Hi I'm back! Just a really short story while I'm struggling with writer's block. I hope all of your holidays went well and everyone is having fun.
For those who read my first story, "Second in Command:" yes, Nadeshiko is older than Sakura and Syaoran's son, but not by much. Thank you for all those who reviewed.
The followingstory was not my idea, as always. This is from a folk tale from Norway called "The Storehouse Key in the Distaff." Again, I haveno original thought in my head.
Finding a Wife
King Li Syaoran designs a way to find an industrious wife.
Thoughts are in italics.
Once upon a time in a land not that much different from ours, there was a kind-hearted king who desired a wife. He wanted someone to keep him company in his loneliness,a companion he could have a conversation with (besides his four overzealous sisters, of course).
Now King Li Syaoran did not desire a beautiful wife, for we all know that beauty fades over time. No, he wanted a wife who was industrious, hard working, and kind. A kind and dilligent woman was worth more than 100 beautiful women in his eyes.
Where would this kind of strange thoughts come from, you ask? A king that did not want a beautiful wife? Preposterous! Not for King Li of course, for he learned everything from his wise mother and the rest of his family.
Syaoran was proud of the fact that his family ran their household…well, just a little abnormally. He and his sisters, though educated with the finest tutors in the land, also performed their own chores around the house. And you thought all kings lived in castles! As a child he hated this strange rule. Shouldn't Kings have hundreds of servants at his every beck and whim? But as he grew older he knew it taught him patience and an appreciation for the simpler things in life.
Still there was the issue of a wife…
But how would he go about finding someone industrious? He certainly could not approach a girl and ask, "Are you a hard worker?" She would say yes every time, especially if he, a king, asked!
His amber eyes flashed with annoyance.
He certainly couldn't pick someone of noble blood. All they did was count the strokes the comb made through their hair and play with golden balls all day. They assuredly were not hard working at all!
Fortunately for him, the Li elders granted him to seek a wife of any class. They too knew the benefits of marrying outside royalty and the clan had all the money they needed. (AN: I know, highly unlikely but this is a fairy tale, after all).
As he was pondering his dilemma, he bumped against his sister carrying an empty spindle.
When she realized to whom she had bumped into, Fanren excitedly exclaimed, "Baby brother!" Syaoran of course groaned at her name for him. Even though he was taller than her by a head, she still insisted on calling him that.
"Guess what I found? You know the ruby ring that I had lost three weeks back? I found it! Apparently it had tangled itself into the spindle when I was winding it. I didn't find it until I had used up all the thread sewing a shirt for you!"
The King, quite endearingly rolled his eyes at his older sister. Of course with her forgetfulness she was likely to lose things so easily. The silken threads, when unraveled from a silkworm cocoon, had to be wound around a spindle in order to keep from tangling up when someone was sewing on a loom. When all of the threads were used up in sewing, a new full spindle replaces it and the empty one is wound again with more thread.
"Well if you weren't so lazy, you would have found it much earlier" he teased her.
Playfully she hit him.
"I guess," she grudgingly admitted, "If I had been more hard working it would have saved me at least a week of worry."
More hard working…
"Eureka!" Syaoran shouted. Suddenly whirling his sister in a circle, he graciously gave her a kiss on top of her head. "You're a genius, Fanren!"
He rushed out of the room leaving a gaping and very confused older sister in his wake.
So far that's it. It'll probably end in the next chapter.
Until then...review!
Grignard