Silver Millenium
The library was completely quiet, save for the soft ruffling of pages being flipped. A soft breeze blew through the open window, ruffling the light blue hair of the massive library's sole occupant. A pair of glasses sat perched on the reader's nose, a slender finger reaching up to push them back into place from where they had slid.
"Hmm." The soft sound hummed in the girl's throat as her eyes perused the page.
"You look quite interested in that book." A voice interrupted the soothing tranquility that had taken over the library, and Ami nearly shrieked in surprise, her book slipping from her hands.
"Woah there." A hand reached out and caught the thick volume before it fell to the ground, and Ami looked up into a pair of twinkling green eyes.
"I'm sorry if I startled you." The young man standing behind her apologized, one hand pressed across his chest politely. Ami carefully studied the man who had startled her. He was wearing a gray colored uniform and a silver cape that flowed down to the ground from where it was attached at his shoulders. His light blonde hair was tied into a neat ponytail that draped down his neck, the contrasting color accenting his green eyes. Ami narrowed her eyes as she took her book from his hands.
"You are...from Earth." She observed, the gray uniform clicking into place in her memory. The young man grinned.
"You are correct!" He chirped, "What are you reading that's so interesting? My name is-"
"Zoisite." A new voice interrupted, and Ami looked up to see the Prince of Earth standing in nearby. She rose to her feet and curtsied smoothly.
"Your Highness." She greeted. Prince Endymion smiled politely in return before looking back at the young man by Ami's side.
"Zoisite." He said sternly, "I brought you here to help me in the alliance discussions, not to play with Princess Serenity's guardians." The young man, Kunzite, smiled innocently at his Prince's scolding.
"Master, this isn't called playing around." He replied with a cheeky grin, "I am simply getting to know the denizens of the Moon Kingdom. That will certainly help with your alliance talks, wouldn't it?" Endymion sighed and shook his head as he looked apologetically at Ami.
"Forgive him, Princess Mercury. This is one of my four generals, Zoisite. He tends to be rather playful, like a child. I hope he didn't interrupt anything important." He said. Ami smiled and shook her head.
"I was just reading, though he did startle me." She replied. Prince Endymion shot a look at Zoisite, who bowed his head but maintained his cheeky smile. The prince sighed and bowed to Ami.
"I will let you get back to your reading now." He said, "If you'll excuse us." Ami rose to her feet and bowed as the prince left. As he turned to follow his master, Zoisite turned his head to look back at Ami and grinned.
"May I come visit you again, Princess?" He asked. Ami blinked in surprise but nodded.
"If you would like to." She replied, "But I don't usually do anything very interesting besides reading and tutoring Princess Serenity." Zoisite smiled.
"I find you plenty interesting, Princess Mercury." He replied with a little wink, "I do like girls with short hair." A deep blush spread across Ami's cheeks, and she ducked behind her book to hide as Zoisite laughed in amusement.
"Zoisite!" Prince Endymion's sharp voice came from the doorway, and Zoisite hurried to meet his prince. The door shut quietly behind them, and Ami breathed a sigh of relief. Well, that had certainly been unexpected. Prince Endymion's general was quite unlike what she had expected. Based on her fellow guardians' run-ins with the other generals, she had expected something similar from all of them. The other generals were chivalrous, protective, and kind. But Zoisite...he was more like a child, curious about the world and anything new that he came across. Ami thought back to Zoisite's wink and blushed again.
A slightly flirtatious child, at that.
Ami smiled in amusement and resumed reading her book.
What an interesting man.
Earth
Zoisite hummed a soft tune under his breath as he strolled down the palace hall after escorting Prince Endymion to his room.
"I heard you got scolded by Master again." A voice interrupted, and Zoisite looked up to see Kunzite lounging against the wall nearby. He shrugged noncholantly.
"It was nothing of great importance." He replied. Kunzite frowned.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you." He warned, "The Princess of Mercury is intelligent and wise, but it would not be in your best interests to start a dalliance with her." Zoisite laughed.
"I simply greeted her and inquired into what she was reading." He answered, "Isn't it too soon to start talking about romance? I simply find her an interesting person." Kunzite sighed and patted Zoisite on the shoulder.
"Just don't give her the wrong idea." The older general advised, "And don't go getting the wrong ideas into your head either. Prince Endymion's romance with the Moon Princess is troublesome enough." Zoisite nodded.
"Don't worry, I won't." He replied, "But Kunzite…" He leaned close to Kunzite's ear before continuing.
"Shouldn't you worry a little more about your blossoming romance with the Princess of Venus before you scold me?" He reminded. Kunzite's eyes widened, and Zoisite could swear he saw a blush flash across his friend's cheeks briefly.
"Figure out your own life first." Kunzite muttered as he ruffled Zoisite's hair before hurrying on down the hall. Zoisite stuck his tongue out at his friend's retreating figure.
"I could say the same to you." He muttered as he walked out into the garden. Zoisite closed his eyes and let the wind ruffle his hair, the loose strands tickling his cheeks. A little smile lifted up the corner of his lips as an image of a girl bent over a large textbook floated up in his mind, her slender fingers absentmindedly reaching up to tuck loose strands of short blue hair behind her ear.
Yes, what an interesting person indeed.
Two months later, Silver Millenium
When Zoisite had asked if he could visit again, Ami had thought he had been asking for the sake of being polite. Certainly, a General, and one of Prince Endymion's bodyguards at that, had better things to do then to visit a girl who's greatest interest was learning.
Oh, how wrong I was, she thought as Zoisite appeared in the library doorway again, a little smile on his face as he bowed politely. Almost every time Prince Endymion made his usual visit to the Moon, Zoisite would appear, an impish grin on his face as he watched her read. Sometimes, he would ask her to explain things to him, and his eyes would light up in wonder as he finally understood. While Ami was used to teaching the younger royal children and sometimes those outside the palace, it was the first time a young man was so fascinated by her love for learning. And although she normally would have found the disruption annoying, she had to admit that when it wasn't Zoisite that accompanied the prince, his absence by her side was more than noticeable in the back of her mind.
"What are you reading today, Your Highness?" He queried curiously as he peered curiously at the book in her hands.
"The younger children were asking about various animals today." Ami replied, "So I decided I could brush up on my knowledge of the wildlife in this galaxy. Unfortunately, the Moon cannot support many of the animals in existence, so I can only bring physical examples of a limited amount of creatures into class." Zoisite peered at the page Ami had her book open to.
"Is that an African Grey Parrot?" He asked. Ami looked up in surprise.
"You know what this is?" She exclaimed. Zoisite smiled.
"Of course!" He replied, "In fact, I have seen the bird itself before." Ami's jaw dropped.
"Where have you seen it?" She demanded. Zoisite chuckled.
"In the palace menagerie. All kinds of exotic animals can be found in there." He replied. Ami's eyes widened and she clapped her hands in delight as the wheels began turning in her head.
"But of course!" She mused, "These parrots are from Africa, which is one of the Earth's continents. With all the space in the royal palace, of course the royal menagerie would be the best place to simulate the parrot's habitat features! Why didn't I think of that before?" She looked up to see Zoisite grinning at her, and her cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment.
"I'm rambling again, aren't I?" She mumbled. Zoisite shook his head, the smile staying firmly on his face.
"Not at all." He replied, "I have never seen a lady get so excited about an animal before. You are very special, Princess Ami."
Oh.
Ami felt her lips part slightly in surprise as her name rolled off his tongue. In the few months she had known him, Zoisite had never said her name before, but now that he had, she could almost swear there was something musical about the way he said it.
"Princess Ami?" Zoisite asked in concern, "Is something wrong?" Ami shook her head, struggling to gather her scattered thoughts.
"Um...c-can you show the bird to me the next time Princess Serenity visits Earth?" She stammered. Zoisite grinned.
"As long as you can make sure you're the one accompanying her." He replied, "It would be my honor." Ami nodded, her cheeks growing hot again as her heart started to pound. Zoisite stood and stretched.
"I think it's time I find my master." He said, "I will see you soon, Your Highness." Ami nodded again, folding her hands in her lap in some semblance of composure. She immediately fanned at her cheeks as Zoisite left, hurrying to open the window to catch the breeze.
What is wrong with me?
Author's note: Welcome to my third installment of my senshi/shitennou series! All comments are appreciated!