The Adventures of the SOL

"Fortunate Misfortunes"

 That night at Lizerton Castle, there was an uncomfortable type of silence.  An ominous wind blew across the grounds and weary guard looked around suspiciously.  Inside the castle everyone was either asleep or standing guard.  Crickets chirped outside the walls and the clouds blocked away the moon and stars from view.

 Everyone was out for the night it seemed, except for a young boy in the castle dungeons.  He sat on the ground, his head hung to the floor.  The dungeon was actually very clean with blue tiles all around the walls and white bars between the main entrance and the cell.  There were no chains or torture devices.  There was even a nice mattress with white sheets strung across it to the comfort of the captive.  He did not enjoy it, however.

 The boy was Rais the Mercenary and he just stared forward, not attempting escape.  How could I let myself be captured?  But I didn’t even know that Rei was a psychic, or that Mina had a killer panther, Albino no doubt. 

 He ran a hand across his cheek over four parallel scratches from claws.  He was surprised he wasn’t dead, the way that panther had attacked.  He had woken up in the dungeon that night and no one had come to visit with him or deliver the news of his fate.  From what he could tell the dungeon wasn’t used very often if at all.  It wasn’t even a particularly good dungeon, anyway.  No racks or thumbscrews of any kind.

 That’s a good thing I guess, he thought, I wonder how long I have to stay here.  Not that I’m in any hurry to leave.  Better here than at Creton’s castle.  Creton.  I bet he won’t even  come after me.  He probably never even intended to keep his promise about my debt anyway.

 What he was feeling was shame for being caught.  Rei had been stronger than he thought, or than he had even been told to suspect.  Creton never said she was a psychic, and he had tried to fight her with a sword!  Had he known, he probably could have won, but no, he had to resort to taking hostages.

 Hostages.  He tried not to admit it but he was ashamed of that as well.  He hadn't wanted to try to injure Mina or anything but he had to do something.  One minute your chatting with some girl in the forest and the next your threatening to kill her if her Princess doesn’t surrender to you, so you can take her to your so called "boss" so she can face torture and death.  Yeah, that was pretty weird.

 "It could be worse.  You could be in Creton’s dungeon."

 His head snapped up and he saw Rei herself standing next to his cell.  She wasn't looking at him, instead she was staring at the other wall.  He looked away.  "What do you want?  To try and get answers out of me?  Well, I’m not talking."

 "Actually, I was wondering if you were hungry," she shrugged, finally looking over to him.  He looked at her.  Something about her seemed vaguely familiar but he brushed it off.

 "I'm not hungry," he said quickly and she shook her head showing that she knew he was lying, "Can you ready my thoughts?"

 "Sometimes I can pick up on what’s called ‘open thought,’" she explained to him in a way that suggested she wasn't hostile at all, "You shouldn’t think so loud, you might keep someone up late at night."

 "Oh I’m sorry, Your Highness," he said sarcastically, "Am I keeping you up?  My apologies.  So what is it you plan on doing to me anyway?"

 "Letting you go," she shrugged again and rolled her eyes, "The horror, the horror.."

"What?" he slit his eyes at her, not trusting her, "Why?  I could come back and attack, maybe kill you.  Wouldn’t it be safer for you to kill me or keep me here?"

 "That’s not my style," Rei said it as if she could care less, "See I have a problem.  I tend to be able to put myself in other people’s shoes a little too easily, and yours aren’t feeling too good right now."

 "You feel sorry for me?" he growled, "I’d rather die.  That’s more shameful than being in here in the first place."

 "I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’d rather not live with your blood on my hands," Rei told him, "Though you may not hesitate to kill me, I could never kill you if I had a choice."

 "Spare me your do gooder babble," he rolled his eyes and looked the other way.  When he thought she wouldn't notice he heaved a sigh and shook his head.

 Rei laughed.  "You try so hard to be bad.  According to Mina, you aren’t really that bad, so why make it look like you are?  Honestly, I don't see the attraction."  She knelt down next to the bars and looked at him.  He tried not to stare back.

 He didn't have a reply.  "Whatever," she said, and shoved a tray of food under the bars.  He looked at it then at her.

 "How do I know you didn’t poison it?’ he asked, just looking at it but refusing to touch it.  Rei began to walk towards the door but paused at the question.

 "Oh, I did," Rei assured him, "but don’t worry, it’s not a good poison.  I save my good poisons for the really important people." She shook her head at the ceiling and walked out the door.  Rais watched her with mild interest.

 He looked at the food and continued to stare at the floor, resting his head on his hands.

Serena Hall woke up the next morning with a loud yawn.  She slowly scratched the back of her head and swung out of bed.  She changed into her day time clothes and quickly brushed her hair, putting it up in her usual pigtails.  Quickly wiping the sleep from her eyes, she stood up and walked out of the door, yawning again.

 "Hey, Serena!" Hotaru called and ran up behind her,  "From the bags under your eyes I'll guess that you're not a morning person."

 "Yeah, say what you want," Serena muttered, and began to rub her eyes in an agitated manner, "What’s for breakfast?"

 "French Toast, I think," Hotaru gave her a quirky smile, "I love French Toast, so I asked the cooks to... Serena?"  Though she had appeared sleepy she raced for the kitchen.  Hotaru shook her head.  "What a pig."

 Serena sprinted into the kitchen and sat at the table, grabbing a spoon and fork.  "Where’s my French Toast?!"

 One of the cooks put a plate of warm French Toast in front of her and she dove in.  Everyone at the table stared at her in wonder.  Syrup dotted her face and the table alike.  Half of the two pieces were gone in less than a minute.  She grabbed a glass of milk and took two large gulps, then got started on the other half.  Even Charlie looked up from his newspaper for a moment to look at her eat.

 "Maybe you shouldn’t eat so fast Serena," Hotaru told her, standing at the door staring, "You wouldn't want to choke would you?"

 "Yeah," Rei smiled at Hotaru mischievously, "You're just proving that you have a huge mouth." She cut off a small piece of French Toast and popped it into her mouth.

 "Look who’s talking Rei," Serena said, wiping the syrup from her face with her sleeve.  Before she could continue, Cere the Squirrel snuck up to her plate, threatening to take some of her French Toast.  Serena snatched it away, glaring at him. Cere gave a squeak and ran back to Mina.

 He squeaked again and Mina nodded sympathetically.  She then tossed a sausage to TK who was stretched out on the floor.  He had stopped by for breakfast.  Rei seemed to already know he would be spending more and more time at the castle but didn't put up too much protest.

 Amy followed her example and tossed one of her sausages to Sady.  Sady caught it with a yap and began to chew, looking up at everyone else in a curious manner.  She gave a loud swallow.

 "Your uncharacteristically quiet, Lita," Charlie said suddenly, picking up the only thing in front of him, which was a cup of coffee.

 "I was thinking about Rais," she admitted, "Have you decided what we’re going to do with him?"  She directed this question to Rei.

 Rei finished chewing and said, "I’m letting him go.  I can’t think of anything else to do with him, can you?"

 No one said anything so she left it at that.  "What if Creton comes after him?" Twiggy interrogated her, then took a swig of coffee.

 "Doubtful," Amy shook her head, "He’s too heartless to come after his own guy.  I’m sure he doesn’t care whether he’s dead or alive."  She shook her head again, sadly, and tossed another sausage at Sady.

 "I fink tha he might," Serena said, then swallowed, "Maybe he’s afraid that he’ll give something away to us.  Something important."

 "Something I’d rather not know?" Hotaru asked then thought about it for a moment.  A guy like Creton was bound to have some dirty secrets.

 "Probably," Rei snorted, "Actually, I don’t think that Creton has any secrets, at least any that Rais would know.  It's real strange, he doesn't look like a bad kid and he certainly doesn't act like one.  He's actually quite handsome..."

 "Oh, Rei, that's not right," Serena laughed, getting her back for the comment on her big mouth, "He's a captive not a future boyfriend.  Are you in love?"

 "What?!" Rei turned away so the others couldn't see the blush on her face.  She didn't like most boys, how embarrassing it was to know that Serena would suggest she was in love with the one who tried to kill her.  "What would you know about love, French-Fry?  You probably can’t hold on to a boy for your life."

 "I prefer not to be weighed down by a man," Serena said, but sounded like she was just making it up, "They’re just so much trouble.  You on the other hand can’t agree with one."

 "Agree with one?" Rei shook her head, "I’m just not interested, that’s all.  I get over em too fast.  I’m waiting to find that special someone."

 Twiggy sighed and rolled her eyes.

 "I already have a cute guy," Hotaru reminded them smugly, "And sweet too.  I can’t believe I thought he was cheating."

 "Brent the Messenger," Lita said and nodded at Amy knowingly.  Hotaru looked at them and blinked.

 "What’s wrong with Brent?" Hotaru scowled, "He’s sweet and cute and funny and--"

 "A total snore," Lita finished, holding her nose to show her disapproval of such a boy, "I like my guys exciting.  I’ll be willing to bet Brent hasn’t done something evil in his entire life.  You have to be just a little evil..."

 "Well..." Hotaru thought for a moment, "Just because you like your guys dangerous, doesn’t mean I like mine that way."

 "I prefer mine to be like Brent," Amy admitted to Lita shyly, "but maybe not as rugged.  And someone who doesn’t travel as much."

 "I like mine like Brent, too," Rei got a faraway look on her face and looked up at the ceiling, "but with more personality.  Some one who’s not afraid to stand up to me if I get too pushy, but someone who doesn’t mind catering to me too.  I guess that's impossible but still..."

 "You know what I like in a girl?" Charlie spoke up, not looking up from his newspaper, "Silence.  Blessed silence, that’s what I like."

 "How old are you, Charlie?" Lita asked suddenly and he took a moment to glare at her over the edge of his newspaper.

 "Seventeen," he said, "And what?  All of you guys are fourteen and fifteen?"

 Everyone nodded.  "Too old," Lita scoffed, "You're not too old for me.  Seventeen is only two years between fifteen."

 "I meant emotionally," Charlie said, "Emotionally I’m fifty while your five."  Snickers went around the table as Lita glared at him.

 Serena just ate as she watched.  She thought Charlie was really cute too.  He was tall with that white hair, but that wonderfully handsome face. He was always wearing some kind of nice outfit, being unusually coordinated.  The only thing that bothered her about him were his eyes.  They never smiled and that just bugged her for some reason.

 Wonder why?  Heck, I wonder why his hair is white.  He’s seventeen and has no color in his hair?  Maybe it’s stress.  Yeah, that’s it stress.  Wow, this French Toast is good!

 "What about you, Serena?" Amy asked, and she looked up at the mention of her name, "What do you like in a guy?"  Twiggy groaned a little.

 "Tall dark and handsome," she said, dreamily, "With a lot of attitude, but not towards me.  Some one who believes in love and justice and can wear a tuxedo really well."

 Mina kept looking at Charlie then at Serena with this look on her face.  Serena shot her a look that said don’t even say it, and Mina shrugged.

 "A Tuxedo?" Rei asked, then grinned, "I’ll bet Valerie wears a tux really well.  How about it Serena?  You and Valerie.  You can be Alfalfa’s Darla!"

 "Shut up, Rei," Serena said, shoving some sausage in her mouth, "That’s just gross.  I almost lost my appetite."

 "Almost," Rei rolled her eyes.

"What?!" Creton cried.  A Retopian soldier winced as Creton raved on. "Captured?!  I should have known I couldn’t trust that boy to do the job."

 "Now what?" Brashear asked, her hands on her hips, "Don't tell me he messed it up.  Didn't I tell you that..."

 "Get out!  Get out now!!" he roared at her and she jumped.  Before she could think she had run out the door at top speed and heard it slam behind her.  She heaved a sigh of relief and put a hand over her heart.  That man was positively terrifying.

 "What did you do?" someone asked and she jumped.  She saw Valerie glaring at her.  Despite his wild hair he was actually fairly handsome and very serious looking.  Still, she glared as he approached.

 "As if!  I never do anything!" she pouted, "I’ve never done anything.  Your dad just yells at me for no reason."

 "My dad has his reasons," Valerie insisted trying to sound mysterious.  Brashear rolled her eyes wide, "What?  He does!"

 "Oh he does?  You're almost as bad, you bad haired, prince-wannabe!" Queen Brashear accused immaturely and stuck her tongue out at him.

 "Oh yeah?  Well, he probably just can’t stand being around a pudgy spoiled little cow like you!" Valerie countered pointing at her, but not going as far as to reveal his tongue.

 "Well at least my hair looks good!" she shouted into his face, her petite hands knotted into fists at her side.

 "My hair has nothing to do with this," he pointed out, "Why do you have to act like you're two years old all the time?  Some Queen!"

 They both stopped, having a staring constest.  Suddenly Valerie realized how pretty Brashear was.  Her blonde hair circled her face and her blue eyes may have been angry but they were beautiful all the same.

 "You are pretty though," he said without thinking about it and put a hand over his mouth.  Brashear's angry face snapped into one of confusion.

 They looked at each other without saying anything for what seemed like the longest time.  Shyly, Brashear started to say something.

 "VALERIE!!" came the loud cry from the throne room.  Brashear shut her mouth quickly and Valerie blinked twice hard.

 "Coming Father!" he said and without a word to Brashear he walked briskly into the throne room.  "What do you need?"

 "I want you to go to Loserton and deal with this yourself," Creton suggested, "And take Brashear and her troops with you.  They have a tendancy to listen to her more than you or I."

 Valerie and Brashear looked at each other for a moment, then looked away embarrassed.  "Yes, Father."

 "Then go," Creton said, "And do not fail me, son."

Serena walked happily through the Lizerton Market.  It was something you could do without ever growing tired of it.  The Lizerton market was known throughout the continent as the best and the biggest.  She would really miss it when it came time for her to leave again.  She carried a basket with her as she moved from shop to shop.

 Some of them were in real buildings but most of them lined the sides of the paved streets in tents or canopied booths.  The items ranged from magical items to jewelry to children's toys.  People from all over the world came to shop there.

 And with so much competition, the prices were great.  She had already picked up a few knick knacks around the market.  She had found some more red beads like the ones that she wore around her ponytails to symbolize that she had graduated from the Scout School to replace the old ones.

 As Serena examined a booth that held exotic clothing, a smaller tent caught her eye.  It was made from canvas and was colored a deep purple.  She read the sign above the triangle entrance.  It said "Fortunes."

 "Hmm, sounds fun!" Serena said and skipped over.  She had to duck her head to get inside the small space, since the tent itself was small.  All she saw inside, however, was a plain round table and an empty bowl.  She looked around curiously.  So where was the fortune teller?

 She let out a startled shriek as a puff of smoke exploded behind the table.  Then she began to cough as it floated into her face.  She tried to wave it away and see what had caused it.

 Sitting behind the table was a chubby woman with a sqaure face.  A large mole quivered on her chin and one eye was closed as though it was gone.  She wore heavy make up and a bandanna across her head.  Large golden hoops hung off of her ear lopes, which were stretched to her jaw line.  In front of her, at the center of what Serena had taken as a bowl, there now sat a glowing pearl like ball.

 "Come child," she said, "The crystal will tell you all you need to know.  Come and hear what fate has in store for you.  And at only five smisses a fortune!"

 Serena counted out five smisses, the continental currency, and sat down in the chair across from the woman slowly.  "Now what is it you want to know?"

 "Uh," Serena thought for a moment, "Just any old fortune is fine!" She smiled a little nervously as the old woman nodded and gazed deeply into her crystal ball.  The fortune teller ran her hands around it, not quite touching it.  The ball grew brighter and hummed with energy.  Serena leaned forward, trying to see something inside of the ball but could only see a milky white glass surface.

 "Hmm," the woman muttered, "Yes, this is interesting... you will have terrible luck today!  Beware of all lovers and watch your friends closely."

 Serena blinked.  "I paid five smisses for that?"

 "Sorry, no refunds," the fortune teller replied quickly.

 "Humph," Serena stood up and raised an eyebrow, "What could possibly happen to me that is unlucky?"

 "Your entire day will be unlucky the minute you step out of this booth," the teller said, "Beware of the lovers, child, beware."   Suddenly another puff of smoke shot into the air and the woman and her crystal ball were all gone.  Serena stared for a moment and began to chuckle to herself.  She stepped out of the booth with her purse hung over her shoulder.

 "Gotta hand it to her," Serena laughed, "She’s pretty good."  She looked to her right seeing if there were anymore booths that she could visit.

 "Watch out!"

 "Wha--?" Serena turned around and shrieked as a bicycle came right at her.  At the last minute she jumped out of the way and the person on the bike came to a sudden halt.  She landed hard on her tail bone.  Tears sprang into her eyes and she sat up, rubbing the small of her back.

 "Are you okay?" the boy that was on the bicycle asked, looking at her.  She stood up and checked herself over.  Besides a sore rear end she was fine.

 "I think so," she said in a daze, rubbing her forehead, "What about you, I didn't scare you too badly I hope."

 "I’m fine," he said, "Maybe a little shaken up.  It’s not every day I almost run over one of my kingdom’s protectors."

 "You recognize me?" she asked and he nodded.  She puffed her chest out in pride.  She hadn't realized she was so important.

 "I was at the banquet," he said, "How’s Princess Rei?  She recovering nicely?  I’ve never heard her so angry.  But she was awesome at the banquet, the way she shot down that one guy.  Bam!"  He mimicked the attack with his own hands.

 "What about me?" Serena protested.

 "Uh, you didn’t really do anything," he replied without really think about it, "I should be going now.  See ya later!  Watch for bicycles a little better too."

 "Oh!" Serena said, as he pedaled away, "I’m so unlucky!"  As she said this she was angry, but as she finished, her eyes went a little wide.

 Unlucky?  No way that fortune teller could be right!  It was a stupid fake fortune, just for the fun of it!  Still, she said the minute I stepped out of that booth.  So what about the lovers part?  Beware of lovers?

 She walked by a lucky rabbit’s foot shop and the owner was putting a closed sign on it.  Serena gulped and continued to walk.  There was a man who was painting a large sign on a ladder above her and she stared up at him.  As she did, she realized she was walking under the ladder.

 She jumped back and let out a relieved sigh.  "That Lady has me all jumpy.  There’s no such thing as good or bad luck."

 She continued to walk and think.  Beware of lovers.  Her lover maybe?  Well who could that be?  Immediately Charlie popped into her head.  She had a huge crush on him, she knew.  That must have been who the lady was talking about.

 "Ma’am, would you like a mirror?" a man asked as she walked by, holding up an elaborate golden framed mirror.

 "Oh! Pretty!" she took it and studied her reflection for a moment.  She was about to tell the shopkeeper something when she felt the heavy mirror slip.  She gasped and caught it just before it hit the ground.

 "Whoa, don't you know that’s bad luck, Miss?" the man laughed as she handed him back the mirror, "Only 12 smisses, a special price for someone with such a lovely reflection."

 "Maybe tomorrow," Serena told him apologetically, "It might not make it home.  I’m kind of a klutz today."

 "So what else is new?"

 She turned around and saw Charlie with a shopping bag thrown over his shoulder.  He was smiling for once actually looking a little friendly.  She backed up into the table and laughed nervously.  "Ch-Charlie.  Nice to see you!  Gotta run!"  He looked after her as she left the shop quickly and shook his head.  He cocked up one eyebrow, wondering what had gotten into the scout.

 Serena quickly ran back to the castle.  She made quick work of getting through the gates.  She closed the main entrance door behind her, looking out of it one more time to see if Charlie had followed her.  With a sigh of relief she leaned her back against the door.  When she opened her eyes she saw a black cat looking back at her.

 "Look at what I found!" Mina exclaimed, holding the cat up.

 "Gah!  Get that thing away from me!" Serena yelled and ran by.  Mina watched her leave and looked at the cat.  The cat just shrugged.

 Serena walked quickly towards her room.  She decided on the way that so much bad luck was making her hungry.  She took a quick look around and walked towards the kitchen.  Serena looked for anyone making anything and saw it was empty.  Good, she could help herself.  Happily she started to look around.

 By the time she felt she was through, she was balancing a cupcake, some homemade cookies, and a tub of ice cream.  Feeling read to eat she turned around but accidentally knocked into a bag of salt.  It slipped off the edge of the cabinet slowly and Serena let out a cry.  Spilling salt was bad luck.  It slowly slid, bottom first, towards the floor.  She slowly put a hand out and tried to steady the bag, but not drop all the food she was carrying.

 She pushed it back and let out yet another relieved sigh when her grip on the ice cream slipped and everything fell down.

 "I’m gonna go crazy!" she shouted and stomped out of the kitchen, leaving the upside down ice cream, the scattered cookies and the ruined cupcake on the ground.  She decided it would be better to just go to her room but before she could get there she met with Hotaru.

 "What's wrong with you?" Hotaru asked, raising an eyebrow.  Serena gave her a depressed look and sighed.

 "I’m having a bad day," Serena said, continuing to walk towards her room.  Hotaru cleared her throat.

 "I’ll say," she said, "Did you do that to your skirt today or did you just not care what you wore out in public?"

 "What?  What does that mean?" Serena asked, entering her room.  Hotaru pointed to her rear end.  Serena looked at it in a mirror and saw a large hole right in the middle, her underwear showing through.

 "What?!  That wasn’t there a second ago!" Serena cried, staring, "I must have done that when I fell!  Oh no, everyone's had to have seen it!"

 Hotaru patted her shoulder sympathetically.  "I'm sure no one noticed," she grinned, "I mean, you're such a klutz even if they did, they probably didn't think anything about it.  Just relax."

 "Why’s she need to relax?" Rei asked, poking her head in before Serena could retort, then saw Serena’s skirt.  She covered her mouth but it didn’t stop the snickers.  The snickers turned into giggles then into flat out laughter.

 "It isn’t funny, Rei!" Serena yelled, "I walked all through the market with it like this!"  She pointed to the hole and Rei laughed even harder.

 "Well..." Hotaru said, trying not to laugh herself.

 "AHH!" Serena screamed and stomped out the door.

 "I-I’m sorry," Rei said, still laughing, "It’s just--It’s just--" She broke apart again, and Hotaru was looking after Serena, trying to cover the smile on her mouth.

 Serena stood in the hall with her arms crossed. It was just her luck today that Rei and Hotaru would be the ones to find out first.

 "Where’d that come from?"

 She turned around and saw Charlie again.  He was looking right at her bum.  She jumped and zoomed back into her room and behind Hotaru.  "Hi Charlie," she squeaked.

 "Okay, why are you afraid of me?" Charlie asked, "Did I do something to make you fear me?  Because I didn’t mean to."

 "Your just that mean," Rei said, sitting on the floor.  She grinned up at Charlie as he frowned.

 "It’s within my nature," he said and walked away, sticking his nose in the air.  Rei blinked and shook her head.

 "His nature," Rei scoffed, "there isn’t a purposely rude bone in his body."  She turned to look at Serena, standing up.  "Hey, I’m sorry, but you would have so laughed at me.  Why are you scared of Charlie anyway?"

 Serena sighed and told them about the fortune-teller, and all the bad things that had been happening to her lately.

 "Sounds like you're a victim of suggestion," Hotaru seemed skeptical of the fortune teller being correct about anything.

 "A victim of wha?" Serena asked, rubbing her forehead.  She blushed a little and sat on the bed so no one could see the hole in her skirt.

 "You thought you were going to be unlucky today so you were," Hotaru waved her away.  "I don’t get the beware of lovers part.  But why would you be scared of Charlie?"

 "No reason," Serena muttered.

 "Is Charlie your lover?" Rei cried, "Aw, how sweet!  Charlie and Serena, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."

 "Shut up, Rei," Serena muttered, "I am way past not being in the mood for it."  She folded her arms and Rei stopped.

 "Well, I honestly don't think Charlie is going to hurt you," Hotaru pointed out, "This woman is just trying to make money by giving you a fortune that wouldn't have come true if she had never said anything so you'll come back again."

 "Yeah, Serena," Rei said, "I’m the only real psychic you’ve talked to today, and we don’t even do the fortune telling thing."

 "But what about all the bad stuff that’s happened?" Serena asked, "It can’t all be coincidence, can it?"

 "Hmmm.  That is a lot of coincidences.  I don’t know about Hotaru, but I don’t believe in coincidences," Rei pointed to Hotaru, "Maybe she wasn’t a phony, after all."

 "I think this is definitely a hoax," Hotaru reassured her, "I mean, come on.  Beware of lovers, unlucky girl!  Oh, scary."

 "You never know," Rei looked at Hotaru for a speculative moment, "What if it was true?  Who would be the lover though?"

 "Didn’t she say lovers?" Hotaru asked, "With an 's.'  When someone adds an 's' to something that usually means two or more."

 "Yeah, maybe she means a couple," Rei nodded, "but the only one we know that has a 'lover' of any kind is you, ‘Taru, and he isn’t even here."

 Hotaru shrugged.  "If it is true then you’ll just have to live it out, Serena.  Sorry."

 "But--but--!" Serena sighed, "I’m gonna go take a walk, anyone wanna come?"

 "I have to go write a letter to Brent," Hotaru said, scratching the back of her head, "I haven’t spoken to him since a long time."

 "I have some other business," Rei shrugged, "You go ahead.  There aren’t many bad things that can happen to you in that forest as long as you stick to the path."

 Serena shook her head.  "With my luck?  I’ll probably be ambushed by Nymphs."

Serena walked down the path, looking at the flowers that lined the sides and listening to the birds.  Fall was just settling in and the leaves of the forest were starting to turn a little brown at the edges.  It was warm but not too hot.  All and all the walk was making her feel much better about the day.

 Lovers, who needed to worry about lovers?  That was stupid anyway.  What could a couple do to her?  Lovers didn't scare Serena.

 That is until she got about halfway through the path.

 "Oh yeah, well you have a pig nose!" a voice cried in the distance and Serena curiously walked that direction.

 "So, at least I could get my hair to sit down when I try," another voice retorted, "You disgust me."

 "No you disgust me!"

 Serena became a little agitated because the voices stopped there and she couldn't figure out where they were coming from.

 "You really are pretty." It sounded like a male voice.  Serena finally figured out the exact location and made her way off the path and into the forest.

 She looked over a shrub and saw a long clearing, the grass abandoned for hard packed dirt, like the trail.  In it were two people.  Serena put a hand over her mouth.  The two people were Valerie and Queen Brashear.  And they were kissing.

 "Ew!" she whispered then shook her head.  As she watched they suddenly broke apart and turned their backs on each other, blushing.  Serena tilted her head.

 As much as she hated to admit it, it was kind of cute, the way they were getting embarrassed.  After all, she was all for love and...

 Wait, who was she talking about here?!

 She realized that despite their little crushes, that the fact that they were this close to Lizerton was important.  She felt like she should tell Rei, immediately.

 She began to turn around and ran right into a large soldier behind her.  She looked up at him and grinned.  He had to be as wide as he was tall and very little of that was fat.  He had a round face that didn't seem too bright and stared down at her in what looked like confusion.

 "Er, hi," Serena muttered, "Um... bye!"

 She started to walk past, but he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the view of Valerie and Brashear.

 "Is this one of those girls who is protecting the kingdom, my Queen?" he asked, as Serena tried to pull away.  The two looked at them for a second and looked at each other.  They both blinked at this sudden lucky break.

 "Yes, it is," Brashear nodded, "Good work, Brutus."  She looked at Valerie, who gave her a sideways glance back and they both looked away.

 "Thank you my Queen," he bowed, "What would you like me to do with the girl?"

 "Let me handle this," Valerie said, casting a look to Brashear and puffing out his chest.  He walked up to Serena and stared her in the face.  "Lead us to your Princess."

 Serena scowled and cried, "Scout Kick!"  Her leg went up and kicked him right in the nose.  He let out a surprised gasp and clutched at it in pain.  He slowly let his hands fall away and small line of blood ran down his upper lip.  "Ha ha!  Now your nose matches your hair, Alfalfa!"

 "Ow!  You stupid Scout!  My nose!!" he glared at her and put a hand forward, "Sleep!"

 A sphere formed in his hand and went at Serena.  She felt it hit her and she shut her eyes, which was fine, because she was so sleepy.  She didn’t have a chance to think before she fell into a deep sleep.

Rei stood outside the dungeon.  She paced back and forth in front of the door, her brow knotted.  She sighed and looked at it, starting to reach for the knob.  She hesitated.

 She removed her hand and continued to pace back and forth.  She was trying to decide the best way to handle this.  How would she just let him go?  It was a little awkward and Rei hated awkward situations.

 Without thinking very hard about it, she grabbed the knob and walked inside, shutting the door behind herself.

 "Hello," were his only words, "Let me guess, your going to let me go now?"  He rolled his eyes and slumped down on his hand.  He was still staring at the floor, never having moved from his spot.  Rei felt sympathy creep up on her and she shook her head hard.

 Rei didn’t say anything.  Instead she walked over to the dungeon door and pulled out a set of keys.  She slipped them in and jerked the door open.  She stepped back and held out her hands to show she was not carrying any weapons.

 He looked at her as she backed away from the door.  When he didn't move she walked to the corner were his sword and scabbard were sitting against the wall.  She picked them up and held them forward.

 Slowly he stood up and looked right at her.  He shoved the hair from his face and for a second both of their scowling faces met.  Finally Rei blinked and broke out into a smile.

 He was taken aback.  She looked so different when she smiled.  He stared into those haunting gray eyes and stepped out of the cell.  He put a hand up and touched one of the bars, then walked away from his prison, his hand dropped back to his side.

 He hesitated again when he approached Rei.  Surely this had to be some sort of trick.  Would she really just let him go?

 He was answered when she suddenly shoved the sword into his hands, so quickly he almost fumbled it.  They met eyes but Rais had to look away because hers were still smiling a little.  He quickly put the belt and scabbard back on, his sword at his side once again.

 "I could kill you right now," he informed her after a moment.  She seemed amused by this statement, however.

 "You won’t," she answered.

 "How do you know?" he asked, "I have the chance.  Why wouldn’t I take it?  Isn't that why I came here?"

 "You tell me," Rei shrugged innocently, "Are you going to leave or not?  I presume that you didn’t enjoy your time in this cell very much."

 He walked towards the door, but stopped for a moment.  "You said you read my thoughts last night.  How much did you hear?"

 "Enough to know that we should be on the same side," Rei grew serious as though she had thought about it, "Enough to know that if you ever sought refuge from Creton, this would be a good place."

 "In other words, enough?" he asked and she nodded.  He walked out the door and Rei put up a hand, wanting to call him back, but restrained herself.  What would she have said anyway?

 She knew only to stand there, looking at the ground.  That boy, what was it about that boy?  Of course she knew the answer.  He was good.  He was on the wrong side.  She could sense so much kindness in him, but it was covered in darkness.

 Creton of Darkness to be specific.  It bothered her that he was working for someone like that.  In his thoughts he had brought up something about a debt.  What could that have meant?  That he was fighting against his will?

 She continued to speculate when suddenly something shoved itself into her thoughts.  She gasped.  "Serena!"

"Wha?  Where am I?"  Serena opened her eyes and saw several pairs of feet standing in front of her.  She gasped to find Retopian soldiers examining her curiously.

 "Is she awake? Get out of my way!" Valerie pushed through them and came out in front of Serena.  He seemed very angry and his nose was swollen and red.

 Serena tried to move and found she was tightly bound to one of the trees.  The tree pressed hard against her spine.  She looked at Valerie with defiance in her eyes.

 "Well, if it isn’t Alfalfa," Serena said, smiling wryly.

 "Hmm, you may be eating your words before this is all over," Valerie said, "Now I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them."

 "Good luck," Serena muttered and rolled her eyes.  Fat chance she would answer any of Valerie's questions.

 "How many members are there in that little group of yours and what are their abilities?" Valerie asked her, leaning in close to her.  He tried his best to seem threatening and Serena just smiled.

 "Well, let’s see," Serena looked up as if in deep thought, taking her time, "There’s Larry, Curly, Moe--"

 "Are you insulting my intelligence?!" Valerie cried, standing up and making fists with his hands.

 "Have to have intelligence before I could insult it," Serena replied with a snort, "I’m just answering your question, don't have a kitten or anything."

 "I asked you who your fellow Lizerton members were!" he protested, pointing at her in accusation, "Those are most certainly not whom I was referring to!"

 "Oh! I thought you were asking about the Three Stooges!" she laughed, sounding quite sincere, "Honestly, speaking of stooges, I'm quite the airhead today aren't I!  I love the Stooges, don’t you?"

 "Well, they are--Hey, don’t change the subject!" Valerie growled, narrowing his eyes on her, "Tell me the names and abilities of your little friends!"

 "There’s Rei, and she’s pretty good with people," Serena said, "I’d like to think I’m a good gardener.  Mina’s good with animals I suppose, though I could easily say her people skills could use just a little bit of work, don't you think so?  And--"

 "What kind of abilities are these?" he raised an eyebrow, "What about as fighters?  How do they fight?  Which ones are the strongest?"

 "Well, you should have said so!" Serena scolded him, "You're making this awfully hard on both of us.  Now, let’s see.  How do they fight?  I’d say they fight fairly."

 "Are you trying to make me lose my temper?" Valerie asked, yelling into her face, getting down on his knees and staring her in the eyes.

 "Are you trying to make me lose my lunch?" she coughed and made a gagging sound, "Your breath reeks!  Do you brush your teeth?"

 "Of course I do!" he said, looking around nervously.  He twiddled his thumbs a little and leaned away.

 "Be honest," Serena reprimanded, "Personal hygiene is important, and I'd hate to hear someone like you is skipping out."

 "Well, I may forget from time to time, but that’s not a sin," Valerie looked away, "Besides, as a bad guy, I don’t have to be clean all the time."

 "Yes you do!  As a super villain you do!"

 "A super villain?" Valerie rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I like the way that sounds.  What’s a super villain?"

 "The super villains the guy that the heroine has trouble defeating because they’re so smart," Serena told him earnestly, "If you aren’t a super villain, you're a crony, and cronies are easy to get rid of."

 "So you really think I’m a super villain?" he sat down cross legged and thought about it for a second, nodding to himself.

 "Oh, yeah!" Serena nodded vigorously, "You make a great super villain. Why, if it weren’t for your dad--"

 "What about my dad?"  Valerie asked suddenly, "Why am I not a super villain cause of my dad?  Tell me!"

 "Okay, okay, I’ll tell you!" Serena cried, flinching way from Valerie, "He sort of overshadows you.  It’s really easy to forget Alfalfa when your dad’s on the prowl.  He’s just a bigger better super villain."

 "You think so?" Valerie sighed, "But I try so hard.  It’s not easy to be this evil.  Have you ever tried to be evil on a date?  It’s very hard!  They never like you for who you are when your evil.  You always get picked on in school and everyone calls you Alfalfa.."

 "There, there," Serena nodded sympathetically, "I understand you.  You are who you are and no one can change that.  But are you necessarily evil?"

 "What?’ he looked up, "Yes, of course I am!"

 "Well, I don't know," Serena shrugged, "I mean, your just such a good conversationalist.  And when we fought, you did win.  And the good guy always wins."

 "What?! Maybe your right," he stared at the ground with wide eyes, "What if I am good?  What will I ever tell Father?  He’ll get so mad!  But I have always been more inclined to do good things I suppose, I just never realized it..."

 "Just come out of the closet," Serena grinned, "It’s not as bad as you think.  We have a lot of fun as good guys.  We get to fight for love and justice."

 "Love and justice sounds so much better than pain and suffering," he leaned back thoughtfully, "Maybe if I tell Dad I just can’t help it, he won’t be as hard on me.  I’ve always leaned in that direction.  You know, always been curious about what it would be like to be good?"

 "It’s wonderful!" Serena encouraged him enthusiastically, "You just get to be nice all day and everyone gets along and there are no people shouting, ‘Fools I’ll kill them all.’"

 "That sounds really nice," he said, thinking about it.

 Serena nodded and thought she heard something behind her.  She listened carefully, but didn’t hear anything.  For a second she thought she felt a tug on the ropes around her, but she couldn’t be sure.  Then the ropes fell loose and she heard, "Get up, French Fry!"

 She stood up and patted Valerie on the shoulder.  "Think about it."  He nodded as she took off right in front of him.

 She ran around the other side of the tree and saw Rei.  "How’d you figure it out?" Serena asked, rubbing her arm.

 "Sixth sense," Rei said, tapping her head, "Let’s go."  She grabbed Serena's wrist and pulled her towards the kingdom.

 "Hey, wait--!" Valerie cried, realizing that he had been tricked and now that his captive was escaping, "Soldiers!  Get them!!"

 Brashear popped her head out of a tent and gasped.  "Go soldiers!  Rei is with her and she's escaping!"

 Rei and Serena looked over their shoulders but when Rei looked ahead again she saw a group of Reptopian soldiers.  She stopped and started to attack but heard a voice speak up behind her.

"Well, well, well," Brashear said, "If it isn’t my good friend Rei!  How are you these days now that I've managed to put your life in danger by one of the most feared evil icons of our world's history?"

 "Don't worry about this, Brashear!" Valerie stepped forward and shoved his cape back dramatically, "I'll take care of this!"

 "Oh, Valerie," she whispered, then shook her head hard, "Um, well don't screw it up or anything!"  She blushed and looked away.

 "That’s disgusting," Rei said, looking at Serena.  Their crush was a little more than overt and Serena nodded in understanding.

 "Stand back, guards," Valerie told them, then stood right in front of Rei and Serena.  Rei smirked and blew a kiss at Valerie.

 "Hey!" Brashear cried and Rei snickered.  Brashear put a hand over her mouth and made a growling sound under her breath.  Valerie looked at her then scowled at the other two girls.

 Without warning he fired a large attack at the two of them.

 They jumped aside, and Serena held out a hand.  Her scepter appeared in her palm and she aimed it at Valerie.  "I fight to rid the world of evil and to preserve..." she started but gasped.  Looking at Rei she said, "I can’t fight them."

 "What?!" Rei stared at her, "Why not?"  She herself had been crouched in a fighting position, waiting for Valerie to strike again.

 "They’re what I was taught to protect, sort of," she told her so Valerie and Brashear couldn't hear her.  The two looked over at the girls puzzled. "I was taught at the Scout school that the best reason to fight was to preserve love and justice!  Look at Valerie, he's obviously fighting for what he feels for Brashear."

 "There’s always justice," Rei shrugged, not quite understanding the Scout philosophy but going along with it anyway.

 "But, I still fight for love too," she said helplessly, "I can’t fight what I vowed to protect back at the school!"

 "But haven’t I heard you say you defend against evil?" Rei tried to reason her way through it, "So that’s like two against one, am I right?"

 "Well--" Serena started, but saw another black orb come at her, "Hey!"  She clenched her fists and glared at Valerie.

 "Enough of you talking!" he growled.  He gathered a larger amount of energy into his hands and fired it at Serena.

 She closed her eyes and pointed her scepter at the orb.  A pink blast hit the black orb and it broke apart.  "See I told you good always wins!" she told Valerie and stuck her tongue out at him.

 He growled at her.   "We'll see about that!"  He made two orbs, one in each hand.  They were both extremely powerful and would have been too hard to block.  He fired them at each girl.  They both jumped out of the way, but Rei knew they were going to come back.  She turned around and saw that Serena didn’t know it.  "Serena!" she called and blasted the orb with her own that went at Serena, but the one that came at her she didn’t have time to get rid of and it was a direct hit.

 Rei went sprawling and landed on her shoulder.  With a small groan she sat up at little but found another orb flying towards her.  The sneak attack caused her to fall back the other way.  She landed hard on her back, hitting her head hard on the ground.

 Serena watched in horror, then turned to Valerie in anger.  "I think evil just had its first victory," he smiled smugly.

 Serena shook her head.  "You aren’t capable of love," she decided, and aimed her scepter at him.  She let out a huge blast and the pink sphere flew at him.  He just countered it with his own and sent out four more, directly at Serena.  She didn’t have a chance and she took the hit, landing next to Rei.

 She sat up on her knees but found Valerie's hand right in front of her chest.  She looked at him for a split second when suddenly a heavy shock jolted her body and she landed next to Rei, feeling that she could no longer move.

 Was this the end?

Rais walked through the forest, trying to decide if he should go back to Reptopia or run.  He could always run to some other town and Creton wouldn’t miss him.  So why didn’t he?  Creton probably didn't realize he would be let go from Rei's dungeon if he had bothered to find out at all.  So why didn’t he run while he had the chance?

 "Your scared," he said out loud, "That’s what it is.  You're a coward."  He folded his arms and leaned against a tree.  He had never been so angry with himself before.  He had also never felt so lonely.  Where was he supposed to go?

 He could always stay at the castle.  Rei told him he could, and it was her castle.  But she was the enemy, right?  Besides, where was the honor in that?  No, he couldn't have done that.  That would make him a traitor.

 He sighed, walking through the forest to no where in particular.  He kicked at a pebble on the ground.  Of course, could you betray a cause you didn't believe in?

 "Look at that!  Both of them!  Father will be pleased!"

 His attention was caught by the voice in the woods.  Someone nearby was yelling about something.  As he listened he felt like he recognized the voice.

 "Valerie?" he asked himself out loud and followed the voice.

 "What do you think?" Valerie continued, "Did I do a good job, Brashear?  I have both the princess and the scout."

 "Yes... I suppose..."

 Rais looked through and wondered if Valerie could be talking about Rei.  He had beaten Rei?  Somehow Rais found that hard to believe.  Still, he saw with his own eyes, Rei lying on the ground looking unconscious and another girl trying to sit up and fight.  She looked in no condition to do so however.

 "I have to do something," Rais said without thinking and stepped out into plain view.  He realized what he was doing too late to not be seen.

 "Rais?" Valerie tilted his head in surprise, "I see you escaped.  Good.  I have a problem I want you to finish up for me." He nodded to the girls behind him.  "Kill them, but make sure they’re still identifiable, so father will recognize them when we bring him their heads."

 Rais looked at them with a seemingly emotionless face.  Serena had not managed to get up very far and Rei still seemed out of it.  Serena reached over and gave Rei  little shake, glancing at Rais nervously.

 Rei sat up with a small groan.  She saw Rais ahead of them and smirked.  He walked forward with the blade ready.

 "Well, Rais, kill them!"

She looked him deep in the eyes.  "I know what you're about to say," she told him, "I should have killed you when I had the chance.  But I still think you're wrong."

 He took a surprised step backwards. Then a determination filled his eyes and he drew his sword, thrusting the tip of it towards Rei's throat.  "Kill me then," she urged him, "Get it over with.  Please your dictator."

 He stared right into those gray eyes and hesitated.  He knew he had to push the blade forward but he couldn't bring himself to do it.  He swallowed and tried to muster up the will to kill her but those eyes continued to stare.

 "What are you waiting for?!" Valerie cried from behind him.  "Kill her!  Now! I want to see her blood on your sword!"

 Rei smiled, realizing that he wouldn't do it.  The smile on her face finally made him drop the blade.  He sighed and looked at the ground in shame.

 "No."

 "What?!" Valerie yelled, appalled, "Do it now and spare yourself the punishment father will dispense!  Now I say!!"

 Rais just shook his head and turned around.  "I said no."  He put the sword back in its sheath and stared at Valerie in the eyes.

 Valerie took a step. "Kill him!" Brashear demanded, "Kill him, Valerie, before he can escape.  Hurry!"

 Valerie looked back at Brashear and nodded.  He placed his hand together and a small crackle of energy appeared in his hands.  Rais watched, making no move.  Rei watched, unsure what to do.  Valerie reeled back and fired out towards Rais.

 Rais put up one hand and touched the attack.  "Reverse!" Rais cried and the attack stopped in his palm, then turned to Valerie.

 Valerie blinked as it returned to him and took a step back as it came nearer, but it hit him and he fell over onto his back.

 Just then Rei stood up and walked over next to Rais.  Rais raised his eyebrows but said nothing as she smirked at Valerie.

 He glared at the two of them and hissed.  "You win this time, but it's not over!"  With that he and his company, including Brashear, disappeared.

 Rei breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to where Serena still sat. "Serena?  You okay Serena?"  She took an arm and helped her stand up.

 "Can this day get any worse?" she muttered, letting herself be dragged to her feet, "I guess we know what she meant by beware of lovers."

 Rei laughed.  "Yeah I guess so."

 Serena blinked a few times.  "Did Rais just save us?" she looked at Rais’s back.

Rei nodded.  "I think so."

 Rais didn’t look at them.  Why couldn’t I kill them?  It was more than not following orders.  I’ve worked for Creton for so long and done so many things, but I couldn't kill Rei.

 "That’s a good thing," Rei said from behind him.  She stood behind him, supporting Serena's weight while the girl regained her balance.

 "What would you know?" he asked bitterly.  Now he couldn't go back to Creton or else he would die.

 "I can’t help it," Rei shrugged, "Your a loud thinker.  Think quieter if you don’t want me to butt in."

 "I’m leaving," Rais told, "You two can manage."  He started to take off but Serena called for him to wait.  He paused.

 "Thank you," Serena smiled sincerely at him, "I thought I was a goner back there.  I guess I owe you one.  We both do."

 He looked at her and to both Rei and Serena's surprise he broke out into a cheerful smile.  "Oh well, I at least I saved a couple of damsels in distress."  Before either girl could comment he disappeared.

 "So now what?" Serena asked.

 "Let's go home."

"So does that mean that the fortune teller was right?" Hotaru asked later that day, relaxing on the couch with a cup of tea.

 "I’m not sure," Rei shrugged, smirking, "I’m guessing so.  Like I said, I don’t believe in coincidence."

 "Well, I guess we’ll never know," Charlie said with raised eyebrows, "I was out there the same day Serena was.  There was no fortune teller shops out there and I’m positive."

 "But--" Serena tried to protest but nothing more came out.  They all looked at each other, nervous smiles on their faces.

 "Wow, pretty creepy," Lita commented, "Would’ve been great if Serena had listened to the old lady about the lovers part."  She reached over and grabbed Charlie’s arm.  "Right Charlie?"

 "Hey!" Serena grabbed his other arm, "When did you call dibs?"  She pulled him towards her and he looked at each of them nervously.

 "Girls, let’s not argue," he said.

 Twiggy rolled her eyes and leaned against the arm of her chair, watching.  She looked pretty disgusted by the whole scene.

 The two started to yell at each other and Serena threatened to use her scepter on Lita if she didn't let go of Charlie's arm immediately.

 "I can’t believe that French Fry sometimes," Rei muttered, "One minute she’s dodging questions from the enemy like a pro, then she’s arguing over a boy.  Girls, lay off, he’s mine!"

 "Yeah, I’m hers," Charlie pointed, having trouble lifting his arm to do so because of the restraint on it.

 "Not anymore!" Serena said and pulled him closer.

 Rei shrugged and watched the three argue over him.

 "What a French Fry."

 A french fry indeed... Chapter 5