CHAPTER THREE

Malachite quickly dismounted and unsheathed his own sword, but Endyimon waved him away. Malachite obediently stepped back, but did not resheath his sword. Instead, he closely watched the woman holding the weapon to his prince's throat.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear," she was saying, former arrogance replaced by pure steel. "She belongs to me. I don't know if that little act was planned or simply poor discipline, but this is my last and only warning. Touch my maid again, and I'll kill you. Look at her the wrong way, and I'll kill you. Harm a hair on the heads of my guards or my servant, and I'll kill you. You do not want to mess with me. Do we understand each other?" Her eyes flickered over to Malachite's, and a chill ran down his spine. In spite of her furious words, the girl was perfectly calm and controlled. She was either insane or very skilled. After that little feat, he suspected that it was probably the latter. He certainly didn't want to see her angry.

When the prince nodded, the girl spun and threw the sword at the fallen form of the soldier that had attacked her. It landed perilously high between the man's spread-eagled legs. *Nope*, he thought, half- amused, *I definitely don't want to see her mad.*

General Malachite gestured, and a handful of soldiers stepped forward to lead the captives away. Meek as lambs, the princess, her maid, and the three guards followed quietly behind.

Malachite wondered just what kind of training these people had had. If the princess was that spectacular, what must the senshi be like? Even the maid was more than she seemed, with those knowing eyes and hidden smile. She may be acting frightened, but he doubted that it was anything more than just an act.

He watched them leave, marveling at the confidence and grace that echoed their every movement. The princess and the maid were escorted back into the chariot, while the three guards were tossed onto leashed packhorses. As the princess stepped up to the carriage, she tossed one more look back at Malachite's direction. The fading sun lit the girl's hair to a gleaming gold, and her eyes seemed almost amber as she looked over her shoulder at him. Had he been any other male in the solar system, he supposed that his heart probably would have stopped beating at the sight of her. As it was, he told himself that he felt absolutely nothing at all. Absolutely nothing.

Stay away from us. Don't get in my way. The voice in his head was tinged with gold. He whirled, looking for the source, and soon realized that the golden voice came from the princess. Shocked that she'd penetrated his shields, Malachite immediately tried to return the favor. He sent his will barreling toward her shields like a battering ram. He did not appreciate being violated like that. His will hit her with enough force that she should have fallen immediately. Instead, he was the one that almost fell. Only years of training kept him from collapsing. She was strong.

Contemplating the twist the moon princess' abilities would put on Endyimon's plans, Malachite wandered over to the still-prone body of the princess' attacker. The man's hands were not bound, and soon he would be carted away to a makeshift prison. Endyimon would decide what to do with him later.

As Malachite came closer to the body, he noticed the sword imbedded in the soil, halfway to the hilt. When he tried to pull it out, he almost dislocated a shoulder. He glanced back in the direction the princess and her retinue had been taken. *Gods. What are they?*

*************************************************************************************************************


Mina and Serena were escorted into a small, mostly bare room. The floors and walls were cold, badly poured concrete. Two tiny, uncomfortable looking cots lined one wall of the windowless room, and a door on the second wall opened to a latrine the size of a tiny closet.

As their escort locked them, alone, in the room, Serena sat wearily down on one cot. Mina paced the room carefully, looking for any escape routes or possible weapons. Knowing she would not find any unless she transformed and blew their cover, she sat on the other cot. Only a few minutes had passed before she started to pace again.  Serena watched her, and the misery and fear on her face that she'd hidden from their captives earlier was evident now. Mina sighed, knowing that the princess wanted a reassurance that she simply couldn't give her. "I made contact with one of them," she said instead. "The silver-haired man. He didn't seem so bad."

Serena's eyes widened with surprise. "I thought that we were maintaining mental silence," was her only comment. "Why'd you pick him?"

Mina shrugged. "I guess he reminded me a little of Artemis." She hastily changed the subject. "You seemed to like the prince. Have you changed your mind about marriage?" she teased.

Serena blushed, knowing she was officially caught. "Don't tell the others, especially Lita. I'd never hear the end of it."

Mina chuckled. Seeing that Serena was happy made this entire annoying ordeal worthwhile. "What'd you think of him?"

Serena blushed an even deeper red. "I liked his looks." Her face drooped again. "I miss mother and Luna."

Mina sighed. "It'll be all right, Rilly," she said, sticking to Serena's alias. "I won't let anything happen to you. I'd give my life or prince funny-name's first." Serena nodded numbly, but something was obviously still bothering her. Mina sighed again. "What is it, Rilly?"

Serena hesitated, then asked in a low voice, "Would you really have done it? Killed the prince to protect me, I mean?"

Mina looked directly into Serena's eyes. "Do you really want me to answer that?" Serena nodded, so Mina continued. "Yes, I would have killed him. I still will kill him, if he tries to hurt you." Serena looked away, unable to meet Mina's frank stare. "Listen to me, Rilly. You and I are not the same, and we never have been. I am, first and foremost, a soldier. I was trained to kill, but I would never take the life of anybody unless it was absolutely necessary. Please believe me when I say that I am not a killer!"

At the note of pleading in Mina's voice, Serena finally looked up and met her eyes. She smiled, saying, "Of course, I know you're not. We've been friends for years, and I know you'd never hurt an innocent. Now," she said in an uncharacteristically sensible tone, "we should get some sleep while we can. They're probably going to interroga- interview us soon." She stretched out on the cot and was fast asleep in seconds.

Mina obediently lay down, but she couldn't sleep until she'd checked on the other senshi. She Sent her will to Raye alone, hoping that the limited contact wouldn't be detected. Raye? she called softly. Are you guys okay?

Immediately, Mina's mind was filled with an image of a cell much like her own, occupied by the three senshi. The entire picture was tinged with the deep red that usually characterized Raye's mind-voice. We're fine, but we're not alone. Mina saw a quick image of the three men who had been with Malachite and the prince earlier.

In swift reply, Mina Sent an image of her cell, along with one of Serena sleeping peacefully on the cot. Continue to stay silent. she warned. Cooperate physically and don't fight, but don't tell them anything.

Red tinged Mina's thoughts once again. Got it. Satisfied, Mina finally closed her eyes and allowed sleep to overtake her.

*********************************************************************************************************

Raye felt Mina's mind leave her own, and turned unobtrusively to the three generals questioning them. The one with the green eyes and brown hair was staring at her, a knowing smile on his lips. Glaring at him, Raye sent a narrow, focused thought beam at Lita. They're okay. Cooperate, but stay silent. Lita tipped her head slightly in subtle acknowledgment, and then repeated the message to Amy. Their strategy was Mina's idea, of course. She'd warned them before they left that some humans were capable of limited telepathy, but that they probably couldn't follow a Sending if the same person didn't repeat the thought to every individual.

The young general with the blond hair and green eyes, Zoicite, had latched onto Amy as the person most likely to break under their continual questioning. Amy, however, thought that their idea of torture was laughable. For all of their seeming meekness, Mercurians, as a people, had been adept at torture. Their ingenious minds had had the centuries before the creation of the Silver Millennium to devise every method of torture in the galaxy. She kept a nervous frown on her lips, but Raye could sense the laughter hidden beneath it. Amy may have been the weakest of the senshi, but even she was unimaginably powerful by human standards.

While still musing over Amy's abilities, Raye suddenly felt a sliver of thought probing her mind. Though the probe was easily deflected, she threw up additional shielding. Recognizing the brown-haired man as the source of the probe, she spun to face him. "Stop that!" she hissed as four pairs of eyes turned to hers questioningly. "He's been probing us the entire time," she explained angrily to the other two women. "There's no telling what he's gotten from us."

The man drew himself up from the wall against which he'd been leaning, and smiled suavely. "Quite the contrary, I didn't get anything from you. Your shielding is very strong. However, I don't need to invade your minds to learn your secrets."

"What are you talking about? You won't get anything from us." The anger in Lita's voice was accentuated by the fighting stance she'd assumed.

The general, Nephlite, watched her from heavy lidded eyes. "I beg to differ, pretty one. You see," he whispered conspiratorially, "I know you're female. What's more, I think you're more than just low-level guards. You're senshi."

Lita growled, and lightening sparkled in the air around her head. Lita! Raye Sent before the tall girl could blow their cover. Lita calmed herself with difficulty. "Yes, we're senshi. Of course," she continued thoughtfully, "knowing what we are won't help you if you're dead." She grinned menacingly, and a tiny lightening bolt flared between the fingers on her right hand. She held the hand up, prepared to strike, but Amy stepped between the angry girl and her target.

"Stop that," she said harshly. "Killing them won't help." She bent and blew gently on Lita's lightening, which promptly froze.

Lita shook her hand violently, and the frozen bolt fell to the floor and shattered. Bits of lightening escaped and danced harmlessly up the walls. "It'll make me feel better," she muttered rebelliously.

Amy glared at her, but turned to the slightly stunned generals before Lita could get riled up again. "Generals," she said formally, bowing slightly to each in turn. "Being fellow soldiers, I'm sure you realize that we're not going to talk. You might as well leave us alone." Her voice was even and calm, but it contained a warning as well.

The last general, Jedeite, started to protest angrily, but Nephlite's voice interrupted his tirade before it could begin. "Ladies," he said in his smooth voice. He dragged Jedeite from the room, a hesitant Zoicite following. Though they immediately shut and locked the door behind them, Raye could still hear them arguing in the corridor.

"We can question them later, Jed," Nephlite was saying. "They're not going to break no matter what we do. They're senshi."

Jedeite growled, but answered, "You mean if they're senshi."

Zoicite piped in, saying, "They're senshi alright. Did you see the way they played with the elements like that? Gods, to have that power. . ." His tone was envious.

Nephlite grunted in agreement. "We'll watch them. They can't do anything as long as they're locked up, anyway. We only have to wait until Darien talks their princess around."

Lita snorted at the man's arrogance. Nobody could talk Mina around to anything she didn't want to do, and they certainly couldn't convince Serena to abandon her own people to marry a barbarian kidnapper. "You should have at least let me punch one of 'em," she said facetiously.