Ok, again, sorry for the late arrival. I will sincerely try to get the next chapter out to you all as soon as I can. I hope you enjoy this one. It's not as exciting as I would have liked it to bed, but I'm still considering some ideas of mine and so, consider this a neutral chapter that just allows all of us to see more into the characters themselves. Please read and review and enjoy!

Lady Hino

>>>>>

The next morning, Rei woke up in a daze. For a minute she lay awake, staring at the dying embers in the fireplace. She had not slept by the fireplace since she was on Mars and her mother had come in and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. At first she thought she was still on mars, the warmth she felt could only be from the roaring fire that flew high in the shrine. If she concentrated hard enough, she could hear the daily activity of her Martian subjects, the cheerful greetings they gave one another as they began their daily chores, the creaking of wagon wheels, and she could smell the morning fires with meat roasting over them. But after the minute of pure blissful memory had past, she was harshly thrown back into the reality that awaited her.

She sat up slowly, groggily and looked about the room. It still looked like the same cottage, with its bare furnishings and clean windows that let in so much sunlight, Rei always had to shield her eyes when she came into the room. But today it looked different. The light was still as bright as yesterday and the birds still chirped wildly outside the windows, but everything seemed different. She didn't feel as safe as she did just twelve hours before when all her problems focused on whether or not she could help Jed restore his memory. Now it seemed like she had to worry about whether or not she was going to be found out and killed in just a few hours.

Heaving a slightly tortured sigh, she turned and looked toward the door and a smile tugged at her lips for Jed was leaning against it with a large stick clutched loosely in his hands. She felt the smile spread over her lips as she watched his chest rise and fall gently with his breathing. She closed her eyes and smiled brightly as she recalled how she had made it possible for that chest to rise and fall in the first place. She remembered his injured body lying helplessly in her bed and felt an overwhelming urge to slip down beside him and rest his lolling head on her shoulder.

Just as she began to stand from her position on the floor, there was a banging on the door. She jumped up and pressed her back against the wall, the ladle from the pot clutched in her hand as if she was clutching a sword. Her legs were spread in a wide stance and her hand braced out in front her as though she were going to strike down the foe before her with a stunning spell. It was this vision of heroic angel that Jed jerked awake to.

His knuckles were white on the stick he held in his hands and though his eyes initially flashed worry, they softened slightly when he saw how bravely the fiery goddess was standing, ready to fight.

Rei knew in that instant that he had been trained as a fighter. He was alert and ready at any moment; those were not groggy eyes staring at her. She allowed herself another brief smile then found herself frowning; did this prince Endymion teach him out to be the ready fighter he seemed to be?

"I cannot believe I fell asleep," Jed said to her as he pressed his back against the door. He winked at her then turned his head to the side and spoke through the door. "What is it that is so urgent you must wake my lady from her slumber?"

Rei blinked at him and Jed turned to smile at her. She looked utterly confused by his choice of words and looked delectably like a cat ready to pounce on her prey…more like a tigress. "Who goes?" Jed called, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Let me in your dolt! We've been standing out here for hours! It gets mighty cold out here when the sun goes down!"

"Oh come now, Zoicite, you slept under a horde of blankets all shoved up against Kunzite's back and my own," Nephrite said with a chuckle, "sort of reminded me of an innocent babe, though we all know that to be a falsehood."

Jed smiled and opened the door, "Zoicite always was dramatic," he said loudly. He paused, as did every other person within hearing distance.

"How would you know I'm dramatic?" Zoicite asked.

"I…"

"Jadeite?" Endymion said from behind Zoicite.

"I am…not certain. It is just that…"

Rei cocked her head to the side and looked at his back, her mind running crazily. Was he remembering? Would he forget her? And if he did, why did that matter so much?

"It was but a flash of something, but I cannot grasp hold of it again," he said turning to look at Rei. She almost gasped aloud for it seemed that his eyes were telling saying to her, "Of course I would not forget you."

Jed then turned back to the four expectant men at the door. "I suppose I am still to entrust my life with the lot of you," he said as a way to change the subject. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I want to remind you all to mind my lady Rei and mistress Mina. There is no way that these two women will be harmed. If all of you are truly friends of mine, then you shall all honor this request."

"So you've said," muttered Zoicite.

"And so your request shall be honored," Endymion said turning to look hard at the blonde general behind him. "Are you all ready to leave? We should begin the journey."

Jed looked to Rei for an answer and saw her eyes focus on his. He could just imagine what was running through her mind at this very moment. Doubts, wonder, curiosity, anger, but never fear. She would never show any fear to any enemy or stranger. "Give the lady time to freshen herself and pack what she needs," he said for her.

Endymion nodded and pulled his generals from the door. "Leave them be," he said gently and closed the door.

"What has happened to him?" Nephrite said to himself, his fingers pressed to his temples. "I cannot imagine if that had happened to me, what I would do…or think…"

"Strange how his memory has completely faded," Kunzite said spinning the tip of his sword in the sand, "What caused such nonsense?"

"The ship that that woman was talking about?" Zoicite asked.

"A fall to the head? I've never heard of anyone completely losing all memories," Kunzite said shaking his head, "What exactly can be done? We are short one general from our army, one general to protect our prince and thousands of soldiers who will only follow him."

"Is that all you care about? War?" Nephrite said, "We are missing a brother! His mind is not on the same level as our own. We are far from helping him."

"What was he doing on the ship in the first place? Where was he bound for?" Zoicite said.

"Probably some damn crusade for peace and light. Escape from the demands of his father's court," Kunzite replied sarcastically.

"Jadeite does not search for escapes," Nephrite interrupted.

"He does when he is being hounded by warlords."

"I do not hound him, I merely train."

"Train the poor man to the bone!"

"He needs it!"

"His wife just died along with his child! Give him mourning time!"

"It has been a year! He needs to move on!"

"You are heartless."

"Enough!" shouted Endymion. "Jadeite is our brother. We will not speak of him in anger when his mind is in the shadows. We shall help him overcome this; that is all you need concern yourselves with. Nothing more. I must speak with my wizards when we reach the palace. I cannot lose him to this mind eating magic."

The other three generals looked down sheepishly. They all knew Endymion was right. They all knew that they were acting irrationally, but it seemed that they couldn't help themselves.

"My apologies, my prince. I fear we are all greatly troubled by this unexpected turn of events," Kunzite replied on behalf of them all. "I never expected to find him like this."

"Nor did I, Kunzite," Endymion said rubbing his forehead. He looked beyond stress as though his hope for the future was grim. "I had hoped to find him in excellent health and with a frown on his face for being left alone for so long…I never expected to find a stranger in place of a brother…"

>>>>>

Jed sat on a bench near the door, his elbows resting on his spread knees and his head hanging down. To Rei he looked like a defeated man who she would try desperately to save. To Mina, he looked like a broken man who could not be fixed. "Give it up, Rei…" Mina whispered to her. "We have to let him go, we need to keep up appearances. How would it look if we went to this Earth Prince's home and…and lived? Queen Serenity will throw a fit!"

Rei turned to her friend and looked at her sparkling eyes. For a minute she thought of the truth of Mina's words, of the need to keep secret and hidden. She wanted to stay in the little cottage, away from prying eyes, away from the strange assassination attempts and away from the stress that being a senshi called for. But try as she might, those reasons were not valid enough for her. If she stayed, she would be abandoning the man who had put his life in her hands only days before this. It was not possible for her to ignore the pull he had on her; she wanted to be there when he opened his eyes and saw the world for what it was. She wanted to be there to help him through the nightmares that she knew would be sure to come.

"There is no hope for it…I will go. If you choose to stay here, alone, then so be it. But I will not leave this man alone. There is too much of that in the universe," Rei said with finality. And Mina knew that when she saw that hard look in Rei's eyes, there was no chance of changing her mind. The most hard-headed of all the senshi was standing before her, daring her to challenge her word and Mina, though she was the captain of the senshi, would not tempt to anger the fire goddess.

"Then I have no hope but to go with you…willingly," Mina replied and stepped to the door. "I'm going to go to my own small cottage and gather up what I need for this unexpected journey," she said and she gave Rei one last pleading look before turning to open the door.

"Bring Kunzite," Jadeite suddenly said and both Rei and Mina started at his words. Had he been listening to them the whole time they spoke?

"Why should I bring one of those awful generals?" Mina asked cautiously.

"He is the most trustworthy of them all," Jadeite said lifting his head and bestowing upon Mina a smile that would have lit up any dark corner. "Why, once—when I was but ten and four and he merely ten and five---he led the way through this forest that we had gotten lost in!" he said with eager eyes.

Rei cocked her head and stared at him. His eyes were bright and misted; as if he were not the same person he had been but seconds before. She felt herself sink inward and pull away from those shining eyes. "You…remember?" she asked hesitantly.

Jed turned to look at her with those over bright eyes and blinked, and then the memory was gone, almost as quickly as it had come, and the eyes were once again a startling blue. "I'm sorry…" he said, his brow crinkling, "Remember…no, I don't recall…" he said. His eyes were sullen. "My brain works in a very particular way. I can see the image, but it does not last," he said gently.

Mina frowned and began to move outside.

"Wait…" Jed said turning to her.

"What is it?"

"Take Kunzite…" he repeated.

Mina stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "There is no reason for me to bring a man with me to my cottage. I am perfectly safe on my own," she said, "And besides, I thought you didn't remember who any of them were."

Jed shook his head and stood, "I do not remember being lost in any forest or being in the care of that man, though the words may have come out of my mouth as though I did…All I know is that my instincts say that he is perfectly responsible and trustworthy. He will guard you, though you claim you need no one."

Mina narrowed her eyes slightly and looked to Rei.

Rei merely shrugged her shoulders and went back to gathering the little trinkets she had brought from Mars. "Perhaps, this one time," she began, "you should take heed of Jed's word."

Mina angrily stormed from the cottage, a chilling call of, "Someone named Kunzite is supposed to hack his way through the forest before me," echoed through the doorway as Jed stood up to close it.

"She is terribly put out with me," Jed said softly.

Rei turned to glance at him and saw the expression on his face. It was not concern for his reputation, but infectious glee that shone on his face. "It isn't nice of you to say such things," Rei pointed out to him, "No gentleman would do such."

"How do you know I'm a gentleman?" he asked, leaning his shoulder against the door and crossing his arms over his chest. "Perhaps I'm merely the same sea-faring captain with terrible manners as before."

"That, sir is impossible," Rei said as she tied the makeshift bag with a string.

"Why is that?"

She looked up at him and Jed found himself catching his breath for the thousandth time that day. The beauty that shown through her was so breathtaking and alarming that he could never look at her without being awed. He wanted to grab her in his arms and whisk her away to some unknown island where he could strip her of her clothing and burn them so that he could watch her roam about in nothing but the air that twirled in and out of her raven tresses. "There is a simply answered question," she said.

Jed stared into her violet eyes, mystified by the way they twinkled with mirth and yet she still managed to look like a mother explaining to her child why the birds sang. "There is a prince outside waiting to escort you to a palace. There are three princes out there who claim you are the forth. Your titles are overwhelming to the ear and you present yourself in a way I have only seen princes do. How can you believe you are anything but a gentleman?"

"You have seen princes before?" Jed asked, his mind obviously stuck on what she had said on a whim.

She turned away briefly and was annoyed to find herself blushing, "From a distance," she said quietly and Jed did not believe her for an instant.

"Go upstairs and pack the rest of your belongings," he said, giving her an escape. "I shall rummage through that trunk and see if there is anything worth taking."

She fled with as much grace as she could, her shoulders high as she climbed the ladder to the top of the loft. "Be careful, Rei…" she whispered to herself, "Soon he will find you out and you'd rather he discover your lies later in this game than sooner…"

>>>>>

"Deceiving little wench!" Kunzite said as he saddled his horse.

"What was that?" Endymion asked as he passed by his soldier.

"Nothing, your highness," Kunzite grumbled, tightening the straps.

"Calm down, Kun, or you'll suffocate your horse," Endymion said with a smile.

Kunzite turned to look at his long-time friend, a frown creasing his brow.

"What troubles you?" Endymion asked thoughtfully.

"It's that blonde-haired witch!" Kunzite said with passion.

Endymion hid a laugh and turned to look at the lovely blonde girl who was currently standing on the first step of the cottage tapping her toe impatiently. The raven-haired beauty was leaning casually against the wall, her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes trained on the ground in front of her, as if she were meditating while standing. "Why would you say a thing like that?" Endymion asked turning back to the silvery blonde-haired general who was not clenching his jaw as he looked up at the girls. "All I see is a lovely fair-haired woman with stunning blue eyes, similar to our friend Jadeite."

The frown deepened on his brow, "She is a hell cat," he said.

Endymion shook his head, "I fail to see it."

"I walked up to that terrible excuse for a cottage on the top of that cliff so that she could gather up some of her possessions, but that little wench slipped out the back door and ran into the woods before I could even blink. And when I finally realized she had escaped and was running back to her friend, I caught her by the hair and dragged her back down the cliff," he said with menace. It wasn't entirely true. She had slipped out the back door and she had been running away to find her friend, but he had not dragged her down for there was no way in the world the blonde Minette would have let him drag her by her hair. Instead, she had pulled out the knife she was hiding in the small parcel she had gripped in her left hand and slashed his forearm. He had merely decided to drag her down by holding onto the precious parcel she carried.

Endymion smiled at the end of the story for he saw the lie in his friend's eyes. "You lie terribly," Endymion said and moved slowly toward his horse. "Tell one of the boys to saddle Shadow…maybe that will help our friend remember where he came from."

Jed turned to look at Rei as he dropped a bundle of clothing onto the ground, "Do not look so defeated," he whispered.

Rei lifted her head and raised an elegant eyebrow, "I am not defeated."

"Then why do you look so downtrodden?"

"That is hardly how I would describe Rei's appearance," Mina said while still tapping her foot impatiently. "She's merely deep in thought. Isn't that Kunzite a dreadful character of a man?"

Rei looked in the direction of the man with flowing silver hair and cocked her head to the side, "I wouldn't know," she said faintly.

Jed wet his lips then put a hand on Rei's shoulder. "The journey is long," he said.

"I shall be perfectly fine," Rei said as she pushed off of the wall and strode down the walkway to examine the amazingly beautiful horse that had been tethered to a tree near the steps. She stood away from it, uncertain if she were allowed to touch it or not.

"His name is Shadow," a voice said from behind her.

Rei spun around to see the Prince standing there, with his hands clasped regally behind his back and a black cloak slung over his shoulders. The left side had been whipped back to show off the red velvet lining. "He's lovely," she said.

Endymion walked up to the dark stallion and stroked a hand down his neck. "He is normally very temperamental around strangers," he said.

Rei examined the animal. He was a lovely black stallion, sleek with muscle. His mane and tail were of the darkest midnight black and his eyes were intelligent as they studied her. "All black is very intimidating," she said more to the stallion than Endymion.

"He is nothing of the sort," said Jadeite as he walked toward them.

Endymion looked to him with excitement.

"Do not get excited just yet," Jadeite said, "I only say that because when I look at him and him at me, there is no skittishness in him and he does not sense danger. It is not hard to read the animal. And, Rei, his back left foot is pure white."

Rei turned to look and smiled. "So it is…"

"Whose steed is he? Whoever his owner is, he has done a fine job of raising his beast. He is calm and steady, but there is a need for adventure lurking behind those chestnut eyes of his," Jadeite said as he stroked the nose of the stallion. Shadow whinnied in appreciation.

"He is yours," Endymion said with a smile. "I brought him for deep in my mind, I knew I would find you and I knew you would want your mount back."

Jed stared in disbelief at the large creature bumping his head against his shoulder. "Amazing…"

Endymion laughed and moved away, but not before he winked at the lovely violet-eyed girl who was staring in astonishment at the blonde general.

>>>>>

"This is surely the most ridiculous, dangerous, idiotic thing I have ever done," Rei said to herself as they rode away from the cottage. She was mounted in front of Jed as Endymion had not anticipated more riders coming with him. She sat with her back ramrod straight and away from Jed's body. There was no way she would allow herself to lean back and get comfortable for it was only when she mounted the horse that she realized how fool-hardy the idea was to travel with him. "I will most definitely be killed for this…I will probably live the rest of my days in solitude for my stupidity," she whispered.

"What is it that you are mumbling up there?" Jed's voice came from behind her. She winced and he knew that he was not supposed to have overheard what she was saying. To make her feel more at ease, he subtly tightened his grip on the reins of the horse, thereby squeezing her tighter between his arms. "Do not think yourself foolish," he whispered into her ear. Rei could feel his breath, warm and gentle, stirring the hairs on her neck. "If anyone is foolish, it is me," he said.

She turned to look at him over her shoulder. "Why would you say that?" she asked with one elegant brow crooked up.

Jed suppressed the urge to kiss away the frown that was gathering between her brows and instead smiled slowly at her. "Who is it that has no brain in his head? And is riding with practical strangers who insist on repeating that this man with no mind is a prince with a far more intelligent soul than the one I possess?" he asked with a chuckle.

Rei allowed herself to smile patiently at him, "You will retain your memories…just you see," she said. She allowed herself to relax slightly at the look he gave her; it made her feel as though she were the only thing grounding him to this planet. She felt as though without her, he would plummet and be unable to pick himself up.

She turned her head to stare gently at her blonde friend who was currently arguing whole-heartedly with the silvery-haired prince sitting behind her. The air of authority rang true in both of them, the aura about them screamed with frustrated annoyance and yet there was also a softening that Rei could sense. Being a Martian princess and priestess taught her much in the way of reading the minds and feelings of those around her, though the blonde man who rode so skillfully behind her was not so easily read, his mind was a blank canvas that she was to set her paints to. How unlike the people of her home…she thought back to the nights when she and Mina would run wildly in the snow-white forests of the Moon and seek out game to practice against, Ami yelling at them to return from her tower room and Serenity snoring fitfully in her own. Makoto would always smile and shake her head when she learned that they were romping around in the forest, but never would she say a thing. At times like those, Rei felt the most at home…and the strange dark green forests that she was now traveling in made her feel like an intruder in a warm nest of family.

Weariness settled into her bones then, a sharp and painful reminder of the restless night she had just spent near the hearth of the small cottage she could not call her own. With a sigh she absentmindedly rested further back into the saddle, her lashes drifting slowly toward her cheeks as the steady trot of the great black stallion beneath her continued on his path. She felt a heavy warmth envelope her just as her eyes shut and her head lolled to the side.

Jed tightened his grip on the reins with one hand and wrapped his heavy black velvet cloak around her shoulders before her eyes completely closed and before he felt the strain dissipate from her limbs. He smiled gently to himself and prodded Shadow into a faster cant, urging Endymion to move faster. "I was told by that insolent general, with hair worthy enough of a woman, that we are to reach an inn before nightfall, correct?" Jed asked in a slightly arrogant voice.

Endymion looked down at the sleeping dark-haired angel riding in Jed's arms and felt a moment's worth of jealousy. Would that he had a woman to snuggle against his side and warm his bed, especially one of such alluring dark beauty as this mysterious creature in Jed's arms. "Yes," he said after clearing his throat. This stern voice that Jadeite used sounded much like his old self and made Endymion wonder: if he could merely keep Jadeite in this same demeanor, perhaps he would revert back to his former self before they reached the palace. "I have secured the area in case of attack. I have sent men ahead and posted them at several different intervals to ensure that we are not being followed."

"I hope they are also prepared for an attack should they find someone waiting for us?" Jadeite said, and there was a gleam in his eye that Endymion knew too well. The look of a soldier ready for battle. His heard lightened. "Of course!" he said so enthusiastically that Nephrite turned his head to look at them and Zoicite frowned in their direction. Even Kunzite stopped bickering with the infuriating beauty to look toward his prince.

Jadeite merely nodded his head and turned to look behind him. "Be on your guard, men," he said in the same authoritatively stern tone he had used before. "If you see anything suspicious, alert everyone at once," and with that he rode toward the front of the group, his arms still protectively around Rei.

Zoicite rode up beside Endymion and then nodded toward the stiff back of Jadeite. "Well?" he asked.

Endymion smiled sadly and then turned to look at the other generals staring curiously at him. "It was as though Jadeite never disappeared. I wish we could keep him here."

But it was not to be, for by the time they had reached the inn that night, Jed was looking at Endymion with the same wary uncertainty that he had seemed to do since they first encountered each other in the cottage. "Rei…" he whispered softly as they came to a halt before a large gray building with a row of mounted horses lined up before it. "Wake up, angel…we are at the inn," he said.

Rei awoke with a start, her dreams of a laughing group of girls sitting on a sandy hill and over looking the quaint villages of the Martian kingdom fading rapidly. "So we are…" she said sleepily.

Jed unconsciously rubbed a hand up and down her arm and the shivers of delight that spread through her made her stiffen and straighten away from him in the saddle. "I apologize," Jed said as he dismounted. He held up his hands and grasped her by the waist to help her down; his hands lingering longer than a gentleman's should have when her feet landed on the ground.

Endymion swept past them and up the steps, turning when he reached the door, "I have made sure that this inn was prepared for our arrival. Come, there is no time to waste. It is still a few days journey to Earth's kingdom," he said with a slight grin.

Jed took Rei by the elbow and escorted her inside and Rei—as well as Jed—was astonished by the way the inn looked. Though quite shabby and plain on the outside, Endymion had spared no expense in making sure that the interior was glittering with the reds, blacks and greens of the Prince's signature symbol. Hundreds of vases of brilliant red roses were spread around the inn with red silks and black velvets draped gracefully over tables and candles glistening with warmth. "I had to come up with quite a spell in order to get all of this set up before we arrived. I hope we shall all sleep well here," Endymion said gesturing toward the stairs. "There are four rooms upstairs. Jadeite, you shall take one, Minette and Reina shall take another, I shall take the one on the end, and Kunzite and Nephrite and Zoicite shall take the last."

"Is that fair?" Jed as hesitantly, "That is to say…I would not want to put any of you out…"

"Nonsense," Endymion began, "Nephrite, Kunzite, and Zoicite are on a rotating watch and there will never be more than two asleep at a time. You are not to worry."

"Though in all essence, it is unfair," Zoicite muttered from behind Jed.

Jed turned and glared at the offensive general then turned back to Endymion, "I would gladly take on a watch, sir…"

"Your majesty," Zoicite corrected.

"It is perfectly fine," Endymion assured even as he shook his head, "Do not worry about such things. I do not expect you to keep a watch like the others. You are to rest and regain your memory, which is your most important task."

Jed nodded and turned to look about him again. There was a black piano standing in the back of the large receiving room and on top of it a vase of pristine white roses. "Sir…your majesty," Jed said.

"Jadeite?" Endymion smiled.

"I wonder why there is a vase of white roses amidst ruby red," Jed replied without thought. The other three generals seemed to hold their breath and the entire room became still.

Endymion's smile wavered slightly, but only a trained eye would have noticed. "They are not white," he said with a slight misty quality laced in his words, "They are the palest of silvers. Rare beauties, are they not?"

"I prefer cherry blossoms," Jed said.

The room's breath caught. "Why is that?" Endymion asked amused.

Jed turned to him and the look in his eyes made Rei frown in thought. "They are rare beauties, your majesty. Blooming once a year in the spring, a vibrant pale pink to suggest to their innocent nature. Delicate, yet strong and courageous. Gentle as they land on in your hand, but so alluring that it makes your heart constrict. With the slightest breeze they fall from their safe haven, but once free, they enclose you in their embrace like a tight fist with a breath of warmth and sweet smelling nectar drifting to your senses. When the last falls, I am content, for I know that this strange and captivating beauty is the personification of spring, the essence of truth and vitality, and I am merely waiting for the next year when I can see it sprout again."

Endymion stared at his general with a strange smile before her continued. "The pale silver rose reminds me of a reoccurring dream I have of a silvery world and a watery smile. Silver amongst red reminds me of two worlds colliding to balance one another. I have the silver roses delivered to me from all over the Earth. The place where they are most abundant seems to be in a garden surrounded by cherry blossom trees. And in the spring, when the night arrives and the moon glistens on the deep green leaves of the silver rose bush, the cherry blossoms loosen and the drift across the gardens, the magnolias shift in the breeze, the sunflowers dance and twirl with the pink blooms, and the iris stands steadily…that is when the silver rose blossoms."

Jed smiled at the image. "A lovely picture," he said gently.

Rei frowned again and looked back at the vase of roses.

"Where is this garden? I should like to see it," Jed said.

"It is at your palace, Prince Jadeite," Endymion said and he walked up the stairs ahead of them.

Rei turned to look at Jadeite and in her violet eyes, Jed saw the cherry blossoms he had so poetically described drift lazily. "Shall we?" he asked as he glided her toward the stairs.

>>>>>

Her fingers danced across the ivory and black keys, skipping and gliding like trained dancers in a ballet. She could hear the melody as though it were her own voice. She could see the air vibrate as she struck first one key and then another, and another and another, her fingers nimble and quick. She could feel the tune echo in her mind, twirling and waltzing amidst wafting cherry blossom petals.

She awoke with a blaze, the melody hitting a fevered pitch in her mind. Her eyes scanned the dimly lit bedroom of the inn, the dark walls covered with white linen and the large bed floating in the same. She sat up, rubbing her arms slowly as the chill breeze swept into the room. She turned to look down at her sleeping friend, a lone note still ringing in her ears.

As gently as she could, she rose from the bed and padded barefoot to the open window. She gazed out at the night, the sweet song flowing like fire through her veins. She had not craved the lulling effects of the piano since she had been at home, but the sight of the shining black piano forte that sat uselessly in the receiving room with keys that were dying to be touched made her entire body quiver with emotion. She wanted to be home, she wanted to play, she wanted to…she wanted…

She turned her head in the direction of the door, the strange melancholy melody slowly reaching her ears. Had she dreamed it, or was it real? She swept her mane of dark hair over her shoulder and made her way to the door, her ears alert to, not only the music, but also the soft snores issuing from the large bed. She opened the door and pressed her forehead to the frame, listening with all her might to the sad tune that cried from the fingers of the player. She could feel her heart tighten in her chest, she could feel the heat of the song whispering in her soul and she could feel the hands on the keys lazily playing on her skin.

There was a tear in her eye when she moved back to the bed. The song had been full of heartache and loneliness; of great pain and yet, there was an underlining of a love possibly found. There was a poignant moment in the dangerously heartbreaking breaking song that made her spirit lighten and her eyes glaze over with delight. It made her itch to play, it made her fingers twitch in anticipation. She wanted desperately to reach out and touch the hands of the artist who played and she wanted desperately to give him what he had unintentionally given her.

>>>>>

For two more days they continued as they had, the party making a slow, yet steady journey through the deep green woods and into the heart of the island that was known to be the homeland of the infamous Earth palace. For two days Kunzite and Mina bickered back and forth. For two days Jed and Rei sat in silence on Shadow, their hands always a breath from each others yet never touching. For two nights a black piano appeared in the receiving room of each inn, but on the first of those nights there was not only a vase of silver roses glistening on top of the instrument, but also a vase of cherry blossom branches sitting in the window behind it. And for two nights more Rei went to sleep with a tear in her eye and a tightness in her chest for the mysterious piano player continued to play his sad song. She would awaken at the first sound of the piano key, the note soaking into her dream until she opened her eyes to watch the shadows dance in time with the slow and mystifying melody. She would not seek the comfort of sleep until the last note rang true and even then her dreams were full of sweet smelling cherry blossoms and mysteriously sad music twining through her senses.