Destiny
By: Sakura aka Michelle
Chapter 13

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Sakura sat on a stool near the window and leaned on her folded arms on the window sill and stared gloomily into the darkening sky. A thunderstorm was raging ahead and the occasional thunders and lightning never failed to make Sakura wince. It was already mid afternoon but not even a hint of the sun’s rays could be seen on the land and Sakura sighed heavily; the trip to Kinomoto land was postponed till further notice as the weather made it risky and dangerous for travelling.

Tomoyo had forced her to dress in the gown of latest fashion that complemented her fair complexion and bring out the shine in her emerald eyes. She had also dabbed a hint of rogue on her cheeks and lips and Sakura wondered why Tomoyo had done this even though they were not making the trip to her homeland till further notice. Sakura sighed and continued to watch as fat raindrops continue to pelt and slid down the closed window panes.

Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head to look at its owner. Eriol was looking down at her with a warm and understanding smile, and then he pulled over another stool to sit beside her. “A penny for your thoughts,” Eriol said as he too looked out of the windows. “It’s a dreadful storm,” he remarked. “I assure you it will pass in a day or two, or perhaps even earlier if the storm is being kind to us. So, do not worry about the ongoing in the Kinomoto castle; I am sure Syaoran is already there to take a look and help out.”

“I can’t help but be worried,” Sakura murmured softly as she continued to stare at the dark clouds that refused to go away. “I have been away for too long. Ten years is a very long time…”

Eriol nodded compassionately and remembered the times when his wife told him about the tales and adventures she had had with Sakura when they were young. Mischievous and kind hearted were the very words Tomoyo had used to describe her missing cousin and he could always hear the longing in her voice whenever she mentioned about Sakura and the little trembles in her voice told him just how much she had missed her. He also remembered her expression when she was first told that Princess Sakura had returned to the Kinomoto kingdom about a month ago; she was extremely elated to hear such goods news of her cousin’s return that she literally flew to the Kinomoto castle alone to take a look at her to assure herself that her cousin was back. However, her cousin could not remember anything about her at all. Devastated, she had returned to the Hiiragizawa castle crying her hearts out, deeply hurt that her cousin had forgotten something so significant to her.

“Indeed it ten years is a very long time,” Eriol replied and leaned against the wall beside the window comfortably. “However, there are certain things that do not change no matter how long time has passed.”

Sakura quirked an eyebrow at Eriol’s statement and confusion marred her expression. Eriol only had to take a look at her to know how she felt, even though he had just met her the day before, and the expression she had on her face was so adorable that Eriol had to fake a cough to muffle his chuckles. That earned him a frown from Sakura and a discreet cough from Tomoyo, who had just entered the throne room.

“I can see that the two of you are enjoying yourselves together,” Tomoyo remarked dryly, glaring at Eriol for teasing the ever clueless Sakura. “What had you laughing so?” she directed the question to her husband, who had moved to her and guided her to the vacant seat beside Sakura with a hand on her elbow.

“We were just discussing how long ten years were,” Eriol answered with a grin. “And I mentioned that some things never change despite many years had passed.”

Understanding lit up in Tomoyo’s deep violet eyes and she blinked at Sakura, who remained confused over the current topic of conversation. It was Tomoyo’s turn to giggle and she made no effort to hide it. Sakura pouted, “What are the two of you talking about?”

“You are still as clueless, aren’t you?” Tomoyo explained in the midst of her fits of giggles. “That never changes!”

Sakura made a face at them but she was not offended by that observation. Indeed, she had always been clueless but the mischievous spark and the tendency to get into trouble was still present. That explained why she was often picked on by Meiling over at the Li castle. “And never will,” she added with pride and then started laughing together with Tomoyo. Eriol just smiled at the two of them and thought that the two of them really hit off well together and can be considered as natural sisters.

Suddenly, Sakura stood up and excused herself, saying that she wished to take a nap in her room. Tomoyo blinked and stared as Sakura retreated from the throne room before turning to Eriol, “I have never known Sakura to take a nap in the afternoon before since she was four years old. This is weird.”

Eriol enfolded Tomoyo in his arms and rocked them side by side, his eyes closing as he breathed in the scent of Tomoyo’s sweet perfume. “Perhaps she is feeling a little tied,” Eriol commented. “After all, there is nothing for her to do here.”

Tomoyo, as if pleased with his explanation, nodded her head and leaned further into the embrace of her husband, savouring their closeness.

Meanwhile, Sakura had other ideas. Instead of going back into her room to take a nap, she went there to change into a set of more comfortable clothes and fetched a cloak. She would need it to counter the heavy rain. Then, she rushed to the stables outside the castle and instructed the stable boy to saddle a horse for her, ignoring the rain that was drenching her to the core. Sakura gulped at the size of the horses in the stable and suddenly wondered if it was a good idea to ride a horse without and practices or experiences. She dismissed her doubts in an instant, figuring out that nothing could be gained without taking on any risks.

The stable boy, upon receiving her instructions, looked at her worriedly as if he could read her thoughts. He was uneasy about this whole thing of letting out one of his king’s horses to a fine looking lady like Sakura. He started stammering in his haste to explain his situation regarding the horses in the stables.

“My lady! I’m afraid I can’t fulfill your request without the approval from the King!” He almost wailed in desperation. It was the first time he had encountered such a difficult situation and he was at a loss of what to do. “Please kindly get a letter of approval from the King before coming back again for the horses.”

“What if I told you that the king and I are relatives, not to mention that Queen Hiiragizawa is my cousin?” Sakura asked and watched as the eyes of the stable boy blinked in confusion then turned wide. “And they would permit me anything that I want? Would you help me to gather any horse? I am really desperate for time,” Sakura explained and then surveyed her surrounding, making sure that no other people were around to witness the exchange. She could not believe that she was resorting to threaten the boy with her relationship with Eriol. “I will shield you from any consequences. Bring me a quill and paper and I will write a note of explanation for you.”

The stable boy was very reluctant but relented to Sakura’s wishes. He quickly retrieved a piece of paper and a quill, along with a bottle of ink for her. Sakura put wrote on the paper against the wall of the stable, aware of the stable boy who was hovering behind her and trying to see what she was writing. She briefly scribbled a note explaining that she was going ahead to the Kinomoto castle and that they should not worry about her. Upon finishing the note, she folded it and passed it to the stable boy.

“Pass this to the King or Queen and they will understand. I specifically wrote in this note that I threatened you to prepare a horse for me,” Sakura explained and the stable boy nodded his head and went to do what Sakura had wanted. He quickly saddled a horse and walked it to the front of the stable where Sakura was waiting under the roof. Sakura hesitated before the huge horse and was started when the stable boy bent on one knee right beside the horse, thinking that Sakura needed help up on the horse. Of course she needed help because she had never rode on a horse before and never even got so close to any horse before. However, she could remember that Syaoran was a skilled horse rider as he used to take training over at the Li castle though Sakura herself was not interested in such a skill. Now she regretted not attending those lessons with Syaoran.

Sakura thanked the stable boy as she used his thigh as a stepping stone to mount the horse. She congratulated herself when she was seated safely and the stable boy passed her the reins. “Can you point me the direction which I must take in order to reach Kinomoto lands?” Sakura asked, accepting the reins cautiously but before the stable boy could answer, the horse suddenly went out of control, perhaps being spooked by small creatures under its feet, and went dashing aimlessly ahead into the rain.

Sakura stifled a scream and tried to pull on the rein to control the horse but to no avail and was left thumping on the horse’s back like a useless baggage. Somewhere along the route, Sakura lost hold on the rein and she frantically grabbed the horse’s neck to keep her seat or risk being thrown off the horse’s back.

Luckily, the horse calmed down in the middle of nowhere and Sakura quickly dismounted, rubbing her sore bottom to ease the discomfort of the horrifying riding experience and shivering in her drenched clothing. Sakura did not know where she was and had no choice until someone came along so she guided the horse to the trees along the path to hide from the heavy rain. She crouched down and leaned against the tree, hugging herself to keep her warm as the sodden cloak provided little protection against the cold. Sakura regretted her impulsive action and wondered if there would be anyone who would be travelling in this isolated path in the middle of the heavy storm.

Just then, Sakura thought she heard some rumbling noises like those from trotting horses and she became alert, sitting upright and craned her neck to check both sides of the road for any travelers. She dashed right into the middle of the path when she sighted a lone rider who was going on the roads at a very fast speed. She flung her arms wide and then started waving frantically in hope that the rider would spot her.

The rider spotted her with much difficulty in the bad weather condition and swore viciously when he spotted her within close range and veered sharply to the right, avoiding a crash with Sakura, by pulling hard on the reins. The horse whined its protest at being mishandled but the rider soothed it with a calm pat on its neck.

“What do you think you are doing in the middle of the road in a storm?” The rider asked as he glared at Sakura, who cringed in response. “If I am not alert I would have ran my horse over you! Do you understand how dangerous this is, little girl?”

“I’m not a little girl!” Sakura exclaimed angrily and then rashly lifted her leg to kick the man’s shin. It was one thing to be reprimanded for lack of cautiousness and another to be called a little girl. She had hated being called a little girl since she was young as she wanted to grow up as quickly as possible to become as beautiful as her mother was. She was the goddess in little Sakura’s eyes. She paused suddenly, recalled the familiarity of the situation, noticing that the man had stopped his ranting to stare at her too. She seemed to have seen the man somewhere before…

She let out a screech of indignation as the man pulled her up with ease to place her right in front of him on the horse. She was startled when the man pulled her into a tight hug and she stopped fighting him.

“Touya ‘nii-sama?” Sakura asked softly, finally recalling someone who would hold her like this when she was upset.

“Ten years… Ten years,” the man said brokenly, tremors shaking throughout his strong frame.

Without any more exchanges, the man guided his horse and trotted down the path that leads back to Hiiragizawa castle.