Hey peeps, welcome to another chapter of Nobility. I'm going to start dishing the chapter out as soon as I get them reread. So expect the next chapter real soon.

I want to say thanks to those who reviewed.

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Chapter nineteen:

Righteousness and Indignation

Darcia lifted the softly snoring blonde from where she sat sleeping on the floor of his ship. Quite remarkable, he thought to himself, as he shifted the girl's weight in his arms. The girl had managed to stay awake for several hours, talking about one topic or another. When she did fall asleep, she hardly moved an inch.

The two day trip had passed and already the last quarter of the moon's cycle had passed. They had arrived at Jagara's castle on schedule.

With the girl in his arms, he descended from his ship and slowly made his way towards the castle. Crossing the bridge, he kept his head high. When he reached the entrance, he wasn't surprised when they opened for him.

A young man greeted him there.

"Be careful Jadeite," he warned the younger man. "I'm sure Jagara would be most displeased to know that you had the girl in your care and didn't bring her here like you were supposed to," he warned. The young man was staring at the bundle in his arms with a look of surprise in his eyes.

Once his warning sunk in though, the blonde haired man nodded once and turned to lead him inside. Darcia followed, all the while his arms tightening around the girl in his arms.

Jadeite led him into the castle, directing him to a room, where he would place the girl. Darcia stepped around the younger man, and made his way towards the large bed. Laying her down, he paused to studying her closely.

She seemed content, just as Harmona had always appeared to be.

With a sigh, Darcia drew back the blankets and covered the girl up. This kindness is for protecting my Harmona, he thought. Indeed the girl had protected his beloved, with her life. "I will return for you," he said quietly, so that no one could overhear him. "I will come back when it is time, and you will help me revenge my love's death."

He pulled away quickly and left the room. Jadeite shut the door firmly, locking it before they started back the way they had come. "You wont be able to use her," the younger man said firmly.

Darcia gave the man a harsh look. He did not like having children trying to tell him what he should or should not do.

The corner of the younger man's lips lifted. "She's tired of having people use her, she wont let you," the blond said smugly. "Better luck next time though!"

Darcia scoffed and left the castle, not bothering to look back. He knew the man was laughing at him. "Laugh all you want," he hissed beneath his breath as he entered his ship.

Manipulating the controls, he set the ship on a course heading South. "I will destroy Cheza and no one will ever see Paradise, just as Harmona will never see paradise," he vowed, his voice a deathly calm.

----

Serena woke up feeling groggy and disoriented. The wash of golden sun baking her face was the first thing she saw. With a muffled groan, she rolled over and closed her eyes. "I hope you die a slow and agonizing death," she muttered, before stuffing her face into a pillow.

Pillow?

Half alert, Serena jerked her head up in a half attempt to appear awake. She stared blurredly at the bed she laid in. What the hell? The last time she had woken up in a bed, she had left like a lab specimen. Trapped like a rat.

With a grimace, Serena shakily lifted her pathetic form from the bed. "Oh god, what the hell hit me," she asked aloud. Had she managed to stand out on the road and allowed some semi run her over? Or maybe she just slammed her head in the oven repeatedly the night before?

Shaking her head, the sallow looking blonde threw her feet over the side of the bed, not even bothering to sit up. She tried rolling over onto her feet, but her legs gave out under the sudden weight. With a muted thump she hit the floor.

"Oh god," she hissed, her hand flying up the grab her throbbing head. The pain had increased after her sudden departure from the warm cocoon of the bed.

"You're up early," commented an amused voice from the doorway.

Meekly Serena looked over in that direction. She saw the last person she wanted to run into when she felt like her stomach was going to come crawling up her throat. It was the man who had given her, Blue and Cheza a ride. Jason, her mind supplied slowly.

She shook her head, arguing with herself. No, she corrected, this man is Haruka's twin brother, Jadeite. "God, how many are there of you," she asked with a hint of a whine in her voice. She was running into them left and right.

The man quirked a brow in her direction, before entering the room. He shut the door before making his way towards her. "Is that question directed towards me and my family, or Nobles entirely," he asked, while he helped her up onto the bed.

Serena waved her hand airily, as if to say she could carry herself without his aid. "Both," she answered, once she was sitting.

Jadeite nodded carefully, before he took a tentative step away from her. His dark blue eyes regarded her carefully. "There are six of us," he answered. "Haruka and myself being the only twins, all of us have different mothers."

The smaller blonde stared up at him with a small frown. "Six," she asked, trying to count the number of Nobles she had run into. The ones that counted were Jadeite, Haruka, Kunzite, and Zoicite. She had yet to meet two of them. Oh joy, I'll bet they will show up soon, she thought with a sickening sweet voice.

It was only a matter of time…

With a sigh, Serena directed her full attention span, which was almost nil in her inebriated state, toward the young blond haired man in front of her. "So why are you here," she asked suspiciously.

Jadeite gave a small shrug, before he turned to move towards the window. He drew the curtains together, much to the small girl's relief. "Kunzite gave me direct orders, after I told him where you were that I was to watch you like a hawk."

She shot him a look, which caused him to smirk.

"His exact words," he replied to her unasked question. "Why don't I find you some suitable clothes to wear."

He turned on his heels abruptly and started for the door. Pausing with his hand on the doorknob, he turned back to look at her.

Serena held his gaze. "My siblings and I never meant to hurt you," he explained softly. He finally tore his eyes away and looked at the door in front of him. "We only wanted to keep you from a destiny that will inevitably end in tragedy." with that said, he left the room, and leaving her as well.

It wasn't until he had shut the door, did she wonder that maybe he was right.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she finally let herself stop and think about the last six weeks of her life. It had all started by meeting Kiba and somehow she ended up here.

A destiny meant to end in tragedy? Sure she had always known deep down that she might be in danger. But it never truly crossed her mind.

It was possible she might not leave this castle. That she might not go home to her apartment. See Molly or Nathan again. Or find the chance to forgive her mother.

The swarm of thoughts of things she might not ever get to do again, brought scalding tears to her eyes. She might not ever get to see the boys again. Tsume, as he ordered her and Toboe to pick up their feet. Or Hige complaining about how hungry he was. Or Toboe as he tried to comfort her even though he was tired and cold himself.

Or Kiba.

Another bout of tears came, this one bringing sobs. She'd only known him for seven weeks, and only been in his company for less than that. But he made her feel things she had never felt before. He had made her life worth living again.

Reaching up, she wiped at her tears, wishing that they could just stop, but knowing they wouldn't. She wanted to tell him, what she hadn't been able to tell him. Because even though she hardly knew him, she knew what she felt for him was real. Why else would the thought of never seeing him sniff at the air whenever she was around, or nuzzle her neck even as a human, made her cry harder than not seeing her best friend since grade school? Why would he mean so much to her, if she didn't love him?

Jadeite entered the room by then. If he was startled by her tears, he didn't show it. Instead, he softly shut the door behind him, before moving towards the bed.

With a small sigh, he set the clothes he had brought on the bed next to her. He didn't feel like he had the right, to ask her what was wrong. Or even to give her comfort.

So he stood there, staring at the wall, as she shed her tears. He waited until she managed to rein in her emotions, and when her sobs ceased.

When she lifted her head and he found himself staring into watery blue eyes rimmed with red, and her nose slightly red, he gave her a soft smile. "Better," he asked.

To his surprise, she shook her head, before dropping her gaze to the floor. He watched her swallow hard, her body trembling by the simple act. "I'm sorry," she finally whispered.

Jadeite bent low to hear her as she continued. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you, or Kunzite. I'm sorry for everything I did that made things hard for you and your family," she said softly, her voice hardly above a whisper.

Was that why she was crying, he wondered.

She looked up at him and he could make out every emotion she was feeling, by just staring into her eyes.

A sad smile formed on her face, before she looked down at her lap. She raised her hands, staring at her palms.

The young man sighed slowly. "Why don't you get dressed Serena," he said carefully, keeping his tone light. "Then I can take you to Cheza."

He turned on his heels and started for the door. Again, before he left the room, he turned back to look at her. Unable to say the words aloud, he chose to give her a meaningful look instead. I'm sorry too, he replied quietly. I'm sorry that not everyone will make it out of this unscathed. You more so than anyone else.

With that thought ringing in his mind, he left the girl to change. How did seven people managed to screw this all up? he wondered as he walked down the hallway. Where they hell did we go wrong?

xxxx

"Why are you leading me around on a wild goose chase?" Molly asked, while stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. The man in front of her, slowly turned, as if cautious to move too fast. "A wild goose chase," he asked carefully. "What makes you think that?"

As she spoke, Molly counted off with her fingers. "One, you wont listen to my opinion, at all! Two, those guys Serena was with, were heading North, we're heading South. And yes I do have a sense of direction, thank you. And Third, that last woman we talked to said she saw one of those guys and you said she didn't. Why the hell would you question her?" she defiantly crossed her arms over her chest, as if she had just won the argument by a land slide.

Lifting a brow, she waited for him to prove her wrong.

An uncomfortable silence surrounded the pair, as they eyed each other.

At last, her partner spoke first. "Look Molly," he started to explain. The short red haired woman lifted a hand. "Whoa there buddy," she said, cutting him off. "When did we get on a first names basis? You either call me Gem, or Miss Gem." she gave him a heated look, that dared him to cross her.

She was already in a bad mood to begin with.

"Look Gem," he started again, sounding irritated now. "Nathan has been giving me-"

Molly lifted a quizzical brow at the tall man before her. "Hmm," she mused, her head tilting slightly. "You know, for being the new guy, you're pretty buddy buddy with the boss."

Uncrossing her arms, she placed her hands at her hips. "I had to wait two years before he even let me call him just boss, let alone Nathan," she said, sounding like she was talking to herself more than to her new partner. "Strange how your in his company for a week, and your already on a first name basis."

Clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she gave the older man a quick look over. Her eyes flashed over his tall frame, before locking with his eyes. "Tell me Shields, what makes you so special?"

She watched with great deal of satisfaction, as the man before her cursed beneath his breath. He quickly turned on his heals and stalked off, his anger evident with each step.

"That's what I thought," she said beneath her breath. Pulling out her cell phone, she dialed in a familiar number.

I should have done this a long time ago, she thought in slight agitation.

The phone rang three times, before a familiar voice picked up. "All right Nathan," she said, before the other man could get an edge wise. "I am one pissed off red haired woman. Your lackey has screwed up, now you tell me where the hell my best friend is, or I swear I'll rip Shields to shreds to find out what I want."

Molly gripped the phone tightly to her ear, as people passed her. Most gave her strange looks, which she only returned with a nasty glare. She was not in the mood to be nice anymore.

"Don't play innocent with me!" she shouted, her voice sounding shrill. "I have been on my feet for six weeks. Shields has been dragging me from one city to the next and I know your feeding him bullshit information.

"You either tell me where I need to go, or you'll never see hot stuff again," Molly ended dangerously. She meant every word she said.

She started walking, moving in the direction her new partner had gone off in. "Don't play games with me," she hissed, her resolve quickly breaking. "Nathan," she started, but stopped when someone had stepped into her path.

Looking up, the small red haired woman gasped.

"Look Molly," the tall brunette began, his violet eyes holding hers. "I'm not lying, I don't know where she is."

Molly felt her anger flicker and then die. Her whole body quivered, her hand trembling, as she slowly pulled her phone from her ear.

The man before her reached out, to take her phone, and pocket it.

It was always easier to stay mad at him when he wasn't around. Yelling at him on the phone had always been a cinch compared to yelling at him in person. Because in person, her body became Jell-O and she easily forgot what had upset her in the first place.

The corner of his mouth lifted, as he took her arm and directed her down the street. "Why don't we find a place to sit down and eat. Afterwards, I will tell you everything I know," he offered casually.

The small woman next to him nodded, her feet moving on their own accord. "O-okay Nathan," she replied, as he lead her away from her troubled thoughts and her worries towards her friend's safety.

In his company, things never seemed to ever be wrong. With a foolish smile on her face, she let the man steer her in whatever direction he chose, not really caring where their destination might be.

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Well I hope this chapter cleared a few things up. Tied up a few loose ends maybe? I hope so. There's only a few chapters left, so enjoy.

LP