The silence. It was long and uncomfortable... Unbearable. Uneasily, General Jadeite twitched in his seat as he nervously glanced at the Princess Mars. She was still, unmoving as she quietly scanned the countryside with her eyes. Seeing that there was nothing he could do about his companion's passiveness, he leaned back on the hardness of the marble armchair in surrender and joined her in silence as well.

He stared at the lovely raven-haired maiden in front of him. Despite the mild pallor that could be seen in her expression, her face radiated the same appeal it had when he had first seen her at the ball. The purple depth of her eyes, the slender body, the alabaster skin, the red of her full lips, the gleaming violet highlights of her long tresses… all of these were still right in front of him. Yet he felt miserable.

It had been ten minutes since he had come over to the Palace balcony to see her. He buried his head in one of his hands as he remembered his spoiled entrance, his foiled introduction to the seemingly untouchable Princess. Damn. Was I too forward with her? Or trying too hard to be funny? He shook his head in disgust at himself as he lazily slouched on the chair, wallowing in self-hate at that particular moment.

"Um, General… Jadeite? Is there something wrong with you?"

Upon hearing the Princess Mars' voice, the general shot up with a start. "Yes, my Princess?" he asked, quickly and hesitantly replacing his weary expression with that of polite attentiveness as he scrambled to sit up properly. Princess Mars looked at him quizzically, a faint smile breaking through the somber mien on her face. "Is everything alright?"

Flustered and horrified for the second time, Jadeite scrambled to answer. "Wh-why yes, my Princess; everything's just fine," he stuttered, pretending to put his hand to his forehead for a moment to hide the pitiful look of desperation in his eyes. First I come on too strong… Then I slouch in front of the Princess… Is this really the great General Jadeite of Prince Endymion?

The Princess Mars looked pleasantly relieved at hearing this, smiling as she watched him recover his composure. "Thank goodness. I thought you had dozed off to sleep," she told him, an apologetic expression on her pretty face. "I'm sorry if I had suddenly fallen silent. I had suddenly thought of something at the moment." She paused to pour Jadeite a glass of cold juice as a sign of hospitality. She handed him the tall glass and he took it in his hand, immersing himself thoughtfully in the yellow liquid, still thinking of what to say.

As he sunk himself deep into thought, the Princess looked at him tentatively. He seems to be so depressed, she thought to herself. Was it my fault? Did I brush him off too abruptly when he came up behind me a while ago? I didn't really mean to…

She guiltily asked herself those questions as she gazed at her companion from head to toe. General Jadeite was certainly good-looking enough, she decided as she observed his countenance, still respectable even in the deepest depression or the most vulgar of seating positions, as she smilingly recalled. The bright gold of his hair shone in the light of the morning sun, and under it, strong eyebrows knitted amusingly over distressed blue eyes. Unlike the other generals, his hair was cropped and did not go beyond the shoulders, making him seem taller and his shoulders broader.

Suddenly, a shock came over her as the shadows of her nightmare woman came flying back to her mind. That woman, the one with the four shadows. Flowing hair, with the shadowed form of four men. Laughing. Laughing louder. Laughing deafeningly as the shadows grew longer and longer…

Violently yanked back into reality, she put her hand to her sweating forehead, gasping softly. I need to go somewhere I could meditate, thought she hesitantly as she looked at General Jadeite, who was oblivious to her terror. Her voice caught in her throat, she stood up quietly, put her hand on Jadeite's shoulder in acknowledgement and walked out of the balcony into the Palace.

Jadeite looked up, confused, then looked down, desolate.

Quietly and leisurely, the Princess Mercury walked out of the library, carrying worn, leather-bound volumes in her arm. As she turned to close the two heavy doors, a masculine-looking hand grabbed hold of hers and the knob as she had reached in to pull it. "Let me, Princess."

She let out a soft gasp of surprise as she withdrew her hand and leaned back to look at who it was. "General Zoicite!" A furious blush came over her as she stood back to let him pull the massive wooden doors to a close.

Well, Ami-chan, when you're in love, you feel sort of mixed up... The Princess Venus' playful statement during breakfast the other day echoed in her brain. "I mean… Zoicite. It is quite a coincidence you are here!" she hurried to tell him more calmly as he finished locking the door, tightly hugging the heavy book to her bosom.

The heavy doors clicked loudly as they met each other. Turning around, General Zoicite smiled good-naturedly as he promptly took the books from her arms. Princess Mercury, though somewhat flustered, tried to flash a weak smile when he offered his arm for her to take. As they walked together through the darkened corridors of the Palace, Mercury looked away in alarm as she recalled giving him an unnecessary kiss on his forehead on the day he went up her balcony. Feelings of shame and regret at her uncharacteristic impulsiveness flooded her wildly beating chest, and she beseeched the cold marble floor for counsel. Beside her, Zoicite was eyeing the deepening blush on her cheek in a sidelong glance.

"Good morning, Princess… Ami," he greeted self-consciously. He had learned that he had to make the first move with her on the night of the ball. However, he still felt like a fool for going up to her balcony on that same night.

Why does all the embarrassment and guilt always haunt you on the day after? Had I known-had I known that it would be this awkward… He stared down momentarily at the point where the Princess Mercury's soft hands clutched at his arm, and looked up at the sight of his trembling, sweaty palm.

"Good morning, Zoicite." She turned her head up to her blonde consort. She smiled faintly, and promptly set her head to the direction of the floor again. She could feel her cheeks and their warmth as she blushed furiously, her recollections travelling back to Jupiter and Venus' early morning banter of two days past.

They walked on for a few meters, their collective footsteps the only sound in the massive Palace corridors. Both were deep in thought, but were varied in expression of face. In the periodic light of the Palace windows, it could be seen that the Princess was wearing a look of uneasiness, whilst the General's face was expressionless, except for slightly meeting eyebrows.

Feeling that the silence would go on forever if he permitted it, Zoicite spoke again. "Ami… I would like to apologize for coming up to your balcony three days ago. I think I had a little too much wine, then."

The Princess forgot her discomfort and turned to tell him, "But you already apologized, Zoicite-san," smiling in amusement. But she held back, especially conscious of her lack of politeness and whispered, "Ah, gomenasai." Zoicite abruptly turned his head sideways in embarrassment and frustration, as Mercury bit her lip in regret.

Again silence continued. They walked wordlessly, arm in arm, through the echoing halls. The doors to the gardens stood not too far ahead. Poor Zoicite, through with cursing himself for his wrong move, hopefully looked to his surroundings for inspiration. The paintings. The windows. The marble floor. The books in his arms.

He looked down at the worn leather cover of the topmost book in the pile he was carrying. A pleasantly surprised look lit his face as he casually murmured, "Ah… 'The Legend of Illusion Lake'!"

His blue-haired companion looked up suddenly, her face lit with the same pleasure and surprise. "Are you familiar with that book, Zoicite-kun?" she inquired with a sudden enthusiasm that relieved the nervous general immensely. "Have you read it already?"

He nodded and smiled warmly as he saw that the Princess was also smiling radiantly, this time with an eager light in her cerulean eyes. "Yes," he replied, sensing an opportunity for a conversation. "In fact, it's one of my favorites…"