The Past Life

Kunzite and I stood in our positions outside the rear of the palace. It was now quite dark out and several torches had been lit for light. The King had ordered all shutters on that side of the palace closed that day, preferring to keep this as quiet as possible. Rumours would be rampant, but that couldn't be helped.

We were facing each other, a couple meters apart. Kunzite's face showed no emotion, he simply stared off into the space just beside me. His sword was currently sheathed at his side, his hand rested on the hilt.

Behind him stood four of the palace guard. They had lined up in front of the pyre that had been build earlier that day. Four more stood behind me. They had all served the royal family for many years, many of them since before I had been born. They were the most trusted of the guard.

Master and his father arrived and took the seats that had been provided for them. They were seated the farthest away, for which I was grateful. Their position would skew their view of the execution, and I knew Master didn't want to be here, let alone have to see it.

I held in my hand a scroll of paper the King has handed to me earlier when I had met with him. It was the prisoner's death warrant. His majesty had been quite sympathetic when he handed it to me, apologizing for what we were being put through. He had even been so kind as to give all four of us the night and the next day off duty. We would be replaced by highly respected members of the palace guard. I, of course, objected lightly to this, but did appreciate the gesture greatly.

Jadeite and Nephrite would be appearing next, with the prisoner and two more members of the guard. Jadeite had come to see me earlier that day with a few questions concerning his duties. The main one being, what would happen if the prisoner decided to try and escape while they were leading him out. I had explained to him that by this point, most people would have resigned to their fate. This man would be no exception.

Sure enough, he appeared on schedule, Jadeite and Nephrite holding an arm each. He was dressed in loose black robes and had been allowed to clean himself up before coming out. He appeared to have no difficultly with walking along the path leading to myself and Kunzite.

Nephrite's face showed the same lack of emotion as Kunzite's, though he was perhaps not as focused. Jadeite tried his best to hide his nervousness and fear, he was doing well enough.

I stepped forward and faced the approaching party. My heart beat was faster than it needed to be, but I did my best to calm my breathing and keep my voice steady.

“You have yet to give us your name,” I began when they came to a stop in front of me. I held the scroll in front of me, though I had little need to read from it. “However, you have been found guilty of the crime of attempted assassination of a member of the Royal Family. The sentence for this crime is death. This sentence has been handed down by His Majesty, The King of Earth, to be carried out today after sunset.” I rerolled the scroll and held it at my side once again. “Do you have any final words?”

I held his gaze, staring at the man who had tried to kill my Master. I felt anger when I looked at him, but it was nothing compared to what I felt after he spoke.

His voice was quiet. Quiet enough that only those nearest to him could hear it. “My only regret is that you got in the way of what needed to be done. Endymion is nothing but moon-loving scum, dirt. He is not worthy of that throne.”

I felt all my muscles tense when he spoke. I knew I had to calm down quickly, but his words had ignited a fury in me like I had never felt before. I knew my face was showing my emotions, and I could feel the eyes of everyone present on me. In as calm a voice as I could muster, I uttered the one last word I needed to say. “Kneel.”

The prisoner required little assistance from the men surrounding him. Once he was on his knees, Nephrite and Jadeite took their places a short distance away from him. He bowed his head forward, his black hair falling around his face.

I turned and faced Kunzite, nodded at him, then took my place beside Jadeite. I caught Jadeite glance at me, but I kept my eyes fixed on the man kneeling in front of me.

Kunzite stepped forward and unsheathed his sword. He stood on Nephrite's side, facing myself, though his gaze too was on the prisoner. He held his sword with both hands, but paused for a moment to take a breath before raising it over his head.

The clang of steel hitting stone was heard soon after. It was over. The prisoner's body fell to the ground, his blood quickly began to flow over the stone path.

The sight of this did not bother me, though I was finally feeling relieved of the anger from before. I turned my head to check on Jadeite. He had turned away at the last moment it would appear, and I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It's alright,” I said to him quietly.

Some members of the guard stepped forward to gather the body, while others brought water to wash the blood off the stone. One handing Kunzite a cloth which he used to clean his sword before resheathing it.

The prisoner had no desire for any religious ceremony to take place, and so the pyre was lit a few minutes later. Master and his father remained for a brief moment before they both retired to the palace.

Kunzite spoke to the most senior member of the guard, confirming with him that it was alright for us to leave. “Let's go,” he said to us when he returned. Kunzite would likely be looking forward to some time alone. I had my doubts that anyone would be able to find him until tomorrow evening.

Nephrite appeared the most eager to get back inside. Despite his lack of emotion, this ordeal had been difficult for him.

Jadeite was visibly shaken, and looked as though he would break down at any moment. He too wished to get away from this area as quickly as possible.

I followed the two of them inside, with Kunzite right behind me. We silently parted ways, each heading to our private chambers. I reached my own several minutes later, moving slower than I normally did.

I left my boots at the door and removed my sash, which fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Walking through the outer room, I came to a stop before reaching the sliding door that lead to my bedroom. My eyes fell on the wooden cabinet to my right and stayed there while I debated opening it.

I rarely drank. Alcohol would impair my ability to perform my duties. I was not on duty until tomorrow evening, but I never truly stopped protecting and serving my Master.

That night was different, I decided, and opened the usually ignored cabinet. I grabbed the bottle of whisky and poured some into a glass. Setting the bottle on a nearby table, I sat on the sofa beside it and stared down into the liquid.

A knock at my door disturbed my thoughts, and I started to wonder how long I had been staring at the glass. I could think of only one person who would be visiting me now. Even though I preferred to be alone at that moment, I could hardly turn him away.

I set my glass on the table and opened the door for my Master. I suppose I may have come off as being rude to him when he asked if he could come in. I opened the door wider for him, then returned to my seat, grabbing my still untouched glass off the table.

Master slowly stepped into the room, perhaps guessing that he was not entirely welcome. “You probably want to be alone right now,” he said.

I shook my head, “It doesn't matter.”

“I didn't know you drank,” he commented, looking at the glass in my hands.

“I don't.”

“Me neither,” he said walking over to the cabinet. “May I?”

I was surprised by this, but nodded the affirmative then returned to staring into my own drink. I knew by now that I wasn't going to be drinking any of it. My Master did not seem to have the same plan.

He sat at the other end of the sofa and immediately took a sip. The taste of the liquid didn't seem to bother him in the least, and he took a second sip soon after. “Zoisite, what did he say to you?”

That same reaction took hold of me again. All my muscles tensed and my grip on my glass tighten to the point where I was surprised I didn't crush it.

“I'm sorry,” Master apologized quickly, “I didn't mean to...”

“I can't repeat what he said,” I stated, the tone of my voice startled me, as it did my Master.

“It was about me?” he asked tentatively.

“Yes.”

That seemed to be enough for him, thankfully, and we sat in silence for a while. Master eventually finished his drink and returned the empty glass to the table, remaining there for a moment. Perhaps contemplating refilling it. “I want to ask you something,” he said, “but you don't have to answer.”

I said nothing and waited for the question. If it was something I could answer, I would. He knew that.

“Last night... did you kiss me back simply because it was expected of you?”

My breath caught in my throat. I had to answer him, even though he told me I didn't, I still would. But how could I answer that question? How could I tell him that I wanted to kiss him, that the feel of his lips on mine left me wanting more? How could I tell my Master that I desired something that could destroy his future?

I suppose the best route would be to keep it simple. “No.”

“No?” This was apparently not the response he had been expecting. He returned to the sofa, sitting closer to me this time. “Then, you wanted to?”

I felt as though I had betrayed him. Everything I did was supposed to be what was best for my Master, and for a moment, I had abandoned that. “I'm sorry, Master,” I said quietly, pleading for forgiveness. “I... I shouldn't have...”

Everything happened very quickly after that. First, Master took hold of the drink in my hand, placing it on the table beside me. As a result, he was leaning over me and took this opportunity to kiss me again. The hand that returned from the table was soon cupping my cheek.

I was shocked, more shocked that I had been the first time. I was apologizing for what I had done, and suddenly we're back in the same situation again. I was frozen in place initially, my mind was racing. What could I do to stop this?

Then it seemed that my mind and body became two separate entities. I was, once again, returning the kiss, while my mind screamed at me to stop. It was wrong, I shouldn't be doing this, and yet I was.

Master logically took this as an invitation to press forward. He was using one hand to support himself on the sofa and the other found its way to the back of my neck, lightly pulling me towards him as he applied more pressure to my lips.

I had slipped down a bit from my previous sitting position. I was propped up on my elbows, which rested on the stuffed arm of the sofa. Master continued to press into me, and soon I was lying back completely.

If my mind had been screaming before, it was pounding its fists on the nearest surface now. My body continued to ignore my mind's pleas. Instead it was becoming more and more aroused with each second. It didn't care that this was my Master, the man I had sworn to protect, pressed against me. That it was my Master's lips that left mine to explore my neck.

“Master... we... can't...” My mind had managed to gain control of my mouth once more, but I was cut off when he found a spot just below my jaw line. Once again, my mind was shut out. I turned my head to the side to give him better access, instead he whispered in my ear.

“Stay with me tonight.”