"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all"

O. Wilde, "The picture of Dorian Gray"'s preface, 1890

* * * * *

Sephiro, terrestrial quarters

Emma sunk in the tub filled with bubbles, and she hummed "I'll take the rain" by R.E.M. That evening she going to go out; but not with her colleagues: Ferio had invited her at dinner in one of Austina's best restaurants. At the beginning, Emma had felt uneasy: going out with another country's king wasn't scheduled in the rules; but after having thought about it for a long time, the woman had found nothing wrong. After all she and Ferio knew each other for almost two months and they had become close friends.

Emma got out of the tub and wrapped herself in the bathrobe; she dried her hair and body and finally she got into her underwear. She got out the bath and opened her closet, putting on the bed all the civilian clothes that she had brought with her. Loveday raised her eyes from her magazine and watched her roommate try on the clothes before the mirror. Emma seemed difficult, because she mumbled:

"I seem so cheap! This tank top makes me seem a Swiss milker and these pants widen too much at bottom."

"Do you need any help? I have the impression that you having some difficulty in dressing youself."

Loveday grinned watching Emma's face in the mirror.

Emma searched again among her clothes for something really nice; she then lifted a broderie anglaise shirt and wore it.

"Loveday, what could I put with this shirt?"

Loveday examined Emma's clothes and shook her head.

"Of yours, nothing, but I have a miniskirt that shouldbe perfect."

The girl opened her closet and after having found the miniskirt, she handed it to her friend. Emma wore it and looked in the mirror making a face.

"Isn't it too short? It covers just my panties..."

"You should also wear a pair of pantyhose: that would be very sexy!"

"I remind you that I am a Captain."

Emma ended grinning. Loveday putted her hands on her sides and said with the same voice:

"You are the one that has been invited to dinner by Mister Hottie (that is Ferio). Do you want me to lend you a couple of condoms?"

"Loveday, this is just a simple dinner between friends."

"My experiences taught me that friendship doesn't exist between a man and a woman."

Loveday said oddly serious.

At the end Emma found the perfect dress and Loveday helped with her hair and the make up.

"You are perfect!" Loveday said satisfied "If Mister Hottie doesn't have a crush on you this evening, it means that he is a gay."

Ferio sat at the Red Prawn's counter, waiting Emma. He had known that that today was her birthday, so he had invited her to his favorite restaurant. Ferio felt for Emma some conflicting feelings: from a sideshe was just a friend, and from the other, something else. He found an explanation in her resemblance with Fuu. However he was the King of Sephiro and she a terrestrial soldier: even if what he felt was something more than a simple friendship, this fact excluded each relationship too intimate with her.

Ferio was watching the fishes in the aquarium when anybody patted his shoulder; he turned and saw Emma smiling happily.

"Good evening your Highness: I hope that you haven't waited for me for a long time."

"Good evening, Captain Kisaragi. I have come about five minutes ago. But please, call me just Ferio."

"If you call me Emma, Ferio!"

Emma replied smiling. Ferio looked at her and ran out of breath: the young woman wore a spaghetti strip knee length cream dress with golden embroideries that wrapped softly around  her body, showing her florid curves. Her hair were loose with the curls, sprinkled with some golden glitter, it all fell well-kept on her shoulders. She wore a sparkling wisteria pink eye shadow and the night blue eye-liner that emphasized her almond-shaped eyes, while her full lips were veiled by an ancient pink lip gloss. She wore sandy slippers and a baguette bag of the same color. Emma was the picture of beauty.

Emma threw a sigh of relief when she saw that Ferio wears something more informal: the usual royal outfit was replaced by dark green trousers, a jacket and a shirt-like white cloth. She smiled more relaxed: it would have been very embarrassing if everybody in the restaurant knew whoever that man was - especially if one of her colleague was there; but Emma must admit that Ferio seemed odd with those clothes!

Ferio noticed Emma's little smile and took her hand.

"Well, Emma, it's time to reach our table: follow me."

Emma followed Ferio upstairs and reached the terrace on the bay. The tables had arranged around the center, leaving the sufficient space for the waiters to move freely and for the customers to dance. The terrace had lit up by paper lamps and on each table there was a glass bowl -like those for the goldfishes- half full of water and with floating water lilies-shaped candles. Ferio made sit Emma and he ordered their meal. They ate, chatting happily about this and that.

After the dessert, Emma took a lighter and a cigarettes pack and wondered:

"Do you mind if I smoke a cigarette?"

" Ahem.... no, don't worry."

Ferio stammered not understanding well what Emma meant. Emma smiled and began to smoke quietly. Ferio watched her for a long time and he then said a little bit worried:

"How do you not choke with that smoke? I have never seen such a thing!"

Emma giggled slightly and said:

"We can say that it is a family vice: granny Betsy smokes as a chimney and my mother, just when she is nervous. I am an alternative, after all I have begun just to imitate my grandmother!"

Ferio smiled and moved the look on the sea lit up by the moon.

"Why don't you speak me about your family? Since we know each other and you haven't ever spoken about them."

Emma leaned on the chair doing smoke rings.

"There are four: my parents, my twin brother Saiki and I. They live in Kyoto, where my father has an import-export society; my mother works for a computer firm while my brother teaches sciences in an elementary school. I moved seven years ago in the United States to become a top-gun."

"And you have succeeded. " Ferio laughed,

"Talk me about your parents."

Ferio didn't know why he was so curious, but he said to himself that probably his curiosity bore from the fact that remembered few or nothing about his parents.

"Well, dad and mom known each other since kindergarten. They are together since when they were thirteen years old and after about three years they have gotten married."

" Your parents have gotten married at the age of sixteen!?"

Ferio exclaimed astonished. Emma nodded.

"They were secretly engaged, but my mother became pregnant and they couldn't keep that hidden: luckily my grandparents took the news fairly well and the Old Hiro organized, in a great hurry, the marriage. It wasn't easy because my father didn't have the age for get married, however at the end, they got the documents. What do you tell me about yours?"

Ferio bit his lip, he then sigh and said:

"My parents have died when I was five years old –I don't remember them very well- and my sister has died about twenty-six years ago. She was... she was the Pillar of Sephiro, the /last/ Pillar."

" Oh, I am sorry! Was your sister sick or...?"

Ferio shook his head.

"Being the Pillar, her duty was that to keep Sephiro prosperous and in peace, that's why she spent her days praying. But there were some problems that carried Sephiro on the edge of destruction: so she evoked the Magic Knights to save Sephiro. It was a horrible battle."

"Therefore your sister has died during the crisis."

"More or less. To save Sephiro the Magic Knights killed my sister: her only guilt was to be in love, and the Pillar could think /only/ of Sephiro."

Emma gasped and the cigarette fell on the dessert's dish.

"Oh My God! You have always spoken well about these Magic Knights, and now you tell me that they are your sister's murderers?! How do you can pass over such a thing?! I wouldn't forgiven have them ever!"

Ferio smiled sadly.

"Emeraude wanted to die, the Knights Magic just granted her wish: they too were very shaken by what happened, they discovered their mission's true purpose only in the end."

Emma puffed and set fire to an other cigarette.

"Sure that you are quite a weird guy: sometimes it'svery hard for me understand you."

The two were silent for some minutes watching the couples dance; Ferio stretched a hand and said grinning:

"Do you want dance with me, pretty lady?"

Emma took his hand mirroring his grin and following him on the terrace's center. After two or three songs, Emma peeped at her watch and exclaimed:

"Heaven, it's late! I am sorry to cut this date short, but I must go back to the base in twenty minutes!"

"Don't worry. If you want I could take you there."

Amazed, Emma looked him but she then smiled grabbing her purse and walking with him out the restaurant.

Ferio and Emma walked telling jokes along the roads lighted up by the moon.

"... the man looks his friend and says: the other day I went back home two hours before the usual and I didn't find anyone at home. I went in bedroom and I found my wife in bed with an other man, then I shouted: 'Agila, what are you doing?!' and that answer me ' You don't see it, fool?! '"

Emma burst in laugh and grabbed Ferio's sleeve; he laughed at her reaction.

" Do you want me to tell you an other one?"

" Oh no Ferio, it's better no: another laugh and I will dislocate my jaws. And he then complains that his wife calls him fool!"

Emma was said drying her eyes with a new burst of laugh. Before come to the base's entryway, the couple stopped to say goodbye. Suddenly Ferio remembered something and took a little pack from his pocket.

" Happy birthday Emma, I hope you like it: if I had more time I would have taken you something more... great."

" The thought is what matters more," Emma smiled opening the unexpected gift," Thank you, it's a really nice necklace!"

Ferio helped Emma to wear the necklace: it was a simple gold chain with an emerald. Emma leant to kiss Ferio's cheek; he unthinkingly turned and their lips grazed. Both withdrew.

"I am sorry Emma! I don't know why I did it, I am sorry!"

Emma watched Ferio with an embarrassed face, and oddly he remembered the first time that he had kissed Fuu. Suddenly Emma grabbed Ferio's shirt's collar pulling him in a depth kiss.

Emma went in the bedroom: she didn't need to switch on the light to know if Loveday was awake or no, what she heard was more than sufficient. The woman launched a quick glance to the bed and said:

" Good Loveday evening, good evening Miguel: are you two having fun?"

The two of them peeped out from the heap of sheets very embarrassed and the young man saluted the woman:

" Go-good evening Captain."

Emma rolled her eyes and grumbled going in the bathroom:

" Stop being a clown: when I get out of the bathroom you must be as far away as possible from this room. This is a military quarters, not a fucking hotel!"

When Emma got out the bath there was no Miguel's trace: satisfied, she sat on her bed and began to change her clothes. Loveday watched her attentively and then said:

" Did you have fun?"

Emma nodded. Loveday grinned mischievously.

" /What/ did you do?"

" Surely not what /you/ were doing with Miguel. At least does he know that you are just using him?"

" He uses me too, the thing is mutual. Beautiful necklace, where do you find it?"

" This?" Emma say taking the pendant," It's Ferio's gift: I have forgotten that today is my birthday."

" Well, happy birthday Emma."

" Yeah, quite a happy birthday."

==================================TO BE CONTINUED==============================

I know very well that now you hate me, and I assure you that you'll hate me more! Tee hee...  (evil laughter)

P.S: I don't know if you have noticed it, but since this chapter –except for TGW- I have a beta-reader to help me: thank a lot Joanni, this chapter is for you!