Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I am SO sorry about not updating! I have been stuck in scholarly hell for the past...several months? But I've finally got this out with the fifth chapter in the making...so! Thanks especially to Elven Sword for saying which stories were favorable, I'll start them as soon as I get this one organized (I'll try not to overload myself with stuff...two stories working at the moment is quite a lot considering the time...)

MUCHAS GRACIAS to everyone! (i don't take spanish but hey, i can pretend...)

Cobalt Rose

A Month in the Courts of Li

Picnic of Serious Discussions

Sakura stretched as she got out of bed, feeling more rested than she had in days. Taking off her nightdress and undergarments, she went to the bathroom and filled the large tub with hot water. It was only after she had stepped into the tub and started washing herself with soap that she remembered the events of the morning before. "Chiharu-chan!" cried Sakura. She hurriedly stepped out of the bath, slipped on the smooth tiles made smoother by the water on them, and found herself sprawled over the cold tiles. "Mou, this is so embarrassing," she muttered to herself under her breath as she wrapped herself up in a towel. Drying and dressing in a light, simple, fashionable dress, she pulled on her sandals and hurried off to Chiharu's rooms.

She burst into the rooms to find her older sister, Eriol, and Yamazaki already there. She felt the rapidly nearing aura of Meiling approach, and stepped out of the doorway just in time so that Meiling careened into the couch instead of into her back. Chiharu was sitting up in bed smiling and laughing at them, looking as though she hadn't been attacked by dark magic the day before. Tomoyo laughed with her brightly. Even Eriol smiled at them happily. Yamazaki was grinning like he always did all the time, eyes closed. "Incoming, Ken and Syaoran," he intoned. Sakura pulled Meiling out of the couch and they both walked to the bed so they could get a better view.

Just as expected, both boys were running head on, almost as if they were racing, Sakura mused to herself. They crashed through the open doors, almost getting stuck and landed in the couch, upturning it. They looked up at the sound of girlish laughter to find all four of the girls laughing at them. Sakura couldn't take it any more. She collapsed across Chiharu's legs, face red with laughter. Meiling, in her Chinese style dress and pants rolled around on the floor clutching her stomach. Tomoyo fell back into a chair next to Chiharu's bed, tears forming in her eyes from laughing so hard. Chiharu had already almost passed out from lack of air. Steam could practically be seen coming up from the two boys faces.

After a few minutes, everyone had calmed down enough for talk. Wiping tears from her lashes, Tomoyo got up from the chair she had been sitting in. Both younger Li brothers were now sitting sulkily on the couch they'd upturned, Meiling and Sakura sat on the bed with Chiharu. Yamazaki stood close by, never really far away from Chiharu's side. Eriol was polishing his glasses to Yamazaki's other side. "I have an idea," she announced. "Let's all go on a picnic! If we do too many strenuous things, like putting up the illusion that we tried to do yesterday, right after what happened yesterday, most likely, things won't turn out as well as we want them to. Besides, if the un-magic user is watching, going out for a picnic will show them we aren't afraid."

Eriol nodded his agreement. "Of course," he added, "that doesn't mean that we aren't going to put up a strong ward around ourselves when we go, and probably place a layer of tracer spells over it as well." He smiled. "Well then, let's get ready for our picnic, shall we?" It was decided that the girls would go to the kitchens and get some food, and the boys would saddle up the horses. Everyone split up to their rooms to get clothes and other things that they wanted to bring to the picnic.

After everyone had left her room, Chiharu got out of bed, stretching muscles that were stiff from spending a day in bed. Picnic! Giggling, she undressed and stepped into her bathroom. She didn't have enough time to take a bath, but she could at least shower. Untying her braids, she took a quick shower, washing with her favorite scent, freesias. She dried her hair hurriedly, watching the clock on her mantelpiece, and tied her braids with two, dark, wine colored ribbons that wove through her braids. Dressing in an ankle length dress of the same color as her ribbons, she also put on a short-sleeved, form fitting blouse. Teiron fluttered to her shoulder and changed into a real live, albeit tiny replica of his larger form.

"Ne Teiron, do you think it wise to do that?" Chiharu asked her Guardian.

"I think its better this way," he replied. "After all, you can just say I'm a pet or something. It's more difficult to carry around a stuffed animal at the age of 16 than it is to have a bird as your pet."

Chiharu nodded as she put on her sandals. "Alright then Teiron! Let's go find the others!" She laughed as she went to find her friends.

Tomoyo

She walked down the halls to her room, calmly planning things out in her mind. Then, making up her mind about something, she changed directions. Selene appeared out of her pendant and changed into a small black cat with amethyst eyes. "Tomoyo-chan, where are you going? Aren't you going to get ready?" she asked.

Tomoyo smiled at the cat on her shoulder. "I'll ask the cooks to prepare a picnic basket for us while we're getting ready, and then we can just pick it up." Arriving at the door to the kitchens, she knocked lightly.

"Yes!" cried an irritated voice as the door was shoved open. "Oh! I'm very sorry your highness," said a tall, brown haired man. "I thought you were Nakuru-san. Well do come in, and my name is Touya."

Tomoyo nodded at this. "Hello Touya-san, the Li princes and my friends were going to be going on a picnic today, and I was wondering if I could request a picnic basket from the kitchens."

Touya waved his hands around. "No need to call me Touya-san, and of course you can request…" he stopped at the sound of running footsteps. "Oh no… majesty? Could I ask you to move over to your left a bit?"

"Yes, of course." Tomoyo moved over as Touya braced himself for the impact.

"PICNIC!" A tall girl with long, strawberry colored hair in a blue and black dress cannoned into Touya's back. "LET ME HELP! I'll make the cookies and the cakes and…I'LL MAKE THE SWEETS!" she cried while hanging off of Touya's neck.

"Ano…Nakuru-san?" Tomoyo hazarded a guess on the girl's name. "I think you're cutting off Touyo-kun's air supply," she said, pointing at Touya, who was growing blue in the face.

"Oh, sorry Touya-kun!" said Nakuru as she let go. "But…please let me make the cookies?" she begged with cute sparkly eyes and a pout. Touya was not amused and was busily coughing and trying to massage his neck.

"Alright," he sighed in defeat. "I'll let you cook them if you promise you won't jump on me like that again today, and you promise not to add too much sugar."

Nakuru danced around happily and rushed off to get all the ingredients. Touya shook his head. "Don't worry princess, I'll make sure she doesn't go overboard, and we'll have your picnic basket ready in half an hour." With a tired bow he turned around to the kitchens and closed the door behind him.

Erm…I hope all goes well, thought Tomoyo not a little worried. "Come Selene, let's go get ready," she said. Checking the time on a nearby clock, she decided she'd have time to dress in something different and try to create an outfit that would work as the clothes for the retinue. At her rooms, she changed into a light, white dress with lavender-violet ribbon woven through the hem. When she stood up, it reached just above her knees, but it didn't look indecent when she was sitting. It was the kind of dress she liked; ethereal in its simplicity and free enough for her to do magic in if that ended up being the case. It was short and therefore, less cumbersome than a long dress when she tried to fight. The neckline was shallow, then dipped down in almost a straight line until it reached the bottom of her breastbone. It was laced up at the front with the same colored ribbon as the hem. When laced up it exposed almost all her shoulders and her collarbones, making her look more alive and less pale in its whiteness. It was almost sleeveless, for the sleeves were very short and puffed with ribbon and frilled edging. She put on a pair of light lavender sandals and collected her sketching notebook, pens, and pencils. With Selene on her shoulder, she left, her steps a light as feathers.

Sakura

Sakura opened her wardrobe, a sandal in one hand, Kero in the other. The other sandal was lying on the floor beside her. "Kero-chan! What am I going to wear?" she asked plaintively. She could never decide what to wear whenever she wanted to look good. I hope that whatever I wear, Syaoran thinks I look nice, she thought to herself blushing. Pulling out outfits from her wardrobe, she debated which to wear. "The dress on that one is pretty, but I can't wear it because the top has long sleeves, and it's going to be warm, I mean, it's MAY for heaven sakes. I suppose I could wear the short-sleeved blouse with the blue skirt that Mother bought me, but the skirt is too restricting. What if we're attacked? I can't fight in that skirt! I can't even walk properly in it!" A knock broke into her thoughts. "Come in!" she called.

"Sakura-chan? Need any help?" Tomoyo asked, stifling giggles at the pile of clothes that lay all over Sakura's bed.

"Tomoyo-chan!" cried Sakura. "Yes! Thank goodness you came! I was having so much trouble picking out clothes!"

Tomoyo smiled at her. "Why not this?" she asked, pointing to a thin strapped white tank top with a pink ribbon at the front, and pleated pink skirt of the same color. "You could wear the white shorts that I created underneath so that if we did get attacked, you wouldn't have to worry. And the top isn't that short. It will show a bit of skin if you raise your arms too high, but it adds to the cuteness," she said with a smile at Sakura's blush.

"It's great! Thanks a million Tomoyo-chan," she said as she changed into her clothes. "What about Mei-chan and Chi-chan?"

"Most likely they'll go to the kitchens. I was there already and the cook Touya-kun said he'd pack us some picnic baskets. Don't worry Sakura-chan, they can always find our auras with that spell that we created yesterday," she reassured comfortingly.

"Alright then, let's go," said Sakura, finished dressing.

Meiling

"Dress, dress, skirt, blouse, dress, hat, sandals… WHERE ARE MY HAIR RIBBONS!" cried Meiling distractedly. Ladon chuckled as his creator rummaged through drawer after drawing trying to find her hair ribbons. "YES!" A cry from Meiling signified that she had found what she had been looking for. Tying her long black hair with the two crimson ribbons, she spoke. "Ladon, can you give me a ride to the kitchens? I'll make us invisible…"

Ladon sighed but changed into his larger form, a fiery winged red lion with a flaming mane. Meiling cast a spell on them so that they would travel unseen, and got on his back. They raced down the marble halls, Ladon's claws silent on the floor because the spell made them silent as well as invisible. Unfortunately, neither of them knew very well where the kitchens were, so finally, they were reduced to wandering along the halls perplexedly and invisible. None of the others were working magic, and she couldn't trace their auras back to them. She gave a frustrated cry when she found herself in front of her own door. They had been walking around with circles.

"Why not try the link spell?" asked Ladon.

"Good idea!" she said, spirits much brighter. Searching within her magic, she found the small spell in her center. It was the only part of her that didn't feel completely hers, and yet, it felt just like the rest of her magic, comforting, solid, and friendly. Identifying the shimmering pale pink that was Sakura, the sky blue that was Chiharu, and the deep amethyst that was Tomoyo, the followed the three strands until Chiharu's started leading in another direction. "She mustn't have reached the kitchens yet," she murmured softly, and continued to follow the other two strands. Just as she turned the corner, a loud boom was heard. "C'mon Ladon! They might be in trouble!" she cried.

Turning the corner, they stopped suddenly. In her surprise, the magical shield dissipated and Ladon quickly had to disappear. "GHOST!" cried Meiling at the pale while, spectral, and oddly enough, very irritated figure before her.

"HOEEE!" Sakura screamed, hugging Tomoyo fearfully.

"Maa maa Sakura-chan, it's just Touya-kun covered in flour," said Tomoyo reassuringly patting Sakura's hand. Turning to the flour covered youth, she smiled. "I take it that Nakuru-san had a lot of fun?"

Touya just shook his head, wordlessly handing them four picnic baskets. "You'll need them. I know from experience that the younger two princes eat a great deal." He gave Tomoyo a small canister and smiled. "This is some Earl Grey Tea. It's Eriol-san's favorite blend. Inside, there'll be an even smaller canister with tiny packets of chamomile tea. They were blended by Yukito-kun himself, made to be extra bitter. They're also for Eriol-san. Whatever he does with them," Touya muttered under his breath.

Tomoyo smiled sweetly up at the older boy. "Thank you very much Touya-kun. We'll return the baskets when we get back." With a small curtsey, she and the two other girls left. Just before they turned the corner, Touya saw another girl, her hair done in two luxurious, mahogany braids join them.

"Sorry I'm late you guys," said Chiharu apologetically. I was taking a rather long shower. I suppose it's the hair," she mumbled unhappily. "Do you think I should get it cut?"

"Of course not," replied Tomoyo gaily. "Your hair's lovely! It would be a shame to cut such pretty hair." Meiling and Sakura nodded emphatically.

"Thanks you guys," Chiharu said. "I wouldn't have wanted to cut my hair anyway." The four girls chattered about what they could do at their picnic, and soon reached the stables. The princes, their horses saddled and bridled, waited. Four other horses, also saddled and bridled, but rider-less, waited. Chiharu grinned along with the others. She loved horseback riding. Three of the four horses were unknown to her, but she knew how to handle an unruly horse. "Will we be riding very far?" she asked curiously. If they were, she'd have to change her attire for something more suitable.

Yamazaki shook his head. "We only plan to go as far as a clearing in the forest around the castle, and it isn't very far. There isn't a trail there, but it's really very easy walking for the horses. You can ride side saddle if you wish," he said with a wink.

Chiharu blushed furiously, but swung herself up into the saddle of a bay mare all the same. She preferred riding bareback, but her dress wouldn't permit it. She watched Meiling nimbly mount a strawberry roan, and then realized that Tomoyo was holding a stack of picnic baskets, impossible without magical help. Waving a hand, she shrunk them, earning a thankfully smile from her elder cousin. Sakura got on a dappled pinto, and Tomoyo, the last of the girls into the saddle, with their shrunken picnic baskets in her hand, swung herself up into the saddle of Atlantis, her pale, blue-gray and white mare.

Eight pairs of lungs breathed in on a silent command, and soon a strong ward was erected around the group of horses. Outside the layer of ward, Eriol and Tomoyo crafted together the layer of tracer spells. Sakura and Syaoran did the layer of illusion spells while Chiharu, Yamazaki, Meiling, and Ken, spelled their eyes and the eyes of the horses to be able to see the ward when they needed to. Soon, they were traveling along the easy trail that led to the forest behind the castle.

The slow, easy gait of the horses soon lulled the group from any idle chatter that they were engaged in, and they spent the quarter of an hour getting to the clearing in relative silence. Tomoyo leaned against the strong, arched neck of her mare, the dark length of her hair cascading down the mare's pale white-blue mane. Her Guardian, in her smaller real form, was currently perched on one shoulder, purring contentedly. Purring? The thought drifted through her mind softly. I didn't know Guardians could imitate the animal that they appear to be, down to the last purr… Her thoughts drifted off again on that lazy current that sort of held her mind. The wind ruffled her skirt pleasantly enough, and she glanced surreptitiously at her riding partner. His eyes were trained on the road ahead of them, and didn't notice her observations. The same breeze that had played with her skirt also touched his hair, blowing the strands lightly into his eyes. A hand, without the gloves that she had seen that yesterday morning, and this morning for that matter, came up to brush the hair away, and his eyes glanced in her direction. He smiled as she lowered her eyes, nearly blushing, caught watching him. When she had looked up again, his eyes were back on the trail ahead. Another glance around told her no one had seen their little exchange.

Sakura had decided against riding side-saddle, the more ladylike pose was one she liked, but she could have better balance when she wasn't riding side-saddle, and she could then talk to Syaoran without having to hold the reins of her horse. For the first few minutes they chattered animatedly, but after a while, both contented themselves with riding close together, drinking in the clean air in companionable silence. The mare stumbled, losing its balance on a rock practically unhorsing Sakura, but the fine horsewoman was unworried, her knees gripping the saddle to keep her from falling off. She glanced over at Syaoran reassuringly, surprised to find him half out of his saddle, a hand hovering conspicuously over her knee. She smiled at his concern, eliciting blushes from Syaoran's neck to the tips of his ears, and stifled the urge to laugh. Her riding companion was so cute that way. Cute? Did I just think that Syaoran-kun is cute? I mean, he is cute, but…what am I thinking! She shook her head a bit to clear the thoughts, a cookie munching Kero in her saddlebag giving her no advice.

"Did you know," a beautiful, delicately handcrafted rice-cake sweet entered his vision. "Suama!" he cried happily, taking the sweet. He looked up to find an almost smirking girl looking at him. The suama, a bit bigger than a normal one, was still in his hand, and he bit into it, savoring the soft sweetness of the candy.

Chiharu smiled. For the past ten minutes, she had stopped him every time he had opened his mouth with a snack from their picnic basket, but nothing had gotten such a strong reaction as that soft, pink sweet that Yamazaki was happily munching away at. What had he called it? Suama? I'll have to remember that one, she thought quietly, Teiron perched on her shoulder, his long, blue tail feathers brushing her cheek, nibbling the proffered corner of another suama that she held out to him. She heard Eriol say that they were almost there and smiled at the thought. Lunch. Her stomach growled slightly. It had been some time since she had had breakfast, in bed she might add, and she was hungry.

"Are you going to eat that suama?" asked a curious voice. She looked up into Yamazaki's grinning face, the closed slits of his eyes looking at her face, a finger pointing at the suama held in her hand. "I could hear your stomach growling from here."

Chiharu blushed furiously and nodded as she bit into the candy. The urge to hit Yamazaki swiftly disappeared at the sudden sweetness of the suama flooded her mouth. It wasn't at all like the sharp, sweet tang of peppermints, one of her favorite sweets, but it was soft, syrupy, and all-pervading, and not a sensation she disliked. She chewed happily, not noticing the satisfied, close-eyed grin on Yamazaki's face, or the small flash of stormy gray-blue under dark lashes.

Meiling watched Ken, his graceful fingers twirling an old fashioned brush pen. A blank scroll was lying in his lap. She felt a tingle of power as sparkling ink flowed from the brush onto the paper. The brush twirled expertly in his hands, writing curious characters that looked nothing like the modern script of his kingdom. The gold, crimson, violet, and emerald shine of the ink surprised her. She couldn't read what Ken had written, but it had obviously caught his mind. He frowned, an unreadable look crossing his face. Meiling caught herself watching the way his lips moved and hid her blush with a toss of her long hair. She noticed Ken look up and smile at her, amid the cloud of silken tresses that the wind tossed around her, and grinned at him. He looked down again, but she couldn't help noticing the light blush that dusted his cheeks.

"We're here," announced Eriol, grinning slightly. He dismounted easily from his dark, ebony stallion, tying the reins to a branch and loosening his mount's girth. Soon the eight were all dismounted. Eriol took from his pocket a sturdy, nicely patterned, well woven pocket handkerchief, in a light, sea-and-sky blue. Murmuring a spell over it, he let it expand until it would allow at least twenty people to sit comfortably with enough room left over for the food. Another murmur caused the picnic baskets to float over and expand to their normal sizes, except for Chiharu and Yamazaki's; the suama that she'd taken out of the basket had forced her to return her basket to its normal size first. Soon everyone was settled on the enlarged handkerchief in a circle, the delectable foods at the center. Everyone had to agree that it was a feast fit for a king. There were platefuls of small sandwiches, platters of roast and fried chicken, some sausages, baskets of fruits, bowls of salad, steamy covered tureens of different soups, loaves of various breads, wedges of cheese, hotpots, turnovers, packets upon packets of cookies, cakes, and pudding, and many different drinks as well. There was white and red wine, tea, water, milk, and different fruit juices, all in their own bottles, labeled in a neat hand that Tomoyo decided must have been Yukito-san's.

It seemed as though a great many funny things had been kept in the saddle bags, for the boys soon had a place, much like a pavilion, set up. Actually, it was a small wooden miniature that Yamazaki had carved and fit together from a small sized piece of mahogany, but a bit of magic had enlarged it so that there was a flat platform large enough for the great carpet that had once been a handkerchief to lie upon. The girls soon had the foods in order at the center of the shaded pavilion as the princes pulled tiny pillows from their saddlebags, which had actually been shrunken by magic. Putting the pillows around the food in a comfortable way, they soon had the perfect place for eating outdoors. It wasn't like any of the small, simple picnics that the girls had enjoyed together, but it was certainly nice. The pavilion was low enough so that once their shoes were off, they could sit at the edge and the green grass would tickle the soles of their feet.

Meiling rested back against some pillows with a cup of chilled tea cradled in her hands. She happily sighed, sipping the cool drink. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Ken, sitting to her left, had a sandwich in one hand and his enchanted brush in the other. She could also see that if he wasn't careful, he would spill the contents of his sandwich onto the immaculate fabric of his clean, white, silk pants. Putting down her cup carefully, she took away the half-eaten sandwich from Ken and wiped the small spot of mayonnaise at the corner of his mouth with the napkin that used to be on her lap.

Ken blushed red hot like a poker. Curiously, Meiling put a hand on his forehead. "Are you alright? You're all flushed," she said in a worried tone of voice. "Are you coming down with something?"

Ken shook his head rapidly, dislodging the hand that was pressed lightly against his forehead. "I-I'm fine…" he stuttered. Still blushing, he picked up the sandwich again and took a big bite, choking on it.

"Ken-kun," sighed Meiling, "you're going to hurt yourself like that someday." She patted him on his back until he stopped coughing. Handing him a glass of water, she let him swallow large gulps, sighing when he coughed on that too.

"Here Meiling, let me help," suggested Tomoyo from Ken's left, suspecting the real reason why Ken wasn't recovering from his coughing fit very quickly. Under her ministrations, he soon stopped coughing and thanked her for helping him. She shook her head slightly and sat back down at Eriol's side.

She sipped a hot, but not burning, spoonful of cream of potato soup, dotted with small bits of bacon and cheese, humming pleasantly at the warmth of it rolling down into her stomach. She had found out what the small canister of extra-bitter chamomile tea had been for. Spinel particularly enjoyed the bitter taste of the hot tea. Her own Guardian who preferred sour over any of the tastes and acted rather peculiar when she came in contact with extremely salty foods, was licking cutely at half a lemon and half a lime with her pink tongue. Spinel sat next to her sipping his tiny cup of tea.

Tomoyo took another spoonful of the hot, creamy soup into her mouth, swallowing with evident pleasure, her rosy tongue slipping between sakura-petal like lips to lick off the last of the soup from them. Eriol watched, forcing down a blush at Tomoyo's elegant and almost flirtatious actions. She could even make eating an art. He tried to disguise his watching with another sip of tea, but he had the uncomfortable feeling that she knew he was watching. She picked up a strawberry from a bowl of fruit nearby and dipped the end in whipped cream. Her tongue darted out to sample the sweet, cream confection, and Eriol turned away, hiding his flushed cheeks with another sip of tea.

"Strawberry?" the mentioned fruit entered his vision, the tip lightly coated with whipped cream.

Eriol suppressed the sudden urge to gulp nervously. He noticed the half eaten strawberry in one hand, and the one extended out to him, almost to his lips, but not quite. On sudden inspiration, he dipped his head down gracefully, taking the proffered treat and chewing quite thoughtfully, hoping the others wouldn't notice. Unfortunately, there was no such luck with poor Eriol. The distinct clang of a cup falling onto cloth covered wood with a splash that signified there had still been drink inside, was all the notification Eriol needed. He could practically feel his ears burning. More embarrassing still, he imagined he could still feel the softness of her fingertips against his lips as he had when he had bitten into the tart sweetness of the strawberry. He chewed, succeeding without turning pinker than the lips of the crown princess, and tried not to look at anybody, maintaining the greater part of his calm.

Syaoran didn't notice that the mess by his knees was being magically mopped up by a floating handkerchief. He did notice though, when the handkerchief started wiping his pant legs of the tea all over them. Spluttering and blushing, he scooted away so quickly from Sakura that he almost fell of the edge of the pagoda. Instantly he was sorry, for a look of hurt flashed into her eyes before it disappeared. He cleaned his pants with a flick of his hand and took the wet, silk handkerchief from the girl. Soon it was neatly pressed, cleaned, and slightly perfumed by the scent of cherries.

"Mmmm! Plums and cherries!" breathed Sakura quietly, the pale pink handkerchief pressed lightly to her lips. "I love the scent of plums and cherries. Mother used to wear them…until…" Sakura stopped and Syaoran noticed tears forming in her eyes. She brushed them away with the handkerchief, smiling and crying as the scent of plums and cherries comforted her.

"The blue-plum trees and cherry blossom trees in our kingdom have been fading," said Chiharu quietly. "Queen Nadeshiko planted the most of the ones in the castle when Tomoyo-chan and Sakura-chan were born, but for a few years now, around five to be exact, those trees have been fading. Kaho-sensei, our mage teacher, said that fruit bearing trees flourish when there is more magic in an area, but no other type of fruit tree has been dying like that. You're very lucky. Nothing in your gardens is dying."

Syaoran glanced at the princess next to him who was wiping the last of her tears away with the handkerchief. "I…I didn't know," he stammered, blushing red as he patted the girl's hand. She sniffled and then smiled. Looking up at him, she blushed and gave the hand in hers a soft squeeze.

Yamazaki smiled as Syaoran's face began to steam. He nibbled the cookie in his hand in almost a bored manner. They were very good, though a bit too sweet for his liking. "Eriol-kun, has Nakuru-san been to the cookies again?" he asked.

Eriol smiled. "According to Tomoyo-san, Nakuru was adamant that she would make the cookies. I think Touya-kun had quite a time trying to get her to use less sugar."

Yamazaki nodded, grinning. "Juice Chiharu?" he asked, offering the girl a glass of apple juice. She shook her head. "Milk then?" he offered. Filling her glass when she nodded, he gave her a slice of chocolate cake as well. "You have to have Nakuru's chocolate cake if you're going to drink milk. Nakuru is famous for her chocolate-chip-and-german-chocolate-cake-with-chocolate-frosting-and-white-chocolate-roses-garnish. There really is nothing like it, it's chocolaty and sweet, but not too much, and perfect with lots of milk."

Chiharu grinned and took a bite. "Mmmm! It's really good!" she said with surprise around her mouthful of cake. Soon the slice of cake was gone, along with a jug of milk. "You weren't lying," said Chiharu almost accusingly as she wiped her lips with a napkin. "It is good with lots of milk, and you need lots of milk to finish a slice!" She giggled.

"Shall we clear away the meal then?" asked Eriol cordially.

Everyone nodded and soon the food and dishes were shrunken and packed away in their saddlebags. The pagoda, carpet, and pillows remained. Quickly and smoothly, a set of sound barrier charms was placed under the normal wards that they had made before setting out from the castle. Everything happened quietly and without a spoken word, for somehow, all eight of them knew that this picnic wasn't just a normal picnic.

For a time there was silence, each contemplating his or her own thoughts, but with a sigh Eriol began. "As you all know, there's more than one reason for this picnic."

Tomoyo nodded. "Would you mind, Eriol-kun, if you told us how this has all been happening from the start, and any reason why you think it could be happening?" she asked politely.

Around the circle there were collective nods.

Eriol smiled faintly, concealing his unhappiness with his usual close-eyed calm. Surprisingly, one person didn't fall for it. He could feel a tendril of her magic curl around his core, sending him comfort. Taking a calming breath he began. "A few months back, indeed, I believe it was exactly three months to this very day, that this began happening. As you heard yesterday, we began finding burn marks all over the orchards and gardens of the palace. My brothers and I set up a ward around the castle to protect it, as well as an identity spell over close lands, just in case something like that happened to the nearby holdings. Oddly enough, no other holding has been attacked. When we sent out tracer spells they would just disappear at one point. The attacks were nearly constant at one point, and we finally decided that we would go after the mage, un-magic or not."

Eriol sighed, silently thankful for the increased comfort Tomoyo was sending him. He breathed in, keeping the feeling of helplessness from flooding his voice. "It was a disaster. We almost lost Ken and Syaoran, and Yamazaki and I weren't much better. But we did figure out one thing. The un-magic mage lives in a kingdom to our east. Afterwards, Father decided to increase our training in battle arts, and Mother contributed to both our research and the wards around the palace. We didn't mean for you to get involved, but when I found Tomoyo-san's scrying spell, I realized that she had magic. It was essential that you were all warned…but it turned out that you were all mages, so I guess that cleared things up." His cheerful smile was back in place.

"Eriol-kun, you know that we will help you in every way we can," said Tomoyo softly, breaking the silence. The other girls nodded and an uncomfortable silence descended upon them.

"Well then!" Meiling said, a touch loudly. Whipping a miniature, low table from a hidden pocket, she murmured a word and placed the rapidly enlarging table on the empty space of the pavilion between them. "Anybody able to conjure up a map of the Seven Nations?" she asked briskly.

Catching on, Ken waved a hand in the air and brought out a map from the emptiness before him. He lay it out flat on the top of the table, using sturdy iron pins to keep it from rolling up again. Everyone leaned closer to the table and serious debating began. "Of the seven kingdoms this side of the sea, there are only four to the east of the Li kingdom…" Ken took a moment to count them off on his fingers. "The Kouyama kingdom, the Asakura kingdom, the Higurashi kingdom, and of course, the Kinomoto kingdom."

"But, which kingdom would hold hostility towards the Li kingdom?" asked Chiharu.

Yamazaki shrugged. "I am well acquainted with the rulers of the Asakura kingdom, but they are in the midst of a very personal civil war with a renegade mage by the name of Hao. Their kingdom is also the farthest from ours. I find it hard to believe that they would be thinking of attacking our kingdom at the moment."

Syaoran nodded his agreement to his. "Besides, the Crown Prince, Asakura Yoh is hardly one to be attacking people. He was the one who set up the trade agreements and peace treaties with all seven kingdoms, and we all went over them," he remarked, motioning to his brothers. "There wasn't a single loophole anywhere to give any one country an advantage."

"The Kouyama kingdom then?" asked Ken.

"Of course not," Tomoyo replied with a bright smile. "Mitsuki would be the last person to do that! Besides, her whole kingdom is getting renovated and she's about to be married to Kira Takuto. I really think Mitsuki is more like Yoh-san. Besides. Isn't her kingdom a coastal kingdom? I heard they were going to be expending their army in guarding the trading ships that traveled from their country to the southern nations."

"The Higurashi kingdom we don't know about," Sakura mentioned.

Syaoran snorted. "Eriol knows the prince there rather well. It seems he and our second cousin Miroku helped Inuyasha marry the princess Kagome. As that kingdom and ours is practically linked by blood, I doubt they would attack us."

"Besides," added Eriol, "they've just finished a battle between the evil youkai and the good youkai of the land. From what I hear, their mages will take another year or so in healing the land and people. Any un-magic user would be no good for them."

Tomoyo bit her lip uncertainly. "But, that means that the un-magic mage is from the Kinomoto kingdom."

Dead silence met her statement.

Eriol looked at her, his eyes no longer holding their customary mischievous glint. "Tomoyo-san, none of us here thinks the mage is coming from your kingdom. We are aware that the throne would not be behind such work." His eyes momentarily reflected his concern for her. "We suspect renegades that are out of the power of all four kingdoms."

After an uncomfortable silence where Tomoyo nodded her thanks to Eriol for his words, the talk drifted back to possible mages with the need for revenge that strong. An hour later, everyone mutually agreed that it was time to call it quits. They packed methodically, each lost in their own contemplations of the recent events, and it was a silent party that returned to the castle.

None to soon it seemed, for as soon as Tomoyo swung herself from the saddle, she could feel the familiar aura of her other guardian, Ion, approaching. She blushed as he knelt before her and tugged his sleeve impatiently for him to get up. She noticed that he had done his hair today so that the thick, dark length was a neat braid. "Yes Ion?" she questioned him.

"Tomoyo-sama, King Li requires the attendance of the Li Princes, yourself, Sakura-san, Chiharu-san, and Meiling-san," he said solemnly.

Tomoyo nodded smiling. She let Ion escort her towards the building, unaware that a certain cerulean-eyed prince was dearly wishing to be the one to escort her in Ion's stead.

Main Reception Hall

"I realize this is a little sudden," intoned the king, "but with one thing and another," he nodded to his sons standing at the base of the dais, "there have not been enough social events held by the royal family, and it has been tradition to hold a festival out in the castle gardens at this time of year. So, I have taken the liberty, while you were all away, to arrange for a ball this Friday. Since its Wednesday, you will have all day tomorrow to prepare, and probably until mid-afternoon on Friday as well." King Li noticed that he was receiving little reaction from his sons and his guests. "Is there a problem?" he asked pleasantly.

"W-we're going to have a what exactly this Friday?" asked Syaoran, the most forthright of the princes.

"An evening ball in the castle gardens and orchards," replied the king to his son.

"A WHAT!"

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Cobalt Rose