Hi minna!
I'm SO sorry I didn't write this sooner... It's just that with the holidays and the visits to long-lost aunts, uncles, cousins and so on I had little time for myself, even less to write a fic. Else, to be truthful, my priority is 'Complex Cycles'. Well, on the good part, I already know how this story will go and I even have the epilogue and some scenes of some chapters. THANK YOU VERY MUCH to those who sent a comment, a word or just good vibes to encourage me to keep writing this story. Please stay with my muse and me! And send feedback to feed her (she is getting so thin these days...)!!
TITLE: To Choose A Wife. 1b
AUTHOR: Leni
DISCLAIMER: The characters are not mine.
DISTRIBUTION: Oops, in the first chapter I forgot to tell you that it will be yours the day it's finished... In the (nearly impossible) case I don't finish this I wouldn't want your homepage to have an incomplete story...
SUMMARY: Not too much action here, I'm afraid. Just setting the background for the next chapters.
RATING: I'm still not so sure. I think there'll be some steamy scenes here and there but I doubt it will get past R.
FEEDBACK: Well, to tell you the truth, I *am* making a *great* effort to write this. If I don't receive any, what would be the point of it? dani_vasq@hotmail.com , a_d_v_v@yahoo.com.ar
"" represents speech.
represents thoughts.
represents 'annoying little voice'. I.e. Conscience.
AN: I NEED A BETA-READER URGENTLY. Anyone interested?
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After the three Scouts left, only silence reigned in Raye's living room.
Setsuna and Darien were glaring at each other. One, waiting for the accusations she was sure her Prince would make, and the other one, waiting for the lecture Setsuna would give him if she really wanted to convince him. I'm NOT letting this pass without a fight, Darien thought She can't really expect me to... to *marry* now.
Raye glanced from one corner to the other. She could distinctly feel the tension in the room, uneasy vibes going from Setsuna to Darien and back again. The young priestess shuddered at the feeling of the atmosphere. She looked at Darien and Setsuna again and noticed both wearing determined looks. None of them was planning to subdue to the other. I better clear out the room and pray for the better, she decided.
"Well, I think I'll leave you two alone," she said aloud, "You have a lot to discuss about and I think it's better if you are alone."
Both figures nodded. Darien sat himself on his abandoned hair and motioned Setsuna to take her seat in front of him. He took a deep breath and started, "Why now?"
Setsuna looked into her Prince's eyes. She really didn't want to do this, but the time was getting shorter for these two. They have already wasted two years, after all. Still, she could not tell him her *real* reason, she could not decide for him on the identity of his future bride, he had to take his own decision. "You are already 21, Prince. It's time." It's not a complete lie, she reasoned, It *is* time.
"Why 21? Why now?" His voice sounded confused and nearly desperate Well, she is just ordering me to marry. I guess that can account for 'confused' and 'desperate' He continued, "Pluto, this just doesn't add up. You can't expect me to just choose from one of my best friends... It's... impossible for me."
She folded her hands demurely on her lap before answering. "Prince, your 'best friends' are the Scouts. In the current situation a scout *must* be the Queen." Of course, she can be a scout *and* a princess.... Bad thing I cannot tell him that. "It has been done this way since the beginning of time. As Amy just explained, the Prince must marry someone of power. Now that there are no good sorcerers or fairies to compete for the title, one of the scouts will have to do."
"And if I refuse..." His voice was slow and measured now. He meant it. Darien wasn't about to lose his freedom *and* his-- his-- What else is there to lose? Your opportunity to find love for yourself? Yeah, that.
"Your refusal would only mean the doom of this planet, Prince." Not a complete lie again, Setsuna pondered, But, without Crystal Tokyo, the world would succumb sooner or later to the dark forces.
He stood up abruptly. "Damn it, Pluto! It's impossible to condemn Earth for a marriage - or lack of one!" He looked down at her. I have to show that I don't fear her. She could be wrong. She *has* to. "I won't marry. Not now. And maybe not ever."
Setsuna raised her eyebrows. Here I am, playing Cupid for these two and how do they reward me? Of course, she wouldn't say that aloud. "You must," she answered coldly.
Darien studied her carefully. She showed no signs of defeat. Damn it! "And what if I had a girlfriend, huh? One whom I adored and who wasn't a scout or a witch or a...a fairy. Should I have abandoned her just because of a damn custom?"
"Yes." Else, there's just one person you could ever fall in love with.
Darien glared at her. How could this woman be so heartless. "I don't believe you," he muttered. It was impossible that the same woman he respected thoroughly could be doing *this* to him.
She flinched inwardly at his voice... She had never seen her Prince in that condition. Maybe she had gone too far... but then, it was her duty too... Maybe if I told him *everything*, then he would understand. "Darien..." she began. She noticed his enraged look. This can only turn worse if I told him the details. Maybe I need Love to come faster but it still must come on its own way. With this new decision, her resolve hardened and she faced the young man in front of her. "Marriage for you isn't a personal decision nor a privilege," she made a pause and gazed intensely into her Prince's eyes. "It's a duty."
Darien actually took a step back. "Then I quit!" he thundered. Just because she is the most powerful Senshi doesn't give her the right to interfere in my love life What love life? He didn't pay mind to that last thought. That was brooding-material for another time, maybe, when he got out of this mess. He directed all his fury and frustration at the green-haired woman in front of him. "Yes. Look for another Prince, Pluto. One who will follow this whim of yours."
Her back went rigid and in one second she was on her feet and looking directly into Darien's fiery gaze "Is that what you think? A *whim* of mine?" He can't think that! And what would you think if someone came to you with such news! She took a deep breath to control herself. "My Prince... This is my duty too." She conjured her staff and created a portal right there. "And yours is to choose a bride," she declared finally.
Darien stared at her and, seeing the determination in her eyes, sighed.
He left the room without another word.
Setsuna watched him until he disappeared from her view and then stepped into the portal. It's for his own good... and that of the world, too.
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Three figures were walking down the streets. They were three girls. They were different from each other as day and night, not only in appearance but also in characters and likes. Right now, though, the three were walking in silence, engrossed musing over their newest dilemma.
"It's not fair!" the blonde wailed.
Their reflections interrupted, the other two girls halted their steps and turned towards their friend with questioning looks. "Huh?" the brunette asked, finally.
The blonde sighed and collected herself so she could explain herself to her friends. "I mean, there was Setsuna telling that one of us had to marry Darien." The shorthaired one nodded. "Well, why doesn't *she* do it? Why has she to put the burden on us?"
"Oh yeah, Mina, I can already see it. Setsuna Chiba. Sounds nice." The brown-haired then turned towards the other girl. "Hey, Amy, do you think we could convince those two to marry and leave us in peace?"
Amy, the shorthaired one, nodded thoughtfully. "Yes." The other two smiled. The smiles faded when Amy's hopeful expression turned to a frown. "But think of her duty as the Time Senshi," she said, "She can't really marry. She would have to abandon her husband for years. Not healthy for a relationship."
The one called Mina sighed loudly. "You are right, Ames. As always. Doesn't mean I have to be content with it, though." She kept on walking. "But it's still not fair. Why *us*? After all, we five are not the only Senshi on Earth."
"No, we are not." the brunette agreed.
Mina continued speaking mindless of her friend's words. "There's always Michiru or Haruka or..."
Amy snickered softly. "I'm not so sure if Haruka will like Darien proposing to Michiru."
"Oh... " Mina blushed slightly. "I get it. So... no Haruka nor Michiru nor Setsuna in the list. Well, there's still one left, what about...?"
The ponytailed girl interrupted her in a reproachful tone. "You are *not* talking about Hotaru, are you?"
Mine just shrugged. "Well, Lita, she is also a Scout, isn't she?"
Lita's eyes widened. "Yes, one who is just 10 years old and sometimes only a baby." She suddenly had a vision of Darien in a tuxedo carrying a baby-Hotaru in front of the priest. She shook her head at the image. "Come on, Mina, you *have* to be kidding."
"Yes, Mina," Amy joined the conversation, "It would seem that Darien was a cradle robber, not exactly the image the Prince of Earth ought to maintain."
Lita seemed to think about Amy's words for a while. "But, girls," she began slowly, "if you consider that all of us are about 5 years younger than him... is it not 'cradle-robbing'?"
"Five years is not nearly as much as *ten*." Mina answered easily.
Lita raised her arms in mock-distress. "Why are you still thinking of Hotaru?! She is *out* the list, remember?" she chided her friend.
Mina stopped her walk and addressed the two girls in front of her. "Come on! It is not as if one of the Inner - of *us*- wants to marry Darien." Both girls nodded eagerly. "He is a nice man and a gentleman- " She strayed off thinking about Serena. "well, a gentleman when he wants to be," she added. "BUT, as a husband? No thanks."
"I agree, he is not my type," Lita stated vehemently.
Both girls eyed her curiously. Mina was the first to voice her opinion. "My God! Did you just say that a cute boy is *not* your type??"
Lita blushed. She knew well what her friend meant. She was known to check every guy in the vicinity and, if he was cute enough, always declare that he was like her old boyfriend and go all star-eyed and dreamy.
"It's a rare occurrence," Amy agreed. Of course, it was also way off the theme, but she believed they needed a rest from their moody musings about the upcoming wedding. "Guys like Darien have always exerted a great liking in Lita."
Mina wondered for a second at Amy's words but finally assumed that they agreed with her opinion. "Yeah, Lita, how comes Darien is not like your ex-boyfriend? He never even considered to marry you?"
"Shut up, Mina! At least *I* have an ex-boyfriend to talk about."
That effectively kept Mina's mouth shut. It was the truth, she had had no boyfriend since she had come to Japan. And to think I'm the Senshi of Love... what an irony!
For some moments the girls walked in silence. We still haven't found a satisfactory solution, Amy decided, if not now, when? "Umm... girls... going back to the main matter..."
Mina and Lita seemed to forget their fight and sighed. "Oh yeah... Darien," they sighed in unison
Mina suddenly brightened up. "I don't know what are we worrying about, if this marriage-thingie is really serious then Raye will gladly marry Darien." She grinned happily. "That's for sure!"
Lita looked at her dubiously, but tried to smile anyway Maybe if we corner Raye into it... Corner Raye? Are you crazy!? Any better suggestion? ... Thought so. So, maybe if we speak with her tomorrow and... Amy's quiet voice interrupted her plans.
"She won't."
"Huh?"
Amy looked at her friends nervously. Oh well! It's all out anyway. May as well confess it. She breathed in. "Raye. She won't marry Darien. I just talked to her last week. She's gotten over her crush on him," she explained.
Mina furrowed her brow in disbelief. "Impossible! Just in the last sleep-over she admitted to want to be someone's girlfriend." Lita nodded. She had been there, too, and heard Raye say those exact words. Mina continued, "You think she won't skip girlfriend and go directly to the wife section?"
Amy sighed Raye is gonna kill me. *Why* I am the one they trust in with their secrets? "She wasn't talking about Darien," she finally said. Amy could practically see the wheels turning in her friends' heads. In a second's notice the two girls were in front of her inquiring curiously about that last declaration.
"Not Darien?"
"Who else?"
"You sure?"
Finally, Lita took control of the situation and motioned Mina to shut up. She gazed at the shy Amy and asked very slowly. "Do you know something we don't, dear girlfriend?"
Amy gulped. Mina and Lita were smirking deviously. Raye would fry her alive when she knew... "Chad," she murmured.
Both girls squealed. "Chad!?"
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The full moon shone brightly over the gardens. From his spot on the bench, Chad could see his dark-haired love leaving the main house and going to her rooms. "Raye!" he called her a silently as possible.
Raye turned at her boyfriend's voice and smiled broadly when she saw him walking towards her. She welcomed him in a hug and kissed him softly.
"Are your friends still there?" he asked when the kiss finally ended. He put a hand in the small of her back and directed her to the bench he'd just left.
"Only two of them," she told him, "They, they need to discuss over something."
"Oh." He was curious about what could detain Raye's friends in the living room but decided to leave it at that. If Raye wasn't giving him any details, then she surely had a good reason for it. Still, it was not fair that *today* of all days there were strangers in that room.
"Why so disappointed?" Raye asked him when the silence was growing too evident.
He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed playfully. Raye giggled. He lowered his head and kissed her again. She didn't giggle for a long time. "I had a surprise for you," he whispered in her ear.
He face illuminated. "And what should it be?" she asked coyly while playing with the long bangs of auburn hair And to think I actually wanted him to cut it!
"It's a surprise, Raye!"
"Party pooper!" she pouted.
He embraced her. "As soon as they leave I'm gonna show you."
"Kiss me?"
He smiled and complied. After all, how would he be able to say 'no'?
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Mina, Lita and Amy were sitting around Amy's dining table. The three were nursing a steamy mug. It had been cold on the street and upon reaching Amy's house -the nearest from the Hikawa's Temple- they had decided to rest a while and drink a coffee, Mina and Lita still had to go to their respective houses.
"So what are we going to do now?" Mina asked after a long silence. They had been talking about school and even gossiping a bit about Mrs Haruna's new boyfriend. But now Mina felt they should confront this newest problem.
"About what?" Lita asked absent-mindedly. She was busy thinking about her best friend. The joke Mina had made hours ago had made her remember a guy who didn't resemble her old boyfriend *but* she liked anyway. If only... Mina's outrageous answer didn't leave her time to sigh hopelessly.
"About the whole wedding, silly!" What else could I be worried about? After all, if things went askew, she could be the one walking down the aisle towards Darien. No. No. No. I still haven't met my soulmate. It wouldn't be fair! But... "Setsuna will probably skin us alive if Darien doesn't marry. it would probably change one of her precious timelines..." Setsuna and her damn timelines! Wait! If Setsuna... Shoot! How did we not see it before? "That's it!" she exclaimed aloud.
"What?" Amy and Lita queried curiously at Mina's sudden outburst.
Mina looked at them with stars in her eyes. It is so simple... She hurried to explain her newfound solution. "Setsuna. She is the Time Senshi. She can see into the future. I'm sure she could tell us who is Darien's perfect wife."
None of the other girls reacted.
"Don't you think she would have told us right away had she wanted to?" Lita asked her.
"Well..." I hadn't thought of it like that...
Amy was the next to shatter Mina's illusions. "I'm sure that Setsuna had a very good reason to let current events unfold as they are doing." Even if she has no right to intrude in our lives. "Let's just hope she knows what she is doing."
The girl fell in silence again, each one of them musing about their situation.
Lita raised her head from her hands and stared at her friends. "Going back to Mina's question..." she began, "what do we do now?"
Mina smiled suddenly and then gulped. She seemed to muse over something before raising her voice slightly. "You are not going to like my idea, girls..." she said slowly.
"Last time I did," Lita grumbled under her breath, "I ended up sprawled on the fountain of the park in front of a group of cute boys." She shook her head at the remembrance. "It surely *can't* get worse that *that*"
Mindless to Lita's musings, Mina continued with her idea. "Serena is our solution."
Lita's eyes widened. "I stand corrected..." she murmured, and then, in a louder voice, "Are you crazy, Mina?"
Amy didn't seem as fazed as Lita was, instead she was quietly running the facts over head. Darien *must* marry a Scout. Serena *is* a Scout. And from what she just told me... "Actually, Mina has just mentioned the only possibility for us..."
Lita stared at the blue-haired girl dumbfounded. "But..."
"Do you want to *marry* Darien?" Mina asked looking at her intently...
Of course not! There's still Ken... "No! But..."
Mina smiled broadly. "Then there's nothing left to discuss!" she finished feeling very smug with her discovery. She turned to Amy and the shorter girl nodded.
Lita glared from Mina to Amy and back again. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "But... what about...?"
Amy was studying this new possibility from all angles. There *had to* be a way to push Serena into Darien's arms, and vice versa. "Now we only have to convince Serena!" she said.
Mina and Lita stared at her and rapidly assumed a crestfallen glance. "We are doomed," they said in unison.
Amy smiled at her two friends. "I may have an idea," she announced to the downhearted girls.
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The door opened noiselessly and the black cat entered the room of her ward as carefully as possible. Serena had been in bed with a bad cold all day, Luna didn't want to awake her motiveless.
"Hi, Luna."
So much for no awakening her! Luna raised her head and saw the blonde girl sitting on her bed, with her back leaning against the headboard. "How are you feeling, Serena?" she asked softly. Now she could notice that, from her position, the girl could see out of the window. Serena didn't turn her head towards Luna to answer.
"Oh, just peachy. With the medicine Mom gave me... everything is ok, I guess." Serena continued looking at her window. There she could recognise some stars and the full moon. Is that my real home? How is it possible? She had awakened from that weird dream some minutes ago. The first thing she had seen was the moonlight on her bedside. It had been impossible to resist the impulse to watch it, to relish under the light of... her home. Luna's voice interrupted her musings.
"Why aren't you sleeping, then?" Serena was looking a little... dazed, as if her mind were in another place. Maybe it was the effect of the medicine, Luna thought, nothing better than a good sleep to cure her. She is lucky that tomorrow is Sunday or she would have a hard time waking up on time for school. But even so, Luna had to acknowledge that Serena had become very responsible in these last years. Now she barely needed to awake her. And, when Serena slept in, it was only after a long night of studies. Who would have thought it?
"I was. It's just that I woke up and saw the full moon out the window..." Serena made a long pause and suddenly glared at her guardian. "Luna, do you really believe that I'm the Princess?"
Luna was surprised at the question. Two years after discovering her *other* identity and Serena asked just now about it. "You have the power," she answered sincerely. Such a question was strange... Was she having second thoughts about her newly embraced responsibility? No, couldn't be, not even at fourteen would she have ditched her rightful place in the world. "Yes, Serena you are Princess Serenity's reincarnation," she stated firmly.
Serena sighed. "But it feels so..." she stopped as if looking for the right word. Finally she gave up So what if I say it bluntly? "...wrong." Luna raised her eyebrows. Serena just continued. "I don't know.... Maybe Darien is right. Maybe I'm not cut for such a role."
Luna smiled. So that was it, she realised, She is doubting herself. It was not so rare, she was just a teenager after all. "I may have agreed some years ago, Serena." She saw as her ward's eyes dropped and began to water. "But you've matured. Really matured." She leaped to the bed and from there to Serena's lap. She waited until Serena met her gaze and then smiled mischievously. "Besides, who cares what Darien says? Isn't that your own motto?"
Serena's reaction was not what she had been expecting. Usually she would smiled brightly and say something degrading about their caped ally. now, though, she just smiled sombrely. "It doesn't matter if I care or don't. What matters is if he is right or not."
Where did all these doubts come from? Luna put a paw on Serena's hand and said as comfortingly as possible. "Believe me, Sere, you've earned your place. I'm sure that the Queen would be proud of you, of her daughter." Serena smiled. Luna continued. "The girls now respect you for your own worth, because you are a good warrior and a better friend, not just because you are the Princess." She retired her paw when she felt Serena petting her and purred lightly. Now Luna just added the final touch. "Darien Chiba was a fool when he said that about you."
"He is always a fool!" Serena said with a quivery voice.
Luna smiled to herself. It was not the usual banter but it was already something. However, as advisor and guardian, she had to scold her. "Serena..." she began.
"Ok, maybe not always," the girl relented, " Maybe when he is alone at home with no one around to hurt and slash at... maybe then he is nice."
"You know that's not true," said Luna patiently. She just didn't understand Serena's animosity towards Darien. True, they had had a bad beginning but... why was Serena so bull-headed when it came to him? She glanced sideways at the door. Yes, even in the dim moonlight she could make out the figure of Tuxedo Mask's poster. At least the little holes were unnoticeable. "Darien is a good young man."
"How should I know it?" Serena's voice was a little wistful, Luna realised. She sighed. Serena was right. If she was reluctant to form a friendship with Darien, then he didn't want to know a thing about the Princess.
"Well," she started and then stopped. What could she really say? She had seen them interact and she still wondered where the nice girl had learned such... expressions. 'Rosey.Boy'... No wonder he was so angry with her last week...
"Look, Luna. I really don't want to talk about Darien when I'm still feeling all dizzy and feverish," she voiced firmly and laid back on her bed.
Luna nodded in understanding. "Better sleep, Serena," she said and curled on her mistress' lap.
"Uh-huh..." She furrowed a little deeper in her covers. "Luna?"
"Yes?" the cat answered sleepily.
Serena looked up the full moon again. "How does it feel to be up there?" she finally asked. "Is it different? I cannot remember." She sighed when she remembered that last dream. "Sometimes... sometimes I can see myself in a garden of roses. They are so beautiful..." All of them were red, a present made just for Serenity, for her. She stopped her train of thoughts when she remembered the very last image. "And then I glance towards the sky and it is black. Not even a tiny star. And my immediate thought is "The Earth should be there tonight. Do you hear me, Luna? The *Earth*."
"Those are obviously memories of you past life on the Moon," Luna answered drowsily. She knew that the Senshi and even Darien were regaining traces of their past lives. It wasn't so strange that also the Princess was recovering her own.
"What did it feel like, Luna?"
Luna raised her head and followed Serena's gaze. There was the moon, glowing brightly in the middle of the star-filled sky. She dug into her memories trying to find a satisfactory answer for her ward. "It was.. different, I guess. I do not remember much of it, either. Gravity was different and the landscape was too. Nothing like here on Earth, that's for sure."
"Nothing like here, huh... maybe one day I'll know."
"Sleep tight,... Princess."
"Same to you."
Serena rested her head against her pillow and thought again of that strange dream. And the second thought is "He should be looking at me from there." She brought her covers a little tighter around her. She had no doubt that the dream would come back, as it had done during the last weeks. In fact, she was waiting for it to happen. I have to be crazy... I fell in love with a dream... a dream, which is only a nightmare in my real life. Maybe you are right, Luna. Nothing that survived the Moon Downfall is the same here... Not even Love.
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It's my duty. The thought revolved around Darien's mind for the thousandth time as he was brushing his teeth. Before that afternoon life was, well, complicated enough. Enemies to defeat, friendships to conserve and little princesses to make fun of. Nobody to love. That little voice was getting highly inopportune, he realised. He spit in the sink and rinsed his mouth. Now, though, Setsuna had come and tried to *force* him to love someone. It was just impossible. One cannot fall in love in one day. Even less with one of the persons who had accompanied him for years. If there had been no fireworks before, why now? He shed his shirt to the laundry basket and unzipped his jeans hastily. Setsuna had to be crazy if she actually thought he would make it. But it *is* my duty. Darien sighed as he put his pyjamas on. Half an hour later he was in bed and still unable to sleep.
This is crazy.
Darien understood what Setsuna had told him. Marriage for him was not a privilege but a duty. One he could not quit from. Damn it! He just refused to marry without love. Corny? Yes. Cliché? Of course. Completely unexpected in a person as cold as himself? That's what everyone would think. Maybe Darien himself thought it at one point or another. Now, though... he could not envision a life with one of his best friends as his wife.
Why not? All of them are sooooooo perfect! Yeah, it was not only inopportune but also *wrong*. It was *irony*, you moron!
The Outer Senshi was automatically out of consideration. I can already see Haruka wearing a tuxedo at the altar! And the Inner Senshi... well...
Mina? Too vivacious.
Lita? He couldn't betray Ken's trust. The ever-present best friend had confided in him his true feelings... Lita was out. Thank God for it. You wouldn't last a month together.
Amy? She herself had said it, they just weren't meant together. I agree with her. You two would be like ice and... more ice.
Raye? Well, he saw her kissing Chad at the mall last week, he doubted she would be very interested.
Serena? He preferred not to think about it. Yeah, why would you think of her annoying behaviour? Yeah... When she is just a brat and a nuisance. Yeah... When the only thing she does is to insult you with that mouth you could stare at all day. Yeah... what? Let's not forget those meatballs of soft, blonde hair and those blue eyes which you love to see blazing in righteous anger. WHAT?! Yeah, why would you think of her when it's so OBVIOUS that you ARE NOT thinking of her. Shut up! Not thinking of her harsh, harsh tongue and the way it would feel in your mouth... SHUT UP!
Definitely inopportune. Darien closed his eyes. It had been a stressful day. That was all. He had NOT been fighting with his conscience over... Serena.
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I'll gladly receive all kind of comments and suggerences. PLEASE review, send feedback. I need some to continue writing the second chapter. And if someone is a beta-reader, PLEASE help me! dani_vasq@hotmail.com , a_d_v_v@yahoo.com.ar
