Author's note: Hello! And welcome to my new fic. This is a story I've put a piece of my heart on with every word and every chapter. I hope you readers will like it as much as I like writing it. It took a lot of time and determination to create a whole new world and take CLAMP's beloved characters into a whole new adventure, but somehow I'm managing so far.(poorly)

Anyway, before I start, I should warn you that this has a slow start. But if you don't mind that, then please go on.

Also, this story is rated T for a reason. It contains gore, adult themes and violence. Though I try to keep it to a minimal, if you are disturbed of those, then I'm afraid this fic is not for you.

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP. This story is a work of fiction, any resemblance it might have to a person, living or dead, places or real life events are purely coincidental.

Before a royalty is crowned King or Queen, he or she must choose his or her knight; his or her lifetime protector.

The sound of a door softly clicking shut pulled Sakura out of her reverie. Slowly, she raised her head from the book she was staring at and looked at the petite young lady who entered the room.

"Milady, you called for me?" The servant kept her head bowed as she spoke. It is, after all, forbidden for maids and servants to look at a royalty's eye–unless you want to have your head separated from your neck, of course. Sakura thinks that it's an arrogant rule, and she has already planned for that law to disappear once she is crowned Oueen.

"Yes," Sakura said. The maid was one of the few who were personally assigned to tend to her needs, and it irked her that she couldn't even ask her name. Biting back a sigh, Sakura's gaze left the girl drifted back on the cover of her closed book.

A Princess she may be, there are still far superior positions until her coronation. Sakura knew that a lot of people are hiding in the shadows, just waiting for her single mistake so they can overthrow her. She's not stupid enough to give them a single opening. "Has Lady Tomoyo arrived?"

Tomoyo is the daughter of a duchess who lives a few towns from the palace. She and Tomoyo has been friends since the latter and her parents came to their kingdom for business when they were six. If there's one person that Sakura can trust, it's Tomoyo.

"Not yet, your highness, but it is expected that she is to arrive soon," was the servant's timid reply.

"Please inform me immediately once she arrives. That would be all." The servant bowed and quickly exited the room, leaving Sakura to her thoughts once more.

Her coronation day is drawing near, but she hasn't been able to choose her knight yet. There is just no one who suits to her tastes, and since the title of the Queen's knight is such a valuable position, she couldn't afford to make one mistake.

Bearing that title gives the authority to command the military as well as the influence over the Queen's political decisions. Because of that, different kinds of cretins has been flocking around her left and right.

She has been searching for months, but all of them lacked credibility. Although there are some that showed promise, Sakura could feel something a little off about them, but she couldn't point it out. It was the lack of honor, perhaps?

A protector that came from a family of knights will be met with high praise, especially if her chosen one is of pure knightblood. There are five lineage of knightblood: Hiiragizawa, Shu, Minamoto, Yukki and Yamazaki. Three families has already presented their knight candidates and she has already judged them as she saw fit; the Shus are too arrogant, the Yamazakis talk too much, and the Minamoto showed forced chivalry. Sakura, together with Tomoyo, will be meeting the last two tomorrow. If all comes to worst, she'll be forced to go out of the palace and search on her own.

Though in this case, choosing a knight who did not come from the five lineage brings no disgrace, but in a more political sense, having someone of pure knightblood by her side as she ruled over her kingdom garners her more respect and recognition from other countries.

Sakura has little care for petty rules or petty bloodlines. For her, being a knight is in the heart. One needs no armor nor a newly polished sword to be protect someone. One look in the eye is all that it takes for her to see if the person is deserving of such a noble title. It might sound childish and fantastical, but it is not a lie.

In an act of near desperation she wrote a letter to Tomoyo for a plea of assistance. When it comes to information hunting, Tomoyo comes second to none. Her friend had responded immediately, saying that she'll be arriving in three days time. It has been too long since Sakura last saw her, and she had to admit that the walls of the palace has started to suffocate her.

Sakura opened her book once more and turned back to her reading. The book was about the history of her ancestors; the great contributions they made for their land and the names of their queens, children and their knight, all compiled by her father before his untimely death.

He was a king, as well as the greatest scribe in the country by the time of his rule. He was a great man, and he loved his children so. Sakura briefly closed her eyes at the memory of her father.

She gave out a sharp gasp as something soft and furry jumped on her lap and brushed against her arm. The book on her hands flew nearly halfway across the room. Pressing her palm to her chest to calm her breathing, she gave the offender a mock glare. The furball only purred and snuggled closer to her.

"Kero," Sakura said in a reprimanding way, "you shouldn't keep on doing that. You nearly gave me a heart attack! Were you here all along?" Kero meowed in response. "I didn't even notice you." laughing softly, Sakura gently took her cat off her lap and set it on the floor before standing up to retrieve her book.

It was left opened near the middle when it landed on the floor and as her eyes travelled over the page, there was a picture of her late ancestor, King Clow, drawn on the top left. She hasn't really gone much into reading about his life, but from what she heard from her father, he was one of the greatest kings that ever walked on their country. It was also rumored that he held the secrets to an ancient type of magic that hasn't been seen for over five hundred years.

Magic, huh, Sakura let her eyes wander over the room before setting her eyes upon a clay pot resting on the ledge of the window. It housed a small indoor plant that has been exposed under the sun for far too long. Slowly, she narrowed her eyes and concentrated on its withered leaves, and under her direct stare, the plant blossomed back to life…only to become lifeless again after she blinked and lost her concentration.

The Royal bloodlines are well known for having the ability to control magic. The Kinomotos used to govern the magic of the plants. The flowers, the trees and everything in nature were a part of them. But through the years, the practice of magic became taboo and since then magic-users diminished to a handful.

Her late grandmother commanded magic under her expert hands and when Sakura was a child, she showed the same affinity to nature as her grandmother did when she was but a girl. Her beloved grandmother wasted no time to try and teach her. However, she departed the world too soon and Sakura's magic was left raw and untouched.

Her grandmother always told her to be careful and to remember her words: For everything you give, there is something that you lose. Sakura hadn't understood her grandmother back then, but as the feeling of light-headedness and fatigue washed over her as soon as averted her gaze away from the plant, she has an inkling of what those words meant.

Taking deep but silent breaths, Sakura picked up her book and settled on her comfortable chair once more.

"He studied and discovered the secrets of an ancient form of magic which governed over the sun and moon…over the dark and the light." amazing! Sakura thought as she continued to read aloud. "Clow Reed's accomplishments were mainly focused on the practice of different forms of magic, and it is said that he invented some of his own!" Since her great grandfather outlawed magic during his reign and disposed of nearly all of its records in history, Sakura found it a bit difficult to believe, yet she trusted her father's work.

Magic must be everything back then… her thoughts trailed off as she stared at her palms. She had seen what her grandmother can do while using her abilities. Her memory was hazy, but what she saw back then was something breathtaking and beautiful. The way that she made the garden bloom over the snow-covered soil as if it was spring in the middle of winter left had her mouth agape and filled her eyes with childish wonder and excitement. She had hoped that she can do that someday as well.

She was about to turn back to the page where she left off when she realized something that made her eyes scan through Clow's history once again. Who was Clow Reed's knight? Her gaze moved back and forth through the whole section, scanning page by page to see if she had missed something, but nothing. There was no knight mentioned. How is that possible?

To be appointed as King without a knight by his side is the most unspeakable occurrence possible. It was simply contemptuous.

It sparked Sakura's curiosity, and she wanted—no, needed–to know more. However, the knock on the door followed by a servant's voice told her of Tomoyo's arrival. Gently, she closed her book and set it on the nearest table as she kept a mental note to return to it later.

Sakura stood and straightened her skirts before walking towards the door and pushing it open.

Two bowed servants immediately greeted her sight and wordlessly, she was led from her private study through the expansive hallways and finally outside the main entrance of the palace. She halted and stood atop the grand stairs which overlooked the beautiful garden that surrounded the whole palace.

On the bottom of the steps was an open carriage and emerging from it, guided by the coachman, was none other than Tomoyo. Her lavender eyes met hers as she looked at the top of the steps and smiled brightly. The servants bustled to and fro as they moved to fetch her belongings from the carriage and deliver it to her room.

Tomoyo gathered her skirts and made her way up the low steps, her heels barely making a sound as she walked through the granite. Once she reached the top, she wasted no second to engulf her most precious friend in a warm hug. She can tell that the Queen-to-be was surprised by her action as she noted the way her spine stiffened, but she didn't care.

"Oh Sakura," she gushed, "It has been so long!" Tomoyo released Sakura from her tight grip and held her an arm's length to look at her properly.

Her light brown hair has grown longer and she was a bit taller than before, yet her eyes had grown duller. The shining emerald shade of her eyes had somehow dampened and the stress was also evident in her face. Tomoyo would have strangled her–titles be damned–with her own hands had she decided to still not call for her in this state. Sakura has this bad habit of taking responsibility for things that aren't even in the control of her hands. It made her want to act like a worried matron, but she held herself in check.

"It's only been a year and a half, Tomoyo." Sakura laughed softly as she gently pried Tomoyo's hands off her and led her inside.

Tomoyo huffed, glaring at her, "We've been inseparable until your coronation was publicly announced. Then I was suddenly carted home like some–some livestock!" Sakura laughed. She certainly missed Tomoyo and her tendency to exaggerate things a little bit. "It's true!" The young woman added in a conceding tone.

"I remember you being summoned by your mother back then. It was simply a coincidence that my coronation was made public at the same time." Sakura smiled and continued to lead Tomoyo to her private quarters.

Tomoyo only scoffed and waved her hand in dismissal when Sakura offered to leave her to rest as soon as they arrived in the safety of her room.

"Nonsense!" She said as she sat in front of her vanity and started plucking the pins from her hair until it fell out of its bun. She took the brush and ran it through her ebony locks, all the while giving her the look that told her to start talking.

Had it been anyone but Tomoyo giving her that commanding look, Sakura would've sent for guards to throw the person out of the palace, but since Tomoyo's been by her side for as long as she can remember, she's willing to make the exception. She opened her mouth and started talking.

"That's why I called for you here." Sakura sat on the plush bed and sighed deeply.

Now that her hair was tangle free and down on her back just as she liked, Tomoyo set her brush down and walked over to Sakura. "If you were under so much stress, why didn't you call for me earlier?" She gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she sat beside her.

"I wanted to, but I can't. The threats were too dangerous and I couldn't put your life on the line. Akatsuki announced to the public that I had already chosen my knight a few weeks before to simmer the ruckus down and it worked, but now the people are demanding my appearance with the said knight. If word gets out that it was all a lie…" Sakura closed her eyes and released a shaky breath.

Tomoyo shushed her, "Now, now. Let's not think about that and focus on the matter at hand. Two more, right? And if that doesn't suit your tastes still then I will personally help you get past the walls." Tomoyo grinned. "By the way, I heard some rumors on my way here, do you want to hear it?"

Sakura's head perked up at that, "What is it?" Her brows furrowed. She doesn't even care if it would be silly or not, but hopefully it would take her mind off to somewhere for just a few minutes of peace.

"Apparently there's a gang of bandits rounding up in the capital. I hear they come at night to do evil then escape to the northern woods before the crack of dawn," Tomoyo paused, as if debating the credibility of the information, before she shook her head, "it's probably some petty news since the city looked the same last I saw it on my here. Although there are some renovations that happened here and there."

"It has to be false. If a crime like that happens, it's directly reported to me by Yomu. There's nothing going on beyond those walls that I haven't heard of," even as those words left her lips, doubt settled in the back of her mind. Her father's advisor wouldn't do something such as leaving her out of these matters, would he?

But then again, Sakura was never really fond of the older man.

"Tomoyo?"

"I'm on it." Tomoyo was on her way to the door in seconds, her dark curls swishing with every step she took. It reminded Sakura of her mother's hair, only Tomoyo's was a much, much darker shade. She only watched as Tomoyo opened the door and stepped out to the hallway.

However, just as she was about to close the door, Sakura found herself asking, "Do you ever use magic?"

To which Tomoyo only responded with a laugh before replying, "Don't be silly, Sakura. You know only people with Royal blood can use magic."

And just like that, Sakura was once again left with her own musings.

Author's note: it's been so long since I had the urge to write a fanfiction, and a CCS one! I personally think that this chapter is too short, but it's okay-ish for a start...?