Chapter Three

Following the tour Hermione had given him of the palace's truly impressive library, it was Zoisite's turn for guard duty. There wasn't much for him to do, however, as no one outside of Endymion, Queen Serenity, and the other planetary rulers were allowed inside the conclave where the terms of alliance were being debated and agreed upon.

It made Zoisite uneasy, to leave Prince Endymion locked in a room with a group of people he didn't entirely trust. No swords or knives were allowed inside, everyone's clothes having been thoroughly searched by a man with long white hair and a Moon sigil upon his brow for hidden weapons before stepping inside the room, but that did little to relieve Zoisite's concerns when dealing with those with unknown powers. He also would have liked to have the opportunity to hear what the other rulers had to say, to see for himself if there appeared to be anyone bearing grudges or ill will toward the Golden Kingdom. Unfortunately, the intel he had gathered at yesterday's masquerade ball had not been enough to determine whether or not any of the Lunarians had cause to want to incapacitate King Oberon ahead of the meeting.

Sighing, Zoisite glanced down at the botany book Hermione had recommended to him. There hadn't been time to return to his bedchambers and drop off the book before the meeting began, so he had brought it with him. It was perhaps a long-shot, but if only he could determine the cause of the king's sudden illness, it might provide a major clue as to who might be behind the possible poisoning.

He opened the book to the first page and began reading.

A few pages in, Zoisite was cursing under his breath and wishing there was a Terran translation available to read instead. His knowledge of Curian was conversational at best. He had severely underestimated the difficulty in reading what was obviously a high-level scientific text, not meant for someone like himself, whose intellectual interests had always leaned more towards the humanities. Still, Hermione's passion for the subject shone through even his broken translation of the words.

The Mercurian princess certainly was a remarkable woman. Her intellect was well-known even to those on Earth; there were some who claimed her the smartest person in the known universe, a title Zoisite had no doubt she deserved.

And she was beautiful, too.

He ran a finger along his bottom lip, remembering the kiss they shared that morning. All a part of his seduction, of course, yet it would be a lie not to admit he had enjoyed it more than necessary.

Zoisite shook his head, pushing all thoughts of Hermione out of his head. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Later, he would return to the palace library to check if they had a Curian-to-Terran dictionary he could use to help with his translation, but at the moment, he settled for skimming the text for familiar words related to the case.

Poison. Fainting. Loss of energy. Exhaustion.

The section on something called a Xenian blossom seemed promising at first, but the only flowers present in the room when King Oberon suddenly lost consciousness were a couple of bouquets of harmless red roses from the palace's own private gardens. The text also indicated direct contact with the flower through the skin was necessary, so Zoisite eliminated it from the list.

Another plant, only found on Venus, caused much the same symptoms as King Oberon had experienced when ingested, but with the addition of vivid erotic hallucinations. As he had not seen or heard anything to suggest the king suffering from anything of that sort, he also ruled it out.

Continuing on, he found a few more possible leads, but nothing definitive. Zoisite pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen out of his ponytail, swearing to himself. He had known the research wouldn't be as simple as flipping to a random page and pointing at the answer, but he never realized just how many different kinds of plant life there were in the galaxy.

Even the section on Earthian plants, though featuring only the most well-known species, was thick enough to be a book on its own. Zoisite only gave the pages a cursory flip through, not expecting to find anything noteworthy, but he paused when he came upon a beautiful full-page sketching of a Terran rose.

Based on the style of the drawing, he suspected it was drawn by the same person who had painted the mermaid Hermione had shown him earlier. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw Princess Thalassa's elegant signature scrawled in the lower righthand corner. Zoisite traced a finger over the delicate lines of the rose, his mind wandering to a fond childhood memory...

"Zach! Zach!"

Seven-year-old Zacharias glanced up from the book of fairy tales he had been reading and sighed. His younger (second) cousin Endymion stood in front of him, excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet. One day in the far future, Endymion was destined to become king of the Golden Kingdom, ruler of Earth, but for now, it was hard to think of the four-year-old prince as anything more than a snot-nosed brat.

"What is it this time, Dimi?" he asked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Guess what, I learned a magic trick!" Endymion said, clapping his hands together. "Do you wanna see? Do you? Do you?"

Not particularly, no. It was probably some stupid slight-of-hand illusion that he would be able to figure out in ten seconds. Real magic only existed in the fairy tales Zacharias loved to read. But if he refused, Endymion would probably run crying off to Aunt Aurelia to tattle on him, resulting in his mother taking away his book in punishment and his father giving him another long, boring lecture when they returned back to the Zoisite estate later that afternoon.

That was unacceptable.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Come with me!" Endymion grabbed Zacharias's hand, yanking on his arm until he set his book aside and stood from his seat on the wooden swing. "This way," the little prince said, Zacharias having no choice but to follow.

Endymion led him through the royal gardens, Zacharias starting to worry when he realized how far they had gone. They were supposed to stay within sight of their mothers, who were chatting and having tea on the gazebo. Looking over his shoulder, he could barely make out his mother's figure in the distance.

"Dimi, stop," Zacharias said, grabbing him by the shoulder. "We have to go back. We'll get in trouble."

"It's okay. Mama won't mind. I play back here all the time."

Maybe Endymion's mother wouldn't, but his definitely would. "Dimi..."

"Just follow me!"

That time, he did roll his eyes. Why couldn't Endymion do his silly magic trick where they were? Was the location really that important? Still, Zacharias had to admit he was becoming a little curious, despite himself. With a defeated sigh, he continued following Endymion until they reached King Oberon's prized rose bushes near the far eastern wall of the gardens.

"Now, watch!"

Endymion rolled up the sleeves of his tunic, then, before Zacharias had a chance to stop him, wrapped his hand around one of the thorn-covered stems.

Horrified, Zacharias grabbed Endymion's arm and started shaking it. "Dimi, what the hell are you doing? Let go!"

Endymion shook his head, refusing even though Zacharias could see tears in his eyes. Blood began seeping through the cracks between his fingers, dripping down his hand and arm.

"Now!"

Not knowing what else to do, Zacharias slapped Endymion, hard, on the wrist. The shock surprised him enough that Endymion finally released his hold on the rose. His hand was completely covered in scratches.

"Are you stupid?" he shouted, Endymion bursting into tears. Zacharias pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and tried to dab away some of the blood. "You know it's dangerous to touch a rose's thorns!"

Oh, he was going to be in so much trouble! Letting the prince get hurt was bad. Really bad. Like "get locked up in the dungeon" bad, probably.

And his father was going to be absolutely furious.

"Oh, for the love of Terra, stop crying, Dimi! It's your own fault. What were you trying to do, anyway?"

"I'm curious to hear the answer to that question myself," a man's voice said from behind them.

Zacharias froze, recognizing that voice. It belonged to King Oberon, Endymion's father. The king placed a hand on his shoulder, surprisingly gentle considering the harm he had let befall his son.

"Uncle Ober– I mean, Your Majesty!"Zoisite pivoted around and bowed at his waist, eyes squeezed shut. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I –"

"Be at ease, Zacharias. I do not fault you." The king affectionately ruffled his hair before kneeling down in front of his sobbing son to examine Endymion's bloodied palm. "Oh, dear," he said with a sigh. "You've done quite a number on yourself, my Endymion. Will you try to calm down and tell me what you were doing, playing with my roses when I've told you many times before not to touch them without permission?"

Nodding, Endymion took in a couple of deep breaths, his sobs beginning to soften, and swiped his free arm across his watery eyes. "I was – I was gonna show Zach a...a magic trick," he said, sniffling.

"Magic trick? What kind of magic trick?"

"I'll show you, too, Papa. Watch!"

Endymion pulled his injured hand out of his father's grasp and brought both of his palms together in front of his face as if in prayer. After a few seconds, his hands began glowing with a soft golden light. Zacharias covered his mouth, shaking his head, and took a step back.

No, it was impossible. Magic didn't really exist. It was only something that happened in fairy tales...

Yet when the golden light faded away, Endymion's hand was completely healed, not even a hint of a scratch on him. "See?" He held up his palm in front of his father's face. "All better!"

"Y-Yes, that's amazing, Endymion," King Oberon said. He seemed half in shock, half in awe, looking over Endymion's hand more thoroughly. "Amazing," he repeated mostly to himself. "Is it truly possible...?"

Zacharias didn't think it was amazing at all. It was weird and freaky. Humans weren't supposed to be able to heal themselves like that.

"Zacharias? Zacharias?"

Zacharias jumped, startled when he realized King Oberon had been calling his name. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

The king picked Endymion up. "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody about what you witnessed today," he said, Endymion burying his face in his shoulder. "Endymion is special, but I'm afraid some people might not be ready to accept his newfound powers. Can you keep it a secret between us?"

A secret?

"I..." Zacharias sighed, his shoulders slumping. What other choice did he have? He couldn't disobey the king. "Yes, Your Majesty. I promise I won't tell anybody else what happened."

"Good." King Oberon smiled, offering his free hand. "Now, come. Let's return to your mothers. Aurelia and Xanthippe are probably worried sick by now."

Zoisite smiled sadly. He'd always envied Endymion's close relationship with his father. King Oberon loved and accepted Endymion completely, even when it was discovered that he possessed strange, supernatural powers. In comparison, Zoisite had never felt good enough in his own father's eyes. General Zebulon Zoisite had held him up to impossible standards, finding him lacking in everything he considered important...

He shook his head. Now was not the time for reminiscing. He turned the page and got back to work, determined to find the answers he was searching for.

Princess Serenity was dreamier than usual during Hermione's morning astronomy lecture, not paying attention to a single word she said. A single red Terran rose, lovingly placed in a crystalline vase, had captured the princess's attention – a gift from Prince Endymion the night before. Normally, Hermione would be annoyed by Serenity's absent-mindedness, but ever since the kiss she shared with Zoisite that morning, she had been finding it difficult to concentrate as well.

"Uranus is the only planet in our solar system that rotates on its side. There are several theories about why that is, but the most popular among astronomers is that..." Realizing it was pointless to continue, Hermione set down the piece of chalk in her hand and smiled. "You really do like him, don't you? The Earthian prince?"

"W-What?" Startled from her daydreaming, Serenity straightened her posture and flipped a couple of random pages in the open book laying in front of her. "No, of course not! I mean, Prince Endymion certainly is kind, but…" She sighed as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders, resting her head down on the book. "Oh, Hermione, why did I have to be born a Lunarian?"

Hermione tilted her head to the side. "What a strange question! Do you dislike living on the Moon so much?"

"No, not at all!" Serenity said, head popping back up. "I love it here, but…"

She rose to her feet, walking over to the window where she had placed the vase on the ledge to give the rose some sunlight. Plucking the rose from the vase, she brought its deep crimson petals to her nose as she stared down at the gardens below.

"What is it, Your Highness?" Hermione asked.

"I want to tell you, but I can't," Serenity said. "Ishtar warned me not to tell anybody else."

"Ishtar?" Had their leader been hiding something from them? That wasn't like her. "You know you can tell us anything, right? There's no need for secrets."

"Yes, but… Oh, I'm so tired of hiding how I feel!" Serenity turned away from the window to face Hermione. "I...I'm in love with Endymion," she confessed. "I have been for a very long time."

Love? "But you've only just met!"

Serenity shook her head. "We've known each other for more than a year."

"A year? How is that possible?"

Bashfully, Serenity rubbed the back of her neck. "I...may have visited Elysion a few times in secret?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "You…!" She moved closer to Serenity, placing her hands on her upper arms. Although they were the only two people in the room, she instinctively lowered her voice. "You went down to Earth, on your own? Do you realize how dangerous that was?"

"It was only the first couple of times I went there by myself," Serenity said, her eyes refusing to meet Hermione's. "Ishtar accompanied me the other times, after catching us together. Since I refused to stop seeing him, she agreed to help us be together as long as she came with me."

Ishtar not only knew of the affair, but had been helping Serenity rendezvous with the prince of a planet that until recently contact had been all but forbidden? Hermione let go of her hold on Serenity's arms, rubbing at her forehead. Though she was aware that love was the most important aspect of Venusian culture, Hermione couldn't believe Ishtar would disregard her duty as the leader of the princess's guardians like that. If something had happened to Princess Serenity while she was visiting Earth…

"I know it was wrong of me," Serenity continued, "but I was curious about what life was like on Earth. Then I met him, and…" Her eyes lighting up, she clasped Hermione's hands between her own. "Oh, Hermione, he's the most handsome and wonderful man I've ever met!"

"That may well be, but you know members of the planetary royal families are not allowed to intermarry by the laws of the alliance," Hermione gently reminded her. "A flirtation is fine, but to want anything more than that –"

Tears starting to well in her eyes, Serenity released Hermione's hands. "I never asked to be born a princess. I only want to marry and live with the man I love. Is that such a crime?"

"Oh, Serenity…"

"It's a stupid law anyway!" Serenity plopped down in a nearby armchair in a very unprincess-like fashion, crossing her arms over her chest. "What about Celestine and Thalassa?" she asked, referring to the princesses of Uranus and Neptune. "They love each other, too, yet because of the alliance, they're not allowed to get married either. It isn't fair."

"There are complicated political reasons why –"

"I don't care." Sniffling, Serenity wiped away a tear that had begun rolling down her cheek. "I-I love him. I really, really do. I know it's wrong, but –"

Her voice cracked. Hermione kneeled down in front of Serenity and embraced her, allowing the heart-broken princess to sob on her shoulder as she rubbed comforting circles on her back. She had assumed Serenity's feelings for Endymion were only a girlish infatuation, but they clearly ran much deeper than that. What was Ishtar thinking, encouraging Serenity's crush on the Earthian prince when she knew they ultimately wouldn't be allowed to be together?

"I'm so sorry, Serenity," Hermione said when her cries began to subside, pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiping the tears off Serenity's face. "I hate seeing you so unhappy…"

"It's not your fault."

"Maybe not, but… Is there anything I can do to cheer you up?"

Serenity shook her head, taking Hermione's handkerchief and using it to blow her nose. "No, I don't think so… Wait." She looked up, her eyes rimmed with red. "There is something I've been wanting to do."

"What is it? If it is within my power, I will try my best to help."

"I...want to go skating. With Endymion."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Hermione said. She wanted to see Serenity smile again, but helping her go on a romantic outing with her forbidden lover seemed counter-intuitive. "Besides, it is not yet winter. It will be several months before Lake Serenitatis is scheduled to freeze over."

As Queen Serenity used the power of her Silver Crystal to control the environment on the Moon, there were no surprises when it came to the weather. Everything from rain to snow was planned in advance, sticking to a precise and predictable schedule. Hermione thought the reminder of that fact would discourage Serenity, but the princess grasped Hermione's hand, squeezing it.

"You could use your powers to freeze it!" she suggested. "Oh, please, Hermione! I promised Endymion that one day I would take him skating. He's so been looking forward to it!"

"Your Highness…"

"I know…" Sighing, Serenity loosened her grip on Hermione's hand. "I'll break it off with him...soon," she promised. "But Earth is not yet a member of Silver Millennium. Until then, I want to enjoy what little time we have left."

Hermione bit down on her bottom lip, conflicted. She could do what Serenity asked. That wasn't an issue. She had never tried to freeze such a large body of water before, but it was within her powers to do so. However, she still felt like delaying the inevitable would only make it more difficult for Serenity to end her affair with Endymion when the time came.

"Please," Serenity begged one more time in a soft voice. "Give me one more night of happiness before my heart is broken. That's all I ask."

"Okay," Hermione said, unable to resist when she put it like that. "If it will really make you happy, I will freeze Lake Serenitatis for you to skate."

Later that evening, Zoisite was at the library, using the Curian-to-Terran dictionary he found to help with his translation of Hermione's book. He'd been at it all afternoon, although he wasn't much closer to finding the source of the king's illness than he was before. He was beginning to think he was following the wrong path.

Sighing, he turned the page and pinched the bridge of his nose. The Curian characters were becoming blurry and hard to read. He glanced over at the clock, blinking to make certain his tired eyes weren't playing tricks on him. It was already that late? Not only had he missed lunch, but dinner, too. His stomach grumbled at the reminder, but there was no time to eat. He was assigned to be Endymion's evening guard, and he was already running behind.

Cursing under his breath, he gathered his scattered notes and slipped them inside Hermione's book. He left the dictionary on the desk, then headed to the prince's bedchambers, taking a brief detour along the way to drop the book off at his own room along the way.

"It's about time you showed up," Jadeite said as he answered the door. "Where have you been all day?"

"Investigating," Zoisite replied, lowering his voice. He wasn't certain how much Kunzite had told Jadeite and Nephrite, so he left it at that. "Has anything of note happened?"

"Nothing worth mentioning." He glanced over his shoulder at Endymion, who was staring out the window, forehead pressed against the glass. "Except that Princess Serenity has extended an invitation to His Highness to go...skating?"

Zoisite arched an eyebrow. "Skating?" He had never heard of such a thing.

"Apparently it is some sort of Lunarian activity involving the wearing of special boots equipped with blades on the soles to dance on frozen water."

"But it is not yet winter on the Moon. Where are we to find this 'frozen water'?"

Jadeite shrugged. "All I know is that you and Prince Endymion are to meet the princess and one of her guardians at Lake Serenitatis," he said before turning back toward the prince. He placed his right palm over his heart and bowed his head. "I ask to take my leave, Your Highness. Zoisite has come to relieve me."

For the first time since Zoisite arrived, Endymion pulled away from the window, blinking as if surprised to find he wasn't alone. "Yes, of course, Jadeite," he said. "You are dismissed. I will see you tomorrow."

Jadeite bowed one more time before leaving the room.

After closing the door behind him, Zoisite assumed the same position. "Forgive my tardiness, Your Highness. I lost track of time."

Endymion smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Again with the formalities..."

"A slip of the tongue, Yo– I mean, Endymion." At least Endymion seemed to have forgiven him for their argument; things had been somewhat tense between them since their arrival on the Moon. "How did the meeting go?"

He sighed, glancing back out the window. "Well enough, I suppose. There are a few more terms we need to discuss, but if all goes to plan, I think I will be ready to sign the treaty by the end of the day tomorrow."

It was supposed to be good news, yet Endymion didn't seem as pleased about it as Zoisite thought he would be. Before he was able to pry further, however, Endymion turned fully around, smiling more genuinely.

"Enough politics for one night, though. Princess Serenity has invited us to go skating with her and Princess Hermione," he said.

"So I've heard, although I still don't quite understand this 'skating' business."

"Neither do I, but we're about to find out. Come, we mustn't keep them waiting."

DISCLAIMER: "Sailor Moon" doesn't belong to me.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be up tomorrow.

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