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



          "It's a cruel, cruel summer. Leaving me here on my own.
           It's a cruel, cruel summer. Now you're gone, you're not the
           only one." -Cruel Summer by: Ace Of Base

	I went for many years without hearing from the strange 
Jedite again. Eventually, I forgot all about him. I didn't mean for it 
to happen, but, it did. As I got older, the parties became bigger, 
and the bigger the party, the better. No longer were they the boring,
long,exhausting parties they used to be. There was a new element
that was introduced in these parties. I don't know if it was surprise
or just the fact that I had become an older girl, but it was still neat.
But then, that particular year would hold many changes for us all. 
          It was the second year of the first Great War. We were
still training as girls bordering on adolescents. A time when
everything would be flipped upside down. But still we had our                                                                                  
fun, even when the outer planets were under attack, which I don't
think was the best thing to do, but I think they continued to throw
them because they wanted to keep us kids occupied. It was 
Minako's first year at the moon palace, and the whole year was 
used as a mourning period for her father. She was very unsettled
for a long time. It was all so alien to her. Sometimes I wonder
what it must have been like. That might have been what changed
her so drastically. 
	There was one particular party that replays in my mind
often. It was actually one on the moon that I had fun at. But it 
wasn't Usa's birthday, which might have been an effect. I was 
thirteen now, one more year until I would be uprooted and
moved to the palace. One last year of freedom. The sun was
shining brightly, it was warm and the gentle breeze was as 
refreshing as the mist from the Sea of Serenity. As usual, 
Minako was sitting by the sea, basking in the beautiful light.
It reflected her the same way she was reflected off it. But this
opportunity was too good to pass up. I began to creep forward,
I had a nice cold cup of ice water in my hands. 
	The Lunarians had thrown a barbecue sort of party. A
day at the beach. It was wonderful. I had on a simple bathing suit
and a sarong over that. My hair was tied back in a low ponytail.
I edged closer to Minako. "Hi Rei!" I jumped, and splashed water
all over Usagi. She screamed. "Rei!!" I was furious, my plans had
been foiled. Minako had turned to look at us. I crushed the cup
in my fist and dragged Usagi away for a minute. Throwing her a
towel, I stood and faced her while trying to calm down. 
	"Thank you, Miss Oblivious." I said finally. She stared at
me, confused.  "That water was not intended for you. I was going
to get Minako with it, she was begging to be-" I stooped short 
as I watched behind Usagi. Endymion had Minako around the
waist and was dragging her to the sea...then...sploosh! "Yes!"
I said loudly. I was so excited I hugged Usagi, who was now 
purely terrified of me. I ditched her and ran down to the water
to help dunk Minako again and high five Mamoru. "Good move!"
He grinned at me. 
	"Actually, I wasn't intending to drop her as hard as I
did." He shrugged, still grinning. That was before Minako snuck
up behind him. I didn't have time to duck. It was a mini tsunami
that hit us both. Now I was sopping wet as well. 
	"Take that!" Minako screeched. She then proceeded
to storm out of the water and wring out her hair, which was
sticking to her all over her body. She picked up her towel, 
wrapped it around her self and walked to the always welcoming
arms of her "sister." Usagi felt her pain. Mamoru wiped the
water from his eyes. I shivered as the wind blew over me. 
	"Wait! That wasn't Usagi?" He said dumbly. It 
was my turn to stare, confused. "I thought...oh...sh..." Mamoru
looked at the two of them again. "Damn! they're so alike!" 
	"Not really." I said simply. "You obviously don't know
either one of them very well, do you?" He looked over at me and 
glared. 
	"It was a valid mistake." His wet hair glinted in the 
sunlight. I really have to admit he was very good looking, 
especially in the sun like that. 
	"You're such a dummy!" I said laughingly as I 
splashed him gently. He grinned. 
	"Am not!" He splashed me back, but harder. 
Then I to him, and back and forth and so on. We had an all out
and out water war by the time we heard a distinctive splash near 
the base of the cliffs. We both looked up suddenly. The cliffs 
weren't very high, but still it was odd to have some one jumping
off of them. I saw a familiar blonde head, but I couldn't place 
exactly who it was. "Looks like fun!" Mamoru said and swam
over to where the other boys were. Soon they were all scrabbling
up the cliff again,only to be back down in a matter of seconds. 
Shaking my head, I walked out of the water and noticed that my
sarong had become soaked. I sighed, frustrated. Then, I untied it
and found my towel, desperately trying to dry off. That's when I felt 
the coldness wash over me. A pure steady stream of pure cold water.
I turned around. What a big mistake! 
	"Turn it up higher!" Minako yelled.  Who ever was
on the other end of the hose complied, willingly. By this time, 
it took both Usagi and Minako to hold the hose, the force of the 
water was so strong. Minako was grinning big time. 
	"You guys it hurts!" I screamed at them. Not only was
the water, cold but it was powerful. I was starting to get angry. 
"Minako! Usagi! If you don't stop I'm going to kill you!" Usagi
saw the look on my face and dropped the hose while running. 
Before Minako could react, she lost her control of the hose, and
we both went flying in opposite directions. I landed with a 
thud on the sand, it stuck to me all over the place. I was so 
sick of being wet and sandy. I stood up and tried to brush 
some of the sand off my hands. 
	"Turn the hose off, turn it off!" Usagi said loudly, then 
ran over to the faucet to do it herself. Minako stood up dripping
and sandy herself. "Aw man...you guys look like the sand monster
or something!" Usagi said laughingly. 
	"Be careful what you wish for." Minako growled. She 
started advancing on Usagi. I followed. We both had reason to 
soak her, now. Minako finally grabbed a hold of Usagi's arm and 
started dragging her. I came up next to Minako. "Grab her feet."
Minako said. I complied and we started to walking towards the 
sea. We soon were in the waves about mid calf high. The sand 
swirled off our legs in floods. "Ewww..." Minako muttered. We 
began to swing Usagi. 
	"Hey! Guys what are you doing?!" She asked. "You 
guys! Minako! REI!" Usagi created some really big splashes. 
I was in stitches. "EEEEEEEEK! It's so cold!" 
	"Oh, it is not!" Minako snapped, and touched my 
shoulder. Leaning in she whispered into my ear. "We're not 
done yet." I stooped laughing and looked at her.
	"What?"
	"Com'on." Minako grabbed Usagi by the waist and 
I grabbed her legs again. "Usagi, you're getting kinda heavy, do 
you think it's the water?" Minako said. She sounded almost cruel. 
	"Ha, ha, Minako." Usagi said as she spit water out. I 
looked up at Minako.
	"Ready. Lead the way!" Minako simply led us on to 
shore and dropped Usagi. I followed. Usagi was now covered 
with sand just as much as we were. Minako grumbled something
about a serious shower, then walked away. I shrugged and 
began to search for my towel. Which I couldn't find, and my 
sarong was with it! "Where's my towel?" I asked. Usagi 
stood up and looked at her sandy backside. 
	"She's so mean sometimes!" 
	"She probably thinks of you as a younger sister." 
I said as I thought I spotted a corner of my towel under some 
sand. "Dang it." I mumbled as I pulled it and my sarong out 
from under a mound of sand. I looked at Usagi. "Got any 
extra towels?" She smirked. 
	"None that I'm going to give you. You were right
along there with her!" 
	"Oh, jeeze, Usagi! It's a towel." I shook mine
out, and noticed, that the sand wasn't coming off it too well. I sighed.
"Fine I'll go ask Ami or Mako-chan or something." I said as I began
to walk away. "I know, I'll ask Minako to get one for me if I can find
her. And I'll make sure it's yours, too." 
	"Rei, wait!" I ignored her. She had ticked me off. I stalked
off carrying my dirty towel and useless sarong behind me. Oh
well, I could just change and stay in my summer dress for the rest
of the day. I had forgotten one major thing: I was still covered in sand.
I had trooped up a few steps when some one stopped me.
	"You do know, that you're covered in sand, right?" I turned
around quickly, wondering who was talking to me with such a 
disdainful tone. It was that same familiar blonde who still 
reminded me of Minako. He gestured to me. I looked down. 
He was right. "I doubt they'll appreciate that."
	"Astute." I said. "But you see I have a major problem. 
This," I said as I pulled out my towel, "Isn't going to help with 
the sand, and if you're going in, I doubt that they'll appreciate you 
dripping all over their nice floors so that someone'll slip on it and 
then there will be lawsuits." The boy did not seem phased. 
	"At least I'm not dirty." I raised my eyebrows and tried to
dust my self off again. I was still outside after all, I might as well try. 
	"It would be wise of you not to say such things." I said, 
standing up straight. 
	"I see." He said. I watched him push back his hair, 
which proceeded to fall back in his face anyways. "I'll have to
remember that in the future. Just trying to help out." He saluted me
and walked, no, sauntered off. I wrinkled my nose. 
	"What a pig." 
	"Who's a pig?" Ami was standing next to me, holding
out a towel and stretching to get mine. I moved it over enough for
her to grab it. "Here." She said. I took the towel, and began dusting
off the sand from my legs. I looked at Ami. 
	"Thanks, I really needed a towel."
	"I know, I know, now tell me. Who's a pig and what'd 
he do to you?" Ami grinned in a cute way.  
	"See that guy?" I asked pointing out the blonde head 
still sauntering to the cliffs. "That's the guy and he's just a..." He 
stopped right in front of Makoto. 
	"Pig-headed jerk, I take it." I nodded. Ami and I watched
to see what he was doing. Makoto turned bright red, then decked
him. I laughed. "Rei!" Ami was trying to quiet me down. I shut up
fast as Makoto started walking our way, Minako a few steps
behind her. She had taken her own swing at him. He looked 
really sorry, rubbing his face like that. 
	"I don't know who that guy is, but next time I see him, 
I'll throw him off the cliff personally!" Makoto was grumbling as 
she walked by. Minako glanced at us, and shrugged. 
	"I wouldn't mind taking off his head, myself, Makoto. 
But..." Minako was trying, I had to give her that. I sighed. 
	"I wonder what he said to her."
	"Probably something along the same lines as he 
said to you." Ami said sensibly. I shook my head. "You had 
better get changed. It's time for lunch. I'll save you something
if you can't get there in time." I nodded again. And went inside 
to change.
	"Thanks, Ames." She gave me a thumbs up and 
I ran to Minako's room to grab my stuff. All our stuff was there, 
and it was all alike. We all had black duffel bags/sacks that 
had different personalized objects and designs on them, but
unless you knew what you were looking for, you wouldn't grab
your own. I sighed. My bag was the one with the tiger lily 
embroidered on one side, and orange and red colors running
stripes down the strap. Of course it was on the very bottom.
I freed it and grabbed my first dress. There was supposed to
be a "ball" later, but first we had to have lunch and "rest" time
to get ready for the "ball." 
	 As I shrugged into the light, violet dress I realized that
 Minako's shower was very inviting, but I knew better and I didn't
have the time. I brushed my hair out and put it back again. It was 
only lunch. Then, the door was opened. Makoto came in and I
dug for my sandals, white and strappy just the way I like them. 
"What did that guy say to you?"  I asked casually. Makoto 
stopped short and looked at me, her freckled face staring at me. 
	"You noticed?" I nodded. "Well..." She said occupying 
herself with her bag. She pulled out a top and a knee-length skirt and
shook the wrinkles free of them. "He made some comments about
me, that's all." I shook my head. 
	"True to life genius he is. The little jerk." I said frustrated. 
"I'm going to teach that boy a lesson for messing with you guys. 
Watch him go after Ami next." I smacked my fist against my other 
palm as I said this.  Makoto looked at me, uncertainty in her eyes. 
	"He has a thing for you Rei." I grimaced.
	"Does not! That's disgusting." 
	"I know what I'm talking about. Mina knows him well. 
He's just showing off. He's after you...but he's not exactly going to
impress you this way....he's impressing others though."  I rubbed
my arms feeling filthy.
	"This is just great. Marvelous in fact. I have to get 
back to Ami...she saving me a spot. See you in a few minutes."
I left Makoto shaking her head and starting to get changed, 
so I closed the door behind me. Poor Minako's room was a 
mess. I hadn't thought to ask Makoto what the boy's name 
was if she knew so much about him. I sighed and headed
out for the tables. Ami waved to me. She was seated next to
Usagi, who didn't look thrilled about being between Minako
and I, even though Ami separated us. That left Makoto on
the other side of Minako -unless someone else took the
seat first. Which was exactly what happened. Just as I sat
down, Mr. Suave himself, Mamoru, sat down next to Minako
and slid his arm around her shoulders. I watched with
guarded interest. 
	"Minako. I've been looking for you." She was 
being silent. Silently suppressing herself, as Usagi and I 
could tell. Then she surprised us.
	"Really?" She turned to him and smiled!  Usagi
glanced at Ami and I, confused. "I hadn't noticed."
	"I wanted to find you and tell you I was sorry for 
earlier. I mistook you for Usagi."
	"What?!" Usagi said as she stared at Mamoru. 
	"It was a mistake, chick." 
	"That was a little out of line, Mamoru." Minako said 
evenly. He had a natural talent for royally making Minako angry. 
She was still in check so far though. 
	"I'll say....how do you manage that....we don't even
look alike!" 
	"Um...yes you do, actually." A few people said at 
once, including Minako.  Usagi looked more than upset. She
sighed and played with a flower until the meal was beginning
to be served. 
	"Anyways. Just wanted to apologize, sweetie."
He kissed her on the cheek. Minako looked sick, but it was
funny. I smiled a little guessing how Minako would react.  
	"Are you trying to make someone angry?" She said as
she slid his arm off from her shoulders. "Don't." She said simply
and awaited the meal like every one else. Mamoru looked away and
grinned to himself.  
	Finally, the meal was served. First up was a salad. It 
was nice and fresh. They even had pita seeds to adorn the 
salad! I love pita seeds almost as much as I like pumpkin 
seeds. They add a nice crisp touch to things. This salad was
no exception. I reached for the bowl of them as it was right in 
front of me, but another hand took it first. 
	"Another Earth specialty?" I looked up to find Jedite, 
but I still hadn't recognized him. I shifted, uneasily. "You like
pumpkin seeds too, don't you?" There was a fuzzy remembrance
stirring in my mind. I nodded. His tone wasn't so arrogant anymore,
but gentler. Minako looked over at us and smiled. I glared at her,
confused. Then Mamoru slid an ice cube down her back. She 
screamed very loudly. "Mam, why'd you do that?" Jedite asked, 
mildly amused. 
	"What is your problem anyway?" She screeched at him.  
She stood up, and shook the back of her skirt out to get rid of the 
cube.  She glared at him and crossed her arms, a sign of 'I mean
business' in Mina-language. 
	"Hey, honey, it's just a joke." She slapped him right 
across the face and left. He sat there, stunned after she had 
stormed off. "I guess she doesn't take jokes very well." He 
muttered to pass off his hurt pride. Jedite looked down at 
me as I sat staring at Mamoru.  
	"You pushed her too far." Ami said leaning behind
Usagi to put her hand on Mamoru's face. She shook her head 
and let her hand slip off his cheek, almost loosing her balance. 
"Don't do stuff like that anymore, she won't even hesitate to hit 
you again." Kunzite sat silently at the end of the table, glaring at
Mamoru. 
	"You want the seeds, don't you?" The boy asked
as I returned my attention back to my salad. 
	"They would be nice." I replied. 
	"Oh." He said and dumped a rather large 
serving on to his salad. "That's nice." He grinned a lop-sided 
boyish grin at me.
	"Just hand them over, funny boy." I said impatiently. 
	"Hmm...crunchy...nice...flavorful." He chewed loudly to 
tick me off more. "Quite tasty." I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh, yeah. 
You wanted some." He looked around. The bowl had disappeared.
"Guess someone else got to them first."
	"You're not one to learn by example." Mamoru grumbled.
"Jedite sit down." 
	"But-"
	"Jedite! Stop angering Rei and sit down!"
	"Look who's talking." Jedite snapped. I speared a 
piece of lettuce violently. Jedite...that name sounded familiar. Yet
I still couldn't place him. "You purposely ticked off...what's-her-face 
just for kicks!"
	"Faith you dolt!" Kunzite supplied from the back of the table. 
Mamoru disregarded that comment. 
	"That's not the issue here. She knows I don't mean it...I hope."
	"Don't count on it." Makoto said, her eyes sparkling to have 
jumped in. 
	"Quiet." Usagi said. Every one turned at looked at her.
"There's food in front of you, just eat it and quit yapping. We're 
all so irritable, at the rate we're going right now, we won't want 
to be anywhere near each other later. Let's just settle on this, alright?" 
We ate in silence for the rest of the meal.  
	  Later on in the lazy afternoon hours, we had all gathered in 
Minako's room. She was nearly dozing off herself as she lay stretched 
along her bed. Ami was on top of the bed reading a book. She was 
always reading. Makoto was sitting on the floor trying to get the snarls 
out of her hair. I was leaning against the wall idly playing with my bag's 
strap. Makoto finally got frustrated with her hair and gave up. 
	"Minako?" She said. Minako looked at her dazed. 
	"Huh?" She barely lifted her head and gazed towards Makoto.
	"Will you help me with my hair?" She handed the brush to 
Minako, who could barely hold on to it, and sat closer to her. Minako 
tried to sit up a little and just flopped back down, and tried to brush
Makoto's hair from there. 
	"Oh, geeze. I'll do it." I said finally as the scene began to 
become pitiful. "Just sleep Minako, please." She nodded and was
soon asleep. 
	"Why do you think she's so tired?" Makoto asked. I shrugged. 
	"I don't really know."
	"Think she's okay?" I nodded.
	"Yeah, she's fine. Just tired." We lapsed into silence then. I 
finally managed to get rid of the snarls in Makoto's hair. Ami
looked up from her book.  
	"Does anyone know what time it is?" Just after she 
had finished, the door had opened quickly and we all jumped.
Usagi stepped in breathlessly.
Minako glared at being awoken so suddenly at Usagi. 
Usagi dropped her shoes on the floor and stepped into one of them.
	"We should get out there soon." She said. The majority of us 
weren't used to these types of parties. Minako sighed.
	"Could ya knock next time?" She sat up and rubbed her
eyes. She was quite mature looking for a girl of fourteen. 
	"Sorry, but..." Usagi lapsed into silence as her mother 
walked into the room.  
	"Girls," she said quietly, "the daylight is waning, and we 
should be on our way soon." We simply looked up at her and nodded. 
"Alright. I'll see you soon, then?" 
	"Yes, Mother." Usagi said. Her mother left and we numbly
jumped into action. I tripped over my bag and landed near Minako's 
closet where I was trying to get to anyways.
	"You okay, Reich?" Minako said leaning over me to 
open her closet. I stood up and stood next to her. She grinned at 
me, halfway, due to her sleepiness.
	"Reich?" Ami asked. We nodded.
	"It's Minako's lazy version of Rei-chan." I said. Minako
pulledout her dress, and passed around everyone else's that
had stowedtheirs in her closet. "Gah…I hate this." I mumbled,
trying to unzip the back of my current dress. Usagi unzipped
it for me. 
	"How much time do we have anyways?" 
	"Not much." Minako adjusted her dress around her
bust andset her necklace just the way she wanted it. Then she
finished of with her hair.
	"Damn." I muttered. I tried to get ready as fast as I could. 
Luckily, it didn't take me long. In general we were all done relatively 
quickly. Then it was time to go. 
	The entire beach was decorated with colored lanterns, and
the soft glow from the Earth lit up the vast sea and it sparkled, a 
small twinkling radiance. I stood on the palace stairs taking it all in. 
It was simply beautiful. Someone stepped up behind me. Thinking it 
was someone I knew, I didn't move. 
	"This place sure is pretty." The voice behind me said. 
	"Yeah, it…" I turned around. I felt a strange type of deja vu 
for some reason. "It's you!" I said suddenly. 
	"Yeah." He looked down. "I'm sorry about earlier. I 
brought you something." He handed me a bag.  I wasn't quite 
sure how to react. I looked down at the bag. It was a bag of 
pumpkin seeds. 
	"Pumpkin seeds?" I asked, confused. "How did 
you…?" He looked up at me again. His eyes were very blue. 
	"Rei, I…" He faltered. 
	"Jedite!" Mamoru was walking up to us. He reached us
and I hid the seeds at my side, still looking curious at him. 
"I thought I told you not to bother Rei."
	"I don't mind." I said to defend him. "He's not bothering 
me." Mamoru looked at me strangely. "And he apologized." 
	"Did you really?" He asked, turning to Mamoru. Jedite
nodded. He looked back at me, and spoke slowly. "Did I walk
 in on the middle of something?" I shook my head. "Alright…"
	"Mam, there's no problem."
	"Okay, fine. I get it. I just don't want my friends to be upset."
	"Oh, please. Go pick on Minako or something." I said.
	"I'm serious."
	"Fine, pick on Usagi then! I'm not stopping you." 
	"You don't get it do you?" Mamoru said suddenly. I stopped
my next thought and looked up at him. "Look, whatever then, Rei." 
Then he walked away from me. I looked over at Jedite.
	"I don't like the way he treats you." I said, slipping up on 
saying what I was thinking. I hadn't realized that I wasn't feeling 
uneasy around Jedite any longer. I felt somewhat comfortable,
actually. 
	"What?" Jedite asked, thrown off. 
	"I said, I think he treats you badly, and he shouldn't." 
	"Well, there's not much I can do about it. And…" He 
trailed off. I looked down at the bag of pumpkin seeds in my hand. 
A very faint memory was stirring in the back of my mind. "I think he
likes you, Rei."
	"Yes, he does." I replied. "As a little sister. We've known
 each other all our lives. Him, Mi…er Faith and I grew up together." 
Jedite turned and looked at me. 
	"What's with that anyways?" I started turning red, 
realizing my mistake. 
	"With what?" 
	"That girl and the different names." I felt I could trust him. 
	"She's a refugee." I said quietly. "She adopted a public 
name so that her father wouldn't find her. Though, I think you'd know
your own daughter anywhere…She doesn't look the same as she used
to. She used to have a lot darker features. But her eyes'll never change." 
I stopped. "Oops, I've just been babbling, sorry." Jedite smiled. 
	"No, it's okay. I like your accent." Things were starting to
bother me, now. 
	"Okay, I can't take it anymore." I said suddenly. "Where do I 
know you from, and how do you know so much about me?" 
Jedite's smile faded.
	"You really don't remember that at all?" He asked,
sounding almost hurt. Then he sighed and started his story. "I met 
you one night. I was with my parents. They were on vacation, but 
we somehow ended up at the palace. They were looking to find a good
way to train me because I had been chosen…and it was close to
the time I was leaving. Two short years. I was incredibly bored, so 
ventured outside. That's where you were. You were sitting on the
front steps. And…"
	"And you sat down and started talking to me!" I said 
excitedly. "Now I remember…" I lapsed into a silence for a minute.
"So you're him?" 
	"Yeah, pretty much." 
	"Then why have you been being so mean to me today?"
	"I haven't. You're just really, really sensitive." 
	"I wasn't in the best of moods when we ran across
each other earlier." I said. It wasn't quite an excuse. "I'm sorry I fought 
with you." 
	"I told you." Makoto said. I turned quickly. 
	"What?" 
	"I told you he liked you." She replied. I turned back to
him to see him blushing. She laughed a little, then continued inside.
	"Where are you going?" I asked her. 
	"It's a surprise." She answered. I was confused. Jedite
looked at me again. I had started to follow Makoto when he grabbed
my arm. I looked at him and he smiled. 
	"We should get to that party." He pulled me down the
stairs, then stopped. "Look," he said, "it's home. I never knew it would
look like this from space." He sighed. "Someday, I'll take you to my
home, Rei." I was almost uncomfortable about that. We continued on 
to the beach. 
	"Well, I've been to Earth before." I said causally. 
	"That wasn't what I was talking about." He replied. I
looked at him almost sharply. He grinned. "Then you can get all 
the pumpkin seeds you want, yourself!" I broke a grin at that. But it
seemed to me, that he was taking this situation farther than he should
for his age. Maybe I was reading too much into it. Then we hit the beach. 
I glanced along the shoreline, looking for people I recognized. Mamoru
was with Minako, and she didn't look happy about it. My smile faded as
I watched her facial expressions. Jedite sighed. 
	"And he tells me that I should back off." he said.  I shook
my head. 
	"He's probably trying to apologize." Usagi walked over to
them, curiosity shining through her features. I wanted to get closer so
I walked down to the water's edge and looked for something in the water. 
Seashells or foot prints, but I couldn't find anything.
	"She sure is pretty." Jedite said from behind me, again.
He knelt down by the tide and reached out. I straightened and 
looked at him.
	"Who?" I asked, curious. 
	"Minako, or Faith or whoever she is." My look softened. 
	"Yeah. She is. She always has been. It's just who she is,
I guess." We turned to look in their direction. "Oh no…here comes
little hero." I mumbled. Jedite laughed. Kunzite has started to walk 
towards them, 
	"Yeah! That's exactly what he is. He's the only one of us,
Mamoru'll listen to, or anything. I think he respects him. Kunzite could
whip anyone." He held up a shiny rock towards me. "This what you were
looking for?" I took it from him and held it in my hand. It was pale and 
refined. The color of the sand, pure white, and it looked as if it had been
polished, with a natural shimmer to it. I looked down at him and nodded,
perplexed that he could find something where I couldn't. He stood up and
brushed his pants off. "Glad you like it." Suddenly, a burst of music filled 
the air. Usagi clapped happily and turned to the crowd that had gathered 
around her. She grinned then walked towards where her mother was walking
up to the stage where the chamber musicians were. There were even a few
girls in the group. 
	"Good evening, everyone." Selene said, a warm affectionate
tone in her voice. "Tonight we celebrate the beginning of the annual 
summer festival!" The crowd clapped, as Usagi beamed. 
	"She looks like a cloud of meringue." Jedite commented 
quietly. I giggled. 
	"Stop!" I whispered, and elbowed him in the ribs. Minako
glanced back at me, curious, then turned back towards the stage. 
	"In honor of this event tonight, we are having a ball, the 
first in my daughter's honor." The crowd clapped again. Jedite looked 
at me an evil glimmer in his eyes. 
	"Whipped cream." I stifled another giggle. "Smooth 
and creamy…fluffy and light." I began to wonder just what he was
talking about. 
	"So, without further adieu, I would like to commence this
evenings festivities!" She clapped and Usagi bowed to the crowd, 
then the both exited the stage and the musicians started up with a fine
dance melody. She walked over towards where Minako, Kunzite and
Mamoru still were. Mamoru extended his hand to her, and she accepted,
maybe a little too eagerly. Then they walked to the floor and joined in.
Jedite laughed quietly. 
	"Cream puff." I laughed too and walked over to Minako and 
Kunzite. He followed. Minako smiled at me. I noticed that Kunzite had
his hands on her protectively. 
	"Having fun, Rei? I heard you laughing." I looked 
down sheepishly. 
	"Um, yeah. Jedite was telling me a funny story." I responded. 
	"Really?" Kunzite raised an eyebrow at Jedite over Minako's
head. "While the queen was speaking?" Minako asked. 
	"He's not used to it." Kunzite supplied for him. "You know,
not in with the courts." He lowered his voice and added, "Peasant."
Jedite stiffened noticeably. His eyes narrowed towards Kunzite. 
	"Kunzite!" Minako snapped at him. "I could say the same for
you!" The boys locked eyes. It didn't seem that they even heard us. 
	"What did you just say?" Jedite asked coldly. "You think you're
hot stuff, don't you?" His voice raised with his temper. 
	"You really want to fight me, Jed?" Minako put a death grip on
Kunzite's wrist. 
	"Stop it!" She bent his wrist backward. 
	"Ow!" He said looking down at her. "Let go, Mia."
	"Don't call me that." She said. "Don't make me get the ice
water out on you." Jedite snickered. 
	"Man, Kunz, you're whipped." I snagged Jedite's arm. 
	"Don't." I said quietly. The stone was still in my hand and
pressed against his arm. "Come on, let's get something to drink." I 
dragged him away from the confrontation. 
	"I could have settled that." He said irritably. 
	"You said yourself that he was stronger than you." I said. 
	"But, I'm smarter than him!" 
	"It doesn't matter. I will not let this party be ruined by the
two of you fighting. And, I won't let the two of you come between 
Minako's and mine friendship. Tone it down." I sighed. Makoto came
trundling up carrying a large covered plate. She grinned and set it on
the table.
	"Having marital troubles?" I looked at her irritated. 
"Okay, okay, never mind." She laughed. 
	"Slow down there, killer." Jedite said. Makoto stopped.
Jedite grinned, a childlike expression on his face. "What's on the plate?"
	"I can't tell you that." She smiled. . Minako had followed us and
turned to Jedite. 
	"Ignore him. He misses his mother."
	"What?" The three of us said at the same time. Minako
seemed to blush. 
	"Um…nevermind." She turned away, then turned back, as
if for an after thought. "Seriously, though. He's more talk than he is bite. 
Personal experiences. Right Rei?" She asked. I looked at her, still confused. 
	"I guess…" I replied. I looked behind her. "Where is 
Mister Wonderful, anyways?" She turned herself. 
	"I suppose he's speaking with Mamoru." She shrugged. Then turned 
to leave again. Makoto followed her and we were left by the table by ourselves.
I watched the musicians for a while. The violinist and the pianist seemed to 
follow Minako with their eyes. I watched them wondering what their fasination
with my friend was. Minako and Makoto were walking towards the shore. 
Jedite poked me. 
	"Hey, you see that girl over?" He gestured into the crowd.
"The one in the jade colored dress?" I nodded. "That's my sister." He said. 
"I don't know how she got here..." He trailed off. Then he grabbed my 
arm and pulled me into the crowd towards the girl. "Cher!" He rushed
towards her. The girl turned to look at towrds the voice. The man who
stood next to her held her hand and looked as well. He seemed quite old.
	"Is that your father?" I asked. 
	"No." Jedite said darkly. "Cher!" He called again and finally 
caught up to her. She stopped, and her features lit up when she saw him.
	"Jed!" She squealed and hugged him. I stood off to the side, 
not feeling comfortable in the crowd, but had to stay there for Jedite. 
"How are you?" She asked. 
	"Fine. Fine, you?"
	"I miss you terribly." She said honestly. The man behind her 
Folded his arms. He didn't look pleased. 
	"I miss you too, Cher." Jedite said sadly. "I have someone I 
want you to meet." He said, and gestured to me. he grabbed my arm
again and pulled me next to him. "This is Rei Hino." I extended my hand.
"Rei, this is Cherilyn." 
	"Nice to meet you." I said politely. She smiled and took my hand.
	"'Tis." She replied. The man behind her touched her shoulder and 
she turned to look at him. Then she looked back at Jedite and hugged him 
once. "I have to go, Jed...I'll write you." He nodded. His jaw was set. I looked
curiously between the trio. Within the next minute they were gone. I 
stood there quietly...not knowing what to do. I didn't know what to say.
I barely knew Jedite, and I surely didn't know anything about his 
personal life. But this was obviously not a good situation. He turned and
walked out of the crowd. I followed,not knowing what else to do. We walked 
until we reached the fountain, then he sat down on the edge. I sat next to him.
	"That was my sister's husband." He said angrily. "I didn't think
that he was this prominent." 
	"Wait, did you say husband?" He nodded. "But she didn't look 
much older than me." I said. 
	"She's not." He replied. "I'm not either. We're twins." 
	"Then how come...?" I didn't know how to finish the 
statement.
	"Our family needed money in order to keep our land.
So we had to marry off Cher." He said.
	"But she can't be any older than fourteen...and you
mean to say?"
	"They had a daughter." He continued. "She was just
an infant, but shedied." 
	"Oh my..." I said, shocked. I didn't really know how to
react. Jedite looked at me. 
	"Welome to reality, princess." The fountain gurgled
behind us,while we sat in silence. 
	"That's not right." I said.
	"No, it's not. But my parents got to keep our land. 
That's why I plan to finish my service at the palace and return
home. So I can help support myfamily and possibly get Cher back." 
Jedite said suddenly. I looked at the ground. The pale stones
glittered dimly in the light. The party continued in front of us. But
we didn't miss it, and it didn't miss us either. I took his hand gently. 
	"If you ever need to talk, you can always talk to me." I said
rather suddenly, myself. I don't know why I was being so bold, but I 
felt almost freer that way. He looked at me and smiled. 
	"Thanks." He said quietly. "Sorry if I disturbed you." I shook
my head. 
	"It's just surprising to realise these things." Jedite stood up.
	"I better get back there and see if Mam's all right. It is my job,
after all." He said. I nodded. 
	"I'm going to stay here for a bit." I said. He did a small wave,
then headed back to the party. I don't recall how long I stayed there in 
the quiet of the night that time. I was shaken by the fact that life wasn't 
always fair. Yet, I had known that  maybe it just struck me hard that night.
I believe there were other things that struck me hard as well. 

*~*~*Notes from Zellie~*~*~

	Well, well. This chapter was certianly a long time comming.
I'm proud to be presenting my second story to Silver Memories, when 
it is updated next, and I hope to hear from you. It's always great to get
feedback, especially when you're unsure of your work. As always, thanks 
for reading my stories. Please contact me at Lil_Venus@hotmail.com.
Chapter four to come out soon!