I hope you forgive me for the late arrival of this chapter…and I hope you like it! I think it's a turning point. I'll try to get the next chapter out faster. Some people are asking me to do a story featuring other characters…and I've been considering it. I originally wanted to do an FBI thriller or some other sort of modern day story featuring Rei and Jed, but I'm taking suggestions if any of you think I should write another historical romance or any other sort of genre on some other Senshi/General pairings.

In any case…read this chapter and let me know what you think. Enjoy it! READ AND REVIEW!

Lady Hino

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The palace loomed before her. It was massive; the towers soared toward the sky, the walls wrapped around and around the structure like the great arms of a mother enfolding her child. There were guards everywhere, women and children walking in every direction. It was grand. It was large. It was stone and mortar. It was a place ready for war at the drop of a hat.

Not at all like the Moon Kingdom.

Not at all like Mars, like home.

"Are you well?" she heard a voice ask from beside her. She turned toward it and smiled hesitantly. His eyes were hazy, there were strain marks around his mouth and his shoulders were stiff with tension.

"I am well," she managed to say. She wished she didn't want to smooth back the blond curls that were falling into his eyes. She wished she didn't desperately desire for him to take her hand in his and hold it as she entered those immense gates, and she dearly wanted it to be true that she didn't wish to be at home at the very moment, looking out over her own land with the sun casting a red glow over the terrain. "This is a large palace," she whispered.

The dark head in front of her turned around. "This palace has been in my family for thousands of years. I have had many modernizations done to it, but for the thousands of years it has been in my family, many many alterations have been made."

Rei blinked at the dark-haired man and cocked her head to the side, "It's a wonder a place like this is still standing then. What with all the additions and pokes and prods you make to it, I'm surprised the structure hasn't fallen down around your ears."

"Rei!" she heard Mina whisper harshly.

Endymion didn't seem to hear. "Of course it is more of a miracle, don't you think? A wonderful act of the Gods," he said to her with a grin. As he turned around in his saddle, Rei rolled her eyes skyward and sent up a silent prayer for patience in this new setting.

From behind her she could feel the presence of the man who had appeared on her beach. She wondered how he was taking all of this in, wondered how he felt when he looked up at a palace that he was supposed to recognize as a place he stayed in frequently.

She turned back and looked at the palace, this was her prison now. With her assassin still looming around in one direction or another, she was forced into hiding…The cottage afford little protection. A prince and his generals found her! Now she was to spend her days ensconced in a palace that was meant for war, a palace that was designed for five warriors and the queen mother to live in at one time. A palace with stone walls and small windows. She took a deep, cleansing breath and urged the mare beneath her forward. She would either die from the disappointment that Queen Serenity had for her, or she would go completely insane while living in these stone walls with no ocean to sooth her troubled spirits.

----

"This is to be your room," the tall, lanky attendant said to her as she made her way past him. "I hope it is to your liking. If it is not, I'm sure His Highness will have no problems finding you a suitable housing."

Rei turned back to him and shook her head, then looked back at what lay before her. It was cold in this room, the walls were gray with the bricks that made up the walls. There were large tapestries hanging from the walls, full of flowers and blossoms of the purest white. The bed was canopied, with white silks hanging down like liquid snow from the points of the four posters. The white linens were pristine, the rugs a pure and untouched white, a chandelier of frosted crystals hung in the center of the room; large and glimmering from the sun shining through the windows.

Rei turned toward the fireplace—just as the bedroom door closed, announcing the departure of the attendant—and noticed that it was sculpted of fine white marble, roses climbing on either side of the opening, the smooth yellow and orange flames in the grate fluttering gently. Two wing backed chairs sat at an angle with a white marble table between them. They too were white. "White…" she whispered to herself as she walked around the room, "White…colorless…pure…virginal."

She shook her head on a laugh and made her way toward the large glass windows that looked out over the back gardens. She looked beyond them, at the forest in the distance and finally toward the ocean that was merely a dark blue haze. She sighed and turned back to look at the room.

She cocked her head to the side when she saw the piano. It was white, of course, with a vase of blood red roses on the top. She furrowed her brow and shook her head slightly. She could have sworn there was no piano when she looked at the corner holding the small writing desk. She looked back toward the window and then back to the piano which had not changed positions.

With a quick look over her shoulder, she walked over to the instrument and ran her fingers across the keys, her heart singing the tune even though her fingers would dare not play it. She closed her eyes and images of cherry blossoms fluttered about her; flames engulfed her and stroked her face with their tendrils.

The knock at the door jostled her out of her reverie. "Yes," she called out as she stepped away from the instrument.

The door creaked and a familiar blonde head poked through the opening. "Good evening," he said as he moved to step inside the room. She watched him glance around momentarily before he grinned, "How…pristine," he said.

Rei smiled despite herself and moved toward him. "Where have they put you?"

"In some room dressed with blues and silvers and they would have me dress in a gray uniform when I go down to dinner," he looked uncomfortable as he watched her, "I merely wanted to assure myself that you are well. This is not too much of an inconvenience to you?"

Rei blinked at him and then slowly shook her head. "No," she said simply.

Jed nodded and moved toward the piano. He ran his fingers over the keys just as she had done earlier and then turned back to look at her. "I'm glad," he finally said.

Rei cocked her head to the side and studied him. He seemed awkward, tired and confused all at the same time. She wondered how he was reacting to this new life he had been thrown into; this life that he was supposed to live as though he had never left it. "Are you well, Jed?" she asked hesitantly.

Jed sighed and looked down at his feet. "I'm not certain," he said.

"Why is that?"

Jed looked toward the white arm chairs and motioned for her to take a seat before he took his. When she declined, he merely sat on the small bench that had been pulled from under the piano keys. He twisted slightly so that his hands grazed the keys and he gently pressed down. The sweet note hung in the air between them for a moment before Rei finally moved toward one of the white chairs and leaned against the arm. She smiled slightly when Jed finally brought his other hand up to the keys and fully turned to play a soft melody. It filled the large room with warmth, soothed her with the long notes and sweet chords.

"I feel out of place," he said as he moved his hands across the black and white ivory.

Rei turned toward him and blinked at the back of his head. "Why is that?"

The tune began to gain in volume, the speed still slow and mellow, but the notes wild and discordant. "They want me to be someone…someone I don't know how to be," he replied, his fingers slipping up and down the keys, "They are giving me a pair of shoes and telling me to step into them and take on the role of this lost soul I have not found."

She stood up and took several steps toward the man who rocked subtly to the music. "But when I try to escape into the world they would have me live in…there is nothing there…"

The music began to race, his fingers gliding quickly back and forth, "I sat in that room today and wondered who Jadeite was. I lay in the bed in the inn the night just past and I closed my eyes for hours, trying to shovel the blackness away to reveal the light. I wrestled my dreams of a costal shore and a small cottage; tried to find this palace, and a prince-dom."

Rei stood behind him and looked down while he played his piece. It was mournful, as though he had lost something very dear to him. The notes were rapid, without beat, and achingly sad. Her heart started to race as his music increased its tempo. She was as connected to the music as he was, she watched the rise and fall of his chest in time with the music and blinked back a sudden sting of tears.

Before she had time to place her hand on his shoulder, he had slammed his hands on the keys and stood up; two fingers pressing tightly against his temple. "Oh, Rei…" he groaned, "I will not be at peace here."

She took a deep breath and willed him to face her. When he did she noticed the harshness of his breathing, the strain in his stance and she merely leaned toward him.

He grasped her without a word, shoved his hands into her hair and took her lips with a savageness that neither expected. He was rough with his desire; he forced her chin down and plunged his tongue into her sweetness, then groaned when she went limp in his arms. He needed her; needed her more than he thought he would ever need a person. She cleansed him, made him whole and bright; caused the dark void of his thoughts to vanish until he only saw the light. He began moving her toward the door and pressed her back against it.

Rei didn't think, her senses were so overwhelmed by him that she could do little but whimper in the back of her throat as he ravaged her mouth. His lips moved wildly over hers, as though he sought something he could not reach and she savored in every ounce of pleasure that his kiss evoked. She wrapped her arms around his neck, gasped when she felt the cold hard door at her back, and pressed her body closer to his. What was this passion that seemed to grow between them? Why could she not control herself when his lips were on hers?

He pressed her harder against the door and moved his hands down the sides of ribs, then splayed a hand across her abdomen, marveling at how small she was. He ran his hands up again, his fingers grazed her nipples through the fabric of her gown as they slid back up her throat, then back down again. He took hold of her breasts in his palms, massaging them gently and nearly came out of his skin when she groaned softly and pressed herself fully into his hands. He was throbbing, eager and impatient to be inside her, giving her life; life that he did not have. He lowered his right hand, moved it to press against the skirts between her thighs and her flinch of uneasiness made him pause. She was afraid?

He opened his eyes abruptly. Innocent. He pulled away roughly, his breath coming out in pants, and moved away from her. "I can't…" he gasped.

Rei opened her eyes slowly and took in several calming breaths. A hand went up to her hair and she ran a shaky hand through the long mass, chiding herself for losing control like she did. "I…" she began, only to be caught off guard by the embarrassed flush that crept up her neck.

"Nay, Rei," Jed whispered, "I am truly a rogue for thinking to touch you. I am terribly sorry," he said. He too ran a hand through his hair and then, when he felt that his body had cooled enough, turned back to face her and smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes. "We should not tamper with fire," he said.

Rei almost grinned at that. He had tamped with fire…and it had set her flame so bright she feared even a dousing of Ami's ice could not put it out. "We are both at fault," she said with a warm sigh.

Jed raised an eyebrow at her remark and looked back at the piano; the roses were no longer red, but a soft and gentle pink. "Strange…" he said.

Rei's eyes followed his and she frowned when she noticed them. "Magic seems to be intense in this area," she whispered to herself.

He turned back to her and shook his head. "I suggest we depart," he said.

"For?"

"The evening meal," he said with a genuine smile. He offered her his arm and she placed her hand on his sleeve, her touch as light as air. He looked down into her eyes and saw the remnants of passion not spent and mentally tsked himself for not satisfying her, but deciding that he was the only one who could read those expressive eyes of hers, he winked at her and said merely, "Shall we?"

"I did not dress."

"There wasn't time," he said with a grin.

She returned his smile slowly and they made their way to the door.

Just as Jed swung it open, a gasp was uttered. "What is the meaning of this?"

Rei and Jed both swung their eyes toward the blonde and their mouths fell open. "I demand an explanation!"

"An explanation?" Rei stammered as she looked at her friend.

"Yes! The door was closed and then out you come, hanging on a man's arm. You should be thankful you are not at home, Qu—"

"No!"

Jed looked down at the raven-haired beauty with a look of surprise. She had shouted the word so loud that he wondered at her sudden worry over what had almost come from Mina's mouth.

"It is not as it seems," Rei said

Mina gave no response, merely turned her back on her dearest friend and stormed away from the couple. Things were not supposed to happen like this, she thought to herself as she got lost around one of the many bends within the palace. Rei was an assassin's prey, she was no longer under the protection that the cottage provided them with Queen Serenity looking down on them.

She turned another bend and found herself staring at a long gallery of old paintings from princes of the past. She turned around and mistakenly took a left instead of a right.

Why was her friend acting like this? If they were not careful, they would be found out. They shouldn't have come with the earth prince!

Another wrong turn.

They should have zapped all of them away without a heed to the consequences and then hidden within the cottages until they knew the coast was clear.

Did she just go in a circle?

She wasn't the leader of the senshi for nothing! She knew whom to trust and whom to mistrust.

Why was she staring at the same gallery of paintings again?

Rei had lost her mind!

And she had lost herself in this maze of a palace.

She stopped and shook off the thoughts of her friend and took a look at the surroundings that enclosed her. "Where am I?" she asked one large painting of some Earthling from centuries ago.

"You are in the hall of princes," came a cool voice.

Mina jumped and caught her breath. Was the painting talking to her? She stepped closer, examining all of the oils that were used to create the color of deep blue that the prince was wearing around his shoulders.

"You truly are a ridiculous woman," the voice came again.

She furrowed her brow and then stiffened. The voice was coming from behind her. She turned slowly and came face to face with the silver-haired warrior that she was beginning to dread seeing. "Then, please, step away from the ridiculous woman," she said bitingly.

Kunzite's eyes widened with annoyance as he spun on his heel and began to stride down the hall, his boot heels clipping on the marble floor. "I suggest you follow me if you want to fill that mouth of yours with something other than frivolous female comments," he shot over his shoulder.

Mina, fuming, stomped behind him, her thoughts of worry for her Martian friend filled instead with anger at the Earthling who dared to call her frivolous. Only Makoto could call her that!

----

It was still dark when he opened his eyes to stare at the white canopy above his bed. He could feel the cool wind rushing through the open terrace doors. He stared up into the darkness, the void of his memory haunting his waking thoughts as they did his dreams. He had dreamt of the ocean again, of a ship with a crew and billowing white sails. He had dreamt of the smell of the sea, the salty air hitting his face as he stood at the wheel of the ship. He had also dreamt of death again, of dead bodies littering steps to a castle, fields in the meadow, forest floors, beaches, and even beautiful foyers within a grand home. He had seen blood, tasted it, smelled it. He could relive any of these battles as though they were forever embedded in his spirit, no matter whose memory lay inside of him.

He sat up in his bed, the sheets sliding down to his naked waist and he stared out of the terrace doors, watching the thin curtains whispering to the moon that shown so brightly out on the terrace. He wished he could be as carefree as those curtains.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Jed made his way toward the terrace doors and on the way, grabbed up the blue silk dressing gown that lay at the foot of the bed. He slipped his arms into it and tied it around his waist as he stepped out into the cool early morning air. In the distance he could make out the faint dotting of an orange sun peaking the horizon. As he breathed in the sweet scent of morning dew, he heard the faint sounds of clanging metal on metal. No, it was slightly different. He strained and heard…metal clashing with stone? He frowned and turned back to his bedchamber.

The sun was beginning to shine through the windows, its warm yellow glow spreading throughout the blue and silver room with enough heat to warm the cold stone walls and uninviting silver that stood out like knives. A shiver ran through his body as he gathered up clothing from the dressing room on one side of the room. He steered clear of the gray uniforms that seemed to be lined up with all the precision of an obsessed soldier, and decided on a pair of black breeches and a white tunic. He pulled a sturdy looking black velvet cloak and stepped into a pair of knee high black leather boots before he made his way out of the room that he had nightmares in.

He couldn't remember his way around the palace well, the twists and turns confused him like some sort of garden maze, but he did know how to get out of the palace. He would forever know how to get out of a cold stone manor like this one. He much preferred a small cottage with a big fire heating the small hardwood floor. He barely noticed the servants who stopped to stare at him as he made his way outside, his eyes were trained to the large front entrance that he could see as he descended the main staircase.

When he was outside, he followed the clanging and clashing that had drawn him before, and pulled the cloak tighter around his body, heedless of the fact that it billowed around him like a black shadow. He climbed the rise of a hill, and the sounds grew louder. When he crested the rise, he stopped in astonishment. The sound that drew him was not the sound he had expected to be greeted with this early in the morning.

Standing in many, many precise rows were hundreds of gray uniformed soldiers all executing finely toned thrusts and parries. Jed stood transfixed, he had dreamed of this sight, of soldiers lining walls, fighting to the death. He had not expected to wake up at sunrise and stumble upon a training session.

"Jadeite!" someone called from below.

Jed turned at the sound of the name and saw Endymion and Nephrite making their way toward him. They stopped several feet away, their mouths frozen with shock and then Endymion cracked a smile so wide and friendly that Jed frowned. "What is it?" he asked.

Endymion shook his head and climbed the rest of the way up to put a hand on Jadeite's shoulder. "You may not realize this, but in that cloak and standing there with that frown on your face…you remind me of your old self."

Jed's frown deepened. "When I frown I remind you of myself?"

Nephrite laughed and shook his head, "You were always a slightly sour person."

He did not like the sound of that. "I must be a terribly boring person," he replied.

"Not at all, you have the most amazing wit when you are in the mood to show it off," Endymion said proudly. "I did not expect to see you up this early."

Jadeite looked over at the soldiers—all of whom had stopped training and were now watching the exchange. "I did not expect myself to be up at this hour. I could not sleep."

Endymion nodded sadly and looked into his friend's eyes. They were still as dark and sightless as before, though he did sense a growing recognition as he glanced at the troops below. He looked at the gashes alone Jadeite's face, healing rapidly, but still pink and prominent. His look was too distant, his stance much more stiff than it had been yesterday. He felt that he was looking at his friend, the friend who had his wife die along with his child before he had even been married a full year.

Endy turned and nodded to a young boy who was standing eagerly off to the side of the group. "I want to show you something," Endymion said softly.

Jadeite turned and glanced back up at the palace, his vision full of pale skin and raven hair. "I do not think I should be here," he said softly.

"Nay, you have every right to be," Endymion said.

"I cannot stand and watch you train your men," Jadeite said.

Nephrite gave a bark of laughter.

"Did I say something amusing?" Jadeite asked.

Nephrite contained the next shout of laughter and shook his head, "Nay, it is not that…"

"Then what is it?"

Endymion, smiling too, replied on behalf of the brown-haired general, "They are your men, Jadeite. Thus is why you have every right to be here."

Jadeite's head swung back to look upon the hundreds of men standing at perfect attention on the lawns of the Earth's palace. "My…men…?" he whispered.

"They were traveling to find you, and I am giving them refuge here until you are ready to go back to your own home. Nephrite and I have been taking a few days at a time to train with them, to make sure they are in good shape when you returned," Endymion said with a slight grin. "They are well trained, brother…they did not need any help from Nephrite or myself, but we wanted them to be ready for you when you came home." He nodded to another man, who came running up the rise.

"Lord Warrior General Jadeite!" he stated, putting his right first atop his heart.

Jadeite blinked and turned to Endymion.

The soldier cleared his throat slightly then continued, "Lieutenant General Royce McNair, second in command to my Lord Warrior General Jadeite's Army."

Jadeite cocked an eyebrow at the man and eyed him skeptically. He was a good looking man, he supposed, with short clipped brown hair and a pair of luminescent green eyes that were searching his own blue ones with something akin to desperation. "Thank you, Lieutenant General Royce," Jadeite said in the same clipped tone that Royce McNair used with him. "I see that you are taking good care of the men," he stated.

Royce's face seemed to relax slightly, "Not as well as you are able to, your majesty," he said softly.

Endymion beamed from his side and Nephrite grinned broadly. As Jadeite and Royce exchanged pleasantries, the young boy came running back up the rise, his breathing labored. "Thomas Rupert, yer majesty," the boy said with a quick breath, "Beggin' yer pardon, but 'is 'ighness asked me ter bring this for yee."

Jadeite turned to look at the young boy—who could not be more than ten—and noted the leather sheath he held in his two outstretched hands. "What is this?" Jadeite asked.

Endymion took the sheath and then held the handle of the sword out to Jadeite, "It is your sword, Jadeite," he said softly.

Jadeite looked from the sword to Endymion's eager eyes and then back to the sword handle again. It looked sturdy and tough; built from solid silver and wrapped tightly with black leather. He gingerly reached a hand out to grasp the sword and pulled it away and out of the sheath that Endymion held for him. The weight felt good in his hand, and as the weapon came clear of the black leather it was encased in, the sun bounced off its blade and Jadeite took in a breath.

The blade was made from solid and crystal clear diamond.

Unconsciously, Jadeite flipped his cloak over his shoulder and tested the weight of the sword in his hand, marveling at how it fit in his hand, like an extension of his arm. It felt wonderful.

Endymion smiled, Nephrite shook his head with disbelief. Royce stood back with a look of proud pleasure etched into his stony features and young Thomas looked worshipfully at the blonde general. "Feels good dun it?" he dared to ask.

Jadeite took a step back and then lunged forward, his stance immaculate. "Beautiful," he whispered as he came up.

As they stood there, cloudy images trying to surface in his mind, a shout echoed over the hill. "Endymion!" they heard.

Every head swiveled around toward the voice just as Zoicite came barreling down. "Quickly!" he shouted, "The women are being attacked. Kunzite is with them!"

Jadeite's face drained of color and before any of them could react enough to move forward, Jadeite was running hell-bent toward the palace, the diamond sword glinting with the early morning sun and his black cloak flying behind him like wings.

----

"Rei!" Mina shouted above the shattering crash of stone and mortar. "Rei!"

She heard coughing off to the side and climbed over broken statues and glass in order to reach her friend. "Rei!"

"Here, no need to scream your head off," Rei returned as she emerged from underneath the broken bed. Her hair was in disarray, her nightgown torn up the side, revealing a scandalous amount of bare leg, and the right shoulder of the gown was falling down her arm. Rei brushed the soot off of her before she turned to see Mina climbing easily over the obstacles in front of her.

Mina snatched Rei into her arms, shaking her slightly as she did, "What happened?" she asked hysterically.

Rei looked over her shoulder at the wall that had been blown away and then down at the silver-haired general who lay in an unconscious heap at her feet. "I don't know…" she began, but before she could finish, a shadowy image fell over her and Mina and a sword came crashing down over their heads.

They ducked out of the way, their reflexes sharp and agile and the blade missed them by inches. "Come, princess," the voice taunted.

Rei and Mina looked up at the figure, his eyes glowing from behind a red mask. "Who are you?" Rei asked her fingers twitching with the need to conjure up a spell to toss the insolent killer on his back.

"Rei!"

All three parties turned to stare in fascination as Jadeite came charging into the room, the glinting diamond sword clutched tightly in his hand. "Jed?" she whispered back, her stunned eyes widening as they took him in. He looked like a warrior.

"Enough!" the voice said from above them and he slashed out, carving a line down the side of Rei's leg as she dashed to get out of the way. Mina screamed and lunged at the attacker, a shining gold coil wrapped around her hands. She wound the chain around the attacker's neck as best she could before she was flung off of him, tossed like a rag doll onto the chunks of stone and mortar surrounding them.

Rei stood up, headless of the blood pouring down her leg and placed a practiced hand before her. "Spirits of Mars…" she whispered as she dragged what magic she could from the magic pools on Mars.

Before she could build up enough power to unleash upon her attacker, Jadeite was beside her, pushing her behind him and holding the diamond sword in front of him like a tiger would hold out his paw, a dangerous limb that would swing if provoked. "Who in damnation are you?" Jadeite roared.

"Her death, son, not yours," the assassin stated with soft force.

Jadeite's lip curled into a snarl and Rei took a sudden step away from him, not recognizing the sweet Jed that held her in her cottage. He raised his arm and the sword came down with a deafening yet sultry whistle of song. The assassin had no time to move, Jadeite's reflexes were too sharp, even from lack of use, and he croaked a stunned refusal to believe that the diamond blade found a home within his chest. "She will see you dead," he said before he fell back, the sword pulling out of him like a knife in butter. Blood swam around the assassin's body, pooled around Jadeite's feet before he suddenly crumpled into black ash and absorbed into the marble floor of the room.

Endymion and Nephrite stood to the side with Kunzite's prone form hung over their shoulders. Their eyes showed their surprise, their glee, and their satisfaction that Jadeite's skills were returning so naturally to him. "He is like his old self," Endymion said with a smile.

Jadeite stood staring at the empty place on the ground, breathing deeply of the dusty air that hung around him like a blanket of snow. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the marble in front of him. He was seeing images of soldiers running over hills, tossing bodies onto the grassy fields, then running toward more soldiers, fighting, fighting…

He saw a blonde man standing before him, wrinkles etched around his kind eyes, and a black leather sheathed sword in his hand with a silver handle. He looked up eagerly at it, his own eyes filled with awe and excitement. He reached up slowly, his fingers curling around the blade and handle. He looked up adoringly at the older man and finally spoke, "Thank you, father."

"Take care of it, my son. It is the sword passed down from generation to generation at the tender age of fourteen. I will teach you its power," his father replied with a sweet smile.

Jadeite smiled brightly and tested the weight in his hands. It was his.

"Jed?" Rei called softly as she watched his still form.

He turned slightly and his hard eyes made her frown. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

Rei shook her head, took a step back and collapsed on her injured leg.

Jed dropped the sword, his panic for Rei's safety of utmost importance. "Are you well?" he called to her as she righted herself.

Rei frowned in his direction and pulled away from him when he reached for her. "I'm perfectly fine," she said with a grimace.

Endymion rushed forward, his worry clearly writ upon his face. "Let me see where you are hurt," he said gently.

Rei looked uncertain, the injury was surely in a most inappropriate spot and she dared not ruin her reputation by showing these men her leg. "I need to get away from this debris," she said to stall them.

Jed didn't hesitate in reaching under her legs and around her waist to hoist her into his arms. He carried her away as if she weighed no more than a feather, and Endymion followed with Jadeite's diamond sword clutched in his hand. Mina helped Nephrite escort Kunzite to his quarters, but watched helplessly as Rei looked over Jed's shoulder and nodded her reassurance.

"Where are you taking her?" Endy asked as he rushed to keep up with him.

"To my quarters," he replied without a backward glance

Rei turned a shocked face toward him. "You cannot be serious!" she shrieked.

"I am and I would appreciate it if you did not yell in my ear," he said.

Rei turned furious eyes to Endymion, "You can't mean to let him take me to his quarters…to sacrifice my reputation for this scratch is ridiculous!"

Endymion frowned and positioned himself in front of Jed. "Really, brother, you cannot mean to do this. You are tampering with a maiden's reputation. Think of the damage it will cause her if it is discovered that she was in an unmarried man's quarters, her dress slit up her thigh."

Rei's gasp caught his attention and Jed looked down to frown furiously at her. "You will obey me or I will make sure there is more than that 'scratch' on your leg," he threatened.

She glared back at him and crossed her arms over her chest and kept her back as rigid as she could with Jed's arm wrapped so tightly around it. "I will not," she said.

She heard him sigh, "I'm afraid you have no choice, princess."

She stiffened even more at that endearment and looked away from him, her eyes fixed on a sconce above his head. Endymion witnessed the reaction with a mixture of intrigue and worry. This girl was hiding something from them and he would discover it before she left.

With no response from her, Jed marched past Endymion and into his own private quarters. He rounded the table set before the hearth and made his way to the bed to lay her down gently at its center. "Endymion," Jed began as he pulled the coverlet up and over Rei's legs, "Would you be so kind as to call the physician here?"

Endymion nodded his head and stepped toward the door.

"You are an overbearing cad," Rei said to him when they were alone. "I should have let you drown."

Jed scoffed at that. "You could not have let me drown, my dear, for I was already on land."

Rei glared hotly at him, "Then I should have let you rot."

"You would never do such a thing," he said as he leaned over her. He placed a hand on either side of her hips and leaned down until his nose was almost level with hers. "You like me too much," he said as he kissed the tip of her nose.

She shook him off and crossed her arms angrily over her chest again. "You are even more the overbearing cad than I thought," she whispered.

Jed smiled and reached down to separate the gash in her town gown.

"What are you doing?" she said with panic laced through her words. She put her hand on his to stop him from moving it further. "I will not have you touching me when there is a possibility that I can save myself from this embarrassment."

He shoved her hand aside and pulled the garment up her thigh, exposing the entire length of her slim leg. He mentally groaned at the sight and suppressed the urge to smooth his hand over the silken and creamy skin below her knee and up the inside of her thigh. He focused his attention on the ugly gash that marred her perfection and sat down on the bed to further examine it. "It does not look too bad," he said.

Rei blinked down at him with a mix of interest and anger. How dare he lift her dress without her consent? And how dare he look at her as though he wanted to…to…

"Ah, my patient," came a voice from the doorway.

Rei and Jed both jumped slightly.

"This is the physician?" Jed asked skeptically.

Zoicite stood in the doorway, a smirk on his face.

Endymion's eyebrow raised and he laughed slightly. "What's the matter, Jadeite? Afraid ol' Zoi here will steal your prize?"

Rei shot daggers at him.

Jed merely rose from the bed and pulled the dress down and over Rei's leg. "I will see to it myself," he said with finality.

Endymion stood still for a moment longer before he motioned for Zoicite to follow him. "Though it seems strange, brother," he said when they were out of earshot, "I want Jadeite and the girl to be alone together. There is something about Rei and Mina that has me scratching my head for all it's worth. I'm sure these two girls have already given me a bald spot and a few gray hairs to cap it all off. I'm very curious to know what this strange feeling is."

Zoicite frowned and looked back at the closed door, "I still do not feel comfortable leaving an innocent girl in the arms of a man with no memory whatsoever."

"Let well enough alone, Zoi. I want Jadeite to come back to us and it seems as though this girl is out only hope right now. She is bringing him out of this dark void he has found himself in. I don't know how she's doing it, or where she is getting the power to do it, but there is something about her that makes Jadeite himself again. All the hints I've been trying to give him, all the little things that I hope will spark his memory are nothing compared to the things that surround her."

----

Jed waited until the door was fully closed before he walked over to a sideboard and poured some brandy into a bowl. He brought it back to the bed, a cloth in hand, and sat himself at the edge again. "I don't mean to unsettle you," he said as he lifted the garment, "I just want to make sure that you are at ease."

"I am no where near ease," Rei replied looking away from him.

Jed sighed slightly and placed the rag into the brandy. "I don't mean to hurt you either," he said as he dabbed the wound with the alcohol.

Rei flinched slightly, but so many years with Ami tending to her with the same methods had taught her how to sit still and grit her teeth through the sting. She turned to look at him as he pressed the cloth harder against the wound to mop up all the blood and the look on his face as he tended to her was her undoing. "You do not hurt me," she said gently.

He turned his face up to look at her and the fear and nervousness written clear across his features made her smile. "How can you feel as though you are hurting me, when it is so obvious that you are the lost soul, and not myself?"

He turned back to her leg and dipped the cloth back into the brandy and then pressed it to her leg before he decided to answer her. "I do not know if I am lost," he said simply.

Rei smothered a gasp of pain when he stroked the cloth down her leg and merely wrinkled her nose instead. "What do you mean?"

"I feel as though…in some odd way…I am no longer walking in a tunnel that I cannot see in…merely that…the tunnel is misted over and everything I need is within my reach, I just need to make my way through the haze and touch it."

Rei nodded slightly and watched as he tore another cloth into long strips and began to wrap it around her injured leg. She felt a strange warmth settle over her as she watched him lift her leg and slip his hands around and under it, but she faced away so as not to notice it overly. "That is a miracle, is it not? I suppose being in the prince's palace has put you at ease."

"Nay…" Jed said as he tied off the makeshift bandage.

Rei turned to look at him.

"You are my saving grace, princess," he whispered.

Again Rei felt that surge of fear at the nickname, but pushed it aside to concentrate on what he was saying. He couldn't possibly know who she was. "I, sir?" she asked slowly.

"You."

"But I have done nothing."

"Nay, you have done more for me than you know. I feel as though you have guided me through this misty haze. You are the one who is washing my eyes of this mud so that I may see through them. You are the one who is pushing the memories into my mind. Today, I saw my father in my mind's eye," he said with an excited smile.

She looked so stunned that he laughed and held her hand to his lips.

"Marry me," he said softly.

"What?" she gasped.

"Marry me," he whispered again.

"Nay! I cannot!" she cried, pulling her hand away from him and trying desperately to move away from him.

"Why?"

"We do not know each other," she said as she scooted to the edge of the bed.

"We know each other, Rei," he said gently, "You saved me. I saved you. I kissed you and you kissed me and I know you feel something for me. I can sense it every time you look at me. It is the same hunger I feel when I look at you."

She was standing by the bed post, her hands wrapped tightly around it. "You do not love me," she said.

"What does that matter?"

She glared at him. "It matters a great deal! I will only marry when the man I love asks me and that has not happened yet," she said though a silent part of her cried out that she was making a mistake.

"Who do you love?" Jed asked with a frown.

"No one…but I will only marry for love. Never because someone feels as though he can gain his memory through my actions."

Jed looked at her with wounded eyes and then breathed a sigh of defeat. "I am sorry, Rei," he said softly and without another word, he turned and left the room.

----

He walked without sight, walked without knowing where he was going, and he did not care. He was a fool to ask her to marry him. He didn't know her! She didn't know him. How could she when he was merely a walking body with nothing in his mind? He was just a man with no certainty, no understanding.

He walked even further into the garden that he did not realize he was in.

Who was he to ask such a beauty to marry him? She was like a diamond amongst the coal and he was just a lowly lump on the bottom of the pile, craning his neck to get a glimpse of her.

Still he walked on. The trees grew dense around him, surrounded him as though he were a lamb lost in the woods. He could see the sun peeking through the branches and he could feel the spongy moss under his booted heels, but he did not stop to enjoy the little pleasures in life. He walked on like a soldier, without a care in the world.

But of course he felt something for her! Was it love? Or was it lust? Or was it this insane emotion that she accused him of having; that she would bring his memory back? He shook his head and surged ahead, his feet moving quickly, his legs claiming the land in large leaps and bounds as he ran through the woods.

He was a lost soul.

He ran harder, his legs shaking from the exertion, but he dared not stop. He wanted to be free of this feeling of never understanding who he was, what he was to do, and who he was meant to do it for. He raced and raced through the trees, stumbling once over a fallen log, but still he raced.

When he came to a clearing with a small river spread out in front of him, he stopped. He could smell the sweet pine needles as they swayed in the gentle breeze, he could hear the water rushing down from the cliff and he could taste the crisp air as it swirled around him. He closed his eyes, took in all the scents and all the sounds with a new appreciation for the world and everything in it.

When he opened his eyes, he was flying through a storm of images; he could see things that he thought were buried behind the mist. He reached out and touched pictures of his father, his mother, his brother, even his horse from when he was five summers old. He could smell the spicy cologne of his father; he could feel the silken touch of his mother's handkerchief on his cheek as she wiped mud off of him, murmuring, "My little boy is always so messy."

He could hear the laughter of his brother as he helped his little brother Jadeite onto the cliff in front of him, he saw his brother jump into the water, heard the scream, heard the deafening crash as his brother hit the water and then all was still.

He remembered the day his brother died.

It was here, at this lake, in this very spot. They had been visiting Endymion and his brother wanted to go out to escape the demands of court life. They had stowed away to this hidden waterfall and were having the time of their lives jumping from the smaller rocks and into the shallow pool, but when his brother—Jared—got the idea to jump from the cliff where the water was rushing, everything went wrong.

He had hit a rock as he landed and died instantly. And no one was near to hear Jadeite scream for his brother.

He reeled back from the memory and fell to his knees onto the mossy ground, his breathing shallow and rapid, and his eyes burning with tears. He wanted to drown himself in that memory, he never wanted to be near it again. He didn't even think when he felt two smooth arms wrap around him. He only leaned into them, buried his face in the soft body that wrapped around his. "It feels as though…when these memories come back…they are tenfold more powerful than when the event actually happened," he whispered brokenly into the silky bodice he rested against.

He opened his eyes and looked up into hazy violet orbs. "The pain is unbearable," he said.

Rei closed her eyes and a tear slid down her cheek. She hadn't meant to follow him, hadn't meant to watch him as he stared unbelievingly at the water, his gaze moving up to the cliff, but then she had heard him screaming, "No, no, no," and she was lost. The little thread of magic that she had wrapped around her leg to keep it from paining her as she raced after him tightened and grew in strength and she pulled him out of the memory. She knew that the magic she used was risky and that anyone with any knowledge of where she might be would be able to open the magical flood gates and be able to find her swiftly, but she didn't care. She used her magic to pull his mind from the horror he was seeing and wrapped him in its warm cocoon, keeping the two of them free from any frightening images. "I know…" she answered.

He looked back toward the water and she saw the color returning to his face. He closed his eyes and Rei felt a shudder flow through him. "I don't know if I can handle this…" he said.

Rei smoothed a hand over his brow and felt the perspiration. She pressed her cheek to his chest, listened to his heartbeat and closed her eyes; felt him drop his head to rest on hers. His arms tightened she knew…it was inevitable…she was in love with him.

"Marry me," he whispered into her hair.

She opened her eyes and then closed them again. She could hear the steady pounding of his heart against her ear, felt his deep voice when he spoke rumble through his chest and she knew at that moment that she would never be forgiven for the choice she was going to make. She knew how dangerous it was, knew that she was not only risking her life and her safety, but his as well. She thought of the people of her home, the fire that burned so brightly in her soul and she knew that there was a slight possibility that she would never go home. She could sense it even as another tear slipped down her cheek and soaked into his shirt. She could feel the magic thread around them grow and knew that it was her destiny calling to her. She took a breath and licked her lips, "Yes…" she breathed shakily.