Admiral
Chapter Four
Verdantly Green Envy
There was a little gathering, a party of sorts. Since Syaoran was back from the war, and Eriol too (as they two had both served under Ender), Sakura and Tomoyo were happy. Tomoyo thought sometimes that her heart would rend for love of Sakura, but Eriol's presence dulled it a little. He was the only friend who understood her feelings for Sakura, and wisely was silent.
They three had greeted Tomoyo on a sun-warmed terrace surrounded by miniature antique roses in lovely porcelain pots, and Sakura had bounded up exuberantly to give her a warm embrace, while Syaoran and Eriol watched on reservedly and smiled at Tomoyo politely. Syaoran seemed to be watching Sakura as if she were his only anchor to the world.
Sakura fussed over Tomoyo's silk chiffon dress, a pale green that still managed to be lushly colored. It was embroidered fantastically with silver and even had tiny emeralds on every edge that formed scallops of jewels, but it was short enough to make her careful about how she sat. Her emeralds were strung all on her ankles with little silver bells tinkling with movement, and an emerald ring on three or four of her toes. Emeralds hung from her ears in an obedient row, and there was a simple circle of the most enormous of them casually crowning her dark head, and woven into the emeralds were tiny white flowers that bloomed with enviable grace.
Tomoyo held her chin level with the top of her head, and sat with a straight-backed posture that bespoke of years of training and vigilance.
Sakura, in Tomoyo's opinion, was far more beautiful than herself by far. She was in a pale pink linen sundress decorated with long ivory satin sashes fringed with tiny pink colored pearls, with only simple silver chains on her ankles as adornment, and silver hoops in her ears. But from her vibrated an intensity of life that Tomoyo wanted to capture, to hold. She was the exuberance of the sun.
Syaoran and Eriol watched them silently, and Sakura only laughed at them delightedly and exclaimed over their gloomy expressions and implored to them appealingly to speak and laugh.
Tomoyo laughed softly, too, at Sakura's bubbling, gloriously shining joy. She flitted among Eriol and Syaoran like a pink and satin orchid-scented creature of the forests, pouring tea from exquisite crackled ivory-colored Valarges teaware, and plied upon them sweets and tarts. Tomoyo floated amongst them, too, urging with her admirable grace to be lively in the sun.
They were subdued. They would laugh quietly and joke, but there was a shadow that had been cast softly and ominously. Tomoyo was happy enough to be with all three, and Sakura most of all, of course, and could not help but kiss her shining cheek twice and exclaim over her happiness.
Syaoran would watch Sakura more than anything. In between their bouts of merry conversation, maintained mostly by Tomoyo and Sakura, Syaoran would watch her like a hawk, as if afraid, lest she evaporate into the sun and wind.
But it was most disturbing to Tomoyo in her desolate happiness of Sakura that Eriol would watch her. Eriol followed her with his eyes, sometimes, watching the glinting green gems through her long ebon curls, her lush green silk flow in accordance with the wind, her violet eyes sleepy with the sun.
Once she caught him staring at her, with a quick, alert eagerness that was almost painful in his eyes. The hard awareness that his gaze usually bespoke of was still there, but it was tenfold more alert, watching her with a cautious and watchful awareness that made her shoulder blades itch.
When Syaoran and Sakura had been seen out in late afternoon, Eriol had found it amusing to stare at her. Irritably, Tomoyo snapped at him.
"Why do you watch me like that?"
His cryptic smile was charming and handsome as ever, but now there was an insolence that was new.
"The better to understand you, and shall we say, a certain flower of your life."
Tomoyo's face turned a little pale under the expert makeup.
"I know that you know, Eriol, so I won't debase you intelligence or our friendship by pretending. Please don't bring that up."
His face darkened under that perfect bronze complexion.
"So charming, Tomoyo, your innocent worship. But little do you know that you are on your inexorable march to le morte d'amour. You sacrifice yourself so willingly. I have never sacrificed for much, except of course, that entire mess of my not so glorious mass murder, that insignificant xenocide."
"Your lost innocence isn't lost on me, Eriol. Its made you very, very bitter and I hope you choke on it."
Tomoyo turned heel and left, cheeks quietly burning with unholy anger.
Eriol did not move. Only, he stared at the clouds and wondered at life's great joke.
Chapter Four
Verdantly Green Envy
There was a little gathering, a party of sorts. Since Syaoran was back from the war, and Eriol too (as they two had both served under Ender), Sakura and Tomoyo were happy. Tomoyo thought sometimes that her heart would rend for love of Sakura, but Eriol's presence dulled it a little. He was the only friend who understood her feelings for Sakura, and wisely was silent.
They three had greeted Tomoyo on a sun-warmed terrace surrounded by miniature antique roses in lovely porcelain pots, and Sakura had bounded up exuberantly to give her a warm embrace, while Syaoran and Eriol watched on reservedly and smiled at Tomoyo politely. Syaoran seemed to be watching Sakura as if she were his only anchor to the world.
Sakura fussed over Tomoyo's silk chiffon dress, a pale green that still managed to be lushly colored. It was embroidered fantastically with silver and even had tiny emeralds on every edge that formed scallops of jewels, but it was short enough to make her careful about how she sat. Her emeralds were strung all on her ankles with little silver bells tinkling with movement, and an emerald ring on three or four of her toes. Emeralds hung from her ears in an obedient row, and there was a simple circle of the most enormous of them casually crowning her dark head, and woven into the emeralds were tiny white flowers that bloomed with enviable grace.
Tomoyo held her chin level with the top of her head, and sat with a straight-backed posture that bespoke of years of training and vigilance.
Sakura, in Tomoyo's opinion, was far more beautiful than herself by far. She was in a pale pink linen sundress decorated with long ivory satin sashes fringed with tiny pink colored pearls, with only simple silver chains on her ankles as adornment, and silver hoops in her ears. But from her vibrated an intensity of life that Tomoyo wanted to capture, to hold. She was the exuberance of the sun.
Syaoran and Eriol watched them silently, and Sakura only laughed at them delightedly and exclaimed over their gloomy expressions and implored to them appealingly to speak and laugh.
Tomoyo laughed softly, too, at Sakura's bubbling, gloriously shining joy. She flitted among Eriol and Syaoran like a pink and satin orchid-scented creature of the forests, pouring tea from exquisite crackled ivory-colored Valarges teaware, and plied upon them sweets and tarts. Tomoyo floated amongst them, too, urging with her admirable grace to be lively in the sun.
They were subdued. They would laugh quietly and joke, but there was a shadow that had been cast softly and ominously. Tomoyo was happy enough to be with all three, and Sakura most of all, of course, and could not help but kiss her shining cheek twice and exclaim over her happiness.
Syaoran would watch Sakura more than anything. In between their bouts of merry conversation, maintained mostly by Tomoyo and Sakura, Syaoran would watch her like a hawk, as if afraid, lest she evaporate into the sun and wind.
But it was most disturbing to Tomoyo in her desolate happiness of Sakura that Eriol would watch her. Eriol followed her with his eyes, sometimes, watching the glinting green gems through her long ebon curls, her lush green silk flow in accordance with the wind, her violet eyes sleepy with the sun.
Once she caught him staring at her, with a quick, alert eagerness that was almost painful in his eyes. The hard awareness that his gaze usually bespoke of was still there, but it was tenfold more alert, watching her with a cautious and watchful awareness that made her shoulder blades itch.
When Syaoran and Sakura had been seen out in late afternoon, Eriol had found it amusing to stare at her. Irritably, Tomoyo snapped at him.
"Why do you watch me like that?"
His cryptic smile was charming and handsome as ever, but now there was an insolence that was new.
"The better to understand you, and shall we say, a certain flower of your life."
Tomoyo's face turned a little pale under the expert makeup.
"I know that you know, Eriol, so I won't debase you intelligence or our friendship by pretending. Please don't bring that up."
His face darkened under that perfect bronze complexion.
"So charming, Tomoyo, your innocent worship. But little do you know that you are on your inexorable march to le morte d'amour. You sacrifice yourself so willingly. I have never sacrificed for much, except of course, that entire mess of my not so glorious mass murder, that insignificant xenocide."
"Your lost innocence isn't lost on me, Eriol. Its made you very, very bitter and I hope you choke on it."
Tomoyo turned heel and left, cheeks quietly burning with unholy anger.
Eriol did not move. Only, he stared at the clouds and wondered at life's great joke.