Usagi and I stayed in my room for the rest of the day. We looked at many of the books, to her boredom. We also tried on all the clothes in my wardrobe.

During this time, we heard nothing from Diamond or Sapphire. Servants brought our meals directly to my room, so we had no reason to leave.

When the clock finally hit eleven o'clock, we were both dead tired. With a puppy-look on her face, and circles under her eyes, Usagi asked, "Ami-chan, could I please stay in your room tonight? I promise not to snore!" I shook my head and laughed. "Fine, Usagi-chan. You can sleep with me tonight. My bed's humongous, anyway…" Usagi smiled and hugged me. "Ami, you're such a good friend!"

I loaned her a set of pajama pants and shirt: silk, of course. We climbed into opposite ends of the bed, bade each other goodnight, and relaxed into the world of sweet slumber.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Swimming. Fast and hard. Ocean waves crash over me as I swim. No matter. I need to get away. It's after me, and I have to escape.

So hard to see. It's dark and stormy. Where am I going? It's not important. What is important is getting away from him. Embodiment of my deepest fears. Rejection. Pain. Heartbreak. Betrayal. He hurt me. I have to get away. Before it happens again.

He's getting closer. I can feel his frenzied breath on my neck. Faster! I need to swim faster! Kick, stroke, kick, stroke…

Lungs burning. Muscles fatigued. So hard to continue…

This is it.

The water, my guardian force…

Is now my end.

How wonderfully ironic…

Slipping into the darkness…

He's got me…

Can't fight it…

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

I woke with a gasp, and sat straight up in bed. Cold sweat drenched my face, and my heart thundered in my chest. Strands of my hair, damp with sweat, fell into my eyes. A nightmare. It was just a nightmare. I put my hand to my chest to still my heart, then swung my legs out of bed. Careful not to wake Usagi, I tiptoed into the bathroom and turned the light on. The marble sink gleamed, and I turned on the cold water. Splashing the cool liquid on my face, it brought me back to reality, and helped me forget the nightmare. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, while reaching for a hand towel. Drying my face, I looked in the mirror. I was pale, and my eyes were still wide. Was it more than just a dream? Could it be a reflection into my subconscious? I placed the towel neatly back on the rack, and turned off the light. Climbing back into bed, I saw that it was three o'clock AM.

Maybe I'm looking too deeply into it…I mean, it's just a dream… My head hit the satiny, luxurious pillow, and my eyelids grew heavy. Maybe I'll think about it later… The muscles in my body relaxed, and I began to fall back into the world of slumber. The frightfulness of my dream faded into the darkness, and I yielded to fatigue.

Just before I fell asleep, a slight noise jarred me awake. It sounded as if the door creaked slightly. My eyelids fluttered, and I held my breath for a moment. The noise didn't come again, so I dismissed it. Taking a deep breath, I attempted to get back to sleep.

When my body relaxed into the soft mattress, I heard another sound. Like muffled footsteps. I kept my eyes closed and took deep, steady breaths to pretend I was asleep. This time I was sure that someone was in the room.
Though I was relaxed and calm on the outside, I was alert, and my mind was racing. Questions flew through my mind: Who is it? Why are they here? How did they get in? Do they want to cause harm?

The panic feeling arose again in the pit of my stomach when I heard to footsteps near my side of the bed. I thought back to when Sapphire kidnapped me from my apartment, and the terror I felt then. Well, both the memory and the feeling were recurring at that moment.How could I have fallen for a man who made me feel this fear?

The footsteps neared closer to me. I could hear the carpet slightly give underneath the weight of the intruder. My ears picked up the sound of every fiber bending, each movement of the intruder's legs, and as he approached, every breath he took. I was listening so hard, I could almost hear each blink of his eyelids.

Finally, he was right next to me. I started to curse to myself; I was facing the edge of the bed. He could see my face, and if I made a facial expression, he would know I was awake. Breathe deeply, stay relaxed… It took everything I had not to start trembling. I could feel his eyes on me; he wasn't moving at all, just standing there next to my bed. He took in a deep breath, and I could hear the oxygen move through his nose. I wish I had my henshin pen…but I don't. This intruder could be here to cause harm, and I won't let that happen! I have to summon my courage and take action! I won't sit here and allow myself to be terrorized any more!

Unfortunately, it was much easier said than done. What would my goal be? To scare him? Hurt him? Make him wish he'd never trespassed? In a moment, I formulated a plan—simple, but a plan nonetheless.

The man stepped forward, out of the shadows, closer to me. Step by step, he inched closer to my bed. Closer… He proceeded to come forward even more, until he was right next to me. I could feel his body heat as he knelt down; I could feel his eyes on me; I knew he was off-guard. NOW

In one fluid motion, I snapped up into a sitting position and grabbed hold of the blanket. Before the intruder had time to respond to my fast action, I cast the sheet on his head, grasped it tightly, and wrestled him to the floor. Surprise is the best tactic I brought his hands behind his back and pressed him into the carpet, and put all my weight on top of him. "Thought you'd sneak into my room?!" I angrily spit out.

The lights went on and Usagi fearfully asked, "What's going on?"

The intruder fought against me, and it took all my strength to keep him pinned. "This guy decided to sneak in on me!" I said with much difficulty. I looked to her and said, "Give me a hand!" At that moment, the man threw me off his back and stood. I crashed to the ground—hard, while Usagi screamed, "Ghost! Aaah!"

The intruder ripped the blanket off his head, and I sat in shock.

Sapphire stood in front of me, wearing a pair of Black Moon boxers, a white T-shirt, and a face as red as a lobster.

"Sapphire!?" Usagi and I shouted in unison.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Muahahahaha! Yes, after months of not updating this fic, I am leaving you at a (slight) cliffhanger! I'm going to be greedy and ask for 25 total reviews! I need a whopping FOUR more reviews before I will update again!

But seriously, press that little purple button and let me know what ya think so far! I need some constructive criticism here!

EDIT: I fixed the spacing probs, so no more huge gaps!

~The Author

aka MM83