I'm just going to get right into it this time around!
Now on with the show…
The Kiss of Death
By Miss Jessica Rabbit
Chapter 9: I Still Love You
Usagi age: 16, Endymion age: 19
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue!
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Previously in The Kiss of Death…
"Well, we still don't know why she refuses to carry this sword around." Artemis began while slowing pulling it from its sheath. "I mean, sure its old but if she's not going to use it then it's just going to weigh her down. It wasn't very wise of her to bring –" Artemis stopped as a letter fell from out the sheath and landed softly on the floor. "What's this?" Artemis asked himself. The others looked at him curiously and then at the letter. He slowly picked it up and took in its appearance. What was once a scroll was a flattened letter; luckily it was flattened with the wax seal on the top, which kept it from breaking.
"A letter with an unbroken seal? Does it say anything on the outside?" Inquired the Queen as they all walked over to Artemis to get a better look.
"Um…" He said as he brought it closer to his eyes, squinting in attempt to make out anything that looked like words on the old letter.
"There! On the back!" Lita yelled while pointing to the back. Artemis flipped it over, and sure enough there was writing. He blew on it in an attempt to make it more readable after so many years of dirt and grime covered it.
"To: Usagi" He read before blowing off the dust covering the second part. He had to rub off the grime, made of a substance he couldn't recognize, before he could make out the second part. "From:… oh my."
"What is it Artemis?" Asked the Queen as she looked at him curiously. Artemis handed the letter over to Selenity and looked at the ground, deep in thought. She took it while looking at him oddly, wondering why he wouldn't want to finish reading it.
"To: Usagi," she began before squinting to see the rest. "From:…
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…Jafari." The Queen ended, barely audible from shock.
"Jafari wrote her a letter? I thought he was dead?" Asked a stupefied Jadeite.
"He his you moron! He obviously wrote it before he died! As if the old sword-sheath it's in doesn't give that away!" Corrected Zoicite – controlling himself just enough so that he DIDN"T stomp of his comrades foot.
"Why do you think she never opened it?" Asked Luna.
"I don't think she ever took this sword out of the sheath. I'm guessing it was Jafari's sword and out of respect, she never used it." Answered Artemis.
"Then why would she keep it? I thought assassin's only carried weapons that were useful to them." Luna countered.
"For sentimental reasons I presume." Was the only reason Artemis could think of – the only reason that he wanted to believe she had.
"So she really does have a heart." Lita whispered.
"Well, one she keeps closed up anyway." The Queen added sadly.
"Are you going to open it?" Kunzite asked as he eyed the letter suspiciously.
"We should. A letter from an assassin to an assassin! Who knows what information it contains! It could have a plan in it to take down the Moon Kingdom OR the entire Silver Millennium!" Came Jadeite's proposal.
"I hate to admit it… but for once… he's got a good… a good… a OH I CAN'T EVEN SAY IT!" Zoicite yelled, unable to say that Jadeite was right.
"A good point? Why thank you kind sir." Jadeite finished for him while bowing politely.
"Shut up or your foot gets it!" Zoicite warned while raising his leg and aiming – waiting for Jadeite to give him a reason to stomp his foot. Jadeite just yelped as he hid behind Rei, causing her to roll her eyes at him.
"Enough you two. We have more important things to consider at the moment than foot stomping." The Earth King stated, causing the two generals to go to attention with a single glare.
"Well, I'm going to open it. Even though I would rather not break the trust that she already doesn't have in us, it's what I must do as Queen." Selenity said as she broke the seal. The seal she knew held Usagi's trust in her. As they read through, they knew what they had to do next.
"I know what you're all thinking… but… could it wait?" Requested Endymion. After all, he had a date with her shortly and he didn't want anything to interfere with it – yet.
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Endymion had to promise them all that he wouldn't tell Usagi about the letter just yet. It was the only way they would allow him to go through with his dinner with her before they went through with their second plan that day that involved getting her to remember. He was now in his room getting ready. Standing in front of the tall mirror, he began to make sure he looked as perfect as he could for her. (HA! Like he really has to try! )
"Black tuxedo?" Endymion asked himself.
"Check." He said as he smoothed out its material.
"Bow tie?"
"Check." He said while straightening it out.
"Black dress shoes?"
"Check." He said while bending over and dusting them with his hand. He had just polished them before he got dressed.
"Hair?" He asked as he noticed how shaggy it looked.
"Um… check." He said while pushing the bangs out of his eyes and smoothing it to the side with his hands.
"Breath?" He asked while blowing some air into his cupped hand and sniffing it.
"That's a minty check." He replied, mentally thanking his wonderful toothpaste. (Hey, in this story they have toothpaste. I don't care if it is about 1000 years ago, they are minty people!)
"Nerves?" He asked as he gave himself a worried and nervous look.
"Hanging on by a thread – definitely not a 'check'." He said while walking to the door.
As he closed his door, he stopped in front of Usagi's old room – Princess Serenity's room. He went in and walked over to her bed and looked at the spot he sat at every time they came to visit the Moon. He slowly picked up the pillow he used to hold whenever he wanted to feel near to her and smelled it.
"Hopefully… I won't need you for much longer." He said while smiling into the pillow.
He put it down and was about to leave when he saw the locket he gave her on her nightstand. 'Why didn't I think about showing her that before! It might have helped her to remember!' His mind screamed at him as he picked up the locket and put it in the inside of his cummerbund and began his walk to his lady's other room to escort her to dinner.
On the other side of the palace, Usagi was checking herself just as Endymion was… only with a slight difference.
"Bow?"
"Check." She said while putting it over her shoulders.
"Quiver with full supply of arrows?"
"Check." She said while putting that over her shoulders, in line with the bow.
"Sword?"
"Check." She said while putting her own swords sheath over her shoulder. (The sword that the royals have she never wore around the palace.)
"Other artillery?" She asked as she opened her coat from the front and looked down both sides.
"Check and check." She said for each side.
As she heard a knock at the door, she flicked her wrist to check the blade strapped to her arm before going to answer it. She opened it to find Endymion standing in the hall before her doorway with a look on his face that could easily be compared to the look a deer gets before you crash into it. However to her, he held the look a victim gets the second before you kill them. She thought it made him look cute, but she wouldn't admit it. Endymion took in her appearance slowly.
'She didn't even try to get ready.' He thought as a small smile became barely visible to Usagi on his lips. 'But… even without trying… she's still breathtaking.' As he ended that thought, his eyes had met hers and what was a barely visible smile was now a boyish grin. It almost made the assassin blush.
"So…" She began, waiting for him to say or do something. So far he had been looking at her and smiling for almost a minute.
"So?" He said with the same smile on his face, not registering what she was implying – which was 'when are we going to go eat the damn food?'
"So when are we going?" She said with the raise of an eyebrow. He suddenly paled, not realizing that he had been lost in reverie by just being this close to her.
"Um… now! Right now!" He quickly replied while bowing and then realizing that he should have bowed a few minutes before hand. He swiftly rose back up and put his arm out for her to take. She watched his whole nervous attempt with a worried look but as soon as he put his arm out for her to take, she just stared at it. The main reason that she didn't take Artemis' arm on her first night here was because she was afraid. She hated to admit it, but she was deathly afraid of human contact. It was to be expected however. After all, the only person she was ever close to ended up dieing. Her first kiss died after she kissed him (Willington). And every other person that followed died by her hand. She wasn't just the "Kiss of Death." No, she was much more than that – much worse than that. She was the "Aura of Death." Simply being near her cost you your life. And secretly… that saddened her. No one wanted a life of solitude, but as soon as you dedicated your life to being an assassin, there was no way out of it. It was a career choice that would haunt you to the grave. And being number one made her that much more haunted than your average assassin.
So here she is now. Staring at the arm of a Prince her wishes to dine with her. A man who for some reason, doesn't care about the blood that drenches her soul – the blood of all she killed. The only thing she can think was: "Why? Why doesn't it seem to bother him?"
After she hesitated for so long, he just took back his offered arm and simply pointed down the hall. "Shall we go now, Usagi?" He said with a warm smile, realizing he wanted too much from her from right now.
"Sure." She said, looking at him with Thankful eyes that he never got to see as he looked in the direction he was pointing and began to walk. She followed him as they walked on in silence. Before she knew it, they were at the back of the palace.
"Aren't we eating in the dining room?" Usagi asked as she followed him through a maze of gardens. She was looking around curiously at all the flowers as he began to answer.
"Nope." He said with a tinge of amusement in his voice.
"Well then, where are we eating?"
"Right here." He said as he stopped walking causing her to stop abruptly so as not to bump into him. She stepped to the side of him and saw a table set up with candles surrounding it. It was right next to a fountain and surrounded by roses.
"Why here?" She asked as she approached the table and traced her finger along side the back of one of the chairs.
"Because…" He began as he pulled the chair out for her. "It has a history to it. A history that I would love to tell you about… if you would care to hear it?"
He wasn't expecting her to take the chair he was offering her, which is why he almost died from shock when she did. He decided it better not to let her see the surprise because he was afraid she wouldn't do something like it again if a big deal was made about it.
"Whatever, you can tell the story if you want."
"I will, but first… let's enjoy some dinner." He said as he lifted the lid off the chafing dish. Usagi only looked at him and then at the food. It did look good, and she hadn't eaten anything since the sandwich she had earlier. He served her as much food as he served himself since he knew how much his Sere loved to eat. The thought of the old days made him smile – which Usagi noticed with intrigued eyes. She began to eat quickly, not bothering to use the correct utensils for each dish but rather the same fork for all of them.
"Haha, what are you rushing for?" Endymion asked her, he hadn't even begun eating and she looked like she was already halfway done.
She looked up slightly startled that he didn't realize why she was eating fast, then looked toward the setting sun. "It's dusk. The sun will be gone shortly and the only light we'll have will be from the earth… and that's not enough to eat by."
"That's what these are for." He answered with a warm smile while pointing at the candles surrounding them that had already been lit by a servant before they arrived. As an assassin, she has never needed candles outdoors being as they would have been a dead give-away to her location.
"Oh." She said as she began to look around more. This time, she was looking at the surrounding palace walls with a glare. 'Diamond better not try anything now.' She thought, completely unaware that she only thought that because she didn't want to leave this Prince so soon. After her check-up on the security, she went back to eating… only this time more relaxed and slower. She noticed how relaxed the Prince seemed to be and it bothered her. 'How can he be so calm during a dinner with me? No one having dinner with death should be this comfortable.'
"How can you do it?" Usagi said with a hint of resentment in her voice.
"Do what?" The Prince asked, not noticing her bitter-laden tone.
"How can you act like… like I don't do what I do?" She asked while setting her fork down.
"What do you mean?"
"How can you act like I don't kill people for a living! I'm not like any of you, yet you all act so cheerful towards me! I just don't understand it!"
"We care about you." He said as if it were obvious to everyone but her, which was actually true. She was the only one who didn't quite realize it – and that was understandable what with her memory-loss and all.
"How could you possibly care for a monster!"
"You're not a monster!" Endymion matched her volume as he got defensive. No one called his love a monster, not even herself.
"Yes I am! It doesn't matter how much you say I'm not! It won't change who I am!"
"It won't change who you are if you won't let it change who you are." He said while looking seriously into her eyes.
"Who says I want to change?" Usagi asked while looking at her food and picking her fork back up, using it to move her food around in her plate – trying to hide her emotions from him.
"I never said you wanted to change… just that you could." He replied with a sad look that went unseen by Usagi's downward directed gaze.
A moment of silence past between the two as both seemed deep in thought. Usagi was the one to finally break the silence.
"So, are you going to tell me the history of this garden yet?" She asked with a very stoic sounding voice.
Endymion put his hand over the locket in his cummerbund realizing that if he were to tell the history of these gardens, or even show her the locket, he would be going against his promise to the others. 'I suppose this locket would go against some of the details of my promise.' He thought sadly. "Now is not the right time. Maybe some other day."
As he answered her, the last rays of the sun became lost to their part of the moon. They spread over Usagi's left cheek and gleamed over the right side of Endymion's hair, they both stopped breathing and stared speechless at each other. Their minds seemed to be mirrored by the same thought.
'I never knew candle light…' Began Usagi.
'… could make her even more gorgeous.' Ended Endymion.
They just sat there, taking in this candle lit discovery. Usagi felt something very, very familiar. But as much as it was familiar, it was 100 times more alien and frightening to her. For the first time in years, she was terrified of something… and she didn't even know what was.
"…breathtaking…" Endymion whispered in a barely audible voice.
"Wh-what?" Usagi asked, slowly loosing her cool.
"You look absolutely…breathtaking." Endymion finished, causing her to actually blush, and this time he saw it clear as day. This only made him love her more… and smile warmer.
'What is this feeling?' Usagi's mind inquired as her heart raced. She did the only thing she could think of – got up and began to leave.
"I-I should really be getting back now. I have um… things to do… with weapons." She said in a full on panic mode. 'Why the hell am I this nervous! He's just a damn Prince! No one special to me!'
Just as she began to walk past him, she was suddenly stopped when her wrist was gently grabbed. The delicate treatment to her made her freeze. Endymion stood and walked slowly from behind her to face her, never letting go of her left wrist. She looked up into his eyes completely frozen. The candlelight was still illuminating their faces ever so softly. He took a step closer so that their bodies were touching. Usagi instinctively leaned into his frame as he traced his left hand up her arm. His touch left chills running up her spine and she became lost in his deep-blue eyes.
"Do you really have to leave so suddenly?" He said as his hand traveled up her neck and finally rested on her cheek, cupping it softly.
"Yes." She answered breathless and unconvincingly.
He leaned his face down closer to hers and his bangs tickled her forehead. He couldn't take it anymore. He had been separated from her for years and it was torture. But this… this was…
"… intoxicating…" Endymion whispered as he tilted his head and leaned down more. Their lips were now millimeters apart. He wasn't quite sure if he could control his urge to kiss her anymore.
"Intoxicating? What is?" Usagi whispered, and her breath on his lips made him smile from that innocent pleasure.
"You are." He replied back, his warm comforting breath caused her to close her eyes and as she faintly gasped at this feeling he gave her.
"Oh." She whispered as she tilted her head and leaned it more into his hand that still remained on her cheek, bringing their lips even closer – yet they still seemed so far apart.
"You should get going now." He said breathlessly, wanting so badly to kiss her endlessly right then and there. Endlessly
"Yeah?" Came her unsure answer that sounded more like a question.
"Yeah." Endymion answered sadly as he stepped back leaving her surprised and… disappointed – even though she would never confess to it.
He simply bowed down and removed his grip from her wrist and languidly moved his fingers to her hand bringing it to his face. The noble Prince then kissed her hand, even though they wanted so much more at that moment. After all, when you want a kiss in the candlelight… you don't expect it on your hand. However, just as when he asked her to this very dinner hours ago, he allowed his lips to linger on her hand longer than a gentleman was taught too.
"Until next time… Usagi." He breathed the words onto her hand, sending chills up her spine again.
"Until next time?" Came the confused question of the assassin.
"It was pleasant… spending time with you. I only wish that you would do me the honor of allowing me to entertain you a second time at least." He said as he rose up.
"Um… sure… when?" She hesitated. Wondering what would occur if they did do this again. 'Would I taste the Prince's lips next time? Or was this just a spur of the moment deal?' So many questions were running through her mind and it was the first time in years that those questions DIDN'T pertain to death – whether it be hers or her victims.
"We shall decide that after you attend a meeting tonight in which your presence was requested." Endymion said as he hardened his features towards her. She couldn't see through his mask as easily as she would have hoped – mainly because she was disappointed to see his soft eyes look at her so coldly. "I'll see you there… Usagi." He said while turning and leaving her. He had to harden his features so that she couldn't see… couldn't see that he didn't want to leave her… couldn't see that he loved her.
'Wasn't I the one who was originally trying to leave first?' She thought as she half-glared while raising a suspicious eyebrow towards the only man that she has ever been affected by.
If Usagi hadn't have been in such deep thought, she might of heard the Prince whisper something as his back became less and less visible as he walked out of the candle light.
"One day… my sweet Sere… you'll know. You'll know… I still love you." Endymion said through his smile. As soon as he turned his back to her, he had allowed it to return to his face - mainly because he was no longer able to hold it in any longer. Twice today he had gotten closer to her than he thought he ever would, and she actually allowed him to. Life was great… at least for now anyway.
Not really certain as to when this meeting was that he told her about, she decided it would be best to wait in her room and think things through until Artemis or someone came to get her.
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Artemis (she guessed right!) was standing in front of Usagi's door, hesitating on knocking. What was about to occur within the next few minutes would decide the entire future. He wasn't sure or not that if he rushed her, he would be rushing a peaceful future… or an even further damned one. He knocked; giving in to his eagerness to find which fate they were making for themselves.
"What do you want Artemis?" Loudly asked Usagi from inside.
'How does she do that?' Artemis thought with confusion written on his face. "May I enter?"
"If you want." Usagi stoically replied.
Artemis walked in only to be greeted by a dark room. "Don't you light your candles at night?"
"Depends on what mood I'm in?"
"And what mood wouldn't allow you to feel as though light isn't important?"
"The mood I'm in when I'm being watched." She whispered to herself.
He followed the sound of her voice and found her sitting on the railing of her balcony. (She was sitting just as she was when Endymion came to ask her to dinner.)
"What did you say?" He did hear her; he just didn't understand what she meant.
"Never mind what I said. Are you here to escort me to that meeting?" She questioned with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"How did you kn-"
"Endymion told me that my 'presence was requested' for it. I don't get why this damned meeting would be so important, but let's just get this over with quickly so I can call it a night." Usagi explained as she stood and walked past Artemis and out the door. Since it was so dark, he didn't even know she left the room until after she closed the door. He took that as his queue to run and catch up with her so that he could continue to escort her the rest of the way.
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The royals were all waiting in the royal advisory room for Usagi and Artemis to show up. The generals and guardians were standing on the sides of the room while Luna stood by the Queen and Endymion stood by his father. King Darren and Queen Serenity were sitting at a table facing the room's entrance. The Earth King had the old sword on his lap under the table so that she didn't see it until they were ready to show it to her. The Moon Queen nervously held the letter they found in the sword's sheath on her lap with shaky fingers. Every one of them was praying to Selene that things went smoothly… or at least not violently.
Suddenly the right door opened and Artemis stepped through and held the door open for Usagi… but she had entered the same time he did only through the left door.
"I told you I don't do chivalry." Usagi said to him over her shoulder.
"I'm the one doing all the chivalry… you just don't except any of it." Artemis mumbled to himself as he closed the door. Usagi only smirked at the fact that he didn't seem to fear her as much as most people did. A normal person would normally be trembling with fear at just the mention of her name, and here Artemis was – complaining. She truly enjoyed him.
When Usagi stood in the middle of the room, she tried to ignore the fact that her prince charming was there… staring straight at her. While she was under the gaze of all the royals, his gaze affected her the most. It also affected her heart in some strange way that she couldn't quite understand. Of course, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to understand it or run away from it. It was the only time she was afraid of something.
After looking at the Queen stoically for practically a minute, Usagi began to get annoyed. "I didn't come all the way here just to stand in a room of silence. If you wanted me here for a reason, then get on with it." Usagi said threateningly to the Queen. It only made Selenity grip the letter out of sadness and fear, crinkling it slightly before she realized what she was doing to it.
"Yes, well… King Darren?" The Queen began as she gave the King his signal.
"Right. Today we were given a sword by a servant that held many… secrets." The King said while still clutching the sword in his lap.
"And what does this sword have to do with me? Does it belong to one of Diamond's men?" Usagi said while annoyingly crossing her arms over her chest. 'Just because I'm an assassin they think I know about everyone's weaponry like I actually give a shit.' She thought angrily to herself while rolling her eyes.
"Well, it wasn't any sword. It was this sword." The King corrected as he placed the sword on the table. The sight of it caused Usagi's eyes to widen.
"Jafari's sword! I put it in the room I'm staying in! You stole it from me!" Usagi yelled with the rage after feeling as if they had violated something so precious to her.
"Well, when a servant was cleaning your room, she found it and wasn't sure if it was suppose to be in the training room." Artemis began as he went and stood by Luna (who was standing by the Queen's side). "What can you tell us about this sword?"
"It's Jafari's and now it's mine!" Usagi seethed. They have never seen her yell like this. Until now, she had kept her cool and used her calmness to frighten everyone.
"Did you ever… use it?" The King asked, careful on his wording.
"No, never even took it out of its sheath." Usagi answered with a glare.
"That explains it." The King said to Selenity. The Queen only nodded at his comment.
"Explains what?" Usagi questioned while looking at them with confusion.
The Queen held up the letter and sat it next to the sword on the table. "When we were inspecting the sword, this letter fell out from inside the sheath. We think you should take a look at it. It's from… Jafari." The Queen ended cautiously. She was saddened at the look Usagi's face held at the mention of his name. So much pain and regret – but the Queen didn't know what caused her to feel this way towards his memory.
"Jafari?" The assassin asked almost inaudibly due to her shock.
"Yes. Would you mind reading it aloud?" The Queen requested; even though they all read the letter earlier, they still wanted to hear Usagi say it all. Hear Princess Serenity say it all.
Artemis walked up to the front of the table, picked up the letter and brought it to Usagi. Her eyes never left it as he carried it. She slowly took it and was shocked. "Th-that's his handwriting." She said to herself. The others were beginning to get worried. Right now, she looked so… vulnerable. They preferred the cold assassin to this vulnerable girl. She was only breaking their hearts more than before.
"The seal is broken." Usagi noted.
"Yes, we read it earlier for security reasons. We didn't really plan on giving the current number one assassin a letter from the ex-number one assassin without knowing what it pertained to. I hope you can understand why, as Queen, I had to make that choice." The Queen informed Usagi, hoping that it wouldn't break what little trust her daughter had in her. But, Usagi (surprisingly enough) never seemed to be bothered by her confession as she was too caught up in the fact that her master had written her a letter.
Everyone waited eagerly as she unrolled the long letter. The confused assassin took a deep breath in attempt to calm her nerves. She paused for a moment, taking in the surreal moment before reading.
"Usagi,
If you are reading this,"
CLIFFHANGER NUMBER 2!
Yep, I'm mean!xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
To all who guessed that it was Jafari: Was it really that obvious? -
Hopefully I'll post the next chapter before my 20th birthday (which is January 22 by the way – I'm the year of the Tiger like Kisa from Fruits Basket!) but if I don't then please don't hate me!
Come back for Chapter 10 – Jafari's Confession!
To all who reviewed:
Shrouded Mist – You didn't know about the character named "Cliff Hanger"! But he's the star of this story! Haha, that's not a lame joke and you're the only one that reviewed with that. You have a fast wit for comedy in reviews! I hope you enjoyed the romance in this one! I know I'm mean for not letting them kiss! Go ahead and hate me! TT I'm happy to inform you that your theory is right, but according to some reviewers, it was REALLY obvious. Thanks for the review, hope to here from you about this chapter!
Princess Serena Moon – Please don't pout! I'm sorry! No you don't ramble, you just amuse me! So thanks for doing what you call "rambling" in your reviews to my story! Sorry that this chapter didn't show what the letter says, but the next chapter is sure to! I couldn't have Usagi read the letter yet because then her date with Endymion wouldn't have happened in this chapter! Thank you for being such a faithful reader and hope to here more of your "rambling" about this chapter!
chocolate chip 6891 – Glad that you love my story and are so into it! What do you think about this chapter!
Ginger – Yay! The first person to answer my author question! I'm so pleased! So you're a action AND romance fan for this story! Sorry there was no action in this one, it was mainly focused on romance! Glad that you think I combine the two genres wonderfully! That makes my day! Well, I did add more romance so I hope your happy with it! The ending of this story and Diamonds scene are going to be in a while, so don't worry about those things just yet. Hope to here from you about this chapter!
Queen Selene I – I'm sorry to say that I don't quite understand your first question. If you are trying to say that the Queen doesn't seem to be attempting to strengthen her bond with Usagi, she is. She is trying to be very subtle at it though so she doesn't scare away the assassin that is her daughter. Usagi may be tough, but she does have a fear – people who don't want to kill her and who she doesn't want to kill. The Queen understands this about her daughter being as she is very keen on people's feelings. Hopefully this chapter explained that fear a little. When you have such a strong case of amnesia, you often don't have flashbacks. The only this that could be considered a flashback thus far, is the fact that every night Usagi doesn't have dreams, but here's the lockets song deep in her subconscious. With her case of amnesia, the most familiar things will seem alien to her… except one. Oops, did I just say to much! Hope to here from you soon!
KeraJeir – Glad you enjoyed the detail on Willington's injury! I tried to turn his injury into another revelation on how damn good Usagi is at what she does! As if the whole palace didn't know yet! Lol Yep, he called him a "boob" but can we really disagree on that one! Glad you enjoyed the etiquette remark! Well, I guess it's good that you found it to be obvious. I wanted him to make a return and what better way than with a letter! Glad everything was clear to you in this chapter! To answer your question: I wanted Usagi's character to show that she IS starting to trust the Queen and the others. It shows how all the Queen's inner torment of having her daughter glare at her and threaten her pay off.
Ayumi43 – You think I've outdone myself! Thanks! Happy to hear it that you thought chapter 8 was so good! She carries her own sword, but Jafari's sword she only keeps for sentimental reasons being as that was his favorite weapon. Did you like the romance in this chapter! I hope you did! Just tell your boyfriend to read this story and then he might catch on! - hehe Can't wait to hear what you think about the romance in this chapter!
Anonymous – Sorry for being unfair and mean! TT You're the second person so far to answer my author question! Glad you like my version of Usagi! I'm happy to here that you have picked up on her caring side! That's a little tricky to do in this story! Good job! (I sound like a teacher!) Hope to hear from you on this chapter!
Nobaody – Glad you love this story and find it interesting! Hope to hear from you again!
KeikoKasaiTora - You thought it was lame and slow at first? So did I! Is the author suppose to admit that! I'm not sure! The thing with that is that when I first thought of the story, it was from chapter 5 and on! I had to add the first four so that I just didn't start from some anonymous scene! Wow, what a coincidence that chapter 5 is when you started getting hooked! Lol Please don't be mad about the cliff hangers! (Especially since this chapter has one too! ) THANK YOU! YOU'RE THE FIRST PERSON TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT REVIEWER! Woah, I got a little excited there! Glad to here you got my back! I'll use that reassurance to encourage me to write more! Hope to hear from you about this chapter!
Usagi1816 – I'm thrilled that you think of reading my story as a reward! Well, was chapter 9 great! Hope to hear from you about this chappie!
Sere – You're very welcome! Did you like this chapter better than chapter 8! Hope to hear from you about this chappie! Glad you reviewed twice! I'm honored that you think this chapter deserves TWO reviews! I happy that you're my number one fan! My birthday is the 22nd! I'm most likely celebrating it the week after though but hey, that's life!
EverAfter16 – Yay! We are all happy now! Sorry I couldn't update as fast this time! I tried but I never got the chance what with college life and social life! January is turning out to be an EXTREMLY busy month for me, but don't worry, this chapter is still up there on my priority list! Hope to hear from you about this chapter!
MayPenguin – Addictive you say! I hope you won't need rehabilitation! LOL Hope you liked this chapter and hope to hear your opinions on it!
Ffgirlmoonie – Are you trying to tell me that you didn't read chapter 8! That is a crime you know! Usagi just might shoot you with 5 arrows for that one! J/K I feel your pain! Glad you reviewed anyway though! Hope you READ and enjoy chapter 9! Here from you then!
storywriter10791 – Thank you! Sorry if I didn't update as soon as you hoped! Hope to hear what you think about this chapter!
loringalta – Thank you! I know, and to make things worse, I made this one a cliffie, too! I'm evil! I need this Cliff-Hanger Happy demon exercised from me! Hope Jadeite got there in time to reincarnate you. I think I should have sent someone more qualified like Zoicite, or his lovely love Ami! Hope to hear from you about this chapter!
Laura – Sorry that I'm torturing you! I'm not trying to really I'm not! Thank you for wishing me a happy birthday! Hope to hear from you about this chappie!Taeniaea – Glad to hear that you loved chapter 8! Hope you love this chapter aswell, if not more than the last one! Hope to hear from you about this chapter!
SiLvErMoOnWiNg – If I didn't leave it at a cliffhanger, then I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from writing a crap load more of pages! You guessed write! It was our favorite master – Jafari! Apparently, he was the obvious choice according to my reviewers! Did you enjoy Endymion and Usagi's dinner together! Can't wait to hear what you thought of chapter 9!
THANK YOU! To all who have not reviewed or have only reviewed about one time through-out the whole story then what are you waiting for! I want to hear from you! Don't be shy!
