The rain beat down on the tarp hanging over Minako and Zoicite's heads, leaving a rhythmic sound with each disbursement of droplets. Their horses were tethered nearby under the cover of the thick tree foliage, wool blankets thrown over their backs. The remaining handful of soldiers sat under their own tarps nearby, all perched on tall rocks and fallen logs trying to keep themselves dry.

Minako shivered against the cold and the instinctive fear of the thunder and lightning that echoed and danced across the sky. Her clothes were finally starting to dry after riding for an hour through the rain. They had searched for shelter but were unable to find anything along this path as the storm blew through. Once the first bolt of lightning lit the sky, they knew that they needed to stop and get off the roads for safety. A small fire flickered in front of her and Zoicite, barely remaining lit against the damp environment.

"Three more days," Minako said.

He had told her two days ago that they were less than a week away from the palace. They were being forced to head west and south - away from the palace - before finally heading east. The main roads had spies and even back roads were watched by soldiers. They had been forced to cut through woods to avoid the soldiers whenever possible. When not possible, they had been forced to run.

"Three more days," Zoicite echoed, his voice soft.

"Do you think Loren is ok?" She still didn't forgive him, but she feared what it might have meant if he was still alive.

"I said that I don't want to talk."

"It's been four days - aren't you worried?"

"I have plenty enough to be worried about," he responded, rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm going to assume him dead and allow myself to be pleasantly surprised if proven wrong."

"Were you close?" Her eyes watched Zoicite as he threw a small dry branch onto the waning fire, blatantly ignoring her. "I saw the way that you looked at him. The way that he looked back at you."

"He's someone I've known for a long time and I don't want to discuss this with you."

"I was trying to be a friend."

"Shall we discuss you then, friend? Do you want to talk about the child you carry that no one knows about? How many lies you told to get us here? Maybe you should ask me about Kunzite instead of Loren."

She swallowed, her throat feeling dry. "I didn't mean to cost everyone so much. I didn't know that there was a man like Diamond out there watching and waiting."

"He has been watching you for years."

"You knew?"

Zoicite shook his head. "I've spent the last couple of weeks listening. Diamond made a deal with your father. He knew that your paths would cross and he made sure that Kunzite was available when they did. He was going to use you to get to Kunzite. To break him. You were always going to have this child. It was just a matter of when, and if it came down to it, with who."

"What does that mean?"

"King Alexander needed a child with a strong resemblance to Kunzite. Either Kunzite could be a willing party, or someone else would." Minako blanched, turning her face away. Zoicite continued, "The doctor who examined you when Kunzite and Jadeite were in Salas was an informant to Diamond. There were other spies in the palace and word travelled easily enough from there."

"What happened to Dâni?"

Zoicite looked over at her, making a face when he realized who she was talking about. "He should be dead."

"He doesn't deserve to die."

"He deserves worse."

"Loren said he was tricked into working for Diamond, maybe Dâni was too."

"What they did to Loren," Zoicite spat, "was deceitful. Adonis was selfish. Loren played a part and paid for it. Adonis was the face and name of Diamond's rebellion, that's why they called him Dani - it was short for Danburite. It's too late for him to feel regret."

"What's going to happen to him?"

"If he ever emerges, he'll be put to death. I'd be happy enough to do it myself."

"How can you kill so mercilessly?"

"I could ask you the same."

"I didn't kill Rubeus."

"Kunzite expedited his death, but trust me that the dagger you drove into him was as fatal a blow as they come."

Minako fought the urge to move away knowing that she had no where to go and no one to blame for the direction of the conversation other than herself. The feeling of the blade still weighed heavy in her hands.

"Do you think he wouldn't have done to you what he threatened? Do you believe that even after Kunzite promised to cooperate that Rubeus would just let you go? It was his favorite thing to talk about once he started drinking. What he wanted to do to Kunzite's whore."

Her cheeks reddened. "We married."

"On the solstice, I know. Kunzite told me."

She let her head fall into her hands. "I loved him."

"Then why haven't you spoken his name once?"

"Because he betrayed me!" She shook her head, leaning back against the damp tree. "He gave up everything for me in the end. He told Rubeus everything."

Zoicite looked at her with narrowed eyes. "What is everything?"

"He said that there was some child in Calingstone." Curiosity welled pithing her when Zoicite raised his eyebrow in response. "Who is she?"

"There is no she."

"You're lying."

Zoicite shrugged at her accusation. "Lineage is a dangerous thing."

"Kunzite said the same thing."

"I wasn't born to be a soldier," Zoicite said, changing the subject, "I was supposed to be a priest. I was born as the fifth male heir - you could say I was the fourth spare. Kunzite and I both studied at a monastery when we were younger. I wanted away from court life, and his family wanted him away from court life. He was quite a bit older than me, but he still took me in all the same."

"I didn't know."

"Kunzite doesn't speak of the past. He prefers to leave it behind him. Not many people know who he used to be. A bastard son of a king doesn't get very much recognition when there are true heirs to compete with."

"What if he's dead?"

"Why would he be dead?"

A tear slid down Minako's cheek and she wiped it away with an angry swipe of her hand.

"You should try to sleep," Zoicite muttered, leaning back against the tree trunk. "It's too late for us to continue on tonight even if this storm manages to pass quickly. We're going to head further south in the morning."

"I don't think I can sleep knowing that this storm is this close and we are so exposed." She jumped as the thunder rumbled loudly, almost in response to her words.

"Lean back and close your eyes. I promise you that you are far more tired than you realize."

~~ o ~ oOo ~ o ~ oOo ~ o ~ oOo ~ o ~~

Their horses tore down the path at breakneck speed, stopping for nothing and being directed by the horses' own sense of self preservation. Soldiers had found them shortly after the storm. Apparently they had not been delayed by safety concerns for their own well-being. The small group that Zoicite rode with had been forced to separate yet again, hoping to breakdown the contingent of pursing men into smaller, less organized groups that could be dealt with. Unfortunately they had yet to meet up with any of those men since.

It had been a day since they had caught sight of any soldiers, but they rode expeditiously anyway, hoping to somehow increase the distance between themselves and their pursuers.

Minako hadn't noticed the pallor of Zoicite's appearance for the entirety of their duration together. More often than not, she had shared his horse, riding behind him on his saddle, or else she would be too distracted by the other changes in his appearance to notice that anything was wrong.

Thinking back she realized that she should have noticed three days ago when they sat under their coverings waiting for the storm to pass. He had seemed off, but she attributed that to the loss of his friend days before. Now though, as she watched him struggle to remain upright on his horse, she knew that they were in trouble.

A farm loomed in the distance and offered the promise of protection if they could manage to sneak their way onto the property. From the corner of Minako's eye she could see Zoicite pulling back on his reins and slowing the horse, his body starting to slump forward. She signaled to her horse to slow its run as well and turned to go back to him.

It felt as though everything were in slow motion as she saw Zoicite tumble from the saddle and land on the ground, his body bouncing against the hard path and instinctively recoiling into itself for protection. Minako jumped from her own saddle and ran over to him, cradling his head onto her lap. Heat radiated from his face.

"Zoicite," Minako said, her voice tinged with panic. "Open your eyes." His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, sweat forming on his brow.

She looked around them, unsure of what to do. There was no way that she could drag his body far enough off the road to safety. The trees were to sparsely spaced for them hide behind anyway. The farm was still too far away and she couldn't leave Zoicite laying in the road to try to raise help from the family there.

"Please open your eyes," Minako begged. Her fingers worked at the buttons at the top of his shirt, trying to open the heavy wool material to allow some of his body heat to escape. She could feel the same heat that burned from his forehead coming off his chest. "Zoicite?" she asked, leaning over him as his lips started moving.

"I'm sorry," he said, his mouth dry, words barely formed. "I should have told you they already knew. I failed you."

"You didn't fail me," Minako said, using her sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Zoicite's shaking hand reached up and stilled hers, his hold tender. "Forgive me." His other hand reached up and brought her head closer until their lips brushed. The sensation was soft like a feather dancing over her lips. She froze and stayed in that position until he pulled away from her, his head rolling to the side and he fell unconscious into fevered dreams.

She looked at him, her lips parted, still tingling from the touch. Unshed tears burned her eyes as she leaned over his body. They had come so far. Had both gone through so much. The palace was only a day away and he couldn't hold on. It wasn't fair.

"Is your friend dead?" a loud voice called out from atop the horse that now stopped feet away from where Minako knelt with Zoicite. She had been so absorbed in her task that she hadn't even noticed that they were no longer alone. Her body tensed, ready to flee. Hopefully he would mistake her for a boy.

"I am but a squire trying to help my master."

The man laughed. "I'm more likely to believe that the boy laying at your feet is the squire, my Lady. Perhaps you would start over."

Minako turned her eyes up to look at the man. If he intended them harm, there was nothing she could do to protect Zoicite. She took a deep breath. "My friend is sick. We both require sanctuary."

"Sanctuary?" the man asked as he dismounted from his horse. "How do I know that you don't intend to rob me?"

Angry tears burned Minako's eyes. Nothing would ever be simple. "We mean you no harm. We're just trying to get back home to the capital." She flinched as he moved closer and kneeled by her side.

"He's not sick."

"He's burning up."

"It's an infection." He pulled at Zoicite's shirt, looking for signs of an injury. A red mark marred Zoicite's abdomen. Angry red lines streaking out from the injury.

Minako reached out to touch Zoicite's shoulder, her hand shaking. How had she noticed him guarding his right side until this moment? The man at her side wrapped his fingers around her forearm, holding her wrist out to inspect the dotted bruises that had become visible with her movement. As he turned up to look at her, he noticed the bruises on her throat as well as the fading mark on her cheek. "Did he do this to you?"

His voice had been cold before, but the threatening tone he used now sent a tremor through her.

"I will leave him here to die on the side of this road if he was the one that hurt you."

She shook her head. "I was kidnapped from the capital. He saved me. We were being followed and we've been on the run for days now." Minako pulled back on her arm, his hand immediately releasing her.

He pulled Zoicite's shirt down, covering the injury. As the material moved, a heavy gold coin fell out of the chest pocket and onto the ground.

"Where did this come from?"

"We are under Prince Endymion's protection."

"This doesn't belong to the prince. The only man who should be in possession of this particular mark is General Jadeite himself. Impersonating a general in the prince's army is punishable by death under law." He glanced down again at Zoicite. "Although one more day and I don't think that your friend will have to worry about that."

"Please," Minako begged, "I need him. You can't let him die."

The mark was dropped into the man's pocket as he bent over to pick up Zoicite before placing him over his shoulder. Minako stood up next to him, noticing that he was larger looking than he initially appeared. Strands of his dark hair fell into his gray eyes. The shape of his nose indicated that he had been in more than one fight.

"You'll help us then?" Minako asked as she followed after him, watching as the man draped Zoicite's body over his horse's back.

"Grab the other two horses and follow after me. The ground is rough so we are better walking."

"Are we not going to the farm down the road?"

"You don't want to go there. The host is less than welcoming." The man's voice was grave as he shook his head and started leading the two horses off the path and through the tall grasses towards the line of sparse trees.

"Thank you," Minako whispered.

"You can thank me if I'm able to save the life of your friend."