were prone to exaggeration. Still he glanced to the top of the stairs to see who everyone seemed to be staring at and he too stopped dead in his tracks. The vision could not have been real for she was undeniably the most beautiful thing Syaoran had ever seen. He was sure looking at her that she was an angel of some sort. Innocence, sweetness, purity, and beauty radiated from her in waves. Her golden gown created a corona of light around her as she was framed perfectly by the rose covered entrance to the ballroom. Something about her seemed achingly familiar to Syaoran and before he knew what he was doing her had stepped away from his hiding place and was striding purposefully through the crowds to the mysterious beauty. They parted before him without a word and watched as their recitent king walked towards the moon goddess as if spellbound.

At the top of the stairs Sakura stood and scanning the crowd for Syaoran. She wasn't able to see him among the crush of people present. Closing her eyes with a bit of disappointment, Sakura took a deep breath to fortify herself before she made her way down into the ballroom to search for Syaoran. She was risking her anomity to attend this ball and she would not let the night go by without having at least seen her gentle lord.

Finally opening her eyes she saw the crowd parting and making way for a familiar figure. Syaoran had seen her and was coming. She smiled sadly wondering if had recognized her, despite the danger of it she wanted to hope that he would.

Reaching the beauty Syaoran bowed elegantly and taking her hand kissed it gently. Finally straightening, but not releasing her hand he looked at her face and nearly started. The eyes and sad wistful smile that he had been thinking of for the past few minutes were staring at him. " Sakura..." he whispered softly and then catching himself and realizing that no matter how similar this beauty's eyes and smile were to his little scullery maid, she could not be her, he apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you that. Your eyes are just such an uncommon but lovely color and remind me of a friend of mine."

Sakura's heart fluttered for a moment with what she wasn't sure when Syaoran called her Sakura, but her heart calmed when he apologized. She felt instead a sinking feeling in her heart that she could have sworn was disappointment, but brushed it away impatiently. She was here and Syaoran was with her. That was all she had wanted, to be able to see him and to let him see her. Smiling with joy over being with him, Sakura replied, "It is of no consequence, My Lord. Perhaps you might tell me about your friend that I remind you of? I am curious to hear about someone that might be so like me that I might be mistakened for her."

Syaoran breathed a sigh of relief. Smiling gratefully and for once feeling comfortable at a ball with a lady, he asked rakishly (a great feat for the king that usually had no interest in anyone especially females), "Perhaps I can tell you about her while we dance? I would be honored if such a beauty would dance her first dance here with me."

"I'd love to." Sakura told him as Syaoran began to lead her to the dance floor still holding her hand tightly yet gently. Sakura blushed at the possessiveness with which he seemed to hold her hand, but she didn't want to point it out to him. It felt comfortable. The warmth and pressure of his hand made her feel cared for and wanted.

The crowd that had been watching the exchange eagerly parted before them as they approached the dance floor wondering what words the two had exchanged. As they reached the dance floor the orchestra struck up a waltz. Syaoran took Sakura's other hand and began to lead her in the steps as slowly other couples joined them.

Up on the dias where the throne sat Yulan watched her son approach the mysterious young woman and smiled. Finally her son had shown interest in a suitable young lady. Maybe there was hopes for her son yet, Yulan just wondered who the young lady was and where she was from. For though the girl seemed a bit familiar, Yulan could have sworn that she had never seen the girl at court before. But considering the number of courtiers from other nations that visited the Faunen court, the girl was probably not of her own court. If that were the case then some diplomatic agreements might need to be made, but surely something could be worked out. Regardless, Yulan was just happy her son found a girl that met his high standards, or at least she hoped the girl did.

On the dance floor Syaoran gazed at the beauty before him and again thought, "She can't be real, or at least if she is there must be something wrong with her." But try as he might he could find no fault in her. She was absolutely stunning. Her voice was beautiful like a bell, her eyes gentle and kind, and everything about her felt just right. Holding her in his arms as he danced was the most pleasant experiance Syaoran could ever remember having. But at the same time something in the back of his mind nagged him, that as lovely as this girl was Sakura was just as lovely. But the girl before him was of his station and he could hope to marry her. Sakura was merely a servant and she was also his friend. Even if he could court her, he would have been afraid of harming their friendship even though Syaoran knew that what he felt for the servant girl was more than friendship. But he had a chance here. This mysterious lady reminded him of Sakura and he felt almost as happy with her as he had with Sakura.

Sakura was in heaven. The warmth of Syaoran's strong arms holding her was even better than anything she had ever imagined. She knew that it was hopeless for her to wish to be able to stay with him like this. For him to see her as something more than a pitiful waif to protect, but as she was now she was someone of his station. Someone that could hope to catch his attention romantically. But she also knew that after this dance was over she must return to how she was before. An orphaned scullery maid, with no home, and no family.

That didn't matter now however. Now she was the mysterious beauty and she was dancing in the arms of the gentlest, kindest, and most handsome man at the ball. And she was happier than she had been since she left Flora. Smiling impishly she lifted her head up to gaze into his amber eyes and told him, "I believe my lord promised to tell about this friend of yours, Sakura, whom I remind you so much of."

"I doubt you need to worry about being mistakened fos Sakura often." Syaoran told the girl.

"Why not, especially since you did?" Sakura replied.

"Sakura is a scullery maid. I doubt a noble lady like you would be mistakened for her." Syaoran replied with a hint of ice in his voice. When he first saw this beautiful girl, his heart leaped and he thought that he might have found someone he could tolerate to marry, especially since she seemed to have a good humor and she reminded him of Sakura. But as he talked to her about Sakura something else in his heart told him that no matter how he tried, Sakura would be the only one he could come to love. And knowing that and the fact that he could definitely not marry Sakura was starting to put him in a bad mood.

Sakura detected the ice in his voice and looked worriedly at him, "Is there something amiss , my lord? Perhaps something wrong with this Sakura of yours? Though I do hope not for she must be a really wonderful person for you to befriend her even though she is a scullery maid or perhaps it is only you that are such a wonderful person."

"No my lady. I'm sorry to have been snappish." Smiling softly as he pictured the girl as he had seen her earlier with her hair down in the soft morning light, Syaoran told the lady, "Sakura is a very sweet, gentle person. Before she came along I was always bad tempered and hard to get along with but Sakura has a very calming effect on me. She is surprisingly intelligent and well educated which I still don't know how since even most of the royal ladies of this court not to mention a servant are no where near as well educated."

"Are the ladies of this court so horrible then?" Sakura asked amused knowing full well Syaoran's answer before asking the question.

"They are for the most part mindless twits. No offense to you, but you seem very different from them and I'll wager you are a foreigner. Your accent reminds me of Sakura's, but the reason I called you by her name earlier was because you have the same eyes as her." Syaoran told the girl frankly. This girl was surprising him in many ways. If it wasn't for the impossibility of it all he could have sworn she was Sakura. Her manner of speech was the same and she was so unlike most court ladies. She truly cared about what he was saying and wasn't just interested in talking about herself. In fact she even seemed to be avoiding talking about herself. And her eyes...could two different people have such similar eyes? Eyes were supposedly the windows to the soul could two different people have such similar souls?

"Eyes are the windows to the soul." The lady quoted startling him with how she had just voiced his thoughts. He looked at her to find her smiling softly. He wished her could take the demi-mask off of her face to see what it looked like underneath. To be sure he could tell she was absolutely beautiful but he wondered would she look like Sakura's twin for everything else about her made her seem just like the servant girl that always stayed in his thoughts.

Sakura saw the reaction her statement evoked in him and partially regretted it realizing that she could have given her identity away right there. Syaoran suspected something was up. She was sure of that considering how he kept comparing her to her alter ego. But at the same time she wanted to be discovered, but she didn't dare reveal herself still. She didn't know what was going on in the world and it was too risky for how could she be sure Syaoran could protect her or if he would even try if he knew who she was and that she had decieved him. Syaoran's question to her made her face go pale and she was thankful for the demi-mask that concealed her features.

"Can two people have the same soul then?" Syaoran asked the girl.

Sakura forced a smile to her lips and tried to reply lightly, "I think they could. Especially if they were soulmates or something. Why do you ask my lord?"

"I'm just curious about your opinion. You are a romantic aren't you?" Syaoran observed.

"I suppose I am. Are you?" Sakura replied lightly. She needed to keep the conversation light and steer it away from herself because as much as she was enjoying being in Syaoran's arms, things were getting dangerous.

"I guess I am because I want to agree with you." Syaoran replied. He heard in the background the music starting to die away and knew that the strange but certainly not disagreeable dance was coming to an end. He was no closer to knowing anything more about this lady than when he started but something about her felt right. Maybe not as right as it felt with Sakura, but with time maybe he could come to feel as right with her as he felt with Sakura, but maybe it was just due to the circumstances. At the very least Syaoran was determined to give it a try, because if he had to marry, he wanted to marry someone he could love. And if it couldn't be Sakura, it could be someone that was so much like her they could have been the same person. But still he wondered if it was fair for any of them.

The music winded down and died with a soft strum of a lute. The couples pulled apart and the men bowed to the ladies as the ladies curtsied to the men. Syaoran and Sakura pulled unwillingly apart and followed suit. Knowing that he night of magic was over, Sakura smiled saddly at Syaoran saying, "I enjoyed our dance my lord."

"As have I. Do you think you might spare me another dance with you later?" Syaoran asked still feeling her warmth in his arms.

"Perhaps." Sakura replied evasively knowing that it was impossible. She smiled at him once more before turning to leave.

Syaoran caught her arm as she was turning around and Sakura looked at him startled. "I never caught your name." Syaoran told her blushing red. He knew it was just an excuse but he wanted to touch her once more even if it was just for a little bit and even if it was a tad improper, but he was the king. He could surely break a few rules of etiquitte.

Sakura smiled and told him, "You can call me Ying Fa." before slipping her arm out of his grasp and escaping quickly through the crowds.

Syaoran watched her slip through the crowd murmuring her name under his breath, "Ying Fa...that means cherry blossom in the old Faunen language, as did Sakura in the old Florian language." Syaoran's eyes widened and he pulled himself out of his thoughts just in time to see the mysterious lady slip out the heavy oak entrance doors. He pushed his way through the crowds and got to the door. When he stepped out into the hallway he saw no one. He walked quickly to the castle entrance and questioned the guards there about the angel he had danced with but none of them remembered anyone of her description entering or leaving. With a puzzled frown Syaoran walked back to the ballroom resigned to trying to hide from fawning courtiers, wondering if the last half hour or so had been a dream.

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Again if you want me to continue, REVIEW! I like nice long detailed reviews. Tell me what you liked or didn't like. I know some of the grammar and spelling might be bad, but please forgive me. My computer crashed due to viruses and I'm writing using Wordpad. Not Microsoft Word or anything with a spell or grammar check, but plan old standard Wordpad. IT's a real pain and it's just one of the reason's I've not been writing much. Not the only or biggest, but certainly one of them at least.