Seiya walked into his room and sat down on his bed. "What time is it?" He thought out loud as he flopped down onto the bed.

"It is three o'clock in the morning." A female's voice rang out from the darkness in his room.

"Nani yo?" Seiya sat up and peered into the blackness of his room.

"Seiya-san." The voice said. "I have been waiting for you for quite some time now."

"What for? Who are you?" Seiya went to his light switch.

"I wouldn't turn that on if I were you, it would be wise to leave the lights off." The voice said again.

"Why?" Seiya squinted his eyes and made out a figure in the darkness.

"Because, if you turn the lights on, the guards will know that you are here, and then I'd have to leave."

"Who are you?" Seiya placed his hand on his ornamental sword, hoping that maybe it would bring him protection if he needed it.

"Who I am is not important at this point in time. But . . .if you listen to what I say and follow it precisely then I will be able to reveal who I am."

"Why should I trust you?" Seiya was worried.

"You have no reason to trust me, although I am going to try and rely on your good faith." The voice sighed. "I need you to protect her, if you do this thing for me, I will make sure that things will work out."

"How do I protect her?" Seiya's eyes narrowed.

"Unfortunately, to protect her is going to have to be to hurt her. Your Queen will send for you in the morning, I am urging you, ignore your heart to protect her. Onegai, Seiya. If you only do this, then things will work out perfectly. It will seem like you will hurt her, but . . . it is the only way." The voice wavered a little, as if she (the voice sounded like a girl) was going to cry.

"I'll try and do that, but I can't guarantee anything."

"Arigato Seiya. Just remember, the right thing will look like the wrong thing, ignore your heart and save her." The voice started to get distant and disappeared all together.



Seiya stood in his room for a moment, confused. He shrugged and flopped down on his bed. "I must be sleep deprived." He fell asleep quickly.



Seiya awoke to a sound of loud knocking on his door. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes.

"Ojisama Seiya, are you awake?" The male's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Come in," Seiya got out of his bed.

The head of the guards, Nibori, walked in and bowed deeply. "Sir, Her Majesty, Queen Kimiko requests an audience. I am here to escort you, personally."

"I feel honored." Seiya rolled his eyes and went to his mirror and brushed his hair and pulled it back into his ponytail and turned back to Nibori. "I guess I'm ready." He left his room, being escorted by three other guards.

'It's so weird, just like that woman said in my room last night. But was that a dream?' He thought to himself as he walked down the hallway.

As Seiya got to the Main Hall, he noticed that there were two extra guards on duty on the doors. He noted that this was odd, and when he went into the Main Hall he saw that Yaten and Taiki were standing near the throne . . . along with Usagi. Only two guards were guarding her, and she was wearing . . .chains? "What the hell is this?" Seiya walked into the throne room, a little angry, to say the least.

"How dare you take that tone in front of the Queen." Nibori turned around and scowled.

"It's okay, Nibori." Queen Kimiko looked rather smug sitting on her throne. Nibori shook his head.

"You have a reason to be that way, Seiya. Your best friend is standing in the throne room in chains. I understand."

"How do you understand?" Seiya felt like yelling and slapping his smug queen right across the face.

"Your friend Usagi is going to be standing on trial, you see, she needs to be like that."

"Trail for what?" Seiya almost lost his temper and yelled. Taiki and Yaten both shot him worried glances. "She has done nothing wrong, she is a guest in this palace, if I remember correctly!"

"She needs to stand trial of treason." Kimiko calmly answered.

"On what grounds?" Seiya yelled this time, his voice echoing through the throne room.

"The grounds of seducing the Crown Prince and planning to overthrow my authority."

"What evidence do you have of that?" Seiya balled his fists at his sides.

"Enough, are you going to stand against her or for her?"

"I'll stand for her, and prove that she is innocent of such things!" Seiya knew what the punishment for treason was . . . death.

Usagi looked up at him, tears running down her face. The chains shook slightly as she sobbed quietly.

"Seiya, I'll give you a chance to make this all go away." Kimiko looked at Usagi and then at Seiya. "If you prove to me that you have no love for Usagi in any way, shape or form, I will spare her life."

"How can you say that? She is my best friend. Of course I love her." Seiya suddenly realized that was not the wisest thing to say, and Taiki covered his face with his hands. 'How can I say that I do not love her? I will break her heart.' He looked at Usagi and suddenly that woman's words echoed in his mind. **'Just remember, the right thing will look like the wrong thing, ignore your heart and save her."'**

Queen Kimiko raised her eyebrow at Seiya.

"I love her as a friend, your majesty." Seiya added.

"If you love her in the least, Seiya. Then I'm afraid that I'll have to have her killed. I cannot have her around here trying to seduce you!"

"You can't kill her!" Seiya yelled.

"Seiya . . ." Usagi whispered quietly. "It's okay, don't worry about me, a life without you is worse then death. Let it lie."

"Queen Kimiko . . .you just can't kill Usagi!" Seiya searched for a reason so his love couldn't be hurt. "You can't kill . . .royalty! You have no right to kill Princess Serenity!" 'Where did that come from?' Seiya thought.

"Princess Serenity?" Queen Kimiko looked down at Usagi in shock. "You . . .you are Princess Serenity?"

Usagi looked up at Queen Kimiko with hurt in her eyes. She nodded slowly, chains jingling.

"Oh my goodness . . ." Queen Kimiko placed her hand on her forehead.

"How do we know you are who you say you are?" Nibori stepped forward and scowled at Usagi.

"A little proof would be nice, Usagi." Queen Kimiko looked back at Usagi.

"What do you want? I don't do magic tricks!" Usagi felt hurt. They would have treated Princess Serenity much better . . . if only she had known that she was Princess Serenity then . . .

Usagi concentrated her power, her moon symbol glowed a bright white and everyone in the room was blinded. When the light went away, everyone in the room looked up to see Usagi in Seiya's arms, out of the chains and crying. "Gomen Seiya-san. Gomen . . ."

Queen Kimiko gulped. "Seiya, I will take away her death penalty if you promise to me right now and pledge to me that you do not love her and will not take her as your wife, that you will take the honorable Princess Kakyuu as your wife."

Seiya looked down at his love, his princess, his Kirro Maiden. He saw all of the love that was in her eyes and was about to say that he loved her with all of heart when a voice in his head said, **'Just remember, the right thing will look like the wrong thing, ignore your heart and save her."'** Seiya shut his eyes tightly trying to hold back tears. He gently let go of Usagi as she cried. Seiya bowed before the Queen, his heart felt like lead, his mind racing with a million things.

"I am loyal to you Queen Kimiko, I strongly refute the fact that I love Usagi any other way then platonically and I would be pleased to fulfill my princely birth right to marry Princess Kakyuu." He tried as hard as he could to restrain his tears.

"Seiya!?" Usagi couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It was a lie? All of it?" Usagi couldn't restrain her hurt tears. Taiki and Yaten looked at Usagi who was hurting so badly from this, they knew that Seiya loved Usagi, why was he doing this?

Seiya was still kneeling on the floor in front of his Queen. He couldn't move from that position, otherwise he would break down and cry right there.

Usagi ran out of the Main Hall, crushed from everything that had happened to her this day, after finally telling her love to Seiya, he had refuted his love for her.

As Seiya watched Usagi leave he quietly whispered, "Gomenasai, Kirro Maiden."

Things were quiet in the throne room for a moment; no one dared to speak.

"She must have been in love with you, Seiya." The Queen sighed.

"It was . . . an unrequited love, Your Majesty." He stood up slowly, and shakily. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go to my room, I still have to prepare some things for Kakyuu's birthday ball." He bowed again to the Queen.

"You may go, Seiya." The Queen nodded and Seiya left the room.

After a few moments, Kimiko said, "Taiki, go and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. And check up in Princess Serenity, okay?"

Taiki bowed slightly. "Hai, Queen Kimiko."



[A/N: I hope you like it thus far, the story actually took a turn for something I did not expect. Odd, ne? Sometimes my stories turn out a lot different then I thought they were going to. *shrugs * Okie, if you liked it, I hope you review! ^^ I'll get out the next chapter A.S.A.P.!]