Chapter 34: This Means War
Previously in Chapter 33
Zoisite walked to the front of the room and drove a dagger through the letter. "Well, who's ready to go to war?"
The following morning dawned cold and grey. No one had really slept the night before, King Tatsuo's threat hanging heavily on everyone's minds. Zoisite sat on the side of bed, blearily looking out the window at the army amassing in front the castle. He had been shocked when Ami came to him last night, wanting to share his bed. Ever since they spent time together in the Western Kingdom and the announcement of a royal heir, she had become softer towards him, which only increased his guilt of how he treated her previously. Each time he brought it up, Ami quickly changed the subject.
Zoisite was pulled from his ruminations by Ami walking out of the bathing chamber. "What are you going to be doing today, Ami?" She quickly ran a towel through her short hair before answering. "I'm going back down to the medic wing, they're extremely short staffed with the influx of all the injured." Zoisite nodded his head. "Good. I feel bad by keeping you out of the action, but with your condition I don't want you in danger. It's moments like this that I'm grateful I married you instead one of the others. They'd take my head off before letting me keep them away from the action." Ami chuckled, thinking of each of her friends' reactions to be told to stay away. "I guess you did luck out there, huh? Lucky you." Zoisite pulled Ami close and placed a gentle kiss on her growing abdomen. "Once all this is over, we'll go home and raise a child the Western Kingdom would be proud of." Ami grinned widely and bent down to kiss Zoisite's lips. "That sounds delightful. Let's get through this first, though. I know you can do this, Zoi." He placed another gentle kiss on her abdomen and walked her to the medic wing.
"No! The only way to beat him is to kill him! He will never give up, trust me, I know this." Rei was standing at the foot of the table, bracing her arms on the table and glowering at Endymion. Endymion sighed heavily, growing tired of arguing with Rei about every little detail. "Rei, no offense, but I've been doing this war thing for a long time and there's a process to this." Rei let out a growl and shoved away from the table, pacing around the throne room with a fiery energy. "Endymion, you're showing too much mercy. I know this man, he's ruthless and he won't stop. Listen to Rei; she's grown up with him and his ruthless tactics." Endymion slammed his fist on the table, making Usagi jump. "Dammit I know how to run my Kingdom! I just have to figure out how to overcome this latest obstacle!" He roared loudly, making Usagi place her hand over his. "Endy, we know you're trying your best in a short time to make this work, but we don't have the time or resources. We have to figure this out now or never." Endymion looked Usagi, his features softening at his beautiful and strong wife. "You're right, Usagi. Rei, come back to the table and we can discuss this."
After several hours of planning, arguing and scheming, everyone felt that they had an acceptable plan. By the time they left the throne room, it was dark outside. "Well, we only have one day to act before it all comes crashing down on us. Do we have this?" Kunzite looked at Endymion. "There's no way to be sure until we try it. Everyone needs to try to get some sleep. Come on, Usagi." After brief good nights, the couples split off, each going to their chambers.
Makoto flopped on the bed as soon as she crossed the threshold. "That was an extremely long, long day. How confident are you with the plan we came up with?" Nephrite plopped down next to Makoto and kissed her nose. "I'm not sure, how good of an actress is your dear Rei?" Makoto snorted. "She can be convincing when she needs to be, but this is a different breed of man. This could all backfire because her father doesn't believe her." Nephrite sighed heavily. "I was afraid you were going to say that. All we can do is trust her. I'm exhausted, let's get some sleep beautiful wife. After all this is over, you're never leaving bed again." Makoto giggled and sat up to blow out the candle, her giggling turning into a full blown laugh as Nephrite straddled her and kissed along her neck.
Kunzite and Minako lay in bed together, both too tired to move. After a long period of silence, Minako propped herself up on one elbow and looked at Kunzite. "Rei can do this, Kunz. She has an intense hatred of her father, but I also know that she would do anything to end his reign of terror. I believe in her, isn't that enough?" Kunzite didn't answer for a long time, and then sat up in bed. "I want to believe in her, Mina, I do. But the fact of the matter is this plan has several holes and a massive probability of failing. If it does fail, where does that leave everyone? What's going to stop him from taking over all the Kingdoms? There's a lot more to this than having faith in one woman." Minako frowned deeply. "One Queen. Don't underestimate her abilities. Rei will pull through for us." Kunzite sighed dejectedly. "Well, I guess we'll have to see how this plays out. Come lay with me, Mina and try to sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow."
Rei was a nervous ball of energy; she couldn't sit still for anything. Jadeite watched his wife pace around the room for a while, and then got up to stop her. As soon as he touched her, she flinched away so hard she almost fell over. He took a step back and addressed her. "Rei, are you going to be okay? You look pale and sweaty." Rei muttered something under her breath, continuing her pacing and not meeting his eyes. Jadeite tried several times to get her attention, with no avail. Finally, he'd had enough and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her roughly. "Rei, snap out of it!" Rei turned into a wild animal, flipping Jadeite over her shoulder and grabbing her dagger that she kept hidden in her dress, pressing it against his neck. "Rei! Rei, it's me!" Her amethyst eyes were glazed over and she didn't seem to notice her surroundings. Acting on instinct, Jadeite slapped her hard across her face. Eyes coming into focus, Rei took a quick inventory of their positions and lightly leapt off him, horror on her face.
"Jadeite, I'm sorry! I don't even know what I was doing!" She slid to the floor, dropping her dagger to hold her face in her hands. He got off the floor, holding a bit of cloth to the small cut in his neck. "You were sleepwalking; I've seen it before with some of my soldiers. It usually happens when someone doesn't get enough sleep under duress. Come on, you're going to bed. Tomorrow is too important for you to be tired." Rei slowly got to her feet and let Jadeite remove her clothes. "Yeah, you're right, let's go to bed. I doubt I'll be able to sleep, but I'll try for you." Jadeite gave her a small smile as he tucked her gently into bed, crawling in next to her and cradling her in his arms.