The soft light of the lamp bathed the rose garden with its mellow light. From a distance, the lively sound of merrymaking could be heard, while a silent, lone figure lay down on the grass in the rose garden, among the shadows of the trees and the bushes.

Zoicite lay on the cool green grass, his arms both tucked behind his head, the dark expression on his face seeming to meld with his shadowy surroundings. The thoughtful brow was wrinkled and furrowed. The vain, usually upturned mouth was turned down. The restless mind was now thinking of things other than himself.

He looked up at the bits of sky peeking out from behind the thick foliage of the tree covering him. The stars were numerous, and a fraction of the earth was visible among them. The grim expression on his face relaxed a bit. Beautiful, beautiful stars. The beauty of the sky at night was beyond compare. Nothing in this galaxy would ever come close it in beau—

A vivid picture of the Princess Mercury interrupted his thoughts. Suddenly, everything became clear to him once again. He smiled as he remembered the garland of white lilies-of-the-valley that crowned her beautiful blue-black locks of hair and the gentle, endearing smile she had. The beautiful blue eyes that looked at him with such innocence and the face that had blushed so would not stop haunting his mind.

He smiled dreamily, in spite of himself, listlessly recounting his last encounter with the Princess. That wonderful waltz to the romantic Moonlight Rhapsody, the drink they had on the balcony, the moment that seemed to last forever when he finally took off that ice blue mask off her face…

Suddenly, the distracted expression he had was replaced with a sad one as soon as he remembered what had happened next. He had stretched his luck too far, staring at her for such a long time, even if he wasn't at liberty to do so. And he had scared the princess away. But I couldn't help it, he thought. She was far too tempting to look at—

His gaze was diverted by the lamppost that stood close by. The golden light of the candle inside it managed to entice a baby moth. Dancing and tumbling in the air, the moth circled the lamp again and again, and even managed to get inside it to get closer to the candlelight. Inside the lamp, the moth continued its merry dance, but its attraction got the better of it. The moth flew too close to the flame, and it burned him. Zoicite watched as the lifeless moth came hurtling down to his grassy grave.

He took a deep breath as he sat up and leaned on the trunk of the tree near him, his legs propped up in front of him as he rested his elbows on top of his knees. The rose garden was one of his favorite places in the Moon Palace. He gazed at the blood-red roses that had scattered throughout the garden, which were not commonsight in the moon. They were all planted by the devoted hand of the Princess Serenity, for her dearest Prince Endymion. Zoicite felt a twinge of jealousy as he thought about his Prince's romantic involvement with the Princess of the Moon. Destined to be together, it has been said time and time again. They are destined to be together. He buried his face in his hands morosely. Why can't it be the same way with me and Princess Ami?

He plucked a large red rose from a bush not far from him, and held it to his nose. The smell of roses was truly sweet. The love of Endymion and Serenity is in the smell of the roses, he said to himself as he regarded the pretty petals that felt so soft to his touch. He caressed each petal, remembering how soft and pliant Ami's hands were when he held them as they danced.

Maybe it's not too late, he thought, a glimmer of hope glinting in his eyes. I may be able to apologize for being so uncouth! He looked at the single red rose he held in his hand. It made him smile to think that soon, his chances at her would be good again. The giddy expression on his face could not be erased as he stood up and started to stride down the walk purposefully…

Then he stopped dead in his tracks.

What made him think that the palace guards would let him in the Princess Mercury's quarters at this time of night? Surely they have been given instructions not to let visitors in unless they are asked to? Frustrated, he leaned on the lamppost as he tried to come up with another idea…

Come up? Why, that was perfect! he thought jubilantly as he tried to find the Princess' room among the array of balconies that lined the third floor of the palace. I could easily come up on one of those balconies. He was in the east part of the palace, where the Princesses of the inner planets dwelled. The biggest balcony, undoubtedly, marked the Princess Serenity's room. Now if I could only find Ami's—

As if by sheer coincidence, lights suddenly peeked out from a glass door. It was on the balcony to the left of Princess Serenity's. A slim, feminine silhouette emerged in the doorway. A slim silhouette with flowers in her short hair, barely reaching the shoulders. Ami…

He made his way noisily through the bushes as he tried to figure out a way to come up to her balcony. Soon, he was directly underneath it. With determination glinting in his green eyes, he plotted the points he could use to boost himself up to the balcony. First he would jump off the tree branch directly above him, then to the iron gutter, and he would try to hang on to that other window south east of the balcony and he would be there by the next leap. If I were Nephrite, I wouldn't have to do this; I would have managed to jump that high in one leap, he thought good-naturedly as he placed the rose between his teeth. General Zoicite started to grip the tree branch directly above him, and in one smooth motion, pulled himself up with a somersault. Then he started swiftly leaping to and fro the points he had so carefully plotted earlier.

He was on his way to heaven.

She was serenely humming the Moonlight Rhapsody, trying to calm herself from the conflict in the masquerade ball that she had run away from earlier. As the tiny music box accompanied her humming, it reminded her of the dance she had with General Zoicite early that night. She sighed a confused sigh as she looked in the mirror in front of her. Her face still showed hints of redness from all the blushing she had been doing all that night. One by one, she began taking out the pins that held the lily garland she had made to her hair. I guess there's no point in going back now. I may as well turn in for the night.

The Princess Mercury's ears suddenly heard a rustling noise just outside the glass door that led to her balcony. She closed the music box gently, trying to hear more of the strange noise. It was a particularly suspicious sound; it sounded like someone was in the bushes somewhere down in the rose garden. The thought of an invader prowling around the palace worried her, especially since her friends were out in the banquet halls and no one was guarding their rooms. The sound was coming closer by the minute. Her heart thumped excitedly as she wondered what could have caused it.

Without a word, she yanked her dresser drawer open and pulled out a blue wand. It was her henshin wand, the glossy blue pen that shined in the lamplight. She wasted no time as she shouted:

Within moments, Sailormercury stood in place of the Princess. She stood resolutely in the middle of the room, a little far from the glass door that separated her bedroom and her balcony, ready to put up a fight.

Her hearing more acute, she heard the prowler leap from something that creaked in complaint so demandingly. She concluded that it was the rusty, iron gutter. Her fists clenched instinctively.

The next sound came from the prowler landing on a surface she could not identify. Her breath quickened as her fists started growing tighter.

The next sound she heard was the closest. Her eyes confirmed that what she had heard was someone landing on her balcony. A tall silhouette appeared in the doorway, bathed in twilight. Sailormercury broke out in cold sweat as she immediately tried to summon up a charge.

The glass door flew open.

"FREEZING!!!" she finally shouted, as chunks of ice flew at the unassuming prowler standing on the threshold of her doorway.

Just in the nick of time, Zoicite crossed his hands over his face to block the attack. He instantly fell to the ground, dazed and confused.

Sailormercury looked the same way as she realized who she had just hit. Her eyes grew frighteningly wide as she ran to her victim, crying at her own mistake.

   

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