Rini turned the rose over in her hands so everyone could see.

Tuxedo Mask peered closely at it. "That's amazing," he said. "It's almost exactly like - Sailor Earth, your hand!" He moved in to inspect her wound.

Rini drew back a couple of steps. "Uh, no, it's fine, really. No don't - " She moved her hand out of his reach.

Sailor Mercury stepped forward and smiled warmly at her. "May I? I am a doctor."

Do I let her? Rini wondered. She bit at her lower lip. Her hand hurt, a lot. She'd never be able to bandage it on her own without anyone noticing. She cautiously offered Sailor Mercury her hand.

"May I see your rose?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"Why?" Rini frowned.

He pulled out a red rose. "I'd just like to compare the two. They seem very similar."

"Oh. Um, okay." She handed over the rose.

"It's a moderate burn," Sailor Mercury declared. But I have some supplies back at the Palace that'll fix that right up. If you can stand to walk back with us, that is." She winked at Rini.

"Um." Rini glanced up at her mother, who had stopped her conversation with the other three Scouts to hear her answer. "I .I guess so." Her hand really hurt. She bit her tongue to keep from whimpering.

"Great." Sailor Mercury put her arm around Rini. "We're ready to go Your Highness."

"Good. We left in such a hurry and Rini's all by herself. I hope she didn't go wandering off somewhere. Let's go."

*

Back at the Palace, Sailor Mercury led them into a small medical facility adjacent to the training area. She sat Rini down at a small table. "I'll be right back," she said and walked into the next room.

Rini felt like a trapped rat. Everyone else had de-transformed and she was still in uniform. At this point she just wanted to go back to her room and sleep. No such luck.

"Sailor Earth, you're welcome to . relax, if you'd like," King Endymion said, indicating everyone else's "royal-casual" wear. Lady Amy came back with some bandages.

Yeah right, Rini thought. "I'm comfortable, thanks."

Serenity frowned. "But -"

"Welcome back Highnesses. How did it go?" asked a voice from the floor. Saved by Luna, Rini thought. This gets weirder every day.

"Luna!" Serenity picked up the small gray cat. "Pretty much the same as before. But we have something new to think about." She pointed to the teal rose.

"Wow, it looks just like one of Tuxedo Mask's roses!" Artemis said.

Luna rolled her eyes. "Thanks you Mister Obvious," she muttered. "She looked at Rini. "Do you have any idea what this may have to do with you?"

Great, if nothing else, Luna knows bullshit when she hears it. Now what? "Um."

"You must be Sailor Earth."

"Huh?" Diana had addressed her.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Sailor Earth, this is Diana, Luna and Artemis's daughter. She's Rini's cat. Speaking of which," Serenity stood, "I need to talk to her. Diana, do you know where she is?"

Rini shot her a quick, desperate look. "I believe the princess has gone to Randy's for the evening, Your Highness," Diana replied. Rini let out a small breath.

"Nuts." Serenity sat and looked at her watch. "Well, if she comes back at a semi-decent hour, could you have her come see me please?"

"Of course Your Highness."

"All done!" Lady Amy said as she closed the last bandage. "The ointments and powders will allow it to heal more quickly, but don't take the bandage off for at least 24 hours. And definitely don't scratch it."

"Don't scratch it. Right. Got it." Rini stood quickly. "Thanks, thank you, but, um, I really should be going."

"Nonsense!" Lady Mina said. "You're tired, it's getting late, and we wouldn't dream of letting you walk home, or wherever, by yourself. You can sleep in the guest room next to mine!"

"Thank you, really, but -"

"Or the one next to mine," Lady Mina offered. "In case your hand starts to hurt again."

"I don't think -"

"How about the room next to Rini's?" Diana suggested.

"Bu - huh?"

"It's a lovely room. The princess sometimes sleeps in there just for a change of scenery. You two have met, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

There was a long pause while everyone thought it over.

"That's a great idea," Serenity said. "I'll show you where it is." Serenity led her out of the room, briefly glancing back to give everyone a thumbs-up sign.

Serenity led Rini down a long polished hall and up a wide spiral staircase to another hallway. This is so surreal, Rini thought. It's like it's familiar, but it's not. Like I've never seen these halls or these pictures before. Her eyes lingered on a formal picture of the Scouts and her parents. Maybe I haven't. I always go through here thinking about where I should have been five minutes ago, rather than where I am. Too weird.

Serenity stopped in front of two nondescript doors. She pointed to the one on the left. "This is my daughter's room," she said.

"Are you and your daughter close?" Rini was curious.

Serenity fingered the knob of Rini's door. "I like to think so," she said. "I guess we used to be closer. Lately she'd been studying, either princess stuff or regular academics. Either that or she's with friends."

She leaned on the doorframe and lowered her voice, talking almost to herself. "And Darien and I have all these administrative duties, and now this new enemy. I just wish that there were something we could do together. I miss her."

Serenity sniffed, then straightened and composed herself. "What about your parents? They must be worried about you, running all over Tokyo in the middle of the night. Or don't they know?"

"They don't know," Rini said quietly.

Serenity nodded knowingly. "I remember hiding being a Sailor Scout from my parents when I was your age. It isn't easy."

"No it isn't."

"For a while, Luna was the only one who knew, the only one I could talk to without worrying about revealing something. Then I met, well, re-met, the other Scouts and it felt so good to have other people to talk to, even though I was growing apart from my other friends. It wasn't that I couldn't trust them; it was for their protection."

Rini nodded.

"Sometimes I wondered how they could stand to be around me, when it seemed to me that I obviously had this big secret. It's hard to trust people who have secrets."

Rini glanced up and locked eyes with her mother briefly before lowering them again.

Serenity opened the door to the other room. "Here it is," she said. "If you need anything, just come downstairs. Good night."

"Good night," Rini whispered. Rini walked into the familiar yet foreign room and closed the door behind her. Her legs gave out and she slid down to the floor and burst into tears.

"Rini? What's wrong?" Diana asked as she came through the hidden door between the spare room and Rini's room.

Rini picked up the small cat and held her close, feeling comfort in the warm, fuzzy fur. "Too many close calls tonight, Diana. Too many close calls."