Chapter 7: Zoicite, Friend or Foe
Cassie had been up for several hours that Saturday morning when Christopher came stumbling into the kitchen. She looked up from her newspaper when he hit the doorway, literally. His hair was sticking up in all directions. He was clad only in boxers and a tee shirt. He felt his way across the room with both hands stretched out like one of the living dead. "Coffeeee, coffeeeee…" he chanted. Cassie laid down her paper as he opened the cabinet and pulled out a jar. He scooped several spoonfuls of the contents into a mug and added hot water from the carafe. He gave it a quick stir and gulped half of the contents down. He immediately spat all over counter. Cassie laughed so hard that she fell out of her chair at the kitchen table.
"You poisoned the coffee!" the outraged boy accused.
"Look at the jar, Sherlock," his highly amused sister smirked.
"Eww gross! It's Tang! Why didn't you warn me?"
"Why should I?"
"Because you know I can't see straight in the morning!"
"For one thing, it's 11:00. For another, even you should be able to tell the difference between Tang and instant coffee."
"They're both powders!" he protested.
"It's ORANGE!"
The siblings glared at each other for a while before getting back to what they had been doing. Chris fixed his coffee after carefully making sure that it was actually coffee this time. Cass finished reading through the paper.
"Chris, I need you to do three things for me," Cassie said after a time.
"What?" he asked grudgingly; he never quite trusted her when she had that particular note in her voice.
"First, clean up this mess." She waved a hand at the orange liquid dripping from the counter into a small puddle on the floor.
Chris rolled his eyes and reached for the paper towels. "And second?"
"Next, please put on some pants. We do have company you know."
"Company?" Chris looked back at his sister in confusion. He had been gone since before Zoë and Cass had come in and they had already been locked away in her room when he came in.
"Zoë spent the night last night."
"And you think she wouldn't want to see my beautiful self in only my underwear?" Chris struck a flamenco pose. "All women admire my wonderful bod!"
"I've seen better," a dry voice called into the room. Chris didn't miss a beat.
"That I do not believe!" he put on an attitude of false hurt. "Tell me where to find these 'better bods' and I'll challenge them to a swimsuit contest!" Zoë dragged up a weak smile for the boy's antics.
Chris flashed a quick look at his sister. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod and tapped one long pink fingernail against the tabletop. After all the years that the siblings had spent in their dangerous game of information gathering, Chris followed the cue instinctively.
"Anyway, my lady, would you like a cup of coffee?" Chris bowed to the girl, turning his not insignificant charm on full blast.
Zoë smiled, flattered in spite of herself. "Yes please. Black and very strong." Chris bowed again, touching forehead, lips, and chest with his fingertips.
"Have a seat." Cass pushed a chair out from the table with her foot. The girl sat down and stared at the tabletop. Cassie examined the girl through her eyelashes as she folded up her paper with exaggerated care. Zoë looked rough. She had taken the time to put back on the clothes that she had worn the day before, but that was about all. Her eyes were blood-shot and red rimmed. Cass stifled a curse as she realized that Zoë had been crying again. She may have accepted intellectually that she wasn't responsible for Zoicite's misdeeds under Beryl's control, but it would take longer than a single night, however long, to convince her heart. Cass shrugged internally. 'Well the first step towards self forgiveness would begin today with the confrontation with the Scouts and Tuxie.' Cassie prayed that Zoe's demons would subside quickly. She grimaced behind the cover of the rustling paper. 'I hope that she has better luck with her demons than I've had with mine.'
Chris brought Zoe's coffee over and set it down in front of her. Zoë thanked him absently, her mind a million miles away. Cass caught her brother's eye and flicked the tips of her fingers toward the door. He took the hint and left quietly.
Cass finally put the paper down with an attention getting slap. "Okay, Miss Wilton. The first order of business is to plan how we are going to present you in the best light to Endymion and the Scouts."
Zoë set her coffee cup down to hide the trembling in her hands. "I don't know. What do you suggest? You're the diplomatic one. I'm just the arrogant solider-type, remember?"
Cassie was pleased to see the resolve in her friend's eyes. She could only imagine how difficult this was for her. "Well, speaking as the 'diplomatic one,' I think something nice, easy, and subtle would be best. Percy is out making sure everyone will be here at 2:00. I think that we should get some food into them, let them get to know Zoë Wilton a little better, and then spring the news on them when they're good and mellow." Cassie pinched the bridge of her nose. It was so difficult to think clearly when she was as tired as she was. She had gotten no sleep Thursday after her date with Andrew. Then last night, Friday night, she had gotten maybe three hours of sleep. She had never been able to function very well on little sleep. She resolutely pushed her fatigue to the back of her mind.
"That sounds a little vague Cass," Zoë objected.
"I know. The key will be not reacting to them until the proper time. Percy is supposed to just tell them that I want them to meet a friend. They'll be coming in civilian form, because they shouldn't expect that there would be any Scout business going on. Do you think you can handle it?"
Zoë grinned crookedly. "No problem. I'll just put on my 'must be pleasant to idiot foreign dignitaries' face." She began smiling vapidly and pretended to shake someone's hand. "Of course Mr. Ambassador, I love embassy balls. Dance with your fifteen-year-old stuck up twit of a son even though I'm supposed to be working? I'd be delighted."
Cassie giggled and shook her head. "I hope that it won't be that…boring at least." The girls sat in silence for a moment, minds going over their up-coming roles.
Zoë scrubbed her face with both hands. "Seriously, how do you tell someone that you are a reincarnated warrior from a kingdom that turned to dust 25 millennia ago?"
Cass shrugged. "That's not something that I have much experience with. I spend most of my time avoiding those kinds of confessions. You can practice on Chris if that would help."
"Chris?! You want me to tell your brother! Wouldn't that make it difficult to keep your own identity from him?" Zoë asked incredulously.
"It would if he didn't already know," Cass deadpanned.
"Why do I get the feeling that you haven't told me everything?"
"I get that feeling quite often." Chris said as he came back into the kitchen, this time fully dressed.
Cass cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at her friend. Zoë ran a nervous hand through her loose curls, wincing as her fingers caught on knots and tangles. "Chris, can you keep a secret?" she asked the boy.
He grinned and winked at his sister as he answered. "I guess I'm pretty good at it." Zoë turned to face him as he propped himself up on the counter. She closed her eyes for a moment and gathered her courage. She climbed to her feet and thrust a hand out at him.
"Hello, I am Zoicite, one of the four members of Prince Endymion's personal guard." Chris snapped to his feet, shifting automatically into a defensive stance before looking past the ex-Negaverse general at his sister. What he saw in her reassured him. He relaxed quickly and took the offered hand.
"I thought that you were dead." He smiled at the girl while examining her carefully.
Zoë grinned; glad that he hadn't jumped her like she had thought he would at first. "Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerate."
"So I see." Chris began pumping her hand enthusastically. "Are you here to help keep my sister out of trouble? I can use all the help I can get!"
"You need an entire army, not just me!"
"Please don't encourage him! He's bad enough as it is!" Cass pleaded from the table. 'Good job Chris, make her feel at ease.'
They all laughed as the tension in the room eased.
"Hey sis, what is that third thing?" Chris asked after flirting for awhile longer with Zoë.
Cass looked puzzled for a minute before remembering the earlier conversation. "Oh yeah, I need you to make yourself scarce this afternoon."
"Why?"
"Because I'm hosting an impromptu Scout meeting."
"When are you going to introduce me to the rest of the gang?" Chris looked mildly hurt.
"When Venus decides to let me."
"What does Venus have against me?" Chris looked really hurt now. He had put a lot of time, energy, and trouble into helping the Sailor Scouts. Not to mention the mortal danger that he had been in at times.
"It's not what she has against you, it's what she has for you."
"Huh?"
Cass grinned wickedly at her now confused brother. Mina didn't want to tell him, because she was enjoying the attention Chris was giving her way too much to risk loosing it when he found out. Cassie didn't think that it would change anything between the pair, except maybe make them that much more at ease with each other, but she was willing to let the Love Scout make her own decision.
"Never mind. Will you go elsewhere, or do I have to mush you up?"
Chris leaned over to Zoë and said confidentially, "Never let your siblings get super power. They'll use it to get their way all the time."
"Get on with you now!" Cassie shook a finger at her grinning brother.
"I'm off to find Mina then. At least she can't beat me up on whim." Chris waltzed out of the kitchen to find the golden-haired girl that had so thoroughly caught his attention.
"That's what he thinks," Cassie muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Zoë asked.
"Nothing. Let's go get straightened up," she shooed Zoë towards the door. "Frankly, my dear, you look like hell!"
"Oh thanks! I wonder why?" The two girls headed upstairs.
********************
Zoë examined herself in the mirror with some satisfaction. She put her green studs back into her ears and gave her cream blouse one last tug to pouf out the bottom. The blouse was a bit big, but then Cass had been more blessed the figure department than she had. All of Cass's slacks had been a bit too short for her, so she was wearing a tan skirt. She twirled to watch the full skirt bell out in the full-length mirror. She rarely dressed so femininily. Oh, she wore girl school uniforms; to do anything else would have freaked out her very conventional parents a bit too much. But, outside of school, she always wore things that hid her sex. She had never really understood the impulse to look like 'one of guys.' That same impulse had driven her to excel at anything that was concidered a typical boy thing. She played baseball, skateboarded with the best of them, rode dirt bikes, and had done anything to meet or beat any 'male' sport or event. Well, now she knew why. It was a hold over of her Silver Millennium personality. Zoicite had had to prove herself over and over again to get her place in Endymion's Guard. After she had won her place, she had gone out of her way to make the male dominated military of Earth more comfortable with her by down playing her gender. "Well," she said to her reflection, "this is a whole new world, a new time, and women's lib has finally come to Earth. No need to act like a guy so as not to 'rock the boat.' Watch out Negaverse! The new and improved Zoicite is here!" She gave her reflection a Sailor V-esque victory sign.
"You had better watch doing that around Venus. She might sue you for copy right infringement," Cassie called as she walked out of the adjoining bathroom clad in a robe. She crossed to the bureau and picked up her brush.
"I take it Venus is possessive of her image?"
"That's putting it mildly." Cass began brushing her hair. Zoë watched in the mirror's reflection.
"What should I do with my hair?" She piled her curls on her head and examined it critically.
"I don't know Zoë. There's not much time left though before they should start arriving." Cass quickly twisted her own hair up into a bun and began sticking pins in it with ruthless disregard for rhyme or reason or her own scalp.
Zoë sighed as the nervousness she had been suppressing came flooding back. "Just toss me the brush will you." Cassie complied before pulling off her robe and slipping on a yellow sundress. Zoë pulled her hair back in her normal low ponytail with a loose lock before each ear.
"Are you girls decent?" a voice called from the hallway.
"No Percy, but we are dressed!" Cass answered.
"Funny." Perseus pushed open the unlatched door. "It's almost two."
"Ready My Lady Guardian?" Cassie asked her friend.
Zoë squared her shoulders. "As ready as I can be Your Highness."
"Lead on Perseus." Cassie smiled encouragingly at the nervous girl. "Just think, it can't be as bad as facing Negaversian army."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Zoë put on her 'pleasant' mask. The cat led the two girls out the doors.
*********************
"It's two ten! Where can they be?" Zoë paced up and down the living room. Cassie sat serenely on the couch; Perseus curled up beside her.
"Relax Zoë! They'll be here." She glanced down at her cat and said very softly, "They had better be, or someone is in deep trouble."
"They'll be here milady." Percy opened one closed eye. "Remember, this is supposed to be a social engagement. They're just being fashionably late." He closed his eye again and continued his catnap.
"I'm going crazy!" Zoë made another turn around the room.
"That's it! Sit down Zoë, before you drive me up the wall!" Cassie snagged her friend as she came by and forced her to sit down. A second later, the doorbell rang and they both jumped to their feet.
"I'll get it. You just sit back down." Cassie composed her face back into calm welcome before heading to the door. Zoë sat and waited, her nervousness roiling in her stomach like a snake.
After what seemed an eternity, Cassie came in with four girls. The blonde had a white cat draped over her shoulder. 'They're the Sailor Scouts?!' Zoë thought incredulously. She knew three of the four from the high school. Amy Mizuno, school genius, Lita Kino, the tallest girl in school and rumored to be a great fighter, and Mina Aino, the big Sailor V fan. The last girl was only vaguely familiar. Zoë had seen a few times with the others after school. 'Oh my! Amy must be Sailor Mercury. Lita is Sailor Jupiter. The unknown is a dead ringer for Mars. That means Mina is Sailor Venus! Poor Chris! His girlfriend can beat him up! Wait! If those girls are the Scouts, then Sailor Moon/Princess Serenity must be…Serena Tsukino?! It can't be! That girl is not the least bit princess-like! She's a walking representation of ditziness!'
"Girls, I'd like you to meet my dear friend Zoë Wilton. Zoë, you should know Amy, Lita, and Mina. This is Raye Hino. She goes to T*A Academy. The cat is Artemis." Zoë smiled at the raven-haired girl and filed away her name and the cat's.
"I'm pleased to meet you, all of you." She hid her amazement and nervousness behind a wall of iron in her mind.
"Everyone take a seat and I'll go get the refreshments." Cassie walked into the kitchen with Percy following at her feet.
The silence was deafening as the girls stared at one another. Artemis climbed down into Mina's lap as they all sat down and proceeded to go directly to sleep. Finally Amy cleared her voice, "Zoë, you're a senior aren't you?"
"Yes I am…" 'Thank you Amy!' "You all are sophomores. How are you liking your classes?"
"They're a real bummer!" Mina said, eager to start some kind of conversation. "Especially English!"
"You have to read Huckleberry Finn, don't you?" Zoë asked. The younger girls nodded. "I really hated that book. At least I got an A on the paper."
Mina's eyes lit up. "You did?! Can you give us some pointers?" She leaned forward eagerly.
"Yeah," Lita answered, "I really don't get all that symbolism with the river and all."
"Well…" Zoë began.
"Mina! Lita! You shouldn't ask her for help! You haven't even read…" Amy protested.
Mina quickly slapped her hand over the blue-haired girl's mouth. "Of course we have! Go on Zoë!"
Zoë laughed and began explaining the significance of the river.
***************
When Cassie came back with a tray loaded with snack food, the conversation was in full swing. Even Amy had relented enough to argue interpretations with Zoë. Mina and Lita were scribbling down notes as quickly as their hands would go. Only Raye was sitting back studying Zoë through slit violet eyes. Cassie's own eyes narrowed. She should have known that Raye would suspect something. The emotional atmosphere would set off her psychic senses no matter how deeply Zoë and Cass buried their reactions. She glanced down at the cat at her feet. "Percy," she whispered under her breath, "Distract Raye." The cat nodded once and bounded across the room into Raye's lap. The startled girl looked down at him in amazement as he rolled onto his back and began batting the cord to her hooded sleeveless jacket. After a second she gave into the cuteness factor and played with him. Cassie smiled wryly at the scene.
She walked over to the coffee table and set down the tray. "Dig in everyone!" She sat down with a sigh in a Queen Anne chair. The living room's understated elegance went well with her plans. She only hoped that she would be able to keep her jagged nerves under control. Exhaustion pushed at her resolve, but she was determined to carry off this very important first meeting, not only for Zoe's sake, but because she sensed a looming crisis. She knew on a bone-deep instinctive level that every ally would be needed soon. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, Raye was staring directly into them from across the coffee table. The concern she saw in those violet eyes warmed her. She had rarely had the luxury of supportive friends in her endeavors. She rose to her feet and headed back to the kitchen to get more food to replace the rapidly disappearing pile. Amy, Lita, Mina, and Zoë were deep in their conversation and didn't notice her leave. Raye followed her after dumping Percy into her chair.
"What is going on Cassie?" the priestess asked when the kitchen door swung shut behind her.
Cassie didn't even turn from the sandwiches she was making. "It's a long story Raye. And one that I would rather only go over one time, once Serena and Darien get here."
"Does it involve Zoë?"
"It involves all of us," she placed both hands flat down on the counter and leaned heavily on it. "I hope that you all will be patient enough to hear me out before doing anything rash. I don't think any of you are going to take my news well at first."
"Can't it wait? You're stretched so thin that I'm surprised that you're on your feet." Raye moved over to the older girl. Cassie looked over at her.
"No, it can't. Can't you sense the urgency in the air?" The girl's gray eyes were so dark that they looked black.
Raye stretched out her psychic senses and caught a sudden glimpse of the danger that Cassie feared. The priestess grabbed the other girl's shoulder as she reeled from an invisible blow. She shivered as barely heard wild, mad laughter echoed in her mind's ear. "What was that?" she whispered.
"I'm not sure. But we are going to need all of the help we can find to face it. Including Zoë and any others we can dig up."
"Who IS Zoë?" Raye asked, her fingers unconsciously digging into Cassie shoulder.
"I'll explain later. Please trust me Raye." Cassie said quietly.
Raye nodded slowly. They stared at each other for a moment. "Cassie, are you psychic too?"
Cassie smiled sadly, "No. I am the Scout of the Planet of Memory and Music. I can sense only echoes of the past, not the present or future like you can."
Raye frowned in puzzlement. "If you can only sense the past, how can you know about this new menace?"
"The only thing that I can think of is that it's not a new menace. In fact, it feels absolutely ancient." Cassie picked up the tray of finished finger sandwiches. "Could you grab that bowl of chips?" Raye nodded and followed the older girl back into the living room, lost in thought.
They set their burdens down on the coffee table. Raye picked Percy back up and sat down again in her chair.
"Hey Cassie? What about something to drink?" Mina asked. Just then the doorbell rang again.
"Get the door Cass, I'll get the drinks," Zoë said as she climbed to her feet.
When the two girls were out of the room, Mina leaned forward to look around Lita at Raye. "Raye! What's up with you? You haven't said two words."
"It's nothing," Raye said. Mina looked skeptical, but didn't press her friend.
"What do you think of Zoë?" Lita asked the others.
"I like her. She seems like an old friend already." Amy said quietly.
"Yeah, she's a lot cooler than she seems at school," Mina added.
Lita nodded in agreement. "That's what I think too. I wonder why she's such an outsider at school. She's a lot of fun."
Loud laughter floated into the room. "There's Serena the Hyena. I guess we can get down to business now." Raye said, taking refuge as always in sarcasm.
"Business?" Amy asked, "I thought that we were here for social visit." The blue-haired genius's mind began racing over the possibilities of types of business Raye could be talking about.
Cassie came into the room followed by Darien and Serena. Luna leapt down out of the meatball-headed girl's arms and walked over to where Artemis had stretched out in a patch of afternoon sun in the floor.
"Hey Serena! Why don't you and Darien sit on the love seat?" Mina suggested with a mocking leer. Darien blushed slightly at the innuendo in the girl's voice.
"Great idea Mina!" Serena began dragging her boyfriend in that direction when Zoë came through the kitchen door with a tray loaded with cups of soda. She caught sight of the man who had been her liege lord and dropped the tray from suddenly nerveless hands. The crash drew all eyes to her.
"Oh! Are you all right Zoë?" Serena began moving toward the pale girl before anyone else could react. She stopped as a rock hard hand grabbed her arm and drug her back. "Darien!"
"What is she doing here?" the dark-haired boy demanded. He had instantly recognized her as Zoicite. "In fact, what is she doing alive?"
"She is here because she is my guest," Cassie answered calmly, but her tone warned him to back off. "Never mind the mess. I'll clean it up." She brushed past the man who had once been her cousin on her way to the distraught girl in the kitchen doorway.
Darien ignored the warning. "Do you know who that, that witch is?"
Cassie stopped and turned to face him. "She is my friend Zoë Wilton." Her gray eyes were cold with suppressed anger.
"Darien, what is going on?" Serena asked as he dragged her behind him.
"She is also the monster that almost killed me! She is Zoicite!" With that statement, the rest of the girls surged to their feet with transformation pens in hand.
"Darien…" Cassie growled and took a threatening step toward the young man. Lita started after Cassandra, but Raye grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Cass. Don't." Zoe's trembling voice stopped her friend in her tracks. The former Negaverse general stumbled over to kneel at Darien and Serena's feet. Her voice was low but steady when she bowed her head to him. "I am Zoicite." She looked up at the young man with tears in her eyes. "I am sworn to serve you. Do with me as you will, my liege."
"Oh Darien," Serena breathed. She was unsure what it meant to have one of her worst enemies kneeling to her, but in spite of her loathing of Zoicite, her heart went out to the girl at her feet.
"Don't listen Serena! It's a trick!" Darien snapped. His memories of the treacherous Negaverse general taunting him were far to clear for him to trust this girl.
"That is enough, Mr. Chiba! How dare you insult a guest in my house!" Cassie's control over her glacially cold anger was slipping as Darien's rejection of Zoë caused her friend to begin to cry.
"How dare I? How dare you bring this snake near Serena or me!" The epitaph caused Zoë to crumble. Raye sensed the girl's fragile hold on her sanity begin to slip as Zoë again cursed herself for succumbing to Beryl's control and thus betraying her prince. The priestess dared the Darien's hard eyes to go kneel by the girl and hold her as she cried. The other Scouts looked back and forth between Zoë and the royal couple in confusion, uncertain how to react.
"Now you have gone too far. You always were arrogant and close minded my lord prince, but this is more than I can tolerate." All eyes snapped to Cassandra. The chill in her voice could have frozen the sun. "If you cannot see on your own that Zoicite is a faithful warrior, your faithful warrior, then I will simply have to force you to see." Silver power began to flow over her like living flames. Her sundress shifted into a floor length silver gown, with a wide scoop neckline, long bell-like sleeves, and a dropped waist. The sleeves were lined with burgundy as was silver ribbon that tied her hair back and draped down to brush her bare shoulders. The fitted bodice was the same deep burgundy.
"Cassandra, I…" Perseus began before his charge's frozen eyes turned to him. "I'll be quiet now," he said cowering down to the ground, with ears laid back and tail tucked.
Cassandra turned back to the young man who would one day be her king, if everything worked out as Pluto had planned. "You have wished to know something of your past, then so be it." The silver aura around her turned slowly to burgundy, as did the girl's gray eyes.
"Cassie, what are you doing?" Serena asked, frightened by the raw power that whipped through the room like a living wind.
Cassie simply intoned, "I call on the power of Athena, upon the power of Memory. Show all these now here the past as it truly was. Athena Memory Vortex!" Burgundy power raced out from her and engulfed everyone in the room.
***********************
Raye looked around amazed. She was in a huge spring garden, but she wasn't really there. Everything seemed frozen in time. She could still dimly feel Zoë in her arms, so she reasoned that she hadn't really left Cassie's living room. She sensed the presence of the others, including the three cats. Therefore, she was only mildly surprised when she heard Cassie begin to talk.
"You are now passive observers of echoes of the past. We are not really here and can only watch what unfolds."
"This is wicked cool!" Mina disembodied voice said.
"Yeah, this is better than that virtual reality game Darien and I went to!" Serena squealed.
"Cassie! What do you think you're doing?!" Perseus demanded.
"I didn't feel like arguing with Darien about Zoë. Besides I promised to tell everyone as much as I could about the past, so I'm just killing two birds with one stone." Cassie answered her voice no longer as cold, but still brooking no argument.
"I don't see how showing me the past could change my mind about Zoicite!" Darien snapped the name out like a curse.
"Shut up and watch Darien!" Raye snapped back, her own temper beginning to fray under the barrage of barely controlled emotions.
"Enough!" Serena commanded, "I want to see, no matter what the purpose is. Go on Cassie."
"Thank you, Your Highness. This is the Royal Gardens of the Earth Palace. It is a few days after Endymion's thirteenth birthday. It is traditional that on a Prince of Earth's thirteenth birthday that his personal guards be chosen from all of the young warriors on the planet in a great contest. These guards are to become the core of his own court when he comes to his majority and inherits his political power from his father. They will be his closest confidants and in most cases a prince and his personal guard become as close as brothers do, for they grow up together. Unfortunately, Endymion always liked to resist tradition when ever possible. He didn't like the idea of having people not of his own choosing following him around, and he didn't bother to hide his opinion from his Guard. This particular incident is my own first meeting with my dear cousin's new guardians. Let the story begin." Cassie unfroze the image.
The view zoomed in on a section of the sprawling garden by a small lake. A thirteen-year-old Endymion sat on the ground in formal tunic and hose tearing up leaves and tossing the pieces into the water. A younger child stood at rigid attention behind him, clad in a gray uniform with green trim. Every once and a while the prince would disgustedly look over his shoulder at the child before reeking more destruction on the foliage.
A commotion in the bushes attracted the child's attention and she turned her face into sight for the first time.
"That's Zoicite!" Amy exclaimed.
"Yes," Cassie agreed, "Just watch."
The commotion drew closer and the young Zoicite drew her dagger and placed herself between it and her prince. Endymion rolled his eyes and stood up. "Zoicite, we are in the middle of the Gardens. I don't think there would be any enemies here. It is probably just some gardeners or something."
"As you say, Your Highness," the girl replied, but didn't let down her dagger.
A disheveled white haired boy of about Endymion's age struggled out of the bushes, his uniform torn and dirtied. He was followed closely by two other boys, one with short blonde hair and one with long chestnut hair, carrying a struggling bundle. The first boy came to attention in front of the prince.
"My Lord Prince! We have captured a spy!" said young Malachite.
"Yeah, a real dangerous one!" said Nephrite as the bundle bucked again.
"You're telling me," muttered Jadeite. He was sporting the beginnings of a black eye.
Endymion looked interested for the first time. "Well let's look at this spy."
"Yes My Lord!" The bundle had gone quiet at the sound of Endymion's voice. The three boys quickly unwrapped the blanket from the bundle to reveal a gagged and bound young girl dressed in an old tunic and a ratty pair of hose. She looked furious under the mess of brown hair almost hiding her face.
Endymion stared for a moment and then grinned wickedly. "Good job men!" He stood up and began pacing regally back and forth. "This is most certainly a dangerous spy." The girl was shooting daggers at him with her eyes. She began struggling again. Nephrite and Jadeite exchanged weary glances and moved to hold her still.
"Malachite, what do you suggest that we do with this spy?" Malachite's chest swelled with pride.
"Well milord…"
"My Lord," Zoicite interrupted, "I don't think this girl is a spy."
"How do you know? You're just a girl!" Malachite sneered.
"You must be mistaken Zoicite. This a very dangerous individual." Endymion shushed the girl.
"But My Lord…"
"Quiet! I know best! After all I am a Prince!" The 'spy' rolled her eyes and lunged at him again, this time managing to drag both Jadeite and Nephrite forward a few feet.
"She's a feisty one! Maybe we should start with torture first, before we question her," Endymion smirked at his captive.
"Torture?" Nephrite looked wide eyed at his prince.
"Yes, torture. Nephrite, Jadeite, Malachite, go dunk her in the lake." The three boys exchanged glances and moved to obey. The bound girl began bucking and fighting again.
"My Lord!" Zoicite protested again, "You can't do this!"
"No he can't!" a new voice declared.
"Your Majesty!" Zoicite went to one knee. The three boys dropped the bound girl like a hot potato and did the same. The girl hit the ground with an oof heard even through her gag.
Endymion tensed and turned to face the voice. "Hello Mother, Father."
"What do you think you are doing Endymion?" the king asked.
"It's just a little joke," Endymion hung his head and stubbed his toe in the grass. He didn't look very princely right then.
"A joke? Perhaps you would like to explain this joke my sister?" The queen stared disapprovingly down at her son. 'He's almost as tall as I am now' she thought.
"Not really mother. Queen Daphne has quite a temper. Zoicite untie the prisoner."
Zoicite complied. She cut the ropes and the gag and helped the girl to her feet. The girl shoved her hair back revealing a pair of gray eyes; very very peeved gray eyes.
"Hello Uncle Endymion, Aunt Andromeda," she said. The three male guardians looked at each other and said "Uh-oh."
"We are so dead," Jadeite whispered. The other two nodded in agreement.
"Cassandra are you all right?" asked the queen as the girl came up to her.
"I'm fine, but I'd be better if you would turn your back for a minute." Cassie eyed her cousin measuringly. Endymion began backing up.
"Of course dear." The king and his queen turned around. "Malachite, Jadeite, Nephrite, and Zoicite please come stand by us." The Prince's Guard obeyed as quickly as humanly possible. They all purposely didn't watch as Endymion was thrown headfirst into the lake by his younger cousin.
"Are you done Cassandra?" the queen finally asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. For now at least."
"I don't believe you've been introduced to Endymion's Guard yet."
"No, I haven't, Uncle Endymion."
"This is Malachite, Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoicite. Guardians, this is Princess Cassandra of Athena." The three boys exchanged guilty glances as they realized that they had not only manhandled royalty, but that this particular royalty was the Crown Princess of an allied nation.
Malachite took a deep breath and stepped forward. "We are sorry, Your Highness."
"Oh that's all right. You were just doing your job." Cassandra grinned. "You had better go fish your prince out before his brain shrinks any more." The three boys rushed off to do that. Zoicite started to follow. "Wait moment Zoicite."
"You seem to have everything in hand, Cassandra. We will continue our walk now." Cassandra curtsied to the king and queen as they walked on, followed by the elder Endymion's personal guard. One of the guardsmen stopped by Zoicite and put a hand on her shoulder. "You did well, youngster. Part of the duties of a Royal Guard is to keep your charge from making an ass of himself or at least try to prevent it. Just remember that sometimes you just can't save him from himself." The man nodded to the princess and followed after his own charges.
Cassandra looked the girl up and down. Zoicite stiffened under her appraisal. "So you're the girl who dared to win a spot on Endymion's Guard."
"Yes, Highness."
"Oh relax!" the princess grinned at Zoicite. "I approve! The stiff-necked jerks around here need to be shown that girls can be warriors too. You'd think after being part of the Silver Millennium Alliance for almost fifty years now would convince them that women are just as capable as they are." Zoicite blinked in surprise.
"You think that girls can fight too?"
"Of course! Does it look like I'm practicing to be a perfect little lady?" Cassandra gestured at her ragged boy's clothing. "You can't do anything fun in dresses. Hey how old are you?"
"Eleven."
"Me too!" The two girls grinned at each other, instant friends. "Let's go show the newest mess of male warriors what we can do!" They ran off after the boys.
The scene froze again. "Zoicite and I were friends from that moment on. I spent as much time as possible on Earth between my duties as both a princess and as a Sailor Scout, playing with my cousin and his guards. Endymion finally gave into tradition and grew very close to his guard, all four of them. In fact, he and Jadeite spent most of their time thinking up horrendous practical jokes to play on everyone and their brother. The rest of us spent most of our time keeping the two of them out of trouble." Cassie trailed off in contemplative silence.
"So Endymion's Guard are to me sort of like the Scouts are to Serena," Darien said softly.
"Yes. You recognized Zoë as Zoicite because she is bound to you by ancient oaths." Cassie's voice still contained a hint of cold fury.
"Can you show us anything else?" Serena asked softly.
"If you wish Highness. But first I must tell you that I can only show you events that I remember, so the visions will only be bits and pieces of the Silver Millennium, and only things that I was personally involved in."
"Anything is better than nothing," Amy said.
"Yeah!"
"Please Cassie!"
"Alright. This happened a few years later." Cassie sounded resigned, but she was secretly pleased to be able to use her powers to enlighten rather than to destroy.
Next time on Sailor Moon: Serenity's Court
The Scouts are eager to learn more about their lives during the Silver Millennium, but will they like what they discover? Find out in: Visions of the Past.
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