Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. It was made by a genius and I'm not that smart, though I might wish otherwise.
Author's Note: I had debated between the idea of making the generals (and Senshi, for that matter) more ideal or more realistic. The former being that they were stuffed full with honor and responsibility and duty and semi-boring blah-blah while the latter had them being honorable, responsible, duty-bound, as well as yet fun-loving, immature, and, uh, testosterone-y. I decided to go with the more 'realistic' version. I had some complaints before that the guys seem a bit too interested in girls and, well, sex but if you ask any normal red-blooded early-20s male, then believe me, their hormones influence a lot of their actions LOL so my guys are basically your average, normal, everyday men who are generally honorable and extremely nice. And cute. Also, I know that Kunzite's nickname is usually "Kunz" but I didn't want to use that (likewise with Endymion's "Endy"), so his nickname is "'Zite" (yes, with apostrophe; why? Dunno, just wanted it there haha).
Chapter Three: The Secret
August 4, 6:21 am
Gaia Palace, Earth
"Do you have any idea what this is about?" A tall man with long blond hair and green eyes asked the long silver-haired olive-skinned gray-eyed man walking beside him. The two men were walking in front of another pair of men and all four wore gray military style jackets and slacks.
"I know as much as you do, Zoisite," Kunzite, the silver-haired man, replied.
"I can't believe we were summoned so early!" another blond-haired man complained. His short hair was cut in such a way that thick locks fell adorably into his face and slightly covered his bright blue eyes.
"What's the matter, Jadeite? Missed your beauty sleep?" the man beside him, who had long red hair and brown eyes, mocked. Jadeite didn't take any offense for the four friends often ribbed each other often, as close male friends usually do.
Jadeite smirked. "As a matter of fact I didn't get much sleep at all."
"Did you enjoy the party that much last night?" Zoisite glanced at Jadeite, just in time to catch him in a jaw-popping yawn.
"No. He was entertaining the widow McClaugh," the red-head Nephrite answered while Jadeite finished his yawn.
"'Entertaining'?" Kunzite echoed. "I guess that's one way of putting it."
Jadeite demanded of the man beside him, "How the hell did you know?"
"I saw you sneaking out of her house at dawn."
"What the hell were you doing out and about that early?"
Nephrite sardonically replied, "I was sneaking out of Lady Merrick's home."
"Well, sounds like you both had busy nights," Zoisite commented dryly.
"Didn't you?" Kunzite asked the blond man beside him.
"No. I'm between women right now. Just broke it off with Marielle – you know, the dancer? – last week and searching for the next one. What about you, Kunzite?"
The older man shrugged. "Gentlemen don't speak of such things."
"Who's a gentleman?" Jadeite demanded.
Nephrite replied, "I think 'Zite thinks he is."
Zoisite added, "You never know. If he keeps saying that, he might actually one day believe it true."
They finally reached double doors that opened into a private study and Kunzite nodded to the two guards standing outside. The four stopped a few feet away and waited patiently.
"My lord Generals," one of them greeted while the other knocked and, after summons from within, stuck his head inside the room to announce the visitors. After a second, the guard went back out and opened one of the doors.
"Thanks," Nephrite, who was bringing up the rear, said to them.
Behind Nephrite, the doors closed, and the four Terran High Generals faced front and bowed low to their Prince.
"Is this where you hid last night?" Jadeite asked Prince Endymion, giving the room a cursory glance. They have, after all, been in the room before and while it might seem like a cursory glance, that quick glance took in everything. They were Generals and such actions – checking their surroundings, etc. – were done without conscious thought.
"Away from all those beautiful women," Zoisite sarcastically commented, his eyes resting on the prince after his own survey of the room. "How you must suffer."
Endymion irritably answered his general, "It gets tiring, Zoi, to be looked at as simply an object and not a person."
"As long as you get laid, what's the problem?"
"The problem with you, Zoi, is that you seem to have little or no morals," Kunzite reprimanded in his quiet voice.
The King's private study was a strongly masculine room, not too big and not too small, paneled with dark wood with the wall opposite the doors bearing tall glass windows that overlooked the main plaza. On the right wall hung a large wedding portrait of Endymion's parents, King Endymion II and Queen Elizabeth, in front of which was a heavy oak table of which Endymion was sitting behind. In front of the table were Jadeite and Zoisite, currently occupying the two black leatherback chairs, of which Kunzite and Nephrite stood behind. On the left wall (behind the generals and facing the prince) were busts of previous Kings, twenty-one in all, each placed atop six-foot high marble pillars that were spaced evenly. Once Endymion would be crowned King Endymion III, a bust would be made during his reign and the entire set will be rearranged to maintain the even spacing. Likewise, the portrait behind the desk would be changed to one of him and his future wife.
"Will my morals keep me warm at night?" Zoisite countered as the discussion continued.
"Now that's just crude," Nephrite remarked.
"Hey, I'm not a bad guy. I don't force women. It's not my fault they come looking for me, for us, when our Prince rebuffs them. I simply give them solace." He turned to the rest of them. "And who the hell are you guys to give me grief? I don't see any of you turning them down either."
"Why did you call us here?" Kunzite interrupted the bickering to ask his liege lord and friend.
Endymion, in a move so uncharacteristic of him, swiveled his head left and right and all around the room, making sure they were alone. He looked like a spy who had no idea how to act like one.
"I need your help," he announced in a stage whisper.
"What for?" Jadeite whispered back.
"Something happened last night. There was… a girl."
"Was she pretty?" Zoisite asked Endymion, also in a whisper.
"Ye – what? That's not the point!"
Nephrite joined the whispered conversation. "It's always the point. Who wants to wake up next to a horrifyingly ugly woman?"
"Nephrite!" Endymion hissed.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What, 'Zite?"
"Why are we whispering?" Kunzite asked, puzzled, as he returned to his normal volume of voice.
"Could you keep quiet?" Endymion hissed.
"Endymion, this is your uncle's private study," Jadeite pointed out, also speaking normally now. Privately, the four called their Prince by his first name for they were all close and grew up together. "Do you honestly think that this place, this room, is anything but completely and totally private and secure?"
"I'm just paranoid."
Nephrite raised an eyebrow. "No kidding."
"What's the problem?" Kunzite, the one member of their group who was almost always serious, asked, "Was this woman a spy? Did you ask who she works for?"
Endymion looked embarrassed as he absently ran his hands through his hair. "No, no, nothing like that, at least I don't think so."
"Is she someone who wouldn't accept your rejection? Do you need one of us to comfort or restrain her?" Zoisite wondered as he studied his prince, who was blushing like a guilty schoolboy.
"No, not that either."
"Well? What other things have to do with a woman?"
The prince flushed darker at Jadeite's question.
"Well I never…" A slow grin broke over Nephrite's face. "Has 'Prince Rake' finally chosen a bride? Who's it going to be?"
Zoisite began guessing names as Kunzite immediately rattled off the reasons Endymion has given before for not liking said lady.
"The Lady Mariah?"
"Laughs like a hyena."
"Marchioness of Burnsborough?"
"Talks too much."
"The youngest daughter of Viscount Raddinghall?"
"Talks too little."
Endymion shook his head, which stopped his generals' discussion. He seemed at a loss for how to proceed; the generals studied him, their curiosity piqued.
"Follow me," he said finally and led the way out of the room.
----------
"Well, I'll be," Zoisite breathe reverently.
"Oh lord and all that's holy." Jadeite gave a low whistle.
"Wow," was the only word Nephrite could utter while Kunzite was really no better with his, "Hm."
They were in Endymion's private quarters in the palace and lying on his bed was a very beautiful woman. Her thick, luxurious, impossibly long blond hair was spread over his pillows; her pale complexion contrasted sharply against Endymion's dark blue silken sheets; her delectable body was outlined by the blanket that covered her. The only thing that detracted from her beauty was numerous cuts and bruises on her arms and face. The big bruise that Endymion saw last night had turned an ugly, dark bluish purple shade.
"Now, that is what I call a great birthday present," Zoisite said enviously.
"Would you shut up!" Endymion hissed, red-faced.
"Well I never really liked inflicting pain when sleeping with a woman." Jadeite frowned. "Then again, to each his own. Did she enjoy it?"
Endymion was blushing furiously as well as glaring at his general. "Would you stop that! You know I'm not into that kind of stuff! And no, Zoi, she's not a 'gift'. Good God, man, a gift?" Endymion groaned. "Where the hell do you get your ideas?"
"Hey, it's something I wouldn't mind," Zoisite said defensively. "And, geez, Endymion, get a grip. It's not like I was serious when I said that. Well, not really. When are you ever going to get rid of your virginity?"
"Who says he's still a virgin?" Kunzite bent to examine the woman.
"You mean he's not?" Nephrite turned to his prince in surprise. "Who was it? When was this? Why weren't we ever told?"
"Do I have to tell you everything? Do I even tell you everything?" Endymion grumbled, which everyone ignored.
"Well it definitely can't be during the 'Prince Rake Era', can it?" Jadeite grinned, using the popularized term used for the few teen years the prince ran wild. "In that era, we were ordered to keep a close track of all his women, so it can't have been then, right?"
"He was also too young back then," Nephrite added, apparently still listening to the conversation even though he was busy doing his own examination.
"But its not like there's a right certain age range where you can lose your virginity, is there? Especially for guys. Besides, weren't we asked to keep an eye out to ensure that he won't impregnate any of his women and that they were all pretty acceptable as possible mistresses? We were there to assure discretion. And have some fun practicing some discretion ourselves." Zoisite grinned rakishly.
Endymion stared at his generals, half in amusement and half in despair. "Don't you guys ever think about anything else?"
"Well, excuse me." Zoisite sniffed. "But didn't you know that males always think of that about ninety-nine percent of the time? It's a statistical fact."
Jadeite stared at Zoisite. "What are you, thirteen? Why are you going around calling it 'that'? Say it like it is, man."
"Do you know her?" Nephrite interrupted to ask the prince. As he checked her pupils, he paused for a bit, surprised to see eyes the color of cornflower. He shot a 'you lucky dog' look at Endymion, which the latter pointedly ignored.
"Obviously not, Neph," the prince replied crossly. "Do you think I'd drag you here so early in the morning if I knew who the hell she was?"
Jadeite looked at him, surprised. "Didn't you ask?"
"Look, she's been unconscious since last night, all right? I was trying to get a rise out of her but she hasn't opened her eyes at all."
"How did you meet her?" Nephrite smoothed out the blankets over the lady's legs.
The prince flushed red. "That's not important, is it?"
"Of course it is," Zoisite insisted seriously. "She might be a spy or an enemy or an assassin or something."
The prince muttered something.
"What?"
"She fell on me," he announced in a louder voice.
"Well of course she did," said Jadeite sarcastically. "All the women fall for you. It's a curse all the males want."
"That's not what I meant! I meant she fell on me! Like, literally. Physically. Painfully."
"Well why didn't you say so then?"
"I just did, Jade."
"Have you called a physician?" Kunzite interrupted. "We should have her checked."
"No!" The four generals looked surprised at his vehement denial. Endymion quickly explained, "I don't think she's dangerous or anything. I searched her. She had no weapons and nothing that could be considered as such." He told his friends what happened and ended with, "You cannot tell anyone about this. Do you have any idea what the gossip columns will come up with if it was found out that some woman fell on me – literally," he shot a pointed glance at Jadeite, then continued, "and spent the night on my bed in my room? Regardless of the fact that I wasn't in it with her and that she was unconscious the entire time. She'll be compromised beyond belief! She'll be ostracized unless I marry her and I don't want to marry anyone, least of all her! Hell, I don't even know her!"
The prince's voice had been a tad too loud in his vehement declaration, causing the young woman in question to shift restlessly, a slight frown furrowing her brows. All five men crowded over her.
"Why didn't you bring her to a doctor or some place else?" Zoisite asked.
Endymion snorted. "At three in the morning? Who'd be awake? I wouldn't want to disturb anyone's night, especially not since I was able to give her some first aid, which is what I'm sure any doctor would've done anyway. Besides, at that hour, it would still be a scandal if I showed up anywhere with a woman in my arms, no matter the reason or the fact that she's unconscious. The press would have a field day and I'd never get a moment's piece from all those girls wanting to know the gossip first-hand."
"Is she coming to?" Jadeite asked Kunzite for, of the five, he was the one with the most medical knowledge.
Kunzite ignored the question as he examined her. "Looks like she's just knocked out," he announced, straightening. "I don't know how long she'll be out like a light but she should come to in a while or, at least, some time today. It seems as if she's been through quite a lot." He glanced back at the lady, absently brushing back her hair from her face in a gentle manner. "Endymion, when she wakes, call us, all right? And make sure you ask her for some information while you're it."
"Obviously." Endymion was somewhat irked at being told what to do. But that was just Kunzite's way – he had a habit of stating the obvious or giving orders that his men already knew had to be done. Then it dawned on him… "Wait a minute. You guys are leaving me here? Alone? With a woman? Alone? With her?" Endymion's past experiences, and there were many, of being in a room with a woman (or women) were not pleasant so he tended to live in constant fear of being in close proximity with the opposite sex.
"We'd love to stay and watch over her but, unlike you, we have duties we can't escape," Nephrite dryly explained.
"I could excuse you," he said desperately.
"And what good would that do, Endymion?" Zoisite shook his head. "If you want to keep her a secret, we'll all have to act like nothing out of the ordinary is happening. You can make up whatever royal excuses you want but we can't. Besides, don't you think it would be a bit odd if all five of us were indisposed? Or even two at a time."
"Speaking of which, what will we tell your people?" Jadeite asked. "I have a feeling you'll have to stay with her and care for her until she gets better and who knows how long that'll take, right?"
"Why me?" Endymion groaned.
Zoisite grinned. "Finders keepers, your Highness. Although I really don't know what you're complaining about since I sure wouldn't mind getting into forced seclusion with a woman like her. She really is beautiful, you know."
"So's our prince." Kunzite started to push his generals out of the room. "You know how terrified he is of women; he's just afraid of the girl."
"That little slip of nothing? She looks, what, seventeen, eighteen? Heck, she may even be only fifteen or sixteen!" Zoisite, who was first out the door, snorted.
"Wait," Nephrite called just before reaching the outer door. "Endymion, you never answered Jade; what will we tell the people about you?"
Endymion ran his hands through his hair, looking distracted. "What? Well, I dunno. It's up to you, I guess."
"He's not thinking clearly, is he?" Nephrite remarked to the others as they closed the door behind them.
"When ever did he?" Jadeite joked.