Disclaimer: I have no legal possession of CCS. It belongs strictly to CLAMP.

Hey! I know, I know, I know. I'm late. I'm sorry! I just couldn't find a way to extend this chapter long enough so that people wouldn't complain too much… and its still a bit short. I would have left it out all together, but the plot seems far too empty without it, so I hope you'll bear with me. The next chapter will be better.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the wait, but I still hope that you'll enjoy this chapter!

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To Pursue Our Destinies

Chapter Three

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Li Syaoran, exiled prince of China frowned at the procession of young women into the throne room. What had Eriol been thinking? Did he honestly think any of those common girls would make a suitable wife? Syaoran doubted it. Daughters of rich merchants and bankers sat in the back clad in bright, vibrant colors. Those seated towards the front wearing their family's emblems were most likely the daughters of nobles.

His amber eyes scanned the crowd. The princesses would be arriving soon, and take their seats in the central aisle. A flash of bright green caught his eye and he turned.

It's… her!

Syaoran stared at the auburn-haired peasant girl he had met only the week before… but what was she doing here? From what little he had seen of her… estates… Syaoran doubted it was worth more than the elegant kimono she was currently wearing. There was no way her family could afford to send her to the palace. His eyes traced the pattern of her dress.

"Yue…" Syaoran mumbled, astonished. A peasant girl was sitting in a room meant for noblewomen and princesses wearing Yue's family emblem. What in the world was going on?

"Yue, what were you doing in a peasant's home?" Syaoran stared at the general. It wasn't like him to go visiting a commoner.

"Just paying my respects to an old friend. It doest not concern you."

Just paying respects to an old friend?! The irritating prick hadn't mentioned anything about adopting his "friend's" daughter! Syaoran frowned. But it wasn't his concern. In any case, the girl would not last long in the competition. Even if she was wearing Yue's colors and under Yue's protection.

His eyes wandered over the multitude of females before once again settling back on the peasant girl he had found under the cherry blossoms. She had such large, emerald eyes, he noticed. It was a pity that Eriol wasn't a big fan of green. He himself had always found it a captivating color.

Syaoran straightened abruptly and tore his eyes from the peasant girl as trumpets sounded. All those in the throne room, with the exception of Eriol and the king, as well as Syaoran and Yue who were already standing, rose to greet the princesses who had arrived. Syaoran nodded stiffly to his cousin Mei Ling-hime as she took her seat.

The king rose as soon as everyone had filed in. "On behalf of the royal family, welcome to my palace. Thank you all, especially your highnesses, for coming all this way to decide the marriage of my son," his voice boomed loudly and echoed across the room.

"It is my pleasure to be host to so many fine princesses and ladies," Eriol stood and bowed, a smirk on his face. "I do hope you all enjoy your stay."

Syaoran resisted the urge to gag as Eriol flashed a charming smile to the crowd. They both knew the young prince had no intention of marrying the winner of such a frivolous competition, regardless of what the king's ministers thought. Why Clow-sama would even consider such an arrangement was still a mystery to the both of them.

His mind wandered as the king and his son continued their speech. From his position next to Eriol's throne, he had a good view of the peasant child. He found himself unable to look away from her. His focus was drawn to her gentle emerald eyes. The color was so very rare. Syaoran wondered if her parents too had green eyes.

"Li," Yue growled. "Unless you plan to stay here while the girls are given their quartering arrangements, I suggest that you move." Syaoran's head jerked towards the general as if he had been slapped. Realizing that he had been caught staring, Syaoran settled for a cold glare before stalking out of the room.

Syaoran tugged his royal cloak around his shoulders and walked quickly until he had caught up to Eriol. "You should have warned me you were done speaking. You know those speeches always put me to sleep," he said.

"What's wrong?" Eriol eyed his friend quietly. "You're usually so indifferent. Why such an irritated expression? Did Yue say something to you?"

Syaoran nearly stopped, surprised. Him? Why would he be irritated… Yue's irksome comments were something he had become accustomed to…

A pair of emerald eyes appeared in his mind.

"…no. Nothing is irritating me, unless you're referring to this entire competition thing in general. On that topic, however, I assume you're even more upset than I am," Syaoran said, avoiding Eriol's gaze.

"So who is she?" Eriol asked with a grin, changing the topic. "Don't think I didn't notice you staring at Yue's protégé – the one with the green eyes. She's rather pretty, caught your eye perhaps?"

Syaoran growled before swinging his right leg under his companion, tripping him in one fluid motion. "Don't think that simply because I'm a guest in your home I will allow you to mock me. I may be in disgrace, but I haven't lost my pride… and I can still defeat you in combat any time."

Picking himself gracefully and brushing his clothes off, Eriol laughed good naturedly. "Hai, hai, my fearsome prince," Eriol sighed. "Please excuse my impudence."

"Where are you headed now?" Syaoran asked as the two of them continued to walk down the hall. Enter away message text here.

"Where do you suppose? Where I can cause some mischief of course," Eriol flashed his friend a diabolical grin. "Things have been much too… perfect around here lately. If I don't cause some trouble for the nobles soon they're going to get bored. And we all know how dangerously troublesome bored nobles can be."

Syaoran's mind ticked. When he had first been introduced to society in Clow-sama's realm, he had been puzzled… and then envious of the condition of his nobility. His father ruled with an iron scepter and terror. Eriol's family somehow maintained their court with grace and ease. Both Clow-sama and Kaho-sama were brilliant and had both the trust and respect of their subjects. So those who would cause trouble for them were few…

"Are one of the foreign princesses concerning you, Eriol? You know that they have limited power here… especially within your own kingdom."

"You're thinking too deeply into this… as always, Syaoran," Eriol interrupted his thoughts. "For the moment I am incredibly unpopular with the ministers for having so directly objected to this marriage proposal issue and am completely content to leave Father and Mother to deal with them. But there's never anything wrong with adding a little spice to the situation, don't you agree?"

Syaoran moaned audibly, attracting the attention of some passing servants who immediately shied away from his cold glare. "What are you planning now? I know that things are never pleasant when you get into this… this mood. You have far too much time on your hands. I think you're much more dangerous when bored than your nobles."

"But don't say that you aren't curious!" his sapphire-eyed friend insisted. "In the opportunity this competition has unwittingly presented us? I propose that we make my palace's beloved bigwigs squirm a bit. They've been annoying me far too much recently."

"You're going to use the girls. What more, a peasant girl and make your narrow-minded ministers very, very uncomfortable," Syaoran said blatantly. "You know very well that I don't care about women at all, but I'll warn you now: meddle in female affairs and you'll get burned. Mei Ling is enough of a handful by herself. I still can't get her mind off of a potential engagement. She's been pestering Okaa-sama for the longest time."

"I wondered how she would react if she thought you were interested in one of the other girls in the competition? That would certainly heat things up a little," Eriol said thoughtfully.

"Don't even think about it," the Chinese prince growled. "If you make her cry even on tear I'll break both your legs… and you know that I'm very capable."

Erio sighed, "I was merely making a suggestion. It would be a good way to get her off your back though… there is no need to be so very protective. You have to stop babying her some time, I hope you realize."

Syaoran made no response and instead turned around and walked in the opposite direction, the air around him suddenly feeling heavier. Eriol watched him go, a sympathetic yet determined look in his eyes.

"It's time that you began to realize some things, Syaoran," he murmured.

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To Be Continued…

So… I know that this was incredibly late, but I hope you'll all forgive me and drop a review by anyway? I know that this wasn't one of my best chapters, but I hope you can still stick with this story... cause it's about to get good! xD

Let me know what you think!