"Our European ambassador has reported that several countries are increasing their export taxes on goods sent to Crystal Tokyo," Lord Sato explained. He pointed to a map, indicating the coastal regions in Europe that Ambassador Minami was currently visiting. "They claim demand is rising and their raw materials are diminishing faster than projected due to the current demand."

Lena leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers against the armrest. Her weekly meeting with the heads of council had lasted nearly three hours, all members curiously long-winded today. She shared a glance with her father who sat beside her at the head of the long conference table. His eyebrows raised slightly in the direction of Lord Sato.

"Lord Sato," Lena began, rising from her chair and moving to the map. "What is it that these areas export? Why would demand for these items be increasing so suddenly?"

"With all due respect, Princess," Councilman Ikeda interrupted. Lena turned to face him, a blank expression on her face. "I understand the severity of the tax increase, but how is this relevant to our court? Fighting taxation hikes is not something we have authority over. This is an issue for the royal court."

"I agree, Councilman," Lena said, struggling to keep her voice even. Ikeda was her least favorite person in the room; his contrary personality grated on her nerves. "This is an issue for the royal court to rule upon. But it was the Neptune ambassador who discovered this issue. I would like to understand why he deemed it important enough to create a report and submit. That way, when the situation is presented to Neo Queen Serenity, I will be able to back up our case and submit our own recommendations for a solution."

Councilman Ikeda frowned and leaned back in his chair. Lena thought he looked like a petulant schoolboy. The remaining members of the council were trying to hide their smiles.

"Good girl," she heard her father mutter as he absently shuffled his papers.

"Lena," Aneko said, drawing the attention of the room. "Perhaps a break would be nice? I certainly could use another cup of tea!"

"A break would be wonderful," Lena agreed. She mouthed 'thank you' at her mother as the members of the council began moving from the table. When the room was empty, save Lena and her parents, she collapsed into her chair and put her hands on her head, massaging her scalp as she closed her eyes. "I can understand why Michiru quit," she muttered.

Her parents laughed softly. "This is nothing, sweetheart," her father said, patting her on the head as he walked behind her. She heard him fixing a cup of tea and took the offered cup when he came back.

"Anything stronger over there?" she asked, turning her head slightly to eye the cart. Her father chuckled.

"Unfortunately your mother has never believed in keeping coffee in the council room," he said, winking at her mother.

"Nasty stuff," Aneko said, stirring her own cup of tea. She smiled at Lena's exaggerated gasp. "You did very well just now, Lena. I thought for certain you would snap his head off, which of course he deserved, but you kept your cool and put him in his place."

Lena shrugged. "I had a professor like him once. He was talented at trying to put people in their place." She sipped her tea and smiled wickedly. "I was better."

"That's my girl!" Colm said, raising his cup to her. He sobered and pulled a disc out from under his stack of papers, sliding it across the table to her. "We need to discuss this."

Lena slid the disc into the table's port. The large screen on the far wall illuminated with an image of a typed page. It was plain white, standard size and font; curiously however it was in English rather than Japanese. At the bottom of the page was a small solid black circle, the same as she had seen on the note left in her apartment.

"What is this?" Lena asked, sliding her glasses on. The words came better into focus as she scanned the document.

"We received this yesterday," her father explained. "It arrived in a plain envelope, no signature, no known messenger, simply addressed to you. We found it even more curious that it was written in English."

"Why didn't you give it to me?" Lena asked, turning to her father. Aneko shook her head.

"It's always been our policy to review things like this before giving them to the princess," she explained patiently. "Had we known who it was from or who delivered it, it would have come straight to you. But anything suspicious is first opened by us as a precaution."

"I see," Lena said slowly, turning back to the letter. That policy is changing, she thought, frowning. "I've gotten a note with this same signature."

"You've what?" her father exclaimed loudly. Lena turned to him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"After my coronation I had a note welcoming me to the Neptune Court. It was very polite. I guess I didn't think anything about the signature."

Aneko sighed and gave Lena a weary smile. "Lena, this letter is very serious. It seems that someone has taken notice of you and not in a flattering way. Your father and I have discussed it and we're not sure if the queen and her Guardian's theory about the recent attacks on Crystal Tokyo is still correct. It seems…" she trailed off, glancing at her husband.

"It seems the target has changed. To you," Colm said gravely. Lena turned back to the screen, staring at the black circle.

"Maybe that's a good thing," she said softly. "One target is easier than seven."


"Globalization in the 21st century resulted in the economic climate destabilizing through…" Lena's eyes felt crossed as she read the same line for the third time. It still made no sense. With a quick glance at her watch, she saw it was nearly eleven at night. Princess or not, she was determined to finish her thesis, even if it meant fifteen hour days. "No wonder it doesn't make sense," she muttered, closing the textbook.

A gentle snore came from across the table. Minako, who was tonight's guard, was asleep, her head resting on her arms. Lena grinned and leaned back in her chair, glancing around at her surroundings. The library was mostly empty, with only a few people scattered throughout the study area. A teenage girl sat in front of a computer, the screen casting an eerie glow on her face.

She gathered her books and notes, pushing them into her bag. The book she had fruitlessly been studying needed to go back on the shelf. As she made her way through the stacks, she saw a tall man pull a book from the shelf. He wasn't half bad looking, but there was something about him that seemed… off. He looked up from reading the back cover and caught her staring. He shot her a dazzling smile that caught Lena off guard.

"Hello," he said. His voice was smooth, sending a chill down Lena's back. His eyes seemed to do a quick once over of her, making her feel uncomfortable. With a small nod, she hurried to put the book back on the shelf.

"Where'd you go?" Minako asked sleepily when Lena returned. "You're not supposed to leave my sight."

"You've been sleeping for the past hour," Lena said, staring pointedly at her guard. She gave Lena a sheepish grin.

"Perhaps don't tell Usagi that?" Minako said with a nervous laugh. She stopped, her eyebrows coming together. "Or Michiru?"

"Fine, so long as you don't tell them I left your sight," Lena agreed with a wink.


"What do you think about lilies?" Michiru asked, flipping the page of a magazine. When Haruka didn't answer, she turned her head from where it rested on her fiancee's shoulder. "Haruka!"

"Hm?" Haruka murmured, looking down. She was met with an irritated stare. "Lilies would be fine."

"So you are paying attention," Michiru muttered, turning back to her magazine. Haruka squeezed her arm gently.

"I always do, don't I?" she said softly. Michiru made a noncommittal noise. "Come on, Michiru. I'm as excited for the wedding as you are, but we haven't even announced our engagement. Don't you think we should work on that instead of picking out flowers?"

Michiru sighed and set her magazine on the coffee table. "You're right. Let's announce it at your birthday party," she said, sitting up on her knees. "Everyone will be there; it will be the perfect opportunity!"

"But won't that take away from my…" Haruka trailed off when Michiru glared at her. "No, you're right. The party will be the perfect opportunity. Let's do it."

"Perfect!" Michiru hopped off the sofa and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Haruka called after her. Michiru popped her head back into the room.

"The party's not going to plan itself, you know."

"But it's late! Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

Michiru waved her fingers as she disappeared into the hall again. Slumping into the sofa Haruka sighed and turned the volume on the TV up. The race from the weekend was playing, her favorite driver in the lead. Eyebrows rising, she leaned forward, elbows on her knees as she silently urged the driver on. Moments later, when he crossed the checkered line, winning the race, she pumped a fist into the air.

"Hey, do you think Usagi would let me get my car out for my birthday?" she called.

A small giggle came from the other room. "Not a chance, sweetheart."


After Minako had dropped her off, Lena found herself curled up on the couch in her comfiest pajamas and Elliott purring in her lap. A movie was playing on the television, which she was half paying attention to as her eyes drooped. She knew she should go to bed but couldn't find the energy to move.

Her elevator's intercom buzzed, jerking her awake. Elliott opened one eye at the sudden movement. "Who do you suppose that is?" Lena asked, lifting the cat from her lap.

She pressed the intercom. "Yes?"

"Hey, it's me," she heard a male voice say.

"Hale?"

"Yeah. Sorry it's late. Can I come up?" he asked.

Lena stepped back, glancing a the time. Nearly midnight. Mother's going to have a come apart, she thought as she pressed the button to allow the elevator to come up. After her parents discovered her anonymous note in her apartment, they insisted on higher security measures, including elevator access codes that prevented anyone from just coming to her front door.

She leaned over to glance in the hall mirror, finger-combing through her hair. She groaned at the sight of her pajamas; although they were comfortable they were old and faded, a small hole in the side of the bottoms. The elevator dinged outside the front door. With a sigh and a shrug, she opened the door.

Hale smiled down at her. He looked… different. His normally tousled hair was neatly combed. The casual clothes she was used to seeing him in had been replaced by expensive looking clothing, the kind she had seen the king wear. His smile, though still warm, looked tired.

"Where have you been?"

Hale frowned. "What kind of greeting is that?" he asked. Lena crossed her arms over her chest. He sighed. "I know, I've been gone. Can I come in? I can explain."

Lena stepped aside, letting him enter. As she closed the door he took off his dark wool coat and slipped off his shoes. "Here, I'll take that," she said, taking his coat from him and hanging it in the hall closet. Hale followed her into the living room, sitting next to her on the sofa.

"You're up late," he said. "I didn't know if you would be."

"So you just came here anyway?" Lena asked, grinning slightly. He laughed.

"Hey, I took a gamble. It paid off," Hale said, smiling back at her. "I quit my job."

Lena was taken aback by the sudden news. "You quit? When? Why?"

Hale nodded. "That's where I've been. I returned to the States to work out my notice. After what happened at the park…" He trailed off, leaning forward on his knees. "My cousin was right. I can't keep avoiding responsibility forever. She's been lenient enough as it is."

"I see," Lena said. She observed his profile, his strong jaw tightening. He turned his head, giving her a wry grin.

"Anyway, how have you been feeling?" he asked, leaning back and putting an arm on the sofa. She could almost see his eyes shift from those of a casual guest to the clear focused eyes of a doctor. She shrugged.

"Better," she said. "I still get headaches, but haven't passed out again. Ami's been keeping an eye on me, though she hasn't found what's causing the headaches. I mostly just put up with them."

"Hm," Hale said. He leaned forward, placing fingers on the side of her face and pressing gently against her temple. "Does that hurt?" Lena shook her head. He dropped his hand. "Maybe now that I'm back I can take over keeping an eye on you." Their eyes lingers for several long moments, before Lena cleared her throat and looked away.

"When did you get back?" she asked.

"A couple hours ago," he replied. She turned to look at him in surprise. "I stopped by Mom's townhouse to drop off my stuff, then came here."

"I see."

"I had an invitation in my mail," Hale said, pausing to glance at her. She raised an expectant eyebrow. "It was from your cousin. A party?"

Lena nodded. "She's throwing Haruka a birthday party. It'll probably be the event of the season," she said in a fake haughty voice. Hale chuckled. "Seriously," Lena added. "They try to outdo each other every year. At first it was just gifts: tickets to world famous musicians' concerts, driving race cars in Monaco, exotic cruises through the rain forest. The finally stopped with that after the incident in Vienna. Now they just compete to throw the better party."

"What happened in Vienna?"

"Haruka misplaced Marine Cathédrale," Lena said, giggling. Hale gave her a confused look. "Michiru's Stradivarius, her violin."

Hale cursed softly, which made Lena laugh harder. "I nearly thought Michiru was going to transform and attack Haruka! I don't think I've ever seen her that mad. I didn't even know she could get that mad!"

"What ended up happening to the violin?" Hale asked.

"Turns out it was left at the concert hall in the director's office. It was fine in the end, but wow… the fallout was nuclear!"

"I can only imagine," Hale agreed. "So this party? I'm assuming I shouldn't miss it."

"You definitely shouldn't," Lena said. She paused, hesitating, before continuing. "I'd love it if you came."

"Well then," Hale said, leaning back against the sofa. "I'll be sure to be there."


Dark clouds grew closer. Lena ran up the winding staircase to the observation room. Heavy footsteps followed her. The communication system was haywire, sparks shooting from the console. She pushed through the glass doors onto the balcony. A gale of wind made her skirts billow and her hair whipped across her face. From the distance she could see the clouds rolling towards her, lightning crossing the sky.

A hand grabbed her upper arm, tightening as she was spun around to face Hale's dark glare. She fruitlessly struggled against his iron-like grip. A sharp crack of thunder sounded over them. Lena flung herself at Hale, startled by the loud noise.

"Lena!" Hale yelled, grabbing her arms and holding her away from him. His scowl worsened. "What are you thinking?"

"Let me go!" Lena struggled against him. His grip lessened and she pulled from his hands. "Why are you here?"

"You stupid woman!" Hale threw an arm out. "Silver Millennium has fallen, Saturn's awakening, and you want to know why I'm here?" He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her tight against him. "I'm not going to let you die alone."

Lena gasped as his lips crashed against hers. She slowly molded to his body, her arms snaking around his neck. They parted, and before she could breathe a crash of thunder came and an explosion hit the balcony, separating them.

Hale pushed her aside, drawing his sword, as a dark figure crossed the sky towards them. Lena scrambled to her feet, throwing her hand out. With a flash of light her staff appeared. She braced herself next to Hale. A bolt of lightning sizzled across the sky, lighting up the shapeless figure. Lena screamed Hale's name as a flash of light shot towards them. She threw herself on top of him, screaming as the light engulfed them.

Hale bolted straight up, breathing hard. The covers fell from him and he pushed a hand through his hair. His heart was racing as he tried to steady his breath. With a low curse he pushed the covers back and got out of bed.

Pulling a shirt over his head, he quietly descended the stairs of his mother's townhouse. She was such a light sleeper he didn't want to wake her. He went to the kitchen and poured a glass of juice, leaning against the counter as he gulped it down.

What the hell was that? He thought. It had been years since he had dreamed so vividly, and never about his former life. This dream… this dream shook him, namely because of Lena. He had felt such intense emotions for her, passion and fury. Where would feelings like those have come from? He liked her, that was obvious, but he barely knew her. Not enough to dream about her in that way.

The overhead light flicked on. He blinked at the sudden brightness. Standing in the doorway was his mother, her pale pink robe wrapped around her. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Thought I heard a mouse in here. Midnight snack?" she asked. He raised his glass to her and grinned. "Hard time sleeping?"

Hale shook his head. "Nah, just a weird dream. Woke me up."

"Oh?" his mother asked, pouring herself a glass of juice. She took a sip. "Anything exciting?"

"Not exciting," Hale said slowly. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Mother, how much of our previous lives do you actually remember? Do you remember everything?"

His mother set her glass on the table, a little harder than he expected. "Why do you ask?"

"This dream…" Hale explained the dream to his mother, telling her of the anger he'd felt toward Lena as he followed her up the stairs of Triton Castle, and the relief he'd felt when she'd come into his arms. He described the terror of the dark figure that crossed the sky and how he wanted to protect Lena more than his own life. As he further explained he noticed the color draining from his mother's face. "Everything ended with this huge burst of light," he finished.

His mother was silent, her knuckles white as she clasped her glass tightly. When she finally looked at him, her eyes were shining with unshed tears. She crossed the kitchen to stand in front of him, placing a hand against his cheek.

"Hale, dear boy," she said softly. "Whatever you saw in your dream, I want you to put it behind you. There are some things better left alone."

Hale watched with an open, shocked mouth as his mother walked silently from the room.