Serenity swung open the door to her cousin's bedroom and squealed in joy. Running forward she pounced onto Minako's bed, embracing the slightly older girl. Minako squealed as well, her platinum blonde hair wrapping itself around the two girls as they tumbled to the floor in a mess of sheets. Giggling like crazy they heard a third yelp of joy as strong arms wrapped around Serenity from behind. Turning in the arms of her other cousin she hugged him in return, dragging him into the tangle of sheets and limbs.

"Sere! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training?" The three cousins separated themselves enough to sit on the floor, holding each other's hands. Quatre's platinum blonde hair hung nonchalantly into his sea green eyes, eyes that matched his mother's. He was Duo's age, as was his twin sister Minako, and stood just as tall as Endymion.

"Haruka let me play hooky today since Endymion and Duo are at the palace." Minako grimaced.

"I don't trust Endymion. There's just something off about him." As she finished speaking she broke into a fit of coughing. Serenity and Quatre help her back into bed before fixing the sheets and tucking her in.

"I'm sorry. I forgot you were still sick." Minako smiled.

"Hey, I deserve it. Ami warned me that skiing on her planet was different. But do I listen? No." The trio chuckled. "Why don't you and Q-man go bond? You know how my mom gets." Together they raised a finger in the air and turned up their noses while speaking in unison.

"Peace, rest and relaxation are the first steps to recovery." They broke out in laughter once more before Serenity kissed her cousin on the forehead.

"We'll be back to join you for lunch." Minako smiled weakly.

"Thanks Sere." Winking she followed Quatre out of the room.

"It's good to have you back here Sere. It's been too long since I last saw you." Serenity jumped up and attached herself to his back, grinning as she placed her chin on his shoulder.

"It's good to be here. What have you been up to while Mina-chan's been in bed?"

"Training with the royal guard." At her inquisitive look he chuckled lightly. "Hiiro, Wufei, Trowa, Duo and myself are in training for Endymion's royal guard. Wufei and Trowa usually come here to train, so it's not like I get to go anywhere. Duo is usually so preoccupied with studies and such that he doesn't come."

"Figures. That brat never does anything right." Quatre's face darkened slightly as he glanced up and down the hall before setting her down. Putting his hands on her shoulders he looked her squarely in the eye.

"What I am going to tell you cannot be revealed to anyone, understood?" Solemnly she nodded her head, knowing it wasn't a good thing when he was so serious. "The last meeting of the Silver Alliance was held here, as you know, in my home. I overheard Queen Setsuna talking with Duo in one of the back corridors. She's training him, with the help of Hotaru." Serenity's eyes widened.

"Hotaru? No way! Then that means…!" Gravely he nodded his head.

"Yes. He's training to become Shinigami. The last session he attended demonstrated why Setsuna would have chosen him. He became angry with Wufei for teasing him about his braid and for the briefest moment I saw his eyes go black. It was as if this dark wind were starting to rise out of the ground before it vanished and he simply stormed out. Apparently he's been trying to control these newfound powers of his for some time, and when his emotions become too much for him to handle it just explodes." Serenity felt a chill go down her spine as she walked down the hall with her cousin.

"So… there's a reason for his darkness then. It's not as if he's chosen it." Quatre nodded.

"Being the heir to the throne of love it's been difficult to stand in his presence. I often wonder how long it will be before he becomes too strong. Each of them has a power that shocks me, and almost makes me feel inferior. Trowa, like his sister, can control lightning and certain forces of nature. Wufei can manipulate fire with simply the blink of an eye, similar yet again to his sister. Hiiro and Ami share almost the same powers, as he can manipulate water to create any form he wants. As for myself… I simply take the energy around me to create chains. What pathetic kind of power is that?" Holding Quatre's arm Serenity hugged him.

"Just wait until you get older. My mother says that perhaps you will one day become an empath, like your father. He was skilled when it came to creating weapons out of the energy he took from his surroundings. Come on, I have an idea." Quatre found himself being dragged down the hall as his munchkin of a cousin practically flew down the halls.

Upon reaching the training court she finally released him. Wufei and Hiiro were battling to see whose power could beat the others. It was an entertaining sight to see the young Chinese man fuming over the fact that his fire could never get past Hiiro's initial defense. Trowa sat with his back to them at the far end of the open training court, lightning bolts flashing around him. Walking up to him Serenity reached out to tap his shoulder. Before she could Quatre pulled her back.

"Hey!"

"Don't touch him when he's like that. Duo learned the hard way one day and was thrown into a wall." Frowning, Serenity pulled away. The attention of the other two boys was now upon her as she spoke back to Quatre.

"I'm not a weakling like he is, now am I?" The boys' eyes widened as she went ahead to touch him. None of them had dared to touch Trowa as he trained, knowing that the lightning would surely attack them in defense of its manipulator.

Gritting her teeth Serenity reached out to grab Trowa's shoulder. She felt the resistance immediately yet pressed forward. There was a shocking pain running up her arm, numbing her from the inside out. But she couldn't back out, not now. She had to prove her strength to them, to someone. No one believed she was strong, that she could hold her own. At some point she felt the fabric of his shirt and forced her hand to land on his shoulder. All at once the resistance faded and she found herself staring into bright, emerald green eyes. Startled she pulled back, grinning as she realized she was staring. Trowa immediately got on his knee, kissing her hand before straightening. Serenity blushed.