Past:

After dispensing with his weapons, and freshening himself up, Jaedite slipped out into the still air of the night. Somehow, though it had been a year since he'd seen the young princess of Mars the feelings she evoked in him had not lessened.

He remembered their evening by the canal and felt her pull as strongly as the gravity on the moon was light. Perhaps part of the reason she fascinated him, he noted wryly, was the way she seemed unreachable. She was a challenge. The night he'd met her on Mars, he didn't even get to dance with her once. She'd sat by her father or cousin on the raised platform observing with amusement the spiraling figures. Once or twice she seemed to notice his staring at her. He whirled with one lady or the other, but his eyes stayed with her. Her expression always suggested she didn't even see him. Only when Endymion angrily asked him what he'd done to entrance his cousin had Jaedite realized that her indifferent expression was a facade.

Jaedite even to himself couldn't articulate a reason for his stealthy approach to the wing of the palace where Mars lived. Unlike the silvery gracefully curved lines of the rest of the palace, these halls were more angular. They didn't immitate the square red rock construction of open planes and slabs used in Mars, but did manage to produce the same open feeling. The doors of the suite had sharp overhangs as if they were roofs outdoor.He ran his hand along the thin dark lines that decorated the surface of the wall.

He could see a maid carrying a tray slowly approaching the door he assumed led to her prayer room. He'd observed her routine enough to realize that she reserved the late afternoon hour for contemplation. On Mars she told him she read the hot winds at that time. He was curious what she would do in the Moon Kingdom's cool breezes?

He approached the maid, who steadily bowed despite the weight of the tray.

"I'll take that." He said.

The maid protested "This is tea for the Princesses of Mercury and Mars" , so he used a low grade mind control suggestion.

Holding his hand up, he formed a small ball of light in his fingers. This he held in front of her eyes which widened.

"Yes Lord Warrior Jaedite. I'll see that you are not disturbed. ..I'll inform the Lady Mercury that the Lady Mars has cancelled. " She bowed respectfully again, and returned down the hall.

He smiled, as his soft knock was answered with Rei's "Enter."

He did so, surprised to see her sitting before a rather large fire in a square pit.

"Please set the tray on the table" She said without looking up. "Would you please check to see how much longer the Lady Mercury will be?"

He answered her then. "She will not be joining you this evening."

At the sound of his voice, she whipped around in surprise. Once again, he was surprised at her beauty as he tried not to stare at her in the dim glow of the fire. He manufactured some excuse for his appearance, which she accepted. He sat down, marvelling that his goddess was actually before him.

"Endymion would kill me" Jaedite thought... "He thinks of her like his little sister....and since Endymion doesn't have any closer family..." He suppressed these thoughts--he wanted to charm her, which he couldn't do if he were thinking of the consequences. "At least," he thought looking at her graceful movements in pouring the tea, "I'll die happy if I'm with her."

"Trust me, I'm better company than fire."He teased her.

"That remains to be seen." She said demurely, handing him his cup.

"Fool...ask her!" He thought...all he had to say was he wanted to escort her to the ball the next night...to make up for the dance she owed him from that evening on Mars. He could think of a thousand different ways to phrase it--but he couldn't utter a single one. They seemed to talk about everything else but the ball....after awhile, he found himself lost in the conversation... When at last they finnished their tea, he mustered a final attempt. ""I must get back...but I will see you at the ball tomorrow. " He said in a rush, hoping he didn't seem as awkward as he felt. He bowed nervously, and left wondering what she would have said had he simply asked her?

PRESENT:

Rei was shocked at how young Sora looked. She'd just assumed she'd be older than herself, but the girl looked about a year younger. Perhaps too young to get married, Rei thought.

"I'll finnish the high school in a month." The girl said. "But my father said I could complete the course work later --he wants the wedding soon."

She was pretty. Rei couldn't deny that, the girls narrow face was delicate and framed by long tawny brown hair that was straight. Her eyes matched, but rather than looking dull, again had that caramel glow that warmed them. She was thin, and which made her look slightly taller than Rei, though they were roughly the same height. She oozed niceness..just as Rei seemed gaurded and controlled, this girl seemed as open,undirected and warm as a field on a summer's day. Rei liked her, but immediately found her irritating. She shrugged it off.

"Why is that?" Rei asked, pouring the tea.

"Oh! Because Chad's going to run for an office, a low-level one, of course. You know how this is... Isn't your father in politics?"

"Yes." Rei said. She didn't want to talk about her father. She barely talked to him, and therefore, it didn't seem fair to talk about him. And she never really wanted to do that. "I didn't realize Chad was interested in government."

"He's not--at least yet.. Daddy, and his father really want him to get into government...and it would be exciting. Oh its not for a year of course. He's going to take over the company--it's just one now that our fathers merged the companies. He'll be a vice president. " Sora chattered on. She didn't say all this in one stream, but with prompting from Rei slowly the picture emerged..

"Chad is so strong, brave..."Sora was chattering. "He's helped the scouts even..oh, he wouldn't claim that, but he's told me how monsters have attacked here and ...weren't you scared? I guess I wouldn't be if Chad were there..." Her love glowed so strongly...Rei wryly noted that she was so sweet the cakes didn't need sugar.

Afterawhile, as the sun descended a little lower, Sora began to take her leave. "I was scared to meet you Rei. My Chad always speaks as if you were perfection itself--and I was honnestly a little jealous at first." She confessed in a rush.

Rei, to her credit, had the grace to blush and sound genuine asking "Jealous of me? You're his fiance! I'm just an old friend."

"You're not *so* old! He worshipped you...you know that...and he told me that if you would have wanted him...he'd not have wanted to meet me."

"But I didn't." Rei said, her tone flat.

"Yes! As wonderful as my Chad is, I"m glad you didn't find him so...my life would be so unfufilled without him...and I feel so thankful...it was like I was destined to meet him and love him. " She smiled. "So you were my one worry...meeting you. You sounded like a goddess to hear him describe you."

"But I'm not." Rei said.

"OH! But you're so delightful, I see now why he cared for you as much as he did...and I can't help wonder at why he loves a silly girl like me, after you! But he explained that to me.."She smiled lost in her own memories. "You were so wise to know that you and my Chad weren't meant for each other, when he didn't!"

"Wise...that's me." Rei said.

"I' m so glad we had this tea--but I need your help!" She smiled, though her tone was dramatic. "I shall be miserable without your help! "

"What?"

"I need you to be -my maid of honor..you must."

"I though you were to do a traditional ceremony here at the temple?"

"Yes, but not that tradition! We just thought this would be a beautiful location. Oh, Chad at first did, but Daddy talked him out of it. They'll be a lot important dignarities, some foreign, so we want to make this a blending of modern and traditional ....it'll be beautiful..." She dashed off. "Say you will! Rei, you must help me. I shall be miserable if you don't!"

The big brown eyes fixed on her, pleading, trusting innocent--what could Rei say? "Yes" She felt as if she had no choice.

"I knew it!" Impulsively, Sora threw her arms around Rei and hugged her. "Oh! I'have so much to do! We'll go shopping later for your dress! We're going to be such good friends!" In a flurry, the girl hurried out.

"She'd give Serena a run for energy. "Rei muttered, exhausted emotionally as she sank back against the door.

"So how was the tea?" Jaedite said as he slipped into the room.

"She's very sweet." Rei said.

"I know...I have a toothache, just from seeing her..." Jaedite grinned. "I'm sorry but I overheard her "request." You made quite an impression."

"Obviously..."A long sigh signalled that Rei was done discussing the subject. "You were wrong."

"I was? I don't think so.. So she loves him. Does he love her?"

"She's devoted to him! I couldn't intefere with that."

"Again, you wouldn't be. She is very young. She may have a crush, and she may idolize him. But is that love? It sounds as if her father told her she should marry Chad, so she did. What if her Daddy had told her to love another? I bet she would." Jaedite said cynically.

"You have no faith in love." Rei snapped. "I should not have listened to you--I know that your soul is empty. I won't hurt them. Stop subverting me."

To himself, he thought it was strange that he didn't feel empty--when he was with her....but he didn't say anything . He shook the thought. "Rei, don't misunderstand me."

"You're the one who misunderstands...You don't know Chad." Rei said. "He's nothing like you. His honor means much to him. He wouldn't agree to marry her if he did not feel the same."

Jed nodded. "So he's honorable. Why are you suggesting that I am not?"

She scorched him with a look. "Because you suggest I act dishonorably..."

"Am I? If you act dishonorably because of how you interpret what I said, am I to blame for that?" He questioned her. "If you don't like my advice, don't follow it."

Tired finally of her accusations, his voice was sharp and dismissive. "I offered my opinion because I wanted you to be happy..but you're determined to be miserable. Don't make me so as well." With quick strong steps he marched out, leaving Rei alone with her thoughts. Helplessly,her mind tumbled backwards...to another day, in another life.

The next day, Rei waited impatiently with the other girls for Serena to show up for their day of shopping. Mina's family was going back to England, though Mina had informed her parents that she intended to live in Japan. Still the trip was the perfect excuse for Ami to find Gregg and convince him he was wrong about giving up on her. So Mina had talked Ami into going on a vacation in England with her family...and everyone else into helping the pair shop for travelling clothes.

"Rei, *DON'T* tell me you're fine with Chad's marriage" Serena blurted out, as they passed a wedding gown store.. Of course, when Lita had talked to Serena, right after Rei had left her apartment, she'd mentioned what Rei had told her. There were few secrets in this group.

"I'm not." Rei said.

"So what are you going to do?" Serena said "What can I do? You need to get him back!! I won't see those in love kept apart!"

"This isn't a battle, Moon-brain." Rei shot back.

"What about Jaedite" Ami inquired.

"What about him? Rei asked, handing Ami a blue halter dress that would look great with the jacket Ami was fingering. "Actually, he said I should go after Chad."

"HE DID?" Mina asked surprised. "Wow, that's liberal."

"He's not in love with me. I don't know why he told me that."

"Because it makes sense" Serena said. "Anyone could tell you not to give up!"

"So, if he's not in love with you,Rei, maybe I'll pay our amnesiac a visit before I go to England. " Mina said, fingering a light orange dress "Think he'd like this dress?"

Rei all but exploded. "Stay away from him."

"Oh yeah? Why can't I see him!" Mina said.

"Because he's eng..." Rei paused, not sure why she'd been about to say he was engaged..."He's still under observation."

"I know.. I want to observe him." Mina laughed.

"MY observation. We can't trust him." Rei said. "Find someone else to flirt with."

"Told you" Lita whispered to Mina. "Doesn't want a second chance, but won't let us near him."

>>>@>------>>>

The soft pink and white cherry blossoms hovered over their heads as Rei and Chad strolled in the park. The day was soft and warm, perfect really, thought Rei, except that an odd tension hung between her and Chad.

He was at ease. She could tell. All the tension started and ended with her, pulsating from her own thoughts.

"Sora is very nice." She said at last, breaking the silence. He had always waited for her to speak, when they walked here. At least, he did ever since the first time when she yelled at him for disturbing the peace of the afternoon. He'd been silent for fear she'd not let him go with her. That seemed so long ago.

"Yeah...*she's* great...."He said distractedly. He looked tired.

"Something wrong?" Rei inquired, noticing the sleepy expression and his lagging step.

"Her Father..he's been working me really hard with this merger... Our competitor is this totally unscurpolous mega-company... We'd never been a threat to them, but now that we merged the two corporations...it's a different story."

"You shouldn't let him work you so hard Chad! You know that at the temple we always maintained limits."

"I don't have a choice...Even as hard as I worked at the temple, it strengthened me...this work drains me out...but I can't do anything else--"

"Why not?"

"The merger took a lot of cash to buy out shareholders-- we've got some major loans... and the bank's just been bought out by our competitors... Stanton Industries....they're merciless. If we're late...we're afraid of what could happen."

"I see." Rei said. She was only half paying attention. Business not being her strong point, nor the point of their stroll.

"Enough of my problems...what was on your mind? How's the wedding planning?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"OK. " That topic was even worse. " Look Chad, if you don't want to do this kind of work--don't let them run your life. That's why you ran away to the temple in the first place. I hate to see you lose your independence." Especially to Sora, she thought.

Chad laughed. "I didn't feel so independent when I showed up at the temple...but you are right. I shouldn't let them walk over me...Grandpa taught me to face my fears...and I should."

"But not right now...let's just enjoy the park. How about a row boat ride?" Rei said...that should get his mind off his work and onto her..."We never did this when you lived at the temple did we?"

"Speaking of facing fears...I always wanted to ask you Rei... but you had me so scared!" He laughed...

"Of What!" She said idignantly...

"That you'd say NO..." he laughed..."or yes, and then get angry at me and push me in the water!"

Rei tried not to let her irritation show..."I wouldn't do that."

He smiled at her. "Then let's go!"

Jed, observing the scene swore to himself, that they would now be harder to follow. He shook his blonde hair and melted back into the trees.

He was not the only one observing the pair... Less well hidden were two figures, They shared the same thoughts about Chad's and Rei's excursion onto the water. One was cursed with a thick, stupid looking face and a voice to match. "Duh boss ain't goin' like dat we didn't nab her now...why couldn't they stayed in duh trees? Dere's too many people to see out there."

The other hushed his dimwitted, uglier friend, and pushed back his own tawny brown hair. "I'm still not sure that is our target.

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