"A White Rose, A Red Rose" - Chapter 8

Hey there everyone!  Excited to find out what is to happen next, 
well here is the exciting next part!  Do you like it better than 
the first few parts?  Has it picked up enough speed?  I know that 
I got it off on a slow star.  Ah well, thank you all of you who 
have preserved this far!  Only one or two more chapters to go!  

Disclaimers:
Oh- Oh- I don't own Sailor Moon (Oh- Oh- Star of wonder Star of 
Night)
Sorrowful to say (Star with Royal Beauty Bright)

Thanks to all my WONDERFUL editors, 'cause everyone knows I can't 
spell.  And also thank you to all those who have written to me and 
given me advice about my story, especially Chichiri, Sailor Venus, 
and Sailor Saturn, who are almost sisters and part of the 
AnimeGals!  Our web page is http://www2.crosswinds.net/santa-
barbara/~animegals  and if you add a /ack/  to that you can get to 
the page where we keep our stories!  Cool, ne?  Also, thank you to 
all those who have actually read this far, I really appreciate it!  

You  know, no one has e-mailed with disclaimer ideas, I'm hurt!  
Thanks though to the two of you who answered my question about the 
Jupiter story!  For those of you who might be wondering it is 
called "D C al Fine" and is by Lady Jupiter.  Thanks to the two of 
you who told me!!!!!

"A White Rose, A Red Rose" - Chapter 8

     The guard and the court sat in the palace gardens next to the 
lake.  "I can't believe that Queen Serenity and the Queen and King 
of Terra forbid us from bothering Sere!  She has no right, I mean 
we pledged our lives to her, and if she gets hurt we fail!"  Rei 
complained.
     "Rei, you know that Sere can take care of herself, besides 
when we tried to establish the mental link with her when she first 
disappeared she told us she wanted to be left alone and not to 
find her, so technically we are following our liege's word and not 
the Queen's," Mina said, and then added, "But I know what you 
mean, it is outrageous that we should be stopped from being by her 
side!"  
     "You guys, the only reason that you are really so adamant 
about seeing her is that you don't know what to do without her, 
our lives are centered around her,  I mean have you guys thought 
about it?  We have nothing to do with out her!"  Makoto exclaimed.  
(Man, they have no lives.)
     The guard and court stared at her, realizing that what she 
said was true.  They had nothing to do without the Prince and 
Princess.  
     "If only we had boyfriends," Rei said, sighing.  The court 
burst out into laughter and the guard blushed at her comment.  
     "Well, as Makoto kindly told us, we have nothing to do, so if 
Kunzite will kindly come with me I was hoping to go over some 
training techniques and leadership skills," Mina said, a grin 
lighting her face and eyes.  
     "Of course, Mina,"  Kunzite said without hesitation and the 
two of them walked off discussing how to get the different teams 
working better.
     "Was it my imagination or did Kunzite blush a little when 
Mina asked him to go talk to her?"  Nephrite asked as soon as the 
two were out of hearing distance.  
     "Well, whatever Kunzite did, Mina looked way too happy and 
excited to simply want to go and talk about leadership skills,"  
Rei said.
     "Not to disrupt this little discussion, but I believe that 
Lady Rei owes me a trip to the fire room still."  Jedite 
interrupted them.  Rei blushed profusely but stood up and led the 
way.
     "You know, I really must go study.  You see, I found this 
really interesting book on . . ."
     "Ami, I am sure we would all think that the subject is 
interesting, but you should go and study, I mean there is not a 
lot of time that you have to yourself!"  Makoto quickly put in 
before Ami could go into a full length explanation.  Ami laughed 
quietly at Makoto's statements but stood and excused herself to 
her room.  Zoycite was the next to leave claiming  that he wanted 
to go to the library and study more about the Moon's history.  
      That left Makoto and Nephrite alone in the garden.  The two 
sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence, unsure of what to say to 
each other.  Finally Makoto suggested that they go off to the 
training room and have a re-match.  
     After about an hour of training both were flushed with the 
exercise and stopped to get some water.  The conversation stayed 
on different styles of fighting and the different trainers that 
they had had until Makoto suddenly asked "Nephrite, do you like 
cooking?"
     "Actually, I love to cook," Nephrite admitted.
     "Wonderful!  Come on!"  Makoto exclaimed excitedly and 
quickly yanked him to his feet and pulled him to the kitchen.

@-->-->---

     "So this is the fire room,"  Jedite said in awe as they 
walked into a room with bright, fire like walls.  All over the 
room the walls were covered with the symbols of fire.  Volumes of 
fire history were stacked on a table near the center of the room.  
Thousands of candles were in a chandelier on the center of the 
ceiling.  If you looked at the walls and ceiling when all the 
candles were lit it looked like you were standing in the middle of 
a blazing fire.  It reminded Jedite a little of his own bedroom, 
except it was more magnificent, more spectacular.  (Guess where 
Usagi got the room design that she gave to Mamoru back in chapter 
2, hee hee)  
     Rei smiled as Jedite walked around the room examining the 
different symbols and books present.  She closed her eyes and 
concentrate on his spirit, examining him.  There was something 
about him that attracted her to him.  Rei opened her eyes to find 
him standing directly in front of her, smiling.  
     "You knew I was looking at you, and you let me," she said 
barely above a whisper.
     "'Course I knew, I have been doing the same to other people 
for years, so I know when someone investigates me.  And I let you 
because it might seem a little suspicious if I cut you out for no 
reason,"  Jedite answered, laughing.
     Rei blushed and the light from the walls danced in her eyes.  
"There is always a reason to cut someone out if you want there to 
be, even if it is just for privacy."  
     "Ami told me that you like to pit fire against fire, so how 
about a match?"  Jedite asked and Rei got the feeling he was 
trying to change the subject despite his flippant manner.   She 
decided to humor him.
     "Very well, but are there to be regular weapons or no?  And 
are we going to use torches to supply the fire?"  she asked.
    "There is no need for regular weapons, and when I said 'play 
with fire' I meant actually playing with it.  Not like when 
regular people shove torches at each other and such.  I personally 
prefer to generate my own fire, it is easier to controll the 
temperature.  I believe it is how the Lords battle on Mars."  
     "You can generate your own fire?  Not even most Lords can, 
they have to use spells and such, only the royal blood line is 
able to produce it without a spell!"  
     "Well, do you want to battle, or not?" 
     "I'd love to, I was just a bit startled to find out that a 
Terran has many similar gifts that Martians have.  Now, if you 
will excuse me for a moment, I need to go and activate my uniform.  
My clothes would burn, but my uniform is fire resistant,"  she 
said gaily.
    "Activate your uniform?  Why not do it here.  Don't you just 
say a spell or something and then your clothes become armor?"  he 
asked curiously.
     "Um . . . Not quite."  Rei looked straight into Jedite's eyes 
and then closed her own.  She sifted through his spirit searching 
his intentions and his being.  Suddenly her eyes shot open and she 
exclaimed in surprise, "Jedite, you are Martian!"
     Jedite gave her a funny look and said, "What do you mean, 
Martian?!  I was born on Terra, my father is Terran . . . " Jedite 
stopped short as Rei gave him a look that told him not to be 
stupid.  "All right, I'm Martian!  I admit it!  No one else knows 
though, except the Prince Queen, King, and your Princess.  Most 
Terrans distrust Martians, so I kept it a secret."  
     "Sere knows you aren't Terran?!"  she asked surprised.
     "Yea, she works fast when she looks into someone, you know 
that?  She looked through all of us except for the Prince the 
first morning we had breakfast.  You see Terran blood is strong, 
and it usually dominates other blood types, but in certain cases 
the other blood will dominate.  It is so in my case.  My mother 
had only a very little bit of Martian blood in her, but the strain 
passed on to me.  For some reason the Martian blood that I got was 
incredibly strong.  When I was just a kid I could read other 
people's thoughts and know instantly what they really wanted or if 
they were evil.  Then, one day, when I was five, I was at this 
private boarding school for boys.  Some older kids took me aside 
and started to beat on me for beating them at a math quiz.  I got 
mad, in fact I had never felt such wrath before in my life.  My 
blood felt like it was on fire and the next thing I knew fire was 
shooting out of my hands.  I could no longer see straight, instead 
I saw the others as glowing beings and recognized flickers of 
colours and other things in the glow.  It scared me and the fear 
cooled my wrath.  My vision straightened and I found that I had 
not harmed the others, but they had fainted dead away.  
     "After that, I was careful about getting mad, and I practiced 
trying to shoot fire out of my hands.  I also learned how to do 
the eye thing, seeing the auras that is.  One day my father found 
out about it all from a servant and told the King who promptly 
secured me for the Prince's guard.  When I was eleven and the 
Prince turned ten I went to the palace to serve him and have been 
there ever since.  The way I knew that I was Martian was that 
everyone else's glow seemed to be a faint gold, while mine was 
red.  I also found that each time I used my powers, either looking 
into someone or creating fire, that kind of thing, I become less 
Terran.  My aura has gotten much redder than when I was a child.  
It is like my Martian blood is consuming the Terran blood.  At 
this point I have very little left and I will most likely be 
completely out of it soon!"  
     Rei stared at him speechless.  He had just opened his heart 
to her and she knew it.  After staring for a few more seconds she 
reached into her pocket and drew out a strange object that looked 
like a pen.  Looking straight into his eyes she raised the pen 
into the air and shouted, "Mars Star Power!"  
     A column of fire immediately surrounded her and then 
separated into rings that circled around her body.  The column of 
fire seemed to have consumed her cloths and other than the fire 
that surrounded her she had nothing on.  Jedite stared speechless, 
never taking his eyes off her face and she continued to stare at 
him.  The fire lifted Rei of the floor and spun faster and faster, 
suddenly, one by one the rings closed in on her body and became 
articles of clothing and then she was set back down on the floor.  
The whole process took a little over ten seconds.
     Jedite stared.  Rei no longer stood before him, but rather 
Mars.  Sailor Mars, Guardian of fire, passion and above all the 
Moon Princess, Princess Serenity.  Jedite's mouth nearly dropped 
open, and he felt something in his heart ache, like he was missing 
something, something important.  Pushing the feeling aside, he 
smiled and asked, "Are you ready to battle Sailor Mars?"
      "Ready and waiting!"  she replied with a smile lighting her 
face.  
      Jedite looked at her a second longer and then his eyes grew 
blank, until they were solid bluish purple orbs amidst a pure whit 
surface.  Suddenly he raised his hand had traced a star pattern in 
the air, a glowing line trailing behind his finger tips.  Placing 
both hands behind the design he shouted "Fire Star Charge" at 
which the glowing design flamed and he shot it at her.  
     The star came on so fast that she barely had time to move.  
She was amazed at the change that had overcome him.  One moment he 
was kind and charming, at ease in her presence when all other men 
had been afraid.  She had felt her heart slipping through the 
barriers that had held her heart in place so long, barriers that 
only the Princess had been able to overcome and befriend her.  Now 
Jedite stood before her as a formidable opponent, dangerous and 
not to be trusted.  
     Mars quickly drew out her fire bow and shot a fire arrow 
shouting "Fire Sniper!"  
     Jedite no longer saw as a normal human, instead he saw energy 
and auras.  He reacted according to feelings and no longer acted 
according to pure thought.  He saw her aura light up and moved 
quickly to the side.  Her arrow whizzed by him, only barely 
catching a little bit of his uniform.  He shot his inhuman glance 
at her and then closed his eyes.  
     Mars whipped around, fire had suddenly spurted up all around 
them, surrounding the room.  It was scalding her and she knew that 
if it where not for the fact that she were immune to this type of 
heat she would have died.  But even as it was, his fire was 
different than hers.  She knew that if she had but a little time 
to look it over she would be able to master it, but as it was she 
would not be able to penetrate it.  That meant she was trapped, 
held in the fire room like she was in a cage.  
     Jedite saw a streak of grey strike through the vibrant red 
aura and knew she was slightly confused and annoyed.  He took 
advantage of it and shot a steam of fire in her direction.  She 
avoided it by jumping to the right, but he had anticipated it and 
teleported right behind her.  Grabbing her arms he quickly knocked 
her feet from under her and pinned her down to the floor.  She 
struggled and her body heat rose until she was flaming, but he did 
not release his hold until finally she admitted defeat.  
     "OK, you win, there is nothing I can do," Mars admitted, 
breathless.  Jedite was directly above her, pinning her down to 
the floor.  She felt her heart beating wildly, and not just from 
the exercise.  She looked into his eyes and watched them as they 
shifted back into normal, human eyes.  
      Jedite was breathless, she was right below him.  The fire 
warrior was right below him!  Suddenly he realized that the battle 
was over and he was supposed to move.  Hastily he stood up and 
reached out a hand to help her to her feet.  She accepted and soon 
was standing, but she did not move away from him. Instead she 
still gazed into his eyes and began once again to enter his mind 
searching him for something.  
     Mars once again began to look into Jedite.  She was amazed, 
never before had anyone showed such strength with fire, never 
before, and it intrigued her to say the least.  She felt her heart 
still beating rapidly and found herself longing to be swept into 
his arms.  Looking up into his face she found him staring down at 
her and could no longer resist, she reached up and put her hands 
around his neck, pulling his head down the remaining distance 
between their lips and locking them in a firm, passionate kiss.
     Jedite was startled, 'She is kissing me!  Kissing me, not to 
say that I don't like it, quite the contrary, but still . . . '  
His thoughts lost themselves as he lost himself in the kiss.  
      Her lips burned, burned his mouth and he knew that it would 
have seriously injured any other man to be kissed by the Lady of 
Mars.  Her lips were fire and it excited him.  He had always loved 
fire, and here was a woman practically made from it!  
     Suddenly Jedite felt a sharp pain in his chest, a sharp 
burning sensation that took away his breath.  He quickly pulled 
away from her, gasping for air.  His blood was on fire, hotter 
than he had ever known it and he felt like he was about to burst 
into flames.  No longer able to hold himself up he fell to his 
knees and wrapped his arms around his chest.  His lungs seemed 
unable to draw in oxygen and his heart felt like it was struggling 
to beat the flames in and out. 
     Mars was entering his mind, but he knew if he died while she 
was in there, she might be seriously injured as well.  He screamed 
for her to get out, and then soon passed out.

@-->-->---

     Mars was startled as he suddenly pulled away from her and 
looked at him, wondering why.  He was gasping for breath and 
looked like he was in pain.  She quickly began to look into him to 
find the problem,  but he began to scream at her to get out.  She 
persisted and he clamped down on her mentally, forcing her out of 
his mind.  She cried out at the rejection and watched helplessly 
as he fell to the ground, unable to even stay on his knees.  
     Suddenly fire engulfed his body and he screamed, not audibly, 
but she could hear and feel his anguish.  Tears began to flow 
freely down her face and she wished fervently that she could do 
something.  The fire continued to rage over his fallen body, 
hiding him from view, but then it suddenly reached out for her, 
almost entreating her to enter into its hot embrace.  
     Mars looked at the fire and hesitated only a second.  She had 
walked into fire before, and if need be she could live through it.  
Quickly, she began using her second vision and looked for traces 
of what she knew to be Jedite's aura pattern.  There were none.  
In a way the flames aura had a pattern similar to his, but it was 
not the same.  So she simply ran toward the center of the fire 
where she had last seen him.  
     She reached the center, but just as she did the fire 
disappeared, disappeared into a body that lay at her feet.  
'Jedite!' her mind screamed and she quickly knelt down to see if 
he was alive.  Taking his head in her lap, she felt for his pulse 
and quickly began to go into his mind, but never actually got in.  
     Just as Mars fingers brushed his neck, the man opened his 
eyes and looked up into the face that lingered above his.  Mar's 
eyes filled with relief and her tears began to dry.  
     "Mars?"  the man asked in a shallow voice.
     "I'm here Jedite, I'm right here,"  she answered quickly, 
stroking his hair.
     "I'm not Jedite," the man whispered back.
     It was then that Mars looked at the man fully.  He was 
dressed in black and red armor, the colours of the Martian court, 
while Jedite had been wearing the Terran guard uniform, a simply 
grey affair with the only colour being a the red lining that 
showed his rank.  His hair was lighter, practically white, while 
Jedite's hair had been more of a yellow.  But the eyes, the eyes 
were the same.  
     "But then, who . . . you have to be Jedite!"  Mars exclaimed, 
her voice trembling near fear.
     "I am no more Jedite than you are HinoRei.  But, Lady Mars, 
you should know who I am,"  his voice was gentle and somehow it 
soothed her heart.  She looked at him again and then understanding 
came to her.
      "Why, you are Mars Knight, Protector of Mars, Protector of 
the Martian Princess, and most of all Protector of Prince Endymion 
of Terra.  And lastly . . . you are my soul mate,"  her voice 
ended in a whisper.
     "And you are the Mars Princess, guardian of fire and passion, 
but most of all Guardian of Princess Serenity of the Moon.  And 
you are my soul mate,"  he smiled up at her and then coughed.
     "Can you power down?  You need to conserve your energy."
     "You first,"  he said amidst his cough.  Quickly she did so 
and when she did, so did he.  
     Once again it was Rei smiling down at Jedite, who still had 
his head in her lap.  
     "What happened?"  Rei asked after a moment of silence.
     "I lost my last Terran blood when  I kissed you, it was 
finally all consumed and the Martian blood took full power.  What 
you saw there was the Terran blood fighting to live, making the 
transformation rather painful . . . But it was all worth it to 
become who I truly am, and to know for certain why my heart beat 
so fast when I simply looked at you,"  Jedite ended his speech 
with a mischievous grin and reached up to pull Rei down into 
another kiss.

@-->-->---

     Ami looked up from her books in frustration.  Once again the 
prospect of finally having some time to study had exited her so 
much that she had forgotten to pick up a certain book from the 
library.  She quickly stood up and made her way down the stairs.  
     Entering the library she saw no one so she quickly ran to the 
shelve where it was.

@-->-->---

     Zoycite put down the history book he had just finished and 
went to get another one.  Skimming over the shelves he saw one 
that might be interesting and so he pulled it out, but as he did 
so, he noticed the pages of what looked like a very old book.  
'The book is facing the other side, and I really should go around 
to get it, but why not, I'll just pull it through.'  So thinking 
he reached into the little space and began to pull on the book, 
but it did not move, rather it felt like it was being pulled the 
other way, so he pulled harder.

@-->-->---

    Ami was surprised, she had found her book easily enough, but 
when she had reached for it, it did not move, instead it felt like 
someone was pulling it from the other side.  'But no one was in 
here when I entered,' she thought briefly.  Who ever it was had 
begun to pull harder and there was no way that anyone was going to 
take her book away from her, so she began to freeze it.  
'Hopefully this will make the other person let go of it,'  she 
thought smiling, but instead the book just got colder in response 
and the other person began to freeze the book in place.  
      Frowning Ami touched the book shelf and turned the whole 
thing into an icicle.  The other person did the floor, making it 
difficult to stand, but fortunately she was used to standing on 
ice and she used the new slickness to her advantage.  Suddenly the 
book broke free of its icy barrier and she fell back with it 
clutched to her.  Unfortunately, the release came with such force 
that a bunch of other books came with it, falling on top of her.  
    Ami struggled to the surface of the flood of books and shook 
herself off.  Laughing, she noticed that she was still holding her 
precious book.  
    Deciding that she wanted to know who it was that had been 
playing with ice, for she was the only one that she knew of that 
could do it, she jumped to the top of the book shelf.  
Unfortunately the person on the other side seemed to have had the 
same idea and had jumped right before her.  She jumped straight 
into him and hit him straight on, knocking herself back off the 
narrow ledge with the force of the impact.  She braced herself for 
collision with the ground, but never felt it.  Instead, she felt 
herself fall into someone's firm embrace.  
     Opening her eyes, Ami found herself staring straight into a 
pair of Zoycite coloured eyes.  "Zoycite!"  she gasped, her breath 
catching in her throat.
    "Lady Ami, I did not know you were present in the library, or 
I would never have fought you for the book, I apologize for my 
actions."

@-->-->---

      Zoycite jumped to the top of the bookcase to see who it was 
that he had just fought with, but only seconds after landing a 
second body came up and hit him straight on.  The person lost 
their balance and fell off backward.  Quickly, without thinking he 
had jumped down to catch the person and found Ami landing gently 
in his arms.  
     'She is so light, like a feather, and so beautiful . . . ' 
his eyes scanned her from head to toe.  'And so much power, who 
would have thought that she can control ice and water like that, 
but then, she is the Princess of Mercury. . .'  
     
@-->-->---

     Ami continued looking into Zoycite's eyes, amazed.  'Zoycite 
still has not put me down, I wonder why, not that I really mind . 
. . WAIT!  Where did that come from?  Since when have you felt so 
comfortable around a guy?!  A GUY!  And at that a Terran, though 
he does act, look, and have power like a Mercurian, and a very 
powerful Mercurian at that . . . I guess I will have to hang 
around him to discover where he draws his power from,' she decided 
resolutely.  'But you do know of course that you are just using 
this as a reason to stay with him, I mean any normal girl is 
attracted to such a good looking guy . . . ' 'BE QUIET!' she 
interrupted her own train of thought.  
     Ami shifted slightly in Zoycite's arms.  Instead of putting 
her down, he tightened his grip around her.  Ami noticed that he 
had yet to take his eyes off her.  Suddenly, she realized that she 
was holding her breath, almost in anticipation that this was some 
dream, and she let her breath out slowly.
     Zoycite heard her sigh and smiled at her.  He felt like he 
was holding an angel in his arms, the most beautiful one in the 
world.  He tightened his grip around her, afraid that she might 
slip away.  'Wait a minute Zoycite,' he thought, 'You are holding 
the Princess MizunoAmi of Mercury in your arms as if she belonged 
to you.  What will she think?!  And what will the other guards 
think?!  What am I doing?  Since when have you let a girl get in 
between you and your studies?'  he rapidly fired questions at 
himself, but the only answer he could find was, 'But, she is so 
beautiful, so sweet, so smart, so angelic, so like me . . .'  and 
on his thoughts would travel.  
     Slowly, Zoycite began to stand up and set Ami on her feet, 
much to her, and his, disappointment.  Still, even though they 
were both now standing on their own, they did not move away from 
each other but remained staring into each other's eyes.   'I have 
got to think of an excuse to stay next to her,' Zoycite realized 
suddenly, 'I can't stay like this forever.'  
     "Lady Ami, would you like to study with me?  We were after 
the same book after all," Zoycite asked tentatively.
     Ami laughed a little bit, mostly to relieve the tension in 
her own heart, "I would love to Lord Zoycite."  But her heart was 
screaming, 'He asked me to study with him!  My first date!'   
     They walked over to the tables together, arm in arm,  Ami 
still clutching the book.

@-->-->---

     Mina and Kunzite sat in the Venusian part of the gardens and 
discussed everything under the sun.  Mina knew that he was her 
soul mate and that she should love him, but even the goddess of 
love was surprised at just how much love she felt for him.  She 
was astonished at how wildly her heart beat at the slightest word 
from him, she felt like the whole galaxy must revolve around him.  
She felt complete in his company.
     Eventually the conversation turned toward their lieges.  "You 
know, they will have to marry each other for the treaty, they 
really is no other way of concentrating it.  I bet you that is 
what they disappeared about,"  Mina commented.
     "True, Endy does run away for a while when we try to force 
him to do things, but he always comes back,"  Kunzite answered.
    "You know that reminds me, what of Ami and Zoi?  They are 
almost all over each other, but at the same time they hardly say a 
word to each other.  They are both so shy that they can't seem to 
get around it."  Mina realized that Kunzite was blushing and 
asked, "Pray tell, my Lord, why are you blushing?"
     "Well, I sort of expected Zoycite to go to the library later 
today, so I went to the library and I saw Ami there.  She was 
taking a mountain of books to study later, even I don't read that 
many books no matter how much I value studying.  Anyhow, when she 
was pulling books off the shelf to add to her pile, I took one of 
the older, dustier ones and put it back on the shelf.  I thought 
that maybe if she were missing a book she might go back to the 
library for it, and Zoi might be there, and well, they would be 
alone,"  he finished lamely.
     Mina stared at him open-mouthed and Kunz began to wonder if 
he had done something wrong.  But then Mina threw herself into his 
arms and hugged him fiercely.  
     "Kunz, you are wonderful!  Positively wonderful!  No wonder I 
love you so much!"
     Kunzite was, needless to say, surprised at this display of 
affection.  He had never been one to have a lot of friends and, 
although he noticed women, he had always held his duty toward 
Endymion in higher prestige.  He was astonished that this woman, 
who was so beautiful, lively, energetic, powerful, the list went 
on and on, could love him.  
     Slowly, Kunz untangled himself from her arms and held her at 
arms length.  Mina looked at him with confusion written in her 
sparkling eyes, causing him to smile.  "Minako, do you really love 
me, or is it just because we are soul mates?"
      Mina immediately laughed, "Kunzite, I loved you before I 
realized that you were my soulmate.  I mean, how could I not 
notice such a handsome, smart, intelligent man, who happened to 
have a good place in the Terran court making a suitable match for 
my country . . . Kunz, darling, the point is that I love you very 
much.  I have never known a more incredible man!"  
     Kunzite joined in her laughing and pulled her close to him.  
The couple looked one more time into each others eyes before he 
leaned over and captured her mouth in a kiss.  

@-->-->---

     Makoto and Nephrite surveyed their creations with 
satisfaction.  They had made enough food to feed the entire palace 
for two days, and still they had to consider making more.  
     "You know, you made me taste so many things to make sure that 
they were all right that I think I can not eat another bite.  In 
fact I don't even want to go and sit down in the main hall and 
watch the others eat,"  Nephrite said with laughter ringing in his 
voice.
     "You know, we can request to be excused, I mean they will 
expect us to be tired from all that cooking.  We can go and train 
some more, or we could walk in the garden . . . or if you want we 
could go and look at the stars?"  The last part was said in a 
tentative voice, and Nephrite could tell that his answer would be 
important to Makoto.
     "You like to watch the stars?" Nephrite asked, surprised that 
she had suggested it.  
     "Well, yes . . . they sing the most beautiful song, and I 
love to listen to it.  I have never understood it, they always 
seem to be trying to tell me something, but I have never 
understood it.  But not many people seem to hear the song of the 
stars, in fact the only other person I know who can hear it is 
Sere."  
     "I know what you mean. I have listened to the song for as 
long as I can remember, and I love it.  I never had anyone to 
enjoy it with though, I think that Endymion can hear it, but I 
never asked him.  It was just that sometimes when we would train 
in the dark he would suddenly stop and stare up.  Eventually I 
learned to understand the song that the stars sing, and it tells 
the most beautiful tales, would you like me to teach you the 
song?"
     "Would I?!  Let's go!"  With that, Makoto shouted the 
remaining instructions to the servants, told the Queen that they 
would be in the gardens and proceeded to drag Nephrite out with 
her.
    Once outside, Makoto dragged him to the lake and then around 
to where the plants from Jupiter grew.  Together they let the song 
of the stars begin to infiltrate their senses and let it carry 
them.  Nephrite began to listen to the words, they always told him 
the truth, about himself, the future, and others.  Suddenly he 
realized the song had grown decisively louder and opened his eyes.  
Immediately he saw the cause, Makoto had joined in the song.  Her 
sweet voice carried the tune perfectly.  
     "You can sing the song?  How?"  Nephrite asked, amazement 
written plainly in his features.  
     "I don't really know how, the words just come to me.  I 
started to sing it when we visited Mars, you can't hear the song 
very well there, so I started to sing it on my own.  I love to 
sing it though, each night it varies, sometimes happy, sometimes 
sad, but always beautiful.  but in all my singing, I never have 
understood the meaning.  What are they saying now, I know that it 
has to be something good!"  
    Nephrite smiled at her exuberance.  "They are singing about 
parts becoming whole at last, after years of being apart.  They 
are talking about how soulmates will finally find each other . . . 
" Neph stopped abruptly, startled, and Makoto noticed immediately.
      "Neph, who did you see?  Who are these soulmates?"  
     Nephrite turned and looked Makoto full in the face.  "Makoto, 
I saw our faces in the stars."
     "Our faces as in . . . "
     "We are the soulmates."  A stunned silence prevailed between 
them at this news, both just stared at the other.  
     Makoto was the first to speak and she began slowly, "Neph, do 
you realize what this means?  This means . . . Oh, I am SO 
happy!!!"  As she said the last part she twirled around, clapping 
her hands.  Lightning flashed above her head and she began to 
dance, moving in rhythm to the star song.  Her joy emanated 
through her movements and flashes of light surrounded her body 
until he could barely see her through the light.  A large streak 
of lightning hit her and this time thunder accompanied it.  
     When the light cleared she was still dancing to the music, 
but her hair was streaked with pure energy from the lightning and 
her clothes glowed from being saturated with her energy.
     Nephrite stared.  He was surprised at how happy his 
announcement had made her, she was ecstatic.  He had expected her 
to be unhappy about it, but now here she was dancing joyfully.  He 
listened to the star song again and it sang of completeness and 
joy, but suddenly there was an undertone in it, something about 
change.  He strained to hear what the undertone said.  
     Makoto twirled around just in time to see a huge bolt of 
energy descend upon Nephrite.  She immediately rushed toward him 
and pushed her way through the intense energy.  It was lightning 
energy she could tell, the kind that she used, but more intense 
than she had ever felt at one time.  
     Finally, she reached the center and was surprised at what she 
saw.  Nephrite was unconscious, but the energy was holding him up.  
Rings of lightning surrounded him and she felt herself transform 
into Sailor Jupiter.  She could feel his heartbeat and realized 
that her own heart was pacing itself to his.  The rings of energy 
formed armor on him, green coloured and streaked with lightning 
patterns, the colour and symbol of the Jupiterian court.  Another 
flash of lightning appeared at his side and materialized into a 
sword.  As soon as the sword finished materializing the energy 
dropped swirling around them and rushed into him, some of it going 
into her as well.  
     With the energy no longer surrounding them, there was nothing 
left to hold Nephrite up and he began to fall, but Jupiter rushed 
to his side and caught him.  She immediately laid him on the 
ground and rested his head on her lap.  
      "Jupiter Knight,"  she called to him softly and briefly 
wondered how she knew his name.  
     Jupiter Knight slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Sailor 
Jupiter; she smiled down at him.  "Konbanwa, Lady Jupiter," he 
whispered.  He looked into her eyes and then stated, "Lady 
Jupiter, I challenge you."
     Jupiter blushed, to anyone else this would have been a 
strange thing to say, but to the Princess of Jupiter it was like a 
proposal of marriage.  Long ago, some King had declared that no 
one would be able to marry a Princess of Jupiter unless he was 
able to defeat her in a duel, and they could both use their 
powers.  
     "Jupiter Knight, I accept your challenge,"  she answered, 
trying to keep a business like tone in her voice.  With that she 
stood and helped him to his feet.  
     "Are you ready?"  she inquired after he had studied himself.  
He simply nodded in reply and stood at attention.  
     Even though both knew what they wanted the outcome to be, it 
turned into a real battle.  Jupiter Knight proved to be a 
formidable opponent, even with his recent transformation.  The 
difficulty on her part was that he absorbed all her attacks with 
his sword and then attacked.  She was forced to make herself a 
lightning sword as well.  From there on the battle was a little 
more even, but both were equal in skill, only he was bigger and 
stronger.  Eventually, he unhanded her and pinned her against a 
tree with a sword at her throat.  
     "Jupiter Knight, you have won the battle, pick your prize,"  
Jupiter said, her eyes twinkling.  Even though she knew his answer 
she still kept to formalities, she wanted there to be no 
questioning of his right to her.
     "Well Lady Jupiter, as I have put much thought into this, I 
have decided that I desire you as my prize.  I want you for my 
wife,"  he answered, understanding what she as doing.
    "Very well, you have won me."  Jupiter waved her hand and a 
scroll appeared.  The scroll unrolled itself in mid air and a pen 
appeared next to it.  "Sign your claim, my parents will want proof 
of your victory."
     Jupiter Knight took the pen and signed his name, and that of 
Nephrite.  Jupiter then took the pen from him and signed her own 
name.  Then, turning to the outer world she proclaimed, "The 
trees, the heavens, and even the stars, bear witness to this 
victory!  Jupiter Knight has beaten me and claimed me for his own, 
we shall forever be as the power we use, Lightning and Thunder, 
never one without the other!"  The trees flashed as she finished 
her speech and Nephrite could hear the stars sing in agreement.  
     Jupiter then turned away from Jupiter Knight.   Worried he 
put a hand on her shoulder.  After a few seconds he heard her 
whisper, "Jupiter Star Power Down."  And with that she became 
Makoto again, and he found himself Nephrite one more.  
     Immediately, Makoto turned around and he could see tears 
streaming down her face.  He reached his hand out, hesitated for a 
moment, and then touched her cheek.  She leaned her head into his 
hand, startling him.  On Jupiter people were more concerned with 
perfecting fighting skills than anything, and so not many people 
married for love, but rather because they could tolerate each 
other, or for convenience.  So the slightest touch had become much 
more than just a touch, and what he had done was in comparison 
like a passionate kiss.  By leaning her head into his hand she had 
returned the kiss, declaring her love.  
     Makoto looked up into Nephrite's eyes and could see the love 
he had for her radiating from them.  She loved the feel of his 
hand against her cheek, it was the most intimate gesture anyone 
had ever given her.  After looking into his eyes a moment more she 
whispered, "Aishiteru," and threw herself into his arms.  
     Nephrite immediately wrapped his arms around her and 
whispered his return of feelings into her ear.  
     If they had been on Jupiter they would have been required to 
marry for such a passionate embrace, and as it was, they would 
have been happy to.

@-->-->---

    End of Chapter 8!  

Hey there everyone!  I bet you are all jumping for joy, you have 
reached the end of chapter 8! Congratulations!  I bet you all feel 
really special!  I want to thank you all for reading do much!  You 
have really stuck with the story and I am impressed.  Thanks you!  
PLEASE e-mail your comments to MiakaRose@hotmail.com, I will always 
reply to the e-mail unless you don't want me to.  PLEASE send e-
mail, I love it when people do!  Thank you so much!  (E-Mail! HINT 
HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT)

Ja Ne and God bless you! 

~Miaka