[For heading, see Chapter 1]


3. In Which Something is Discovered that Changes Things



I pointed to Clow’s chair. It sat empty in the middle of the room, facing the
cherry tree that was directly outside the window. The man stepped closer and
touched it. The dust came off on his fingertips.

“How long?” he asked simply.

“Since January,” I said, feeling the words catch in my throat as I collapsed on
the ground. I folded my wings around me, to protect me from the emotions that
surged through me and failed. I felt hands pry my wings apart and him hug my
form and hold me as he shook.

“Alright. I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have come sooner... but the grounds
don’t really need a groundskeeper in winter.”

“You’re the groundskeeper?” I asked.

The man nodded and smiled lightly. He was much older than Clow had been when
he’d died. Gray hair clung to brown wisps as they melded together to form a
catacomb of hair that hid his eyes.

“You never saw me? I saw you plenty,” he laughed. “Sleeping in the garden.” I
nodded childishly. Of course. That was why he wasn’t afraid of me. Bending down,
he placed two logs on the fire and added tinder, followed by dried moss from a
bowl at the side of the fireplace.

“Watch carefully,” he said and struck two small rocks together. A flame darted
into the moss and a moment later, a blaze roared in the hearth.

“Different than magic?” I asked softly.

“I suppose,” he replied. “You act like you’re waiting for orders.”

“I am,” I said, relieved.

The man paused and poked the fire before pulling a curtain in front of it, “I
don’t give orders.”

I tilted my head to the side for a second and fluttered my wings in
exasperation, sighing. I felt the warmth of the fire creep up my side as I
leaned against the bottom of Clow’s chair. Warm hands picked me up and I
sniffled against the rough tunic and a moment later- I was eased into the warm
sheets of Clow’s bed. It still smelled like Clow.

-`-


“Master?” I whispered softly as I turned to face him. Clow turned his gaze
towards me and I felt my wings shake lightly as my eyes seemed forced to look
away.

“Yes, Yue?” he asked, his voice almost like the sound of melting snow, that
quiet soft rush of water as it moves under the light of the sun.

“I have something to tell you. Something important... well important to me
anyway,” I managed to blurt out and it occured to me that I was babbling.

An amused smile crossed Clow’s face and he nodded his head softly, a strand of
ebony hair sliding into his face as he exhaled. The garden around us seemed to
live and breathe as I reached out to rest my fingers on the bark of its trunk.
“Go ahead Yue. Whatever it is... it can’t be so horrible that you get this
worked up over it,” he whispered, shaking the barley water at his side and
taking a sip.

“You won’t think so when I tell you what I have to say,” I said softly.

“Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll never know unless you tell me,” Clow whispered. “Its
too hot out here! I need to create a card to make the world cold... what do you
think?”

“I love you,” I burst out and felt a blush creep across my face as I looked
away. I was tempted to shield myself with my wings- but he would just have
dismissed them for me.

“And I love you as well. I think I’ll call it the Freeze? Or the Icy?” he
mumbled, shaking his head in frustration.

“Master...don’t just change the subject like that. This is- wait... you love
me?” I asked, a bewildered look dancing across my features as a pink tongue
darted out to wet my lips.

Clow decreased the distance between us by stepping forward to cup my cheek and I
leaned into his touch, my eyes closing and he tilted my face upward. I felt our
lips meet for the very first time, his brushing chaste against mine and mine
hungrily questing out for more.

And, I knew.

He loved me...he loved me... I was loved. I loved the greatest magician in the
whole terra and he loved me back.

“How could I not love you Yue?” he whispered against my neck as his kisses
trailed faintly down my skin. “How could I not?”

-`-


I awoke to the rain pattering on the roof above me and the smell of winter
breaking into spring and stood up for a moment, wobbling on my feet before
opening my wings to steady myself. Keroberos sat on the floor and watched me
with one eye, while he read.

“Morning,” he said. “Feeling better?” The lion turned a worried eye towards me
and nudged a bowl forward. I laughed and shook my head. Obviously, the
groundskeeper had made our pudding.

“How long was I out?” I asked.

“Three days. We feared you were starting to fade,” the Sun Guardian said
fearfully.

“No,” I shook my head. “I still have all my power.”

The door eased open and the man stepped through them, carrying a clean change of
clothes and sheets. He glanced at me and nodded his head, “You’re up then.”

For the first time, I realized that I wasn’t in my clothes and stared at him
accusingly, “Where’s my robes?”

“They’re being washed,” he said roughly as he pressed the bundle of clothes into
my arms and scooted me out of the bed. Then, he began methodically making the
bed.

“When you talked to me that one day... you said that someone in town was saying
bad things. Who was it?” I asked, changing quickly into the clothes, using my
hair to conceal myself.

“A woman. She called herself Ruby Moon. Dresses in all black with insects
embroidered in the faberic. Looks like trouble. That’s why I came up here,” the
man whispered.

“Then, I think I know what to do next,” I said as I stood up. “I’m going to seek
out Ruby Moon.”
-End Ch. 3-