Hey, everyone!

Important: I¡¯m thinking of discontinuing this fanfic; I¡¯m running out of fresh ideas, and I don¡¯t want to copy all my ideas off the Illiad. What do you think? Then I¡¯ll have more time to spend on my second fic, which I like a lot better. Please tell me what you think.

Oh, thanks to lunemangelus for notifying me of my fic not accepting anonymous reviews! I¡¯ve changed that, and sorry to any anonymous readers I might¡¯ve offended. *Bows low* Gomen ne!

Thanks to the people who have been reviewing, and I hope you will continue to R/R my work.

Disclaimer: Me no own CCS. Me no own Illiad. Nuff said.

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¡°Kero-chan!¡±

Upon hearing the commanding voice of his mistress, Kero sheepishly lowered his head, repentant.

Sakura just laughed and ruffled his head. ¡°Get to your kennel, dog.¡± Sakura was so relieved that Kero had come back. Kero had become a sort of symbol for Sakura and Syaoran; he had appeared the first day they met in Menelaus¡¯ palace.

¡°What was Kero doing outside?¡± Tomoyo always had a special affection for the golden dog, and usually whenever she visited, she brought him treats.

¡°Stupid mutt ran away, probably to scourge the houses of Hong Kong for some treat he hadn¡¯t already licked up.¡± Syaoran acted like he hated Kero, but in truth was rather fond of him. Two days ago when he disappeared, Syaoran was just as worried as Sakura was.

¡°Ah,¡± said Eriol. ¡°The dog takes after his master...¡± Understanding the hidden meaning beneath these words, Syaoran growled and lunged at Eriol, but Eriol was not the commander of the armies of Hong Kong for nothing. He dodged, and Syaoran plunged at nothing, tripping himself.

Undignified, lying on the floor, Syaoran glared menacingly at Eriol. ¡°You know I¡¯m faithful to Sakura. I love her, and I¡¯ll be damned if I let anyone say anything else on the matter.¡± Syaoran lifted himself up from the floor, his body language clearly suggesting that Eriol had better shut up.

Eriol merely smiled. He knew best how to irritate Syaoran.

¡°Boys, boys, play nice.¡± Tomoyo said with mock rebuke.

A servant appeared in the guest hall, head bowed low. ¡°Master, mistress, dinner is served.¡±

Hand in hand, the two couples left the hall.

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Syaoran stared at the shrimp of a dog, which was now currently engaged in getting himself away from the grip of the prince.

¡°Oh, please, gracious Queen, noble sir, forgive us most errant servants!¡± All the servants were groveling at having interrupted the Queen.

¡°Oh, do stand. Haven¡¯t I already told all of you to stop doing that?¡± Sakura was obviously irritated at such a special moment being disturbed. ¡°It¡¯s alright. What¡¯s the meaning of this, anyways?¡±

Syaoran was amazed at how Sakura could transform from being a sweet, beautiful, gentle angel to an elegant, majestic, powerful Queen in the blink of an eye. This woman is remarkable! He found himself tuning out the conversation between the Queen and their servants, and instead paying attention to the melodious voice of the Queen, cresting in waves, sometimes low and mellow, sometimes high and fluty. Lulled by the sound of Sakura¡¯s voice, Syaoran seemed to remember his magnificent dream of the three goddesses, and of Aphrodite¡¯s words, ¡°Choose me, Syaoran-kun...Choose me, and you will have the most beautiful lady in the world as your wife.¡±

Syaoran was in a trance-like state when he suddenly woke up, thanks to the scratches of the little ball of golden fur he had forgotten to release. Howling, more in surprise than in pain, Syaoran immediately stopped any ongoing conversation the Queen was having with the servants, who were staring at him.

¡°What?¡± He snapped. Disentangling his hand from the claws of the puny dog, he held it by the scruff of its neck. It yelped in disagreement at being so roughly handled.

¡°We¡¯re sorry, gracious sir, that we allowed that mangy mutt to escape from the kitchens. Its mother just whelped, and it stole a bit of food. As we were chasing it, we never thought we would have stumbled upon her Highness and your gracious self in such a way.¡±

After being scratched up, Syaoran was definitely not in a good mood. ¡°How dare you let this mangy cur run loose around the palace? Do you know who I am? I am the visiting prince from the illustrious island of Hong Kong! That gives me power to punish you in any way I choose.¡±

Now even more horrified, the servants scrambled over each other in order to have their lives saved. Finally, tired of all the groveling, Syaoran barked, ¡°Guards!¡± and placed the puppy onto the floor.

Sakura, who had been standing in shock since Syaoran announced his true identity, stepped forward, motioning for the guards to return to their stations. Once again assuming the role of Queen, she stepped forward. ¡°Prince Li, please allow them to go free. What interest have you in a bunch of servants¡¯ heads? It is but a dog, and my new pet, at that.¡±

Even Sakura was shocked to hear that the little fuzzball was her new, self-declared pet, and the puppy even seemed to recognize the statement, skittering to its new mistress. ¡°Come, Kero, Prince Li, it seems we are late for the banquet.¡±

Holding her head up regally, Sakura headed off to the banquet, with Kero and Syaoran trailing after her, and the servants kneeling on the floor.

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AN: Oooh, I like this chappie! Bad Syaoran, so mean to poor little Kero-chan, ne? Sakura is so...queenly!

Well, there¡¯s not much else, so please reply if you want me to continue this story.

Ja!

pink_pink_sakura