Metalia-sama

Kunzite returned to his private chambers after his brief fight with Nephrite. The bastard just had to hit him close to the recent wound. He checked himself in the mirror, and there didn't appear to be any real damage, it just hurt like his eye has been ripped out for a second time.

Kunzite rested his hands on the counter in front of him. He closed his remaining eye and played back the last hour or so in his mind. He couldn't believe that he had said those things about Jadeite. True, Kunzite thought that he did need to be stronger, but he didn't mean for it to come out in such a manner. Nephrite had been right to call him on it.

Jadeite was weak, Zoisite was weak, but what about himself? He wasn't exactly a pillar of strength. He looked frail with his missing eye, and his skill with a sword would hardly ever be what it once was. So what? Was he trying to make up for his lack of self confidence by picking on those weaker than himself? He was no better than a school bully.

He turned away from the mirror and walked over to one of the tall windows. There was still plenty of time left in the day to train, and it would certainly be worth his while to do so. If he was going to be the leader he was supposed to be, he needed to prove that he could do so with only one eye.

With a renewed determination, Kunzite left his room and made his way to the courtyard of the palace. It was empty thankfully, as Kunzite did prefer to be alone.

---

Endymion sat in his own room after having walked away from his four guardians. Kunzite and Nephrite were hiding things from him, Zoisite hated him, and Jadeite... Jadeite couldn't even look at him without trembling.

What could he have possibly done to those two to make them change so drastically? Kunzite said that he had become violent, but it didn't seem to make sense that that would cause such a change in those two, especially if they believed that it had been Metalia and not himself doing those things.

“They're...?”

“Lovers.”

Maybe it wasn't Zoisite he had hurt.

“Get your hands off of him!”

If they were lovers now, that it must have been something he had done to Jadeite. Jadeite was scared of him, and Zoisite didn't want him anywhere near Jadeite.

Endymion was drawn from his thoughts when he heard a knock at his door. He got up to answer it, and found Nephrite on the other side. Endymion have him a look of confusion and displeasure. Was he here to make more excuses? “What is it?” he asked.

“I want to explain some things to you, Master. Things Kunzite didn't want you to know.”

That sounded a bit more promising, but was Nephrite going behind Kunzite's back? “Why?” the Prince asked.

“Because you deserve to know.”

Deciding that it might be best to at least hear Nephrite out, Endymion opened the door fully and gestured inside. After closing the door behind the Tennou, he retook his seat and waited for Nephrite to do the same. “What do I deserve to know? Why did Jadeite react like that? You saw it.”

Nephrite nodded and looked down at the floor near his feet for a moment. “I don't think I should tell you that,” he replied, “but I will tell you why I can't.”

“And why can't you?” Endymion pressed, growing annoyed by this already.

“We don't want to tell you what happened to them because we're worried it would... upset you.”

He could feel anger beginning to burn inside him. “And why do you think being kept in the dark is doing to me?” he said in a half growl. Endymion actually surprised himself a bit by his own tone.

Nephrite looked up, his face worried. “Please calm down, Master.”

“You keep saying that. Why the hell should I be calm when everyone is tip toeing around me and keeping secrets?” Endymion's voice was raising.

“Master, please.”

“I've had enough of this, Nephrite! Enough secrets, enough lies, just tell me what I want to know! Tell me what I did-”

“Master!” Nephrite cut the Prince off, “Metalia is still inside you!”

That stopped Endymion cold. What? How? How could the demon still be around? He was back to normal, wasn't he? “What?”

“Beryl couldn't remove Metalia from you as it was too deeply rooted, so she sealed the demon deep inside of you. She said that you should be able to fight it so long as you don't experience any extreme emotions, like anger. If you were to get overly upset, you may relapse and Metalia could return.”

It was sobering to hear that. The anger he was feeling slowly faded as he stared across the room at his guardian. “It's still inside of me?” he asked, not wanting to believe it himself.

“Yes.”

Endymion let out a long breath and rested his arms on his legs, looking down at the floor. “Why didn't Kunzite want me to know that?”

Nephrite shook his head, “I don't know. I hardly even know him any more. I think he's changed just as much as Zoisite and Jadeite. I probably have as well.”

Endymion looked up and over at his friend. “Nephrite, please tell me, anything you can about what happened to them. How can I regain their trust? Show Jadeite that I'm not that... thing any more. If you can't tell me what I did to them, tell me anything else that you can.”

Nephrite look a deep breath and a few moments to collect his thoughts. “Are you going to be able to keep your emotions guarded?” he asked.

Knowing what he did now, knowing the full importance of doing so, Endymion nodded confidently. “I can.”

Nephrite spoke slowly and cautiously, studying Endymion's reactions from across the room. “They were hurt, both physically and mentally, more so than anyone else,” he began, “and Jadeite most of all.”

Endymion had started to figure out that himself, “I beat them?” he asked, his voice still calm.

Nephrite nodded, but didn't elaborate.

“There's more though, isn't there?”

Again, Nephrite nodded. “I don't want to go into those details.”

“I don't understand what it could possibly be.”

“Metalia is a demon, Master, a monster. A normal person couldn't even begin to think of the things that Metalia did and could have done if left longer. It was... disgusting.”

Those last words had been whispered by Nephrite, and Endymion had barely heard him. “You speak as though you knew what Metalia was planning.”

Nephrite shifted in his seat as though it was suddenly quite uncomfortable. “Metalia trusted me, because I pretended to be a spy. I would watch the others and report back what I had seen. Because of this, I was informed of most things that went through the monster's head. It made me sick.”

Endymion closed his eyes. “I'm sorry.”

“It wasn't you, Master.”

“No, but it's still my fault. If I had never gone after Metalia, none of this would have happened.”

“You wanted to save your father. I know what it's like to want to do everything in your power to protect another.”

---

Zoisite sat on the edge of his bed, watching Jadeite sleep peacefully. He wished that he too had such an easy time getting to sleep, but his thoughts were consumed with what would come tomorrow.

Jadeite stirred in his sleep, turning over to face Zoisite. A soft smile on his lips as he seemed to have a pleasant dream. Zoisite resisted the urge to touch him, afraid to wake him. He had had so many nightmares, it would be nice if he had a pleasant sleep for once.

Deciding to take a walk through the sleeping palace, Zoisite quietly dressed himself. He put on his uniform partially out of habit, partially because this would be the last time he would wear it. He looked himself over in the mirror as he pulled his hair back. It was such a familiar image, but this wasn't who he was any more. The long grey cape that hung over his left shoulder, sash with silver filigree, green bead work down his right arm. This wasn't him. This uniform represented a level of honour and loyalty that he no longer could lay claim to.

As he walked down the long halls of the palace, his boots clicked loudly off the marble floors. He walked slowly with no particular destination in mind. His thoughts turned to the way things used to be, before Metalia, before all the pain, back when they were still happy. Back when he still felt a loyalty to Prince Endymion.

Zoisite stopped at a long series of windows overlooking one of the larger gardens. The sky was clear tonight and the stars were clearly visible. A quarter moon hung in the sky, casting a small fraction of light over the landscape. Zoisite stared out over the garden for a long while before he realized that he was no longer alone.

“Zoisite?” a familiar voice asked. Truly the last person Zoisite wanted to see right now. He turned his head slightly in the direction of his prince, but he could not look directly at him. Why did Endymion have to be the one other person still up at this hour.

Oblivious to the fact that he was not wanted, Endymion came and stood beside Zoisite, looking out the window as well, possibly in search of whatever held Zoisite's attention. He didn't say anything at first, perhaps he was waiting for an apology? He would be waiting a while.

“I, um... I'm sorry for earlier today. I didn't know that he would be so upset.”

Upset? What a wonderful observation. Zoisite said nothing, in fact he didn't even move or acknowledge what the prince had said in the slightest.

“I don't know what happened,” Endymion continued. “No one will tell me what I did to you and Jadeite. But do know, that whatever it was, I am very sorry.”

How can you possibly be truly sorry for something that you do not know or understand?

“If there is anything I can do...”

It appeared to Zoisite at this point that he was in fact going to continue to stand here and talk until he got a response. Unfortunately, the only things Zoisite could think to say were incredibly rude, and so he had held his tongue. He shook his head in the negative.

Endymion grew silent for a while, and Zoisite thought that perhaps he would finally move on. He had no such luck however, and after a few minutes, Endymion spoke again, this time changing the subject.

“I saw the two of you in the garden today,” he said, “Kunzite and Nephrite told me that the two of you have become lovers.”

Zoisite closed his eyes for a moment, trying to contain his frustration with the situation. He did not want to be speaking to Endymion right now, and he most certainly did not want to be talking about Jadeite. “Yes,” he said without elaborating.

“May I ask how that happened? It was quite a surprise to me.”

Zoisite clenched his teeth and his body began to tense. The anger he felt for the demon that had repeatedly defiled and tortured Jadeite was beginning to surface, and Zoisite feared that he could not keep it in check for long. A small part of Zoisite truly wanted to put it all out on the table right now, to tell the prince exactly what Metalia had done. In doing so, he knew that he would hurt Endymion, and maybe, just maybe, Zoisite would feel some satisfaction and retribution for that.

His own thinking patterns were beginning to frighten him.

“Since you do not know what happened, I can't go into detail,” Zoisite said, doing his best to keep his voice level, he was successful in keeping it low. “But something happened to Jadeite, Metalia did something to him one night and he came to me looking for a safe haven. He was scared, so I offered my room to him. And I offered it to him each night after that. I wanted to keep him safe.”

“You do love him, don't you?”

“I do.”

“I don't know how, but I do want us to be able to rebuild the relationship we once had.” Endymion said, “I know it won't be easy, but I know it can be done. I'll do everything I can to regain your trust.”

Finally a faint smile crossed Zoisite's lips. “You don't need to worry about that,” he said in reply. “Jadeite and I will be able to take care of this on our own.”

“It's not just you though,” Endymion continued to push, “I need to know what I can do. Jadeite's afraid of me, but he trusts you. If there is anything you can suggest to me...”

“Like I said before, we'll take care of this on our own.” Zoisite said, his voice taking on an icy quality. “If you'd excuse me, I'd prefer to be alone right now.”

Without waiting for the prince's permission to leave, Zoisite turned and walked away. He had to before he said or did things that would get him in trouble. He hated feeling like this, emotionally out of control. Foreign feelings of hostility towards the one person he once showed the most devotion.

It probably wasn't an accident that his feet brought him to the door of the palace's newest inhabitant. Beryl had gotten the room Zoisite had promised her, but she had stayed in it for most of the day. He needed answers before tomorrow, and for some reason he had a feeling that she would be awake. He tapped quietly on her door.

“Come in.”

The room was dark, save for a few flickering candles. Beryl stood with her back to the door in front of a table as she gathered a few things and pocketed them. “What can I do for you, Zoisite?” she asked without turning around.

Zoisite closed the door behind him, but stayed near it. He didn't trust the witch, even though she owned his soul. Will own his soul, she didn't have it yet.

“The soul exchange. It shouldn't be having an effect on me yet. Why is it?” His tone was harsh, he didn't appreciate being tricked.

Beryl turned and looked at him with raised eyebrows. “It hasn't,” she said. “What exactly makes you think that it has?”

“My loyalty to Endymion is non-existent. It had been unwavering before.” He saw no reason to dance around the issue with her.

“And you feel a need to serve me instead?” she asked.

This made Zoisite pause for a moment. In fact he did not, he felt the same about Beryl as he did the first time he met her. So if it wasn't the exchange effecting his feelings towards the prince, what was it?

“I assure you that the deal we made was as I said it. Your soul is mine only after you die and not before.”

“Then what's happened to me?” he demanded, as if she would have some idea.

“You are asking me why it is that you feel a sudden repulsion to the man who senselessly beat you? Who raped and tortured your lover? Who held the entire palace in a fear induced death grip? Why ever should you feel loyal to someone like that?”

Zoisite shook his head, “that was Metalia, not Endymion.”

“Are you sure? Is that what you truly believe? I know you don't. If you did, you wouldn't have shoved him against a wall earlier today.”

Zoisite's eyes grew wide for a moment, and then narrowed again. “There is no way you could have known about that.”

Beryl gave a small grin, “you underestimate my abilities.”

Zoisite scoffed at the remark. “You said that you would be able to remove Metalia from Endymion, and you have yet to keep your end of the bargain.”

“I explained before that she is deeply rooted. Had you come to be sooner it would have been easier.”

“Our deal is off.”

Beryl's expressed turned into a wicked grin, “unfortunately for you, I have no intention of returning your soul.”

“You...”

“The souls of the Earth's Shitennou are powerful, you four were granted powers beyond those of regular humans. Not something that can be traded lightly.”

Something about the way she spoke clued Zoisite in. “You plan to try and get the others too, don't you?”

Beryl continued to smile, “if an opportunity presented itself.”

“Stay the hell away from Jadeite. I don't want you anywhere near him.”

Beryl's smile grew eerily wider, “I won't be seeing him before you leave tomorrow anyway. You need not worry.”

Not feeling the least bit comfortable with this woman any more, Zoisite turned to leave. If he never saw this woman again in this life, he would be just that much happier.