Adonis knelt by the bed of his fallen comrade, watching him while he slept. Even when lost in slumber, his delicate face creased in pain, his skin so waxy-white it was almost translucent, he was still beautiful. He felt such an overwhelming gratefulness, all he wanted to do was scream out loud his thanks.

Orpheus was alive…alive! They had come so close to losing him…and that was what now played at his mind. How much he cared about this near-miss.

As he continued to watch the sleeper, he gently stirred slightly.

Drowsy, you mumble and sigh and turn your head…

He smiled as he saw that his young friend was about to awaken from this prolonged dream, after the Senshi Mercury had attended so diligently to his wounds. Wounds formed during some freakish abduction. As he remembered this, he remembered the words he had whispered to the dying man as he clutched him to his chest in the battle field, a desperate plea that he believed Orpheus had indeed heard.

You are too young to fall asleep forever…

Looking upon the man, he felt his heart twist, as another line of simp le prose invaded his already crowded mind, a deep fear he tried to bury beyond reach.

And when you sleep, you remind me of the dead.

To his great relief, Orpheus stirred, and opened his emerald eyes, glazed with pain. "…Adonis?"

"Orpheus," he said in a soft voice, a smile breaking like sunrise over his face. "I should have known…you would never leave us…"

He coughed painfully, and licked his dry lips with a dry tongue. Noticing this, Adonis moved closer to his bed, and put an arm behind the younger man, helping him sit up. Supporting his head easily with one strong arm, he took the glass of water from the bedside table. He helped the smaller man to drink, before letting him sink back into the pillows. He didn’t move away however, continuing to gaze at him directly. Orpheus grimaced slightly.

"You’re still mad, aren’t you?"

Adonis sighed, his voice hardening slightly. "Orpheus, I’m very disappointed in you…you could have been killed! And what’s worse, you put the Prince in danger! You deliberately disobeyed me!"

Orpheus, still weak from his wounds, replied in a tiny voice. "I know…I was…I was…"

To the shock of Adonis, he realised that the young man, who was in reality barely more than a child, was close to tears. His eyes softened slightly, his rare compassion showing through.

"Orpheus," he said gently. "What were you doing?"

He looked down, too ashamed to look directly at his teacher. "I was only trying to be brave…like you…all of you don’t think I am brave, or a true warrior…just some reckless kid…I was only trying to prove myself…" His small voice trailed off, and Adonis sighed in disappointed frustration, in exasperation.

"Oh, Orpheus…"

The wounded man, to the horror of the head commander, actually began to cry. Adonis immediately chided himself for being so harsh with him. "I-I’m sorry Lord A-Adonis," sobbed the young man, his long hair falling into his race as he buried his visage in his hands.

"Orpheus," he said gently, and the boy looked up, touched by the deeper understanding in the older man’s voice. Adonis smiled sadly at him, holding his verdant gaze. "Orpheus, being brave doesn’t mean you go looking for trouble…true bravery is found deeper within. I know. I’ m only brave when I have to be."

Orpheus’s eyes narrowed in confusion. "But you’re so cool and collected…you’re not scared of anything."

Adonis took a deep breath, he knew what he had to say. "I was today."

The verdant eyes widened in awe. "You were?"

"Mmmhmm," he said in a low voice. "I thought I might lose you…and that scared me more than any megalomanical youma ever could."

"Oh," replied Orpheus, his mind in a whirl as he considered the implications of the words of the man who held his gaze so intently. Then he smiled, and said in a low voice, so that Adonis had to lean closer to hear him, "But you know what?"

Adonis leaned closer, so that his ear was barely two inches from the mouth of Orpheus. "What?" he practically whispered softly.

"Those youma were even scareder…"

Adonis began to chuckle quietly. "No one messes with any Guardian of Endymion and lives to tell the tale…" To his amazement, he put one arm around the young man, and pulled him into a half hug, enjoying the feel of the younger man beside him. Orpheus quite neatly snuggled beneath his arm, and smiled contentedly. "Did you mean what you said?" he asked quietly.

Adonis looked at him affectionately, as he turned his verdant eyes to meet his cerulean. "No commander of the Armies of Earth would tell a lie."

Orpheus smiled thoughtfully. "What about Orion?"

"Well, we’re not supposed to imbibe, either, but did that ever stop him?"

He chuckled, but pressed on. "Why did the thought of losing me scare you, Adonis? Am I that important to the Kingdom that you fear my loss?"

"Not so much the kingdom, little one…more myself," he replied slowly, and Orpheus looked stunned.

"Are you…are you saying what I think you’re saying?"

"I don’t know – am I?"

Orpheus answered easily – he wrapped one slender hand about his neck and pressed his flushed lips against those of the other man, who responded automatically, just glad that he hadn’t had to make the first move. He could now finally openly admit that he had loved and adored the younger man for many years now.

"But this is futile," he murmured, pushing the other man away gently. "What of Aphrodite? And Athena?"

"Do you love Aphrodite?" asked Orpheus quietly. "You can tell me the truth, Adonis."

"I care for her…with all my heart," he said quietly, and Orpheus nodded slightly, pain in his eyes.

"It is the same with my strange new love for Athena…we cannot be together, Adonis. Not only because of our separate loves, but because of the implications of our love…it is wrong to love as we do."

"What do you mean?" he asked, startled. He never thought that Orpheus had a problem with his orientation.

The young man laughed hollowly. "Yes, Lord Adonis. Do you desire my body? Do you desire to hold me in your arms, to make me yours while in a passionate embrace as old as time?"

He cheeks pinked slightly. "Well…yes. I do. You are exceptionally attractive, Orpheus, and-"

"Wait," he interrupted, holding up a small hand. He coughed painfully, a hand on his slender chest. "It has been written that there are two kinds of love…lust, and true. You love me in a lusty manner, is that not so? And it is written that that love between two men, or two women, is wrong, perverted and twisted."

"Yet, you have loved that way," he said, confused. "If you think this way, then why…"

"Oh, but it’s not that simple," replied Orpheus, agonised. "I did not love those men in a true manner – I desired only their bodies, I didn’ t love them, I loved what they did for me…and Adonis, you are different. I love you in both ways."

"What do you mean?"

"I want your body – and I want your soul. I want to take your heart and give you mine…" He sobbed suddenly, and buried his face in his chest. "Adonis, I truly love you, in more ways than one…so, I can only go on loving you as my greatest and wisest friend…I will not condemn you by loving you in the way that is dark and twisted…I will be your lover in spirit, not in body."

He fell silent, holding the man against him, feeling a love emanating from his shaking frame. "Then I will love you in the same way, Orpheus…as my younger, more light-hearted friend…a deeper part of my soul, not my body…"

"And you will love Aphrodite in both ways," he added, the sound slightly muffled. "I can do this also, for I have achieved one thing I never thought I could do…I found a woman whom I could love, and whom would love me in return…again."

"What do you mean – again?" he asked suddenly, and Orpheus smiled sadly.

"Oh, that…I loved a woman once, when I was younger…remember, you asked me once how I learned to play so well?"

"Yes..?"

"It was a talent granted to me by my lost love…the woman I left in the Underworld…a lost spirit who loved me like her dead husband...and she made me love her in return."

Adonis held his younger, closest friend tighter, loving him so much it made his heart ache. "If you don’t want to tell me…"

"Oh, but I do," he murmured. "Her name…was Eurydice…"

The face of Adonis lost all of its characteristic magniloquence as he listened to his young friend pour out his story, about how he had gotten his musical talent.

It seems so much like a dream to me now…what happened to me when I was only sixteen. You know that I am related to royalty…my mother was sister to the woman who married the king of Uranus…the princess of Uranus is my first cousin, though I scarcely know her. My mother, and her sister, were of earth, which is why I had lived here all my life.

But my family’s royal connections meant we spent a good deal of time within the palace of earth. I was never interested in internal politics, therefore I spent a good deal of time just exploring the palace.

I still remember the music.

I was deeper into the palace than I had ever been before, into the disused parts of the palace. The building itself was immense, so much so that the older parts had fallen into complete abandonment.

One wing caught my attention…I wandered onwards, thinking I must be imagining the beautiful music wafting down the hallways.

In this strange trance, I moved onwards, in a dreamlike state. I presently came upon the source as I stood outside an ornately carved door, and I wondered at my curiosity. I wondered if I was making some kind of mistake.

I opened the door to see if I could find the player of this beautiful, melancholy piano music. I wondered what kind of person would wander so deeply into the disused part of the palace to simply play music on the piano.

The woman did not seem at all perturbed by my presence, and I don’t know how long I stood in that doorway, watching her, before she finally stood and turned her emerald gaze on me.

Her eyes were amazing – greener than my own, if such a thing was possible. Her hair was a deep auburn, and fell to below her waist in a single plait, interwoven with strands of gold. Her smile was wistful as she regarded me, standing from the bench. Her long silver dress rippled as she moved toward me, her hand extended.

My mouth must have been around my ankles. The young woman, who seemed about my age in appearance but not in spirit, was not extraordinarily beautiful, merely pretty. It was her bright aura, so pure and simple, that lent her the extraordinary grace that surrounded her like an aurora of many colours.

"Hello, Orpheus," she murmured, and I was stunned.

"How do you know my name?"

She smiled in that melancholy manner that would become an image that haunts me to this day. "For I am Eurydice. That is how I know your name."

The name sent a tremor down my spine, for what reason, I did not know. "I do not know you, Eurydice."

"Oh, but you do…would you like me to play for you, Orpheus? Your name was once that of a great musician…surely you love music the way I do…for that is what brought you to me today."

I closed my eyes as she moved away, and I let the gentle chords wash over me like a cleansing wave. When I opened my eyes to thank her for her music, she was gone.

We went on like that for several weeks – I would visit the room once a day, with it’s lone piano and sad musician. She rarely spoke, she simply played, and she always vanished wordlessly when I took my gaze from her…and try as I might, I always looked away just before a song finished…and thus, she always left me.

One day, things changed. She took my hand – only the second time she had ever touched me, and Eurydice guided me to the piano. She sat me down, and stood behind me, placed her hands over mine, and guided my fingers over the keys. I had never played before, yet with Eurydice with me, I was a player like no other.

The next day, before I visited Eurydice, I went to the music room of the palace, and for an hour or so, played around on the baby grand. I could not play a note on the damn thing.

One of the older servants watched me, amused. "It takes practice, child," she murmured in amusement, and I sighed. "I know…"

She looked sad. "This room…it’s not quite right, is it?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious now as I turned at he peculiar words. .

She seemed loathe to go on, but she did anyhow. "It’s not quite musical…can’t you feel it? This isn’t the music room…at least, it was never meant to be, the original architects of the palace never intended it to be the music room."

"Then where is the real music room?"

"It’s not used anymore – it’s in part of the disused wing of the palace. It’s been shut off…because of her…"

"Who?" I asked, but I already knew.

"Eurydice…the ghost of the wife of a former player in the court. She died before her time, and he was so distraught, he went to the Queen of the Underworld, to try to convince her to tell her husband to restore Eurydice to life. His music was so sad, so heart wrenching, it made her weep, and she begged her husband, Lord of the Dead, to restore Eurydice to life. He agreed, and he told the musician he could take his wife back to the surface, as long as he didn’t look upon her until they were in daylight.

The musician was walking before Eurydice, thus he reached the cave opening first. He turned to greet Eurydice – and she vanished. For she had not reached daylight yet…and the musician lived the rest of his life alone, in miserable celibacy."

I shuddered – there was one last thing I had to know. "What was the name of the musician?"

She seemed surprised. "Why, Orpheus, of course."

I went to the old music room as fast as I could, to find Eurydice playing as per usual.

"Eurydice!" I cried. "Why didn’t you tell me…you think of me as your former husband, who accidentally condemned you to the underworld…why didn’t you tell me?"

Eurydice sighed. "I knew you would find out…Orpheus, I don’t think of you as my husband, more…a second chance. I want you to be like him, though…I want you to have the talent that my husband once possessed, that I now hold in my hands."

"But…why?"

"You bear my husband’s name. You are a musician at heart…"

"How can I take your powers?"

She sighed restlessly. "I exist only because of the power of the music…if I want to give you my music, my husband’s talents, I must sacrifice my existence as this lonely wraith…"

"I can’t let you do that!" I cried, and I realised something then. I actually cared for this young woman…I began to wonder if Orpheus, the true musician, was a part of me somehow. "I…I love you!"

"If you love me, then set me free…" she whispered. And that is what I did. I had fallen in love with a ghost, and that is one of the reasons I never loved another woman from then on…until I met Athena. No other woman was as unassumingly pretty, quiet and shy, yet with a great inner strength. Except for Athena…

I made love to the spirit that night, and as I took her, she faded from me, becoming a part of me, every part of me. She gave herself and the music of her husband to me…that is why I am Orpheus, the musician.

"Pretty crazed, huh? You must think I’m nuts…" Orpheus chuckled painfully, and Adonis smiled quietly.

"I would never think you were nuts, my love," he said, holding him to his chest. He did it gently, holding the younger like he was a fragile China doll. "Pecans, maybe…"

Orpheus laughed. "It is a strange story, though…it can’t have been a dream, or a hallucination, though…it was too real…besides, before that, I couldn’t play a note on anything…"

Adonis nodded quietly, and laid the younger man down against his pillows. "You know what, Orpheus? Athena is waiting to see you outside."

Orpheus nodded. "Then send her in," he murmured, and he watched Adonis leave. But before he opened the door, he cried weakly "Adonis?"

"Yes?" he asked, turning slightly.

He smiled faintly. "I love you."

He nodded, and left. It was only a few seconds later when Athena stepped in. Orpheus smiled weakly, and she knelt by his side, placing her small hands over his delicate fingers. He felt an electric shock rush up his arm at her gentle touch, and he spoke quietly. "Thank you Athena. For all you’ve done for me, I mean…"

"You don’t have to thank me, Orpheus," she murmured in reply, staring at him directly with her dark blue eyes. "I did it because I wanted to help you."

Smiling, he ran gentle fingers through her dark hair, savouring the silken feel of her hair as it fell over his pale fingers. "Still…thank you."

She pushed his hand away softly, and then sat on the edge of his bed. Before he realised it, she had lain down beside him, and wrapped both arms around his slender frame. Instead of protesting at the girl’s forwardness, he simply closed his eyes and listening to the rhythmic breathing of the woman he had wrapped his arms around.

"Athena?" he asked sleepily.

"Mmm?" she murmured in a drowsy question. She was obviously as tired as he was, if not more so.

"What would you say if I told you I think I love you?"

She looked up into his emerald gaze as he looked down on her, and the stars dancing in the grand ballroom of her eyes told him before she spoke. "I’d say I think I feel the same way."

He sighed lightly, as she tightened her grip around him. "Isn’t this all a little fast, though?"

Nodding, she moved upward a little to kiss his lips, the intimate touch as soft as that of a shy butterfly. "I feel as though I’ve known you before."

"It’s strange…but I would say the same thing," he whispered back to her, and he laid his delicate cheek on the top of her head, closing his eyes into the dark blue mane. "And I do love you…Senshi Mercury…"

"As I love you," she whispered in reply. "Sleep now, Orpheus. Even the great commanders of Endymion need their rest…"

She needn’t have bothered, though. The young man had already fallen into a deep slumber. And without intending to, Athena joined him.

Adonis watched the slumbering pair for a few moments, feeling…jealous? Admittedly, he did sort of resent the fact that Athena could openly love the pretty young man, and he resented that Orpheus could reciprocate that same love. But he couldn’t begrudge the emotional young man his happiness. He knew there were all too few times in his life when he had been truly happy.

"They make a cute couple, don’t they?" asked a low, playful voice at his side. He affectionately slung an arm around the Senshi, and closed the door softly, as not to disturb the sleepers. Venus smiled as they walked down the corridor, taking the hand that was slung over her shoulder. "I think things may work out for them after all."

"And what about us?" asked Adonis, giving the girl a small smile.

She laughed merrily in reply. "We’ve only just met!"

"And yet I know I love you," he replied, and she gave him a strangely serious look.

"You’re not kidding me, are you? Of course you aren’t," she said thoughtfully, in reply to her own question. "It’s just…the others have told me that you’re…emotionally, very private."

Nodding, Adonis agreed. "I am, yes…they don’t call me the ‘Ice Master’ for nothing…but Aphrodite. You’re something special. I know I love you…" He finished his words by leaning down, and enveloping the woman in his arms, kissing her with a slightly restrained passion.

Things were moving quickly – but for some reason, to Adonis, and indeed all of them, it felt…right.

Over the next while, the Senshi and the Generals, not to mention their Prince and Princess, continued to see each other. Odysseus had to content herself with a platonic relationship with Orion, given it was widely known he was already engaged with an additional mistress. It seemed everyone but Melpomene knew that Orion was madly in love with Perseus.

Deimos finally relented, and let Hermes kiss her one night. From then on, she couldn’t get enough of the general. He was one of the only people in the life of the Martian princess who had the guts to stand up and argue with her.

Adonis and Aphrodite became well known as the most obviously in love of the eight guardians, and it was said in murmurs about the two palaces that they might one day marry.

It was Athena and Orpheus that baffled everyone. They acted more like brother and sister ninety percent of the time. They would play practical jokes on one another, the impulsive general showing the more restrained Senshi how to loosen up a little. In return, Athena convinced Orpheus to let her teach him a good deal of intellectual tid-bits. They were rarely apart, and seemed to act more as one unit than two. As a result, the Princess Mercury became an almost permanent resident of the Earthen palace.

And in the midst of all this, another, more dramatic romance played itself out. The ballad of Prince Endymion and Princess Selene.

It was almost a said thing – they would marry someday. The Queen of the Moon seemed loathe to actually marry off her only child to the only child of the Earth King, but it was obviously what was going to happen.

As long as the Darkness that had threatened them two and a half months previously stayed away.

"But you know what they say," murmured Selene to herself as she watched the earth longingly from her bedroom window. "Things that go away by themselves can come back by themselves…"

Okay, okay – I admit in this part that I have gotten a little bit on my high horse of morals…regarding Adonis and Orpheus, that is. I never meant to do it, I have nothing against same-sex relationships myself, but I am Christian, and it does say in the scriptures that such a relationship is sinful. I can’t say I entirely agree with it, but with friends like mine, I hear against it an awful lot. So, apologies if I seem to be getting a little bit touchy about the whole thing…it’s the way it is. In my opinion, however, if it’s love, then it’s right. Now, if only the church saw it that way…

Now that you’ve had my ministering, you can email me at luna_dreamscape@hotmail.com. Don’t be unnerved by my Christianity…geez, I’m normal too!

PS I do realise that traditionally, Zoisite would hardly be the one to get all righteous on

Kunzite, but remember, this is Orpheus…he’s quite a distinctly separate personality…as if you couldn’t tell…

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