As the Tears Fell~Chapter Ten Ummm this was done about a week and a half ago, but i couldn't save it! sooo sorry!
Okay I realize that everyone is probably ready to kill me right about now but I am sooo incredibly sorry that this chapter took so long to come out. I really do have excuses though so just bare with me for a few more minutes. I have been going through an incredible amount of shit. This is what I have been juggling, just to let you know: family, regular school, homework, tests, projects, struggling to get through Wuthering Heights and write a thesis paper on it, thunder and lightning storms(during which I will not go near my computers, espcially cause they are under windows), blackouts, babysitting two days a week from 3 to 9, making individual profile pages for the scouts(look for that soon), redoing my first fanfic archive, and working on I think three other fanfics other then this one(e-mail me if you want more info on this) and i am desperatly trying to finish this damn story by the end of May when my sister gets home from college and my computer time is cut drastically, so please don't bug me about taking so long! I really am sorry though.
Note: Chapter 11 should take almost half the time to come out this one did. I already have the whole chapter outlined, and the first part is written.
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BTW, this chapter was totally worth the wait. At least in my opinion. Oh my God! I almost totally forgot to thank my editor!!!! Thanks sooooo much Mars-Chan for proofreading this and everything else!! Arigato!!!!
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Ten
By MCRK
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Jade stood and sighed to himself. "I hereby resolve that I will no longer love Princess Rei of Mars. It hurts to much to try, when nothing is ever going to come from it." He said quietly to himself, then left the room.
Minako walked out of the shadows in complete shock. "Jade loves Rei?" She asked herself softly. "Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! What am I gonna do?" She asked frantically. As an afterthought, she remembered that everyone was meeting at the training grounds, so her first move would be to head to practice. 'I can't believe he loves her!' she thought. 'Used to love her.' She corrected herself. According to what Jade has said, he was over her, but if she knew anything about love, (And considering she was the scout of it, she did know quite a lot) he was far from over her. After practice she was gonna have to try to talk to Makoto or someone, without telling her the whole story. "Man this is gonna put complications in our relationship." She muttered.
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Rei could feel Jade's eyes on her but she refused to acknowledge his presence. When it had come time for partner sparring, she convinced Luna to temporarily switch her partner so she wouldn't have to work with him. "Please Luna? I really can't face him right now." She had pleaded.
Luna had, of course, protested, "Do you really think it's fair to put the second ranked against the first ranked?" She asked, when Rei had suggested she go against Kunzite, and Minako could go against Jade.
"Well it would make us stronger. I mean think about it, the next time Beryl attacks do you really think that she is going to care if she gives us a warrior more skilled then us? We should be more prepared then to just fight those of our rank." She reasoned.
"Well..."
"Please Luna?" Rei begged.
After a few moments of pleading, the small cat agreed. "Everyone, gather round." She called as the others stopped fighting. "We will have the usual partner sparring, but the pairs will be slightly different then usual." She sent a subtle glare at Rei when she said this, but continued. "Serin and Endymion will be paired, Makoto and Nephlite will be paired, Ami," She paused for a moment again, "Ami is excused from training right now due to the circumstances. As for--"
"Is that really wise Luna?" Serin interrupted. "I mean, now we know who and what Beryl is after, don't you think we should all be ready in top form?"
"Yes I agree but if you look at the situation, there is no one for Ami to spar with right now. Besides the fact that she is currently distraught and heartbroken. She is in no state to fight."
"I know but what if--"
"Do not question my authority Princess Serenity." Luna yelled interrupting her, and scaring everyone else. Serin's mouth dropped open, no one every called her Princess Serenity, hell, no one ever even called her Serenity! No one had seen Luna so upset either. Even Artemis was shocked. He quietly padded over to her and whispered something softly to her that seemed to calm her down.
"I'm sorry." She apologized sighing. "It's just that we just lost a member of our team to the enemy side, and now Mercury is unfit to fight, plus we know who Beryl is after...Anyway," She said regaining her composure. "As for the last two pairs, Rei will be working with Kunzite, and Jade will be working with Minako. Remember, no powers, first to fall loses, go ahead."
Jade shot a hurt look at Rei, who still wouldn't even look at him. 'I can't believe she is doing this!' He thought as he ran over to talk to her.
She whirled around knowing who it was that tapped her. "What Jade? If you don't mind I am trying to practice." she snapped.
He stepped back, pain clearly showing in his eyes. "Jade?" He whispered. "You have always been the one person who doesn't call me Jade. Why the sudden change?"
She sighed. "Look I don't have time for this. What did you want to ask me?" She questioned.
"Why do you have to keep up this whole fight thing? At least let us continue to spar. It affects everyone if you do this Rei." He said quietly.
"Why?" She asked. "Why? Because you broke my trust!" She exclaimed. "And this does not affect everyone. Switching the partners between the four of us only makes us stronger and better."
"No it doesn't, and you know it. Kunzite can defeat you too easily, just as Minako can defeat me too easily. We aren't matched." Jade explained.
"Maybe so but right now, if I was to spar with you, I either wouldn't be able to concentrate, or I would let my emotions overcome me and would end up hurting you. And as mad as I am right now, you are still my best friend and I still love you to death, but I'm not ready to forgive you at the moment." Rei explained. "Look this isn't the time or the place to be talking about this. Just know that when I am ready to forgive you, you'll know." She left him with that thought as she headed over to Kunzite to begin their spar.
Minako quietly walked up to Jade. "Hey, so I take it we are sparring?" She asked.
"Yeah." He replied. Jade glanced over at Rei and forced himself to remember that he was over her. 'Well let's really move on then.' He thought. He turned back to Minako. "I was wondering, would you want to go with me to the ball at the end of the week, to celebrate the princess' s birthday?" He asked
Minako swallowed hard, "Um sure, I'd love to." She forced out.
He gave her the best fake smile he could mange. "Great."
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"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Makoto asked as her and Minako walked outside.
"It's such a pretty day outside." Minako commented, changing the subject.
"Okay, now I definitely know something's wrong. What's up?" Makoto questioned.
Minako was hesitant to respond. 'I have to figure out some way to explain this, without telling her that Jade loves Rei.' She thought.
"Minako?" She prodded.
"Well, it's...ok this is kinda hard to explain...uh..." She faltered, trying to find the right words.
"Anytime now, Minako." Makoto said smiling.
"Something happened and now I know something that I wasn't supposed to know." She blurted out.
"Well that's kinda broad. It would help if I knew a little bit more information." Makoto pointed out.
Minako sighed. "See, that's the thing. I really can't tell you who said it, or exactly what it was they said."
"Well, can you give you any other information at all? It's kinda hard for me to help otherwise." She commented.
"What happened was someone said something, and they didn't notice I was there, and I really don't think I was supposed to hear. And, they were talking about how they...like someone." Minako tried to explain.
"Let me guess, this happened in the meeting room, after everyone else had already left to go the training grounds. And Jade was there, and you overheard him say something about how he was in love with someone else." Makoto said.
Minako stared at her in disbelief. "How, how did you do that?" She asked.
Makoto grinned. "You mean I was right? Cool."
"Not exactly right. The thing I kinda forgot to mention was that he didn't really say that he loved someone else, he said that he no longer loved that person because it hurts too much."
"I guess you wouldn't be able to tell me the person is would you?" She asked.
"Nope."
"Damn." She said smiling.
"So what should I do?" Minako pressed.
"What do you mean, what should you do? You're going out with him, aren't you?" She asked.
"Yeah, but I don't know now if he really likes me."
"That's true." Makoto said. "You said you weren't supposed to know about this right?"
Minako nodded.
"Well then there really isn't anything you can do." She said gently. "Other than breaking up with him, but I advise that you wait a while and see. Maybe he really is over this mysterious person, and maybe he really is starting to fall for you."
Minako nodded her head in agreement. "Thanks, Makoto." She said.
She was about to answer when their communicators started beeping. "Great, another attack" Makoto sighed as she turned it on. "Makoto and Minako here."
Rei's face appeared on the small screen before them. "Hey guys, get down to the lake as quickly as possible. We've got another monster attack, and we aren't doing to well."
"We're on our way." Minako said as Rei signed off. "Well, let's go." She said as they ran down towards the lake.
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"Shit." Sailor Moon swore as she dodged another blast.
"You may as well give up now, you're never going to beat me." Zoisite laughed evilly.
"Sorry it took us so long, we got here as fast as...we...could..." Jupiter's voice trailed off as she noticed Zoisite.
"Zoisite." Venus breathed.
"Would you two stop gawking and starting fighting!" Nephlite yelled.
"Right, sorry." Jupiter said jumping into action. "What's up with Ami?" She asked Mars softly.
Mars glanced over to where Ami had been silently standing for the past ten minutes...ever since Zoisite has started to attack. "I think she's still in shock over the whole thing. She really loves him." She commented.
"Zoi, come on snap out of this. I know this isn't you. Just come back to our side. Please." Endymion pleaded.
"Hmmm...let me think about it, no." Zoisite said as he sent another youma.
"Damn it we can't handle all these youma!" Venus growled.
Sailor Moon went over to Ami and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Mercury, please. We need you help to find out the weakness."
She nodded and started typing on her mini computer. "It's fire." She said softly after a few minutes.
"Thanks Ames." She said smiling gratefully at here.
"Mars...Celestial...Fire...SURROUND!" Mars shot off her attack, which had no affect on the youma.
"Why the hell isn't it working?" Kunzite yelled.
"Our attacks by themselves aren't strong enough. We're going to have to double team it." Jade shouted over to Mars.
Mars, however, ignored him and continued to shoot attacks that had no affect, other then wasting her energy.
"Mars, it won't work." Venus told her softly.
She ignored her and kept attacking.
"Rei," Nephlite started gently. "You can't beat it alone."
She was about to respond when Zoisite ordered the youma to attack. The scouts watched helplessly as the youma shot forward a blast that knocked into Nephlite, sending him back a good ten feet and slamming him into a tree, knocking him unconscious.
"NEPHLITE!" Jupiter screamed rushing over to his aide.
Mercury quickly snapped out of the spell she had been in and took over. Glancing over at Mars, she could tell she wouldn't be much help in the rest of the fight. "Mercury...Bubbles...FREEZE!" She yelled, encasing the youma in ice. "Now Jade!" She shouted.
Jade nodded. "Phoenix...Flames...ENGULF!" He yelled, holding the fire for an extra few seconds to make sure the youma was harmed enough.
"I'll be back, and next time...you won't be so lucky." Zoisite said before disappearing in a swirl of petals.
The others all powered down. "Zoisite..." Ami whispered softly as she reached a hand out to the place he had been standing only moments before.
Rei stood in shock at what had just happened. 'Because of your stubbornness, a friend and fellow warrior of yours is hurt.' She scolded herself. She walked over to where Nephlite was lying, being comforted by Jupiter, and where the others were standing.
"How, how is it?" she asked cautiously.
"His arm may be broken and he's still unconscious." Makoto said coldly, glaring at her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She faltered.
"Rei, you know that the first rule of any warrior is that they can't let their emotions overcome them, especially not when in a serious fight." Minako said quietly.
"She's right. Someone could have been killed." Endymion said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Rei said softly.
"That's the thing Rei. It doesn't matter if you meant for it to happen or not, it did." Kunzite said sharply. Rei looked around the circle of her friends, all of who were either glaring at her, or unable to look at her. "Gomen." She whispered. She looked down at Nephlite. "Please, tell him. I'm so sorry." She turned and fled from the group.
Serin glared at the group. "Well that was really nicely handled thanks guys." She said sarcastically.
"Serin, she needed to hear that and you know it." Jade spoke up. "Just because she's your cousin, and your best friend..."
Serin glared at him. "This has nothing to do with the fact that she is my cousin, or the fact that she is my best friend. This has to do with the fact that she was upset and made a mistake. And yes she did need to hear that, but not to that extent. That was going to extremes."
"Serin, Nephlite was hurt because she was too stubborn to--" Makoto started.
"Yeah I realize Nephlite was hurt. And I know that it easily could have been any of us. But you know Rei. And you know that she is going to put enough blame on herself for this entire thing without all of you adding to it. Besides the fact that I happen to be the Princess, meaning that I am the leader of her. It was my job to say anything to her." Serin interrupted. She glared at them one last time before running off after Rei.
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Rei looked up from the stone wall she was leaning against as she head footsteps approaching. Serin appeared in front of her a moment later and sat down silently next to her.
Rei groaned as she drew her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. "Oh God, please just go away Serin. I don't want to talk to anyone right now." She mumbled.
"Too bad." Serin snapped. "You're talking whether you want to or not. You can't walk away from what just happened."
She raised her head slightly. "Does everyone hate me?" She asked quietly.
Serin felt all the anger she had just had quickly melt away as sorrow for her best friend replaced it.
"I know now that you do, and I'm sure Nephlite despises me, not to mention Makoto. I'm sure Ami is pretty pissed at me, and Oh God, I don't even want to know what Jed thinks of me right now." She said softly.
"Oh Sweetie, I don't hate you." Serin said hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry I sounded so angry. You mean the world to me, and I could never hate you. Just as the others don't hate you, especially not Jade." She consoled.
Rei turned away. "Oh come on Serin, you saw what happened!" She exclaimed. "We could have defeated that youma easily, and maybe even got Zoi back. But I had to be a stubborn idiot and because of me, Nephlite got seriously injured. I'd hate me too."
"Rei," She started quietly. "Don't do this to yourself."
Rei looked over quizzically.
"You're blaming yourself, and it's gonna eat you away inside. You let your emotions overcome you and you were distracted for a moment. It happens to everyone some time." Serin said.
"But it shouldn't happen to me!" She exclaimed. "I mean what if it was you that had been hurt? My job is a protector! A protector! And I can't even defeat a simple monster that had the weakness of my element with out getting some one hurt. Then I would have failed in my duty of protecting the princess."
"But I wasn't." Serin said firmly. "You can't dwell on what could have happened, you have to concentrate on what is."
"Fine, then let's concentrate on what did happen. A monster and Zoi attacked. The weakness was fire, which both Jed and I control. Now, had we double-teamed, we easily could have killed it, and possibly gotten Zoi back. But I was to much of an idiot to team up with Jed, and because of me, Zoisite is still on the other side, and one of our warriors was hurt." She stated.
Serin took a deep breath before answering. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you, everyone back there is somewhat angry at you, but they understand what happened! It's not completely your fault!"
"But it is." Rei said quietly. "It's my fault that Nephlite got hurt, and it's my fault that we didn't get Zoisite back, and it's my fault t that my best friend now hate me."
"That's what you're really upset about isn't it? This whole fight with Jade?" She asked.
Rei nodded. "I feel like my stupidity has lost him forever."
"Sweetie, you know that's not true. You know that Jade will always be there for you." Serin protested.
"I'm not so sure this time." She said turning away.
Serin moved to the other side of her so the two were once again facing. "Rei, what are you talking about? So you got into a fight, everyone does at some point in their friendship." She said gently. "I don't think that there is anything you could ever do that would make him never forgive you." She said. "But I think you already know that. I don't think that's what the real problem is." She said quietly.
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Makoto gently stroked the side of Nephlite's face as he slowly opened his eyes. "Are you ok?" She asked softly.
He rubbed a hand across his eyes as he groggily asked, "What happened?"
"You got blasted by the youma. It threw you back a bit and slammed you into the tree." She explained bitterly.
"All I remember is talking to Mars...and then...everything went black..."He said, noticing the look on his beloved's face when he mentioned Mars' name. "Makoto..." He started.
"If it hadn't been for her being so stubborn this wouldn't have happened in the first place!" She argued.
"Makoto, I don't want you to blame Rei. She made a mistake, it could have happened to anyone."
"But it happened to her and you got hurt because of it."
"Do you blame Zoisite at all?" He asked quietly.
"What?" She asked, startled at his question. "Why would I blame Zoisite?"
"He had just as much to do with this as Rei. If you want to get into the 'what ifs' then he would be blamed also." He explained.
"That's completely different!" She argued. "Zoisite is not himself right now and--"
"And neither is Rei." Nephlite quietly interrupted. "This whole fight thing is killing her and she wasn't herself today nor was she concentrating. So don't blame Rei. Onegai? Let's just be grateful that I'm ok ne?"
Makoto's face softened. "Oh all right. And I am thankful that you're okay. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I love you so much and I don't know what I would do without you." She confessed.
"Well, don't waste your time worrying about that, because I promise I will never leave you, or your love." He vowed as the two embraced in a kiss.
Ami turned away from the happy couple, trying to hide her jealousy.
"Sucks doesn't it?"
She whirled around in surprise, to see Jade standing there with his hands in his pockets looking very depressed. "I beg your pardon?" She asked.
He nodded his head towards the kissing couple. "You know, watching over people be happy while the person that you love isn't here."
She laughed bitterly. "Look if you're trying to tell me that you know how I feel, it's not going to work. I mean, I know Zoi is one of your best friends and I'm sure that you miss him, but it's different when it's someone that you love. I mean, I can't even talk to him anymore, and now I have to fight him."
"Yeah I guess you're right. I have no idea what it feels like. Mind if I talk to you about it anyway?" He asked,
She shrugged and sighed. "Why not? Everyone else has." The two walked along for a minute until they came across an old swing where they sat down.
Ami stared ahead, as she started talking. "How am I supposed to fight against him when I am to busy staring at the way the light shines in his eyes, or the way his forehead wrinkles when he laughs, or--"
"The way that tease you incessantly over the smallest things, or the way that they look so adorable when they mess up at something. Or the way that they come running to you with all their problems." He interrupted her quietly. "Or the way that they are the best friend you could possibly have." Jade raised his eyes to meet hers and in looking into them she felt as if she was looking into his heart and knew in an instant the real truth. He did know what she was going through.
"Oh God, you love Rei, don't you?" She asked softly.
He gave her a small smile. "It's that obvious huh?"
"Jade, I'm so sorry." She whispered. "You really do know what I'm going through, and if anything, you're going through it even worse then I am."
"No I should be the one apologizing. I mean, I was trying to comfort you over Zoisite, and here I am telling you all about my stupid problems." He apologized.
"No don't say that." Ami said shaking her head. "You deserve to have people listen to your problems as much as any one else does." She gasped suddenly. "That's why you invited her mom here isn't it?"
"Well that among other reasons, but yeah. Did she tell you about that?" He asked
She nodded. "She was kinda pissed at you about the whole thing."
He sighed. "Yeah, she still is."
"I take it that's why the whole thing at the fight before happened?" She asked.
Jade nodded. "Yeah, she hasn't been talking to me, and well you know what Rei's like when she's mad at someone."
The two were silent for a few minutes before Ami quietly started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" He asked.
"I'm sorry. But this is just so pathetic. The two of us sitting here, with nothing better to do then talk about how sad our love lives are." She explained, her laughter dying down.
He smiled. "Yeah it is kinda pathetic isn't it?"
"Hey, by the way, does Minako know that you're in love with Rei?" She asked suddenly.
He shook his head. " I should probably tell her, but I still can't bring myself to tell Rei."
She nodded her head. "If it helps, I think that in the end, the two of you will end up being together."
"Yeah I hope so." Jade looked down at his watch and noticed what time it was. "Oh Ames I'm sorry to leave you like this but I gotta go, I'm supposed to meet someone in about ten minutes." He apologized.
She waved it off. "It's ok I was planning on going back to the castle in a few minutes anyway."
He nodded. "Okay. I'll talk to you later." He turned away and started to walk back down the path, but paused for a moment and turned around. "Hey Ami," He called.
She looked over at him. "Yes?"
He smiled at her. "Don't worry, we'll get Zoisite back somehow. And just remember that deep down, he still does and always will love you." The smile vanished from his face. 'At least you know that he returns your love." He said softly, and Ami could almost feel the pain he was feeling, before walking away.
Ami gazed up at the sky that had started to darken, and stars had started to appear. One star that seemed to twinkle brighter then all the other's caught her eye. She sighed. 'I miss you so much Zoi. Please, come back to me.'
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Rei turned away and was silent for a few minutes.
"Rei," Serin said to her back, "Please talk to me. You're my best friend, and I want to help you. Please, tell me what is really wrong."
She slowly turned back around, and Serin could see tears in her eyes, a sight that was rarely seen. "I know that he won't hold this against me, and if I talked to him, he would forgive me in a second. That's not the problem anymore."
"Then what is?" She pressed.
"Ren, ever since I was little, my entire life has been fucked up, along with everything and everyone in it. I have *always* felt like my entire world was falling apart and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it. Like, all along," Rei paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "Like all along, I was born to lose. And through it all, through my whole life, and all the shit with my mom, and everything else, through everything that ever happened, good and bad, everything, He's been there. He has been the one sole person who has always stood by me. Through thick and thin, through the good and the bad, the easy times and the hard times, he has always been there to support me, to lend me a shoulder to cry on. And I had to go repay him by screaming at him and ignoring him during the one fucking time in his life that he needed me to be there. The one time that he needed my support, my shoulder to cry on, I wasn't there. And I can't blame him if he hates me forever because of that." She paused for a moment as the realization came to her, "He's not the one that betrayed me, I'm the one that betrayed him." (See AN at end of chapter)
Serin smiled lightly at her friend. "Sweetie, is that what's been bothering you?"
She nodded. "I don't even deserve his forgiveness!"
Serin hugged her tightly. "Rei don't ever say that!" She exclaimed.
"But it's true. I was horrible to him, I wasn't there when one of his best friends was taken by Beryl, and I was the cause of the near death of his other best friend just now. How, why would he ever want to forgive me?" She asked as a small tear trickled down her cheek. "I've ruined everything."
Serin reached over and gently wiped away the tear. "How could he not want to forgive you Rei? You know, for as long as I have known you, you have been your own worst critic."
"It's cause I deserve it." She mumbled.
"Listen to me. You are a wonderful person. You are smart, and funny, and beautiful, and compassionate, and loving, and honest, and a wonderful friend. And I bet you anything Jade is going insane right now because you won't talk to him. He's your best friend." Serin said.
Rei smiled slightly. "I thought you were my best friend?"
She smiled back. "Well he's your best guy friend how's that?"
"That's cause he is my only guy friend how I haven't dated yet." Rei continued, her eyes starting to regain their usual sparkle.
"Now there's the Rei I know and love."
The smile disappeared. "But Serin, I still don't know if I'm ready to talk to him. I don't think he's gonna want to forgive me."
She was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "The only advice that I can give you is this. Before you talk to him, before you forgive him, or ask him to forgive you, you have to forgive yourself." Serin told her gently. "You have to realize that you aren't a horrible person, that everyone makes mistakes, and you need to forgive yourself for yours."
"Thanks Serin." Rei said hugging her. "I gotta go meet Dave, but I promise I'll think about what you said ok?"
Serin agreed. "I kinda blew up at everyone a few minutes ago, I should go apologize."
"If Nephlite is awake, can you just tell him I'm sorry?" Rei asked as the two stood up.
"Promise."
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"Hey, sorry I'm late, I didn't realize what time it was." Dave said as he walked over to Rei.
"It's ok." She said shrugging it off.
He leaned over to kiss her but stopped when she turned her head away. "What's wrong?" He questioned. "You aren't mad at me because I was a few minutes late are you?"
"No, no it's nothing like that. And I'm not mad at you, I'm just," She paused for a moment, "I'm in need of your advice." She finished.
"Ok, let's sit down." He said leading her to the couch and sitting down next to her. "So what's wrong?" He asked stroking the side of her face softly with his finer. "I hate seeing you this sad."
"I kinda got into this huge fight with a good friend of mine. Do you remember my friend Jade?" She asked
Before he was able to answer, Mike and Jeff came over. "Dave you will never believe what I have to tell you!" Mike said excitedly, ignoring Rei.
"Hey Rei." Jeff said. "It's not that incredible." He added rolling his eyes.
"Yeah that's only cause it has nothing to do with you." Mike retorted.
"Anyway," Dave said meaningfully. "Can't you tell me later? I'm kinda busy right now." He said nodding towards Rei.
"No way Davie! Trust me, you want to know this now." He said.
"Mike, you are starting to--" Dave started.
"They said yes!" He exclaimed interrupting him.
His eyebrows shot up in obvious surprise. "They said yes?" He asked.
Mike nodded as he smiled. "Totally agreed, to everything."
"Do they know about..." He let his voice trail off.
Mike nodded again. "I explained everything to them, and didn't bother them in the least. They're perfectly fine with the whole situation."
Jeff shook his head slightly. "Don't do this to her man." He said softly so that Rei didn't hear him.
They ignored him. Dave turned to Rei. "I really need to talk to Mike for a minute ok honey? But I promise it will only be a minute or two and then I help you with your problem." He promised as he and Mike walked a few feet away to talk.
Jeff, who had pretty silent up until now, well at least as far as Rei knew, sat down on the couch next to her. "So what's wrong?" He asked,
She looked over at him skeptically. "Like you really want to know."
"No really I do. I know Dave, and I know what they are talking about, and they're gonna be talking for a while, so if you want some advice," He shrugged, "I'm here."
She rolled her eyes. "The only reason you want to know is so that you can bug me about it for the rest of my life."
"No really, I want to help. You know, I don't hate you." Jeff said quietly.
Rei looked over at him in surprise. "Really?" She asked.
"Well you know, I'll only bugged you cause you did the same to me. Besides, you're my best friend's girlfriend, it was kinda instinctive to bug you. Mike and I do it to people all the time, don't take it too personally. But I didn't really mean anything, just liked you didn't really mean it, right?" He asked hopefully.
She smiled at him, "Yeah I guess I really didn't mean it."
"Good, so what's the problem?"
She took a deep breath, "It's kinda complicated, but you remember my friend Jade?" She asked.
He nodded, waiting for her to continue.
"Well we kinda got into this huge fight, ok well it's more like I got into a huge fight. He kinda did something that totally pissed me off and I haven't been talking to him for a while. But now, I'm starting to feel bad about the whole thing." She confessed.
"If you don't mind my asking, what did he do?" Jeff questioned. "I'm only asking because he seemed to be the one person you could never get mad at."
"He was." Rei admitted. "Until recently. What happened was this. For personal reasons, which I don't want to get into, until a few days ago, I hadn't talked to my mom in five years. And Jed knew that, and he knew the whole reason why. And yet, for some reason, he sent a letter to my mom, asking her to visit. Even though he knew that I never wanted to talk to her again, which is probably why he didn't even ask me before he talked to her."
"So in other words, he broke the trust that you had in him?" He asked smiling lightly at her.
She smiled back. "Yeah that probably would have been easier to say, but you know me. Gotta take the long way for everything."
"So why aren't you talking to Serin about this?" He asked. "I mean, I would think you would talk to her before you talked to anyone else, even Dave, and especially before you talked to me."
She blushed at his comment. "Well I kinda did already."
He laughed. "Oh so my advice is just kinda like, 'Well let's see who's advice is better and then I'll figure out what to do.'"
"No not at all!" She exclaimed. "It's just, I don't know, I thought it would help to get a guy's point of view on this whole thing, and I was planning on getting my boyfriend's, but since he is busy..." Her voice trailed off.
"Oh ok I get it now. I'm just the fill-in guy cause you already asked your first best friend, you're mad at your second, and your boyfriend is busy, so you come to good 'old Jeff huh?"
She smiled in spite of herself. "Well kinda yeah. But remember, you did offer to help." She pointed out.
"That's true. I guess I brought it upon myself." He said.
"That's not really the whole problem either. It's kinda deep, and hard to get into, but now I feel guilty because I kinda betrayed him in a way." Rei said.
"Well I need a bit more information on this whole thing first, so I need to ask you, did you forgive your mom?"
"Yeah."
"So Jade was right all along huh?" Jeff asked grinning at her.
She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah I guess."
"Well, if you want my honest opinion," He started. "I think that you should forgive him. I understand that you're upset that he broke your trust, but I think that he knew that in the long run, it would be for the better. But before you can begin to do that, you have to forgive yourself. Things happen, people aren't always there for each other, and you can't blame yourself forever over that."
She nodded, "That's what Serin said also. So I guess I should talk to him huh?"
"I'm not saying that." He said.
She looked at him in confusion. "But you just told me that you would forgive him."
"Exactly." He responded. Noting the confusion on her face, he continued. "That is what I would do, if it was me in the situation. But it's not me, it's you. And I don't know what happened between you and your mom, and how much it affected you. I don't know how angry you were at her, and I don't know what you were feeling when you saw her again and when you found out Jade brought her here. And I don't know how you are feeling now about this whole situation. It's your decision, and you have to make it. You have to decide by yourself if and when you are ready to forgive him and yourself. It helps to get advice and point of views from others, but you are the one that has to make the actual decision, and it all depends on how you feel. All I'm saying is that you have to choose what you think is right." Jeff explained gently.
Her eyes light up in understanding. "You know, you're the only person to tell me that, and I think that's what I really needed to hear. Thanks Jeff." She said standing up.
"Wait, so are you gonna forgive him?" He asked.
"I'm still really not sure, but I promise that once I figure it out, you'll be one of the first people to know ok?"
He was about to respond when Dave and Mike walked back over. "Hey sweetie. Sorry it took so long. You still want to talk?" Dave asked
Rei shook her head. "No actually that's ok. Jeff and I talked while you were talking to Mike, so everything is pretty ok now."
"You sure?" He questioned.
She nodded. "I gotta go, so I'll talk to you later ok? Love you, see you later." She said kissing him good-bye.
"Ok talk to you later, love you too." He said as she left the room. He turned to Jeff and Mike breathing a sigh of relief. "Thanks Jeff, I owe you one man. I really didn't feel like listening to her complain about some stupid problem."
Jeff shook his head. "It wasn't some stupid problem, it was important to her, you're her boyfriend, you should have been the one talking to her, not me." He accused.
"Calm down, I thanked you ok? Like I said, I owe you one." Dave said carelessly.
"Fine. You wanna pay me back? Tell her the truth." Jeff said.
"What? Are you crazy?" Mike exclaimed.
"Yeah really. I can't do that." Dave added.
"Fine. Then break up with her. And when I say break up with her, I mean let her down in the nicest way possible." Jeff directed.
"Jeff, what is up with you lately? I'm not breaking up with her." Dave said.
"Yeah that would be incredibly stupid. I mean, he's in the perfect relationship!" Mike exclaimed.
"She's a good kid, she doesn't deserve this." Jeff insisted.
"Oh God, not this again." Dave muttered.
"Yeah really." Mike echoed.
Jeff turned and glared at him. "Mike would it kill you, to, for once, think for yourself?" He snapped. "Stop going along with everything Dave says. If you would stop listening to him and think for yourself for two fucking seconds you would realize that what he's doing to Rei is wrong and that she doesn't deserve to be tricked like this. She thinks the two of them are really in love and that's not fair to her."
Dave and Mike exchanged glances and started snickering. "You know Mike, I think someone's got a little crush on Rei." Dave commented.
Jeff glared at him without denying it. "You two are the most immature assholes I have ever met in my life." He said before walking away and leaving the two standing there.
*******************
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Startled, Victoria looked up and noticed Queen Serenity looking down at her.
"Sure, have a seat." She said clearing a space on the couch next to her.
"So what's up?" Serenity asking sitting beside her.
"Well I was just thinking, the girls are going to be 18 soon." She started slowly.
"Yes I noticed that also."
"Do you think we should betroth them?" Victoria asked. "I mean, pretty soon after this whole Beryl thing is over with, the others are going to have to go home to their respective planets and start the reign, and well I just think it would be better to have them already engaged."
"True. But to betroth them?" Serenity questioned. "I don't know how comfortable I would feel doing that to Serin. Especially if the person that I choose for her does not love her, and vice versa. I personally think that nothing good comes from arranged marriages, and it makes things harder on both partners."
"My marriage was arranged." Victoria said quietly.
Serenity looked over at her in surprise. "Your marriage was arranged?" She asked.
Victoria nodded. "Not many people were told about it, and we ended up falling in love before we married anyway."
"So it worked out for the two of you, but that doesn't mean it will for everyone else." She pointed out gently.
"I realize that, but I think that I would be a lot more comfortable knowing that Rei will be taken care of." Victoria explained. She saw the hesitance on her sister's face and continued. "And if she really and truly hates the idea, then fine, she doesn't have to go through with it. I'm not making a repeat of what we just got over." She said smiling slightly.
"Just out of curiosity, why even bother then? I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to let her choose on her own?" Serenity questioned.
"I don't know, I just feel safer knowing that she will always be taken care of. Just in case I can't always be there for her." She responded quietly.
"Vicki, is there something you aren't telling me?" Serenity asked in alarm.
"No, nothing's wrong." She said faking a smile. 'Nothing that you need to worry about yet anyway.' She thought.
"Okay, if you say so." Serenity said, unconvinced. "So who were you planning on betrothing Rei to?" She asked changing the subject.
"Well, my first thought would be the Prince, but I know that he and Serin are together." Victoria started. "So then I decided that it would be best to engage her to one of the guards. I mean, she knows them all so well already, and she seems to get along well with them. So, seeing as the only one who is not already seeing one of Serin's guardians is Kunzite, I talked to his parents, and we decided to engage the two, and let them choose what they want to do."
"Kunzite?" She exclaimed.
"Yes, why is he that bad?" Victoria asked.
"No it's not that. I mean he's a wonderful person, it's just, well he doesn't really seem that much like Rei's type." Serenity explained.
"Just curious, who would you engage her to?" Victoria asked.
"I don't know, but what about Jeadite?" She suggested.
"Jeadite?" Victoria exclaimed. "No way! He's my daughter's best friend, but I really don't think either of them want to marry each other!"
She shrugged. "Just a suggestion."
Victoria laughed. "Why would you even suggest Jeadite?" She questioned.
"I don't know, I just think there's something about those two. I just have a weird feeling about them, that's all." She defended.
Victoria shook her head and gathered her work up. She turned back to Serenity. "But Jeadite?" She asked laughing again.
*******************
Serin hummed softly to herself as she fixed her hair while looking in the mirror. She spun around in a circle, showing off her dress to Luna. "So how do I look?" She asked.
Luna smiled at her. "Very nice, I assume you are going to meet Prince Endymion?" She questioned.
She nodded excitedly. "He should be here any minute." Serin noted looking at the clock on her night table. A knock on the door was heard a moment later. "He's here!" She exclaimed.
"Well what are you waiting for? Your prince awaits you." The small cat said.
After looking in the mirror one more time, Serin answered the door.
"Good evening m'lady." Endymion said bowing.
She smiled shyly at him. "Good evening.
"I must say you look gorgeous tonight." He said, taking her hand in his own and softly bringing it to his lips.
"Thank you." She said.
"So, shall we go?" He questioned, offering her his arm.
"Where are we going anyway?" Serin asked curiously as the two walked through the halls of the palace.
"Well first, I thought we could go for dinner, and then for a moonlight walk down by the lake." Endymion suggested.
She smiled sweetly at him. "I'd like that."
*******************
Rei was about to walk into the throne room, where her mom had asked her to meet her, when she walked right into Kunzite, who seemed to be heading in the same direction.
"Sumimasen." She said looking down at her shoes, knowing he must hate her.
"Rei, I want to apologize." He said.
She looked up. "But I just walked into you, you have no reason to apologize." She said in confusion.
He smiled lightly at her. "I mean about what happened before."
"Oh." She said looking away once more. "Look, I know what happened. After I ran off, Ami or whoever discovered that Nephlite was seriously hurt, so everyone blamed it on me because I was such an idiot, so then everyone decided to hate me, and now you are feeling guilty about it. Am I right?" She asked.
"Actually," He said calmly. "You couldn't be more wrong."
She looked over at him, the surprise obvious on his face. 'What are you talking about?" She questioned.
"What really happened is, after you left, Serin yelled at us all for yelling at you. She said something about how it wasn't our right to yell at you, if anything she should have been the one to say something to you because she is the Princess. And after she said that, I kinda thought back to what we had all said to you, and well I wanted to apologize. I do feel bad about what I said. You didn't deserve anything to that extent. Gomen." Kunzite explained bowing slightly to her.
"Please, not more apologies. I made a stupid mistake, and I deserved to be yelled at." She held up a hand to stop him from protesting. "Maybe not to that extent, but whatever. Either way, I accept your apology and I can only hope you accept mine."
He nodded.
"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet with someone in the throne room." She said
"Actually, so do I." He commented.
"Well then we might as well head in." She said brightly as the two walked in the room.
"Mother!" Kunzite cried. The two had arrived in the Throne Room to see Queen Victoria, and another woman who was obviously Kunzite's mother. "What are you doing here?"
Rei walked over to her mother and hugged her. "So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked. "And why is Kunzite's mother here?" She asked in a quieter voice.
Victoria smiled at her. "We have a surprise for the two of you. I'll explain the whole thing in a minute. First, you might want to introduce yourself."
"Oh right." Rei said as she walked over to Kunzite's mother and curtseyed. "I am Princess Rei of Mars, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hajimashite." She said curtseying back to Rei. "My name is Jenna, and as I am sure you have all ready figured out, I am Kunzite's mother."
"Yes but what are you doing here?" He pressed.
"I guess we should tell them huh?" Jenna asked looking over at Victoria.
"Well, I realized that you are going to be 18 in a few months." Victoria said looking towards Rei. "And I decided that it might be a good idea to make sure that you will be taken care of. Plus the fact that soon you will be moving back to Mars to resume your place as Queen."
"Mom, what are you trying to say?" Rei asked in confusion.
"Well, I talked to Jenna, and the two of us decided, that if the two of you agree, we'd betroth you." She explained.
Rei and Kunzite stared at their mothers. "Betroth us?" He managed to get out.
Jenna nodded. "We figured that most of the guardians of the Prince and the Princess would be together at some point, and you two go well together."
Rei glared at her mother. "I can't believe you would do this without asking me first."
Victoria smiled at her. "I didn't. It's still not final, it's just that I want to make sure someone will be there for you when I'm not."
"Is something wrong?" Rei asked in alarm.
Her mother shook her head. "Of course not sweetie. But I will die eventually, and I want to make sure you are taken care of."
"And I feel the same way." Jenna said.
"But mom, and Rei no offense to you on this, but I want to marry someone because I love them. And Rei is a wonderful person, but I don't love her." Kunzite explained gently.
Victoria turned to Rei. "Do you feel the same way?" She asked.
Rei nodded. "Besides the fact that I already have a boyfriend, whom I love very much."
Victoria and Jenna looked at each other. "Well I guess our plan fell apart huh?" Jenna asked.
"Well I don't want to force them to marry some one they don't love. If they two of you really don't like the idea, well then we won't continue it." Victoria agreed.
"Thanks mom." Rei said hugging her mother as Kunzite did the same to his.
"Now if you'll excuse us, we have a meeting we have to get to." Kunzite said as the two left the room.
Once outside they turned to look at each other. "That was really strange." Rei commented.
He nodded. "That isn't like my mom to agree to something like that."
"I think something's going on, and no one feels like telling us what the hell it is."
*******************
Later, after Serin and Endymion had enjoyed a romantic candlelit dinner, they walked along the lake until the came to a wooden swing, where they sat down.
"Endymion, are you alright?" Serin questioned. "You've seemed so out of it tonight."
"I'm fine." He said smiling at her. "I've just had something on my mind."
"Care to share what's wrong? Maybe I can help." She said snuggling against him as he put his arm around her neck.
"Maybe you can." He said. "Serin, every since I have met you, you have been the most wonderful thing in my life. You are always there to brighten my life, and you are always there to brighten a bad situation."
Serin was quiet for a minute. "Endy, I'm not really sure what you're trying to say." She said finally.
He smiled. "Good, then I get the element of surprise on my side. That helps a bit." He stood up and moved in front of her, and knelt down on one knee.
"Um, sweetie what are you doing?" Serin asked nervously.
"Something that I have wanted to do since the first time I kissed you and the first time I looked into your eyes, the first time I heard you laugh with joy." Endymion said seriously.
"Sweetie," She started
"Just trust me on this Serin, I know what I'm doing." He said.
She nodded slightly. "Okay."
He took a deep breath and continued. "As I was saying before, you are the one person that I fight for. The reason that I get up everyday, the reason that I would lay my life down in an instant is you, and it always will be."
Tears were starting to come to Serin's eyes.
"I have never felt this way before, and I never want this feeling to end." Endymion paused for a moment as he pulled a small black velvet box out of his coat pocket. He opened it and revealed to her a gold ring with a small crescent shaped moon filled with small diamonds on the front. In the crest of the diamond was a small sapphire. "The moon represents you, and the sapphire represents the Earth." He explained. "And just like the ring, I want the Earth and the Moon to be together forever." He held the ring up to her. "I love you more than life itself, Princess Serenity of the Moon, will you marry me?"
She smiled as she nodded happily, tears glistening in her eyes. "I love you so much." She said throwing her arms around his neck.
He pulled away and took her small, delicate hand in his own, sliding the ring onto her finger.
Serin looked down at the ring, then back at Endymion and hugged him tightly again. "I think, that this is by far, the happiest day of my life!" She whispered softly to him.
He gently stroked her face. "I think it's the happiest of mine too." He whispered back before kissing her.
*******************
"Jeadite." A voice called.
Jade looked around his room, only to see no one. "Who's there?" He called. "Show yourself." As he watched a woman slowly came out of the shadows. She had long hair, wild and untamed, and a color so red no fire could compare. Her eyes burned of a bright green, and she almost passed as beautiful, if not for the look those eyes held. A look filled with pure evil. "You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here." He spat out. "You're the bitch that took Zoisite."
"Zoisite was a smart man. He came by himself, I did not take him." She said calmly. "Oh, and for your information, the name is Beryl. Queen Beryl."
"I know that's a lie. Zoi would not desert us. You must have done something. And for you information, I don't care what your name is." He retorted.
"Oh you will care. Once you are serving me and the Negaverse." She said.
"I serve Endymion, and I plan on doing so until I die. And even when I do die, it will be protecting him. Nothing would make me stop and I don't know what kind of brainwashing you did on Zoisite to make him stop either." He said.
"I told you, I did nothing. I simply told him all that he could have in the dark kingdom. We will supply you with food, shelter, a job, a family, women, and protection. Everything you could ever want." Beryl promised.
"No thanks." Jade sneered. "I have everything I want. Friends, family, a job, food, protection, shelter, a duty, everything I need so I will be seeing you. Bye now."
"What about someone to love?" She asked him.
"You are talking to the wrong person about love." He said laughing. "I don't need it, want it, or care for it."
"Oh really?" She asked, almost amused by his speech. "Then what about her?" She waved her hand and a holographic image of someone appeared.
Jeadite stared at the picture silently for a minute. "I don't love her." He said through clenched teeth.
"Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind if something happened to her right?" Beryl waved her hand once again and another image replaced the first. This once showed the same woman, but fighting against Jade and the others. "Didn't like that one? Try this?" Beryl said laughing at his reaction. The image grew even worse. This one showed the woman being tortured by Beryl.
"You wouldn't." Jade said softly, his tough exterior broken.
"I really don't think you can afford to try me can you?" She asked.
He sighed in defeat. "What do you want from me?" He asked.
She leaned closer to him and whispered, "I want you. I want a strong, fierce determined warrior who will lead in for the Dark Kingdom in the battle against the Moon Kingdom. And you are the perfect person for the job."
Jade angrily pushed her away, "What are you crazy?" He shouted. "Never!"
She shrugged, "Fine but remember what happens to your love. Because if you love her, like I know you do, you wouldn't let her be taken by the Dark Kingdom, would you? And that is what will happen if you don't come."
He felt his breath get caught in his throat. She really would do it, and there was nothing he could do to stop her other then going over to the side of the Dark Kingdom.
"If I join you," He started slowly; "Will you promise that she will be left alone?"
"Well I can't promise that she won't be hurt. I mean there is going to be a war on the Moon Kingdom you know." Beryl said shrugging.
"That's not what I asked." He said sharply.
"Geez, calm down. I can tell you that I have no plans of singling her out and killing her." 'That will be your job.' She added silently.
"One more question." Jeadite said. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tell everyone what you are planning on doing so they can all bust your ass before you have time to realize what is going on."
"Oh did I forget to mention that?" She asked innocently. "Either way, I don't care if you come, or she does, if you tell anyone, ANYONE, she will be killed, in a slow torturous way in which you will be forced to watch."
He winced, his heart and soul breaking at just the thought.
"You have two days to decide. I will be back then. And remember, tell anyone and she dies." Beryl's voice echoed as she left.
End of Chapter Ten
Translations:
Gomen: I'm sorry.
Onegai: Please, for me?
Ne: Right?
Sumimasen: Excuse me
Hajimashite: Pleased to meet you
Author's Note #1: Some of you Dawson Creek fans may have recognized the 'born to lose' part from a recent episode. And yes I did take it from there. I thought it fit perfectly and that episode was sooo funny!
I beat my record!!!! My previous longest chapter was 16 and ½ pages, this one reached 19!!! In the words of one of my best friends(sam) Wahoo!!!!! Anywayz, I hope you liked this chapter, 11 should be out soon. Ummm what else do I need to say? E-mail to Pekkle9983@aol.com and please please please let me know what you guys think and thanks to all those who have and continue to do so!!!!! Luv you guys!!!! I had more to say here, but I forgot everything so whatever. For now, until next time…
What is wrong with Queen Victoria?
Will Rei and Jed ever make up?
Who was the person that Jade has to try and save?
Will MCRK ever finish this damn fanfic?!
The answer to all of these in the next chapter…(cept for the last one which is just probably never!) :)