Chapter Four-The Tragic Death of Monera

***Three Years Later***

"Monera! Get a move on. We're hungry!" Black Pegasus exclaimed,as he glared at the woman with her toddler child.

"Yes. I'm coming." Monera picked up Cyla,who had been contently playing in a pile of dirt;her only sandbox. "Come on. You're going to make Lord Ikki mad. Get that tray for Mama,will you?"

"tay,Mama." Little Cyla picked up the tray of dinner rolls,and followed her mother out into the dining hall.

"Well now,it's about time. You will move faster in the future,won't you?" The way Black Dragon spoke,it was not a question to answer,but more of a command.

"I'm sorry. Cyla's been-" She was stopped by a sharp slap.

"No excuses. We told you before if she henders you work, she will be put out. We've no need for a brat such as her." Black Swan leered at her.

"Please don't!"

"Swan! You will learn to control your temper,damn it!" Lord Ikki called over the woman's snivieling. "Cyla,come and give me one of those delicious rolls." He smiled at the curly blonde child,as she walked over. "Your father all over, you are." He said quietly.

Cyla blinked up at the cruel man in suprise. This was the first time in a long time he'd spoken so gently to her. She held up the tray of rolls for him. "Here go." She said softly.

"Monera, you will allow my boys to begin training her today." Ikki told her mother,as he buttered his roll.

"Train her?" Monera looked at her master questioningly. "She's only three,My Lord Ikki."

"Ah yes,well,we'll just start lightly." Ikki left no room for argument.

Monera was speechless. "If it is your will,I cannot stop you." She finally replied,her eyes downcast.

"That's what I thought. Pegasus,Dragon, come with me. Swan, Andromeda, you prepare Cyla for her first lesson. Monera, carry on with your duties."

"Yes sir." They all replied.

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"I don't like the look he had!" Shun exclaimed.

"He's up to something cruel. Why train Cyla to be a Black Knight?" Seiya asked.

"Because he obviously knew of my plans to make her a Bronze one." Sienna answered, a hint of anger in her voice. "I'm really glad Hyoga's not here to witness this treachery."

"That makes three of us." The knights chorused in unison.

"Do you guys want to find out what happens next?" Sienna asked,unsure if she even wanted to know.

"We owe it to Hyoga to find out,don't we?" Shun asked. "I mean....we still don't know how I fit into the picture."

"That's true." Shiryu agreed. "Alright. Let's go to see what Ikki wanted to tell those two."

Seiya nodded. he was outraged by this latest look into little Cyla's life. First Black Swan kills Hyoga, then Ikki decides to make her the very thing that destroyed her home! I don't like this at all! "Let's go." He chimed in now, his jaw set.

"Yes. Let's go." Sienna led the group into Ikki's private room.

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"You wanted to see us,boss?" Pegasus asked.

"Yes. It's time to be rid of Monera. She will only weaken Cyla by babying her." Ikki replied,with a sneer. "Her time is up."

"My Lord, are you sure you want to do that? What will you tell Cyla?" Black Dragon asked.

"I will tell her nothing. She has no business questioning me to begin with."

"Yessir." Dragon replied. "How do you plan to dispose of the woman?"

"A deep poison,which will only put her into an eternal sleep. What you do with the body is your business." Ikki replied,standing up. "The Phoenix Knight stood up,and headed out of his chambers. "Do it tonight, after the brat is asleep. The poison is in your room already, Pegasus. Do not fail me."

"We won't." The two black knights assured him.

Later in the night,Monera was finishing up her night work, when Black Dragon walked in. "I didn't wake you,did I?"

"Of course you did. You always do,wench." He grumbled. "Get me a drink."

"Yes sir." Monera put her drink down, and went to the kitchen sink, to get him some water.

Black Dragon came up behind her,and held her there,so that she couldn't turn around while his friend Pegasus dumped the poison into her drink. "No,that's too warm! Colder!" He ordered.

"Yes sir." Monera repeated,refilling the glass. She wasn't comfortable with the way he was restraining her. "Here is your water."

"Thank you." The black knight released her. "You should go to bed." He added.

"I will. As soon as I'm finished with my drink."

He nodded,and left the room. Pegasus was waiting for him. "That went well."

"Yes it did. And soon,Cyla will be ours! She's got more power than even Ikki had at that age."

"Yeah…my jaw still hurts….what a kick!" Black Dragon rubbed his injured jaw,then smirked. "Maybe it will be Black Swan who makes her his. He was looking for a way to hurt Hyoga even more."

"Perhaps. Come. Let us go to bed." The two knights walked off to their separate rooms,and to bed.

Monera was feeling especially drowsy by the time she reached the room she shared with her three-year-old daughter. She collapsed on the bed,sleepily. "Good night my little swan princess…." She whispered to the child sleeping in the cot close to her,as she fell into a un-ending sleep.

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The next morning,Cyla awakened before her mother did. She toddled over to her,and shook her. "Mama,wake!"She patted her mother's arm with her little hand, failing to notice that the woman wasn't even breathing. "Mama,up!"

"Cyla, what is all that racket?!" Lord Ikki demanded from the doorway.

"Her won't wakes…" The small girl looked up at Ikki,pouting.

"Hmm…" Ikki tried not to smirk, knowing the reason already. He walked over,and picked Cyla up, and pretended to examine the dead woman. "I'll have Black Andromeda come check her. But it's breakfast time. Come." He carried her out of the room,closing the door.

"Dragon. Feed her. Andromeda,come with me." Ikki fired the orders not even a second after he'd entered the kitchen. He handed Cyla to Black Swan, and walked out again,with Andromeda behind him. When they were safely out of Cyla's earshot,he actually chuckled. "Poor little brat….so foolish she is. Couldn't even tell her mother was dead! Andromeda,I want you to get rid of the body. I don't care how you do it. Just do it. Then I want you to go back into the kitchen,and announce her death."

"Yes sir." Andromeda left to do Lord Ikki's will, and soon,there naught in the room except Cyla's cot. The rest of it,including the body,he'd burned. He'dclaim her mother'd caught fever, and that she'd died. Cyla would be too young to understand about germs and all that.

At breakfast, Andromeda made the announcement,and the rest of the knights pretended to be sad for their lost maid. "She was probably the most obedient servant we ever had. She will be missed."

Cyla took it the hardest. She couldn't understand how her mama could leave her,just like her father did. She didn't' even want to eat, but Swan made her.

"You must keep your strength going,Little One. The training will only get harder." Not that he really cared about her,no. But if he could win her over,then it would be one more thing he'd have taken from Hyoga. "Besides, your mother wouldn't want you to go hungry for her,would she?"

"No…" And so she ate, and trained. Little did they all know, her life was about to change for the better.

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"Whoa….That's so cruel, the way they lied to her!" Sienna's eyes were full of tears. "This has already happened to her. What does he do next?"

"I don't know…" Shun looked furious. "How can he be so cruel?!"

"Maybe you rescue her." Shiryu suggested to Shun. "She's three here,but she's five where we are."

"Maybe I take care of her for two years, then something else happens…" Shun thought aloud.

"Yeah. That's a good possibility,especially with Ikki owning the entire area!" Seiya agreed. "I wonder how Hyoga's doing with Cyla…..He seemed pretty nervous about taking her out alone."

"Yes. I know,but Hyoga's not without experience with children. Quite a few of his friends in Siberia were children." Shiryu reminded him.

"Right. Well,let's go back for now. We can return again later, right, Princess?" Shun asked.

"Of course." Sienna sent them all back to the present time. They all had much to think about and sort through.