OMG! So so so sorry this is so late. I've been trying to keep up with school work and such. I promise to try and make the next chapter come out faster than this one did. I hope you enjoy the story and I hope you all remember what happened. PLEASE REVIEW. I am serious when I say that reviews make me write faster. Every review I got made me want to write a little more, I just got so packed with school work that I only had time to write a scant few lines at a time. So do not hesitate to voice your opinions. This chapter might be a little slow, but I'm trying to build the story line and I want to make sure everyone knows exactly what is happening. So REVIEW!!! Enjoy!

Lady Hino

He crumpled the note in his hand as he pressed the other to his head. There was a pounding there, beginning just behind his temples and swamping over his entire skull. He could feel years of memories pushing at a barrier he did not erect. They were trying to flood him with their images, their words, and their emotions, but he could not admit them. It was as if he were looking through a piece of glass painted with black paint. He could faintly see shadows swimming behind it, but the dark glass prevented him from clearly viewing everything that would give him identity.

Slowly he removed his hand from his brow and turned to look at the girl beside him. Her hand was on his clenched fist and when he noticed he relaxed. The concern in her dark eyes made him forget the pain of memories lost and he felt as though he belonged in this gaze and only in this gaze. "Memories are harder to conjure up than I would like," he said.

Rei licked her lips nervously and said, "I'm sure that if you give your mind a rest, your past will return."

Jed looked down at the wrinkled parchment in his hand and shook his head. "At times I believe that the past will be more terrifying and painful than what my future holds in store for me," he said dejectedly.

She could only stroke his wrist gently in sympathy for she had never felt such an incredible loss; as if part of his mind was missing in the sea. "Time will heal old wounds," she said and led him to the small dining table where she served him a portion of the rabbit stew she had just made.

He ate it without stopping to think of the taste. He merely stared into the fire at the end of the room and contemplated the dark void that was his mind. Would he ever remember where he came from? Who his family was? Did he have a family to begin with? Was he really some ocean loving captain who sailed from port to port?

Rei looked down at the untouched stew in her bowl and then back to her patient. She contemplated helping him the only way she could think. . .to go inside his mind. How much would she risk trying to delve into that brain of his? How much would she be reveling herself if she merely stole into a part of his mind and propped open a door for him to look into when he was ready? The thoughts were churning in her head even as she stood up and walked around the small table to his side. She knelt before him, her hands resting gently on his knees. "Let me help you," she said softly.

Jed furrowed his brow and then gave her a light smile; "You have already helped me enough. Not only have you tended to my wounds and nursed me back into health; you rescued me and preserved my life with your caring nature. I could not ask for much help then that. To be alive is a true gift after the incident I went through. There is not much I can say in the way of thanks."

Rei shook her head and bit her bottom lip. "There is another way I can help you. It will require you to trust me as you have never trusted before. . ." she said softly.

He looked at her bowed head and frowned slightly. "What can you do?"

She didn't want to look up at him, but knew that the only way to try and help him would be to do this and act as quickly as possible. "Close your eyes," she whispered.

Jed raised a tawny brow at her. "Just do as you're told," Rei said trying to disguise her nervousness with annoyance. She watched those cool blue eyes disappear behind closed lids before she took a deep steadying breath. As gently as she could, she cupped her hands on either side of his head and then closed her own eyes.

It was but an instant before Jed felt another presence pressing into his mind. He could feel warmth and light where there were only dark shadows. Then, a soft hand pressed against his own and he turned in the direction of the dark cavern he knew to be his thoughts. "I cannot. . ." he said as the light guided him toward the dark.

The brightness tugged him forward, the grip on his wrist tightening. "Come. . ." it whispered in his ear. But Jed did not want to move, knew that if he tried to push through the black barrier that was before him, he and the brightness would not make it. "Do not. . ." he pleaded.

The light took on a form then, raven hair cascading over a face as serene as any angel. "I am trying to help you," she said, her body still bathed in white light. "Perhaps I can push through the barrier with you."

Jed merely shook his head. "I am warning you. . .you cannot make it."

Rei heaved a sigh and let go of his arm. "I will do it alone. . .then you can make the rest of the journey."

Jed shook his head, but try as he might, he could not move toward her. She was walking too swiftly toward the black hole of his mind. He wanted to reach out and stop her, but knew that he would not be able to get to her in time. "Please!" he called out.

But Rei pressed on. She would help him see into his past and help him to write his future. The black void was nothing a senshi couldn't handle. As she got closer to the blackness, her confidence began to wear thin. She realized too late that the blackness she thought to be a shadow shielding his mind was in fact a veil so thick and suffocating she could not trudge through it. She could hear voices behind it; could smell an entirely different world and could see nothing.

She reached out a hand to move the velvety curtain, but just as she did a scream unlike any she had ever heard flew against her and knocked her off her feet. She went spiraling backwards and could distantly hear Jed cry out her name.

"Rei!" Jed cried desperately taking hold of the hands that were curled in his blonde hair. He watched her eyes flutter open, the violet dark and misted. "Rei?"

"Impossible. . ." she breathed.

Jed held her hands tightly in his own and pressed his free hand against her brow. She was sweating, her chest heaving. "Dear lord. . .do not scare me like that!" he said to her. In that moment he wanted to grasp her to him and smooth the hair from her face. He wanted to breathe in her scent and assure himself of her safety.

Rei looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. "Your memories are blocked. . ." she said.

"Yes, I know they are. . ." he said gently.

She shook her head, "That's not what I meant. Your memories are blocked. . .magically. . ." she stated.

Jed looked at her, his eyes narrowed with disbelief, "I don't understand. . ."

Rei shook her head, "I do not understand it myself. . .your memories are hidden from everyone but yourself. . .you are the only one who can access them," she said.

Jed released her hands and rose from his chair. "I do not wish to believe what you have told me. There is no magic in my body. How could I be magical, yet not know it?"

She could do nothing but shrug and watch him pace back and forth in front of the fire. "Some people—"

"I do not care about some people! This is me, and I do not want to be connected in any way to strange magical forces! I am but a captain who most likely trades fur pelts and heavy wooden furniture. I do not want to be responsible for strange forces within my body!"

Rei felt a stirring of anger deep within her. Did he think people who possessed magical powers were such odd folk? Then what would that make her? "You are a blind fool who cannot see past his own nose. Accept that there is something different about you and leave it at that."

"I will not accept it. I merely want my mind to be mine again. I want to know whether or not I have a mother and father waiting for me at home, whether in a small cottage like this one or a country estate located high in the mountains of Italy. I want to know that I have a wife with open arms and tears in her eyes when she sees me pull into port. I want her to run to me and press kisses against my face and hug me and cry out how miserable she was while I was lost. I want to believe that I have a daughter with golden blonde curls and sea-foam green eyes who I will call Viola. . ." he paused. Why did that name hang from his lips so heavily? "Viola. . ." he whispered to the fire.

All the while Rei sat near the chair he had vacated and felt a tug with each of his wishes. Perhaps they were not wishes but truths that he was spewing forth. She ignored the slight sting in her chest and pressed the silence. "Perhaps everything is true and you are married with a daughter," she snapped. "But you cannot deny the fact that there is some sort of magical blood running through your veins."

Jed tucked the name "Viola" in the back of his mending mind and spun to face her. "Magical like you?"

Rei felt the sharpness of his words and narrowed her eyes at him. "Magical, gifted. . .any way you say it, it means the same thing," she said with a good amount of venom laced in her voice. She stood abruptly, her hair falling over her shoulder as she did. Her eyes were like twin orbs of violet fire and her heart was beating rapidly. She didn't want to be in the same room as a person who chose to cast scorn upon her magical gift. . .and even to deny his own! She felt betrayed in a strange way and marched toward the front door with a purposeful stride.

"Where are you going?" she heard Jed call out to her.

Rei didn't bother to turn around, instead she pulled open the door and made her way toward the sandy beach she knew would help to ease her mind. "How could anyone not wish to embrace such a power?" she asked herself as she picked her way across the shore; the waves rolling loudly, breaking hard and leaving white foam in their wake. She continued on, her feet guiding her while her mind churned. "Oddly," she began, "I felt such tremendous power. . .how can that be? Who is this mysterious sea captain who holds that much power beneath his stubborn exterior? How is it possible?"

She looked up as she came close to the mountainous wall in front of her. The cliff above was shading the area and chilling her bones. To live by the shores of England was to freeze yourself to death; she had decided when she first arrived. These oceans were nothing like the warm waters of Mars; she only wished that she lived long enough to test those waters again.

She climbed up into the small opening that she had dubbed her own, pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them to keep warm. "Who is 'E'?" she wondered out loud. That was another mystery that made her brow furrow with confusion. It appeared that Jed was being searched for, but by whom? When he had received that missive earlier her heart had given a little shudder. Who knew he was here?

Jed pressed a palm to his brow and sighed heavily. He was a cad to insult a beautiful woman with the heart and soul of an angel. . .albeit her temper was fiery enough to ignite any cold heart. He did not scorn magical gifts, he was simply afraid of them. He had no memory of every using magic, had no knowledge of magic swimming through him and to be told by a girl with an active mind that he was of magical decent scared him to the very core of his being. What did that make him? Whose control was he in?

He paced back and forth before the hearth and frowned in thought. There was something about this that he did not understand. He wanted to know who he was!

He threw himself into one of the solid wooden chairs at the dining table and propped his head in his hands. If only he could remember. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and delved as deep as he could into the black void that hovered just beyond his reach. He clumsily raced through a tunnel of visions. He could see faces, yet could not put names to them. He could see houses, laughter, fighting, roiling waters, grassy hills. . .he could hear swords, could smell blood, and could feel warmth on his face. Yet when he pulled free of the blazing tunnel, the only think that remained with him was the knowledge of death.

Was this a memory?

He stood abruptly and held desperately to the feeling. He could sense pain, sorrow and could taste loss. He knew this feeling too well, could name it without thinking. It was death and he was sure that he had witnessed it more than once. It would be understandable, seeing as how he was a captain on a ship that probably sent many men to their salt-water graves. But this was different. . .he felt death as if it were in his own home, in his own hands. It made no sense.

At that moment he didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to feel this all-consuming dread that engulfed him like an airless wind. He wanted to be in the presence of another, to bask in their eternal warmth and forget this feeling of death.

He strode quickly to the door of the cottage and ran out onto the beach. He needed to be gone; he needed to feel life surrounding him and needed to ignore the aching heart that the feelings of death had left him with.

He strolled down the beach, trying to look as nonchalant as possible while still keeping his eyes open for any sign of raven hair blowing in the wind. He saw her curled up in a small nook carved within the jagged rock. For a brief instant he felt anger for she could have cut herself on the sharp slippery rock trying to climb up into the hole, but he squelched it as quickly as it had come. He had no attachment to this girl, merely owed her thanks for saving his life, which he would do when his memory returned to him. Perhaps he would take her on his ship and sail her far away from his English island to an exotic land full of wild birds and rapid rivers. He again squelched the idea; he was not courting her!

"Rei?" he called out to the lone figure in the rock, but before he could get close enough to call out her name again, a flash of black shot out from the top of the cliff and landed in front of her. "What the—" Jed yelled as he raced toward her. "Rei!" he called louder.

Rei turned her head when she heard her name, just in time to see a figure cloaked in black with a black mask covering the lower part of his face, standing before her. She let out a gasp and then jumped out of the nook and onto the beach. His black eyes followed her every movement. She stared at him just as intently. He was holding a gleaming silver sword in his right hand, the blade was curved and the handle was wrapped in a black silk. It was a menacing looking weapon, but Rei had seen more impressive ones in her short life. "What do you want?" she asked the figure. She heard her name being called out again and recognized the voice as Jed's, but simply chose to ignore it. Perhaps he would be smart and run away.

"I've come for you, princess," he said, dragging out the title. Rei mentally shook herself. How did he know who she was?

"That is not the answer I am searching for," she said. She wanted to toss a ball of red glittering sparks into the air above Mina's house, to warn her that danger was near, but knew that she could not.

"I'm afraid it is the only answer I can offer, princess," came the voice again. Rei took note that it was raspy and low, the kind of voice only an assassin would use when he stalked his prey. She could see Jed's running form out of the corner of her eye. She blinked and looked back at the man who held the sword so threateningly before her.

"Fire," she whispered. A ball of flame ignited in her hand. She prayed Queen Serenity would not be upset with her, but she had no other choice. It had to be understood that in emergencies like this one, magic would have to be used. "You had better not come any closer," she said softly, the ball of fire burning brightly in her hand.

Jed paused just beside a boulder and watched the fire that sparked to life in her hand. Dear Lord! This girl not only had magic weaving through her mind, but she had it running through her entire body. He was astounded and at the same time felt a tingling of familiarity with the motion. He imagined that if he had seen this display of ability only a month earlier, he would not be so surprised and fascinated.

Rei tossed the fire ball across the distance at the stranger and it landed hard against his chest. With a grunt, the black-masked man fell backwards. He raised a hand and in it held a small silver dagger with the same twisted blade as the sword and flung it at her with a sharp jerk.

Rei jumped to the side, the blade scraping along the side of her bodice. She felt a slight sting but chose to ignore it as he flew at her with his arms outstretched. He caught her around the neck, his hands gripping so tightly she felt the air slipping from her lungs. She tried vainly to pry his hands off her neck, her nails digging into his wrists, but he was firm. In that instant she wished she could call on more magic than she had used, she wished she could—

It felt like a warm ocean spreading across her body. She suddenly felt safe and protected like she had never felt before. Her vision was blurred for she believed she had fallen unconscious while the black masked man's hands were wrapped so crushingly around her neck. She looked up and blinked several times for the image before her could not be real. It was as though she was looking through a gossamer veil at the beach and right in front her, his back turned and his legs braced wide, was none other than Jed.

She felt the shock wash over her like the fire scorching her soul. Where had Jed come across these powers? She looked now through the haze and saw that the masked man was kneeling before Jed, his own hands clamped around his own throat. Jed stood straight and tall, his hands fisted at his side and his body tense. She shook her head slightly and blinked rapidly. She could not and would not assume that what she saw was true. This man possessed no more powers than the rock that lay at her side.

"Jed?" she breathed. The name came so softly from her lips that she did not hear it herself, yet this strange and mysterious blonde angel that she thought she knew so well turned and furrowed his brow.

"I cannot answer your question at the moment," he said with strain. She noticed then that the fisted hands at his side were white-knuckled and there was sweat dripping down the sides of his face. This was costing him more than the pain he had been suffering only days before.

She watched him turn his back and stalk stiffly toward the still figure. "You will not harm a soul again, is that understood?" he stated. There was such power and command in his voice that Rei was sure that it was not something he was unfamiliar with. He stood as though he knew how to give a command. He spoke without fear of being ridiculed and mocked. This was something she had not expected to see and it made her heart pound rapidly in her chest. She wanted to reach out and touch him, touch the aura that surrounded her like the protective arms or a mother. . .or a lover.

The masked man hoarsely coughed out a "yes" and Rei watched Jed loosen the grip on his right hand. The masked stranger gasped in air and reached out a hand to claw at the beach. "Who sent you?" Jed asked coldly.

The stranger shook his head and breathed in heavily, stirring the sand beneath him. "I will not answer these questions," he said.

Jed tightened his fist again and the masked man gasped out in pain. "Tell me who sent you," Jed said calmly.

The hooded eyes rose to challenge those of icy blue and he smirked so devilishly that Jed almost lost his grip on himself. "You will be punished, general, oh yes you will. You have failed and you will be punished."

Jed glared hard at the smirking face and tightened his hand again, only this time, the masked stranger did not seem to care. He continued to smirk that awfully challenging and sickening smirk that made Jed's innards squirm. He had no choice; he opened his hand briefly, saw the look of victory flash through the man's eyes and then quickly clapped his hands together in an ear-splitting crash.

The masked man glowed white before bursting into brilliant lights of gold, then disappeared.

Jed breathed in through his nose and turned to look at Rei. He could feel his body aching and his wounds stinging. He had used too much of himself in that moment and knew that whatever power had helped him to heal as quickly as he did was now dissolving and regressing back on itself. He could feel the searing heat of pain slashing through his leg and felt weary beyond belief. "Rei," he managed to croak. "Are you well?" he asked.

Rei stood slowly and walked out of the hazy aura that was beginning to break away. "What are you?" she asked softly.

Jed shook his head and caught himself before he fell to his knees. His head was reeling, his legs shaky, he wasn't sure how long he could continue to stand on the beach and answer her questions. He felt as though his entire body had been thrown from a cliff and buffeted against the rocky shores. "I do not know," he replied.

And Rei saw such confusion and grief written on his face that she did not dare to question him further. She would struggle through finding the answer herself if that was the case. She realized in that moment that this man had changed her life completely. She was no longer going to travel on the same road she had thought she would. Her life had been forever altered the moment she saw the blonde angel lying on her beach. "Come," she said softly, holding out her hand to him, "I will take you home and we will see to it that you are put to bed."

Jed looked at the outstretched hand with wonder. Was this beauty really offering her kindness and generosity to a man she had just seen kill someone? Was she willing to take his hand and lead him back into the cozy cottage and allow him to sleep in her bed when he had no knowledge of where the power had come from? A power he could not freely call his own?

He reached out a shaky hand to hers and closed his eyes with pleasure and comfort when she curled her fingers tightly around his. "I care not what you are," she whispered. Jed's ears perked up and his pain momentarily fled. "I care not what you were in the past. . .nor do I care what you may become in the future. I am grateful beyond words that you saved my life," she said. Jed looked down into her face and saw there something he had not seen in a long while. Trust.

"The power that flows through me is power that is meant to serve you," he said.

Rei wasn't sure what to make of that, but smiled in any case. She led him slowly back to the cottage, his hand tucked gently in her own and put him to bed. As she climbed down the ladder she recalled the event on the beach and stroked a finger down her cheek. "Who are you, Jed," she whispered to herself.

When he woke the next morning, his body felt supple and loose. He felt alive and free of all the stresses of his normal general duties. For some odd reason he knew he did not have to train his men today. He did not have to sit in the sun for hours at a time, his sword held loosely in his hand as he surveyed the mock battle on the hilly lands of his home. He could merely lie in his bed, warm and content and at ease with himself.

He turned his head on the pillow and looked out of the window at the gently swaying trees. He felt himself smirking before he felt himself smile. He was relaxed and well and his mind was clear.

He sat up in bed, his eyes wide with wonder. Was he remembering his past?

He looked down at his hands and examined the knuckles of his fingers. He was just remembering something. He could feel the remnants of the feeling sifting in and out of his body. He couldn't grasp onto the word, but he knew the feeling of being carefree. He remembered standing on a hilltop with his hands clasped firmly behind his back and ten score of men lining the hillside below him.

The man he had killed had called him general. Is that what he was? A general? Was he no mere sea-dwelling captain with a gentle wife who would bake him bread and stir him soup? Was he a war-crying, sword-wielding general with a battalion of men to order about?

He shook his head and turned to look at the opening in the floor. A dark head of hair was emerging and with the sight he felt his bones grow weak and his heart race. "Rei. . ." he sighed.

"Good morning, Jed," she said cheerfully.

He didn't understand her good mood, but took it in stride. "Are you well this morning, Rei?" he asked gently.

Rei smiled down at him and handed him the piece of bread and cheese she had gathered from the cabinet down stairs. "I am hale and hearty. Are you well?"

Pleasantries were not something he was good at. It never held his interest for long. "I still do not remember where the power came from," he said without introduction.

She merely nodded her head and looked out the window at the same swaying trees he had been looking at earlier. "I did not expect the answer to come to you with one night's rest. I also know that whatever power it is you have, it is strong and you must learn to control it. I could see yesterday that the control came with difficulty."

Jed remembered all too well the straining he had felt as he tried to keep that magnificent strength in him bottled. He had felt protective and worried as he had never felt before. "I wanted only to assure myself that you were well."

Rei nodded and moved toward the ladder. "I must journey to the top of the cliff, but I will not be long. "

"Why do you climb to those heights?"

She turned back and looked at him with her head cocked at a fetching angle. "I've run out of food and need to replace it else we shall starve."

Jed nodded and turned to look at the piece of bread in his hands. "I shall go with you, if you but give me a moment," he said softly.

Rei felt a moment's panic before she smiled. "There is no need. You should rest. You are not completely healed from the storm and I would see to it that you are well before you journey anywhere. . .especially up a mountain."

He nodded slowly and did not bother to look up as she climbed down the ladder. When he heard the door to the cottage open then close, he jumped out of the small bed and shoved the piece of bread into his mouth. He took a sip of the water that sat by the bed then threw on the borrowed clothing. He would force the memories back into his mind. He needed to know who he was; he needed to be certain that he was here for a reason and not merely to lie about in a small cottage with an empty mind.

"How long has it been?"

"I do not know. . ."

"You must know! This is not proper! He could be dangerous!"

Rei turned to look at her friend and there was such sadness in her eyes that Mina could not hold her anger. "Rei, listen to me. . ."

"No, I have heard enough. I know he is a stranger, I know he could be evil, but I do not care."

"You do not care? Rei, there is an assassin out roaming the universe searching for your head!"

She refused to listen to her friend. There was no reason to judge someone merely because. . .

"Mina. . .I have had enough of your useless squalling. Tell me if you have had any word from Serenity," Rei said.

Mina threw herself into a chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I have not and I am so bored and feel so useless that I am thinking of taking myself home this instant. You can go and play with your lost sea captain and I will go home and train like senshi do."

Rei shook her head and knelt in front of the blonde beauty. "I know you are bored, princess, and I know you are upset with me because I do not come and visit you as often as I said I would, but I have much to do down on my little beach. Besides, you play with the babe that Rohan's wife has borne and you busy yourself with making new battle plans for us senshi to go over with you. Sit here a while longer and give me time to figure out just who this stranger is. I will send him home once his memory has returned and once I know he is no threat."

The girl in the chair sighed heavily before nodding. "Be careful. . .who knows what sorts of strength he wields," she warned.

But Rei knew too well the strength the man had. She had witnessed power comparable to her own and had felt the steely strength of his hands on hers. Yes, she would be wary of him for she knew just the sort of man he was. A man she could not entangle herself with. A man who was beginning to wedge his way into her heart. A man she was capable of caring too strongly for.

She did not tell Mina of the power she had seen. Nor did she tell her friend of the roiling emotions that churned in her like an angry sea. There was no reason to alarm her friend. She would continue on with the original plan, she would find out who this stranger was, return his memory, send him home, then find out who was trying to have her murdered.

As she strolled leisurely down the hill, she noticed a figure standing on the beach, working diligently to dislodge the large trunk from the rocks. She recognized the figure as Jed and quickly made her way to the shore. When she reached him, he was pushing with all his strength against the back of the trunk. "Do you require any assistance?" she asked pleasantly.

Jed stopped and turned to look at her. His hair was plastered to his forehead with perspiration and his chest was heaving. "Nay, I need no help. I've managed to get it loose, now all I need to do is push it until it becomes free," he said wiping a hand over his brow.

Rei looked toward the trunk that she noticed had become loose. "What do you hope to find?" she questioned.

Jed shook his head and kicked the object. "I know not what to expect. I came to the shore to find peace from my mind, but then espied the trunk. Perhaps there will be some key to my past in there. . .but I do not want to liven my hopes," he said not looking at her.

Rei nodded slowly and watched him regain his position and push against the heavy oak trunk with his shoulder. She wanted to lend him help, but for some odd reason felt that it was not her place to do so. Perhaps that is why the trunk had never become available to her.

With a loud 'crack', the trunk slipped out of the rocks and fell to the wet sand. Both looked at it with something akin to surprise and neither moved from their position. "Open it," Rei said softly.

Jed looked hard at the trunk and took a deep breath. "There probably isn't anything in there but clothing and mayhap a book or two," he said.

"You will never now until you open it."

Jed merely blinked before moving toward his goal. When he knelt on his knee to open the lid, Rei held her breath. She didn't know what to expect, but there was a part of her that prayed and hoped that it would not jog his memory into action. She wanted to be a part of that wonder.

She shook her head. Why was she thinking that? She blinked back the thought and opened her eyes to what Jed was doing. She saw the lid had been thrown back and he had disappeared inside. "What is it?" she asked, still reeling from her original thoughts.

Jed emerged holding out a handful of clothing that looked to be made from silk and then a book. "I told you it was nothing but clothing and books," he said with a grin.

Rei mentally let out a sigh of relief and moved to stand beside him. "This clothing is beautiful," she said stroking the shirt he held in his hand. It was made of a cream silk; the laces at the neck were a satin chord of rich blue. It was a shirt made for a prince, not a mere captain. "Is it yours?" she asked.

Jed fingered the silk and then furrowed his brow. His concentration was fierce, yet there was no recognition in his face. "I do not know," he said quietly. He let the shirt fall back into the trunk and then opened the book in his hands. "A bunch of useless silk and satin clothing and a book about warfare...nothing in this blasted box makes any sense to me," he said frustrated.

He felt warm fingers on his forearm and looked down at the raven-haired goddess who stood beside him. No matter how many times he looked in her direction, she seemed to grow more and more beautiful. Her eyes were lit up with a fire he had not seen before. There was something warm and gentle in her eyes that made his heart lurch to grab her to him. Instead he leafed through the book until he had reached the back cover.

"Jadeite. . ." he said, running a finger over the bold scrawl on the back cover.

Rei looked down at the word and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Jadeite. . .jadeite is a stone," she said gently.

"Nay. . .there is something...something about this...Jadeite..." he whispered, "Jadeite. . .Jade. . .Jed. . ." his eyes lit up, "It is my name, Rei!"

Rei blinked up at him. "I do not understand. You said your name was Jed," she replied.

"It is. My name is Jed. . .but it is a nickname for Jadeite," he smiled. He seemed to be as excited as a school boy. "The sound of it is so clear. I can picture an older woman reaching out her hand and calling to me with that name on her tongue," he said. He reached down and grabbed up a twig on the sandy ground, then smoothed his hand over the sand. He proceeded to make long and elegant strokes in a bold hand. The name that emerged was an exact match to that in the book.

Rei felt her heart plummet. For some reason that name sounded familiar to her as well, but she could not think of where she had heard it before. She remembered her grandfather telling her about the great healing powers that jadeite held, but she also remembered hearing someone named Jadeite being called in court. Why could her own memory not serve her correctly?