Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, just some cd's, manga, stationary, stickers, and cards.
Author's Notes: Okay, the overwhelming verdict is that I keep writing. Everybody had such nice reviews; I hope I can live up to the expectations. Okay, just so there isn't any confusion later, whenever I refer to Princess Serenity, it'll be either Princess Serenity or Serenity. Whenever I refer to Queen Serenity, her mother, it will always be Queen Serenity. Luna and Artemis are in their human forms. The adults call Ami by her middle name, Maia, incase you're wondering why I chose that name, Maia was the mother of Hermes/Mercury.
Cheeky-Beer007: Hey, you got the first review! Thanks for the encouragement!
Brooke: Glad you liked it.
Doesn'treallymatter: Don't worry, this isn't one of those "he pursues her after she first snubs him" fics. They'll go through a couple of things before falling in love.
Amnicity: Like I told Brooke, I'm happy you enjoyed the first chapter.
TriGemini: Hope you like this chappie as well.
Tigerreally: Thanks for the nice review.
Aspara: Heh, I was kind of tired of reading Ami as a studious mouse. Just because she was kind of one in the present didn't mean she was one in the past.
Arabella Silverbell: I take it you liked my first chapter. Thanks for the compliments.
Mercury Ice Storm: I'll try not to make the characters too OOC. Thanks for the nice words as well.
MJ: Here's a new chappie! Hope you like!
I thought I'd update kind of early because of the Valentine's Weekend. Enjoy!
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She had forgotten how many laps she had swam in the pool at this point, but she didn't care. She could still recollect the shock she felt as she watched Zoicite rebuild her crystal vase. It was small acts of kindness like that, which confused her in the first place. When they first met, he made it clear that he thought she was an innocent, pampered princess not worth his efforts to flirt or seduce like the other noblewomen her age, nor did he tease her like an older brother as he did with Hotaru. No, whenever they were together with the other generals and senshi, he ignored her and she just ignored him as well. Yet, every so often, he would do something kind for her like the vase, which would confuse her. Before the vase, she remembered at a ball two days after they had arrived, some lord from Titan, who wouldn't take her refusal for a dance seriously, was bothering her. He had grabbed her arm; Ami noticed the other girls were dancing and didn't see her predicament. She wasn't sure what to do when Zoicite came up and managed to scare the silly lord off. However, before Ami could thank him, he gave her a faint smirk and sought the hand of another woman to dance with. Was it any surprise she didn't know what to when she was around him?
Ami made another flip and felt her mind focusing onto another memory. It was a week after the encounter in her bedroom. The generals and the senshi decided to participate in a training simulation together. She couldn't remember how the argument got started, probably Rei insulted Jadeite's pride or vice versa, but it ended up that everyone started to argue except for Serenity, Endymion, and herself. Ami recalled being so annoyed by the immaturity of those involved that she began to use her ability over water, to freeze the room. As the others stood there quietly, shivering in their clothes, Ami made it very clear what type of program and at what difficulty level they would be following since they decided on the specifications the night before. Anyone with any problems with it would have to endure with her making the room colder. Of course, that shut everybody up as she entered the codes to the computer system, before their competition could begin. The term brought up another more detailed memory, about two days after the incident in the simulation room.
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Competition between the two groups was common. Especially when one felt that his/her skill was being challenged. Out of the inner senshi, Makoto and Rei were the most confrontational, so it wasn't a surprise when both Jadeite and Nephlite challenged the two to a sporting contest between all of the senshi and generals, Makoto and Rei accepted before talking to Ami or Minako. Neither of them were very happy when they found out about it. Horseback racing was the first sporting contest; Ami wasn't racing so she decided to go to her room instead to avoid the inevitable bad blood that would come after the race. She found herself looking at her vase; ever since Zoicite had fixed it, she had been unable to thank him properly. If she thanked him in public, it would bring up some unpleasant questions, and she could never find an opportunity to tell him in private. A communications call from Minako interrupted her musings.
"Ami, where are you?" Her worried voice made Ami frown. Minako rarely worried over things.
"In my room, what's wrong Mina?"
"You need to get to the infirmary. Zoicite was badly thrown from his horse."
The palace infirmary was very close to her quarters since traditionally the royal physician was the senshi of Mercury. Entering the infirmary, she saw a glow of light coming into the center of the room. When the light faded, it revealed Endymion along with the other genrals; Kunzite was carrying Zoicite. Getting her computer, she began to check over her patient. "What happened?"
"Rei and Zoicite were racing when something startled Rei's horse. Her horse reared back and let out a high-pitched neigh. The noise scared the horse Zoicite was riding and he was thrown; I think he might have hit his head when he fell off. They were racing uphill, so he rolled down the hill a couple of meters before we were able to reach him." Kunzite stated as he deposited Zoicite on to an operating table. "Is he going to be all right?"
"I'm not sure Kunzite. It looks like he has a serious concussion, a three broken ribs, two cracked, a broken leg, and I'm not sure how much internal bleeding there is." She told him as she used her visor to complete her analysis of his injuries. She swore as she saw one of the broken ribs had punctured his left lung, doing a more in depth check she saw that Zoicite's injury included a great deal of internal bleeding.
"What's wrong?" Jadeite asked her.
"He's loosing a lot of blood, too much." She responded quickly.
"Can't you give him a transfusion and operate on him?" a worried Nephrite inquired.
Ami hurriedly shook her head as she used her computer to analyze other possible solutions. "The rate he's loosing blood is too fast, and my computer is having trouble finding the source. Even with a transfusion, I can't operate fast enough to stop the bleeding, plus if I try to operate too quickly I may end up nicking another artery making things worse." She told them, unaware of the entrance of Queen Serenity.
"Then I'll use the Silver Crystal; I refuse to allow one of my guests die when we have the means to save him." Her quiet voice stated. She startled the generals, but Prince Endymion raised his hand in protest.
"You can't use it; you do, and you can die, your majesty. The Silver Crystal is already being used to help with the Moon's planetary defenses, try to heal him, and the effort will be too much for your life force."
"Besides, it's not necessary for such an extreme action," a quiet but very determined Ami stated. The others turned to her as her visor disappeared at her command and a soft blue glow began to form around her left hand.
Queen Serenity gasped as she realized what the glow signified. "Maia, you can't use your crystal, you're not powerful enough to sustain it for the amount of time needed to heal his injuries."
"I don't need to heal him completely. I just need to stop his bleeding. I've already done the analysis; the risk to me is minimum the risk to you, or any of the others is too high, and we don't have time to wait for the others to combine powers." She told them as they started to protest with her decision. "As the heir of Mercury, how I chose to use the Sapphire Crystal (1) is up to me." She stated in her icy regal tone, a tone that wasn't to be questioned, only obeyed. Ami extended her left hand, and placed it over Zoicite's chest as a pale blue glow engulfed his body. She held her hand over him for a couple of minutes before falling from her efforts; Jadeite had enough presence of mind to catch her.
"That was very reckless, Maia," the queen quietly chided, as the generals made way for her to sit down in a chair.
"No, it wasn't, as I stated earlier; all I needed to do was stop the internal bleeding, and heal the internal wounds. His bones are still broken and cracked, but he'll live, and so will I. I did what was needed to save my patient, no more, no less." She stated as she tried to rise from her chair. The queen stopped her before she had a chance.
"If what you say is true, I'm sure Lord Nephrite can tend to the rest of Lord Zoicite's wounds; you need to rest and regain your strength, my dear. You may out rank me in matters concerning my health (2), but you cannot deny a queen's request concerning yours. I'll let Luna know that you and Lord Zoicite will be eating dinner here tonight." The queen looked down upon her young charge, and Ami knew it was useless to argue with her so she nodded. The queen smiled and placed her right hand on Ami's cheek, "You were always such a kind child; I'm glad your kindness hasn't changed as you grew up. I'll send someone down with a chess set and some of your favorite books until your charge is out of the infirmary, but right now I want you to rest in one of these beds, so if one of the Lords doesn't mind." She turned, stepped back and looked at the prince and generals. Immediately, Endymion stepped forward and lifted the protesting Ami to the nearest bed. He told her it was the least he could do for one of Princess Serenity's friends and the one responsible for saving his own friend's life, while Kunzite and Jadeite helped carry Zoicite to another bed. Satisfied with everything, Queen Serenity bowed over Ami, and have the teenager a soft kiss on her forehead as Ami drifted into sleep.
It was early evening when Ami woke from her sleep. "Well, it's about time Sleeping Beauty," a roguish voice told her.
"Lay off it Zoi, she saved your life you know."
Turning she saw the speaker to be Zoicite, sitting in a chair next to her bed along with Jadeite standing behind him. She frowned at him before rising.
"You shouldn't be out of bed, Lord Epidote. You still have three broken ribs and two cracked ones, besides a broken leg."
"I tried telling him that, but you got to understand, Zoi's probably one of the most stubborn people I know." Jadeite told her with a grin. He continued to explain, "You see, he woke up about an hour after you used the crystal and wanted to know what happened. You should have seen his face when we told him you did. I think that's the first time I actually seen him scared." He gave a somewhat stunned Ami a wink.
"Shut up, Jed." Zoicite growled.
Completely unfazed by Zoicite, Jadeite only continued his narration. "Anyway, we tried telling him, that you were all right just really tired, but he wouldn't listen to us, his friends. He insisted on getting up and sitting by you until you got up. Endymion looked ready to order him to bed rest except he promised that he wouldn't do anything stupid. Not as if Endymion believed him, so he ordered me to make sure Zoi here really didn't do something stupid. Oh, and the other princesses came by about a half hour ago, but had leave because of the visiting dignitaries-" he stopped when he heard Ami groan.
"Mina's parents, the King and Queen of Venus were coming today. I was supposed to be there when they came, Jadeite." She explained.
Jadeite gave her a small smile, "I'm sure they'll understand why you couldn't make it. Speaking of which, I promised them that I'd let them know when you were awake. I'll go make the call over."
Within in two minutes, the inner princesses, two generals, and Endymion crowded Ami's bed. All wanted to make sure she was all right and Endymion along with his generals thanked her for saving their friend. Serenity started to cry as she berated Ami for using her crystal. Ami quickly hugged her friend and reminded Serenity that she was fine, and that if Serenity was in Ami's situation she would do the same. Rei revealed that after the generals left the infirmary, Nephlite and Minako agreed to run through the obstacle course. Minako won, but the generals all stated that they were under a state of distress over Zoicite's and Ami's condition, so Nephlite didn't do as well as he normally did.
Meanwhile, the generals all started to tease Zoicite for falling off his horse in the first place. Zoicite tried to defend himself, but by the looks the girls were giving themselves, he wasn't doing very well against the other four men. The teasing went on for a couple of more minutes before Luna came in to remind those present that dinner with the Monarchs of Venus would be in an hour and that since their attendance was required, they should probably use the time to prepare themselves. Ami tried to get out of her bed, when Luna turned and gave her a very hard stare, "The queen made it clear that you are excused from dinner as your duties require you to remain with your patient, Ami. Plus, you are supposed to get plenty of rest." When Ami opened her mouth to protest, Luna gave her a harsher look, making Ami squeak out an agreement. "I'll have Merna serve your dinners here, and Lord Zoicite why aren't you in bed?" Ami giggled as the Earth general attempted to explain why he was disobeying a direct order to a very stern Luna while he made his way back to his bed.
After everyone had left, Ami became aware of the awkward silence that had engulfed the infirmary. Luckily, Zoicite ended the silence when he thanked her for saving his life. She gave him a genuine smile, before she got out of the bed, walked towards her desk, and started to assemble her chessboard. "I'm a doctor; I only did what I needed to in order to save my patient." He was about to open his mouth to say something, but she cut him off before he got the chance, "While we're on the subject of 'thanks' I've been meaning to thank you too, for fixing my vase."
Zoicite shrugged, "Well, it only seemed fair, I was the one who broke it, and we really didn't have any business in your bedroom. By the way, I'm sure Lady Vina appreciates your discretion on the matter."
This time Ami gave him a shrug and a wry smile, "Lord Zoicite, I assure you that I can be very discrete. I know I appear to be quite innocent, but you are hardly the first person I've run into in the library or in the pool during a, how should I put this, a romantic interlude?" She chuckled at his astonished face. "You'd be surprised how many servants forget about my time in the library. Not that I can blame them, during the evening hours, the library is usually empty; it's quiet and isolated from the rest of the palace. The pool is also another popular choice for a rendezvous although a bit riskier since it is open to everyone day or night unlike the library, but it's also fairly isolated from the rest of the palace, and most people really aren't awake before dawn." Ami watched as it took Zoicite a moment to absorb the information she had just given him. She giggled in amusement as she observed him open his mouth to speak only to close it to rethink his words. Her laughter seemed to pull him out of his slight daze as he glared at her. Ami decided to change the topic, but as she grappled to find a subject; she found words flying out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Why don't you like me Lord Zoicite?" she inquired softly.
If he expected a question from her, it wasn't that one considering his stunned expression. "Why do you think that?"
She gazed at her hands and moved her head to left side before answering, "I don't know. I mean you seem to go out of your way to annoy me, and while I'm sure most of the time it's accidental like the time at the library, there are other times, which I think you do it to get a rise out of me. Then there's the fact you don't treat me the same way as you do with the other princesses. You flirt with everyone else, but you ignore me and I know you're intelligent enough to disbelieve court gossip about me avoiding you because of your reputation. Yet, there are times when you act kind towards me like getting that lord from Titan to leave me alone a while back and fixing the vase. You confuse me Lord Zoicite, and I can't help but feel like you don't like me very much, perhaps it is part of the reason why I don't feel comfortable around you." She murmured before lifting her eyes to his.
His eyes widened at her honesty and after staring at her for a minute turned away breaking the tension in the room. "I don't dislike you Lady Ami, however, I must admit; you are as much of a conundrum to me as I am to you." He explained seriously, " You are a paradox to me, you appear to be too innocent and fragile to handle the intrigues of palace life, but you seem to be more aware of the designs of unscrupulous beings than people give you credit for, and yet you still retain some of that naïve nature. You follow protocol to the letter, yet you only stay at formal functions for as long as necessary. You are right in believing that I don't listen to court gossip, because I know it's not because you're a snob, in fact I'd say you're too nice for your own good. I also know it's not because you're shy, because I've seen you at court dinners. You can converse with anyone about anything for long or short periods of time regardless of the person's intelligence. I don't understand you, and to be honest, I tend to get uncomfortable around those I don't understand. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I disliked you."
She smiled at his honesty, "Well, we have about another 45 minutes before we get anything to eat, and I heard from Jadeite, that you're very good at chess. Would you mind terribly playing a game against me?"
He looked back at her, "I know of your reputation, and I don't want you to go easy on me." Ami had a well-earned reputation in the palace of being an exceptionally good player, but was a little too kind towards new opponents.
She smirked, "Wouldn't dream of it."
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Footnotes:
(1) The queen of each planet owns her own planetary crystal, the exception being Earth. However, since Ami's mother is dead, she inherited the crystal along with its power, which like the Silver Crystal of the moon is tied to her life force.
(2) Since Ami is the royal physician if she can overrule the Queen if she feels the Queen's action will endanger her health or if she feels the Queen is unable to fulfill her duty because of her state of health i.e. The Queen is mentally or physically unfit.
Jadeling's Notes: Yea! They actually talked to each other! Hee hee.