Sealed In Our Fate...

Chapter 6 - Early Arrangements
"You have anymore questions?" Meiling questioned. "Because I'm dying to get some sleep now, and if you don't mind, I'm going to kick you out now."

Sakura smiled slightly back at Meiling. "Sure, perhaps I'll need some rest too. Good night, Meiling."

"Good night, Sakura," Meiling said back, then both girls went back to their rooms and slept for the night.

Chapter 6 - Early Arrangements

The next morning, Sakura was awakened by the brightness of the morning sun that peered through her eyes, illuminating the entire room. Sakura jumped out of her bed excitedly as she looked out the window to catch a view of the rising sun.

"Good morning . . ." She whispered to herself, as she thinks about her family once again, picturing their usual morning routines. "(Sigh) I guess I might as well get ready and report to Eriol as soon as possible!"

She hustled her way through the room to find some suitable clothes. The minute she opened her closet in the corner, it was piled with clothes, all shimmering with different bright colors. All the robes and long dresses were new material made with incredibly fine fabric. Sakura's jaws dropped when she discovered the small treasure of clothing, since she has never worn anything other than her old and torn brown robe. Without another word, Sakura chose the pink robe that was neatly folded in the corner and slipped it on herself. It was a perfect fit, as if it was customized for her. She twirled around the room with excitement, admiring the beauty of her servant's clothing. After a while, she took a final look at the mirror beside her closet, smiled again then ran out the room.

Before she went to the main room, Sakura decided to drop by Meiling's room to show her the new discovery of her clothing. When she was about to knock, she could already hear the thundering snores coming from the room. Immediately known as Meiling's snores by Sakura, she giggled and let herself in Meiling's room. Sakura walked towards the bed in the corner, and found Meiling still wrapped deeply in her sheets and deeply sleeping. After another giggle from Sakura, she gently shook Meiling's shoulders and said, "Hurry and get up, Meiling, so we won't be late on our first day of work."

Meiling grumbled, then covered her face under the blanket as if she was still fast asleep. Sakura shook her head and attempted again. "Get up, you sleepy head, or else I'll drag you up!"

She could hear Meiling growling from beneath the sheets then she slowly lifted herself up like a zombie. Her eyelids still half closed, Meiling replied back. "What's up with you being so bright and early all of a sudden? And I thought you were always the one being late too."

Sakura blushed at the remark. "Well, I just don't want to be an inefficient person. My mother always told me that the best way to gain confidence from someone is to show them your own confidence, and in this case, I'll have to be on time."

"Yeah, yea, whatever. . ." Meiling answered back lightly. "Now that I'm awake, I'll meet you at the main room in a bit."

"Ok," Sakura said brightly. "But don't go back to sleep!" The two of them smiled at the remark, then Sakura left the room and headed towards the main room.

When Sakura finally found her way to the main room, Eriol was already sitting in the dining area, waiting patiently for Sakura. She hustled her way to the table Eriol reserved for her, and greeted him. "Good morning, Eriol! I'm sorry for making you wait for me!"

"That's alright," he replied with his usual calm voice. "I just woke up early this morning. You are a very punctual person, Sakura, and I believe that it's the first thing everyone should learn when they come to work."

"Hai," Sakura said cheerfully. Just then, she heard her stomach growl slightly, which made her blushed a little.

"You must be hungry," Eriol commented, "I've made you some breakfast already, here come with me to get it!"

"Oh, how can I accept breakfast from an upperclassmen when I'm the one who's suppose to cook breakfast for you?" Sakura piped up. She gave a very worried look at Eriol.

"It's fine, Sakura. Let's just say this will be my treat for you, since it is your first day of work." Eriol words eased up Sakura, while he approached the kitchen to get some food. The kitchen was incredible. The size of it is almost as big as the main room itself. Everyone was hustling around to make breakfast so they won't be late for work. Sakura found two dainty plates of food at the counter, and she knew already that those were what they were going to have for breakfast.

"There it is," Eriol pointed towards the two plates. "If you don't mind grabbing my plate to the dining area, I'll make us both some tea."

Sakura smiled back, then she carried their food back to their tables. In a little while, Eriol also came back out with his little teapot and two cups clutched in his arms. "Have you ever had any Chinese food before, Sakura? I heard that you came from Japan, am I correct?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, her tone felt as if she was a little depressed over the fact. "But the food here is not much different than the ones in Japan. They look very delicious!"

"Hurry and eat up! We have a big day ahead of us!" Eriol reminded.

"Oh," Sakura suddenly remembered. "About the trip to Western China. . .is it just a rumor?"

"You heard about it too? I was just about to tell you about it," Eriol took a sip of his tea. "The Empress and the Prince is going to make a visit to Western China due to some national issues. We were in war for many generations, but until present day, our Empress and the Western Empress has decided to become friends instead of enemies. But I'm sure there was rumors about the Western Princess being the most beautiful woman there, and there were some plans being made about her marriage with our Prince Syaoran."

"So, it was not a rumor. . ." Sakura murmured to herself.

"The Empress and the Prince is going to leave in about a month, so now we have to make lots of preparations."

"A month?!?" Sakura was shocked, considering that she left her home with only one day's notice. But with a month of time, she was sure that there would be plenty of time.

"Yes, a month. Well. . . actually, the packing and preparations wouldn't take that long, but the time is used mostly to find the most suitable servants to go on this long trip, and also to find a very elegant and expensive gift for the Empress of the West." Eriol further explained.

"Ohhh. . ." Sakura nodded then finished eating her breakfast with Eriol quickly.

"Let's get to work!" Sakura cheerfully said. "I'll be working at the peony garden after I wash the dishes!"

Eriol smiled at her cheerfulness then disappeared in the hallway.

~*~

"Sou totteoki no. . . honey. . ." Sakura hummed to herself while she's watering the flowers. Her first day was going by pretty well, since she had already watered a quarter of the garden just in the first half of the day. She gently sprinkled the water on top of the flowers, while the drops delicately bounced off the leaves and into the black soil. Then, she sprinkled some fertilizer from another bucket onto the same flowerpot. She seems to be enjoying this work very much, and on the other hand, she was happy that she could actually make some money to support her family. Her mood lightened up even more as she approached to the next flowerpot.

Then, in the corner of her eyes, she saw two tall figures approaching her direction. She thought it must be Eriol and Meiling, so she didn't even bother to turn around and immediately blurted out, "Hi Eriol, Meiling!!! How's work today? Yea, I'm doing fine!! At this rate, I'll finish all my work before sun set!!" She continued to water her garden blindly, not noticing the two tall figures standing in front of her was the Empress and the Prince.

"Ahem. . ." The Empress cleared her throat as a signal to Sakura, who was suddenly shocked by her low voice. Cold sweat broke around her face, as she already knew the two in front of her wasn't her two friends. She looked up at them, and when she recognized their faces, she immediately dropped down on her knees and greeted, "E-Empress!! And Prince Syaoran!!"

Sakura's was trembling, realizing the stupid act she just did. 'Oh, no!' She thought to herself. 'Sakura Kinomoto, why are you so stupid? This is the third time already!! How can I screw up so badly in front of the Empress and Prince again! God, please help me!!'

"Please, we would like some tea and snacks to be delivered at once," The Empress ordered, while walking gracefully with the Prince to the gazebo.

"H-Hai!" Sakura replied, feeling slightly uneasy. She slowly looked up at the back to the Empress and the Prince, and at the same time wondering why she wasn't scolded for her misbehavior. Then, when Sakura turned to look at the Prince who was beside the Empress, she suddenly noticed that she's eye to eye with him. They stared at each other for about a few seconds then both quickly looked away.

Sakura's heart was beating very fast, and she found herself sweating all over. She quickly got up and ran towards the cottage to get the tea and snacks for them. On her way, her heart kept on beating faster than ever with the face of the prince running through her mind several times. 'Why is my heart beating so fast?' She asked herself, but even deep down herself, she couldn't find the answer. His amber eyes are the most beautiful ones that Sakura had ever seen, and she could've sworn that the feeling she had during those short seconds was very warm and comfortable. 'I must've worked too hard today. . .' she concluded, then entered the cottage.

After a while, Sakura walked down to the garden with a plate of dim sum, along with a china teapot that contained their beverages. She walked steadily across the path of the garden, and finally to the gazebo where the Empress and Prince sat. Sakura placed the food on the table and then called out, "The snacks and tea are ready, your majesty."

"Excellent," The Empress replied. "This is exactly what I wanted. . .Syaoran, why don't you have some dim sum as well while we discuss the issue?"

The Prince bowed his head low. "Yes," Then he reached out his hand and helped himself to the tea first. The scent of the top quality oolong tea fanned its way across the whole garden, sending a very comfortable sensation into the atmosphere. The Prince took a sip of the tea then turned the rest of his attention into his mother.

The Empress, also taking a sip from her teacup, began. "First, I have something very important to tell you. I have already made arrangements with the Empress of the West towards your future. Through many nights of discussions, we have decided that both you and the Princess of the West shall marry."

After the Empress's words, there was silence hanging in the air. Sakura, who stood at the side, heard every single word from the Empress. She was shocked herself too, and when she looked at the Prince, she noticed he was gritting his teeth.

"Why did you make the decision so sudden. I'm not interested in a bride yet, let alone a Western Princess." The Prince stated.

"That," the Empress explained, "is way beyond my control. You will have to understand, Syaoran, that this marriage is very important for the sake of both Eastern and Western China. We must come up with some sort of agreement, or else the civil war will continue and it would be a great loss for the entire country. Syaoran, do you understand the importance of this marriage? It's the only way to tie up our relationship."

"But, why me?" The Prince argued. "I mean, why can't you just make friends with the Western Empress?"

"That is out of the question!" The Empress snapped. "I have already made the arrangements, and you must marry the Princess whether you like it or not! Now, calm down Syaoran, and take this as a fact!"

Sakura, who was still standing invisible at the side, listened to the entire conversation. The Empress took a deep breath, then reached over and picked up a cherry-blossom-shaped dumpling. The very moment after she ate it, she was amazed. "Wow, these are the most wonderful dumplings I've ever tasted! Who made these?"

Sakura immediately kneeled down in front of the Empress. "I-I made the dumplings, your highness."

The Empress looked down at Sakura. "Hmm. . .you're new around here. Your name's Sakura right? You do cook very good as a young woman."

"Th-thank you." Sakura replied and found herself shaking very badly. "These dumplings are my mother's special recipes."

"Ah, I see." The Empress said. "Since you make such fine tasting food, I've decided to bring you along to our trip. Would you be interested to come?"

Sakura thought she was about to drop dead. "But, your majesty, I'm just a new servant in the palace. I don't have enough experience yet."

"I insist you come. Experience doesn't matter, as long as you are quick minded." The Empress told her.

Sakura couldn't think of another way to decline, so she agreed. "I'll do my best. . ."

"Great! Now, I'll let you go for the rest of the day, so you can start getting ready for the trip as well. You may proceed now." The Empress ordered then got up from her seat. "Syaoran, I hope you will consider what I've just talked to you about and become ready to long road trip." After her words, she gracefully walked away, leaving the Prince alone in the gazebo.

Sakura was still standing silently at the side, this time she watched the Prince who was grunting angrily. He drowned himself with the whole entire pot of tea then he started eating away rest of the dumplings on the plate. Sakura waited till the very end, watching the Prince's every motion and until he finished the last bite, he called, "Hey, you over there!"

Sakura went up to him and replied, "What can I do for you?"

"You cooked these, right?" He asked, while glaring at her and pointing at the empty plate that once contained the cherry-blossom-shaped dumplings.

Sakura felt uneasy of his glare, but answered anyways. "Y-yes."

The Prince nodded, and said. "Not too bad. . . . . . I would like you to make these for me again tomorrow when I visit this garden again."

Sakura thought she heard him wrong, because those were the last word she'll suspect coming from the Prince. "S-sure. . . . . . no problem. . . ."

The Prince nodded again, then left the garden. Suddenly, Sakura's heartbeat raced within her body again. This is the first time she had heard the Prince talked nicely to her, and this time he complimented her too. Sakura felt unusual, but very happy at the same time. A smile appeared on her face, bringing back the confidence within her since she thought the Prince and Empress would never be fond of her. After she quickly cleaned up the dishes and plates, she trodden her way back to the servant's house.



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