A/N: I had one of the most stressful weekends of my life, but it is part of my job. I think you will like this chapter, specially to the people who had wondered so many things about Kunzite. Thank you so much for reviewing I was sooooo happy to read from long time readers, I know you too have busy lives and I totally understand but whenever you get a chance, please write a review I love reading from all of you. As I said before, not because I don't post a new chapter on a regular schedule it doesn't mean I will be abandoning the story (that is a total NO NO). I will post new chapters until I finish the whole story, that is my promise to you. Enjoy!
Divinity: A Question of Honor
Chapter thirty eight
The fire of the heart flickered in an enchanting movement, the warm light illuminated the faces of several men sitting around it "How many followers do we have?" one of them asked with raspy voice.
"Enough to keep fighting Lord" another responded immediately.
The man with beard known as "Lord" stood up and walked around their tent; he put a hand on his chin and closed his eyes "It seems they're stronger than I thought"
One of the man standing there with the so called lord walked closer "One of them cut Isamel's head, just like that…"
Lord shut his eyes and remembered the scene; he was standing near a young man with a sword "He seems to be one of the strongest soldiers of that army" he heard another man speak.
"That boy is the Prince of Earth…" Lord said slowly.
"Lord, what did you just say?" the man sitting near the hearth asked astonished.
Lord turned to face them with a serious expression "I do not know what you will have to do…but I want that boy's head"
The two men nodded their head; Lord gave them his back again and whispered "So we can send it to the king as a present"
"We still have our strongest warrior" the young man with the sword said.
"No, we won't call Stilas yet…we will wait for the right moment" Lord said slowly, like if he was enjoying the moment.
ooooooooooooooooooo
"We have to keep moving… they can appear again the same way they disappeared. I highly doubt they will back off" Rumalos said to the other generals.
"The soldiers are ready" one of them said. Rumalos turned to look at him "Let's move then"
Endymion was looking at the small package in his hands; he knew he was holding something very valuable. The soft white cloth covering the stack of paper was now dirty "All your love promises are here…" he whispered, closing his eyes he remembered the soldier's happy expression when he was telling him how much he loved her and how he was going to ask her hand in marriage once their training ended, now he wasn't coming back to her and she would probably will be waiting for him.
"What's that?" Jadeite appeared next to him, Endymion immediately wrapped the stack of letters with the white cloth again "Nothing…" the prince said softly.
Jadeite sighed "Rumalos wants us to start moving again, we need to be prepared" Endymion nodded "Right…" Jadeite nodded and turned to leave when he felt the prince's hand on his shoulder and made him turn "Thank you, Jadeite"
Jadeite smiled at him "There will be better times"
Endymion raised his brows and sighed "I hope so…now, let's go and don't forget to be alert"
Jadeite nodded "The same goes to you"
The group of soldiers started to move once again now with less people but still with their hopes up to win this battle, it had been months since the war started and they were starting to become frustrated, many of them were killed and were starting to wonder if they were ever going to win this war. They walked for a couple of hours and have not met the enemy yet, Zoicite sighed; Nephrite turned to see the blonde man in question "What's the matter Zoicite?"
Zoicite shook his head "Nothing…it's just that, we've been walking for I do not know how long…I feel very unease, they're near, I can feel it"
Nephrite frowned "Maybe you are just nervous, we all are…they appear just the way they disappear"
Like if Zoicite words were magical, the enemy appeared once again; Rumalos turned to face the soldiers and raised his sword "Here we go again, get ready to get my signal….Attack!"
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King Eros was at the study with his men studying the battle strategy Rumalos was following, the enemy was strong and he was worried, in his years as king it was the first time he confronted a situation like this and what worried him the most was that his son was fighting there and couldn't know much about what was happening with him.
"The list of dead people has increased" Leonidas said worried, as he extended another map on the large table.
Eros's back was towards the general, the king was watching silently out the window "Is his name on that list?"
Leonidas eyes widened "What?"
"Is Endymion's name on that list?"
"No"
Eros lowered his gaze, the phantom of a smile caressed his handsome features "We need to stay alert, the enemy is strong"
"We haven't managed to find out who is their leader…" Leonidas said.
"They left this grounds…that worries me" Eros said.
"Maybe they are all moving where the army is at" Leonidas' voice was low.
"Still, we need to be prepared and if it's needed I will fight as well" Eros' voice was determinant.
"Her Majesty's health could be affected if she knows you'll go and fight as well" Leonidas said with worry.
Eros turned to face the general "Gaia's health is…" he trailed off, took a deep breath and continued "Her heart has weakened over the years…I know she won't want me to go and fight, but if it's necessary I will have to. For the sake of this Kingdom and its innocent inhabitants"
"You haven't fought in years Eros…" Leonidas said concerned.
Eros sighed and frowned "But I remember how to very clearly"
ooooooooooooooooooooooo
Back at the battlefield the massacre continued; the sound of metal crashing, the soldiers' moans and the smell of death filled the woods. The genus appeared with more soldiers to fight against the royal army and to their luck they were winning.
"We are losing too many people!" Rumalos said to one of the generals with desperation. The once calmed and confident general was at the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"General! Let me take charge!" Kunzite said to Rumalos.
"There is no time for this right now Kunzite!" Rumalos dig his sword to one of the enemies and turned to look at the white haired man and watched the desperation in his grey eyes "Just take the soldiers out of the woods" he ordered.
Kunzite nodded and ran to continue fighting "You need to follow me!" he said to Zoicite who was fighting with all his might, not turning to look at Kunzite he chuckled "You finally got what you wanted don't you?"
Kunzite's eyes widened and froze in his place "What?" Zoicite turned to look at him "Rumalos gave you the order to lead"
"There's no time for that! We need to get the hell out of here!" Kunzite raised his voice. Endymion ran to where Zoicite and Kunzite were arguing "We need to move Zoicite! They are all over" the prince's voice was full of anguish but still was confident in his strategy.
"I'm the one that gives the orders here!" Kunzite yelled at Endymion.
"Kunzite, there is no time for this! People are dying as we speak…we need to move! NOW!" Endymion pushed Kunzite out of the way. Zoicite followed Endymion and gave Kunzite no other choice but to follow them, not even he knew at this moment where to take the soldiers; he knew he was capable of following Rumalos' orders but at this moment he didn't know how or what to do.
Jadeite appeared and threw a knife at one of the enemies and turned to look at Endymion "They're stronger than the last time!" he exclaimed. Endymion turned to look at the blonde man "Listen, call every soldier you can and tell them to run as fast as they can towards the river, we are close to get out of this place…the woods are making this fight more difficult"
Jadeite nodded but just when he was about to leave Kunzite stopped him "What do you think you are doing?" Endymion ran a hand through his dark hair in desperation and ignored Kunzite's words "Go Jadeite, there's no time to waste!" Jadeite freed from Kunzite's grasp and ran to where he knew the other soldiers were fighting.
Rumalos ran towards them "We need to get out of here!"
"Not if we stop you first!" a man with a scar on his left cheek said, he was being followed by other three soldiers.
Rumalos was the first to make a move and went straight to attack the man, he made a couple of moves but he fell on the ground. Kunzite ran towards him but was stopped by another enemy "Where do you think you are going?" he said and began attacking the white haired soldier.
Endymion jumped and thrust his sword to one of the soldier enemy on his chest in a matter of seconds surprising the man with the scar on his face "You must be the one Lord says…the so called Prince"
Rumalos tried to stand up but he had an injury on his right leg "Run Endymion!" Endymion turned to look at Rumalos and shook his head "I won't run" he said coldly.
Kunzite kicked the enemy on the stomach and thrust his sword seconds later, killing the man instantly and then pointed his blooded sword at the man with the scar "I will kill you" he hissed.
Endymion watched his surroundings and then at Rumalos lying on the ground a few feet away from him; in a swift movement he climbed to one of the trees and landed next to the general "What are you doing? Get out of here!" the general said with exasperation.
"We all need to get out of here, the woods are their territory, they know them like the palm of their hands" the prince helped the general stand up and ran as fast as he could, Zoicite and Nephrite followed behind.
The dark haired man with the scar on his face noticed a few minutes later "Where did they go? You pitiful soldier!" he turned to look at Kunzite and threw him a few feet away "Damn Prince…I will kill you and cut your head off just like you did with Isamel" the man said in a low voice.
Kunzite tried to stand up "No…" he muttered with wide eyes.
Endymion kept running towards the river when he soon noticed Jadeite was there with the army near "Endymion!" Jadeite yelled and noticed he was carrying somebody, his eyes widened in shock "General…"
The prince arrived and sat Rumalos on a rock "He was injured" he said to Jadeite, we had to get out of there as soon as we could and this was the only way. Rumalos turned to look at Endymion "Kunzite stayed there with that man, he is very strong…even for him!"
"I'll go find him" Endymion said, he was about to leave when he saw Kunzite walking towards them "I can fight on my own" he said with faking confidence.
"Did you kill him?" Rumalos asked; Kunzite moved his head no "He escaped. It would have been easier if the little prince here have followed my orders" Endymion turned to look at Kunzite "Haven't you had enough? People are dying, this is a massacre and you are only worrying about who has control?"
"Right now I am your superior and you have to do as I say!" he raised his voice.
"Our duty is not only train to protect others, it is not only grabbing a sword and kill the enemy, it is also about looking for each other" Endymion said.
"It's been months! It's not the time to be guarding our backs! It's time to finish them all!" Kunzite said enraged.
"What should we do next General?" one of the soldiers asked worried.
"We need to find a place where we can hide for now; we can't fight in these conditions" Rumalos said slowly, gritting his teeth because of the pain he was having because of his injure.
"They know these woods like the palm of their hands…I've noticed it, we all have believed that staying here will help us hide ourselves from them but it is the other way around…it's helping them instead of us" Endymion commented.
Rumalos frown in thought and Kunzite chuckled "Oh please…this way they can't see us! If we were in an open field they could easily find us and kill us for that matter"
"We need to keep moving then" Rumalos said while trying to stand up.
"General but your leg is injured!" Nephrite said worried.
"I can walk" the general assured "Let's start moving"
"What?" Kunzite snapped "Are you actually going to believe what he says?" Rumalos turned to look at Kunzite "I cannot allow any more deaths…" the general said sadly. "Sorry to burst your bubble, General" the man with the scar reappeared and placed a knife on Kunzite's throat "It's time for you to surrender"
"We will never surrender!" Rumalos said, taking out his sword again.
Endymion turned to the soldiers behind him "Go!"
Jadeite was the first to move "Come on, move!"
Nephrite turned to the general "We need to move General!"
"Not if we stop you! … It's over…" the man said and was about to cut Kunzite's throat when a blade cut the other side of his face, allowing the white haired man go "Agh!" the dark haired man moaned and placed a hand on his injure.
Endymion threw one of the small blades he had on his belt towards the man in order to gain time for the rest of the soldiers run away from there "It is not over…" he said coldly.
"How dare you…" the man watched his blooded hand in horror.
Kunzite ran free from the man but soon was caught once again by another soldier enemy. The blood on the man's face ran free; taking his position he pointed Endymion with his sword "I will cut your head off!...Kill them!" he ordered to a mob of soldiers, they started to run towards them and to make the fight more difficult, a cloud blocked the light of the moon, leaving them in complete darkness.
Endymion closed his eyes and listened to the sound of their footsteps, allowing him to know their exact position and letting him make his first attack. Kunzite started to panic in the dark; he couldn't see anything and for a moment he felt this was it for him.
He could only hear the clash of metal and the noise the soldier's made when their bodies hit the ground. When the cloud moved allowing them to see again his grey eyes widened to see Endymion moving at an incredible speed attacking every enemy soldier that was in his way. In that small fragment of time where that cloud blocked the light he had killed almost every soldier that was surrounding them.
The man with the scar on his face stuttered "W-what?" he said slowly and heard another body fall just behind him, then turned and watched the prince pointing his blooded stained sword towards him "Not if I cut your head off first"
The man took several steps back "Retreat!" he yelled and disappeared.
The prince lowered his sword and took several breaths "We must move and get out of here…the rest of the army is probably out of the woods by now"
"Let's get moving" Rumalos stood up with the help of Nephrite. Zoicite walked towards a very shocked Kunzite "Come on Kunzite, we need to go" Kunzite pushed Zoicite aside and walked alone; Zoicite sighed and started to follow the general and the rest of the crew.
"They should be here by now…" Jadeite said, looking at the mass of trees behind him.
"What if they were killed?" one of the soldiers asked Jadeite.
"No…that cannot happen" Jadeite said lowly.
"Look! They're alive!" another soldier said out loud.
Zoicite and Nephrite held Rumalos on each arm to help him support his leg, Kunzite walked behind Zoicite, Endymion walked a few feet behind them.
"General!" Jadeite ran towards them in shock "I was starting to worry about you all!"
"We barely made it…" Rumalos said and looked around "I'm glad to see you guided them here…we can camp in this place"
Nephrite sighed "Finally a free space…"
Rumalos sighed and nodded his head "Endymion saved us"
Endymion was walking towards the army when he heard one of the soldiers "There he is!"
Endymion stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes; every soldier started to kneel before him in silence including Rumalos and his friends Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite, except for Kunzite who remained in a standing position and gave the prince a dead glare.
"W-what…" the prince trailed off.
"You saved us all young Prince and this is our way to thank you…we want to show you our loyalty to you" General Rumalos said "There is no doubt that you…are the head of this army and a true warrior"
Endymion watched in amazement how the large crowd was kneeling in front of him "I wouldn't have done it without your help and cooperation" he said softly.
Rumalos stood with the help of Zoicite "You were born to be a leader…and there is no doubt that you are our Prince. Your grandfather must be very proud"
Endymion couldn't believe what he was hearing, all this effort, all the times he stood under the freezing water of the waterfall, all the times he fell and had to stand up. He fought to become a warrior and had accomplished it.
Rumalos placed a hand on the prince's shoulder "We will stay the night here" Endymion nodded.
"The river continues its path over that way…we can get refreshed there and drink some water as well" Jadeite said.
Endymion nodded and smiled softly and went to sit near the fire one of the soldiers just started. He stayed in silence looking at the fire in front of him.
"Don't think just because you saved everyone I will kneel before you"
Endymion turned to look at Kunzite standing behind him with an angry face and remained silent, this seemed to bother Kunzite even more "Aren't you going to say something or are you going to tell the General that I'm bothering you? Now that you are his favorite…"
Endymion stood up "What do you want Kunzite? Really…what is it what you want, why can't you just shut your mouth and accept the fact that you are not the only one that can make a decision here?"
"I want to fight you and prove them all I am the leader of this army…not you" Kunzite said with a cold defiant voice.
Endymion sighed "This must be some sort of a joke"
Kunzite pointed Endymion with his sword "I don't consider myself a joker"
"Kunzite!" Zoicite called out "What are you doing?"
"Stop it Kunzite!" General Rumalos said.
"I won't kneel before you just because you saved my life!" Kunzite said angry.
Endymion took his sword and moved closer to Kunzite "I'm getting sick of you and your stupid behavior, you want to fight well… let's fight then"
Kunzite moved away from the fire to a clearer area and started to prepare for his attack; Endymion walked slowly following him "You will be the one kneeling before me" Kunzite ran towards the prince and moved his sword but his attack was blocked by Endymion's sword.
Kunzite turned and got free from Endymion's attack "Is that all you got?" he said.
Endymion stood still and watched man move all around with his sword, Kunzite turned and moved his sword close to the prince's face but he dodged him and kneeled "Now it's my turn Kunzite…" Endymion said slowly.
Endymion jumped high and raised his sword above his head and made a loud noise when it crashed against Kunzite's sword, then moved to left then quickly to the right; Kunzite tried to dodge this blows but he was incredibly fast, even for him. Turning to his side he took a blade from his belt and threw it at the prince; Endymion caught the blade with his hand and threw it back at Kunzite cutting near his brow, the white haired man felt his blood ran through his face and wiped it off with his hand "You will regret it" running towards him, he tried to hurt him with his blade but the prince moved faster, jumping high he landed behind Kunzite "Are you sure about that?" he placed his sword on Kunzite's throat.
"He fights with an incredible speed…" Jadeite said amazed.
"Kunzite can't win that battle…" Nephrite said dumbfounded.
"He's angry…" Zoicite said slowly.
Rumalos understood Kunzite's frustration; he knew the reasons why he joined the army and how much it meant to him to become a leader, the head of the army. When Endymion joined, Kunzite already had a great advantage, he had trained day and night for weeks to become the greatest warrior, but the prince always trigged something in him that always made him compete against Endymion. Despite Kunzite's strong and cold character he had a kind heart and did cared for others but he just needed to be reminded that to be a good warrior you need to be humble, sadly for him, he forgot that in his training.
"He just needs to be taught a lesson…that's all" Rumalos said.
Kunzite gritted his teeth and managed to free from Endymion's blade. Turning, he kicked his sword away leaving the prince unprotected "Like I said, you'll regret it" Kunzite smiled slightly, feeling the sense of victory in his hands.
Endymion stood there unprotected, looking at his side he spotted his sword several feet away from him; walking around Kunzite slowly he watched his surroundings and studied them carefuly remembering his father's advice "Always analyze your surroundings and you will find something you can use as a weapon. Anything can be turned a weapon" "A weapon…" he thought.
Kunzite ran towards him "It's over Endymion I win!"
Endymion started to run in Kunzite's direction; startling the white haired man "What?" he thought.
The prince slid between Kunzite's legs to the other side and grabbed a long branch "It's not over yet" he said, pointing at him with the long stick.
Kunzite laughed "A branch? You expect to win this battle with a branch?"
"Yes" Endymion said, running towards Kunzite and when he was a few feet away he took a high jump and hit Kunzite with the long stick; landing next to him he passed the branch under his feet making Kunzite fall to the ground.
Endymion pointed Kunzite with the branch "Now, it's over"
Kunzite widened his grey eyes in shock, the prince had won the battle and he didn't even use his sword; lowering his head he sighed in defeat. Endymion had proved to him he was stronger in front of everybody and felt ashamed, the great honor he gained over the years was gone in a matter of minutes by the man he called a brat.
Everyone was in shock and silent, nobody expected to witness what they had. The arrogant soldier was beaten for the very first time and in an extraordinary way.
Endymion watched Kunzite's sad expression and knew that beyond his cold demeanor and pride he had a heart and of course, had feelings. He had his own reasons to be the way it was. Endymion never knew what made him be that particular way towards him but he needed a lesson and with it needed to be reminded how to be humble and more human. Throwing away the branch he used as weapon he extended his hand at him. Kunzite noticed his action and raised his head giving the prince a questioning look "What are you doing?" he asked confused.
"We don't have to fight Kunzite" Endymion said "We have witnessed so much hatred and have escaped death so many times that we don't need this, we don't need to be fighting"
Kunzite's grey eyes widened in shock, something inside him fell into place; like magic all his jealousy vanished and looked in admiration at the prince. Since he got there, he did nothing but to treat him bad, insult him, mock him, laugh at him and even fought him and there he was extending his hand at him after winning a battle he demanded in order to prove to him he was stronger.
Kunzite moved his head no, looking at Endymion he showed no more regret in his eyes and hen happened the unexpected…
He went down on one knee before the prince.
Everyone watched in amazement and some of them gasped; Rumalos smiled "He understands now…" he said softly.
"How did you?..." Zoicite trailed off and turned to watch the scene in front of him in amazement.
"I was angry…I was blinded by jealousy…I have been taught a lesson" Kunzite said, looking down "I have to say nothing else but to be at your complete service, Your Highness"
Endymion smiled and extended his hand once again "Come on Kunzite"
Kunzite raised his head at the prince and for the very first time, he smiled. Taking his hand he stood up "I want to ask for your forgiveness and to thank you for saving my life back there…"
Endymion nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder "Your welcome and please forget whatever happened between us"
Kunzite nodded "I'm forever in debt"
"How about we call it a truce?" Endymion extended his hand once again; Kunzite nodded and shook the prince's hand "Truce"
All the soldiers started to applaud, Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite walked towards them "I'm glad this is finally over…" Zoicite said, chuckling.
Kunzite smiled and lowered his gaze, Jadeite chuckled "Well at least this war is…"
Nephrite nodded "We still have one to win…"
"Yes, but we will win. I am sure of it" Kunzite assured.
I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.