Well, what do you know? It’s another chapter!

Warnings: OOCness, implied slavery/harem stuff, bestiality, oops… *hides*
Chapter 5

“Does Yue like anything at all?”

Return frowned. Time? Do you remember anything Yue-sama especially liked?

Well, he doesn’t eat, no flowers… he likes to sleep, I suppose, since it helps him forget, but guardians can’t really sleep and without the book…

“The book?”

Forget it. I should not have mentioned it. Time said. It is unfortunate, but Yue-sama only liked Clow….

Syaoran sighed. “I see…” He nodded in understanding and then quickly finished packing.

The next morning, he was awake when Yue called him.

“Yue-sama.”

“We ought to be on our way. Cerberus hates to be kept waiting.” Yue noted with approval that Syaoran was properly dressed in his new white robes. They did look rather nice, if purely aesthetic… he nodded as he held out a hand.

Syaoran hesitatingly took it, and then gasped as Yue took off into the air, wrapping his arms around the boy. * What – we’re flying there? *

Within several moments – the guardian could fly fast – they had arrived. An Arabian-style palace rose towards the sky, everything brightly gold and red. They landed and Syaoran hastily let go of Yue.

“Yue! You came!”

Syaoran blinked as a golden-mane lion with wings threw himself forwards into the fray. This must be Cerberus…

Behind the lion followed two spirits – a winged girl of flames – Firey, and another girl, Sweet. They were Cerberus’s favorites for two reasons – Firey helped him regain his true form, and Sweet satisfied his cravings.

Syaoran properly stayed back and watched with slight amusement as Yue removed Cerberus from his form. “Cerberus.”

“Don’t be such a grump, Yue! Come on, let’s go inside!” He stopped as he noticed Syaoran. “Who’s this?”

“He’s my newest attendant.”

“Mm, so you finally hired a mortal and he’s still alive? Well, about time! You can’t mourn forever!”

Instantly, the moon angel’s eyes hardened. Cerberus ignored his slip and started trying to drag Yue inside. “There’s this wonderful feast… come on it will be fun!”

“…”

Somehow, he had a feeling that accepting the invitation had been a trap, despite Firey’s words… or in spite of them…

Why was Cerberus suddenly so anxious for a visit?

He was dragged into an ornate room furnished with enough gold to drive a rich man blind. Several young girls in chemisettes and pants of red and gold carried in trays of delectable sweets. Cerberus immediately hopped to a large couch, settled himself on it, and began to devour a chocolate cake.

So his brother was still the same glutton as always…

Yue decided to be polite, and took his place on another divan, eyeing the servants coldly. Syaoran sat at his feet on a cushion, to be polite.

The kid has moon magic of some kind, that’s probably why Yue accepted him, Cerberus thought, as he stared. How interesting… perhaps…

A girl with black hair in two buns and pigtails proffered Turkish coffee. Yue declined, not bothering to glance over her, despite the fact that she was dressed in revealing silk.

Cerberus…. What had he been indulging in?

“You’re still not eating anything? Yue! Within food lies comfort!” Cerberus proclaimed. “You have to taste something!”

Yue shot Cerberus another frosty glare, but the sun guardian was well used to this. “Come on, I even had them make your favorite dish!”

Syaoran’s eyes flickered to the myriad of food laid out. This was important.

“Besides, you know how hard it is to get ice out here! You ought to be grateful!”

The girl from earlier had retreated and now offered a small tray, on which were several ices, different flavors…

So Yue liked ices? That seemed to fit well enough with his character.

Finally, the moon guardian reached out his hand and withdrew a dish of sherbet, lime, freshly squeezed over ice, a touch of sugar, a sprig of mint…

Meiling gave him an alluring grin, but he said not another word as he handed the glass to his attendant. Syaoran understood, and hid a scowl, as he tasted. Well… it was different, but Cerberus wouldn’t try to poison Yue, would he?

Nothing. Time whispered.

Syaoran nodded, and handed the vessel back quietly. Yue nodded, and then took a taste… Well not bad, Sweet had gotten it correctly….

The rest of the meal proceeded in silence. Cerberus made comments every few seconds, but they were mostly inane and Yue chose not to respond. Finally, Cerberus dismissed all except for Meiling and two other maids and began to converse seriously.

“It’s almost a hundred years, Yue. How long can you mourn, Yue?”

“I wished for Eternal Sleep. However, Master Clow chose not to grant that.” Yue replied. Cerberus sighed.

“I’m sure… well, I mean, you can find someone else, right?”

Syaoran winced. That was not a smart thing to say, even if he hadn’t known Yue long, Return had given him several tidbits of information, and now, by the minute contraction of Yue’s eyes….

He was quite angry…

“I mean the new attendant you have is pretty cute…”

Wait, what? He managed to keep his face blank and his composure, but Yue’s expression only served to get colder.

“I’m not quite sure I choose to understand your meaning, Cerberus.”

The guardian shrugged. “I simply choose to forget unpleasant things.”

“By engaging in your lusts?”

Cerberus’s eyes shot up in surprise. “How did you-?”

“It’s quite obvious, my dear Cerberus.” Yue’s every word dripped sarcasm. “Why else would you have all these beautiful young women in your Harem?”

The lion flushed, and Syaoran was very, very glad he was being quiet. He was completely unprepared when Yue yanked him onto the divan, and shot Cerberus a glare.

“Woah, wait! No need to get all grabby.” Cerberus grinned. “Boys aren’t really my taste though.”

He resisted the urge to glare at the guardian, reminding himself that it might sign his death warrant. That didn’t help much.

Yue shot another withering look at the attendants and felt slightly avenged as the girls shivered and almost scattered.

“Well, Cerberus, was there anything of actual import you summoned me for?”

“Not really. But you do need a vacation and to get out of that stuffy old castle once in a while! It will do you good!”

“… So you say,” Yue murmured. “So you say…”

End Chapter

Completed 5/25/05

Syaoran: Okay…

Phantomness: Eep!

Yue: *sighs*