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Sunlight barely filtered into his room of Burgundy silk. Morning arose.

Diamond yawned, and rolled over.

Suddenly, he became very aware of a warm body next to him, along with the scent of soft perfume. With his eyes still closed, he ran his fingers along the figure next to him. Smooth, curvaceous.  Diamond heard a slight giggle- a recognizable giggle.

His eyes snapped open.

Beside him lay Emerald, shining in the morning light. For the first few seconds, he thought she looked beautiful, green hair all wild about her face and against her pale skin.  Lips were moist and cherry-tinted. She smiled at him sweetly.

Diamond blinked hard, as somewhat a double-take and also sort-of shaking the thought of her being sexy out of his mind.

"Good morning, Diamond." Emerald whispered.

"Good morning, lovely Emerald." Diamond forced out the words, and yet they came, smooth as silk.

She smiled lightly and cuddled up to him.

The prince stifled a groan.  What was he supposed to do about her now?  He hadn't thought of that.  She was essential to begin his plan, and he couldn't just throw her out, not just yet anyway.  Plus, he had just slept with the woman and though it meant nothing to Diamond, he knew this woman would feel quite differently about it.  That was the only downside to the plan.

Diamond groaned and rubbed his temples. This would be more complicated that it had seemed. Damn.

Sighing, he racked his brain for ideas.  He couldn't have Emerald hanging all over him or even see him when he got a hold of Serenity.  Trembling momentarily at the thought of her, he knew.  I have to have her… alone… I can't have Emerald, there while the Neo Queen Serenity…

 Running his fingers through Emerald's hair, he moved closer and despite the fact he had the uncontrollable urge to gag, he caressed her with seemingly real emotions and movements.

Emerald looked up at his and kissed him softly on the lips.  Diamond stroked her cheek and smiled. She was beautiful… Diamond shook his head.  He didn't want to get attracted to her whatsoever, even if it was just physical.  She was a step on a ladder and he intended her to stay so. Plus, she was Emerald.  Would you really want her to hang all over you for the rest of existence? He shuddered.

"What is it, Diamond?" Being Emerald was so close to his body, she felt the shudder.

Just you, dear Emerald. He thought sarcastically.

"Um, nothing.  I'm just a little cold." Diamond lied and pulled up the blanket to his chest.

"Well, here.  Let me warm you up." She smiled and cuddled closer to him.

Damn it, why'd you have to go and say that?!? He cursed himself, but didn't move.  He knew that any attempt to escape her arms would have been futile. She held him quite tightly. He sighed with hidden frustration.

Glancing at the floor, he spotted the Zinfandel bottle from the previous night.

You had to drink the whole bottle. He scolded himself inwardly. It would have been just fine had you been satisfied with one glass.  Sighing, he knew it really didn't matter. What did matter, however, was that he needed to somehow do something about Emerald.  She had been a good addition to the plan, even though he couldn't remember why.

But, he knew he had to think about it to get Emerald out of his bed without screwing with the plans that he forgot.  He tried to retrace his thoughts to the previous evening.

Hm… Wiseman's meeting… my wager, going to the wine cellar… no… it was before that… the old man's meeting… what was I thinking about? The prince was totally stumped.  He had no idea.  What the hell could it be?!? I was just thinking about the Queen and… how to lure her… with her daughter!  Then I saw Emerald and… It all came back to him.

Once again displaying an insidious smile, Diamond looked lasciviously to Emerald.

"So, Emerald, I hope that last night showed you how truly sorry I am for never revealing my emotions to you before.  I do have feelings for you, and I just want to apologize for giving otherwise suggestions." Diamond coated it on like sugar.

Emerald smiled, sweet and pure.

"Diamond, does it look like I care?  I am in your arms and as long as I am here, as I've wanted to be for so long, there is nothing you could do to upset me." Kissing his hand, Diamond was momentarily stunned at the sincerity of her comment and for once, almost felt human about what he was doing to her.  As quick as it came, however, it faded and he grinned that same, syrupy smile.

"I'm glad you say that." Diamond sighed falsely and took away half of the artificial cheese in his grin.

"And why is that?" She glanced at him in a concerned manor. 

"Because… I need to keep us a secret." The prince said bluntly.

"But Diamond, why?!?" Emerald asked, baffled.

"You know how my brother feels for you… I love him dearly and wouldn't want to hurt him.  It would break his heart, to know that you are with me while he sleeps all alone." Diamond explained, suddenly choking down the urge to laugh at the way he had talked about Sapphire.  His brother wasn't that lonely.  He had made him seem like he was a hermit of something or other.  The prince smiled, unable to hold it back.

"Yeah, I know… okay." Emerald sighed and still smiled. 

There was a silence and Diamond wasn't sure if he had gotten his point across and she was just enjoying her time with him, or if she was really that imbecilic as to where she wouldn't get it?

"So, Diamond, when can I see you again? You know, so that nobody knows we're together?" she questioned him lovingly.

She was that imbecilic.

"That's just it, Emerald.  We can't be together." Diamond sighed with contempt.

"B-but I thought you meant we could be together as long as we kept it just between us!" Emerald protested.

"Emerald, dear, these walls are like paper.  Every move you make, every time you breathe, it can be heard. Anyone can hear, and news travels fast within these palace walls. As I said, I cannot let my brother undergo such pain.  I love him dearly and wish to protect him in any way I can." The prince clarified, stoking her back (and at some level, enjoying it, though he didn't want to). Most of what he said about his love for his brother was true, even though at times he thought Sapphire was ungrateful, trustless, unreliable, and a smart-ass on top of that. Of course, that wasn't the bit he decided to share with her.

"B-but why?!?" she pleaded for an answer.

"Hm?" The prince was caught off guard.

 "Why did you take me in, raise my hopes, say you love me, and then tell me I can never see you again?!? Do you know how unfair that is on my heart?!?" she cried softly, near tears.

Straining not to yell at her for her disrespect towards him, he leaned to her ear.

"Emerald, I couldn't stop the emotions from coming, I couldn't stop myself.  You just looked so beautiful and… I'm sorry for the pain that I've caused you, but I knew that it was the only time I could show you how much I…" He trailed his hand across the curves of her sides, breathing lightly on her cheek.

Emerald trembled and choked back tears, but managed to have a sincere smile embedded on her face.

"Well… I… I had you for a little while and I got to hold you and fulfill all of my deep-down wishes, and, well, I guess that's what matters." Her grin grew broader, though her tears became more and more evident.

Sitting up, Emerald stretched, her naked pale back gleaming in the morning sun.

Diamond strained not look at her, but she was beautiful and the only woman he had seen nude in such a long time. Her green hair shimmered in the dim light against her ashen body. She was beautiful. But she had to go.

Diamond decided to test her; to see if she was truly going to keep it a secret and to see if she would resist him in the future.

"You look so lovely, Emerald… your skin is so-" He began in a whisper, so close to her ear, hands beginning to caress her soft shoulder.

"Please, Diamond.  I have to go and don't need you to make it any harder for me." She looked at him harshly, yet Diamond could see her pain.

The prince smiled with satisfaction.  And what was better, she didn't seem to have as many tears in her eyes as he thought she did. And the smile on her face remained true.

"Thank you, Diamond, for just giving me… for at least telling, uh, showing me… uh, well… uh, thank you, Diamond." Emerald stumbled across her words, but regained her stance.

"Yes, well, maybe someday we can be together again." He purred into her ear just before she slipped her dress over her head. It fell delicately over her soft skin.

Emerald stood up rather gracefully and glanced at the prince softly.

"If there's ever anything I can do for you, just say the word and I promise it will be done." Her face beamed with profoundness.

I'd like you to drop dead. Diamond thought.

She turned around to the door.

"There is, Emerald." He called after her.

"Yes, my prince?" the woman grinned, feeling he still had a need for her.

"I would like you to get me the Rabbit." He looked to her nobly.

Emerald was baffled, and it was obvious that it was so.

"I- I don't follow you, prince." Her eyes squinted in embarrassment.

"Naturally.  This 'Rabbit' is Chibi Usa Shields, also known as Small Lady Serenity.  She is the daughter of Neo Queen Serenity (Diamond tried desperately not to tremble at her name) and the future heir to the moon throne.  She is blighted with her childish looks and taunted by the fact that she doesn't bear the heavenly moon on her forehead.  She is adorned with silky pink hair in cone-type ondangos. Her eyes are a fiery red and her skin a fair pale. This princess embellishes in a dress the color of her hair, much like her mother's and yet so different. She is quite young yet, and is still unbearably attached to her mother." Diamond recited what he knew, then almost covered his mouth as he realized he sounded like a stalker (which he wasn't… entirely).

Emerald stood there, leaning up against the door in awestruck array. Laughing, she shook her head.

"And just how did you acquire so much information on this princess?" she asked.

Diamond laughed.

"I did a lot of studying.  Wiseman isn't called that for shits and giggles."

"And, just why, prince, do you want me to retrieve her for you?" Emerald question with a twinge of jealousy. Diamond sensed it and was urged to slap the woman across the face. How dare she even ask?

"She is vital to my plan.  If I can get her, then I can distract Ne- uh, the queen, and Crystal Tokyo will be even easier to acquire." It was the first, and probably the only truthful thing he had said to her. He wasn't going to tell her, but she looked almost as if she was about to demand an answer- even if she had to demand it from him, ruler of all Nemesis. The prince even avoided saying the queen's name out loud, for Emerald gazed intently to him in faint jealousy.   Diamond didn't care, but he didn't want to somehow ruin his plan, however faint the chance was. "I would like you to help me in these plans be convey her to me."

"I would be honored, my prince." Emerald saluted him loosely, then, turned back to the door. "I better get going… you'll need the Rabbit to fulfill your plans quite soon, I assume."

"I thank you, Emerald." Diamond's face was still wrenched into a smile, though it was getting sore.

Emerald took one last look at Diamond before she left, finally letting her tears fall.

Closing the door behind her, Emerald began to weep, walking away slowly for effect.

Diamond's face immediately turned into the disgusted scowl that had wanted to display since the previous night.

"That was disgusting!" he shuddered and bolted to the shower.

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Diamond emerged slowly from his room, once again wearing his silver suit. However, though he looked the same, he felt different.  Something inside of him held the deep male satisfaction of having made love. Though nothing made him want to smile, it crept up on his face again and again.  And then, he had the most uncontrollable urge to laugh.  The craving to burst into crackling waves of laughter. So he did.

  Waltzing into the kitchen, he spotted Sapphire buttering a piece of nicely browned toast.

Chuckling softly to himself, he crept up behind his brother, about to surprise him and snatch the toast from his hands. As he got closer, he laughed and blew his cover.

"Don't think about it, Diamond. Yours is on the counter." Sapphire giggled softly and went back to buttering his toast.

Diamond snickered and walked over to the bread on the other side of the counter. He hummed as he took the bread and sat down at the table.

Sapphire noticed his brother's mood and was instantly joyed; Diamond hadn't acted like that in years.  So many years, in fact, that Sapphire had lost count.

Grinning, the man walked over to his brother and slapped him on the back, his mind figuring what could make his brother, a melancholy figure, so downright giddy.

"Somebody got laid last night!" he elbowed Diamond playfully.

Diamond chuckled.

"Yeah- Emerald!" he laughed back. He certainly had no real intention of keeping it from Sapphire. He knew his brother wouldn't converse about it with Emerald- he was too shy.

Sapphire just stood there.  His breath caught in his throat when he heard her name.

Blinking hard to force back tears, he shook his head and glared at Diamond.

"How dare you… How dare you!!! You know how much I care for her!" he spat.

"Oh, relax, Sapphire. I don't have any feelings for the broad. Just getting business done." The prince stated calmly, explaining it simply to his brother that he didn't mean to take from him, and he could have her, that he wasn't being cruel, but rather getting the job done.

"How dare you!" Sapphire repeated.  "You took advantage of the only thing I hold dear to me and tell me it's nothing?!?  You've ruined any chance I ever had of being with her!!!" Sapphire screamed in pain.

"What the hell are you talking about?!?" Diamond shouted back.  He wasn't trying to hurt Sapphire! He even let him know that he hadn't slept with her with feelings, just so he would know he could have her! He wasn't trying to take his property!

"She took a bite of the forbidden fruit, Diamond, and now normal fruit looks too bland. Sleeping with her gave her hope and knowing that when it comes to me, she can always do better.  She'll never look at me the same, Diamond, and I can't just let it go by without doing anything!  I- can't believe you just did this to me, Diamond.  Why?!?" he ranted.

"I needed a favor." He stated simply.

"I would have done it for you, need only ask!!!  I can't believe you're so stupid! You- you asshole!!!" Sapphire screamed and bolted from the room just as Diamond stood up to back-hand the side of his face.

The nerve of him! That incompetent wretch! I can't believe how he just spoke to me! Diamond fumed.

Diamond turned viciously around to find Emerald burst, or rather, come gently with force into the room. It startled him.

"Ack!" he let out before he could stop himself.

Emerald flinched slightly, as if she was hurt, then continued walking over to the sink.

"Good morning, sweet Emerald." Diamond displayed with false affection once more.

"Save it, prince.  I have work to do." She replied coldly.

Diamond was surprised, but managed to keep a cool face.

Walking dangerously close to him, Emerald whispered loudly in his ear.

"And the next time you want a favor, you don't have to sleep with me.  Just ask." The woman stated heartlessly, and yet with all too much cruel calenture.

"I'll try and remember that." Diamond threw back icily.

"Just don't be too much of an asshole, Diamond. It'll kill you one of these days." Emerald scoffed, then was about to walk out the door as Diamond stopped her.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, grasping her arm tightly.

The woman shrugged it off and rolled her eyes, which held fear, agony, pain and, tears yet.

"I have to fetch the Rabbit."  She replied simply and began to walk off.

Emerald reached to his hand and took it from her arm, though her grasp lingered for a second before she dropped it to his side. Glaring to his eyes, she didn't look one bit mad.  Just hurt.

As she walked away with unbelievable pride, Diamond felt he should say something. However, he restrained and ignored her, walking in the opposite direction.

She ran to the teleportation room, unable to stop, for her tears were pulsating fast, too fast for her to stop, now.

Diamond thought for a moment, puzzled.

I-if she knew that it was all a scam and that I was just using her, then why is she still doing the task?  Maybe… she really does care for me as much as she says she does… maybe, she even loves me… Diamond shook the though disgustedly from his brain.

Thinking to Sapphire, he almost laughed.  No pain was felt there.  The prince knew Sapphire would never converse about the whole scam to Emerald- he hardly ever even muttered a hello.  Much less talk about their feelings.  Plus, Sapphire's heart held so much more love than Emerald could even dream of, and Diamond knew it.  Well, truly, he could never begin to fathom the depth of the emotions running in the course of his brother's blood.  Even so, it sickened Diamond, practically bringing him to a bloody pulp.

Shaking the thought from his mind, he diverted to the plan.  So far, things were going incredibly well, though Diamond knew it had just begun. What he had to do just to get to the queen!

As the image of Neo Queen Serenity flooded his mind, the prince got a warm and gushy feeling in the pit of his stomach and a gasp caught in his throat.  How he desired her! Every waking moment was filled with her image. Diamond thought about her, being in his arms, her tender kiss, and her body, oh, yes, her body. He just wished that she was there right at that moment, suddenly trembling fiercely at thought, and that she would take hold of him tight.  So he could feel her warm curves, her hear her soft gasp as he…

Diamond let out a small moan of desire, his hunger suddenly overtaking him before he could respond sensibly.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he could not escape the warm images of the queen's body and his, unable to keep form as he invited the luscious thoughts oh her eyes and lips and hands… though he wasn't really trying to keep from thinking them. His hands drifted up and down his leg, imagining it was hers, although he restrained from doing what else he thought of.  He bit his lip in anticipation, eyes halfway closed. Quivering, Diamond placed his hand firmly on the table to keep him steady at the visions, then sucked in his breath, which came out in wheezing gasps.

Realizing how overcome he was, he took a deep breath to calm his aroused body. Letting it out, he took one last shiver before he drove the thought of the lovely queen's body from his mind.

Walking to the wine cellar for another bottle of champagne, Diamond thought to his original thoughts before he was temporarily… distracted.

So now I will have the Rabbit… what to do…  the prince pondered. How long will I have to keep the little waif? Diamond knew he wasn't good with children, for the only ones he had ever truly known were him and Sapphire at their younger age.

Thinking back to why he had to take over Crystal Tokyo(besides Queen Serenity), he sighed.  It wasn't that he had really wanted to go into battle with Earth.  In fact, him and his Black Moon family had come from Earth themselves.  But they were banished for practicing magic and using the strength they had for evil, and Wiseman held a grudge.  Diamond didn't care that much, and neither did Sapphire.  But when Wiseman came up with the idea to attack Crystal Tokyo, Diamond thought immediately to the Queen and was unable to refuse at the thought of a second confrontation.

There had been a first confrontation.  Long ago, years ago, Diamond thought. He tried to repel the thought, but he ended up remembering it all the same.  He had been to Earth to try and compromise with the Queen so that their banishment would be forgiven and they could once again experience the wonders of the sweet world opposed to their cruel Nemesis.  Diamond came across the queen and hadn't known how beautiful her and her soul was. He stopped dead in his tracks, awed by her, the beautiful queen, with such a strong spirit and the most incredible blue eyes.  They were the color of the twilight sky of the Dusk on the moon.  As he gazed to those eyes, he was unable to move. Smiling to her, he took her hand and kissed it lightly, yet still looking into those marvelous eyes.

But she seemed to remember his face, even after all those years, and also recognized the wicked black moon embedded on his forehead.  The cursed black moon.  Diamond flinched as he thought of her actions thereafter.  She had jerked her hand away and she-she glared at him.  With those beautiful, loving eyes, she, Neo Queen Serenity herself, the lovely monarch of the moon and sweet-souled sailor of the past, had glared at him.  He was taken aback by her, not knowing her eyes could hold such hatred, so much contempt.  Shuddering at the sheer thought, he continued reviewing the fact.  Since, ever since she had done that, he was crushed.  But the way he was raised, he knew he just couldn't give up.  He was too damn stubborn for that.  He had seen her once or twice since then, just for moments, and her hatred for him had ceased none.  It was still as wretched and cruel as before. But every time she refused him, it just made him want her more.  At that point, it was almost the refusal he craved, not her.  But if she refused him too many more times, he would just about burst with his inner hunger for her, his body aching for hers.  She was already driving his body insane with throbbing desire for her, enough to where he almost enjoyed sleeping with Emerald, yet he still desperately craved Serenity. 

Diamond cleared his thought and his mind of the awful memory of repulsion.  Waltzing to his bedroom with a bottle of Merlot, he closed the door behind him.