"The Slumber"
Chapter 10
~Medicine of the Heart~
By: Willow Mae

Not even a full day had passed since the generals had arrived, and already Rei had more on her mind than she had had in years. She wandered the halls in thought, only half-aware of where she was going and why. Aimlessly she pushed open the door at the end of the hall, and was surprised to find the two gentlemen on the other side that she had nearly knocked over.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"Sitting on the floor in a daze of confusion, what else?" Jadeite retorted. He started to pick himself from the floor, where indeed he had been knocked to after Rei had opened the door into them. Rei scowled at him while Zoisite helped his companion to his feet.

"That is made painfully obvious." Rei said disdainfully. "Very well. I shall leave you to your business." She swept past them down the hall.

"Pause a moment!" Zoisite called after her. She stopped, but did not turn to face them. "Pardoning Jadeite, would you please direct us to the infirmary? We were quite lost when you stumbled upon us--"

"Quite literally, I might add." Jadeite said under his breath so that Rei could not hear. Zoisite glared at him but continued.

"I had wanted to check on our lord once more before we retired."

"Mercury is quite capable of tending to your companion, I assure you." Rei turned to face them and eyed them coolly. "You're heading in the wrong direction, anyway."

"Which plainly proves that we're lost." Jadeite rolled his eyes. Rei glared at him.

"I do trust Lady Mercury…" Zoisite amended. "It was for my own peace of mind that I wished to go to the infirmary. If you've ever had a fallen friend, you understand my feelings."

Rei remained silent a moment, seeming to think things over. Then she gave a slight inclination of her head, and to the surprise of the generals, smiled softly.

"I understand." She replied, the cold anger abating from her voice. "I'm on my way to the aviary, follow me and I'll leave you there on my way."

"Well, that's very big of you, milady." Jadeite said sincerely, though his bow was mocking. Rei rolled her eyes and led them through the maze of porcelain hallways, occasionally pointing out land markers to help keep the men from getting lost in the future. A few short moments later, they entered the infirmary.

In the evening light, the emptiness of the hospital wing was almost oppressing. The sterile whiteness glowed a pale ghostly shade from the starlight coming from outside. Unlit torches lined the walls, and on the center mat Endymion lay, still as death, his features exaggerated by light and shadows.

"I'll leave you." Rei whispered, feeling the need to be quiet. "You should be able to find your way back, just down this hall. I must be off to the aviary…good evening, gentlemen." She turned and quietly left. Jadeite and Zoisite gazed solemnly at their lord. Jadeite began to look pale and sickly as worry mounted in him. He turned quickly away.

"I…I think I'll leave you, Zoi." He apologized. He hurried out the door and down the hall after Rei. Perhaps seeing the aviary would brighten his sunken spirits. Zoisite watched his companion leave in sad understanding before turning his eyes to Endymion. His heart was heavy as he sat down beside his lord. For many long minutes he sat beside the prince, his mind flitting between scattered thoughts and absolute nothingness. It took a moment for him to recognize the soft clicks of heels approaching, and when he looked up, he saw Lady Mercury entering into the infirmary through a different door, looking like an angel in the starlight. He hastily stood up in acknowledgement when she turned and noticed him.

"Oh! Milord, what a surprise. What are you doing here?" she asked softly, hiding the suspicion in her voice. She had come down to give Endymion another dose of medication to keep him in his sleep, but finding a visitor in the med-lab threw her off.

"I came to look in on my lord." Zoisite replied politely with a bow. "And yourself, my Lady Mercury?"

"His…I…I came to check on his progress." Ami replied feebly, not wanting to state her true purpose. How could she tell him that she had come down to poison him further, to keep him sedated and weak? She couldn't possibly say that to him, seeing how much he cared. "His, er, medications have not yet stabilized."

"Yes, about that." Zoisite crossed to the counters of various herbs and picked up a vile. Ami held her breath. "When we arrived in your garden, there were many plants that I did not recognize. Perhaps you could be kind enough to tell me about them."

"So I take it you consider yourself knowledgeable on herb lore?" Mercury gently took the vile from his hand.

"Well… yes." Zoisite responded in mild shock. It was odd, talking to a person who had not heard of his reputation. The lady nodded slightly and smiled, though Zoisite was sure he caught a bit of smugness in the curl of her lip.

"It's no surprise you haven't seen many of the plants around here. Many are from the other planets, and need to be tended to carefully in order to preserve them here. Like this, for instance." She held up a container filled with tangled red roots. "Martian Redroot, appropriately named. The plant itself is rather like a cactus, and only grows at intense temperatures with little water. We keep it in an incubator most of the time, until it is ripe to harvest."

"Fascinating." Zoisite breathed, gazing at the foreign plant. "So there is civilization on the other planets as well?"

"Until the Fall, yes…" Ami started to explain, then abruptly stopped. Why was she talking so much? Damn the man for making her feel so comfortable in his presence.

"The Fall?" he prompted, gentle and curious. Ami turned her back on him.

"Nothing, my lord. Something from the past. Now forgive me, but I must ask you to leave so that I can finish tending to my patient and go to bed." She swept past him to a different table and began measuring out the sleeping medication.

"Forgive me, Lady Mercury." Zoisite sounded wounded, and Ami stole a quick glance over her shoulder. He was once more standing over Endymion, a morose expression on his face. "I did not mean to offend. I was simply curious, as I'm sure you would understand if you were put into such strange circumstances as I find myself in."

"I don't doubt it." Ami murmured quietly, ashamed. Inspiration hit her. "Why don't you join me in the library tomorrow? I would be willing to help someone in search of knowledge, and it has been a long while since anyone but myself has graced that part of the castle."

"Are you certain, my lady?" Zoisite asked, a child-like eagerness in his voice. "I would enjoy that very much."

"I'm certain." Ami smiled, wondering if it had indeed been a good idea to invite the man into her haven. Of course, there was nothing to do about it now, and it would be nice to have some company. "Shall I meet you there after breakfast?"

"Of course. Thank you for your invitation, Lady Mercury. I will retire now, so that you may finish your activities in peace."

He opened the door he had entered through and looked down the hallway where the Lady Mars had told him would take him back to the rooms. A look back into the infirmary showed him Mercury busy with the herbs on the counters, a look of concentration on her face. Zoisite was surprised at how beautiful she looked while she worked. Part of him didn't want to leave the room, and not just because Endymion was there. He coughed slightly.

"Lady Mercury, I'm afraid I've become rather lost, could you point me in the correct way back to my room?" She glanced at him a moment, then finished her administrations to Endymion and crossed to him.

"I'll take you back myself, if you like. My work here is completed." She closed the door behind them, and was grateful for the darkness of the hallway, so her blush would be less obvious.

"The Slumber"

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