When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," --- that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Ode on a Grecian Urn, John Keats

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( Two ) _________________________ The Intangible Redundancy of Time

Dinner in the Blue Formal Dining Room of the Reed Manor had been completely uneventful thus far.

Eriol was seated at the head of the long rosewood table with Chantal, Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo sitting about him. The variety and wealth of the blue decor articulated the sapphire hue of his eyes.

The walls were covered in silk with a blue floral design. The ceiling was embellished with pure gold patterns set on white paint. An array of smaller coronas dropping down from the high ceiling lit the chamber in a shower of silver light. The west wall comprised of two tall windows hidden by heavy blue velvet curtains with gold trims. The chamber was contemporarily designed in a manner that echoed antique grotesques.

Sakura was doing a splendid job of keeping all forms of conversation away from any touchy subjects. She was able to skillfully direct the dialogue from the English weather to current world affairs. Eriol was being surprisingly cooperative. He was commenting colorfully to each new topic as if he was unaware of Sakura's control over the atmosphere. Chantal, Syaoran, and Tomoyo decided wisely to remain quiet.

"After we married, Syaoran and I had spent the first few years in Hong Kong. Until he was finally inducted as Clan leader, of course," Sakura was saying as she picked at the shrimp cocktail served elegantly in martini glasses.

"The Elders had insisted for Syaoran to take over Li Enterprises last winter," she continued. "And we have been on the move ever since. Overseeing international branches of the company and whatnot."

"Is that so?" Eriol said with mocked astonishment. He looked at Syaoran who was struggling to look calm. "I never knew of my cute descent to be a capitalist," he smirked as color started to show on Syaoran's handsome face.

Sakura nodded brightly. "Syaoran is very good at managing the company. In fact, the Li Enterprises stocks have been doing much better since he took charge," she turned to look at her husband and smiled proudly at him.

Eriol laughed aloud. "Sakura-chan," he said deciding to change the subject. "Tell me, what have you been up to recently?"

"Travelling," she replied. "New York City, Sydney, Rome, Madrid... I can't seem to keep track of it all," Sakura giggled softly. "I've seen so many pictures and movies, read so many stories of different cities and landmarks that travelling seemed almost pointless. But it's different. It's so different when you are standing there with the people, the food, and the language."

Eriol nodded. "I have had my own share of wanderlust as well."

"Do you travel often, Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked, her green eyes gleamed with fascination.

"Quite a bit actually," he replied with a wry grin.

"Oh?"

"I've been all over Europe, the Americas, Asia; countless different countries." he was saying as he mentioned with his hand. "I used to travel frequently. I never stayed in one place for more than a month or so. Drifting from one place to another, it was quite a lifestyle."

Sakura smiled and waited for him to continue.

"In fact," Eriol said and turned to look at Chantal, who was seated closest to him. "I met Chantal during my travelling."

Tomoyo's fork stopped in midair. She looked up at him for the first time that evening. Her lavender eyes settled upon him and she frowned slightly. She put down her fork gently. She turned to him with her full attention.

A vicious silence hung in the air. The casual pretense Sakura had worked so hard to maintain had been utterly shattered. Four pairs of eyes were all on Eriol.

Sensing the tension, Chantal gave a light laugh. "Oh stop it, Eriol," she forced a smile but her golden eyes flashed warningly.

"Do tell," Tomoyo suddenly spoke from the far end of the table. Breaking all the rules of courtesy, she continued. "How did you two meet?"

The raging quiet returned. Eriol's sapphire orbs leveled with Tomoyo's intent gaze. His glacial eyes flickered. Her amethyst eyes never yielded to their coldness.

"Eriol-kun," Sakura began, trying to break the tacit fury looming around them.

"We met in Venice, Daidouji-san," Eriol replied smoothly. "The Duke of Savoy had invited me to his 56th birthday celebration. Since Clow Reed owned a beautiful Venetian villa there, I decided to stay and catch up with my Italian associates. Ultimately, it was the Prince of Naples who introduced us."

Breaking his gaze over Tomoyo, he turned to Chantal and smiled. "The moment I met her, I knew," he murmured.

"I see," Tomoyo replied. Her eyes flickered from Eriol to Chantal.

"How have you been the past few years?" Eriol asked. His turned to look at her once again; he challenged her.

She crocked her head and smiled bitterly. A strand of raven hair fell into her lavender eyes. "I opened my own fashion boutique a few years ago," she replied. "The boutique had been expanding ever since. Actually, I opened new branches in Milan and Paris recently."

Sakura visibly relaxed, for the tension had left the air. "A princess in Greece had actually just asked Tomoyo-chan to design her wedding gown," she added and smiled brightly.

Eriol chuckled. "You've made quite a life for yourself, Daidouji-san," he said. "I wonder if---"

The sharp sound of a chair scrapping against the wooden floor interrupted him. Syaoran had suddenly stood up in alarm. Four pairs of eyes looked to him.

"Can you sense that?" he asked breathlessly. His voice was tight and urgent. His usual handsome face was troubled.

"No," Sakura replied. "I don't sense anything."

"Neither do I," Eriol said as he stood up. "What is it you are sense, my cute descent?"

Syaoran shot him an acid stare. "Magic," he said. "Very strong magic. It's close." Syaoran quickly made his way to the windows on the west wall. He threw back the velvet curtains to reveal a spectacular view of the night sky and the manor gardens.

His eyes scanned the vicinity. "He's here," Syaoran announced. His amber eyes darkened.

"I don't sense anything," Sakura said as she walked to Syaoran's side. Her familiar blithe countenance became bewildered. "Are you sure you are sensing magic?"

"Yes," Chantal suddenly spoke. Four pairs of eyes settled upon her in incredulity. She turned to Eriol and gave him the most heartbreaking look.

"He has returned," was all she said.

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Author's Notes: Okay, it's getting there. I hope you can see the tension between Tomoyo and Eriol. You will get to know more about that in the next chapter. The main objective in this chapter was to give you a little background on what Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Eriol have been doing in the past few years. Mainly, I wanted the readers to know how Chantal and Eriol met.

I am really pushing the plot along in this chapter. I was actually going to introduce the major conflict in the next chapter but I thought it would be more interesting to leave you guys hanging for while.

The designs and details of Eriol's manor (The Reed Manor) were based on The Catherine Palace in Russia. The palace was the home of Empress Catherine II and numerous Russian Czars in the past. Since 1918, the Palace was made into a museum and was maintained as one ever since.

The Duke of Savoy mentioned in this chapter is the formal title for the king of Italy. Prince of Naples is the formal title of the crowned prince of Italy.

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