Sealed In Our Fate...

Chapter 7 - On the Other Side of the Moon
It has been several weeks since Sakura was invited to come along to the trip. According Sakura's personal countdown, there is exactly 5 days before their big departure. During this long period of time, everyone has been hustling around the palace busy with their preparations. As promised, Sakura has been to the peony garden almost everyday, bringing her famous Japanese style dim sum to the Prince. But still, the Prince treated Sakura as cold as anybody else in the palace, so this didn't seem to be much of a shock for Sakura.

Early in the morning, Sakura had already been use to getting up earlier than most of the other servants in the house. She, quickly dressed herself with her clean servant clothing, smoothened her clean, shiny hair, then exited her room. She made her way to the main room of the house, then quickly fixed herself some breakfast. On her way to the kitchen, she already noticed that Meiling was already standing beside the counter. Come to think of it, Sakura hasn't seen Meiling for the past few weeks due to their busy schedule, and now Sakura was granted with the feeling of gladness to see her again. She immediately rushed over to her and threw a friendly hug to her.

"Meiling! It's so nice to see you!!" Sakura squealed.

Meiling, shocked by Sakura's sudden attack, replied, "Gosh, Sakura! You're choking me!" Sakura immediately let go, her face turning slightly red from what she just did. Meiling couldn't help giggling, and she had to admit that she sort of missed Sakura too.

"So, how did it go with you and the gardening?" Meiling asked casually. "And how has the Prince been treating you? I've heard that you've became closer to him."

"Oh, everything is just fine. And now, basically I'm making lunch for Prince Syaoran every other day, but he didn't really say anything to me except for giving me orders." Sakura explained. "I'm so excited to go on the trip!! I wonder what the Western princess and Empress is going to be like."

"You're going along in the trip?" Meiling practically screamed out. Just now, Sakura realized that she didn't tell Meiling that she was invited to the trip.

"Um, I guess I forgot to tell you," Sakura said. "The Empress invited me along to be one of their cooks."

"Wow!" Meiling exclaimed. "You're only here for a few weeks, and you've already got the rights of the nobilities!! Usually, the Empress would go through a series of selections to find the best servants and bodyguards to join the trip. But, a rookie like you is actually being chosen so soon! I'm truly amazed, Sakura!"

Sakura blushed slightly. "Well, it's nothing really." Suddenly, there was a loud growl coming from Sakura's stomach, signaling her hunger. Meiling sweat dropped, while Sakura laughed ridiculously at herself.

Meiling shook her head, slightly chuckling. "You want some breakfast? I've made plenty, so you may have some of mine too."

Without hesitating, Sakura immediately accepted. "Thank you, Meiling!!" She grabbed the plates and immediately dashed out to the dining room. She sets both plates on one of the tables, then sat down quickly to eat. Meiling, who just came out of the kitchen with a teapot, couldn't stop giggling. "You haven't changed at all, have you?" Both girls laughed for a while then started eating.

~*~

It was almost noon hour, and Sakura had once again, almost finished most of her work for the day. Today felt as if it was one of her happier days, especially after the reunion with Meiling this morning. She cheerfully finished the rest of her work, while humming audibly to show her great mood. Before she knew it, she already finished watering the whole garden. She clapped her hands onto her own clothes to rub off the dirt, then she wiped off the sweat her forehead with a handkerchief. "Ah, it's such a nice day today!" She stared at the glare of the afternoon sun, and gave out a big smile. "I guess it's time to cook!"

Sakura jogged towards the cottage and started preparing her famous lunch for the prince again. This time, for some reason, she made a lot more than last time and also added more flavor to the dim sum than usual. After a little while, she finished cooking lunch. She looked at her finished product, feeling very satisfied. "I hope the prince will enjoy this lunch!"

In a short while, Sakura was back at the garden, slowly walking towards the gazebo with her warm lunch. But, from a distance, she looked and saw no sign of the prince. When she got there, she gently placed the food on the empty table. She looked around, and still couldn't see the prince anywhere. "That's odd," she said, "He's usually here about this time of the day . . . hmmm, I guess I'll just wait for him here." Sakura glanced around the garden again then stepped aside to the corner waiting patiently for the arrival of the prince.

~*~

The day is almost over, and the sun is slowly disappearing behind the mountains. The sky is in a beautiful shade of blue, pink, and yellow all blended in together. Everyone around the palace had already gone back to their own houses, and getting ready to rest. Sakura, on the other hand, is still waiting inside the gazebo of the garden, waiting for Syaoran to come. The dim sum on the table is obviously cooled by the atmosphere, but the color of it is still very attractive. Sakura started to worry for the prince. 'Where could he have gone? He ordered me to come cook to him today, but why is he so late?' Sakura wondered if she should leave or not, but she's also worried that when she left, the prince would arrive. 'Should I go find him? But what are the chances of me finding him?' Sakura gave out a long sigh. 'Oh well, I guess I should head back to the servant's house. . .'

Sakura packed up the plate of food on the table and prepared to bring it back to the cottage. The sky was getting darker every minute, making it quite difficult to see the pathway, but Sakura still managed to find her way back to the old house ahead of her. She dropped the dishes in the wooden tub below the table, then took out a large bucket to retrieve some water from the well outside of the cottage. Before she moved another step, she suddenly smelled a strong aroma. . . . . . something very strong. She glanced around the room and wondered where the strong smell might have come from. When she walked towards the door leading to another room, the smell was stronger. She was sure the smell wasn't of any cologne or perfume, but it was a very peculiar essence: something that Sakura had never smelled before.

She slowly took the handle and thrust open the sliding door that lead to a room she had never knew existed. The first thing that came from the room was the scent; she immediately knew that it was the smell of top class liquor. The ground of that room was covered with wet spots, along with some empty beer jugs rolling around. The room was dimly lit, and night had approached already. Sakura took out a lighter from her pocket (a/n: I know there's no lighter in ancient China, but I couldn't think of another word ^^) and aimed it at the oil lamp on the table.

Soon, when the room was illuminated, Sakura could clearly see a figure of a man, who seemed to be asleep with his arms folded on the table and his head rested on his arms. His head was facing down, so Sakura couldn't identify him. She noticed that the scent of liquor was coming from him, and she guessed that he must've drank too much, considering the amount of empty beer jugs lying around the room.

Sakura gently tapped his shoulders. "Umm . . . . . . excuse me, are you alright?"

No answer.

Sakura could feel that he was fast asleep, so she slowly lifted him up. He was quite heavy, which took Sakura a while to get him sitting in proper position. When the man's face was revealed, Sakura had an instant shock when she realized it was him. Prince Syaoran.

"Prince Syaoran!" Sakura shrieked. She was shaking with fear, not knowing what she should do with an unconscious prince laying in front of her. She looked around the room, and luckily found a haystack at a corner that could be used as a bed. But the only problem is, how to get him there from the table.

'He's too heavy,' Sakura thought. But she couldn't leave him sitting there without proper care, so she must at least attempt to carry him over to the haystack. She gripped her hands around his waist, then pulled as hard as she could. His body shifted out of the chair immediately, but Sakura wasn't strong enough to support his whole entire weight. Almost instantly, Sakura collapsed onto the ground, along with the prince who fell on top of Sakura. . . . . . still unconscious.

Sakura's heart rushed when she noticed that the Prince had fell on her. Her face was growing beet red, and she noticed that his face was only about an inch away from hers. He was still buried deep inside his sleep, so it left Sakura helplessly trying to get out of the position she's in right now. Sweat broke all over Sakura, and her heart was beating faster that she has ever experienced. She pulled, and pulled, and pulled with all her might, and finally freed herself from his body weight.

She felt relieved and was gasping for air after using most of her strength already. But still, her heart was beating very rapidly, since this is the first time that she had ever been in such close contact with any man. She stared at the sleeping face of the prince, and was sort of glad that he wasn't conscious enough to witness what had just happened.

After her short break, Sakura gripped her hands again on his waist and started pulling his body towards the haystack at the corner. This time, it was much easier pulling, so in a short while, Sakura had settled the prince on top the haystack.

She quickly went out the door, grabbed the bucket, and retrieved water from the well. In less than a minute, she returned with a bucket full of water. She grabbed a cloth from the table, and dragged the bucket inside the room and placed it beside where the prince laid. After soaking the cloth with water, she gently dabbed the cloth on the prince's face. He grunted a little, but Sakura continued washing.

When she finally finished, Sakura stayed where she is and took a moment to rest. She stared straight at the prince's face, and suddenly, it made her heart jump. This is the first time Sakura had seen such a clear look at him, and also the first time that Sakura had noticed how handsome the prince was. She gently brushed his hair away from his face, and took an even longer look at him. 'Why did you drank so much?' she wondered.

Suddenly, before she took her hands away, the prince's hands grasped her very tightly. Sakura tried to pull her hands away from his, but it was no use; he was holding her too tight. Sakura felt uneasy about this, but she noticed that the prince was still asleep. His expression changed into a very worried look.

"Xiao Ling. . ." he called in a very weak voice.

Sakura was confused. 'Xiao Ling? What is he talking about?"

"Xiao Ling. . . don't leave. . . . me. . . . . Xiao Ling!" he continued calling out.

Sakura looked puzzled, since the prince was still fast asleep, but talking at the same time. 'Could he be having a nightmare? Or is he saying this because he's drunk?'

"You were. . . . my only. . . friend. . ." The prince continued. "You're the only one. . . . . I'm going to marry. We've promised. . . ." Suddenly, he wrapped both of his hands around Sakura's body then pulled her towards him in a tender embrace.

Sakura nearly shrieked, but instead, she just blushed even more. She was being held inside the prince's warm body, under his warm breath.

"Don't. . . . leave . . . . me. . . ."

~*~

The next morning approached very quickly. The morning sunlight woke gradually woke Sakura up. She didn't realize it, but she had spent the whole night sleeping inside the prince's arms. Again, her heart was beating fast as ever when she noticed that the prince still had his arms around her, the same way as last night. She gently lifted his arms away, trying her hardest not to wake him up, while trying to free herself at the same time. But, she failed at doing this, because the prince was also awakened by the morning sun.

When he found himself holding Sakura, the prince immediately pushed her away, making her collapse onto the ground. "What are you doing here? Why was I. . . . holding on to you? What happened?" He ordered, his face looking confused.

"I. . . . I found you drunk in this room. . . . so I put you down at the haystack so you can rest. . ." Sakura stammered.

"Drunk. . ." The prince repeated. There was a long silence, and he finally remembered what happened to him yesterday before he was became unconscious.

"Yes, your highness. . ." Sakura added.

"I see. . .but. . .what were you doing here. . .beside me?" The prince asked.

"It was because. . .you called out someone by the name of Xiao Ling, then suddenly, you held me very tightly. . ." Sakura stopped and looked away.

The prince was shocked. "What. . . what else did I say when I was unconscious?"

Sakura hesitated, but answered, "Well. . .nothing much. . .actually. . ."

There was an even longer break of silence. The prince looked away into something else, and not believing that he had said such things.

Sakura, who was dying of curiosity, sheepishly asked, "Who is. . . .Xiao Ling?"

"It's none of your business!!" The prince roared back, causing Sakura to shut her eyes. There were small traces of tears running down her cheeks.

Sakura was terrified by his scream. She didn't know what to do or say next, so she just sat where she was with her eyes closed. Suddenly, a soft and gentle hand touched her, making her feel a little better. She opened her eyes, and found herself face to face with the prince. . . his face looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry. . ." the prince said softly. Sakura was shocked by that he actually apologized. He continued, "My mother and I had an argument yesterday about my marriage, but I became so angry that I came here and just started drinking. . ." He looked down, his face still the same expression. "Please, don't mention of this to anyone else in the palace. I would be really grateful."

It was the first time that Sakura had seen the prince talking so softly to her. Those words eased Sakura's heart, and it also surprised her too. She wiped her tears away, and nodded gently.

The prince stood up, and approached the door. Before he headed out the door, he added, "Thank you. . . for taking care of me last night. . ."

Sakura felt as if her confidence was regained. She smiled back and quietly replied, "You're welcome. . ."



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