Jadeite had spent the whole evening waiting to hear word from Lana or the two soldiers he sent to see her. He skipped dinner, opting to pace his room instead. Rei had brought food up for him, but he couldn't bring himself to eat. When it was nearly midnight she made one last plea for him to go to bed with her, but he refused. If no news came through he planned on heading to the inn - damned be what the hour was. She made a promise.

At some point in his pacing he sat in a chair by the fireplace and dozed off. It was the knock on the door that alerted him to this. He shook his head, feeling disoriented by the late hour and lack of sleep over the past couple of days.

The knock came again, slightly louder this time. He yanked his boots on, not caring that his pants bunched around his knees in a slovenly way. A glance at the clock on the way to the door told him it was 12:30am.

Jadeite opened the door, staring at the soldier standing before him. "What do you have, Bastion?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"You should come see for yourself."

"You have her?"

"Xander is waiting in the stable."

The general cast a look over his shoulder as he stepped out the door, hoping that the noise hadn't woken Rei. There was no doubt she would be worried that he wasn't there if she woke.

Jadeite led Bastion through the halls, his steps quick and silent. Palace guards watched them move past, offering silent nods of their heads in acknowledgement. The night air was cool as they moved outside making Jadeite regret not grabbing his cape before walking out the door. His room had felt too warm and stifling at the time.

Xander stood at the entrance to a back stall, his back pressed against the wall. The two men had left their horses tied to the post, still saddled and harnessed.

"What did Lana say?" Jadeite asked. Saying the woman's name left a bad taste in his mouth releasing how dependent on her he had suddenly felt.

Bastion and Xander exchanged a glance with each other. "She said that your information was less than helpful to her," Bastion said.

Xander cleared his throat. "He's paraphrasing. It was actually much worse than that."

Jadeite's hand clenched as his bit back the retort he wanted to make. "What is she talking about?"

"The woman's name wasn't Madelyn," Bastion continued. "It was Sarah."

"Kunzite called her Madelyn," Jadeite insisted.

Xander gestured for Jadeite to step into the stall. When he followed, he saw a blanket draped over a pile of hay. His stomach dropped knowing what was under there.

"What happened?"

"Lana said that she was moved to a different inn. The room was destroyed - she was not killed...lightly. Lana heard about the incident from one of her patrons. We saw the room. Blood was everywhere."

Jadeite cursed under his breath. "Did you take care of it?"

"The incident is already forgotten."

The blond general pulled the blanket away and stared at the unfamiliar face. Her gown was ripped and blood stained in several places. What was once tanned skin was now a bluish-white. "Who is she?"

"Lana said that you knew."

Another curse slipped from Jadeite's mouth. "What a bitch," he muttered. "Why would I call her the wrong name if I knew who she was? This isn't the woman from Salas." He knelt down at her side and brushed the copper red hair away from her face. There was a hint of recognition that tugged at him. His eyes scanned her body, looking at the injuries that were cruelly inflicted. Through a rip in her dress, he could see a birthmark near her shoulder that resembled a heart. "Get Nephrite and Endymion now."

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

Jadeite paced the length of the stall and then back again, his fingers running through his hair. He could vaguely hear the tired voices of Endymion and Nephrite approaching and he prepared himself for the onslaught of questions surely headed his way.

"I'm pretty sure I just stepped in something, Jadeite," Nephrite growled as he wiped the sole of his boot against the stall wall.

"Why did you call us out here, Jadeite?" Endymion asked. "Nephrite and I have to be on the road in four hours.

"I found the woman that Kunzite was hiding in the capital. It wasn't Madelyn."

"So who was it?" Endymion asked, stifling a yawn.

"A girl from the inn."

"Did she say why she was here?"

"That's the problem." Jadeite gestured for Nephrite and Endymion to step into the stall where the young girl's body was still laid out on the hay pile.

"Why is there a body in my stable?" Endymion demanded, his eyes wide as he peered around the corner to look inside the stall.

"Apparently Kunzite moved her to another inn. Lana was only able to find out because of the," Jadeite paused to consider his next words, "means of her death."

"That still doesn't explain why there is a dead body in my stable."

"She was the serving girl who was pouring our drinks in Salas. She must have seen something that brought her here to see Kunzite. I'm guessing she was demanding money from him for her silence."

Endymion reached for a nearby chair, letting the items fall to the ground before dropping down into it. "Kunzite wouldn't do this."

"Who knows," Nephrite said dryly, "just a couple weeks ago he started cutting off thumbs."

"Are you being serious?" Endymion asked incredulously.

"Of course not. I agree this isn't Kunzite's style."

"Someone killed this girl," Jadeite said, his voice dropping. "Kunzite was clearly not on his own. I think Adonis is Danburite."

"Why?"

"Adonis is second to Kunzite. He should have shown up by now. The man is either guilty or dead. You can decide for yourself," he said, shaking his head. "Why didn't Kunzite punish Adonis for what happened that night with Esmeraude? Three week punishment seems pretty mild for being caught canoodling with the enemy. For all we know, Adonis was the intermediary for them."

"He loved Minako," Endymion interjected.

"And Esmeraude died the night before Minako's arrival."

"I will be issuing an arrest warrant for Kunzite," Endymion said, his words surprising both of his generals.

"A warrant?" Nephrite replied, his eyes going wide as he stared at his prince. "You think that is necessary?"

"I don't have a choice. The bodies are literally stacking up. It doesn't really matter anyway. If he is involved he must be safely in Saintus Melenchas by now. Kunzite isn't dumb enough to sit within our borders and wait to be caught. He would cross before anyone knew to look."

"What if it turns out that he didn't do this?" Nephrite asked.

The prince sighed and leaned back in his chair. "The warrant will be known only to the Captains. They are not to make anyone else aware and they are to do nothing without either you or Nephrite present. We will say that it is for his absence only." His eyes looked over the body of the barmaid. "I don't know what's worse. That he could be responsible for any of this or that I could believe him capable."

"I'd like to believe the latter." Jadeite dropped the blanket over the girl. "What are you going to say to King Alexander?"

Endymion stood up and straightened his uniform. "I will say nothing. He may not know how much we know. I don't want to risk revealing anything to him. We'll let him think that he holds all the cards and let him make his demands."

"What happens when he threatens to tell of Kunzite's betrayal?"

"It's a good thing that I am issuing the warrant before I leave then."

"And if Kunzite is innocent?" Nephrite asked.

"Then Kunzite can apologize to me," Endymion muttered in response as he walked out of the stables leaving the two men behind.

"Why would Kunzite defect to the North?" Jadeite started to ask.

"Kunzite didn't."

"Can you say that without any doubt."

Nephrite sighed, uncrossing and then recrossing his arms. "Hypothetically then."

"What reason could he have? He hates King Alexander. He wants for nothing here."

Nephrite shook his head uncomfortably. "I'm not going down this path."

"If not Kunzite than who?"

"Adonis couldn't have done this on his own. He's not resourceful enough. He's sloppy. It's someone with a vendetta and a score to settle."

"That doesn't narrow the list down. Kunzite has pissed off a lot people over the years. There were those that remained loyal to King Pharias after the war that he punished. The old generals - Azurite and Carnelian - that he pushed out. Mazelonia. Villa Analanca. Calingstone. Westingham." Nephrite snorted at the last name.

"Clearly Kunzite is a bit of an asshole," Nephrite said jokingly as he stretched his arms over his head. "You think about it. I'm going to try to sleep for a couple more hours before I have to leave to head north." He started walking out of the stable, calling over his shoulder, "If Kunzite didn't want the power, who wanted Kunzite's power?"

"Who didn't?" Jadeite muttered to himself.

As he left the stable, he left instructions for Bastion and Xander to retrieve the girl's body and to put her in a private room in the infirmary. They were to stand guard outside of the room until he returned with a decision on what to do with her.

The two men obliged, disappearing back into the shadows of the stables. Both men were good at their job and that was all that mattered.

Deciding that sleep was going to elude him, Jadeite walked through the mostly empty halls of the palace. Guards were spaced throughout the hallways - far more than usual. Most of the secret passages has been locked to prevent anyone from coming or going into the residential halls unknown. A few maids and servants moved about, cleaning the hallways that were normally well trafficked during the day.

It was the light that shone under the door of Endymion's study that caught his attention. He pushed open the door, expecting to find one of the stewards, but instead found Endymion sitting behind his desk.

"I thought you were getting some sleep."

"I thought I was too."

"Do you want to talk?" Jadeite asked, sitting in the chair across from Endymion.

"I'm nervous about my meeting with Alexander. I don't know what he knows. I don't know if he has Kunzite. If he does, what has Kunzite told him. It's not the defection that scares me, it's the knowledge."

"There's no truth that can't be corrected."

"You're not wrong." Endymion sighed and leaned back in his chair. "He and I rewrote the history of what happened in Calingstone with none-the-wiser."

"What does that even mean?"

"Calingstone was my fault, Jadeite. Kunzite took the blame. He didn't care what it cost him." He ran his hands through his hair. "Or else he has spent years catching my mistakes and waiting for me to drown in them."

"Calingstone is Kunzite's fault. It doesn't matter what role you played in it, he was responsible for us."

"He didn't know anything about it."

"Kunzite knows everything before it happens."

"Your memory is fleeting. Where was Kunzite?"

"He was here. Nephrite and I confronted him."

"That morning. Where was he the day before?"

"Here."

"And the day before that?"

"I don't know. Presumably here again."

"I sent him away. I wanted so badly to get rid of Diamond. He was forced on me and I just wanted to be rid of him. To get him away from Serenity. It was part of that damn agreement that I brought him inside the palace. Then they wanted more. They wanted him named general so that he could represent the People's Army and show that we were united." Endymion reached forward and grabbed the decanter sitting on the edge of his desk, refilling the glass in front of him.

"I never imagined that Calingstone would turn into that. Diamond was always the duplicitous type. He never really did anything wrong, but he would do small things that I could question but not punish. As it turns out, he knew that I was watching him and he did that to show me he would not be controlled."

He brought the cup to his lips, then put it back down without taking a drink. "I'm still lying." He ran a hand through his hair. "There were dissidents hiding in that town. I told him to take care of it. I didn't give him instruction, I just told him to do what he needed to."

The glass rose to his lips again, this time he drank the contents. "Kunzite came back early. You're right that he always knows everything. Unfortunately his return coincided with the news of what had already been done."

"Why did Kunzite say it was his fault?"

Endymion laughed. "He said it to protect me. That he was replaceable and I was not. What was one more secret between us? Kunzite holds the hand of every skeleton that hides in my closet. Do you understand how dangerous he is when he's against me?" Endymion poured himself another glass, then thinking better of it, pushed the glass away from himself.

"It explains why you always stand up for Kunzite when that topic comes up."

"It only gets worse from there."

"Who else knows about this?"

"No one."

"Zoicite?"

"No one."

Jadeite leaned back in his seat. "You could have trusted us. We have always supported you."

"If anyone had found out, it could have cost me the crown. It is hard enough for two people to share a secret."

"Why tell me now then?"

"It's because of your knowledge of Calingstone that you can see Kunzite as being involved. It's my knowledge that means I cannot. It doesn't make either of us right or wrong, I just want you to understand why I fear you being right."

"I don't want Kunzite to be involved," Jadeite said, his voice softening. "We just can't rule it out until we know. It would be irresponsible otherwise."

Endymion leaned back in his chair. "Can you imagine what will happen to the kingdom if things go as badly as I fear? There is no successor. No one would want any of you succeeding me. They wouldn't trust you. A few of the more powerful families would buy pieces of our army and fight for the throne, but the neighboring kingdoms would ultimately come in and take everything. Peace will be gone."

"That's an awful lot of weight to put on one man's shoulders."

"Kunzite wore it for me everyday," Endymion muttered. "You should get some sleep. I need some time to clear my head."

Jadeite remained in his seat watching his prince. "Nephrite and I will carry it with you, Endymion. Zoicite too when he finally decides to stop taking his ill-timed nap."

Endymion laughed. "Good night, Jadeite."

The general rose from his chair, pausing for a moment, then shook his head deciding that his question could wait for another day.