Metalia-sama

When Jadeite woke up the next morning, it was to Zoisite sitting beside him, running his fingers through the blond curls on his head. It took a moment for him to wake up completely, it has been a long time since he had slept that well.

“Good dreams?”

“I don't remember any.”

“You were smiling in your sleep.”

Jadeite smiled as he sat up. “How long were you watching me?”

Zoisite shrugged and stood up to get out of Jadeite's way. Jadeite took notice then that he was already dressed in his uniform. 'Right, we should wear those today, shouldn't we?'

“Did you sleep at all?” Jadeite asked as he stood and began tracking down his own uniform.

“Not really.”

“You're worried about this?” Jadeite would admit that he was nervous, the king would be furious at them, but in the end everything would be all right, wouldn't it?

Zoisite took his time in answering, “I suppose. He's not going to understand.”

“What about Kunzite and Nephrite? Can we keep in touch with them?”

Zoisite nodded. “I plan to let Kunzite know at least where we will be, but he'll keep that information well guarded. I'd rather not have Prince Endymion knowing.”

Jadeite froze as he was putting his arm through the sleeve of his jacket. He had never heard Zoisite refer to the Master by name before. “That sounds weird,” he commented.

Zoisite turned and passed him the resignation letter he had written the night before, “it might be time to get used to it.”

Jadeite just nodded and finished with his uniform quickly. All their things were packed, and they were ready to leave as soon as they handed their letters over to the Master's father. Jadeite just hoped he could avoid seeing the Master himself.

---

Endymion sat beside his father while he took care of the morning business, his father insisted that he learn everything he would need to know when the day finally did come that his son would receive the crown. It was difficult to pay attention, but he did try. It was important to Endymion that he please his father, but his conversation with Zoisite last night still confused and even frightened him.

He had never seen Zoisite act so... cold. There has been this eerie aura around him, Endymion couldn't explain it. Originally, when Zoisite had shoved him away from Jadeite, Endymion had chalked it up to an instantaneous reaction, fuelled by whatever the two of them had been though. Zoisite hadn't been thinking, and was probably feeling horrible for what he had done. But that hadn't been the case. Zoisite had continued to be just as resentful last night, only with his emotions a bit more controlled. He hadn't wanted to speak to Endymion, he hadn't even wanted to be near him.

One of the attendants came forward and bowed. Endymion's father motioned that he speak.

“Your Majesty, the Tennou Zoisite and Jadeite have requested an audience with you.”

This confused Endymion as it did his father. Zoisite and Jadeite? What could they want?

“Show them in.”

The attendant motioned for the doors to be opened, and the two men entered the throne room, in full uniform. Endymion had a feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him that something bad was about to happen.

He looked at Jadeite first. The youngest of Endymion's guardians was looking at the floor in front of him, avoiding eye contact. Understandable if the very sight of the prince caused him such discomfort.

Zoisite looked more directly at the king, he too ignored the prince completely as they approached the throne.

Both men bowed and then sank to one knee in front of the king.

“What brings the two of you here, and with such formal protocol? I gave the two of you time off for a reason.”

Zoisite remained on his knee, his head bowed. “Your Majesty, we've both come to apologize. We won't be able to meet the expectations that have been put on us.”

“Zoisite, I gave you time off.”

“That is not what I mean, Your Majesty.”

Endymion watched as both men, in unison, reached into their uniforms and retrieved identical letters. Both were placed on the floor with the characters facing the king. Endymion could only stare in disbelief at the two kanji written on the folded letters.

“What is this?” his father asked, his voice no longer light and cheerful.

“Our letters of resignation, Your Majesty.”

“And what, may I ask, brought this on?” the king growled.

“We are no longer able to perform our duties as guardians to your son.”

This couldn't be happening. Zoisite's words from last night echoed in Endymion's head. He and Jadeite would “take care of this on our own”. This is what he meant? They planned to resign and leave? Endymion stood up from his seat and took a step towards the pair, but his father's outstretched arm stopped him.

“Jadeite,” Endymion's father said, “you've yet to speak for yourself.”

“I am no longer able to perform my duties, Your Majesty,” almost word for word what Zoisite had said.

A long pause followed. The king looked from one guardian to the other, and his son did they same. Both faces were serious as they both stared at a spot on the floor in front of them, waiting for the king's next words.

“You both are hear by stripped of all ranks and titles that you own. Any awards and metals you've been presented are now null and void. All rights and privileges you've enjoyed while here are also subsequently removed.” The king then snapped his fingers, and two attendants stepped forward. “Escort them back to their rooms to collect their belongings. I want them out of the palace within the hour.”

“Father!” Endymion shouted, turning to face the man seated beside him.

His father shot a sidelong look back at him. “Silence.”

The prince bit his tongue and looked back at the two men that had once been among his closest friends. They detached their collar pins from their uniforms and placed them on top of the letters. Zoisite and Jadeite then stood and bowed one final time before turning and walking out of the throne room, along with their escorts.

---

It didn't take Zoisite and Jadeite long to collect their things. Zoisite had known that they would be leaving right away, so they had packed earlier. They needed only to change out of their uniforms and then grab their bags.

Zoisite had been hoping that he could leave the palace without seeing Kunzite and Nephrite. To Kunzite he had left a note explaining where they would be staying and that such information was to be kept with the greatest secrecy. Endymion was not to find out. He had slipped the letter under his door, assuming that Kunzite would not read it until later. He was wrong.

Both Nephrite and Kunzite were waiting for them when they left their chambers. The original escorts had been excused. Nephrite still looked in shock, as he would only have found out within the last few minutes. Kunzite was stone faced.

There was a long pause as the two pairs of men looked at each other. Zoisite eyed Kunzite, trying to read him even though Kunzite was making that difficult for him.

“Um... here,” Nephrite said, trying to end the awkward silence. He held out a pouch, which Zoisite took and inspected the contents. “You'll need some money to get started.”

There was actually a fairly large sum, which surprised Zoisite. “How did you get this?” he asked, looking up at Nephrite.

“Don't worry about it, just take it,” Kunzite replied. “You need it more than we do.”

Zoisite nodded and packed the pouch in his bag.

“Thank you,” Jadeite offered for both of them.

“We should be going,” Zoisite said. “It will be a long walk.”

The four men travelled together to the main gates of the palace mostly in silence. Nephrite broke the quiet once to ask where the former Tennou would be living.

“Only Kunzite knows,” Zoisite had replied, “and we would prefer that it stay that way. We don't want Prince Endymion to find out.”

Zoisite hadn't looked at Nephrite to see his reaction. He would have been hurt that he was being kept out of the loop, but the fewer people that knew, the better. Only Kunzite and the woman who owned the cottage would know.

At least it was a nice day. It was warm, but not overly warm. It would be nightfall by the time Zoisite and Jadeite reached their new home, so at least they would be able to travel in fair weather.

The four men paused when they reached the gates. The attendants opened them and waited while Zoisite and Jadeite said their goodbyes.

“Is there any message you would like us to pass onto the Master?” Nephrite asked.

“No,” Zoisite answered immediately. He looked down at Jadeite who just shook his head.

“Then have a safe journey,” Nephrite said.

Zoisite looked to Kunzite, waiting to see if he would say anything. He didn't, only offering a nod.

“Thank you again,” Jadeite said, more to Nephrite than anyone.

The two men turned then and headed for the gate, but were stopped again.

---

“Wait! Stop! Please.”

Endymion had managed to escape his father and against his orders had gone after Zoisite and Jadeite. He couldn't just let them leave. They were leaving because of the things he, or rather Metalia, had done to them.

The Prince skidded to a stop when he found the party of four at the main gate. It was still strange to see Zoisite and Jadeite in civilian attire, and the latter immediately stepped behind his lover, refusing to look at Endymion. Knowing what had happened earlier, Endymion forced himself to keep his distance.

Zoisite put his arms around Jadeite protectively and whispered something to him that Endymion was unable to hear from the distance. It truly hurt to see Jadeite cowering from him and Zoisite's angry glare. Both kept him several metres away.

“Please!” he begged, “tell me what I can do to fix this! I'll do anything.”

Kunzite and Nephrite made their way towards him, but he wasn't going to let them stop him. Surprisingly, they didn't do anything but wait behind him.

“You've done plenty.”

Endymion wasn't sure if he heard properly. Zoisite's voice was harsh. He shook his head, confused. He really didn't know either of these men any more.

Endymion saw the gate attendants standing by, waiting for the commotion to end so that they could close the gate. The Prince picked one of them. “You, fetch them a horse from the stable and be quick.”

The guard looked to his partner and then took off quickly to follow his orders.

“I don't know how far you are travelling, but it will make your trip easier.”

It was a long wait for the attendant to return, and it was entirely in silence. Jadeite continued to cling to Zoisite, and the latter had taken to rubbing his back soothingly. 'What did I do to him?' Endymion asked himself several times. Would he ever get an answer to that question?

The choice of horse pleased Endymion. It was a brown mare that Jadeite had been rather fond of. Endymion saw his face light up considerably and receiving the horse and petting her seemed to be enough of a distraction for him. Zoisite left his side for a moment and approached Endymion.

The white haired man came to a stop right in front of him and looked up into Endymion's eyes. It gave the prince a chill as it seemed that Zoisite was showing him his true feelings towards him in that look. For the first time, Endymion realized that Zoisite may truly hate him now. “Zoisite, I...”

“Thank you for the horse. Goodbye.”

Endymion was left frozen. The words were empty and had no emotion. Zoisite simply said them and then turned and walked away. The two men quickly set about getting their things packed and then mounted the horse and took off through the gate. They were gone.