Beryl watched the whole scene from the crystal sphere atop her staff. She had seen Zoicite leap to and fro to the Princess Mercury's balcony. She had seen him musing to himself by the moonlight in the Moon Palace rose garden, seen how he, with a flourish, had placed a single long-stemmed red rose in his mouth, seen how he had so carefully plotted the way to his sweet destination, seen how the shining in his eyes became so bright all of a sudden. Most of all, she had seen how quickly the vanity had vanished, how fast the conceited General Zoicite turn into someone so unselfish and concerned. The poor man must be in love, she decided. How convenient for me.

All is well, she thought, a devious smile curling her vivid blood-red lips. I simply could not have planned it better myself. Holding the staff in her right hand, and a half-full wineglass in another, she chuckled loudly and resoundingly. From her staff, she had observed each general make moves on each of the inner princesses. She had nefariously watched General Jedeite desperately try to penetrate the unshakable coldness of the fiery Princess Mars. She had observed General Kunzite laugh for the first time in a million years while the bubbly Princess Venus cracked jokes, and she had so boldly spied on General Nephrite and Princess Jupiter, who shared a sweet, lingering kiss in the mellow lamplight. And now, General Zoicite had fallen for the gentle Princess Mercury. It was as if Cupid had been working for her to get all four generals on the side of the Dark Kingdom!

These women are the keys, Beryl told herself. They will be the ones who will lead me to the generals' capture. Now, I must wait for the right time to execute my scheme.

A sinister, resounding cackle shook the dim room with its wicked ringing…

The first rays of the sun hit his face, filling it with delicious warmth. General Zoicite tried to crack his eyes open. Damn! Where am I? he asked himself as he sat up on the soft blue coverlet of a warm feather bed. He was in a strange room, a room with blue walls that seemed to blend with the sky. A silvery crystal chandelier refracted the sunlight, sending rainbow beams in all directions. His eyes scanned the room carefully, finding a small crystal dresser covered with some lilies-of-the-valley. He began to strangely realize where he was as soon as he caught sight of the small bookcase that stood in a far corner of the room, and the loveseat beside it, over which a sleeping figure was draped. He stood up with a start. Ami!

His head throbbed painfully, and it forced him to lie down again. Upon hearing the soft shuffling of her bed sheets and Zoicite's faint groans, the Princess Mercury awakened, and rubbed her eyes slowly. "Hmmm," she murmured drowsily as she stood up to check on her patient. "Why, you're awake, General Zoicite." She sat down on the side of the bed, beside him and checked his temperature, the relief showing in her face as she found out that it was normal. Though the throbbing in his head was painfully persistent, Zoicite forced himself to speak.

"Princess…" The words crept out weakly.

"Yes, Zoicite?" the Princess replied, anxious to hear what he had to say next.

His hands flying to his head, Zoicite's eyes squeezed shut as the spasms in his head tightened. Princess Mercury immediately came to support him, a look of worry over her gentle face. "Don't try to speak anymore. I think you've been hit in the head," the princess assured him soothingly, clasping his hand tightly and affectionately, forgetting all formalities between them. Upon hearing her gentle assurance, Zoicite lay back comfortably, content with the fact that his beloved was beside him. My beloved? Maybe I was hit in the head harder than she thinks… He looked imploringly at the blue eyes that so quivered for his sake, and tried to speak again.

"Princess," he began, each word tainted with faint groans. "Thank you."

The Princess Mercury's eyes glowed with tears. "Don't say thank you to me, dear General. I did this to you, and it's only right that I should take good care of you."

Zoicite was determined to speak even as the pain in his head grew. "No…" he trailed off weakly, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry for coming up to your room like that…"

A single tear made a salty path down Princess Mercury's cheek. "That's fine, General Zoicite. I hope I didn't keep you away from your engagements last night."

"Engagements?" he asked drowsily. "What engagements?"

The Princess paused. On the side table beside the soft feather bed stood the crystal vase that held the single, long-stemmed red rose from the night before. She plucked it out tenderly. She took hold of one of Zoicite's hands and thrust the rose in it. Delicately, she closed his fingers around the thin, woody stem.

She smiled wistfully. "You were obviously on your way to a rendezvous," she told him softly, a vague tint of disappointment betraying her, as Zoicite began to understand what "engagements" stood for.

"No, no…" he shook his head, forgetting the pain that had tormented it since last night. "You don't understand…" He took hold of the Princess' hands, and placed the rose there affectionately. He looked up to her dearly, the deep green eyes shining with emotion. "This is for you, Princess."

The look on her face shifted swiftly from sorry to surprised, as her widening eyes showed. The Princess shook her head in return. "Oh, Zoicite," she told him gently. "You're not obligated to give me anything in return! As I had said, it was all my fault, and the least I could do is to tend to you."

"No, no…" he said insistently. "This was really meant for you. I went up to meet you, Princess."

Princess Mercury's face was one of utter astonishment. "Really, dear General Zoicite?" she asked him in disbelief.

He nodded gently, a giddy grin on his face. "Yes, dear Princess," he answered, a smile replacing the weakened expression on his face. "Uhh… Princess?" he asked.

"Yes?" Mercury's face was expectant.

"Call me Zoicite."

"Only if you will call me Ami."

They shared smiles, content as they gazed in each other's eyes.

"Zoicite…"

"Ami…"

A knock on the door broke their wordless conversation.

"Could it be?"

"It couldn't."

"You never know…"

"I still say it couldn't!"

"There's just no telling with that girl!"

"Who would have thought that Ami-chan would be so daring?" Princess Venus giggled uncontrollably as the Princesses Mars and Jupiter pressed their ears to the wooden door to hear more. The girls moved stealthily as they proceeded to spy on their friend.

Princess Venus continued to giggle girlishly, her laughs becoming more and more audible by the second.

"SHHHHHHHHH!" Princess Mars and Jupiter shushed her in unison. "What are you trying to do, Minako-chan?" the Princess Mars snarled fiercely, sparks rising in her voice. "Do you have any idea of what will happen if we get caught?"

"No, no, of course not!" the Princess shook her head in embarrassed denial. "Gomen, gomen!" she exclaimed as she feebly stopped her giggling and joined the other two in their early-morning eavesdropping. Soon, all three princesses' ears were adhered to the door. With the giggling dead, they turned intently to their spying.

A deep groan was heard. Princess Jupiter's emerald eyes widened to an impossible width as she realized that it came from a man. She was even more surprised to hear the soft shuffling of bed sheets follow the unusual sound. Princess Venus' round eyes narrowed to suspicious slits as she strained to hear more.

A murmur was heard. "It's Ami-chan," the Princess Mars whispered excitedly.

"Why, you're awake, General Zoicite," came the muffled voice of Princess Mercury from the other side of the door.

Princess Jupiter's eyes bulged. "Ge-ge-ge-general Zoicite? Isn't he one of Endymion's four guardians?" she sputtered in utter amazement. Princess Mars and Venus immediately clasped their hands around Jupiter's mouth, muffling the cries of disbelief that came from her throat. The two other princesses pressed their ears back to the door while Princess Jupiter struggled to pry her friends' hands off her face.

"Princess," a telltale drowsy male voice said. Princess Mars was shocked to hear a man's voice in Princess Mercury's room, and a drowsy one at that!

"Yes, Zoicite?" Princess Jupiter finally managed to wrestle off the hands that covered her mouth. She pushed the two other princesses aside, and pressed her ear to the door.

"Don't try to speak anymore," Mercury's voice said from the other side of the door. Minako smiled knowingly. "Well, in times like these, words ARE rendered unnecessary," she whispered wickedly. "How do you know so much, Minako-chan?" Princess Jupiter shot back, her eyes in suspicious slits, her mouth in a twisted grin and with a voice as wicked as the other one.

"Shhhh!" Princess Mars beckoned for them to return to eavesdropping. On tiptoes, the two other princesses slyly stole back to their places.

Mercury's voice continued. "Don't say thank you to me, dear General. I did this to you, and it's only right that I should take good care of you."

All three princesses tried to stifle knowing gasps as they looked at each other in genuine alarm. "What did Ami-chan do to him that made him so tired?" Princess Mars wondered, as Princess Jupiter and Princess Venus turned their gaze to the heavens in a desperate attempt to look innocent. Princess Mars' eyes narrowed to tiny violet cracks on her face when she saw the cat-like expressions on her friends' faces. "WHAT?" she asked desperately as she nagged the two grinning princesses to spill what they knew. "Why won't you tell me!?!"

"I'm sorry for coming up to your room like that," Zoicite's voice said. The bickering girls stopped cold in their argument upon hearing the unusual voice, and turned to the door again to resume their eavesdropping session.

"That's okay," Mercury's voice told the General. "I hope I didn't keep you away from your engagements last night."

Princess Venus giggled softly. "I'm pretty sure he didn't mind," she whispered mischievously. Princess Mars lightly slapped her on her bottom, trying to stifle the grin she had on her own face. Princess Venus did not stop giggling until she had infected Mars, and soon Jupiter joined the girlish gigglefest…

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jupiter asked breathlessly between giggles.

"Well, what are you thinking?" Mars shot back, trying to catch her breath. "What could Zoicite have been doing in Ami-chan's room?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but I do have a pretty good idea!"

Venus just started giggling harder and louder, until the halls rang with the three princesses' merry laughter.

"This has gone far enough. We've done enough spying for the day," Jupiter decided as soon as she caught her breath.

Mars sighed. "Don't you feel guilty, spying on Ami-chan like this?"

The expression on Princess Venus's face was one of mock solemnity. "No, Rei-chan…" she began slowly. "It is our eternal duty to make sure that Ami-chan gets a dose of the wild life once in a while…" Her serious expression turned into a catty smile. "MEOWWRRRR!" she purred, raising her hands like a tiger waiting to pounce.

In reply, the other princesses just laughed until their sides split.

Moments later, the Princess Jupiter placed her hand on the wooden door, and knocked once, knocked twice, while Venus and Mars tried desperately to stifle their laughter.

   

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