WHY DO YOU WANT MY ADVICE…

WHY DO YOU WANT MY ADVICE…

I have no idea why I wrote this. World War III is still in progress, but Nightmares from the Past appears stalled, so why am I writing this thing? (His Brain: Because I can.)

I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura, and frankly I DO support S+S, but, hey, what the heck?

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Why do I love her?

It really does make no sense to me. Clow Reed loved me, but only in a father-son relationship.

Yet, I sat there and watched her sleeping. Her chest slowly moving up and down. Emerald eyes were shut off from the world, for a few hours, until they opened and she would smile happily at my false form. Why have such an emotion? You know that the boy has an eye on her.

That inner voice has chided me about her. She's your mistress; she's so young; Besides, what do you have to offer her?

These questions haunted me as I transported myself outside and began to fly. To fly…

An hour later, I soared over a large, mountainous region. Below me, I could see fires ablaze. The Romany, the gypsies, had set up camp. I looked upward past their farthest flame to see a massive structure blackening an area of the night sky. It was a castle. Towers stabbed toward the sky, as if reaching to pierce the night, and draw blood.

The windows were dark, but I knew someone was there. Someone who did not need light to carry on with his affairs.

I cautiously approached one of the fortress's balconies. It was grand, with two statues tucked into enclaves on each side of the door. My feet landed on hard rock, probably preserved repeatedly over the years. I looked through the glass doors. As my eyes adjusted, I could see a nearby table covered with books. His library?

I became aware of a sudden shift of the air within the great collection of books, and saw a dark shape appear rapidly a few feet away from the window. It moved forward and I floated back a little. The doors opened without the touch of any human hand, and he strode out, dressed in a long, black robe with some sort of dragon insignia sewed on in gold. "Yue?" he questioned, in a softly-surprised tone. I nodded and muttered, "Greetings, Prince Dracula."

A few minutes later, I sat on an ancient, red colored, gold lined couch facing a massive blaze in a massive fireplace that had two griffin gargoyles supporting it. I politely refused offers of coffee, tea, cigars, and other enjoyments that the Prince kept somewhere in his home. Dracula had grown older since our last meeting, his hair was gray, and his face had a few wrinkles on it. His hands were bony, with long, sharp fingernails. But his eyes, and his physical prowess, hadn't seemed to diminish at all. His eyes seemed to reach out and grip me, questioning me and examining me all by themselves. He sat, almost making the carved oak chair he sat in a throne. "So," he began, "Why have you come all this way?"

I gulped, for what seemed to be the first time. How could I explain? "It's about Sakura…" He went to his feet and towered over me, his eyes betraying a sudden storm of rage, concern, and hatred. "What happened? What's wrong? Is it…" I merely looked up at him, bewildered. He stopped and drew back a little, a pale hand coming up and clasping near his heart. "Forgive me…" Dracula looked up at a portrait over the fireplace. It was a man before a window, with a gold scepter and a curved-downward moustache. "Yes, forgive me…I feared that…dearest Sakura had become…but, no." He brought his hands together, and looked at me again. "Go on, Friend Yue, continue."

He turned and looked up at the painting, waiting for me to speak. I reconsidered my thoughts and tried again. "Have you ever been in love?" The Prince turned to me, with amusement rising in his eyes. "Well, now…two wives have shared my breathing days. And I lived with three women before Van Helsing came after me and murdered them in their resting places." I looked down, trying to form the words in my mind. "What does it feel like?" Silence. I looked up toward where he was standing…or where he had stood. I turned and saw him looking down at a small portrait sitting on a desk. "You'll know," he murmured softly. I went over beside him to look at a picture of a beautiful young woman. "Who…" "Elizabeth," he said softly. I looked into his face and saw a tear creep down from his eye. "My first wife…She died while I was fighting." He placed the picture down and slowly walked back to the fireplace, his hands limp by his sides. Once again, he stared at the portrait above his fireplace. "Forgive a sad old man for interrupting, Yue, continue." I sat on the couch again. All right, this time I'll go right to the point. "I think…that I'm in love with Sakura." Dracula whipped around at that. A shocked look was rapidly replaced with a calm, but amused expression. "You…and her?" I looked down again, feeling foolish for approaching this man with such a strange idea. Then, his next few words surprised me: "Perfectly understandable." My eyes met his, and I could see a trace of comprehension. "What do you mean?" He smiled and sat down in his chair. "Well, she is fairly attractive, I would think, ha?" I nodded, feeling a little extra warmth come to my cheeks. "You're blushing, Yue. I speak the truth." I put a hand to my cheek. Blushing? What did that mean for something like me? "I myself found her charming, you know," the Prince continued, "It would have greatly pleased me to have her for a daughter." I didn't say anything, just stared into the flames. "Can you tell me…I never felt like this…" "I know," Dracula put two fingers to his chin and closed his eyes, as if remembering a pleasant dream. "Clow Reed was a fascinating man, but that's all he was: a man. He knew no more about emotions than the average breather, I don't believe he foresaw anything like this when you were born."

"What…"

"Tell her."

"I can't; she's my mistress, Kerberus would be enraged, and there's no telling what her brother might do…"

Dracula held up a hand, commanding me to slow down. "To me, Yue, she is worth fighting for."

"But, Li Syaoron,"

"What of the lad?"

"You must be aware that he is attracted to her as well."

He smirked at me, giving him the appearance of a man who just heard me say that the sun was bright. "I know, I know. I've seen the boy, his heart goes a little faster every time she's around. But, he hasn't said anything yet, and besides he still has his…" Dracula grimaced a little, "…Fiancée. He won't be alone if you beat him to the punch." I was quiet. I didn't know what to think. She was just so young…but beautiful and strong as well.

"I…have to think over it."

"See that you do," Prince Dracula rose from his chair and walked beside me to the balcony. As my wings materialized and I prepared to take off: "And, Yue…"

I turned to the Prince as he regarded me with a calm smile, but a faraway look in his eyes,

"You must think hard before you let her go. Hold on to those you love, Yue, hold on…And you won't be as alone as I am, these days."

I hovered outside her window the next night, thinking over what the Prince said. I watched her as she climbed into bed, and drifted off to sleep. A serene sight.

I placed myself into her room and watched her again. Those Emerald eyes were closed for now, until they would awaken and greet Yukito again with a happy energy that only she possessed.

She shivered a little, and drew the blankets tighter around her. It was a cold night…

I floated to her bed, and laid down beside her. I put one arm across her and pulled her close. One of my wings vanished, and the other wrapped around both of us.

And, I felt a new sensation then.

Happiness…