Seeds

Written for sm_monthly Silver Millenium month, January 2008

Theme: 3. Labyrinth

In the Floral Labyrinth of King Ethlios' gardens, on the Earth palace, not only flowers blossomed.

Prince Endymion, Ethlios' son, liked to lose himself in the contorted paths with his fianc?, to escape the sight of their guards. Earth flowers were much more colorful and perfumed than the Moon Kingdom ones, and Princess Serenity beamed with joy among them.

Jadeite was torn. Mars was passionate, maybe too much for his composure. Their relationship developed accordingly, either fantastic or headache-inducing, always explosive. Sometimes it made them complementary. Other times, Jadeite gazed at the Prince and wished he had never fallen in love with Serenity. It had launched the diplomatic events leading to engage the Generals to the Moon Guardians.

Mercury knew something was on her counterpart's mind. Zoisite was always gracious to her, and they had nice conversations in the gardens. But every now and then, his attention wandered away and his face hardened. She wished she could help him, but as friendly as they were together, they were only that. There was always a wall around Zoisite's deeper thoughts, and that wall seemed to grow day after day.

Nephrite found it hard to lose his own fiancé, as with her heels adding to her size, Jupiter's ponytail could be seen above the bush anyway. As much as they appreciated having an equal in each other, she wasn't quite the girl he had dreamed of. When he allowed himself to think about it, after a few glasses, he mused that Mercury's delicate frame was more to his taste. And he resented that Zoisite didn't love her as she would deserve.

Kunzite thought of his duty only. His whole existence was defined by it, or so he liked to think. Courting a Moon Guardian as engaging as Venus couldn't be considered as a hassle, certainly. She seemed to love him genuinely. And he liked her too. Maybe in part because her bubbly enthusiasm and pretty features reminded him of someone who he more than liked. That was as good as he would ever be allowed to have.

Beryl couldn't stand the sight of the Moon Princess batting her eyelashes at Endymion. She was very far from the gardens now. She raised the glowing crystal in her left hand and at its light, checked the map in her father's notes. As the court's Alchemist, he had studied the ancient books and passed most of his knowledge to his daughter. Unfortunately he hadn't passed her his wisdom, and now that he was dead, no one could prevent her from going in the Forbidden Maze under the Obsidian Mountain, in search for a way to get her prize back.

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