Early the next day, Serenity and Darien were out looking for clothes and other items for Serenity. Darien also needed to get ready for his move to Horus and was looking at different suitcases. Serenity had never seen so many colors before, and was constantly distracted by the items in the windows. She would run off if she saw something new and would put her hands and face against the glass. Darien had bought her new clothes, a pair of shoes, and a phone. He did not want her to get lost, and he made too much money for him to spend it all on himself. Before his father had gone off the deep end, Lucas had made quite a bit of money from patents and his research work. So Darien never worried about money, and quite frankly he could not resist spoiling Serenity. Her eyes sparkled every time he showed her something.

They walked hand in hand down the streets. Darien felt reassured that she would not get lost if she held onto him, though he was a little uncomfortable from the stares of other people. All of a sudden, he felt her let go of his hand and run towards a small cart. She was looking at a set of necklaces, both on long silver chains. The pendants were simple. One was of a sun, the other of a moon. Serenity was biting her lip looking at them, longing very clear in her eyes. Darien hurried to where she was.

The person who owned the cart looked at the couple. "Hi, my name is Lita. What can I do for you?"

"What are those two necklaces?" Darien asked. Serenity looked up surprised. She had not realized he had come over so quickly.

Lita smiled at the couple. "Those are a set of necklaces. They were made by the Ghost people, in a village not far from here. They use a specific technique to meld two metals together, to show unity. These were made for a couple, and according to tradition, the male wears the sun while the female wears the moon. The sun and moon are a pair that will last forever, and that ideal is passed on to the people who wear them," she explained. During her explanation, Serenity had looked at her with dreamy eyes. Then Serenity grabbed Lita's hands and shook them vigorously. Lita laughed and patted the young woman's head.

"You have a beautiful wife," Lita said to Darien. Looking at Serenity, she said, "It looks like you want those necklaces. I can give them for free if you'd like."

"No, no, it's not necessary," Darien protested. His heart tingled on the fact that Lita had called Serenity his wife.

"It's my pleasure. Not many people come to this cart. In exchange, please come visit my restaurant. My husband and I own it and I only come out here occasionally for some free time." Lita smiled at them both and handed Serenity the necklaces.

"Thank you very much," Darien bowed slightly. Serenity reached up and pecked Lita on the cheek. Lita laughed again and bid them goodbye. Turning towards Darien, she slipped the sun charm over his neck. Because he was so much taller than she was, he had to bend his back for her to reach. Quickly, Serenity gave him a kiss on his cheek as well. Surprised, he looked at her and saw she was blushing. He took the moon charm and put it over her neck. He held out his arm and she linked hers through his as they kept walking down the road.

Finally they arrived home with their goods. Serenity had bought a cookbook and was determined to learn some things. Darien went to put their stuff away in the bedroom and changed into comfortable clothing. Serenity was waiting for him in the kitchen when he came back out. She held the cookbook to her chest and pointed to the stove.

"First, we need to see if you can read." Darien gestured to the table and sat down on one of the chairs. She sat next to him and opened the book to a page on spaghetti. For an hour, Darien asked her if she recognized the words, and it seemed like she did. However, she had no idea what a measuring system was so he quickly showed her the different teaspoons, measuring cups, and pots she could use. After that quick cooking lesson, Serenity pushed Darien out of the room, resolute in her decision to cook a meal on her own. Darien shook his head, but went to his room to read some medical journals. "I am sure she'll be fine," he thought to himself.

Serenity was cutting up garlic and readying the vegetables. According to the book, it seemed simple enough. While she chopped and watched the boiling pot of water, she went over the day in her mind. Darien had bought so much for her. She felt a little greedy and wanted to pay him back. She still couldn't remember much, but when Lita had said "Ghost", there was a twinge in her heart. It seemed vaguely familiar. Also, she did not want to tell Darien, but her vocal cords were feeling a lot better. She still couldn't say words, but she could make subtle sounds. However, she did not want to show Darien until she was completely healed, that way she could surprise him!

She looked down at the necklace. It really was on a long chain, but it was so beautiful. She had really liked the aura surrounding the young woman Lita and wanted to go back to see her quickly. Serenity felt that she could become good friends with her. And while it was wonderful being with Darien, she wanted some female companionship. She did not want Darien to take care of her all the time and knew he needed some time to be alone as well. As she thought about her conversation with Lita, she blushed at the memory of when Lita called her Darien's wife. Careful of the knife, she put her hands to her flushed cheeks. "Do I really seem like his wife?" she wondered.

When dinner was finished, Serenity went to Darien's room. She knocked on the door and opened it a crack. He obviously hadn't been paying attention because his eyes were still glued to his book. Putting a hand over her mouth, she crept over to where he was. Darien had heard the door open and knew it was only one person. Making sure she thought he wasn't aware, he waited until she got near him. Then he turned around quickly and grabbed her. Surprised Serenity almost gave a shriek and she fell onto his lap. Darien's face was still set in stone, but his eyes were laughing. Serenity put her hands over her heart to show him how scared she had been and how fast her heart was racing.

"Hello little one. Is dinner ready?" he asked. She nodded and put her arms around his neck, tucking her head on his shoulders. "Did I scare you that much?" She nodded and he heard her sniffling. "I'm sorry! Please don't cry," he begged.

Serenity lifted her head and smiled broadly.

"Were you teasing me?" he asked, incredulous. He had really thought she was crying. Serenity nodded and quickly stood up. She ran away from him while Darien sat quietly in his chair thinking about how he had almost been tricked. "She will never cease to surprise me," he thought as he walked out of the room.

After dinner, Serenity went to take a shower and put on her new pajamas. It was a blue silk nightgown and felt like heaven. It flowed through her fingers and was cool to touch. She kept the necklace around her neck, loving the idea that she was somehow bound to Darien, even in a subtle way. After she crawled into bed, she quickly gestured to Darien to ask him for paper and pencil. He brought them over and sat down next to her. She scribbled away, showing him that not only could she read, she could also write.

"How old are you?" she wrote.

"I'm 24 right now. I will be 25 in a month," he replied.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a doctor at the hospital. But next month I will be moving to another city to be a doctor there."

"Will I be with you?" Darien paused at that question. He had not thought too deeply about her coming with him. Logistically, it might be a hassle and he knew he needed to help her find her family. But he wanted to her come with him. He shrugged.

"I want you to be happy. You can make the choice," he said slowly. Serenity nodded slowly and put away the writing utensils. She straddled his legs and brought her face very close to his. Unnerved, Darien tried not to move. Serenity looked into his eyes, as if searching for something. She held his face in her hands for a few moments.

"What?" Darien whispered. "Is there something on my face?" He tried not to breathe in her intoxicating scent. Serenity did nothing, but continued to look at him. After a while, she leaned forward to kiss his forehead. Then she leaned back and smiled at him cheekily and went back to her side of the bed. She pulled the blankets up to her eyes, embarrassed. Darien just looked at her. He could never get used to the amount of physical affection she showed him and was never quite sure how to respond. Serenity held out her hand and he put his hand in hers, sinking into the bed and fell asleep holding her again.

Raye had tied the man against a tree. She had put away her sword, not by her own choice of course. Jadeite had pointed out that if she held it out, there was a higher chance she could accidentally hurt the man before she got the answers she wanted.

"So. Who are you?" she started. The man glared at her, angry that he had been corralled like a wild animal. He grunted, saying nothing. Raye grabbed his throat, starting to choke the life out of him until he finally gave in.

"Name's Lionus," he choked out. Raye stepped back again.

"Do you know my sister, Serenity?"

"The witch who almost tried to kill me? Sure. I was going to marry her, but I have changed my mind. She can go burn for all the wickedness in her." Lionus still had the scars from the stupid grass vines and was bitter about her rejection to him. He was a moderately good-looking man who could provide for any woman. Serenity had no reason to reject him, and so he blamed it completely on her.

"What do you mean witch?" Raye asked quietly. Her voice was shaking with rage. How dare this man insult her beloved sister.

"She made the grass grow and trap me with its vines. If that's not witchcraft, I don't know what is," he replied haughtily. Raye said nothing, but inside she was shaking. Could her sister also be different? Was it a genetic thing? The fire had never showed her anything about Serenity's "abilities".

"What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything! She jumped off the cliff herself!" Lionus yelled. He could not believe he was being interrogated by a woman, and the man behind her still did nothing. His pride was being shredded.

Raye decided that he was telling the truth, which meant that her following him had been for nothing. Well...maybe not entirely. She would take him back to her village and let her father and the village chieftain deal with this trash. Raye knocked him unconscious with the hilt of her sword and loosened the ropes. Jadeite had a horse, so she draped the man over the saddle, tying him down. When she was finished, she looked to Jadeite.

"Thanks, Jadeite. I don't know what would have happened if you weren't here." Raye came forward to hug him. Their greetings had long been overdue.

"It's nothing Raye. I am just glad I stopped you from doing something you might regret. I missed you." He hugged her back, stroking her hair.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Raye pulled away to look at his face. She would know if he were lying to her.

"I was traveling. Quite frankly, it got boring at the guild without a student to teach so I wanted to go explore the forest a little. Maybe meet up with some long-lost friends," he replied. He winked at her. Raye shook her head, laughing a little. Only Jadeite could make her laugh in these situations.

"Can you help me bring this man to justice? I am going to take him to my home and have my father deal with him."

Jadeite brought her closer, hugging her again. "I will always be with you Raye."

Raye and Jadeite brought the man Lionus to her home. Thankfully her father was also there, back from his own search. It had not been fruitful and Luna had collapsed out of sheer emotional exhaustion. Raye brought the man Lionus to his knees before her father and explained what he had told her, minus the "witch" part. Artemis went to go grab the chieftain. Leaving Lionus under the watch of the other villagers, Raye took Jadeite's hand and dragged him to the waterfall.

"This is where she supposedly jumped," she gestured to the cliff. "The river goes down that way. I need to follow it in order to find her."

Jadeite said nothing. He merely looked down the cliff and thought about the chances of Serenity's survival. Raye had talked a lot of her younger sister and Jadeite felt as protective of her as Raye did. He loved Raye and wanted to help her as much as possible. But he also knew that right now was not a good time to profess his love to Raye. She was too distracted and he told himself that he would wait until Serenity was found to tell the love of his life. Jadeite turned to Raye and nodded.

"You know this land better than I do. I will follow you and help you."

Raye had tears in her eyes as she thanked her old teacher and friend. She knew his tracking expertise would come in handy and she did not know what dangers they would face in the woods. At least, if they were together they had a better chance. "We will leave tomorrow. We need to rest and get supplies. The village will also make a decision on Lionus tonight so we should be there for that," she said. She started to walk away, back to her village. Jadeite caught up to her and walked beside her.

"Jadeite?" she said.

"Yes, Raye?"

"Thank you."