Title: A Picture Worth A Thousand Words
Author: ForestGlenny
Genre: Romance/Humor
Rating: PG
Warnings: Raenef/Eclipse, shonen ai venturing towards yaoi (but come on, it's DD)
Summary: Eclipse gets Raenef to sit for a portrait, but ends up with more than he bargained for.
Disclaimer: I don't own Demon Diary, because if I did, there would have been a heck of a lot more glompage going on.
Author's Notes: Well, this is my third DD fanfic and, at ten pages, size 10 Arial font, it is officially the longest fic I've ever written! Please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

A/N: (29 Dec 06)

Wow.

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you, to everyone who has read, reviewed, or favorited this story. I think it's every author's dream to be popular, and you have successfully made my dream come true. At 8333 words, as of today it has earned 70 reviews, 2482 hits, is in 3 C2 communities, on the favorites list of 56 lovely people, and on the alert list of 5 more. I am immensely happy for the appreciation shown for this story. It's my baby, and by extension, you are all its godparents (or aunts or uncles or something).

So, in honor of its second (and one half) birthday, I present to you the edited, revised edition, which isn't all that different than the original, except for all the little gramatical errors are fixed, and the few passages I believed to be awkward two years ago have hopefully been rectified. Though the formatting is still a nightmare. Oh, and then there's this little bit of grovelling. :) I sincerely hope that you continue to enjoy not only this story, but all the other wonderful fanfics out there that we have left to discover.

With love, Forest Glenny

---

"A what?" Raenef asked, very articulately.

Erutis was choking on a piece of toast while Chris was rolling around on the floor, and Eclipse began to feel that this might be more trouble than it was worth.

"A portrait, sire. A painting of yourself, possibly to be kept in your bedroom or one of the main rooms. It is customary for demon lords to have at least one, somewhere in the castle." Actually, were Eclipse more honest with himself, he just wanted the painting so he could stare at his master without the danger of Raenef catching on. He growled slightly before adding, "Also, should you ever... wander off again --" and here Raenef looked rather sheepish, "-- I will have something to show to the mortals who are searching for you." And avoid any misunderstandings. Like the last time.

Erutis finally managed to swallow her toast and chased it down with some coffee for good measure. She was still chuckling, but it was quieter now. "Can you imagine Rae sitting for a portrait? He'll fidget through the whole thing!"

Chris chimed in with his ten cents. "Yeah, the painter will probably give up in exasperation."

Raenef pouted. "I can sit still if I want to."

"Prove it." Erutis and Chris leaned forward, twin expectant grins on their faces. The demon lord gulped.

"What, now?"

"Yes," said Erutis. "I want to see you sit still for a minute."

"Um," Raenef looked around, noticing that Eclipse had his hand to his forehead and didn't look particularly encouraging. "All right."

He sat up straight, crossing his legs at the ankle, neatly spread his napkin across his lap and looked down towards his almost empty plate, closing his eyes so that he didn't have to look at Erutis. She had a tendency to make him laugh. Then he took a deep breath before saying, "I'm ready."

"Okay, go." Chris started counting softly, timing the challenge.

"If you make it," Erutis added, "I'll bake- erm, get you a cake."

Yum, thought Raenef, realizing that if he said it out loud he would lose. I love cake. He floated off into a happy dream world consisting of cake, sugar, tomatoes, and probably the occasional small furry creature.

Eclipse settled into a more comfortable looming position. He was very interested in seeing how this would turn out. While Raenef the Fifth wasn't exactly known for his patience and serenity, he had been doing considerably better since he had integrated with his other half, so that now, instead of fidgeting stupidly, he tended to fidget intelligently. (Which wasn't that much better, but it's the thought that counts.)

Meanwhile, Erutis and Chris were staring at Raenef intently, practically trying to see through him. Raenef could feel their gazes on the top of his head, and it was starting to unnerve him.

Don't move, he kept telling himself in a desperate tone of thought. Think of the wonderful cake...

His pinkie twitched, but no one noticed. However, Raenef could feel the impulse to move, the need to change position welling up inside of him.

"Forty-six... forty-seven... forty-eight... forty-nine..." said Chris, who was getting progressively louder. Raenef wished he could open his eyes because he was getting a distinctly unsettled feeling about not being able to see were everyone was. He wanted to ask Erutis if he could move his eyes, but then he would lose.

"Fifty-four... fifty-five..." The urge to move was building quickly now, as Chris practically started shouting the numbers. "Fifty-six... fifty-seven..." A sense of terror was building inside Raenef. What were they doing?! "FIFTY-EIGHT... FIFTY-NINE..."

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Raenef burst into tears, leaping from his seat and almost hitting Chris hard across the nose. The demon lord, now seriously freaked out, ran into a corner of the room and sat there with his back to it, cowering. "So many eyes... LOOKING at me..." he muttered. He looked slightly insane.

Eclipse pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the onset of a headache. They weren't going to get through this alive.

---

After Raenef had calmed down sufficiently and stopped whirling around to check that no one was sneaking up on him every ten seconds, he and Eclipse had lessons, in which he performed reasonably well. They had discussed the Infamous Lesser Demon Uprising and had started work on a few tricky spells that Raenef thought he might get the hang of. Eclipse felt confident enough in his abilities to let Erutis and Chris drag his lord off shortly after lunch.

"The painter is coming by in a few hours to get started on your portrait, my liege," he said offhandedly as Raenef left the room. "Please return here by then."

Raenef gulped and nodded as he left the room with Chris to one side of him and Erutis on the other.

"Rae, Rae, Rae," said the latter, throwing a sisterly arm around his shoulders,"What are we gonna do with you?"

"Hopefully nothing too drastic."

"You almost made it this morning," Chris pointed out. "You were off by a second. Literally. Okay, maybe half a second."

Rae pouted. "I know, I know. You don't have to rub it in."

"Yeah, I bet you couldn't do much better, monk-boy," Erutis sniggered. Chris puffed out his chest and struck his victory pose.

"Of course I could, for I am CHRIS THE SUPER-GENIUS! successor to the High Cleric of Rased, vanquisher of de- OW!"

Erutis hit him with her sword to shut him up.

Raenef looked on with amusement. His two friends were really great fun to be with, if you could overlook the fact that they kept claiming they would one day kill him. Chris and Erutis tussled for a while until Erutis pulled out her sword and threatened to hit the cleric in a place that would hurt real bad. Chris immediately gave up, so the last few minutes of their walk to the garden were spent in comparative silence.

Once they gained the shady outdoors, they flopped down under a big, gnarly tree, which was probably quite fearsome-looking at night but which resembled, in many respects, a hunchbacked old man during the day time. Raenef took out a book to study a little bit while Erutis helped Chris with his swordsmanship. (Or, rather, yelled at him constantly about his swordsmanship and how bad it was.) After commanding Chris to practice a certain stroke a thousand times, Erutis sat down next to her friend, who was now pretending to be studying while really worrying about posing for his portrait.

"You'll do fine, Rae," Erutis said.

"No I won't," he replied. "I'm gonna screw this up like I screw up everything else, and then Eclipse is going to get mad at me again."

Erutis, who had never sat for a portrait and thought that the whole thing seemed rather easy, tried to be sympathetic and encouraging, but it wasn't working too well. "I mean, how hard can it be? You just have to sit there and look pretty. I'm sure you'll do fine. Eclipse wouldn't hire anyone but the best, so I'm sure the painter will be able to work with you, even if you do fidget a little bit."

Raenef sighed. "I hope so."

Just then, the two friends heard someone behind them clear his throat. Erutis' hand immediately went to her sword, while Raenef stood up and turned swiftly around, both expecting the worst. However, it proved to be only a middle aged man and a little girl, both modestly dressed and carrying a large pack. The man smiled slightly, putting down his bag for a moment.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," he said, "but would you be so kind as to tell me if this is the Raenef Castle?"

"It is," said Raenef. "How can we help you?"

"I'm looking for a demon named Eclipse. He has hired me to paint a portrait of the master of the house. Is Master Eclipse here?" The man glanced around at his surroundings and hefted his bag onto his back, motioning to the young girl to stay close to him.

"Eclipse is probably in the library," Raenef said nervously. "I'll show you in then, shall I?"

---

It took them a few minutes to get to the library. Raenef thought it would be rude to teleport and leave all the mortals to find the elusive room, so he walked with them the whole way, listening to the chatter behind him. Erutis had struck up a conversation with the man named Ginu, and Chris was trying to get a response out of the girl, who would only smile vaguely and keep walking.

Raenef pulled open the library doors and announced his presence to Eclipse, who immediately stood up from his desk.

"Did you show them in?" Eclipse asked before noticing the caravan following his little lord. Raenef motioned behind him. "Oh, you did show them in. My lord!" he said, changing tone abruptly, "How many times must I tell you, demon lords don't act like butlers! They have other people show their guests in."

"Well, I was already at the front entrance. It made sense for me to show them the way here." Even with his newly integrated personalities, Raenef had yet to achieve a superiority complex. This drove Eclipse up the proverbial wall -- but, he had to admit, it was rather... endearing. The dark-haired demon turned to his guests and welcomed the painter into the room.

"It is good to see you again, Ginu," Eclipse said, politely shaking the man's hand. "I thank you for coming up here."

Ginu bowed. "It is an honor to work for the Raenefs once more. You have been our greatest patron. This is my assistant, Chirrah." The girl stepped forward and curtseyed neatly. She wore a blue dress that had obviously seen better days, and her blond hair was tied back with a frayed ribbon, but she was clean and tidy all the same. Ginu smiled. "She is learning the art of painting from me. It is a long road."

Eclipse lifted one eyebrow. "I can imagine." Only too well. "Would you like to get started?"

Ginu surveyed the room with a critical eye. He crossed to the windows and pulled back a curtain to let in some light. "Yes," he said, "this room will do nicely. May I have a look at your lord, Master Eclipse?"

Eclipse stepped aside, his hand sweeping in Raenef's direction. "May I present Demon Lord Raenef the Fifth. My lord, this man is Ginu, a well-known painter." Raenef bowed slightly, while Ginu immediately dropped into a deep bow.

"I am sorry if I was at all presumptuous earlier, m'lord," Ginu said, evidently fearing for his life. "I did not realize that you were the master of the house."

Raenef rubbed the back of his head, before turning on his trademark cheery smile. "It's okay. Be as presumptuous as you like with me."

Ginu straightened, confused by Raenef's attitude and rather uneasy. However, once he noticed Eclipse's barely hidden sigh, he smiled slightly. "Then my lord, shall we get to work?"

---

Raenef shifted uncomfortably on the hard-backed chair, trying not to alter the scene while positioning himself. Ginu was placing a canvas on his easel, and Chirrah was setting out the last of his paintbrushes.

"Ginu?" Raenef asked. "How long will it take you to paint me?"

The man looked up and smiled slightly. "Several hours, at least, m'lord. If we work all day tomorrow, I'll be able to finish the bulk of it."

"Do I have to sit still for the whole thing?"

"Not the whole thing, but most of it, m'lord, yes."

"In the same position?" Raenef looked so dejected at the thought that Ginu almost pitied him. This portrait was clearly not the demon lord's idea.

"Yes, m'lord."

"Um." Raenef looked around shiftily before posing his next question. "Then, uh. Could- could I sit in a different chair?"

---

Hence, the first change to the scene was the removal of the wooden chair and its replacement with a cushy, red, sort-of-chair, sort-of-sofa, not quite a chaise longue. It was also dusty, considering that it had sat in a closet off the library for some length of time, probably since it had gone out of style by the end of the third Raenef's reign.

Raenef sat gratefully on the much more comfortable seat, glad that if he was going to be sitting still for ten hours, then he would be doing it in comfort. He gave the thumbs-up sign to Ginu, who was talking with Eclipse. Eclipse looked like he already had a headache as he nodded in response to something the painter had said.

"My liege," Eclipse said, approaching Raenef, "Ginu has requested that you wear something cloak-like over your current clothes."

"I don't really know if I have something cloak-like, Eclipse," Raenef said sheepishly. "I just wear whatever I find first in my closet in the morning. I'll go look though."

"Would you like me to come look with you, sire?"

"Maybe that would be best, Eclipse."

The two demons stood. Eclipse placed a hand on his master's shoulder and said "Go," picturing Raenef's bedroom. Erutis, who had been watching the whole exchange from her position on a sofa at the other end of the room, was sniggering quietly to herself.

"What are you laughing about, Eru?" Chris asked.

She looked slyly at him before saying, with a wicked smile, "Eclipse is in the closet with Rae."

Chris didn't get it.

---

Short minutes later, Raenef returned wearing a copper-colored cloak designed to cover one shoulder and leave the other one free for a full range of motion. A wide ribbon bearing an embroidered tree came over the opposite shoulder to balance it out. He sat on the chofa once more and waited patiently while Ginu fussed with the folds in the cape. He pulled it up to completely cover Raenef's right arm, which sat across his lap. Ginu stepped back to survey his handiwork and nodded once in approval.

"I think that this will work, m'lord," Ginu said, bowing. He turned to Eclipse, who was standing a few paces behind him. "Does this please you, sir?"

Eclipse blinked, for the question was not one he had expected. He turned to inspect his little lord. Raenef's green eyes widened as he tried to look pretty. "It pleases me very much, Ginu." (Very nice. He was hard-pressed not to lick his lips.)

Raenef felt those words reverberate pleasantly down his spine as Ginu bowed. "Then I will start painting tomorrow. The light is not right now, so I am afraid I cannot start this evening. Chirrah and I will return early tomorrow to get started. If all goes well, I will easily have the painting completed by the end of the week."

"Is it a long trip back to your village?" Raenef asked curiously.

"To our village, yes, but we are staying at an inn in a nearby town. It is not a particularly lengthy walk. Good evening, m'lord, and we will return tomorrow morning." Ginu bowed and turned to leave. Eclipse showed him out, feeling a little more optimistic, seeing as all seemed to be going well so far. Perhaps the castle would survive this ordeal after all.

Raenef watched everyone leave the room before saying "Go" quietly and reappearing in his bedroom. He wanted no dinner. He carefully removed the cloak and hung it back in his wardrobe so that it wouldn't wrinkle. He changed into his nightgown and clambered into bed, crossing the gargantuan expanse of white sheets and blankets to lie in the middle. He stared up at the ceiling and tried very hard to not think about Eclipse's eyes boring into him as he said, "It pleases me very much."

Sleep was a long time in coming.

---

Early the next morning, Eclipse rose with the sun and pulled his robe on, carefully fastening it in all places that required fastening. He slipped his feet into a pair of sandals and then checked his hair in the mirror, ensuring that not one jet black strand was out of place. None were, of course.

He took a deep breath before whispering "Go," hoping against hope that his master would already have awakened, and that he would not be required to utilize any drastic measures to rouse Lord Raenef from his slumber at this rather early hour. He wanted to make sure that Raenef had time to bathe and dress before Ginu arrived.

"Lord Raenef, are you awake?" Eclipse entered farther into his lord's inner sanctum, distancing himself from the door and edging quietly around to the other side of the bed. It took him a moment to remember that he was, after all, trying to wake his little lord, and hence there was no need for silence. He thought that maybe stomping around the bed would do the trick, and attempted it but soon found that this ungraceful means of travel didn't suit him at all, and that he would rather slither than stomp, which was really saying something, seeing as he, as a rule, hated slithering because the word's nature implied that one was related to a snake. (1)

"Lord Raenef," he called, a little louder. He settled for striding across the room, which had the added advantage of propelling him very quickly. Raenef mumbled something about tomatoes and flung out one arm in Eclipse's general direction. The servant took this as a good sign, and bent over to speak loudly into the other demon's ear.

"Lord Raenef, I think that you should consider getting up now, seeing as Ginu will be arriving shortly." He looked for any response, and, seeing none, bent down even closer, so that he was practically kissing Raenef's ear as he said, "My lord-"

This jolted Raenef from his sleep, and he sat up rapidly, in the process whacking his head into Eclipse's face. The older demon staggered back from the bed, clutching his usually attractive, now rapidly swelling nose.

Raenef leaped from his bed, running towards Eclipse and trying to pull his hands away from his face so he could survey the damage, but Eclipse was doing his best to keep Raenef as far back as possible so that he wouldn't injure him again. Raenef soon got the hint and backed away, murmuring or whimpering his apologies and staring embarrassedly at his feet. He had just reached the edge of consciousness when Eclipse had spoken the last time, and the feel of his servant's warm breath gusting over his ear had quite startled him, galvanizing him into action.

"It -- I didn't break it, did I Eclipse?"

Eclipse pulled his hands away from his face after performing a crude self-examination. "No, sire. I don't think anything is broken. Just... bruised." In fact, his nose seemed almost normal, except for the fact that it was bright red and tender to the touch.

"Why did you come in here so early, Eclipse?" Raenef yawned, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. "The sun isn't even up yet."

"I wanted to ensure that you would have time to bathe and dress before Ginu arrives, my lord. I will go run you a bath now, if that pleases you?"

Raenef blushed, snatches of his dream returning to him.

Does this please you, lord?

He opened his mouth to answer, but something entirely different emerged. "Yes, Eclipse. Anything."

Eclipse, a strange look in his eyes, bowed slightly and exited the room.

---

A few moments later, Raenef was in the bath, working quickly to get himself clean. He pulled out his hair tie and dunked his head under the water, coming up dripping. As he worked the shampoo into his hair he thought about the odd dream he had had that night, one that had been just as much a bad dream as a good dream. It had involved Eclipse. That much he remembered. And there was also cake somehow involved. And they had been talking about... something.

He bent over to rinse the strawberry-scented shampoo from his golden tresses. Taking a deep breath, he plunged his head underwater and started to scrub vigorously in an attempt to get rid of it all. It would be so much easier, he thought, if I could somehow get Eclipse to help me wash my hair...

But he knew that would of course be impossible.

He sighed, got out of the tub, and dried himself off before pulling on a dark blue tunic and light ecru pants. He brushed his hair out carefully, thinking that he would probably need a haircut soon, as it was starting to resemble something along the lines of a mop. He chose a nice ponytail holder from his small collection and used it to create his usual puffy hairstyle. He thought he looked rather nice.

Now to see what everyone else thought.

---

Ginu and Chirrah arrived shortly after sunrise, and Eclipse led them to the library so they could prepare for the long day ahead. The two mortals inspected the brushes once more while Ginu made a list of the colors he thought he would likely need, calling the names out and having Chirrah write them down.

Chirrah was not Ginu's daughter, but he was as close to a father as she had ever had. Thus it was that she could tell something was on his mind, so when he took a break from calling out elements of his list, she asked him, in a very quiet and creaky voice, what he was thinking about. He took a moment to answer.

"There's something about this castle that's changed since the last time I've been here. The last lord was a fearsome demon, someone you were in awe of at all times. He had an unsettling stare. But this one..."

Chirrah smiled, knowing exactly what her teacher meant.

Ginu turned back to his blank easel and the empty alcove where Raenef would sit. "This has the potential to be an interesting day."

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the library door, followed by the entrance of the little blond lord and his humble servant. Raenef hastily finished his breakfast and then brushed his hands clean before seating himself on the red chofa. He played with the cloak until Ginu smiled and nodded, and then folded his hands in his lap so he would look calm.

"Very good, m'lord. That's a nice pose."

"Ginu? Can I move my eyes while you paint?"

"Hm?" He looked up from his palette for a second before the question sank in. "Oh, yes, of course m'lord. But otherwise you must sit still." He lifted the wooden palette in his right hand, taking a large, flat brush in his left. "I'm going to start now. I will have to ask you to face me straight on and not move while I make the color blocks."

"Ginu, I have only one more question." Ginu began to paint but nodded. "Do I need to smile?"

The old man closed his eyes and said, "Trust me on this, m'lord. You will know."

---

Ginu had been painting for less than an hour when Chirrah stopped him and tugged on his sleeve. He bent over so that his ear was level with her mouth, and she whispered something to him. Raenef had been doing a decent job of not fidgeting, but it was painfully obvious that he was bored. In fact, he seemed in danger of falling asleep. The painter asked his assistant a quiet question, and she pointed towards the little storage closet from which the chofa had been produced.

"Master Eclipse," the man finally asked, "Could we have the book stand that was in the storage closet? My assistant thought that perhaps we could set a book in front of Lord Raenef, so he would have something to do as I paint."

Eclipse agreed with a casual shrug. The carved wooden stand was brought out and adjusted to a comfortable height, and upon it Eclipse placed a leather-bound tome entitled "100 Short Essays on Becoming a Better Demon Lord." Raenef slumped inwardly at the not-so-subtle hint that Eclipse was mildly irritated with him, and for some reason he felt sad about it. He didn't like Eclipse to be mad at him.

"M'lord," Ginu said, stirring the young demon from his thoughts, "I would like for you to position yourself so that as your body faces me you are still able to comfortably read the book."

Raenef moved about for some moments until he felt at ease, and then glanced up with a hopeful grin. Ginu smiled in return and started painting once more. Raenef settled in to read, figuring that he might as well take the time to do something useful. Maybe Eclipse wouldn't be mad at him any more if he did well in his reading.

100 Short Essays on Becoming a

BETTER DEMON LORD

presented in an easy to follow, demon-friendly format
for readers of all ages and skill levels, this volume aimed chiefly at the

BEGINNING or NOVICE

Demon Lord.
As written by
the SECOND Demon Lord KRAYON of EGAE

Lord Krayon wrote a book?! Raenef thought. But then he realized that it was not the current long-lived and highly snooty Krayon of Egae (2), but rather his predecessor. Apparently personality traits were not imparted from demon lord to demon lord. Raenef turned the page.

CHAPTER ONE

Raenef read the heading several times, for some reason unable to get past it. This was partly because the very first word of the page was rather large, and the very first sentence seemed to talk about "the dawn of time," and Raenef didn't really want to have to read either.

CHAPTER ONE

The font used, Raenef couldn't help but notice, was very big, flowery, and attention getting. Quite nice when observed as an art form, but not exactly... welcoming.

CHAPTER ONE

Aw, heck with it, he thought, and turned the page, hoping for a picture. To his surprise, he actually found one, which was in itself a rarity in demonic handbooks. However, upon closer inspection, he found that he didn't really want to inspect the picture closer, because it seemed to be demonstrating a particularly gruesome method of torture. He grimaced before remembering he wasn't supposed to move his face and turned the page.

CHAPTER TWO

After coming to an understanding concerning the behavior expected of a DEMON LORD and understanding the importance, background and such concerning the historical traditions and roles of DEMON LORDS, the up-and-coming DEMON LORD in question must master a basic set of spells, which are fully operational in his realm, and should demonstrate an ability to commit to memory portions of these spells, so that should he ever journey to lands

Raenef gave up on trying to understand. He was getting a headache from trying to wade through the weird language, and seeing as he felt that he didn't quite meet the standards the book was setting (and he was only on chapter two!), it seemed foolish to continue. He lifted his eyes from the book and let them wander around the walls of the library. It amazed him how many books the castle owned. He wondered how many of them Eclipse had read. Most of them, probably, Raenef thought, Because he's so smart. Then he wondered how many the previous Raenef had read. Probably all of them. He had probably memorized the contents of every single gelded, leather-covered tome in this room. He probably hadn't even needed "100 Short Essays on Becoming a Better Demon Lord," Raenef thought moodily. And Eclipse probably never got mad with him.

The door to the library creaked open to admit the curious heads of Erutis and Chris. They had apparently only awoken moments ago, for Chris still had bedhead and was holding a half-eaten bagel in his mouth. The sun was up now and had burned away the sleepy mist that clung to the castle at night.

Raenef watched Eclipse stand up and walk to the door. He spoke quietly to the two humans, evidently annoyed by their presence. Erutis pouted, puffing out her cheeks and looking stubborn. Chris, however, shrugged and was about to leave when Erutis' voice rang through the room:

"We're just gonna sit quietly and watch, for Rased's sake!" Ginu looked up from his painting, and Chirrah momentarily stopped cleaning a brush. "We aren't going to tackle Raenef or anything!"

Eclipse rubbed his temples and nodded. "Fine, sit, on that sofa right there, don't move, and you can watch for a little while." Erutis nodded eagerly and grabbed hold of Chris's arm, pulling him to the sofa. Eclipse closed the door and returned to his desk, where he was apparently doing paperwork of some sort. Erutis seemed to be attempting to communicate silently with Raenef, using mainly her eyebrows and vigorous, overexaggerated mouthing of words, but Raenef couldn't figure out what she was saying, so he instead directed his attention towards Eclipse.

Eclipse was very... pretty, Raenef thought, especially like that, bent slightly over his desk, his ebony hair creating a sheer curtain to one side. His garnet eyes were narrowed slightly as he analyzed the offending bill that lay below him, gazing innocently back. He picked the paper up in his slender fingers, his perfectly tended nails glinting in the sunlight streaming through the window. He sighed silently, then picked up a pen and wrote a line of text on the paper before folding it and placing it in an envelope, which he addressed but left unsealed. Then, he looked up and turned around.

Quickly, Raenef pretended to be reading the book, his cheeks hot from almost being caught. He read the heading of the page several times to calm himself, before once more glancing over Ginu's slow-moving shoulder to watch Eclipse as he leafed through a book, looking for a page. Apparently he found it, for he lay the book flat on the table and consulted something written on one page. He placed two delicate fingers at his temple, looking tired and a little drained. Raenef directed his gaze once more to the book set on the stand before him. He skimmed through a few pages.

When he next looked up, Raenef was surprised to find that it was already early afternoon. Erutis and Chris had left, and Eclipse was only just entering the library carrying a small tray of food, which he set down on an open table. Ginu put down his brush.

"I have brought you some food to eat, Ginu," Eclipse said, motioning to the tray. "You and your assistant may take a break for lunch now."

"Thank you, Master Eclipse."

"You too, Lord Raenef," the dark-haired demon said, barely raising his voice. "You should also come take your midday meal." Raenef nodded slightly, not wanting, for some reason, to look his tutor in the face. He stood up and ate quietly, listening absentmindedly to the polite talk between the middle-aged painter and the older demon. He nodded when Ginu asked him a question, but mostly he just ate and thought about Eclipse, bent over his desk, puzzling out something that Raenef wished he understood.

---

Erutis and Chris sat outside the castle beneath the tree, bored. Well, Erutis sat there bored, while Chris stood there, whacking at a tree with a fake blade, but he was bored as well. They had been in similar positions for the last few hours, ever since Erutis had lost interest in Raenef-watching and hauled the cleric out into the garden.

"One million two thousand ninety three, one million two thousand ninety four, one million two thousand ninety five-"

"I wonder how Raenef's doing," Erutis said all of a sudden. Chris stopped whacking the tree and looked up at the sky. Judging by the position of the sun, it was late afternoon, probably about time for Ginu to pack up and go home for the evening.

"I bet you he's fidgeting enough to drive Eclipse up the wall."

"Old Ginu seems like a good guy though. Maybe he can paint Raenef while he's moving."

"..."

Erutis blinked. "How many hits have you practiced?"

Chris opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it again when nothing emerged. "I forgot."

Erutis rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless. Ah well," she said, standing, "I'll be kind this time, mostly because I want to go see what's up with Raenef. You can stop for the day."

Chris cheered, and they set off to find the library once more.

---

When they entered, it seemed that Ginu was just winding down. He spent minutes looking from the scene to the painting, scene to the painting until he would take up a fine-tipped paintbrush and add a small dab of color to the canvas. Chris and Erutis sat down on their assigned sofa and turned to watch their friend. Much to their surprise, he did not seem to be having any trouble sitting still, nor did he seem to be bored, nor was he reading the book set in front of him, nor was he watching the clock, desperately waiting for escape.

Chris bent over to whisper in his friend's ear. "What's up with him?"

She squinted at the demon lord, and then followed his gaze. She started, punching Chris lightly in the arm and pointing in the direction of one cluttered wooden desk.

Eclipse was asleep.

Raenef was watching Eclipse sleep. And he found it fascinating.

Erutis cackled silently, which caused Chris to back as far away from her as was possible on the little sofa. "What is it, Eru?"

She rubbed her hands together, her eyes darting back and forth between the eyes of Raenef, riveted on his tutor, and the equally adorable, sleeping countenance of Eclipse. There was no denying it now! There was no way Raenef could refute her claims now!

If only I had a camera, she thought, though she hadn't the slightest idea as to what a camera might be.

---

When Eclipse awoke, about half an hour later, he was slightly disoriented, especially since Ginu and his assistant were packing up their supplies. A tarp had been thrown over the portrait so that it was hidden from view. Raenef was standing, stretching his back after the long time sitting still. His cheeks, for some reason unknown to Eclipse, were bright red.

"I have finished the majority of the work, Master Eclipse," Ginu said, bowing. "I will take it with me to my studio to apply the final touches, and then I will return here with it, framed, within three days. We can discuss payment then."

Eclipse agreed immediately. Generally speaking, demons didn't pay for anything and were rather more partial to stealing or taking by force, but Eclipse admired Ginu and realized that he did better work when the motive was money as opposed to not-dying. He had never been in the practice of being kind to mortals; Ginu was a notable exception. Eclipse looked slightly anxious as he stepped closer to the middle-aged man and asked lowly, "Was Lord Raenef... difficult to paint?"

Ginu smiled widely, causing the crow's feet by his brown eyes to wrinkle. "He was a most compliant model. I would be interested in painting the... two of you again. I will take my leave now," he said, placing a brown cap on his head and bowing to Raenef, before hoisting a pack onto his shoulders and exiting the room. "I know my way out," he called as he entered the long hallway.

Paint the two of us? Eclipse thought. Whatever could he mean?

---

When the painting arrived, exactly three days later, it was delivered not by Ginu but rather by his little assistant, Chirrah. She explained that the artist had been taken ill, and was confined to his bed with a fever. Eclipse paid her well, bid her a safe journey, and returned to the dining hall, eager to see the result.

As soon as he entered, Erutis and Chris immediately crowded around him, urging him to unveil the work. Raenef remained silent, all his attention focused on picking apart his breakfast roll. He had been oddly calm and introspective for the past two days, and no one could tell why, but he was even quieter now than he had been since the departure of the two mortal guests at the castle.

Eclipse carefully pulled the painting from its cloth bag and held it up before him for inspection.

He immediately turned bright red. Not blushing, since he was a demon, but definitely reddening.

His lord was seated primly on the red chofa, his cape covering his right arm as it lay in his lap. His left hand was perched gently on the edge of a page from the leather-bound book as if he was in the motion of turning it. All of him was rendered in perfect detail, as were the carvings on the book stand and the weave in the window curtain. However, the painting's most amazing feature was Raenef's eyes. They seemed to stare directly at the viewer, their opulent, almost luminescent green slightly veiled by thick, dark lashes. They were hypnotic to look at. Raenef's pink, perfect petal pink lips were barely parted, making him look as though he was enraptured with something just over the artist's shoulder. Eclipse's lord was stunningly beautiful, and that beauty was now doing very odd things to Eclipse's ability to think rationally.

The elder demon gently handed the painting into Erutis' grabbing hands, though he hated to let it leave his eyes for one minute. Slowly he advanced towards Raenef as if with the intention of not scaring him away. The demon lord blushed a very dark shade of red and picked more furiously at his toast. The only thought in his mind was, I'll never be able to look at him again. He'll never want me to look at him again.

"Lord Raenef?" Eclipse asked in a soft voice. "May I ask you a question?"

Raenef nodded silently, still staring fixedly at his plate.

"Lord Raenef, please look at me."

Raenef closed his eyes and forced himself to tilt his head back before opening them again, only to find that his gaze was locked with Eclipse's. Those eyes, deep garnet pools of patience and understanding, were the ones he saw every morning as he woke, every day as he worked, every meal as he ate, every night in his dreams, watching over him and driving him steadily insane, and they were now so close to him that he gasped quietly.

"My liege, what were you thinking about when you sat for that painting?"

"I-I wasn't th-thinking about-t an-anything in-in particular. I w-was read-ding."

"Were you really?" Eclipse moved closer, and Raenef was drowning in the depths of his soul. "Were you watching something? Who were you watching, Raenef?"

His name, titleless, made him blink, and then softly, breathlessly, against his mentor's lips, he whispered,

"You."

- f i n -

29 June 04
edited 29 Dec 06

(1) - As he may have been. Very distantly.
(2) - I have always believed Krayon to be Krayon the Third. Please correct me if this is incorrect.

Final Note: They may have ended up a little more OOC than I would have liked, but, as my father says, "All fanfiction is, by definition, out of character." Which makes sense, when you think about it. Reviews are always appreciated, constructive criticism is always welcome.

Final Note (29 Dec 06): Thank you for reading! Comments are appreciated, as always!