Chapter Four: Dinner

"So there is a girl staying in one of the guest rooms?" Meiling Li questioned her cousin, prodding him to explain the unusual situation.

She currently resided with him and a few servants in this vacation house. They two had wanted to get away from their family for awhile, mostly Syaoran's annoying sisters. This was the most remote house that Syaoran's family owned, and he thought it would be a good location for them to work on their training.

Syaoran's wolf spirit, Okami, padded behind the two young adults as they walked to the dining hall for their evening had made sure that the servants set an extra place for their new guest once she had learned about her arrival. One of the maids had retold the day's events to Meiling, who was shocked to learn her cousin of all people had brought home a girl. He hadn't even bothered to tell her what what going on?

"Yes," He exclaimed, annoyed. "It's Eriol's doing…"

She grinned wide, like the chesire cat. "Oh, well that explains it. I was beginning to worry you'd brought some harlot home."

Their distant cousin Eriol was a scream. He was always trying to meddle in Syoran's life. She wondered what mischief he had in mind this time. Since he'd sent the girl then he'd mostly likely done it to get on Syaoran's nervers.

Syaoran glowered at her, seething hatred filled his eyes. "That bastard, he's always doing things to get on my last nerve. And Geez Meiling, of all people you know I'd not waste my time with some pathetic little girl. I don't want any distractions from my training."

"So why did he send her?"

"He wants me to train her. Eriol sent me a letter. It said she'd just stumbled upon her abilities and needs to be trained as a Pact Keeper. He said he didn't have the time...nor the ability to do it himself." Syaoran replied, as he pressed nearer to the dining hall.

"Well that's a lie." Meiling muttered. "He has plenty of ability to train her."

Syaoran nodded at her. "Clearly, he's trying to mess with me."

They entered the dining hall. The table centered in the middle of the room was large enough for around forty people, but only three places on the far side of the table were set. Bowls of steaming broth set before three of the mahogany high-back chairs. A pitcher of crystal clear ice water lay in the the center of the place settings, and a few sparkling glasses were ready for use nearby. The aroma of the soup wafted up to Meiling's nostrils. Mushroom broth, her favorite, the dish smelled like heaven.

Syaoran took a seat first, at the head of the farthest end of the wooden table. He eyed the extra place setting hesitantly. Meiling knew immediately that he wondered if the servants had decided to set it themselves, since he hadn't told them to do it. Meiling gingerly lowered herself to her usual chair to Syaoran's right.

"I told them to set the extra place, and I told them to go check on the girl. She must be famished."

If looks could kill Meiling knew she'd drop dead. Her cousin sighed, and lifted his spoon. "Fine," he mumbled, before taking a bite. "But I'm not waiting for her, I'm starving."

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Sakura awoke to a light knock at the door. Grogley, Sakura rose from the mattress, and rubbed her tired emerald eyes. It took her a moment to remember where she was, as she took in her surroundings. The day's previous events flooded through her tired mind, and she remembered the two unusual men she had met that day. The first had been much more accommodating than the second, even if he had let her use this grand room.

There was another knock at the door, a little louder this time. "Miss," A voice laced with honey called out to her.

"Oh, please come in." Sakura yelled back, her voice was hoarse. She coughed from the dryness of it.

A maid entered, her dark black hair was elegantly tied up into a bun at the nap of her neck. The maid's kind brown eyes surveyed her, and she swiftly crossed the distance of the room. The woman placed her hands on her hips and stood in front of Sakura. She wore a traditional black and white maid's uniform.

"Mistress Meiling Li would like you to join her for dinner." Meiling, who was that? The maid tilted her head at Sakura. "There is some soup that may help that cough being served, and I'll prepare you some tea with honey."

Sakura gently removed the warm comforter from her body, and instantly regretted the loss of heat. If she could stay in this bed forever, she'd probably do it.

"Oh please don't trouble yourself," Sakura told her, a slight rasp in her usually sweet voice. "I'm just a bit fatigued from my journey is all."

"You must have some of my tea," She encouraged. "I'll have it ready for you after dinner. Come now miss let's get you ready or your dinner will get cold."

Sakura hadn't noticed the dress that was slung over the maid's arm. It was a frilly yellow thing, with lace at the edges. She wondered where it had come from. It certainly wasn't hers, and she hadn't thought to bring much with her on her journey into The Clow Forest. All she had with her was the clothes on her back, and the dwelling supplies in her backpack.

"Master Syaoran told me that he noticed you didn't have much with you when you came, and instructed me to find some things for you to wear. I told Mistress Meiling of your lack of clothing and she told me to give this to you. She said it never looked right on her anyway."

Sakura blushed, cheeks turning a deep shade of scarlet. She wasn't sure if she'd ever been so embarrassed. Wasn't the clothes that she had on fine? She glanced down at herself, nearly forgetting the awful state of her attire. Her clothing was covered in dirt and grime, and she probably smelled awful.

"I'll mend that tear in your cloak, and bring it back to you in a jiffy." The maid offered.

Sakura tugged it free, and handed the olive cloak to her. The maid took the dress off of her arm and placed it on the bed. Sakura looked at the fine fabric, Tomoyo would approve of it. She loved anything with lace and frills. It looked like something her cousin would have made for her. Tomoyo was always sewing something for Sakura to wear, much to Sakura's displeasure.

"Get changed and head downstairs. The dining hall is down the first hallway on the left once you descend the staircase. Just keep following the walkway to the end."

"Thank you." Sakura told her.

The maid bowed, and exited the room. Sakura wished she had asked the woman her name. How very rude of her. She'd make sure to ask her the next time she bumped into her.

Sakura gently ran her fingers along the pale yellow dress. Looking at it a second time she realized how gorgeous the dress truly was. It must have cost a fortune. Sakura flung her legs over the side of the bed. She wondered how long she had been sleeping, several hours at least. Her body still felt tired, but this was a major improvement over her earlier condition.

She took the dress with her into the attached bedroom, and hurriedly tidied herself up. Sakura didn't think she had time for a full shower since her dinner was probably already starting to get cold. She hastily scrubbed her face with a wet towel and a bar of soap, effectively removing a layer of dirt. Once she felt like she was halfway presentable, she shed her clothing to replace them with the yellow dress.

As she changed she noticed all the damage her days in the forest had done to her. There were many bruises and scrapes in places she hadn't realized has received any. A particularly bad abrasion was on her right knee. She figured she must have received it during her fall when Eriol's wolf spirit had been chasing after her. The yellow dress fell just before the cut, and there was no way she'd be able to hide it. The scratches on her arms, and cheeks were still visible too. She'd just have to go down like she was. There was no use trying to hide her injuries now.

Sakura was glad that this Meiling girl was nearly her size. She felt much better in some clean clothing than in her own grimy ones. The dress fit her nicely. It was just a little loose in the top. The a-line neck scooped down a little further than she would have liked, but she loved how the skirts billowed out into a belle shape from her hips. A belt made of lace was securely tied along the midsection. She'd have to thank the girl for allowing her to borrow such a beautiful piece of clothing.

She realized the maid hadn't left a new pair of shoes for her to wear, so she stuffed her feet back into her old leather boots. They didn't look so bad. The brown material actually accented the dress. Sakura slipped out of her room, and bounded off down the stairs. Hopefully the dining hall wouldn't be hard for her to find on her own.

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Sakua entered the dinning room just as Syaoran was finishing the last bites of his soup. He nearly dropped his spoon into his bowl when he saw her. She was wearing one of Meiling's dresses and it suited her, though he'd never tell that to the girl. She looked much more rested than the last time he had seen her. Her emerald eyes sparkled. The pale yellow of the dress set them off. He shook his head trying to derail his train of thoughts. What was he thinking anyway? This was the girl who was about to disrupt his training regimen. She was practically his enemy.

Meiling offered the girl the seat across from her, and smiled. "Hello, Sakura," She greeted her.

"Hi," Sakura replied, and returned Meiling's smile. "You must be Meiling, thank you for letting me borrow this dress."

"It looks better on you than it did on me. Doesn't it Syaoran?"

He nearly spit out the water he was sipping from his glass. Syaoran glared at his cousin from across the table, and he kicked her shin. His cousin kicked him forcefully back underneath the table. Sakura had no clue that the incident had occurred.

When her cousin didn't reply Meiling continued. "You should keep it."

"Oh I couldn't," Sakura told her. "I'm sure it's much too expensive."

Meiling lifted her spoon to her lips, before she took a bite, she retorted. "Nonsense, I have several more like it, and it's my least favorite. I'll have one of the maids send you some more of my clothing tomorrow. It looks like we're nearly the same size."

"Oh that's not necessary…" Sakura began, picking up her own spoon to scoop it into her bowl.

"You'll need some training gear. Syaoran is a brutal trainer so you'll need some proper attire" When Sakura glanced at her with an unsure expression, she continued. "Don't worry I have plenty to spare."

Syaoran watched as Sakura lost the innocent argument, most people did when they dared trifle with his cousin, Meiling. Sakura took her first bite of soup. A look of contentment spread across her face. He hoped the next course would come out soon, he was starving, and his soup bowl was empty. On cue, a servant brought out the next course, steamed dumplings with a sweet ginger and garlic sauce. Sakura's face lit up with the addition of the new dish. He figured it must have been one she enjoyed.

The trio ate their dumplings in silence. Syaoran was never one for dinner conversations, and he wasn't quite sure what to say anyway with the addition of their unexpected guest. Luckily Meiling was there to pick back up on the conversation.

"So Sakura, where are you from?" His cousin asked the girl.

Sakura dipped another dumpling into sweet sauce, twirling it around with her chopstick. "Tomoeda, Japan."

"We're from Hong Kong." Meiling offered up the information readily to the girl. "We're here at our vacation house to train. Our family can be a bit much at times." She laughed.

Sakura grinned. "Mine as well. I knew that my brother wouldn't let me find a solution to my problem on my own so I left before he could stop me. Are the two of you siblings?"

"No, cousins. We were raised together though, and were practically the same age so it's almost natural that we became close."

"Ah," Sakura took a bite of her dumpling and swallowed. "I have a cousin whom I'm very close to. We usually do everything together. I miss her already."

Well at least the two girls were hitting it off. Syaoran watched as they exchanged more pleasantries. He began to zone out on their conversations. Maybe this easy friendship between the two would work out to his advantage. They could go off and do girly things together and get out of his hair...though Meiling wasn't someone he really thought about going out and doing girly things. This Sakura on the other hand, she probably was someone who liked to shop and get makeovers.

"Syaoran?" Meiling's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He blinked a few times, and Meiling quickly caught on that he hadn't been paying them the least bit of attention. "I asked what time you wanted Sakura ready in the morning? I'll need to get her some clothes together, and Sakura wants to set an alarm."

"Oh," Syaoran mumbled. "7 a.m., that will give me some time to go out for a run first."

"If you wouldn't mind," Sakura looked up at him with her large emerald eyes. "I'd like to go on a run with you. I usually run back home, and it would probably be a good warm up for our training session."

Startled by her response, Syaoran answered without thinking. "6 a.m. then."

"Okay, 6 a.m. it is." She said in a bright and cheery voice that grated on his nerves.

Damn.

He had agreed and now he'd have to deal with her earlier. Hopefully the girl would be able to keep up with him. She had barely managed it earlier when they were on their way to the manor. If not he'd just have to leave her behind and find her later. He was already going to have to give up precious time he would have devoted to becoming more powerful to teach her, he wasn't about to give up anymore than he had to.

Syaoran glanced down at his plate. He hadn't even noticed that a servant had brought out the main course, Mui Choy with Pork Belly and a healthy serving of white rice. The girls were already digging into their portions, gleefully eating each bite. Quickly, he caught up to them, shoveling the food into this mouth. The taste of savory mustard greens and salted meat set his tastebuds alight.

A rich chocolate cake was brought out for dessert, but Syaoran was so full he had only managed to take two bites. Meiling must have requested it special for their guest, since the servants didn't often prepare desert unless asked. A bright smile shone on Sakura's face as she took each sweet bite. She placed her dessert fork down on the small china plate, having gotten to the point where she herself couldn't eat anymore. Meiling was the only one out of the three who had gotten down their whole piece.

"Well that was delicious." Meiling remarked. "Best cake I'd had in awhile."

Sakura nodded enthusiastically agreeing with his cousin. "It was fantastic. Do you two eat like this every night?"

"No, not every night. I asked for some of this to be made special since we had a guest."

"Thank you," Sakura exclaimed. "I appreciate it, but you didn't have to go through all that trouble for me. I'm perfectly happy eating instant ramen." She laughed, her voice was beautiful like a perfectly tuned belle.

Not for the first time that night, Syaoran was surprised at where his thoughts had turned. He needed to get this girl out of his head. Maybe he was just tired? The day had been long and a lot had happened. He'd make sure he'd get plenty of rest before he actual begun to train her. He excused himself from their company and headed off to bed for a much needed reprieve.

His thoughts flicked back to the girl, even as he tried to push her away. Something about her got under his skin. He cursed inwardly, this was all Eriol's fault. He'd have to give him an earful the next time he saw the bastard. Syaoran had a feeling that this favor he owed Eriol wouldn't be worth the price he would pay.

Authors Note:

Whoooo two chapters in one day! I'm just in the mood to keep this one going right now. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far.

I wanted to give a special shout out to my two reviewers. Thank you so much for leaving me a comment. I really appreciate it. Feedback really helps me continue to pump out these chapters quickly. :)

Next chapter we'll get to see training start, and that will be tons of fun! Please don't forget to review, or if you have any questions about the story or just want to chat send me a PM.