Tales
from the Silver Millennium
by
Sakura
Zoisite's
Tale
Zoisite was born on the planet of Krynn
in the elven kingdom,
during
what was known as the Age of Dreams in Krynnish history.
Like
most elves, she lived a peaceful and almost uneventful life
as a
servant. She was a Kagonesti or wild elf, and like the
others
of her race, she served the other elves. Her name then
wasn't
Zoisite. That name was to be given her much later in her
life.
While living with the elves, her name had
been
Ferileaghamberlanthalasa
(pronounced Fer-i-lee-am-ber-lan-ta-la-sa).
She was
the daughter of the chief of her tribe, but she still had
to
serve an elven noble. She like any chief's daughter, was,
of
course, spoiled rotten. In spite of her being spoiled, she
respected
her elders and teachers as a young elf should. She was
also
respectful, and as a child fearful of the more 'civilized'
elves.
That was until she began to get bored with her stagnant
life of
caring for the plants in her garden and learning how to
be a
proper chief's daughter and obedient servant, and took
to
sneaking off alone on one adventure after another.
She'd come home with scrapes and bruises
more often than not.
This,
of course, ashamed and angered her father, not to mention
the elf
she served. They went so far as to lock her up in her
rooms,
only letting her out when she had duties to perform, and
this
was in the company of another Kagonesti servant, though not
from
her tribe. This servant was loyal all right, that is, to her
master
and not her. No chief's daughter, and servant, was
going
to act like a wild animal or worse, a savage human, her
father
had told her. He had plans to marry her off to the noble
and
thus, make the tribe, not to mention himself, rich.
On
her eightieth birthday, she ran away and didn't come home
til a
year later only to find out that she had been branded a
dark
elf, that is one who refused to 'live in the light', or
follow
their ways. Somehow it leaked to the others that she had
run off
again, on her coming of age day, yet. For doing so, she
had
been excommunicated from her people and was forced to leave
her
homeland forever. Once at the forest's borders, she was given
a few
supplies, but nothing else. Her father wouldn't even say
goodbye.
Her fellow tribesmen, who 'escorted' her to the borders
turned
their backs and walked away without so much as a backward
glance.
Feril, for this is what her 'friends' had
called her,
considered
herself no longer an elf, Kagonesti or otherwise once
her
people had cast her out. Sadly, her people felt the same way.
They
had her name and all records of her existence destroyed as
if she
had never been born. When they told her of this, she
shouted
back at them that she didn't care, that she was glad she
was
finally free of the strict codes of elven society and could
do as
she pleased. She turned her back on her homeland and walked
away
from the vast forest of Vallenwood trees, not bothering to
look
back as she cast the spell that would remove the intricate
tatoos
covering her body.
She had loved the elven forest more than
anything and to be
forever
separated from it caused her to close off her heart to
love
for most of her life. Deep in her heart, she made a vow that
no matter
how hard they may try, she would never give her heart
to
anyone or anything ever again. So great was her love for her
beloved
trees.
The now nameless elf made her way to
Istar, the capital city
of the
continent of Ansalon. There she made her living as a
dancer
and a thief. She soon learned she had a greater talent for
being a
thief than a dancer, and soon became the best thief in
the
city. Those she robbed never knew they had been robbed until
she was
long gone, so swift and silent was she.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One day during the midsummer festival,
she spotted what she
thought
was an easy target, a young man with long, wavy, auburn
hair.
He was a jewelry smith and merchant. He
had been walking
through
the streets looking for a place to set up his wares as
well as
admiring the young ladies as they passed him by, also
returning
a glance or two.
She trailed him through the crowded
streets waiting til she
could
get close enough to him. Without realizing it, she began to
stare
at his face. He had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. They
were as
pale as the palest bluebell flowers she'd seen in
her
master's garden. The same shade as the sky above.
'By Chislev! He's one of the most
handsome I've ever seen,
and
I've seen plenty.' she allowed herself to think.
Realizing she had let herself be
distracted, the elf quickly
looked
away from her target and put her mind back on her work.
When he came close to her, she walked up
to him pretending not
to pay
attention to where she was going then promptly bumped
against
him.
"Gomen nasai," she said as she
bumped into her
target
and began to walk away.
"Daijoubu," he said looking at
the young elf woman.
"Just
a moment," he said grabbing her arm. "All
right
girl, give it back." He pulled her into an alley.
"I don't know what you're talking
about. Now let me go,"
she
said reaching for her dagger.
"I don't think so." He grabbed
her dagger before she
could
get a hold of it. He then promptly threw it to the ground
out of
her reach, but not his. "I believe these are mine,"
he said
grabbing her hand and taking the gems she had stolen.
"Next
time be more careful, girl," he said turning to
leave.
"Matte!" (Wait!)
He
stopped and turned back to the elven thief.
"You're not going to call the watch?
You're letting me
get
away with stealing from you?" she stammered.
He gave her a faint smile. "Why
should I? I got back what
you
took."
"Umm. Domo arigato gozaimasu (Thank
you very much)."
He
nodded and she began to leave the alley.
Now it was his turn to stop her.
"Matte."
'I knew it. He is going to call the
watch.' she thought
as she
froze in mid step. "I didn't take anything this time.
Honto!
(Really!)"
"I know. It's just I want to know
why an elf like you has
to
steal for a living."
"I don't have to, I also work as a
street dancer. Besides
I like
it." she smiled.
His eyes went wide in shock. "You
LIKE stealing?! Naze?!
(Why?!)"
"It's fun. 'Sides these fools
deserve to be robbed if
they
don't bother protecting themselves."
"Listen, I have a proposition for
you. No, it's not a
robbery
or anything else your thinking of."
Her
face seemed a bit disappointed, but her curiosity was piqued.
'Maybe
it is time for a little change, if a mere human can
catch
me so easily. Besides, I kind of like this guy.'
"OK, I'm listening."
"How would you like to work for me?
You could help set up
the
jewelry I make plus, act as a guard since a good thief like
you
should have no problem spotting others. Someone as beautiful
as you
would also happen to make it easier for me to sell my
works,
don't you think so?"
She blushed. No one had called her
beautiful, except for her
master,
and that was when he was drunk on elderberry wine. She
fought
the urge to do to him what she had to do to the elf noble,
smack
him silly.
She thought about it for a few moments
and decided a paying
job
wouldn't hurt. Anyway, the heat was making it hard for her to
get
away as easily as she'd like. It had been a matter of time
before
the watch had caught her. "All right. You got
yourself
a guard." she said holding out her hand.
He bent and kissed it gently. "I am Nephrite,
my lady,"
he said
with his best suave tone.
"You can call me whatever you like,
but I'm no lady. If I
was,
I'd still be living with my people and dying of boredom
while
serving some old lech," she said bitterly. "So
when do
I start?"
"Immediately, if you'd like," he said smiling and
led the
way back to the street.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the next two years the elven ex-thief
turned merchant and
guard
traveled throughout Krynn with Nephrite. They would go from
town to
town flowing with the endless sea of festival caravans.
Though
they had become good friends, she felt as though he could
never
really trust her. This was probably because she rarely
talked
and when she did, told little or nothing of herself.
He however told all about how he'd grown
up in a small village
and at
his parents' deaths was apprenticed to an old jewelry
smith
who'd taught him how to read and write as well as a bit of
knowledge
of the other planets in the Silver Millennium. The
smith
was a traveler from Earth who'd decided to settle on Krynn.
Nephrite loved the old man and thought
him as a grandfather,
if not
father. The two would travel the roads together following
fairs
and festivals. Along the way the old man would either teach
him a
bit of magic or tell stories of his life on the earth. When
he died
not two years ago, Nephrite had been devastated, but
swore
to carry on his 'grandfather's' business.
Even
though, she rarely smiled and kept to herself most of the
time,
the elf woman was fun to be with most of the time, also a
good
student.
He had found she had an innate ability to
manipulate crystals.
He
taught her how to control her power and to shape jewelry from
certain
crystals. She found that she liked using the new power
and
used it on every crystal she could get her hands on. She was
like a
child upon discovering a new toy.
She even practiced making a crystal sword
so she'd have a
better
weapon than her old dagger.
Thanks to her unusual pieces and her
exotic good looks, his
business
started to boom and they quickly became wealthy.
Nephrite,
against his better judgment, split the profits evenly
with
his semi-mysterious partner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One day, a tall stately woman wearing a
dark red cloak so dark
that it
almost looked black, came to their stall. She was
carrying
a strange staff that looked like a giant key with her.
"May we help you, my lady?"
said the elf woman. She
didn't
like the looks of this woman and was getting a strange
feeling
from her. 'These damned mages.' she thought.
"Actually Ferileaghamberlantalasa, I
was hoping you and
Nephrite
could help me." she said removing the hood of her
cloak.
She had long, dark green hair done into a top knot with a
bun at
the top. Her skin was a rich tan color and her eyes were a
strange
magenta color.
Both Nephrite's and her eyes went wide
with shock. Hers from
hearing
a human speak the name she thought she'd never hear again,
his
from recognition of a god's avatar.
Nephrite knelt before the strange woman
and said, "Lunatari-sama,
how may
we humble mortals help you?"
She smiled, a rare sight on her face.
"Please Nephrite,
get up.
I'm not one of your gods, just an emissary on a mission."
He rose to his feet unsure to believe her
or not. "What
sort of
mission, my lady?" asked the elf eyeing her
suspiciously.
'I don't know how she knows about me, but I'm
certain
whoever she is, she's definitely no god.'
"Didn't I just say that,
Ferileagh?" the woman said
reading
her thoughts. Her eyes went even wider. The woman smiled
again.
'This is definitely Zoisite. Serenity-sama would be
pleased.
I finally managed to find the rest of the four.' she
thought.
"I have come for you and Nephrite,
Ferileagh." said
the
woman. "I assure it is nothing sinister, so don't worry
so much
Feril. You two have been chosen by the Fates to be two of
Prince
Endymion's personal bodyguards."
Feril at first didn't want to believe a
word the woman said,
but if
the Great Prince was of need of them, what could she do?
'I
still don't believe her, but hey, life on another planet
can't
be worse than it is here sometimes.' And she thought
Endymion
to be rather attractive. She had caught a glimpse of him
on one
of his diplomatic visits to Krynn.
"All right, my lady, you win, I'll
go with you, but only
if Neph
decides to come as well."
"Fair enough, and call me Pluto,
Feril. Nephrite?"
she
asked the auburn haired man.
"I'd hate to leave my work, not to
mention, my home, but
who am
I to go against the Fates?" he said with a smile.
"I'll take that as a yes." said
Pluto.
He nodded then looked at his friend and
partner. She nodded as
well.
"Then if you two are ready... No
need to pack anything.
Any
trace of your existence here will disappear as soon as we
leave."
she said reading their minds.
Both guardians said farewell to the
planet they lived on all
their
lives and in a flash of maroon light, vanished with the
mysterious
woman known only as Pluto.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three travelers reached the palace on
Earth. The guards
regarded
the elf woman and Nephrite suspiciously but, seeing
Pluto
with them, they reluctantly let the senshi and her two
companions
pass. No one dared to cross a being who could control
time.
The two guardians stared at her in awe.
"I've come to speak with the
prince," said Pluto to
a
servant who just happened by.
He
immediately bowed to her and led them down various halls til
they
reached the royal library. Upon seeing the amount of books,
the elf
let out a low whistle.
'Not even the Great Library is Palanthas
could match this.'
she
thought as she stood with her companions. The servant left
leaving
them to speak in private.
Seated in a chair in front of a fireplace
was a boy about
eighteen.
He had short black hair and deep set blue eyes. 'Not
bad
looking as some humans go, but nowhere as handsome of
Nephrite.'
she thought regarding what she assumed to be the
prince
Pluto spoke of. 'Not too careful is he? Had he been my
enemy,
he'd be dead by now and I'd be long gone.'
As to mirror her thoughts, Pluto spoke
up. "Still
reckless
Endymion, your back's to the door," she said with a
smile.
"Hello to you too, Pu," he said
not bothering to
look up
from the book he was reading. "I saw the flames
flicker
and knew someone had come in. You've brought a friend I
see."
"Endymion how did you know, I wasn't
alone?" Pluto
asked.
"Easy enough. I heard someone
whistle as you came in. I
knew it
couldn't be you because you've been here before. Whoever
it is,
must be very impressed with our 'collection.'"
The elf blushed, embarrassed that she'd
been heard. 'I take
that
back, he's shrewd this... Endymion.'
Pluto sat down in one of the other chairs
by the fire and
motioned
for her and Nephrite to do so as well. "Endymion,
if you
can tear yourself from that book for two minutes, I'd like
you to
meet two of your guardians," she said placing her
Time
Staff beside her chair. Nephrite stared at the huge garnet
orb at
the top. He'd loved to get a closer look at it, but knew
it was
impossible.
The elf woman stared at various leather bound books on the
shelves
near her chair. She reverently ran her fingers across the
spine
of one inlaid with pure gold leaf, in a delicate design of
leaves.
Endymion, however, blushed at Pluto's
statement and closed the
book.
"How've you been Pu? It's been a while. A long while,"
he said
giving the green haired senshi his full attention.
"I'm fine, thank you. Endymion, I'd
like you to meet
Nephrite
Stanton and 'Milady' of the planet Krynn. They are to be
two of
your personal guardians."
'Milady' was relieved when she didn't
reveal her name to
anyone
else. She had wanted to forget the past completely when
she
boarded the ship and left Krynn far behind. 'I definitely
do not
like this woman. If she knew my name, then she must know
about
my banishment by my own people. Plus she's bound to know
more.
Why did she not tell him my name like she did Neph? A
person
who's got to hide what she knows, is not one to be trusted.
I
should know.' she thought with a mental smile. She tried her
best
smile and nodded to the prince.
"How
do you do your highness?" said Nephrite getting up
and
bowing before him.
"You two are a long way from home,
aren't you," said
the
prince paying more attention to
'Milady'
than him. "I take it it was you who was admiring
my
books, my lady."
She blushed and said, "Gomen if I
disturbed you, your
highness."
"Not at all. So you're two of the
four bodyguards The
Queen's
assigned to me," he said admiring 'Milady', making
her
blush even redder.
"If you don't mind Endymion, I'd
like to get down to
business.
I can't stay for much longer," said Pluto.
"Of course, Pu. When do you ever
stay long?" he said
with a
chuckle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After getting acquainted with each other
and their new duties,
Pluto
left the prince and his two guardians, saying something
about
finding the last one.
A few days later, a Lunar transport
arrived saying that they
were to
carry them to where the three of them were be trained to
fight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Endymion! What are you doing here?!
How'd you find me?!"
said a
young man with short blond hair as they disembarked from
the
transport.
"I brought him here lad," said
the old captain who'd
been on
the trip with them.
'Yet another handsome man.' she remarked
dryly. She was
beginning
to regret her decision to come to Earth with Pluto,
plus
she was beginning to feel lonely. 'You've think Neph and
I be
more than friends or one of the others'd make a move by now.'
'Well, you're not, and it's obvious they
aren't.' she
shot
back at herself.
'Daijoubu. I'll find someone, someday,
maybe.' said
another
part of her mind. The part that longed to pour out all
the
loneliness and sorrow she kept bottled up inside to someone.
Someone
who'd not turn her away. The dam she built to keep her
emotions
locked up was near the breaking point.
Realizing she had let her mind wander,
she felt Nephrite nudge
her and
saw Endymion was waving for them to join him. Looking
back,
she saw a young man with silver-white hair follow them.
'Who's that? I don't remember seeing him
on the ship before.
Matte.
I remember we met briefly when Endymion-ouji-san stopped
by
Neph's room. What's his name? Kun something or other?' She'd
forgotten
her shipmate because she'd spent most of the time in
her
cabin.
When
she reached the prince, she heard him say, "Jed, this
is Kunzite
Shidou, Nephrite Stanton, and 'Milady.'"
The silver haired man came up and
extended his hand. She didn't
hear
what he said, she was too busy staring at him. 'If I
thought
Neph was the most handsome man I've ever seen, then I
must've
been blind. THIS is the most handsome man I've ever seen!'
He had
soft grey/blue eyes that seemed to stick out from his
tanned
skin and unlike her and Nephrite was wearing his silver
hair
loose.
Nephrite was now speaking to the blond
man. She saw the two
shake
hands then understood what was going on. 'He must be one
of
Endymion-ouji-san's friends.' she thought as she approached
him.
"I too am from Krynn. I am honored
to meet a friend of
Endymion-ouji-san's,"
she said extending her hand.
He stared at her a few seconds, obviously
taken in by her
elven
beauty. Then he finally said, "The honor is mine, my
lady."
He took her hand and gently kissed it. "May I
have
the pleasure of knowing your name?" he asked rather
innocently.
'Oh no! Not again!' she inwardly groaned
as she felt
herself
stiffen. 'What can I tell them? That I'm an outcast
among
my people. A dark elf. Not even Neph knows why I was in
Istar
that day. He didn't even know my name til that Pluto witch
showed
up.'
"Captain, I'm sure 'Milady' would
like to see her
quarters,"
said Nephrite noticing her uneasiness.
'Arigato, Kami-sama. Arigato Neph, for
being such a good
friend.'
she turned and began to follow the old captain not at
all
surprised when he'd already stared walking.
The silver haired man came up to her and
offered his arm.
"My
lady," he said indicating he'd help her.
'Who does he think I am? I'm not some
scatter brained bimbo
who
can't even think for herself.' she looked coldly at him,
then
saw the hurt and embarrassed expression on his face. She
felt
her heart melt and instantly regretted her thoughts. 'He's
only
being polite, baka! No need to act like an damned house elf
when
you're no longer an elf!' She put her hand on his arm and
let him
lead her.
Along the way, she remained silent,
suddenly too shy to speak.
"I don't remember seeing you again
after we met on the
ship.
Were you ill, my lady?" asked Kunzite.
"Not exactly. I just prefer to be
alone sometimes."
"Must be awful lonely."
"Honto ne (Not really), it gives me
plenty of time to
practice."
"Practice what, my lady?"
"I have a power that allows me to
shape crystals into
things."
"I hate to change the subject, my
lady, but I'm wonder
what a
beauty like you would be doing at a training camp."
She blushed at the compliment. 'He thinks
I'm beautiful?!
Neph's
been the only one to say that to me before.'
"I don't just make pretty baubles
with my power."
"Oh?"
"Watch." She produced a crystal from a fold in her
gown
and concentrated. It grew longer and sharper until it formed
an
crystal sword.
"Incredible. I've never seen
anything like that before. I
hope
you don't think I'm being forward, but since we're going to
be
training together, I think we should know each other's name,
don't
you think? It'd be very awkward calling you 'Milady' out on
the
field."
She looked down and noticed a ring on his
finger. She had come
to
recognize every stone available through her partnership with
Nephrite.
This one was one she'd never seen before. It was a
periwinkle
blue color and was surrounded by diamonds.
"It's my mother's." he said
noticing her interest in
the
ring.
She blushed and said, "It's
beautiful. What stone is that?
I don't
recall ever seeing it on Krynn before."
"It's not from Krynn, but from
Earth, my lady. It's a
very
rare stone and is only found on Earth. I believe it's called
Zoisite."
"No wonder I've never remembered
seeing it before,"
she
giggled, the first time in a long time. All of a sudden she
began
to sob. She lost control of her emotions and began to shake
uncontrollably
as the dam broke. Kunzite caught her as she began
to
faint and carried her the rest of the way to her quarters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Daijoubu desu ka?" asked a
voice as she opened her
eyes. A
pair of grey/blue ones met hers.
"Where am I? What happened?"
she asked struggling to
sit up.
"You fainted, my lady. We're in your
quarters. I hope you
don't
mind I carried you here."
She did vaguely remember being lifted by
a pair of strong arms
before
losing consciousness. "I'm sorry for being so much
trouble,"
she tried to sit up again.
He gently pushed her back on the bed.
'His hands, so warm...
so
gentle.' "You're no trouble at all. You need to rest.
I hate
to pry, but maybe if you told me what made you cry like
that,
it'd make you feel better."
'I want to tell him, but why? I've kept
it a secret for so
long I
don't think I can tell anyone, even if I wanted to.'
She
felt something cool against her forehead. 'A washcloth no
doubt.
It's helping a little. Hmm, smells like lavender, someone
knows
their herbs I see.' she gave herself a mental smile.
'Maybe
I should tell him. Couldn't possibly do anymore harm
than
what it's done to me already.'
She then opened her eyes seeing the
concern in the young man's
eyes.
She smiled a little and saw him relax a little, patiently
waiting
for her to speak. She steeled herself and began to tell
him
about her past.
"...and so when one of us is exiled
or banished, their
name is
erased form all records as if he never existed and is
never
allowed to return our homeland or be killed as an enemy if
they
did," she aid finishing her tale.
"So that's why you didn't want us to
know your name.
Technically
you don't have one now, is that it?" Kunzite had
been
incredibly patient listening to the young elf woman tell her
tale.
He hadn't interrupted once during the whole story.
"Hai. Thank you for listening to me,
Kunzite-san. I
really
needed to get that off my chest. she said sitting up. He
adjusted
the pillows so she could sit more comfortably.
"How about if I give you a new name,
my lady?" he
asked.
"Nani? You're serious?"
"Very. Would you mind if I gave it
to you or would you
prefer
to keep 'Milady'?" He blushed a little trying his
best
not to embarrass himself.
She blushed and looked away from him, not
wanting him to see
the
tears starting to well up in her eyes. "You'd do that?
For
me?"
"Well, as I said before, it'd be
awkward calling you 'Milady'
out on
the field, if you're going to train with us, you'll need a
better
name." he said chuckling a little.
'Gods! What a beautiful sound!' she
thought. "What
did you
have in mind, Kunzite-san?"
"How about Zoisite? Since you like
my mother's ring so
much."
She blushed again but, forced herself to
look at him. 'He'd
name me
after that beautiful stone?!'
"Of course, if you don't like it, we
could-"
"I love it. Arigato gozaimasu,
Kunzite-san." She
blushed
and hugged the silver haired man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after that Zoisite began to enjoy
her training and she
also
found herself gradually leaving her life of aloofness behind.
She
began to join the men in their parties and also began to
laugh
more.
As the months wore on, Zoisite and the
other guardians had
become
very good friends. In fact she was considered one of the
guys.
But there was one person she could never
get close to no
matter
how hard she tried; Prince Endymion.
Something about the prince kept reminding
her of her people
back on
Krynn. Sure, he was friendly towards her, but Jadeite was
the one
he was closest to. Somehow she knew that no one'll be
able to
get through to him, except for Jadeite, the first day she
saw him
with his friend.
'What is it about Endymion? He's so cold,
so distant
whenever
Kunz, Neph, or I try to really talk to him. Jed's the
only
one that can do that.' she thought one night lying in her
bed.
'Even when I first shook his hand, he said nothing more
than
was necessary. He's got to have house elf blood in him. He's
got to.
How else could he be so damned cold, so elven!'
She and the others tried several times to
break his shell by
playing
tricks on him, which she did the most. He usually good-naturedly
laughed
them off but, when SHE played a trick on him, he
would
laugh but, it would be a strained one. None of the others
noticed.
They were too busy laughing with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zoisite sat alone in her garden tending
to a bed of Plutonian
lilies
after her latest failure to melt what she dubbed 'The
Royal
Icecube'.
'Damn you Endymion-ouji! Why don't you
trust me? You trust
Kunz,
and Neph came from the same planet as me. Is it because I'm
not
human? Or is it something else?'
"Come on Endymion-kun, it was only
one little frog. It
wasn't
like I was trying to poison your soup. Even a kender would
have a
better sense of humor."
"Maybe he wasn't in the mood for
humor today, Zoi-chan."
She had no need to look up to know who
the voice belonged to.
"I
know love, but I just can't give up. One of these days I'm
going
to make him truly accept me as one of the group. You and
the
others are the only ones who've been able to get close to him.
Even if
it's a little bit. He only tolerates me because of that
Pluto
woman."
"Zoi, don't say that. I'm sure he
likes you. He's just
shy
around women. You saw how he was with the princess."
"Maybe so, but there's something
that's not right with
him. I
mean whenever I try to talk to him, he just pushes away,
saying
he's too busy. I'm worried Kunz. We've never been close
that's
true, but he never pushed away from me before."
"It's just his upcoming engagement.
I'm sure once he's
married,
he'll warm up."
"I hope you're right, love."
He put his arm around her waist as he
helped her up. "It's
almost
time for dinner, love. Come inside." He kissed her,
crushing
the lilies she held in her arms.
She frowned, but smiled when she got the
desired look from her
lover.
"Daijoubu. They're only flowers, and I've got tons,"
she
said letting him lead her back to the house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Endymion's engagement to the Moon
Princess was having a
different
effect on Zoisite. She knew she should be happy for
them,
but all she could think of was how she'd outlive her
friends,
for her people were known to live up to 700 years. She
was
young. Very young, only a mere 90 compared to 700.
'I should be happy. Endymion-kun's
finally able to love
someone.
But how can I when I know that I'll be alive long after
him and
everyone else, including Kunz, is dust? I really should
tell
Kunz about elven lifespans, but I don't want to lose him. He
is the
only human who's able to make me happy, melt my heart.'
She watched as her lover slept, trying
not to pay attention to
the
tears escaping her eyes.
"You wish to be with him
always?" said a voice from
nowhere
and everywhere.
Calling forth an ice crystal, Zoisite
stood from the bed.
"Who
are you? Show yourself!"
A woman with long red hair in a purple
dress appeared from the
shadows.
"You poor dear," she said in a mockingly sweet
voice.
"A wild elf in love with a human. No wonder you're
crying."
"Who are you?!" she demanded
brandishing her crystal
sword.
"Oh put that toy away Zoisite. I
came here with an offer."
With
that she gestured and the crystal faded from her hand. With
another
gesture, she called forth a globe of light and it floated
over
her.
"Beryl!" she gasped.
"So you do know me then. As I said,
I came here to offer
you
what you want most, Zoisite."
"Which is?"
"A life with Kunzite," the
queen smiled.
"I already have that. Now leave
before I really get angry."
"No you don't Zoisite. Think. How
much longer does he
have do
you think?" She gestured to the sleeping man. "70,
80,
years? Not much when your kind live hundreds of them. What I'm
offering
you is a life where you won't have to worry about him
dying
and leaving you alone. All you have to do is come with me
Zoisite.
Think about it. To be with the man you love so much,
always."
"How do I know you're not lying? For
all I know, you
could
be Takhisis herself."
The queen laughed. Not an evil or
strained one, she genuinely
laughed.
"Ever the clever one aren't you? You don't. You'll
just
have to trust me. Now which is it going to be Zoisite, stay
here
and die alone an old maid, or join me and be with Kunzite
forever?"
Zoisite was torn between betraying her
prince and her love for
the man
on the bed. For a while it seemed Endymion would win, but
remembering
how he'd treated her, she took a step toward the
queen.
Looking to her lover, she whispered, "Gomen nasai,
koishii.
Please forgive me."
Turning before the queen, she followed
her new ruler through a
portal
and disappeared.
"Zoisite," murmured Kunzite in
his sleep.
Author's Notes:
1) I
know Zoey's a guy but, I'm making him a her. Call it a
little
poetic license if you will.
2) The fact Neph & Zoi being from the
Dragonlance world of
Krynn
is not true. It's just an idea I came up with. I just
looooove
those books, especially the ones by Margaret Weis and
Tracy
Hickman. ^_^
3) A note about elven society on Krynn,
since little is known
what
life was like in the Age of Dreams, I'm assuming that
the
'civilized' (house) elves were like the Silvanesti
and
Qualinesti races of elves. These elves considered themselves
superior
to the Kagonesti or wild elves, who lived in tribes in
the
forests, and hence generally treated them as slaves. Also one
could
be considered a dark elf for not conforming to the rules of
their
society, though usually for more sinister things such as
practicing
black magic.
4) Lunitari is the red moon of Krynn and
is considered to be
the
goddess of neutral magic. I had Neph refer to Pluto as this
goddess
since she is usually considered to be a neutral ally to
the
senshi, only interfering in extreme cases.
5) There really is a stone called Zoisite
(I looked it up). It's
actually
called Tanzanite and is usually the periwinkle blue
color I
wrote about. It is also very rare and not to mention
expensive!
I've seen some jewelry with it and boy is it EXPENSIVE!!!!
All C&C welcome at
Firia@linainverse.net