Chapter 3: Secrets Revealed

~*~ Heart's Storm ~*~
	Ardice watched the man sitting across from her
suspiciously, as if he would dart forth and attack
her any second. He was being unreasonably kind, and
it irritated her to no end. After his strange spell
that morning, when he had froze and become
mysteriously deaf, he had brought her ridiculously
fancy clothing that would have allowed absolutely no
movement on her part. When she had turned her nose up
at it, eyeing him curiously out of the corner of
her sight, the general had bowed and withdrawn-only
to return with more reasonable garments that looked
as though they would fit a woman of her stature
better. Sylvain had wisely abandoned his notions of
her wearing some lady's donated high heels and
presented his sister Calandra's extra pair of hunting
boots, which Ardice took to with great enthusiasm.
	Now, he had brought her a tray of food and
situated her by a window, but her sparkling green
eyes were narrowed as she attempted to stare him down.
Trying to refrain from throwing his hands up in the
air with exasperation, the gen asked, "Exactly _how_
am I going to prove to you that this food is not
poisoned? I've already tasted it, and trust me, I'm
not dying any time soon."
	"Oh, I wouldn't know about _that_. But your good
intentions are going to be questionable to me until
you let me go. Which you had better do very soon, if
you know what's good for you." She smiled dangerously
when he glowered darkly at her. "Why are you keeping
me here, anyway?"
	"There were some very strange occurrences last
night, and you were in the place from which five odd
colors were emanating."
	"I told you, I don't know anything about these
colors of yours. I only saw you and your friends in
the forest, and one of them half-killed me."
	Sylvain's brows slanted downwards alarmingly.
"Marinel healed you, which is quite the opposite."
	She sneered elegantly at him and refused to
answer, staring resolutely away from the once-
steaming food.
	As if following her thoughts, the brown-haired
general sighed and coaxed, "Come now, Lady Ardice.
He didn't mean any harm, and neither do I. Your food
is getting cold, and you need to eat. Would we go
through so much trouble to heal you and then poison
you?"
	"I don't know about you and your friends.
You're very strange," Ardice remarked bluntly, hiding
a gleeful grin at the surprise that spread over his
face. It was actually amusing to outwit him this way.
And they had always said Meriel was the brains of
them all...perhaps she had a few left to spare for
this insufferable man.
~*~		~*~		~*~		~*~		~*~
	Later that day, after she had finally (and
grudgingly) condescended to eat, he watched his
unexpected guest stumble around the gardens with
apprehension and confusion. When Ardice moved
short distances, she seemed wonderfully graceful,
like a butterfly. While they were touring the
gardens, her delight in seeing the plants had
been genuinely charming, but her steps seemed
to suggest that she was unused to walking
somehow. Frowning, Sylvain watched her carefully
as she bent over another flowering bush and
walked on. It was almost as if she seemed dragged
down somehow by a heaviness that didn't belong to
her.
	Turning to him and noticing the odd look on
his face, Ardice blanched slightly and wondered
what she had done wrong this time but merely
commented, "You have lovely gardens here. But
I guess you have gardeners to take care of the
plants?" 'With the increased amount of gravity,
I'm surprised they don't spend most of the time
propping them up with stakes. But then again,
they're Terran bred and born, unlike me.'
	"Well, yes, but it's only because I'm
absolutely hopeless with plants. I don't have a
green thumb, but I enjoy their beauty. Otherwise,
I'd attempt to do it myself, but I think it might
do the poor things more harm then good."
	Looking at him through lowered lashes, she
suddenly asked quietly, "Should I be calling you
something? My lord? Your highness? General
Sylvain? King Sylvain?"
	He winced at each title she threw at him.
Attempting a smile, he inquired, "How about just
Sylvain? Please, call me just plain Sylvain. It
sounds so refreshing after all the fawning from
the other nobles that I get."
	For a brief minute, Ardice looked taken
aback, but she smiled brightly in the next
instance, and he felt his heart skip a beat.
Unfortunately, he ruined the mood by leaning in...

~*~ Avoiding the Inevitable ~*~
	Pyralis cradled his precious burden in his
arms carefully, unsure of exactly how much damage
his ill-fated teleport had done. He cursed his
abysmal landing spot. He was supposed to be
accomplished at teleporting, unlike Roshaun, who
was absolutely hopeless at it and would never
improve, but he had somehow landed on top of the
poor girl, further opening her wounds.
	At least his teleport to the Eastern Palace
had pulled through. Now, all he needed to do was
find a bed and place her in it while he tried to
find Marinel...and fell short. The blond-haired
general felt intense anger when he couldn't reach
his fellow gen and friend. It meant that he was
either healing someone or dead. Pyralis was almost
a hundred percent positive it wasn't the latter,
but with his mind in its current ferment, the
first was almost as bad as the second. The problem
was, Marinel had already healed Ardice the night
before, and he usually needed some time to
recover from that. Then he had been forced to
attempt a blind teleport, because Roshaun was at
the king's palace and Sylvain was busy concealing
Ardice, and if Marinel was expending precious
energy by healing someone _else_, what would he
do if he didn't have enough energy left to heal
this second mysterious woman found? Pyralis,
looking down at her once more, had a feeling that
she too had something to do with those odd,
unexplainable lights in the forest. Everything led
back to the forest and that night, it seemed...
the night the Moon Kingdom had fallen. The night
his beloved father had died.
	All of the current generals' fathers had died in
Metallia's quest to conquer the galaxy. Sylvain's
father had been the first general lost, on Saturn.
The king had not been pleased with the loss.
Marinel's father had died on Mercury, and his
soldiers had revenged themselves upon the Mercurian
royal family so dishonorably that he suspected
even the king was slightly ashamed, and the king
was someone without scruples and considered totally
immoral. Then Pyralis's father had died the night
of the Moon's destruction. Just when victory had
been imminent, an assassin, presumably a soldier
of the Moon Kingdom, had killed Roshaun's father,
commander of the generals.
	Shaking his head at the loss, Pyralis looked
up as a nervous-looking healer was steered towards
him by a maid, who retreated soon afterwards. The
general, mistrusting the apprehensive man who
looked to be around his age or a little older,
watched closely as a pale purple light washed over
her. The color seemed to fit the enigmatic woman,
somehow. The healer drew back abruptly and turned
pale as he tried to give his king the news.
"Your highness, her injuries are extremely
extensive. Her organs are thankfully unharmed by
the extreme heat, but she is delirious and may
have temporary or even permanent amnesia if she
wakes up."
	"If?" His voice was harsh, and Pyralis held
back a sigh of annoyance as the healer flinched.
	"Yes, your highness. Besides the sunstroke
that has burned all of her skin raw, there are
some wounds that look as though they were caused
by swords of some sort. Two are very serious and
infected."
	Rubbing his hands tiredly over his eyes, the
general commanded, "I want you to try everything
in your power to keep her alive, do you understand
me?"
	Twitching in agitation, the man muttered,
"But...your highness...this woman is unknown. His
highness the High King of Earth has certain new
laws about treating some people...and he would
be most displeased to learn..."
	"Do it."
	"He would kill-"
	Pyralis's azure blue eyes glittered
dangerously as he caught the healer's collar and
pulled him forward. He was unused to dealing with
healers besides Marinel, and he found that he had
very little patience for babbling nincompoops
too loyal to Nitesh's uncle for their own good.
"I apologize for expressing the need to enlighten
you in such a manner, but I will have to remind you,
my good man, that I can kill you also, probably
much faster than he can. In fact," he trailed off
slowly, unsheathing his sword and showing it to him,
"I'll do it now if you don't do what I command.
I happen to be a prince as well, in case it slipped
your mind. Perhaps I don't measure high enough for
your standards, but King-General of the East is
nothing to be trifled with."
	The healer cringed away as the sunlight
from the open window glinted off malevolent steel
as hard as Pyralis's eyes at the moment. "Yes,
immediately, my lord-your highness."
	"Good. I'm glad we have an understanding."
He sat back to wait, praying that Marinel would be
finished with whomever needed help sometime soon.
During times of urgent desperation, he knew they
had all (even Marinel himself) considered
restricting the only healer among the four of them
to healing only when they were certain he could,
but Pyralis knew as well as Marinel did that such
a thing would be a waste of a gift to use it only
for his fellow generals.
	But there was just something about this
woman that evoked long-dormant emotions in the
Eastern King. She lay there, seemingly helpless but
still vibrant with life, long dark hair spilling
over the whiteness of the sheets. Even with her skin
burned and chapped by wind and sun, she was startlingly,
exotically beautiful-unlike any other woman he had ever
seen, and Pyralis had been a longtime admirer of women.
She was different, and he could feel it. If only she
could stay alive...

~*~ Prince of Ice ~*~
	Marinel entered the woman's inner psyche, slightly
phased by how familiar yet unfamiliar it all seemed.
Her mind was all dazzling shades of every color blue
imaginable, and surprisingly, nothing clashed. There
were also soft darts of silver everywhere. His own aura
was the same but with patterned colors of green and
gold instead of blue and silver. Ardice's, he remembered,
had been similar to this woman's in its patterning of blue
and silver but with bright greens instead of blues.
	He frowned slightly as he felt her injuries first
hand, a burden healers had to take upon themselves. She
seemed to be remarkably resilient so far to the effect of
extreme coldness on her body, but her lungs were horribly
weakened. There were quite a few cuts that looked as
though they had been made by steel weapons, and that
concerned him.
	What odd women he had met recently...first Ardice,
now her. Physically, he had never seen a woman to
parallel her beauty. Her dark ebony hair seemed to have
naturally blue highlights that somehow seemed fitting
for her. The general had never seen her eyes, but he
suspected they would be the same deep shade of sapphire.
	He scowled even more darkly at his moody
romanticism. 'Concentrate, Marinel. You cannot afford to
let anything get to you. Think of Nitesh, the throne, the...
everything. Your father.' He sneered at the last thought.
	Suddenly, a strange, crystalline voice and sparkling
blue filled his mind. Marinel was shocked, for he had never
been bonded to any woman before. 'Please...prince of ice,
will you save me?'
	'I can only try. Is life worth living to you? How
much?'
	'I ask to live...for there is someone else I live
for. You do as well, do you not? I don't ask for myself.
But I need to stay alive a little while longer to protect
someone I love.'
	He felt an insane wave of jealousy and blinked at
it. It seemed that she was still full of surprises for him.
Trying to sound soothing, something that had never been
found in his nature, he replied, 'Then I will try to heal
you, my lady. What is your name?'
	'I am...Meriel. Tell me your name, prince of ice.
Please.'
	Marinel was shocked once more that he felt no
resentment at a request from her. Normally, he would have
taken orders from no one but Roshaun, Nitesh, or the
King of the Earth. 'Marinel.'
	'We are one and the same, then. But different.'
	Suddenly, he inquired curiously, 'Do you trust me?'
	'Yes.'
	'Why? Why so suddenly?'
	'Not all healers are to be trusted...nor are Terran
Generals...nor the Four Kings...but you are distinguished
beyond those three forms, prince of ice.'
	'Why do you call me that?' Marinel asked, having
finished driving out the chance of infection from her
sword wounds and turning to the state of her lungs,
'prince of ice?'
	Meriel seemed to laugh softly in his mind. It was
quiet rather than mocking, as if inviting him to share
what had amused her so. 'You may be a king, but you are
unused to it. As for the ice...why not? Your nature seems
to be corresponding if not similar.'
~*~		~*~		~*~		~*~		~*~
	He had just finished his tiring task of healing her
and was watching her sleep peacefully. The expression on
Meriel's face seemed to be serene and calm, but there was
a tight seriousness to her mouth and around her tightly-
shut eyes that seemed to betray their owner. Marinel drew
his fingers back from her pale cheek abruptly, furious
with himself. He had only seen this woman for a few short
hours, if even one. She had made him lose track of the
time and control of all his emotions. She had broken down
all the protective barriers he had built around himself
over time without meaning to, and they hadn't even been
properly introduced. But miraculously, she was alive.
Marinel was not quite clear on the question of whether
or not it was beneficial or detrimental.
	'Marinel!!! Finally!'
	He winced and fell back into his chair. 'Pyralis?
Damn it, that hurt! What in all hells happened?'
	'I've been trying to reach you forever. There's a
woman here-with sunstroke-'
	'Gods, not another one.'
	'You found a woman with sunstroke, too?'
	'More like one that's been half-frozen. But never
mind.'
	'That idiot of a healer who's been your substitute
for the past half-hour is absolutely useless. Not to mention
a spy for the king.'
	The green-eyed general managed to sit up straight in
his seat. 'What?! You got a spy of the king to tend to this
strange woman? You idiot! You're as much of an ass as he
is!' It had only been a half-hour...how baffling...normally,
it took much longer than that to heal someone. It was
almost as if _she_ had made it easier in some way.
	'Shut up, Marinel. You aren't helping. Please, will
you come or not?'
	'Of course. You know the answer, Pyralis. But I'm
going to need your help for this one. And you're coming here.
Can you manage it?'
	'Yes, but I can't-'
	Out of patience, Marinel snapped, 'I _know_ you can't
heal. You've only told me a dozen times. I just need you to
channel energy. Surely you can do that without written
instructions, can't you?'
	Ignoring the barb, he replied, 'Marinel...thank you.'
	'Ass. Again. Did you think that I would turn my back
on you?'
	'Never a minute!'
~*~		~*~		~*~		~*~		~*~
	"My lord, who-?"
	Trying to refrain from losing his temper after
teleporting into a chamber full of surprised maids, the
Western King managed to hold back an impatient growl. "My
cousin," he replied shortly, "the Lady Meriel. See that
she is made comfortable and prepare two rooms for King
Pyralis, who is bring a-a lady friend." It was not unusual,
and he had already used the excuse of "cousin" for
himself. He was also unsure of whether Pyralis had any
surviving relatives or not, but he definitely knew that
his friend possessed no siblings.
	"At once, your highness."
	Waiting for Pyralis to arrive, Marinel sat down
tiredly and rubbed his aching eyes. He had no idea what
had made him to disguise Meriel as his cousin, but for now,
the guise worked perfectly. Unfortunately, she looked
nothing like him, but he remembered his real cousin faintly.
She too had possessed dark hair. His uncle and aunt
were deceased, killed in an uprising of the common people.
His cousin had been presumed dead as well, but no one had
been able to recover her body as of yet. Marinel figured
that no one ever would, and if she was alive and wanted
to find him, she would have done so already and could do
it at any time. He wasn't exactly a conspicuous figure
with the public, but the newest King-Generals had become
very well-known. The last time he had seen his cousin
was at least twenty years ago. He would merely have to
say that Meriel (no one quite recalled her name, either)
had been searching for him but had accidentally
teleported to the North and nearly died. His family's
line held power as all the five royal bloodlines of
Terra did, and this woman certainly possessed power.
	Suddenly, the blond-haired general stopped his
pacing on the dark carpet. Why exactly was he doing this
for her, protecting her and disguising her true
identity (whatever it was) instead of turning her over
to the king? Marinel had no understandable answer but
the one his heart gave him, and he could not decipher
its complex code yet. It was a mystery he had closed
himself off to so long before.

~*~ Falling in Love With Love ~*~
	Nitesh, who had teleported with Roshaun, was
helping Annamika up. Meanwhile, Kiora (assured that
her princess was safe-at least from the quicksand-
for the minute) bit her lip in her provocative position
in his arms. It couldn't be him, her mind raced. It
just _couldn't_. Both she and Roshaun were taken back to
a time nearly thirteen years ago...

~flashback~
	"Father, I don't want to meet this girl....girls
are _boring_ and they're always giggling. And dumb. And-
and girly."
	"Listen to me, Kunz. She is the Princess of Venus,
and the King of Earth is considering a match between the
two of you, a type of alliance for the future." As the
Northern King and General looked down at his young son,
into smoky gray eyes he had given him from the gene pool,
he continued, "I would _never_ allow you to marry a
Venusian, let alone any other maiden not from Earth. All
you have to do is behave for this short meeting. I won't
promise anything, and once the political struggles are over,
it'll be easy enough to break off an engagement."
	Tilting his head upwards, the young Roshaun inquired,
"But Father, are Venusians evil? They look just like
Terrans, at least on the outside. They look human. I don't
understand."
	He sighed in consternation. "The Venusian people are
different than us. Just do as I say, and one day, when
you are grown and general in my place, you will see what
I mean."
	Roshaun had merely nodded obediently as they walked
down the red carpeting to the thrones of the King and
Queen of Venus. As they bowed formally, although not too
deeply, for they were also a King and Prince, the
Northern General exchanged polite pleasantries and
greetings from his king while the silver-haired boy watched
the rulers seriously.
	The King of Venus was a smiling, well-built man with
dark blond hair and engaging sapphire blue eyes. His queen
was a dazzling entity, prettier than any woman Roshaun had
ever seen. Her hair was lighter than her husband's, almost
as platinum-blond as his own, and her sparkling, robin's
egg blue eyes were filled with life and friendliness.
Then his gaze drifted to the opening doors as the trumpeter
announced the errant princess. She promised to be just as
beautiful as her mother, and it seemed that her parents'
wonderful features had met in the middle with perfect
equilibrium in the child.
	The Princess of Venus had pure, golden-blond hair and
cornflower blue eyes as vivacious as her mother's. Although
she was only a child, there was something so charming about
the way she almost skipped to the throne of her parents, her
walk just a tad faster than the sedate pace that was
normally required. As she curtsied enchantingly, with an
endearing smile on her face, Roshaun thought he saw his own
father smile back for a brief instant before leaning down to
kiss her hand. When he motioned for his son to do the same,
straightening proudly with hard eyes once more and a
frozen expression, the silver-haired boy performed his
service dutifully. He felt nothing when he kissed the little
palm extended to him, but when his gray eyes met her blue
ones, the world seemed to explode all at once.
	From Kiora's point of view, things were different.
She saw a scowling, ill-tempered man with malicious intent
towards her parents. Even at that young and precocious
age, she knew resentment and prejudice towards her people.
Still, he had smiled, and she had been delighted to see
the distrust melt from his eyes. Unfortunately, it had
soon returned. Then the boy, presumably his son and the
Prince of the North (as well as whom they wanted to become
her betrothed), had bowed rather stiffly, and Kiora had
been unsure of what to make of him until he raised his
hand and peered at her curiously through thick silver
bangs. In that moment, when her eyes met his, she felt
something strange pulling at her.
	When her guardian, Artemis, nudged her gently,
she let her recitations flow out of her mouth, but her
eyes never left his. Kiora had no memory of exactly what
she had said, but it must have been right, for her mother
had instructed her to show Roshaun around the palace.
Once in the empty, echoing hallways, she turned to him
curiously and asked, "Who are you?"
	He blinked twice at her in incomprehension. "I'm
the Prince of the North and the son of my father, who is
King-General. But you knew that."
	"Yes. And I am Princess of Venus, daughter of its
monarchs. But your position should not define who you are,"
she stated in a reprimanding tone. When he still looked
at her in bemusement, Kiora inquired, "May I ask you a
question? This is the Hall of the Chamberlains, and that
corridor leads to the staterooms."
	"Yes. Thank you."
	"It's rumored that your father doesn't like Venusians.
Is that true?"
	"Yes."
	"Then why is he here?"
	Roshaun sighed and put his hands deep in his pockets,
a habit his father the King had been trying to break him of.
"Haven't your parents already introduced the idea of a
marriage-of-the-state to you?"
	"Yes. So what?"
	"Well, that's the reason. The King of Earth ordered
him to, and as one of his generals, he is bound to obey
whether he likes it or not."
	The golden-haired princess led him out of the palace
into a sunny garden. "The King-Generals are interesting
people. I suppose you'll be one, as well?" When he nodded,
wondering whether she had meant he would be a King-General
or an interesting person, she tilted her head slightly
and asked, "Why?"
	He frowned. "Because all of my forefathers have been
the King-Generals of the North."
	"And you follow in their footsteps no matter what?"
	"Isn't it the same for you being a princess?" Roshaun
retorted, feeling impatience bite at him, despite the fact
that he reveled in being out in the fresh air and the open
space. Walls felt like stifling enemies built for the sole
purpose of imprisoning him. "You're born to be the Princess-
and then the Queen-of Venus and to protect the Moon Princess.
It's exactly the same."
	Kiora wrinkled her nose at him, a smile spreading over
her face. "No, it's not. It's different our way. I chose to
serve the Moon Princess, because she's my friend. I wouldn't
swear the oath if I didn't like her."
	 "You would have to. They'd make you."
	Her bright blue eyes laughed at him. "They could try.
I'll do what I like. I always do what I like."
	"You're nothing but a spoiled little princess," he
remarked in surprise.
	Taken a back, the younger girl stared at him in surprise
before sticking her tongue out at him in a most unladylike
fashion and retorting, "And you're the son of the Northern
King who is destined to make war on me and mine!"
	Roshaun was once again shocked by the imp of a princess,
neglecting to notice the dark scowl of a lean, silver-haired
man in the shadows. "What do you mean?" he demanded.
	The tears began to fall unexpectedly down her face as
she told him, "The prophecy says that the King-Generals of
Earth will ally themselves with evil and take over the Moon
Kingdom and all the other kingdoms of the planets. It's
written that Venus will fall. Your father will lead those
charges, because he's Head General. Maybe you'll do it
with him."
	"I would never do anything like that. My father..."
He hesitated.
	"Your father would," Kiora sniffled, "and no one
would stop him."
	"I would. I promise you that it won't happen."
	She stared at him in disbelief and asked, "You
expect me to trust you?"
	"Well, why not?"
	"You haven't done anything to earn my faith."
	He sighed at her difficulty. "Fine," he said,
holding out his hand, "my name is Kunz. It's short
for Kunzite." When she looked at him, uncomprehending,
he explained, "It's a stone."
	Kiora smiled suddenly and wiped away her tears.
"I'm Mina. So you really promise me that Venus won't
be overtaken? That you'll do everything you can to
prevent it?"
	"Yes."
	"Then say it," she commanded imperiously.
	Bowing, he said, "I swear, Princess Mina, that
it won't happen, and that I'll make sure it doesn't.
Venus will be safe."
~end flashback~

	Roshaun and his father had left Venus shortly
afterwards after signing a document that declared them
betrothed. Kiora and Roshaun had told no one that they
had shared their actual names with each other. Of course,
at the time, Kiora had never dreamed that she would go
by any other name besides her real one except as the
Princess of Venus, had never even known that the name
Kiora existed, and Kunzite had not yet known what his
public name would be.
	Eyes flashing, Kiora twisted out of the general's
grip. He was still caught up in reminisce, and she
slipped out of his grasp quite easily. She seemed to move
at the speed of light, at least to Roshaun, Nitesh, and
Annamika. The disguised princess could only give an
affronted and startled squawk as the woman who had been
best friend, chief confidant, and loyal guardian
reached over and plucked the gleaming crystal out of her
cupped palms. Silver, gold, red, green, and blue still
shone brightly, twinkling reassuringly at Kiora. She
didn't even bother giving Roshaun or Nitesh a backwards
look as she closed her eyes and gripped the Silver
Crystal tightly in her own hands. More gold poured in to
fill the crystal until it was too bright to look at,
and Kiora reached out to wrap Annamika's hands around
hers. When the light had faded, as well as the spots
from their eyes, the two Terrans were let with only the
assurance of their memory that the two women had ever
been there.
	Rubbing his eyes, the dark-haired prince turned to
his friend and asked in bewilderment, "Who was that,
Kunz? You looked as though you knew each other...and that
crystal! It almost blinded us."
	Roshaun closed his gaping mouth quickly, and his
expression became one of deep foreboding. "We did. Know
each other, I mean. She's the Princess of Venus."
	Shocked, Nitesh stammered, "But-but...how did you
meet a Venusian? And the princess, of all people!"
	Shortly, quietly, the silver-haired one replied,
"We were engaged. Well, betrothed at the very least. I
made her a promise a very long time ago, when we were both
mere children, that I would do anything in my power to
prevent Earth taking over the Solar System." His fists
clenched as he remembered his father's ugly prejudice
and the look of anguish on a young Kiora's face when
she had told him of the prophecy and how she feared
Terrans. He was surprised when he compared that
precocious, beautiful child to that exquisite woman who
had been in his arms just a few seconds ago.
	His companion inquired softly, "What are you going
to do about her now?"
	"What?" Roshaun was jolted out of more memoirs.
Pausing to think over the question rapidly, he fixed
Nitesh with piercing gray eyes. "Darien, I want you to
give me your word that you won't tell the king about
her-them."
	"My uncle? Of course, if you don't want me to, but
Kunz...who were they? Well, the other girl with her."
	"Think hard. It isn't that difficult. Who do you
know in this world that is still alive and possesses
something like that? Who travels with the Princess of
Venus as her sole protector at the moment?"
	"The Moon Princess," Nitesh breathed. Warned by the
unapproachable look on the gen's face, he said hurriedly,
"I won't say anything. But what are you going to do?"
	"Do?" he repeated slowly, as if it were an idea
completely new to him. "I'm going to go after her, of
course. But remember: not a word to your uncle. Understand?"
	"Completely. Well, actually, I'm still a bit foggy
on the minute details, but what I mean is, I won't tell
the king." Suddenly, a new thought occurred to him.
"Kunzite, if someone finds out that you're withholding
information and about your great scheme, whatever it is-
at least after you've found her, you'll be killed!
Especially because it involves the Moon Princess! Hung,
or thrown in the dungeons at the very least! Imagine the
shame of being court-martialed."
	Coolly, Roshaun replied, "Well, it's a chance I'll
just have to take. I have my honor, and your promise of
secrecy. Besides, if a court-martial comes about as a
result of this fiasco, I'll feel no shame at all. Now,
let's teleport. Will you do the honors, or shall I?"
~*~		~*~		~*~		~*~		~*~

AN: Below are...my very late replies to your wonderful reviews...
I can't thank you enough, but I'll try now: thank you, thank you, 
thank you, thank you, thank you!! ^^ I really appreciate it, and I 
love hearing from you all. Now, however, I finally get to catch up a 
bit and explain a few things ^^
To Monoxide Child: Thanks for the compliments on the imagery in 
Chapter 1!! I like the names too. I also hope they're becoming easier 
for everyone to remember and go along with.

To Emerald Princess: Thanks to you, too! ^^ I mostly keep the gen/senshi 
paired up, although I am contemplating a very strange story where they 
won't be in the usual pairings...but that's the only one, I believe. I 
prefer to have them in the accepted pairings, too. I'll try to devote 
much attention to Kiora and Sylvain equally, although I do admit (rather 
guiltily) that I spend too little time on the latter. I'm glad the 
storyline's original (phew *sigh of relief*) too ^^. Otherwise, I'd be 
in some hot water with another author. Hope you keep reading ^^.

To Ibora: Yep, Kiora and Roshaun were betrothed, and his father didn't 
even break it off, luckily for them. Roshaun will have to earn her 
trust again...and I have the plan how. ^^ You'll have found out in 
Chapter 5...hopefully it works? It was hard for me to come up with some way for the poor guy to make his way back into her good graces. But it's still very illogical, and I need help figuring out a plan. --; Perhaps when my editor returns from Mexico!

To Diane: Wow, so many reviews in a row! ^^;; And so much content. Thank you so much! Let's see...yes, Ardice has made her sacrifice. She's not too badly off though, is she? A wonderful hint to drop now, though. The idea of sacrifice should be a main and recurring, as well as an extremely unsubtle theme. Well, Ardice has already been through the process. Guess who's up next? ^.~
	No, the generals aren't cold or evil. Here's my perspective on things. Oh no, wait. They are a bit cold. ^^;; Sorry about that! So onto perspectives...I'm trying to portray the gals as brave but young women. They're still a bit naive, still want to fall in love, but they're beginning to lose innocence and become disillusioned. It began when Earth took over the Solar System and destroyed the Moon Kingdom. However, they aren't senshi, and while they've been trained to protect Annamika, they haven't really met anything that's tested them. However, on the political aspect, most of their teaching has been centered on that.
	The guys, on the other hand, are intelligent and honorable. I couldn't have it any other way, having made the girls all nice and young, because I don't think I write evil people very well. However, Caelum will test that. Anyway ^^;; getting a bit off track, sorry...they've sort of been shoved into their positions a little too early, but they're doing their best to cope. They're good leaders and rulers, but they're still young men. They don't like the king, but they agree to serve him for Nitesh/Darien's sake, because they do love him. Also, none of them have actually taken any part in the storming of the Solar System thing, which is a good point in their favor. I felt they had enough to deal with concerning the gals without having all the guilt on their shoulders about killing everybody. Oops...I'm getting a bit long-winded here.
	I do feel exceptionally bad for Kiora and Roshaun, but at least they get the most action and the most complex plot. I guess Kunz didn't really have much of a choice concerning the whole alliance-with-Metallia thing, but he'll have to remedy breaking his word. Trust me, he's got his work cut out for him, and he's going to be verbally abused by both Mina and the king. ^^ How's that for punishment? Or do you think he needs a bit more from his generals? Unfortunately, I don't think Roshaun had any chance to save Kiora or her parents. For one thing, he wasn't there at the time, and for another, although he was a prince, only the King-Generals and the King of Earth could have done that. Of course, I doubt Metallia would have agreed...but I don't think even Darien could have done anything. Hm. I just realized that I don't have Darien in the story much ^^;;. I'll have to fix that, too.
	I feel bad for Kiora, too. She's stuck with Annamika, who's trying to be brave and really attempting to do her best, but she's even worse than Kiora on the worldly level. I think out of all the gals, Kiora has the advantage, because she's got leadership skills, and she understands human nature very well. She's also mature and very much in control, but she's still young.
	On Pyralis and Isadora. They're wonderful! They fight, they make up, they fight again. I'm of the opinion that they just need to fight. Pyralis enjoys getting riled up, as will be seen in Chapter 4, and he'll rarely get extremely angry. But when he does, even Isadora will be intimidated. But if it's just a normal little spat, Isadora will have released her frustrations and be ready to face the world a little more serene and a little more understanding. What a good effect he has! ^^ Or maybe she's just tired. What do you guys think? Unfortunately...they haven't got a smooth path either ^^;;. Let me think...I guess the pair that has the roughest past is most easily identifiable as Kiora and Roshaun. However, the other three seem to suffer a bit less but still a lot. ^^;; So far, it looks like Ardice and Sylvain are doing well and they're even starting a relationship..but Chapter 6 is where all the trouble begins brewing. Meriel and Marinel are a bit weird. He's standoffish, cold, and basically just wants to interrogate her and then get her off his hands (or maybe not, now?), and she's determined to get on his good side and find out about the queen the crafty way. Actually, come to think of it, Isadora and Pyralis will have it all right until we're nearing the end, and Isadora is basically on her own for a bit...but I can't say anymore. ^^;;
	That's a very interesting idea, having Nitesh dismiss Roshaun. I need to do a bit of deep thinking on that, now! ^^ Thanks! I'm perfectly all right with the complaints on the whole Roshaun-Kiora-Annamika-Nitesh tangle, and I've been trying to come up with a way to make it a bit more logical. Hopefully Chapters 3 and 4 have set the gears in a better path than before. Out of all the King-Generals, I'd say Roshaun's not that horrible. I'd be betting on Marinel as the worst, maybe, but I guess Pyralis and Sylvain have been pretty nice.
	Well, more romance for Ardice in the next chapter ^^. I can give you my word that Sylvain will not betray her...at least, I think he won't ^^;;. Nope, the other King-Generals aren't as perceptive. But Sylvain is also the youngest (for once), and where that comes into account, I have no clue. Marinel absolutely refuses to be perceptive, although you'd figure he should be, being a healer and all. But it's all part of that-because he's a healer and often subjected to other people's emotions, he has to be careful about how much of himself he gives away.  Pyralis seems all easy-going and open, and of course he's a bit sensitive, but he also wears a mask to protect himself. Roshaun, on the other hand, doesn't need a mask. He's naturally prone to few words. ^^;;

Thank you for all the comments!!!!! Please keep reviewing, everyone. I really appreciate it. And thanks so much!
	~Ice