Chapter 2

Rei was ready to burn Jadeite alive as she stormed into the castle nearly avoiding servants and Kunzite, who carried a very flammable parchment in his hand. Jadeite had given her the slip when she had chased him into the palace, using Serenity and Endymion as a diversion when she had "accidentally" tripped and fallen into the prince's awaiting arms.

Leaving the senshi to deal with the aftermath, he'd shut himself inside one of Zoisite's studies, idly wondering how pissed the strawberry blond would be when he learned that his sanctum had been invaded before dismissing it. His fellow blond was probably frolicking with Mercury somewhere...The click clacking of heels forced him to snuff his aura - even if he had lost her, she could still sense his aura signature. And if that happened...he shuddered. He loved Mars and loved riling her up, but he did not want to face her anytime soon.

As the sound of her heels came to a stop, he slowly crept toward the door and put his ear to it, hearing her voice...She gave a frustrated growl before sensing his presence.

She looked at a certain wooden door. She breathed heavily and tested the door gripping the handle firmly. Locked. Her feet remained still as did her breathing. She placed her fingers together and closed her eyes before concentrating. The aura around her began to sway with overwhelming heat. Her fingers began to burn as she summoned the power of Mars within her. Her eyes snapped open and immediately she shouted, "Burning Mandala!"

Hearing that, Jadeite dived out of the way as the door exploded into splinters and flames, covering his head from getting hit with debris. Slowly he peeked behind him, momentarily entranced by how the fuku-clad woman strode through looking for all intents and purposes like a vengeful goddess. Hell, she WAS a vengeful goddess. 'Shit, hide, hide!'

She paused. She knew her eyes could only do so little. So, she closed them and began to concentrate. She accessed her psychic abilities in trying to locate an infuriating, foolish man who was very easy on the eyes and... She shook her head trying not to think about his good looks, no matter how handsome he was. No, the better word was 'exotic'. He was 'exotic' to her, but he was also a pain in her royal a...

He peeked out from his hiding place in the wardrobe - who the hell has a wardrobe in their study anyway? - watching with a mixture of fear and excitement as the woman stood in the middle of the room, her eyes closed in almost a serene manner. He knew it was anything but - she was looking for him, stretching out all of her senses so that she could find him. Despite the impending doom before him, he smirked. 'Let's see how good you are, little bird…'

All of the Shitennou were specialized in various fields; Kunzite was a true warrior, a master of weapons of all; Nephrite a literal force of nature that could command the elements, and Zoisite the brains with an affinity to water. But Jadeite was a master of illusions. He could fabricate entire visions that seemed real but were just smoke and mirrors; not such a great way to fight a battle, but great for diversions which was what he sorely needed right now. Any other time he would've jumped out and embraced his love, but with Mars as she was right now, she'd very likely scorch him - for real this time. He closed his eyes and stretched out, taking a very great risk in doing so - by flaring his aura, she'd hone in on him like a laser. He'd have to be quick...

A flash!

She caught it easily... a little TOO easily. Her eyes sharply turned to a very specific area, but she remained in place. She knew Jadeite's games.

Sailor Mercury had given her and the other Sailor Senshi the facts of each man that was on Prince Endymion's guardianship team. She knew if she neared any closer, she might get caught in a trap, in a web of deception.

As a warrior, she made the best tactical move of the day. Rei carefully left the room, though it was still smoldering in some areas and began to retreat.

This was a battle to be left for another time, and she was not going to be coming out of this the loser. Oh no. She needed some time to plan. Though it was not hers permanently, her assigned room was the only place she could think of that was safe where she could remain undisturbed to plot her revenge.

But first... she needed to return to that burnt jacket, or whatever was left of it. She knew Jadeite kept something key in those pockets that would give her the upper hand.

The Shittenou watched her leave with wary eyes, waiting until her aura was far enough away from him before he climbed out of the wardrobe. "That...was a little too close," he said, smiling nervously. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, wiped away with one stroke of his arm. His eyes narrowed. "There's no way she just gave up. And I've got a bad feeling I'll know when I see it. But first," he glanced around the destroyed study, wincing slightly as he took in the damage.

Zoisite was going to be livid.

And sure enough, he felt the familiar essence of his brother in arms along with one other.

Jadeite quickly ported from the room, just as Zoisite and Mercury rounded the corner, their jaws dropping at the sight of the damage.

Safely inside one of the rooms on the far side of the palace, he felt rather than heard the response-"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROOM?!"

When Rei returned to her rooms, she gave a huge squeal of delight. She abandoned the senshi fuku long ago and was now in her deep red princess gown. She found what she was looking for in the remains of that pompous jerk's jacket.

Hm.

She glanced at the parchment, having once been encased in a protective metal covering, once again. A HUGE smirk crossed her features.

This document was GOLD.

She brought it up to her eyes and began reading the parts of the map carefully, trying to memorize every section of the palace. When she felt a presence begin to come down the hallway toward her room, she quickly folded it back up and shoved it in her bosom safely where no one would find it.

There was something else she found in those remains that glinted brightly. She peered at the gold, ruby-encrusted ring in her fingers. Her mind began making conclusions that perhaps it belonged to his mother or maybe a past relationship he had been in before Serenity and the Senshi came into the picture. She bit her lip as an evil smirk crossed her lips; she placed it on her ring finger.

She knew he would be LIVID seeing it there, especially if it was a reminder of an old, dead love.

Having brushed with death a little too many times today, Jadeite decided to go and bury the hatchet with the raven-haired senshi. There was a meeting later tonight about disturbances in one of the nearby provinces, and it was all hands on deck, meaning his workload would be increased to hair pulling proportions. It also meant that he would most likely be setting out to investigate this matter, meaning he wouldn't be able to see Mars for the foreseeable future.

Jadeite was a lot of things; a playboy, a pervert and perhaps maybe a smidge too arrogant for his own good - but he valued his friends, and though he wanted there to be something more between the Senshi of Fire and he, the blond quite enjoyed being able to call the princess of Mars a friend. So now he was headed towards her room, of which he had memorized the route of when she had been busy with Serenity earlier. He was still a little worried that she might just scorch him right then and there no questions asked, but he owed it to her to at least try.

Standing in front of her door, he rapped his knuckles twice on the surface and waited for a response...

"Come in!" Rei shouted, thinking it was Venus finally returning to give her the verdict about the rumors in a nearby province.

It disturbed her and the other women just as much that such uprisings were happening so close to their princess. She knew if this crazy nonsense continued, they would be relocating back to Moon Palace. That irritated her.

Her stomach growled. She sighed. Okay, so she was a bit hungry too. Or... perhaps Jupiter was coming in through the door and decided to share some chocolate sweets to help make this horrible day end well. Jupiter made the offer earlier to help calm down Rei's burning anger. Now that she thought about it, it really was not a horrible day as she considered it to be.

She was convinced that Jadeite made it a daily sport to target her when they remained on Terra or when the Terrans visited the Moon. She did know it would be a good story to tell future Senshi when she became the Queen of Mars. Her thoughts continued...

Jadeite opened the door, walking in though he kept his gaze lowered, hoping he appeared contrite and remorseful. Since she hadn't incinerated him on the spot, he took this chance to speak. "Milady, I've come to-"

His train of thought screeched derailed as he took her in, stunned by what she now wore.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen her in her court dress before – indeed during the time Endymion had taken the Shitennou to meet Queen Serenity for business and all the princesses had been present.

No, what stuck out like a sore thumb was the glimmering ring on her finger, sparkling every time the light hit just right.

Years of experience was the only thing that kept him from showing any reaction, but the inside was a different mind raced. 'How did she get that!?' He'd kept it close to his heart, unsure how to approach her with it. 'She'd probably laugh it off,' his mind groused.

But his heart insisted that somehow, she'd love it.

Now he was at war with himself over indecision; it had been how Mars had found him in the first place and what eventually led to their argument earlier. One slip of the tongue and he'd been in hot water - now he felt as though he'd stepped into magma...

Rei didn't even catch the words spoken, but she did hear the loud annoying squeak from the door. She pulled some strands of hair back behind her ear with this annoyingly semi-tight ring on her finger.

"Minako, what's the verdict? Are we staying or leaving the planet?" she asked out loud.

She kept her attention on a document she had been reading before hearing the person enter the room. The blond general was still reeling from seeing the ring on her finger to respond. He just stood there, gaze fixed center on the ring.

Not hearing another sound or her friend answering back, she glanced up to inquire about the silence. Rei was extremely surprised to see him still standing by the door watching her. She hastily set the paper down and crossed her arms sitting in a chair before a warm fire. "What are you doing here? Didn't have your fill in teasing me for the day?"

Luckily, he was able to rally himself and drew courage up, presenting himself as the confident and charismatic General he knew he was. "Lady Mars, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for antagonizing you. Things got out of hand and I hope that you'll forgive me for my behavior," he finished with a deep bow.

She stood, purposely using the ruby-studded hand be seen as she adjusted her hair behind her back. She could tell when Jadeite was serious, but she also knew he would occasionally flip his charade at a given point in time. She proceeded with caution and began walking up to him, giving a proper curtsey as a greeting. "Apology accepted," she spoke formally. Her violet eyes staring into his deep blue orbs.

There was something in his eyes that were different. She couldn't figure out at that moment. Perhaps it was another scheme?

As relieved as he was about her accepting his words, he just couldn't take his eyes off of the ring. Weeks of planning all for naught now that she had it - but now what was he to do? He couldn't exactly tell her who the ring was from, least of all ask her to hand it over. So he was a little disappointed.

In the mind of Mars, conflict began to arise. 'Did he notice the ring yet?' Did she need to make it more obvious and flaunt it a little more or...

The doors burst open.

The Senshi of Venus made her presence known and immediately made a beeline to Rei. She completely ignored the man in the room, "Mars, you are needed NOW. Princess Serenity requests your... OH MY GOD!"

The blonde immediately pulled up the ring-clad finger to her view and gazed at the beautiful gold and rubies. "OH MY GOD! You're ENGAGED!" She tightly embraced her friend before noticing the man beside her standing still, "Oh! Congratulations Jadeite! I knew you could do it! I'm so excited!" The blonde woman gasped returning to a stunned Rei, "I have to tell the princess! I have to tell the Senshi!" The Senshi of Love forcefully grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her along, "We have a wedding to plan!"

Rei couldn't put another word in as the chatterbox filled up all the silence with excited congratulations.

Back in the room, silence reigned for several long, agonizing minutes before Jadeite put his face in his hands.

How was he going to explain THIS?

Furthermore...did he even want to?