Chapter IX. Ignition
Sitting in the library, Jadeite looked over his scrolls. He could not concentrate on his notes, however; his thoughts were on what he and the Shitennou had overheard the previous night. He shook his head, remembering how desperate Beryl had been to force Endymion to be with her. The blond commander was secretly glad that the prince had not allowed the sorceress to influence his heart, but he was worried how Beryl would handle this.
He had been observing her—even a few of his precious moments with Rei were spent watching the sage. She shared in his concerns, fortunately, and promised to consult her fires about her spirit. After this, of course, a long discussion of magic arts ensued. He was advanced, but his discussions with that wonderful Mars senshi made him feel inadequate in some areas. This was the cause of his studies at this particular moment.
Jadeite moved the scrolls aside. Pretending to study them would be just as useless as never looking at them at all. Suddenly, a cold force enveloped his being. Flashes of images ran through his mind, with voices whispering and screaming all at once.
The next thing he knew, he was being shaken and he heard his name. "Jadeite! Jadeite!" When he blinked and returned to normal, Kunzite was standing beside him, looking concerned. Seeing that his friend had been restored, Kunzite took his hands off his shoulders. "That was one of the worse episodes I have seen you have."
Jadeite nodded, putting a hand to his temple. "Certainly has never been this strong."
Kunzite's eyes narrowed. "What did you see?" he asked urgently.
There was a moment of silence, and then Jadeite suddenly stood up, his eyes wide with concern. "We need to see Beryl."
…..
King Edward nodded to his advisors and straightened his robes as he approached the podium on the castle wall. Hundreds of people below him cheered for their popular king, and he allowed them to carry on for a few moments before holding his hand up to indicate silence. "Thank you, kind people. I am glad that you have come today, for today I have a special announcement." He gestured behind him, and his son stepped forward. Endymion stayed quiet as his father continued to speak. "As you all know, my son—the prince and heir to this throne—has been courting a young woman for quite some time now. Some of you may be familiar with her." At this, a good portion of the crowd cheered; they had been present when Serenity had made her appearances in the royal court. "I am pleased to announce that they are to be married." More cheers and applause greeted this announcement and the king cleared his throat. "I also will say something that may concern you, but there is no cause for alarm. You see, the girl Serenity is actually Princess Serenity." He paused for a moment. "She is of the Moon Kingdom."
As soon as this registered with the crowd, a loud murmur could be heard. Disagreement rippled through the audience. One person shouted out, "What is the meaning of this?"
The Earth King put up his hand again. "While you may disagree with her heritage, I say this is the perfect opportunity. After all, how long has our feud with the people of the Moon lasted? Who among you can even remember the reason we do not communicate with them?" he asked, while pointing at the sky. "Is it not the time for perfect peace? I say, if it was anyone else, I would be just as skeptical as you, but you yourselves have seen the girl and know she means no harm. Therefore, there will be a great celebration. I implore you to make Serenity feel welcome as if she was one of us—because soon, she will be." He held up both of his arms to indicate he had finished his speech, and the crowd cheered just as before.
"I suppose they do approve," remarked Endymion in a low voice so that only his father could hear him.
"If I do, then they do," replied the king, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "It would have been better had she been here for the announcement, but –"
The prince crossed his arms. "It would have helped if you had allowed me to ask her hand in marriage first. It is for her and I to decide."
"Well I see no question about it, son! You and the princess shall be married. And," the king said, leaning in closer to Endymion, "if you want to keep the honor of our family name, you will follow my orders. Understand?"
The prince nodded in obedience. King Edward clapped his hand on his son's shoulder before leaving the podium, with Endymion following close behind him.
….
Beryl grinned as she slipped into the Magic Court tower. Vials of experiments, scrolls of notes, dusty books, runes, crystal balls, maps, herbs, and spices were scattered throughout the room on shelves, tables, and even a chair or two. The fireplace in the far side of the room was still smoldering. It was late in the evening, and Beryl knew the other sages had retired for the night. She gathered a few vials and herbs for herself, knowing the contents of the room would not be long in existence. After collecting these items, she walked to the door of the room and turned around. Putting out both of her hands, she concentrated. She had performed this spell before, but it took much difficult. To her surprise, however, the flames shot of her hands without much effort and began to envelop the room. She laughed wickedly, knowing the new powers which she had inherited were not for nothing. More flames came out, turning darker in hue to almost a pure black. The blaze ignited the vials and a few of them exploded, causing a chunk of the stone wall to be blown.
Putting her arms down, Beryl surveyed her handiwork. It would not be long now before the fire caught the guards' attention. The stone walls in the castle would prevent it from spreading, but it was not her intention to cause the destruction of the castle. After all, she planned on it being her own castle.
She quickly left the room as the smoke thickened. Her next target would be even easier than this.
…
Jadeite and Kunzite arrived at the tower, but saw it was already too late as soon as they opened the door. Jadeite had sensed the danger—he knew it was related to his vision of Beryl, though he was unsure of what the connection between the two was. While he was lost in thought, Kunzite called to the guards that were arriving to send for reinforcements. "Think we can put this out?" he asked his comrade.
Jadeite put a hand to his chin, studying the disaster. "Certainly no harm in trying. But as my power concerns fire, it would be wise to get the other Shitennou. Zoisite's powers would be the most helpful."
Kunzite nodded, and ran down the castle hall. He passed by the prince, who was running to the scene of the fire. Endymion caught up to Jadeite, who was still observing the flames. "What is going on?" inquired the prince, a little short of breath.
The Shitennou stayed silent as he reached out his hand to the blaze. His hand was completely enveloped in the black flames, but it did not appear to singe or burn his hand. He pulled it out, much to his and the prince's surprise, completely normal. "This is unusual," he remarked.
"Certainly. But what could it be?"
Jadeite sighed heavily before answering. "Dark magic."
…
"You believe it was arson?" asked a shocked king. He sat in his library, with only his son and the Shitennou in his company.
"Yes. There can be no doubt," answered Jadeite with a stern look on his face. "It was intended to destroy only the objects in that room. It was a very strong, dark and powerful magic."
King Edward rubbed his beard, looking down. "But who is to blame? After all, every one of the members of the Magic Court is—or has been—in my trust. Could it be anyone else?"
"Perhaps someone who has powers of their caliber but chose to be discreet about it," suggested Kunzite, who was leaning against the wall.
Nephirite spoke up. "That kind of power is not without precedent, though. Surely it would have manifested itself over a period of time."
A knock echoed on the door. "Enter," commanded the king, remaining seated in his chair.
The door opened to reveal the captain of the guard, who looked very solemn. "Sir, we have received reports of another fire."
"Another fire?" echoed everyone.
"Yes. I am afraid our food storage has been completely destroyed," replied the captain.
The king rose from his chair. "Who could be responsible? Who would do such a thing? Surely two fires in one day is no coincidence!" he shouted in anger.
"I would consult the orbs and the scrolls, but—" Jadeite stopped short, his dark eyes open with surprise. "That is it."
"What?" asked the others.
"The arsonist destroyed the tower on purpose. Had it been available, I—or any other educated in the magic arts—would have been able to find a way to determine who is responsible by using our books and orbs."
"Captain, I need you to have an emergency guard ready. I am not sure this arsonist is done yet. I do not need another incident on my hands," stated the king.
"Yes, Your Majesty," said the captain, bowing low before exiting the room in haste
Endymion looked at Nephirite. "Do you think you can consult the stars and see what our next move should be?"
"I can try. I do have a good portion of constellation mapped in my mind, but it will not be as accurate without my notes," replied the brunette Shitennou.
"I have kept a few of my notes in here. I will try to consult the fires if I can," added Jadeite, gesturing towards the fireplace in the room.
Endymion nodded. "That will be most helpful. Kunzite and Zoisite, you will come with me. Perhaps we can find a clue of our own." The two Shitennou nodded curtly and rose from their seats.
"Report to me if you find anything. I would like to be informed of every step you are taking," said the king.
The Shitennou and the prince bowed to the king and left the library. As Nephirite and Jadeite departed from the group, Zoisite asked the prince in a low voice, "Is she coming tonight?"
"Doubtful. Especially after the other night…" Endymion's voice trailed off.
His companion said, "It is just as well. Things are chaotic as it is. I heard a rumor in the village that someone is blaming her."
"What?!" the prince shouted. "That is ridiculous."
"I said it was only a rumor."
"It is a most ridiculous rumor," declared Endymion.
Zoisite added, "Then it is all the more important we find the perpetrator."
Dodging her way through the shadows of the castle, the figure of a woman was barely visible in the night. While the fires were keeping the castle and surrounding town bright with the blaze, there was plenty of darkness in the shadows of the flames. She wrapped her long black robe around her tightly and made her way toward the prince's room. Upon reaching her destination, she crouched down and listened intently. She could hear him rustling in his bed. Before long, I may join you for a night's rest, Beryl thought to herself. As busy as she was with her plans, the time was not now. But soon, my prince. Soon.
Early the next morning, as Endymion made his way to the court, he could hear the cries and shouts of the people. Perhaps they are upset with the loss of the grain and food that had been saved in the king's warehouses, he thought to himself. He knew the king would make it clear that the storage belonged to not only the people, but those in the castle as well. This meant those of the royal court would suffer along with them.
Because he was so immersed in his thoughts, the prince did not notice one of his commanders walking by his side. "Good morning, prince," greeted Nephirite.
Startled, Endymion stopped for a moment in his tracks. Recognizing his companion, he smiled and continued down the hall. "Good morning to you as well."
Nephirite raised his eyebrows. "I see you are on edge this morning. These circumstances can all be very stressful. You do know you do not have to bear it all alone, right?"
The prince smiled gratefully at his friend. "Of course, but who else can be responsible for these people's safety? Someone out there is out to destroy this kingdom from the inside."
"I understand," said the commander. "It concerns us all. But we will find who is responsible, do not worry."
"Did the stars show any light upon this situation?" inquired Endymion.
"Only that there is a great event to occur. Soon, there may even be a war."
"A war?" The prince stopped in his tracks. His commander followed suit. "How can this be so? Who will we be at war with?"
Nephirite paused for a minute before answering the prince. "With ourselves, I believe."
A/N: My apologies to the long delay in storytelling. In truth, this chapter was written months ago, but I had forgotten to publish it. Currently working on the next chapter.
Excited about the new series this summer, and am itching to write again. Please feel free to leave a review.