Violet Flame: Rei's Story
	Part Two
	By: Zellie





	"Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold 
behind the clouds, and there upon the rainbow is the answer 
to the neverending story." -"The Never Ending Story"  by: Limahl 





	The palace was quiet. Growing up as royalty these past
few years had become interesting. Now, I was ten. The trees still bent in 
the wind the same, the stars still rose and fell in the sky the same, but what
had changed that effected me so greatly that I felt as uneasy as this? But
Martian springs bring a change in the winds that normally effect every one.
I just had this sick feeling that things were going to change soon, and it 
wouldn't be for the better. It would still be months until Minako's birthday.
But the summers were comming on fast. It was getting near the times 
when we would all get together on the Moon for Usa's Birthday. But 
those partys were normally the most drab. All the Lunarian courtiers 
giggling and smilling at the boys who chased after them with the most 
giddy expressions. The entire process made me sick. Why submit 
yourself to that kind of...I'm not even sure what to call it. Anyways, I
dreaded those parties more than anything. At least other places we
didn't have to be so proper, and Usa the ditz wasn't always there, in 
fact she was hardly there. 
	I had been training with the fires for a few hours now
...still nothing. I didn't understand what was keeping me from my 
concetration. I sighed. I guess it was time for me to get away for a 
bit and eat something. I crept down the hall. It was silent...a little too
silent. I wondered what time it was. Normally, even in the latest hours
there was some noise in the castle...but today...there was nothing. 
Luckily, there was a dim light downstairs where the kitchen was...
I could at least sneak a snack or two. The moolight from Deimos was
giving off it's faint light, which was hitting the fountian in the middle of the
front of the castle. The light reflecting off the water was creating errie
shadows in the hall. I jogged past as silently as I could. My stomach
was growling. I ran to the cabinet and searched for one of my
favorite snack foods: pumpkin seeds. What an import those were! 
I rustled around for a while until I finally found them. I smiled. Yummy
strange salty goodness. Who needs chocolate when you have seeds?
It was nice outside, I could tell by the open windows. 
	I took my bag of seeds and walked out side to the front 
stairs. The palace "drive way" so to speak was lined with our famous 
martain flowers. They rustled in the silent breeze. It was pretty,
and warm. I grabbed pumpkin seeds by the handful. I munched
happily and watched the still night time. My thoughts were begining
to drift. I was slowly returning my mind to my current lack of concentration.
Then I felt something behind me. 
	"Hey." I jumped. To this day, I still haven't figured out 
why...I had seen him comming. I turned slightly. It was my little friend...
wait...no it wasn't...I stood up and turned to face the boy. Confused, I 
watched him for a minute. 
	"Um...may I ask what you're doing up so late?" I asked. I 
had to think of something to say to him.
	"I could ask the same of you, my lady." He said. I popped
a few more pumpkin seeds. I gestured the bag towards him. He shook 
his head. I had never seen this boy, yet for some reason, I wasn't 
uneasy of him. "No thanks. We have tons of them back home." He stuffed
his hands in to his pockets. My eyes grew wide. 
	"Really?" I asked. I leaned forward. "Where do you live?" 
It had to be somewhere like Venus or the Moon. He was blonde...I still haven't
found a blonde Martian. I sat back down on the stair and gestured him to sit 
next to me. 
	"I live on the Earth. That's not my natural blood though. I'm pretty 
much a mutt." He had sat next to me and reached for the bag. I pulled it
closer to me. 
	"You said you didn't want any." I said simply. 
	"I changed my mind." I let him have some. He muched on them
and stared out at the path in front of us. "This place sure is pretty." He commented. 
I liked this kid, he had a cute accent. And he was built, not overly, but enough to
be noticable. Almost like Minako's little warrior. He sighed. "Even If I 
don't really live here, this is the one place I feel I can truely call home. I 
don't really know why." 
	"What's your name?" I asked gently. 
	"Jedite." He said in that cute accent. He looked over at me
and smiled. That's when I saw that he had very blue eyes. "You don't 
have to tell me your name. I know who you are, Rei." I blinked. Then I 
looked away. 
	"That's not surprising. A lot of people know who I am." I 
said quietly. I played with the end of my hair. Earlier, I had pulled it 
back into a low ponytail. "It gets almost unbareable sometimes." I said. 
Who was this kid anyways? Where had he come from? Did he really just
'pop in' like that? Questions filled my mind suddenly. My little mystery boy 
had disappeared when I looked back to where he had been sitting. I 
looked around. He was no where in sight! Where could he have possibly 
gone to? I stood up. "Jedite?" I waited. "Are you still here?" There was no
answer. Had I been dreaming? "I'm way too tired." I mumbled to myself. 
After taking on last glace around, I went back inside and returned my 
pumpkin seeds and then I snuck into my room. It was hard being silent.
I'd have to work on that. I doubted I'd get any sleep that night. Not with
images of the pale mysterious Jedite running through my head. 
	Eventually I feel asleep. All through my dreams that night,
his haunting accent and those eyes echoed in my mind. I slept, but 
it was a restless sleep. By the morning, I looked like I hadn't slept for
weeks. It was one of those mornings where you wondered why you
were getting up in the morning. I slipped out of bed and wandered
downstairs for some breakfast. I tripped into the door way of the 
kitchen I was so tired. 
	"Good..." My mother looked at me, a little surprised. 
"...Morning, Rei. Are you alright, dear?" I looked up at her, groggily. 
	"Yes, Mother, I'm fine...just a little tired." I crawled up 
into my chair. I wanted to curl up and sleep on the table.  "What's
for breakfast?" I asked, hoping for something pleasant. My mother
 rubbed my head. 
	"Are you sure you can eat breakfast? You won't fall asleep 
in your food, will you?" She seemed worried. I wasn't normally this tired.
I nodded. "Okay...You can have breakfast...but after that I want you back
in bed. I don't want you getting sick." I would have fought back, but I was
too tired, so I just nodded. "What happened anyways? I haven't seen
you like this since...you started training." She finished after she paused
to think.  I had to answer her question with a question. He was still in my mind.
	"Mother, have you seen a little blonde boy by the name of 
Jedite around here recently?" I asked. Now, I was wondering if she had
known anything about him. My mother looked very confused. She
stared at me again. 
	"Rei...you don't have a fever do you?" I stood up. 
	"You mean, you don't know anything about him?" I watched her.
She shook her head. "You're sure?" I asked one more time. She nodded. 
	"Positive, hun. I'm sorry." She put a hand to my forehead. 
	"I'm not sick!" I was scared. Was I insaine? No...I was sure 
there was someone there! My mind over heated itself. I steadied myself
on the back of my chair. I would have collapsed otherwise. 
	"Rei!" My mother caught me as I started to lose my grip on the
 chair. "That's it...back to bed now...you need your rest!" She said.
My mother half carried me back to my room.  Once I had crawled back
into the soft folds of my bed, she pulled the covers around me and 
kissed my forehead. "Now sleep." She whispered. For some reason, 
after that incident, I slept soundly. 
	I awoke much later, actually felling rested this time. I got dressed
and went downstairs again, or at least tried to. "Hey!" I spun around. 
It was that voice again. He sounded happy to see me...or something. 
I recognized him imedeatedly.
	"It's you." I said quietly. Now, I was really curious. "Are you real?"
I asked as I walked up closer to him. I kept my voice barely above a whisper.
"They think I'm crazy...I got so sick wondering about you..." Why was I telling
this boy all this? I never told people what I was thinking. He looked taken 
aback by my questions. 
	"Yes, I'm real." He looked around then grabbed my wrist. 
I looked at him surprised. He put my hand to his face. In my surprise,
I forgot to admonish him for treating a princess so informally. I wanted
to prove myself. Since he was still holding on to my wrist, I grasped his
and ran downstairs. "Rei? Rei what are you doing?!" He asked, more
scared, the farther we went downstairs. I glanced back at him. He looked
frightened. 
	"Making sure my parents know I'm not crazy." I said as we 
reached the bottom. He tried to pull back, But I had a firm hold on him. 
"Stand up straight." I said, slipping back into my normal self. He tried to 
get away again. But it was too late. "MOM!! DADDY! I NEED TO TALK 
TO YOU!"  I knew she'd hear me...the sound echoed from every point 
in that spot of the castle. I had learned that trick very early as a child. 
	"Rei...I can't...I can't be seen with you!" He said. "I'm not supposed
to be here!" He knew it...but I didn't really care. My parents both
came running. I stood watching them scramble to get to me. I smiled 
angelicly. My mother stopped infront of me breathing heavily and leaning
against my father who looked wary. She looked surprised when she 
saw Jedite. "I can't belive you did that." He mumbled.
	"I told you I wasn't making him up." I said as she looked at
me. My mother came closer. I had dropped his hand, but it was 
pointless for him to run now.  She walked around him slowly. 
	"I've never seen him before..." My father said quietly. 
"Where'd he come from?" My mother was still circling him like a vulture.
He looked uneasy. 
	"He's blonde!" My mother exclaimed. He watched her carefully.
"I'm sorry, Rei...You had a fever..." She said. "Where'd you say you found him?"
She asked, looking directly at me, then she looked at him. "Are you of Tsukino, 
or Aino blood, child?" He shook his head. 
	"Not directly...I'm not really of any straight blood." He said. 
	"I met him last night as I uh...got some fresh air after training..." 
I said. It wasn't a very good cover, but they fell for it. My mother smiled. 
	"Well...where'd you come from?" My father asked again. Jedite
looked down. 
	"The Earth..." He said, quietly. "I'm here on a small training mission." 
Another cover...I thought. I sighed. He looked at me uncomfortably. "Speaking 
of which, I think it would be best if I go back. I'm sorry to inconvience you, your 
majesties." Jedite bowed and then just left like that. I wondered if I would ever
see him again, he had looked anrgy at me, before he left. I looked at my parents
and turned. 
	"I'm going to go read for a while." I said. 

	*Notes From Zellie* 
	Okay, folks here's chapter two of Violet Flame. I guess there
are a lot more Minako fans out there than there are Rei fans, because I haven't heard
a peep out of any of you! Well, anyways, happy reading and hope you enjoyed this 
part. More to come ASAP! ~Zellie (Lil_Venus@hotmail.com)