Author's Note: Thank for the reviews. I was surprised at the amount of traffic(not reviews- there are a bazillion more hits than reviews keeps track of that now! Its neat!!) and it excites me so much! I'm lazy and not looking over the other reviews atm, cause I need to finish ordering X-mas presents(but I need to post this before today is over and I have forgotten for atleast the 5th time.)- One review I just got was that its confusing... ugh yeah... it will be... for a while.... My beta is on chapter 9 and there's still a few things that she's trying to understand- but I think the main plot and everything comes out by 6 or 7.... or maybe its 8.... I'm pretty sure by at least 8! (which is 7 for you! Hooray for prologues!! :D... and its 23 pages typed so I hope something happens in there...) But I swear it will all make sense!!... eventually...

Thanks for reading. I love the reviews. I really hope you enjoy this weeks installment. (And to be nice I think I'll post two chapters again... Don't expect this every week unless Z gets the rest back to me soonish. :D)

And special thanks to Z- you edit and I love you for it!

Supper was quiet. Rose sighed. It was always quiet. She would deny them food unless they would eat in each others company around her round table, but they refused to take comfort in the presence of one another. 'Or, the more likely scenario they refuse to be at ease in my presence.' Rose looked down at her plate, the food looked unappealing. 'I have been a good hostess. I have shown them hospitality and kindness. And still they fear me.' She pushed a potato across her plate with her fork as she looked across the table. 'This is not the company I had hoped for. However, I understand their reservations.' Rose barely noticed as one of the shadows crossed the hall and dropped a note next to Ikuko's plate. Rose welcomed the meager distraction and watched as Ikuko opened the note. "My Lady, Lord Callenforth awaits you in the second sitting room."

Rose nodded. 'Finally! Something to do!' She stood up and crossed the room. As she closed the door behind her she heard the faint beginnings of conversation. Shaking her head in disappointment she began to walk toward the sitting room.

Dinning Room

Endymion watched as the door closed. As it latched he looked to the graying woman that sat almost directly across from him. "Lord Callenforth? Lord Aaron Callenforth?" Ikuko nodded. "But he is a just and righteous man of the people! What business could he possible have here?"

"That is between himself and the Lady."

"I shall have him arrested when we are dismissed from this place!"

Ikuko looked angered, but replied in an exasperated tone, "On what grounds?"

"Treason! Any intentional contact with someone as dangerous as the Red Assassin is a treasonous act!"

"What makes you think its intentional?"

"He came to her home for tea!"

Ikuko stood up throwing her napkin on her plate. "Then you've committed treason! You came to supper!" She stormed to the door and stopped herself before leaving. A sneer could be heard in her next words, "And the Lady insisted it was proper for you to have tea afterwards. A shadow will be here in a moment to guide you."

The sound of the door slamming resounded through the hall. Endymion refrained from jumping at the harsh gesture.

The room remained in awkward silence, as most were to afraid to speak, until a shadow walked into the room and straight into the middle of the table. Beckoning with his hand he began to lead them out of the other end of the dinning hall. Endymion looked around at his fellow prisoners and began to wonder at the mystery and power behind the assassin. When supper had been announced over, what he could only guess was, the intercom(though he'd seen no speakers anywhere) he had been intrigued. He had followed the peculiar creature that was nothing more than a man's shadow into a large dinning hall. In the center sat a large round table with thirty five chairs surrounding it. All but a few were filled. Every royal in the solar system was sitting at the table. Supper was quiet until the outbreak at the end. And now every royal in the solar system was heading down the large corridor following a child's shadow to a sitting room for tea. A gathering like this had never occurred in all the centuries. Every king, queen, prince, and princess all held captive and on their way to tea.

The sitting room was lavish. Enough seats and tea cups for everyone. The silence was tense and awkward. Endymion shifted restlessly in his chair as he looked around. He recognized only four faces in the room that he hadn't arrived with. Princess' Ameya, Reilynn, Makaila, Miniya. He looked at the royal gathering and could no longer take the silence. "How did everyone get here?"

Princess Ameya of Mercury a few chairs down was the first to speak. "She caught my sister and I while we were sneaking off to one of the great Mercurian lakes. She caught mom and dad three days later as they were leaving for a conference on Mars. She was quite strategic about everything. Sent notifications before we had left the map. All plausible excuses for our disappearances."

Alexander of Mercury nodded his agreement, "Ami is right. We believed our Ameya and Saranoya to be visitng Rei and her brother. We even received a telecom call!! We spoke to the girls!"

Rei crossed her arms. "Of course I'd already been caught sneaking out."

Miniya blushed, "Makaila and I were caught with her, trying to sneak to your planet. We were hoping to sneak to one of your forests when she scooped us up mid teleport. Actually all of the heirs were caught on our way sneaking out."

Aphrodite smiled, "All of us adults were snatched on our way to or from meetings. So when the Red Lady telecomed to our planets to report that we were on our way to a Dangnefedd Conference no one at home would think to question it. She really way quit cleaver about it all. From what Setsuna could gather before they'd snatched her, we had even asked for our children to join us, and they had responded in kind."

Endymion nodded. "Its frightening how easily she accomplished all of this. Who has been here the longest?"

"Mako, Mina, and I. We've been here just under two months." Rei grumbled from the corner.

"Does anyone know why we are here?"

Ami shook her head. "The Red Lady has yet to actually speak to anyone. Ikuko is nice enough, well at least until you upset her at supper... but she won't tell us any more than that we are guest of her Lady and we should graciously accept her hospitality."

Endymion looked confused. "Not a word?" He looked to his mother.

Giada looked nervous. "She spoke with me upon our arrival." There was a gasp. "Ikuko said it was because she respected me because I was born a commoner." She shifted uncomfortably, nervous with the attention that was focused on her. "She also respects me because I saved her once. I'm not sure of her real name, but I knew her as Rose." Endymion dropped his tea cup and it shattered on the floor. "She was a prisoner of Endymion's...."

Ami was the first to recover from the slight shock of the statement. "What happened?"

Endymion's voice was strained as he began his tale.

Six Years Ago- The Market of Breetown

"Halt! In the name of the King!" The market place turned to panic. No one sure who the guard was talking to. The creature clad in red sprinted in the opposite direction and he immediately took chase. They always ran. She had gotten a decent lead because of the sudden panic in the market place, but his long stride quickly brought him closer to his pray. As she zipped around the edge of a building Endymion quickened his pace before he lost her. 'If I lose her because of that ignorant man.... Damned guard will lose a weeks pay for this! Shouting like that, alerting the pray.' He quickly rounded the edge of the corner to see the red creature only a few more paces from him. He grabbed an arm and jerked ripping the hood from her head.

Chocolate brown hair had fallen into the face of the delicate girl. He roughly pushed it out of her deep green eyes. 'The description is wrong.' "What is your name?" The girl didn't respond, only cowered to the ground. Endymion jerked her up by the arm he held. "Whats your name? Whats your purpose in this market place? Why did you run?" The girl tried to tug away from him but his rough grasp offered no resistance.

The head of Endymion's Royal guard came up behind him. "We've got most of the ruckus settled back there. What did you catch?"

Endymion jerked around throwing the girl to Kunzite. "We need to double check this creature with Duke Finnigan."

Kunzite looked down to the small girl in his arms. Waste length chocolate brown hair, large green eyes, and a delicate barely budding frame surrounded by lightly tanned skin that appeared to be covered from toe to neck in the most intricate black tattoos. She wore a tiny red shirt that covered to just above her naval, and a long flowing skirt that covered her from her hips to her bare feet. The matching red cape had made Endymion assume she was the assassin the Red Lady. 'This wisp of a girl couldn't harm a fly.' "Are you sure this is the assassin? Its barely a wisp of a girl. And-"

"Duke Finnigan told us there would be a creature in red."

"He gave the description of a woman."

"We have always known she was a master of disguise!"

"But-!"

"I will not hear any objections! This is the assassin! If you cannot do your job, then I will hire a new-"

"No, my liege. I will do my duty."

Kunzite solemnly pulled the shackles from behind his back and latched them onto the girls wrist. 'I'll speak with the others, maybe the Queen should-'

"You are to report this to no one until I've drawn a confession out of our little murderous whore." Kunzite nodded.

Three Months Later ~ Terran Castle Dungeons

Zoicite sighed as he repeated the same meaningless garbles he'd said every day for the last two and a half months. His prince waited thirty seconds. No response. Like there had been none for the last two and a half months. The whip sliced through the air causing the child's body to jerk, but she remained motionless, a dead defeated look in her dark green eyes.

He recited something from the next language on the Prince's list.

He and the other generals were certain that this girl was guilty of nothing more than speaking one of the dead languages. It seemed impossible to cross the language barrier. The prince was convinced other wise. So the girl suffered, but each general tried desperately to give her some hope in their own ways.

When he had first brought her to the dungeons he'd had all of his personal guard, the generals of his armies, present. He'd had the girl stripped of everything but her undergarments. Told her that she would be whipped daily until she told him her name, admitted to being the assassin, and divulged the location of her castle. A week after she had been captured Duke Finnigan had been murdered. A note from the assassin had been left- mocking the prince and damning the duke for his betrayal. Endymion had insisted it was a ploy by one of the assassins followers. He'd refused the girls freedom. She had to be guilty. She was tortured daily and spoke not a word. She was guilty, he had told them, for what other reason would she hold her tongue? After that he had started denying her meals. Allowing only a tray of gruel once per week. The prince would spend hours a day down here torturing her. After two weeks Zoicite had suggested that she didn't comprehend, and so the prince had allowed him to ask the questions. At the end of the first months the four generals were certain that the assassin had destroyed what had remained of the prince's sanity. Forbidden from reporting the matter, they took the care of the girl in their own hands.

Each night when they were given leave of Endymion, they would each head down the to dungeons in their own time. Zoicite was always first. The prince's beatings were harsh, so he would treat the child's wounds the best he could using the finest salves and silk bandages. Nephrite would be second, taking over the castle kitchens and fixing the child 'proper' food. At first, Cook had gone with him to the dungeon to coax the child into eating, but after a few meals she seemed to trust the guard. Jedite could be found down their next. He had purchased a delicate silk robe for the girl insisting to the other that any girl would want her privacy. After he helped her slip it on, he' sit behind her and brush out her brown stands of hair braiding it in one of the manners his lady love had taught him.

Kunzite was always last. He'd take the child a bed roll and he'd sit with her singing her to sleep. He had taken the situation the hardest. Blaming the harsh treatment of the girl on himself. The first night, as he sang his song, he began to shed tears for the girl, and she took over singing in an undecipherable language, the tone delicate, her voice angelic. If he could have opened Endymion's eyes in the market place...

None of them had thought of the consequences of them leaving the girl with such things, but as they headed down their the first morning each began to fret. That morning Endymion only found a shivering mostly naked girl lying on the cold stone slab. The confused guards remained silent. Later in the evening one of the servant girls came to Kunzite to inform him that the girl had returned everything to the morning guard, and he had had her return it to their chambers.

So the generals continued their treatment of the girl. And for two more months she suffered under Endymion's unforgiving touch.

It was upon the third month that Endymion's planning had gone awry. Every month the Queen would visit the dungeons to make sure the people, however guilty, were being treated in a civil manner. So for the past two months Endymion had hid away the child during the Queen's visit. It was the third month however, when the Queen arrived home early from an outing to one of the far regions of Terra. Her visit to the dungeons was scheduled in three days time, but as she had arrived early she'd completed her schedule early.

Upon entering the dungeons she heard Zoicite drone on with some of the less common languages heard on Terra and then she heard the whip. She stopped ignored the guard at the bottom of the stairs. Following the echoing sounds through the hallways until she came across her son with a whip in his hand and the delicate bleeding girl bound by her wrists hanging from the ceiling.

"Endymion what the hell is going on here?"

Startled to be caught, he dropped the whip. "Mother!"

The queen glared at her son, waiting for a response. After a moment of silence she looked to his guards, "What has this child done?"

Kunzite looked the Queen in the eye, guilt marring his stony features. "Your son arrested her because she wore red in the market place." The queen looked to Endymion for further explanation, but before he could offer more Kunzite continued. "He beats her daily-"

"That is enough, General."

Kunzite ignored the command in Endymion's tone. "He beats her daily because she cannot speak. Because she will not accept the name of the Red Lady as her own. Because she will not admit to being guilty of the crimes he has accused her of."

"Endymion, my son, please tell me this isn't true?" Endymion averted his eyes from his mothers gaze. The queen understood from his silence. She turned her gaze to the child. She recognized the tattoos in an instance, and she knew of this girls minuscule tribe, and the language they spoke. "¿Puede hablar usted? "

The child's eyes snapped up and her delicate cracked voice responded, "Sí."

"¿Qué es su nombre? "

"Rose."

"¿Por qué estuvo usted en el mercado? "

"Compraba hierbas para mi abuela. Yo no robé. Juro que hice nada malo."

"Get her down now!"

Endymion looked to his mother, "What did she say? Why wouldn't she speak to us?"

His mother glared daggers at him as his guards carefully removed the child and began to lead her from the dungeon. "Her name is Rose. You arrested her for buying herbs. She wouldn't speak with you because she was a gypsy from a small tribe to the north! Not many know their language, they are a proud and self sufficient people! Zoicite could not have learned that tongue in the library as they have no written language. You questioned her in gibberish, so she couldn't understand to respond!"

Sitting Room ~ End of Flash Back

"My mother and my guard saw the girl safely back to her forest home. Her grandmother had died in her absence and only her aunt remained. We had never spoken of her again until this day. It turns out I was right to torture her."

"No you were not." All eyes turned toward Ikuko. No one had hear her enter. "The Lady would never speak of the time you held her captive. Now I know why. But as you have filled in the blanks in my knowledge, I can fill in the gaps in your tale. It was me you chased through the market place. The Lady was a child then. I had rescued her from an abusive home. I rushed back to her in my attempt to escape. She understood before I reached her. She knocked me unconscious. - I'm still not sure how the delicate creature managed it.- She stole my mask, used it to disguise herself, pushed me under some garbage and then took my place in the chase."

"What do you mean she stole your mask?"

"The mask is the true sign of the assassin. It has been passed down from the first deadly lady. It is a red handkerchief that allows the wearer to be disguised as any woman she can imagine. Weaving it self into the disguise, it only needs to be removed to end the spell. How did you think you had all contacted home? She had one of the brigand chiefs mimic the males when needed, but she really was quit cleaver about it all. She has been clever since the moment I met her. I believe when you captured her, the handkerchief was the tattoo of a red rose on the top of her foot. She sliced it after she'd left and the spell was finished. It was strangely lucky as it seemed the only part of her flesh you didn't mare. After she returned, she took up the apprenticeship I'd been offering since I'd found her. She was rather gifted with a sword, and it was less than a month before she'd mastered everything I had to teach. From there she became the assassin. From the fall of her blood came the rise of Rose, and hers is a tale like none other."

"Can we hear it?"

Ikuko smiled, "I am sorry Giada, I can tell you no more. I'm sure the Lady will reprimand me for having said to much. However, it is getting rather late, and I came to suggest that you all retire for the evening."

Everyone in the room stood up and made to follow Ikuko back to their rooms. As Ikuko's hand touched the door knob it was Endymion's voice that stopped her from opening it. "Queen Selenity, I've been meaning to ask you, which one of these lovely ladies is my fiancé? None of them looks quite like the girl I met all those years ago."

Selenity stopped, causing Alexander and Aphrodite to run into her back. "I--"

"It is me you should ask, Endymion."

"Excuse me, my lady?"

Ikuko turned her gaze from the door to look at Endymion. "Seven years ago. The Red Assassin was hired to kill her."