Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Heart's Treasures ❯ Futile Search ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Starlight Rose 
Eriol comes to Fauna in search of Sakura while plagued by thoughts of another young lady.
Anime/Manga: Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.15.2001 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 1.5K | Status: Completed
Eriol comes to Fauna in search of Sakura while plagued by thoughts of another young lady.
Anime/Manga: Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.15.2001 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 1.5K | Status: Completed
Heart's Treasures: Part 5
By: Starlight Rose
E-mail: starlighto_rose@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: You know the routine and I'm to lazy to type it so just cut and paste a former one here.
A.N. Sorry this chapter is so short and took so long to come out but I've had a lot of problems recently. First I was on a role then I had some problems that threw me into a writer's block, then to add to it my normal computer was taken away and I'm stuck working on a very horrible computer which I'm still using now, but that certainly didn't motivate me to write. Then just recently I've been dealing with some personal problems especially regarding my relationship and a very bizarre situation that I had up until now thought only happened on TV or the movies and not in real life and certainly not to myself. It really felt like I was in some shoujo anime for a while but unlike in anime, in real life I don't have some dashing hero come to mend my broken heart not that my heart is broken, but you get the point. But I'm finally able to write again and so here is the next chapter for you. Pray I have nothing else come up or you'll be waiting another two or so months for the next chapter, but everyone that has been reviewing or emailing me asking me to continue this has helped me get back to writing and to all of you I say, "Thank-you."
*************************************
Syaora n smiled gently to himself as he finally picked himself up to walk back to the castle. He entered the castle and immediately was besieged by several of his advisors, "Your Highness! Where have you been? We have searched all over the castle for you."
Syaoran sighed warily feeling his good mood and contented smile quickly slipping away from him, "I wished to be alone and did not want to be found."
The advisors looked warily at him and chose not to argue with the temperamental king, "Your presence is required immediately in the throne room. Crown Prince Eriol Hiiragizawa of the Magicka Kingdom is here and he wishes to have an audience with you. We must not keep him waiting too long. He has been here waiting for you for the past half hour."
"Why did my mother not receive him then? She usually takes care of such matters of diplomacy. I am just a figurehead." Syaoran said bitterly.
The advisors bit their lip in worry already sensing that their king was not going to make things easy for them. "Her Majesty, the queen, wishes you to have the responsibility of receiving Prince Hiiragizawa since it would be the proper protocol."
"Fine. I will be right there." Syaoran said turning around on his heels to head toward the throne room. When he entered, he saw a tall dark-haired young man about his age sitting quietly on a seat by the throne. He glanced the young Prince over and was not sure what to make of him. The prince was handsome and had an air of mystery, strength, and intelligence to him and something about him put Syaoran ill at ease. But Syaoran ignored all his feelings and forced a welcoming smile to his lips while saying, "Prince Hiiragizawa of the Magicka Kingdom, I welcome you to Fauna. Pray tell what errand brings you here?"
The dark-haired prince smiled at Syaoran and bowed politely before saying, "King Syaoran, I thank-you for your hospitality, but it is urgent business that brings me here. You have perhaps heard of the attack on the Flora Kingdom?" Syaoran expression darkened but he nodded his head grimly. He did not like being reminded to the attack for it reminded him of the sad look on Sakura's face. At Syaoran's nod Eriol continued, "Then you also know that Flora Kingdom is closely allied with the Magicka Kingdom. When we heard of the attack on the kingdom my armies and I rushed there to help out the kingdom. We were able to save the kingdom and drive the Draconian armies off, but before we arrived, the Crown Prince of the Flora Kingdom fearing that the kingdom would fall sent the Princess of Flora off into the woods to escape with her lady-in-waiting. When I discovered what had occurred I rushed off into the woods to find the princess but I found only her lady-in-waiting. We have search all over for her but were unable to find her. We had thought she might try making her way to Magicka to seek our help but she has not or she has not reached there yet. She ran in the direction of Fauna so we thought she might be hiding somewhere in your kingdom. With your permission we would like to search for her here. King Kinomoto and the prince are beside themselves with worry."
Syaoran nodded his head in understanding before saying, "You may search for her in my Kingdom as long as you respect the rights of my citizens while doing so. But may I ask why you are searching for the Florian Princess instead of King or Prince Kinomoto?"
"The King and Prince are currently busy rebuilding their country after the attack and since I am to be her fiancé I have offered to look for her. I am honored they should trust me with such a duty." Eriol replied calmly.
"I do not think she is hiding here for I should think from my experiences with my sisters that it would be hard for a princess to hide among peasants. She would reveal herself as being of royal birth too easily for surely no princess can live the hard life of a peasant or servant even if she is in hiding." Syaoran told the prince scornfully.
"You may be right, King Li, but I and the Flora Kingdom still thank you for allowing me to search your kingdom for her." Eriol replied. He bowed once to the king before requesting, "If you will excuse me, I must continue to search for Princess Sakura." Syaoran started at the princess's name, but before he had a chance to ask anymore about the Florian Princess, the foreign Prince was already walking out of the room.
Syaoran smiled sardonically to himself. How strange that he should choose to give the lost girl the same name as the Princess she might have served. No wonder Sakura had looked shocked when he chose that name for her. Syaoran wondered if he should have brought up the subject of the lost peasant girl to the prince searching for the lost princess. Bitterly he thought that they were too busy searching for a princess to care about a poor servant. 'No,' Syaoran thought, 'Sakura is better off here than in a kingdom where they probably haven't even noticed her disappearance to search for her.'
*****************************
Eriol sighed in frustration knowing that the young king was probably right. He respected Sakura very much and loved her like a sister though he knew he would soon need to think of her as more. He also knew she was not averse to hard work and had one of the sweetest dispositions he had ever known, but still she was certainly unaccustomed it.
It had been two weeks since he had started his search for her and he was beginning to think it hopeless. He had returned to his kingdom and reported to his parents about the attack on the Flora Kingdom. They were as relieved as he was that the kingdom was safe, but like him they also worried about the young princess's well being. They took it upon themselves to help search for Sakura within Magicka freeing Eriol to search for her elsewhere.
Eriol had discretely entered The Draconian Kingdom to search for information about the young princess in the event that she had been captured though he knew the likely hood of that was slim considering if she had been discovered then most likely they would have held her for ransom. He still searched and turned up nothing not even information about any young girls that may have entered the kingdom either as prisoners or as refugees. The Draconian people laughed mirthlessly at him when he inquired about any young girls fleeing to their kingdom. Seeing the condition the kingdom was in Eriol could not blame them for no one in their right mind would flee to Draco. The people of Draco did not even want to live there. The king was greedy and the land was plighted. There were even rumors that a dragon, a species long believed to have gone extinct, still resided in the kingdom causing havoc once in a while. Eriol would have not been surprised if the rumors were true for the vast abundance of dragons in Draco in olden times was how the kingdom got its name.
He had learned a lot that would stand him in good stead when he became king but he learned nothing that was of immediate interest to him. Nothing indicating that Sakura had entered the horrible kingdom. That piece of information both relieved and frustrated him for even though when in regards to the Draconians no news is good news, the lack of news was beginning to grate on his already thin nerves. Two weeks of futile searching around the neighboring kingdoms was wearing on even Eriol's large quantities of patience.
To add to his problems Eriol kept thinking of Lady Daidouji in tears and the mental image was not doing much for his temperament. The violet-eyed lady-in-waiting had been making many appearances in Eriol's mind recently and each time he thought of her in tears he felt his heart contract with pain. When he thought of her grateful smile, he felt a different sort of pain in his chest, a more pleasant pain. The new mixed up emotion he was feeling toward the lady was starting to take its toll on him.
It took him a little more than three hours of riding to get him back to the Flora Kingdom. Another half hour of riding brought him to the castle where he saw repairs were being done to the castle that looked to be in much better shape than it was in when he left it a little about a fortnight ago. As he entered everyone turned to watch his entrance. They all looked hopefully up at him and Eriol had to grit his teeth as he knew that he had to dash their hopes. Apparently word of Sakura's disappearance had spread throughout the castle and everyone in it had anticipated the foreign prince's return eagerly, hoping that he had managed to find their beloved princess. A groom approached his horse to led it to the stable. He looked at Eriol with his question clearly written upon his face. Eriol closed his eyes to shut out the disappointment he would see in the groom's face and shook his head.
At the stable Eriol dismounted and quickly walked away from the groom who he saw was quickly surrounded by anxious Florian citizens. He saw the groom shake his head and the people's hopeful looks turn crestfallen before he was out of sight. News of his arrival if not his news spread quickly through the castle and everywhere he went he saw people lined up for a look at him trying to tell by his face whether or not he was successful. Eriol carefully schooled his face into a blank smile that was his trademark and marched purposefully to the throne room. Two of the footmen standing before the doors hastened to open the door for him. Inside the throne room King Fujitaka was sitting talking to Prince Touya and several of his advisors. At Eriol's entrance silence fell over the room as the advisors retreated to stand to the side of the throne and Touya stood up looking expectantly at Eriol. Eriol took a deep fortifying breath before bowing to the King and Prince and stating in a steady voice, "Your highness, I am sorry to report that I was not able to find the Princess Sakura. I returned to my kingdom and have informed my parents of her disappearance and a search was sent out for her. So far the search has turned up no trace of her but should any word reach us of her whereabouts you will be notified immediately. I also discretely searched the Draconian Kingdom but did not find any news of her, but there is no rumors or anything of the sort within that kingdom that the Draconian armies were able to capture anybody. On my way back here I visited the Fauna Kingdom and informed them of her disappearance and requested to be allowed to search within their borders for Princess Sakura. King Syaoran of that kingdom has granted me permission to search within his borders and I have already set a dozen of my men to searching for her there."
Touya sank down into his throne after he heard the disheartening report. As much as he had hated it, he had been relying upon Eriol to find his younger sister for him. When it was clear that still no trace of his sister had been found after two weeks of searching Touya felt much of his hope that she might be somewhere safe dissipating. He had sorely hoped she had gone to the Magicka Kingdom after no trace of her had been found in the woods and the fact that she was not in the Draconian's hands was of little comfort to him. Fujitaka looked at his son's dejected face and placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. He felt older now than he had ever felt. The invasion and Sakura's subsequent disappearance had taken their toll upon the once strong king. Looking up at the young prince that looked haggard with lack of sleep due to searching valiantly for his daughter Fujitaka suggested gently, "Prince Eriol, thank-you for your efforts, but you look extremely tired. May I suggest that you go rest? My kingdom is deeply in your debt and I suggest that you avail yourself freely to our hospitality."
Eriol's lips quirked into a sardonic smile at the king's concern for him, but he saw the weary expression on Fujitaka's face and instead replaced it with a compassionate look. Smiling reassuringly at the king Eriol said, "Thank-you for your concern, Your Highness, but I believe that I promised a lady to tell her any news I could find of Princess Sakura as soon as I returned even if there was no news. Could you per chance tell me where the Lady Daidouji is?"
Fujitaka smiled at Eriol as Touya glared at him and said, "I believe Lady Tomoyo has recently taken to wandering around the gardens when she is not helping clean up the castle."
"Thank-you, Your Highness." Eriol said bowing before turning on his heel and exiting. As soon as he left the throne room he realized his news had finally spread around the castle as he saw the forlorn expressions everyone wore and how scrupulously they were attempting to avoid looking directly in his eyes. He strode quickly and purposefully toward the garden hoping to reach Lady Daidouji before his news did. He had promised the Lady that he would find the princess and he intended to be the one to tell her he had not succeeded. He would also be the one to bear her disappointed looks, Eriol realized.
He wandered into the gardens and searched about for the violet-eyed lady. She was sitting on a bench drawing and presented to his confused self a fetching picture. Sunlight gleamed off of her dark hair causing it to have a lavender tint to it as her head bent over the sheet of paper. She seemed to be completely engrossed in her work, but as he approached she lifted her beautiful face up to him and smiled hopefully. With a saddened heart Eriol watched as her face fell and she tried to hide her tears.
Tomoyo averted her face away from the prince to keep him from seeing her cry. It was all her fault, she thought. If she had stopped Sakura from running, she would be safe now. As if sensing her incriminating thoughts Tomoyo stiffened with shock as she felt strong arms wrap around her and her head pressed to a firm muscular chest. A pleasant tingle coursed through Tomoyo's body and she shivered from the sensation. The arms about her tightened and the prince's deep, husky voice soothingly whispered, "It's okay to cry." And then as if reading her thoughts he assured her, "It was not your fault. If anything the fault was mine for not calling out to the two of you and scaring you further. But although we have not yet found Sakura we must not give up hope. She was not in the Draconian Kingdom so there is all likelihood that she is safe somewhere hiding. Sakura has a sweet way about her that makes anyone that meets her love her. She is probably being sheltered somewhere or making her way back here or to Magicka as we speak. Until I find proof that something has happened to her I will not give up hope and neither should you."
Tomoyo nodded her head and whispered softly, "Thank-you." The prince's words gave her hope and courage but his touch was doing much more to her. 'Stop it!' Tomoyo told herself sternly. 'You love Sakura and Prince Eriol is to be engaged to Sakura.' She slowly pried his arms from around her and wiped her tears away. She needed to get away from the Prince and the what his touch was doing to her body and her heart.
Eriol reluctantly let go of the lady and watched as she wiped her tears away wishing he had the courage to perform the task for her. He yearned to caress the her silky smooth skin and look into her violet eyes. But he reprimanded himself sharply for such thoughts. It was one thing to comfort the lady but quite another to do all the things his heart and body were trying to tell him to do. Shaking his head to clear his confusion he rose from the bench and bowed politely to Tomoyo. "I will be staying here only for tonight. I'm afraid. I need to get back to my kingdom and continue the search for Sakura. Will you allow me to escort you to dinner tonight?" Even if he could not do anything else, Eriol thought to himself, he could at least escort her to dinner. There could be no harm in that.
Tomoyo looked searchingly at the Prince but found she could not read his friendly but bland expression. Biting her lip because she knew that should she agree to the offer she would have to spend more time around the Prince. As disappointed as she was to hear that he was leaving she was also relieved because she did not understand the feelings he was evoking in her and that made her uncomfortable. But to refuse him would have been extremely rude so she nodded her head and accepted the offer.
Eriol sighed with relief as he walked back into the castle, but his mind was in turmoil. He wondered what he had gotten himself into by asking to escort the lady. If anything he should be trying to avoid her considering that he was quite sure the feelings he was developing for her was more than just mere friendship, but at the same time he was to be engaged to Sakura. He needed to spend less time with her but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Instead of thinking about it more he stalked to his room and threw himself on the bed fully clothed and forced himself to sleep.
The dinner came and went with little incident except for Eriol leaving feeling an even stronger attachment to the lady-in-waiting, while Tomoyo left feeling confused and both saddened and grateful the prince was leaving early the next morning. Touya and Fujitaka left the dinner with feelings of confusion at the tension and emotions that seemed to be flowing between the two young nobles and wondering what further problems it might present to the already difficult situation.
*****************************
A week passed and Sakura went about her daily routine. She could only spare the time to visit the palace garden once during the week though she tried to make the time to go. She was disappointed to find him not there when she arrived and wondered why she felt so, but brushed the thought from her mind. She brought the injured bunny that she had named Kerberus with her. She had named him that because as he began to heal the bunny began following her around wherever she went seemingly guarding her. Now that he was fully healed, she had intended to set him free and brought him to the garden to do so, but when she set him down he just sat on the ground looking expectantly up at her.
"What are you waiting for?" Sakura asked the rabbit. "You're all healed now and can go home if you want." The rabbit stared up at her and twitched its nose before rising up on its hind legs and looking at her from that position. Exasperated Sakura bent down and began to push the bunny away toward the woods. Instead of running off as she expected him to do the rabbit instead craned its head and began nuzzling her hand. Sakura giggled happily and asked it, "Do you not want to go home?"
The bunny responded by hopping onto her lap. Sakura sat there stroking it and then asked, "Or are you like me and have no home to go back to? If that's the case, you can stay here with me." The rabbit snuggled up on her lap as she stroked it and feel asleep.
It was the heartbreaking scene of Sakura asking the bunny whether it had a home to go to that Syaoran walked into. His eyes softened as he gazed on the young girl that had not left his mind since he last saw her. For the entire week Syaoran visited the garden as often as he could to try and meet the girl that had gone through so much but remained cheerful. For some odd reason she inspired in Syaoran a sense of protectiveness and tenderness he had never felt toward any living thing. Somehow her cheerful smile had melted his cold heart and the thought of it had kept him for the most part amiable during the entire week. His servants wondered at the change in him, but fearing their good luck might end decided not to mention it to their usually taciturn king.
When he saw the scene before him Syaoran was tempted to step forward and comfort the young waif, but instead bided his time and waited a few moments. After the rabbit feel asleep Syaoran stepped out from behind the tree he was standing by and said softly, "You do have a home Sakura. You are welcome to consider this your home."
Sakura whirled around startled by his voice. Recognizing him she smiled brightly and replied, "Thank-you, my lord."
"Syaoran." Syaoran chided gently. At the confused look on Sakura's gentle face Syaoran clarified, "My name is Syaoran. I have asked you to call me that."
"Very well. Thank-you Syaoran. I will try to consider this my home from now on." Sakura replied.
"I'm glad to hear that." Syaoran told her blushing slightly at her smile. "I've missed you." He continued, "Is it that busy in the kitchens that you have had no time to come here more often?"
Sakura gasped inwardly. He had missed her? He had been coming here to see her? Her heart beat erratically at the pleasing thought, though why the thought was so pleasing and causing such odd reactions in her she did not know. Sakura just knew that his gentle voice and smile made her feel inordinately happy, a feeling she couldn't recall ever having and she had for the most part led a happy life. She knew that with her kingdom most likely having been destroyed and her friends and family mostly likely dead, she should not have been feeling happy, but the handsome young man before her gave her such feelings of security and warmth that she could not help having such emotions. Sakura looked down to hide the blush that was suffusing her cheeks and answered, "Yes, it has been rather busy lately. The royalty and nobility seem to hold banquets quite often."
Syaoran laughed at the answer knowing quite well the truth of those words since his mother had been holding one banquet after another to try and introduce him to young ladies of the court that might have been able to entice a marriage proposal out of him. He had born it with as much patience as he could, but the simpering females that were constantly being thrown at him were wearing out his patience. Now to know that those banquets had kept him from seeing Sakura made him feel even less charitable toward his mother and her banquets. Why do I care what happens to this girl? Why should my not seeing her bother me so much? True enough the banquets got on his nerves regardless, but the fact that they made Sakura have to work harder and deprived him of time spent in his company made him want to march into his mother's quarters and demand her to stop them immediately. The thoughts and emotions were beginning to disturb him greatly so he opted to change the subject and instead asked, "So what finally brought you out here?"
"I was planning on setting the bunny free but he doesn't seem to want to leave." Sakura answered relieved at the change of topic. For some reason her mentioning how busy the kitchens were thanks to the banquet caused the lord to laugh one moment then turn dark and forbidding the next and she was happy to get away from a topic that caused him to change moods so quickly.
"But he refuses to leave you correct? Figures feed them once and they keep coming back." Syaoran replied jokingly. He could not believe he was joking with her. It wasn't in his nature to joke.
"Yes, but he is very nice company. I have named him Kerberus." Sakura replied defending her little friend. "Is it okay for me to keep him?"
Syaoran looked speculatively at her wondering how a servant girl would know about the guardian beast from mythology. It was not something he was fairly sure was thought to servant girls, but of course considering that he rarely spoke more than a few words to any of his servants he wouldn't have known. Smiling down at her hopeful expression Syaoran replied, "Of course it is if he keeps you company."
"Thank-you." Sakura replied smiling. She felt so relaxed around the young man. She wondered who he was. She had heard of several lords during the weeks she was in Fauna and during the last week she had tried to listen for anything regarding a Lord Syaoran, but she heard nothing. She was sure he was a lord because of his rich clothing and refined mannerisms, but his rank remained a mystery to her. Though she admitted, she couldn't care less whether he was a lord or just a gardener since he was by far the nicest man she had ever met and save her father and Lord Yukito.
The bunny stirred in her lap and blinked its black beady eyes open. It hopped out of Sakura's lap and began hopping back toward the kitchen. A few feet from her it paused and turned around expectantly as if waiting for her to follow it. Sakura laughed at its antics, but realized that she had stayed at the cherry groove much longer than she had expected. Getting up she curtseyed to the young man and excused herself saying, "I believe that Kerberus is trying to tell me that it is time for me to return to the kitchens."
Syaoran smiled gently at her and with a gallant bow picked up her hand and kissed it lightly saying, "I thank-you for your company, my lady, but I shall take no more of your time." He then spoiled the effect by grinning broadly and saying, "Come back here more often. It is a relief to have someone to talk to that is not interested in only clothes, women, or marriage."
Sakura smiled understandingly. she knew quite well the type of conversations most of the nobility engaged in and had found it dreadfully boring when she was a princess. She could sympathize with his need to have someone to talk to, but wondered that he had no friends that he had no friends to talk about things other than clothes, women, or marriage with. She curtseyed to him and ran off back to the kitchens where she immersed herself in her daily routine and for the moment pushed her thoughts of the handsome young man out of her mind.
********************************
A.N. Quick question to ask you guys. Should I continue to develop the relationship between Sakura and Syaoran more or should I just get on with the story. Mind you, that I'm not even a quarter of the way through the actual fairytale yet, but I can continue at the slow pace and develop things more like I am doing now and straying from the story to write my own or go on with the plot and following the fairytale.
By: Starlight Rose
E-mail: starlighto_rose@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: You know the routine and I'm to lazy to type it so just cut and paste a former one here.
A.N. Sorry this chapter is so short and took so long to come out but I've had a lot of problems recently. First I was on a role then I had some problems that threw me into a writer's block, then to add to it my normal computer was taken away and I'm stuck working on a very horrible computer which I'm still using now, but that certainly didn't motivate me to write. Then just recently I've been dealing with some personal problems especially regarding my relationship and a very bizarre situation that I had up until now thought only happened on TV or the movies and not in real life and certainly not to myself. It really felt like I was in some shoujo anime for a while but unlike in anime, in real life I don't have some dashing hero come to mend my broken heart not that my heart is broken, but you get the point. But I'm finally able to write again and so here is the next chapter for you. Pray I have nothing else come up or you'll be waiting another two or so months for the next chapter, but everyone that has been reviewing or emailing me asking me to continue this has helped me get back to writing and to all of you I say, "Thank-you."
*************************************
Syaora n smiled gently to himself as he finally picked himself up to walk back to the castle. He entered the castle and immediately was besieged by several of his advisors, "Your Highness! Where have you been? We have searched all over the castle for you."
Syaoran sighed warily feeling his good mood and contented smile quickly slipping away from him, "I wished to be alone and did not want to be found."
The advisors looked warily at him and chose not to argue with the temperamental king, "Your presence is required immediately in the throne room. Crown Prince Eriol Hiiragizawa of the Magicka Kingdom is here and he wishes to have an audience with you. We must not keep him waiting too long. He has been here waiting for you for the past half hour."
"Why did my mother not receive him then? She usually takes care of such matters of diplomacy. I am just a figurehead." Syaoran said bitterly.
The advisors bit their lip in worry already sensing that their king was not going to make things easy for them. "Her Majesty, the queen, wishes you to have the responsibility of receiving Prince Hiiragizawa since it would be the proper protocol."
"Fine. I will be right there." Syaoran said turning around on his heels to head toward the throne room. When he entered, he saw a tall dark-haired young man about his age sitting quietly on a seat by the throne. He glanced the young Prince over and was not sure what to make of him. The prince was handsome and had an air of mystery, strength, and intelligence to him and something about him put Syaoran ill at ease. But Syaoran ignored all his feelings and forced a welcoming smile to his lips while saying, "Prince Hiiragizawa of the Magicka Kingdom, I welcome you to Fauna. Pray tell what errand brings you here?"
The dark-haired prince smiled at Syaoran and bowed politely before saying, "King Syaoran, I thank-you for your hospitality, but it is urgent business that brings me here. You have perhaps heard of the attack on the Flora Kingdom?" Syaoran expression darkened but he nodded his head grimly. He did not like being reminded to the attack for it reminded him of the sad look on Sakura's face. At Syaoran's nod Eriol continued, "Then you also know that Flora Kingdom is closely allied with the Magicka Kingdom. When we heard of the attack on the kingdom my armies and I rushed there to help out the kingdom. We were able to save the kingdom and drive the Draconian armies off, but before we arrived, the Crown Prince of the Flora Kingdom fearing that the kingdom would fall sent the Princess of Flora off into the woods to escape with her lady-in-waiting. When I discovered what had occurred I rushed off into the woods to find the princess but I found only her lady-in-waiting. We have search all over for her but were unable to find her. We had thought she might try making her way to Magicka to seek our help but she has not or she has not reached there yet. She ran in the direction of Fauna so we thought she might be hiding somewhere in your kingdom. With your permission we would like to search for her here. King Kinomoto and the prince are beside themselves with worry."
Syaoran nodded his head in understanding before saying, "You may search for her in my Kingdom as long as you respect the rights of my citizens while doing so. But may I ask why you are searching for the Florian Princess instead of King or Prince Kinomoto?"
"The King and Prince are currently busy rebuilding their country after the attack and since I am to be her fiancé I have offered to look for her. I am honored they should trust me with such a duty." Eriol replied calmly.
"I do not think she is hiding here for I should think from my experiences with my sisters that it would be hard for a princess to hide among peasants. She would reveal herself as being of royal birth too easily for surely no princess can live the hard life of a peasant or servant even if she is in hiding." Syaoran told the prince scornfully.
"You may be right, King Li, but I and the Flora Kingdom still thank you for allowing me to search your kingdom for her." Eriol replied. He bowed once to the king before requesting, "If you will excuse me, I must continue to search for Princess Sakura." Syaoran started at the princess's name, but before he had a chance to ask anymore about the Florian Princess, the foreign Prince was already walking out of the room.
Syaoran smiled sardonically to himself. How strange that he should choose to give the lost girl the same name as the Princess she might have served. No wonder Sakura had looked shocked when he chose that name for her. Syaoran wondered if he should have brought up the subject of the lost peasant girl to the prince searching for the lost princess. Bitterly he thought that they were too busy searching for a princess to care about a poor servant. 'No,' Syaoran thought, 'Sakura is better off here than in a kingdom where they probably haven't even noticed her disappearance to search for her.'
*****************************
Eriol sighed in frustration knowing that the young king was probably right. He respected Sakura very much and loved her like a sister though he knew he would soon need to think of her as more. He also knew she was not averse to hard work and had one of the sweetest dispositions he had ever known, but still she was certainly unaccustomed it.
It had been two weeks since he had started his search for her and he was beginning to think it hopeless. He had returned to his kingdom and reported to his parents about the attack on the Flora Kingdom. They were as relieved as he was that the kingdom was safe, but like him they also worried about the young princess's well being. They took it upon themselves to help search for Sakura within Magicka freeing Eriol to search for her elsewhere.
Eriol had discretely entered The Draconian Kingdom to search for information about the young princess in the event that she had been captured though he knew the likely hood of that was slim considering if she had been discovered then most likely they would have held her for ransom. He still searched and turned up nothing not even information about any young girls that may have entered the kingdom either as prisoners or as refugees. The Draconian people laughed mirthlessly at him when he inquired about any young girls fleeing to their kingdom. Seeing the condition the kingdom was in Eriol could not blame them for no one in their right mind would flee to Draco. The people of Draco did not even want to live there. The king was greedy and the land was plighted. There were even rumors that a dragon, a species long believed to have gone extinct, still resided in the kingdom causing havoc once in a while. Eriol would have not been surprised if the rumors were true for the vast abundance of dragons in Draco in olden times was how the kingdom got its name.
He had learned a lot that would stand him in good stead when he became king but he learned nothing that was of immediate interest to him. Nothing indicating that Sakura had entered the horrible kingdom. That piece of information both relieved and frustrated him for even though when in regards to the Draconians no news is good news, the lack of news was beginning to grate on his already thin nerves. Two weeks of futile searching around the neighboring kingdoms was wearing on even Eriol's large quantities of patience.
To add to his problems Eriol kept thinking of Lady Daidouji in tears and the mental image was not doing much for his temperament. The violet-eyed lady-in-waiting had been making many appearances in Eriol's mind recently and each time he thought of her in tears he felt his heart contract with pain. When he thought of her grateful smile, he felt a different sort of pain in his chest, a more pleasant pain. The new mixed up emotion he was feeling toward the lady was starting to take its toll on him.
It took him a little more than three hours of riding to get him back to the Flora Kingdom. Another half hour of riding brought him to the castle where he saw repairs were being done to the castle that looked to be in much better shape than it was in when he left it a little about a fortnight ago. As he entered everyone turned to watch his entrance. They all looked hopefully up at him and Eriol had to grit his teeth as he knew that he had to dash their hopes. Apparently word of Sakura's disappearance had spread throughout the castle and everyone in it had anticipated the foreign prince's return eagerly, hoping that he had managed to find their beloved princess. A groom approached his horse to led it to the stable. He looked at Eriol with his question clearly written upon his face. Eriol closed his eyes to shut out the disappointment he would see in the groom's face and shook his head.
At the stable Eriol dismounted and quickly walked away from the groom who he saw was quickly surrounded by anxious Florian citizens. He saw the groom shake his head and the people's hopeful looks turn crestfallen before he was out of sight. News of his arrival if not his news spread quickly through the castle and everywhere he went he saw people lined up for a look at him trying to tell by his face whether or not he was successful. Eriol carefully schooled his face into a blank smile that was his trademark and marched purposefully to the throne room. Two of the footmen standing before the doors hastened to open the door for him. Inside the throne room King Fujitaka was sitting talking to Prince Touya and several of his advisors. At Eriol's entrance silence fell over the room as the advisors retreated to stand to the side of the throne and Touya stood up looking expectantly at Eriol. Eriol took a deep fortifying breath before bowing to the King and Prince and stating in a steady voice, "Your highness, I am sorry to report that I was not able to find the Princess Sakura. I returned to my kingdom and have informed my parents of her disappearance and a search was sent out for her. So far the search has turned up no trace of her but should any word reach us of her whereabouts you will be notified immediately. I also discretely searched the Draconian Kingdom but did not find any news of her, but there is no rumors or anything of the sort within that kingdom that the Draconian armies were able to capture anybody. On my way back here I visited the Fauna Kingdom and informed them of her disappearance and requested to be allowed to search within their borders for Princess Sakura. King Syaoran of that kingdom has granted me permission to search within his borders and I have already set a dozen of my men to searching for her there."
Touya sank down into his throne after he heard the disheartening report. As much as he had hated it, he had been relying upon Eriol to find his younger sister for him. When it was clear that still no trace of his sister had been found after two weeks of searching Touya felt much of his hope that she might be somewhere safe dissipating. He had sorely hoped she had gone to the Magicka Kingdom after no trace of her had been found in the woods and the fact that she was not in the Draconian's hands was of little comfort to him. Fujitaka looked at his son's dejected face and placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. He felt older now than he had ever felt. The invasion and Sakura's subsequent disappearance had taken their toll upon the once strong king. Looking up at the young prince that looked haggard with lack of sleep due to searching valiantly for his daughter Fujitaka suggested gently, "Prince Eriol, thank-you for your efforts, but you look extremely tired. May I suggest that you go rest? My kingdom is deeply in your debt and I suggest that you avail yourself freely to our hospitality."
Eriol's lips quirked into a sardonic smile at the king's concern for him, but he saw the weary expression on Fujitaka's face and instead replaced it with a compassionate look. Smiling reassuringly at the king Eriol said, "Thank-you for your concern, Your Highness, but I believe that I promised a lady to tell her any news I could find of Princess Sakura as soon as I returned even if there was no news. Could you per chance tell me where the Lady Daidouji is?"
Fujitaka smiled at Eriol as Touya glared at him and said, "I believe Lady Tomoyo has recently taken to wandering around the gardens when she is not helping clean up the castle."
"Thank-you, Your Highness." Eriol said bowing before turning on his heel and exiting. As soon as he left the throne room he realized his news had finally spread around the castle as he saw the forlorn expressions everyone wore and how scrupulously they were attempting to avoid looking directly in his eyes. He strode quickly and purposefully toward the garden hoping to reach Lady Daidouji before his news did. He had promised the Lady that he would find the princess and he intended to be the one to tell her he had not succeeded. He would also be the one to bear her disappointed looks, Eriol realized.
He wandered into the gardens and searched about for the violet-eyed lady. She was sitting on a bench drawing and presented to his confused self a fetching picture. Sunlight gleamed off of her dark hair causing it to have a lavender tint to it as her head bent over the sheet of paper. She seemed to be completely engrossed in her work, but as he approached she lifted her beautiful face up to him and smiled hopefully. With a saddened heart Eriol watched as her face fell and she tried to hide her tears.
Tomoyo averted her face away from the prince to keep him from seeing her cry. It was all her fault, she thought. If she had stopped Sakura from running, she would be safe now. As if sensing her incriminating thoughts Tomoyo stiffened with shock as she felt strong arms wrap around her and her head pressed to a firm muscular chest. A pleasant tingle coursed through Tomoyo's body and she shivered from the sensation. The arms about her tightened and the prince's deep, husky voice soothingly whispered, "It's okay to cry." And then as if reading her thoughts he assured her, "It was not your fault. If anything the fault was mine for not calling out to the two of you and scaring you further. But although we have not yet found Sakura we must not give up hope. She was not in the Draconian Kingdom so there is all likelihood that she is safe somewhere hiding. Sakura has a sweet way about her that makes anyone that meets her love her. She is probably being sheltered somewhere or making her way back here or to Magicka as we speak. Until I find proof that something has happened to her I will not give up hope and neither should you."
Tomoyo nodded her head and whispered softly, "Thank-you." The prince's words gave her hope and courage but his touch was doing much more to her. 'Stop it!' Tomoyo told herself sternly. 'You love Sakura and Prince Eriol is to be engaged to Sakura.' She slowly pried his arms from around her and wiped her tears away. She needed to get away from the Prince and the what his touch was doing to her body and her heart.
Eriol reluctantly let go of the lady and watched as she wiped her tears away wishing he had the courage to perform the task for her. He yearned to caress the her silky smooth skin and look into her violet eyes. But he reprimanded himself sharply for such thoughts. It was one thing to comfort the lady but quite another to do all the things his heart and body were trying to tell him to do. Shaking his head to clear his confusion he rose from the bench and bowed politely to Tomoyo. "I will be staying here only for tonight. I'm afraid. I need to get back to my kingdom and continue the search for Sakura. Will you allow me to escort you to dinner tonight?" Even if he could not do anything else, Eriol thought to himself, he could at least escort her to dinner. There could be no harm in that.
Tomoyo looked searchingly at the Prince but found she could not read his friendly but bland expression. Biting her lip because she knew that should she agree to the offer she would have to spend more time around the Prince. As disappointed as she was to hear that he was leaving she was also relieved because she did not understand the feelings he was evoking in her and that made her uncomfortable. But to refuse him would have been extremely rude so she nodded her head and accepted the offer.
Eriol sighed with relief as he walked back into the castle, but his mind was in turmoil. He wondered what he had gotten himself into by asking to escort the lady. If anything he should be trying to avoid her considering that he was quite sure the feelings he was developing for her was more than just mere friendship, but at the same time he was to be engaged to Sakura. He needed to spend less time with her but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Instead of thinking about it more he stalked to his room and threw himself on the bed fully clothed and forced himself to sleep.
The dinner came and went with little incident except for Eriol leaving feeling an even stronger attachment to the lady-in-waiting, while Tomoyo left feeling confused and both saddened and grateful the prince was leaving early the next morning. Touya and Fujitaka left the dinner with feelings of confusion at the tension and emotions that seemed to be flowing between the two young nobles and wondering what further problems it might present to the already difficult situation.
*****************************
A week passed and Sakura went about her daily routine. She could only spare the time to visit the palace garden once during the week though she tried to make the time to go. She was disappointed to find him not there when she arrived and wondered why she felt so, but brushed the thought from her mind. She brought the injured bunny that she had named Kerberus with her. She had named him that because as he began to heal the bunny began following her around wherever she went seemingly guarding her. Now that he was fully healed, she had intended to set him free and brought him to the garden to do so, but when she set him down he just sat on the ground looking expectantly up at her.
"What are you waiting for?" Sakura asked the rabbit. "You're all healed now and can go home if you want." The rabbit stared up at her and twitched its nose before rising up on its hind legs and looking at her from that position. Exasperated Sakura bent down and began to push the bunny away toward the woods. Instead of running off as she expected him to do the rabbit instead craned its head and began nuzzling her hand. Sakura giggled happily and asked it, "Do you not want to go home?"
The bunny responded by hopping onto her lap. Sakura sat there stroking it and then asked, "Or are you like me and have no home to go back to? If that's the case, you can stay here with me." The rabbit snuggled up on her lap as she stroked it and feel asleep.
It was the heartbreaking scene of Sakura asking the bunny whether it had a home to go to that Syaoran walked into. His eyes softened as he gazed on the young girl that had not left his mind since he last saw her. For the entire week Syaoran visited the garden as often as he could to try and meet the girl that had gone through so much but remained cheerful. For some odd reason she inspired in Syaoran a sense of protectiveness and tenderness he had never felt toward any living thing. Somehow her cheerful smile had melted his cold heart and the thought of it had kept him for the most part amiable during the entire week. His servants wondered at the change in him, but fearing their good luck might end decided not to mention it to their usually taciturn king.
When he saw the scene before him Syaoran was tempted to step forward and comfort the young waif, but instead bided his time and waited a few moments. After the rabbit feel asleep Syaoran stepped out from behind the tree he was standing by and said softly, "You do have a home Sakura. You are welcome to consider this your home."
Sakura whirled around startled by his voice. Recognizing him she smiled brightly and replied, "Thank-you, my lord."
"Syaoran." Syaoran chided gently. At the confused look on Sakura's gentle face Syaoran clarified, "My name is Syaoran. I have asked you to call me that."
"Very well. Thank-you Syaoran. I will try to consider this my home from now on." Sakura replied.
"I'm glad to hear that." Syaoran told her blushing slightly at her smile. "I've missed you." He continued, "Is it that busy in the kitchens that you have had no time to come here more often?"
Sakura gasped inwardly. He had missed her? He had been coming here to see her? Her heart beat erratically at the pleasing thought, though why the thought was so pleasing and causing such odd reactions in her she did not know. Sakura just knew that his gentle voice and smile made her feel inordinately happy, a feeling she couldn't recall ever having and she had for the most part led a happy life. She knew that with her kingdom most likely having been destroyed and her friends and family mostly likely dead, she should not have been feeling happy, but the handsome young man before her gave her such feelings of security and warmth that she could not help having such emotions. Sakura looked down to hide the blush that was suffusing her cheeks and answered, "Yes, it has been rather busy lately. The royalty and nobility seem to hold banquets quite often."
Syaoran laughed at the answer knowing quite well the truth of those words since his mother had been holding one banquet after another to try and introduce him to young ladies of the court that might have been able to entice a marriage proposal out of him. He had born it with as much patience as he could, but the simpering females that were constantly being thrown at him were wearing out his patience. Now to know that those banquets had kept him from seeing Sakura made him feel even less charitable toward his mother and her banquets. Why do I care what happens to this girl? Why should my not seeing her bother me so much? True enough the banquets got on his nerves regardless, but the fact that they made Sakura have to work harder and deprived him of time spent in his company made him want to march into his mother's quarters and demand her to stop them immediately. The thoughts and emotions were beginning to disturb him greatly so he opted to change the subject and instead asked, "So what finally brought you out here?"
"I was planning on setting the bunny free but he doesn't seem to want to leave." Sakura answered relieved at the change of topic. For some reason her mentioning how busy the kitchens were thanks to the banquet caused the lord to laugh one moment then turn dark and forbidding the next and she was happy to get away from a topic that caused him to change moods so quickly.
"But he refuses to leave you correct? Figures feed them once and they keep coming back." Syaoran replied jokingly. He could not believe he was joking with her. It wasn't in his nature to joke.
"Yes, but he is very nice company. I have named him Kerberus." Sakura replied defending her little friend. "Is it okay for me to keep him?"
Syaoran looked speculatively at her wondering how a servant girl would know about the guardian beast from mythology. It was not something he was fairly sure was thought to servant girls, but of course considering that he rarely spoke more than a few words to any of his servants he wouldn't have known. Smiling down at her hopeful expression Syaoran replied, "Of course it is if he keeps you company."
"Thank-you." Sakura replied smiling. She felt so relaxed around the young man. She wondered who he was. She had heard of several lords during the weeks she was in Fauna and during the last week she had tried to listen for anything regarding a Lord Syaoran, but she heard nothing. She was sure he was a lord because of his rich clothing and refined mannerisms, but his rank remained a mystery to her. Though she admitted, she couldn't care less whether he was a lord or just a gardener since he was by far the nicest man she had ever met and save her father and Lord Yukito.
The bunny stirred in her lap and blinked its black beady eyes open. It hopped out of Sakura's lap and began hopping back toward the kitchen. A few feet from her it paused and turned around expectantly as if waiting for her to follow it. Sakura laughed at its antics, but realized that she had stayed at the cherry groove much longer than she had expected. Getting up she curtseyed to the young man and excused herself saying, "I believe that Kerberus is trying to tell me that it is time for me to return to the kitchens."
Syaoran smiled gently at her and with a gallant bow picked up her hand and kissed it lightly saying, "I thank-you for your company, my lady, but I shall take no more of your time." He then spoiled the effect by grinning broadly and saying, "Come back here more often. It is a relief to have someone to talk to that is not interested in only clothes, women, or marriage."
Sakura smiled understandingly. she knew quite well the type of conversations most of the nobility engaged in and had found it dreadfully boring when she was a princess. She could sympathize with his need to have someone to talk to, but wondered that he had no friends that he had no friends to talk about things other than clothes, women, or marriage with. She curtseyed to him and ran off back to the kitchens where she immersed herself in her daily routine and for the moment pushed her thoughts of the handsome young man out of her mind.
********************************
A.N. Quick question to ask you guys. Should I continue to develop the relationship between Sakura and Syaoran more or should I just get on with the story. Mind you, that I'm not even a quarter of the way through the actual fairytale yet, but I can continue at the slow pace and develop things more like I am doing now and straying from the story to write my own or go on with the plot and following the fairytale.