Metalia-sama

The guards stationed down in the dungeons were very used to seeing Nephrite. They knew that it was the red haired Tennou sneaking in extra food for the king, and Nephrite knew that they knew, but no one said a word of this knowledge.

King Endymion had lost quite a bit of weight, despite Nephrite's attempts to bring him as much extra sustenance as he could. He passed the pouch through the bars and his king accepted the offering silently.

“How's my son?” he asked in a whisper.

“No change, Your Majesty.”

“Do you think there is any hope in him returning to normal?”

Nephrite looked down at the floor. The truth was that he had given up hope long ago. Zoisite was always talking about how their old Master was still in there somewhere, but Nephrite couldn't see him. “I'm afraid I'm not as optimistic as some.”

“I see.”

They remained in silence for a while. Nephrite continued to watch the door while his king made short work of the offerings. He handed the pouch back to Nephrite, and the Tennou slipped it inside his uniform.

“How are the others fairing?”

Nephrite hadn't wanted to tell the king exactly what had been going on, but the king insisted. He supposed that he could have dressed up his words a bit, make thing seem as not as bad as they were, but he never had been very good at that sort of thing. By now, King Endymion has grown used to Nephrite's harsh manner.

“Not well. It won't be long now before he realizes that Kunzite's plans are fake. I'm afraid of what will happen when he finds out.”

“Do you think he would do something to Kunzite?”

Nephrite shook his head. Kunzite was too important to Endymion. “I don't think it's Kunzite he would punish. Zoisite's beatings have become more frequent, and the Master has been threatening him. I think that if he finds out that Kunzite is bluffing, he'll kill Zoisite.”

The king exhaled loudly. Nephrite could imagine his frustration and pain. “Nephrite. When it's convenient for him, can you ask Kunzite to come and speak to me?”

Until now, the king had been satisfied with speaking only to Nephrite and using him as a messenger. Asking to speak to Kunzite in person was new, but Nephrite promised to pass the request on.

---

So far, everything was going according to Beryl's instructions. Even though he had lived in the palace most of his life, Zoisite knew very little about the surrounding woods. He had memorized Beryl's instructions, knowing better than to bring the letter with him, and soon found the area he was looking for.

The path he had been following lead to a small clearing with a single tree in the centre. He was to wait here, out in the open, and someone would find him there shortly. He didn't like how vulnerable this set up made him, but he had little choice. He drew back the hood that he wore and stepped into the clearing, walking slowly towards the lone dark tree. Save for the light from the half moon, nothing lit the area.

Even up close, the tree looked completely black. When he reached out and touched it, he felt a shiver travel down his spine. There was some kind of unnatural energy flowing through it.

“So you finally decided to come.”

Zoisite looked up quickly, started by the voice he heard. A young woman stepped out from the other side of the tree. She had long, dark brown hair and wore a simple black dress. “Are you Beryl?” he asked. She wasn't exactly what he was expecting.

“No, but I will take you to her.” Without another word, the woman reached out and placed her hand on Zoisite's shoulder. He wasn't prepared for the teleport, and so a wave of dizziness hit him on the other side. It took a moment to pass, and then he noticed that he was no longer in the forest, but in a cave instead.

Of the Shitennou, Zoisite had the strongest sense of magic and energy around him. At any point, he could tap into the energies emitted by people, animals, nature, and how all these energies flowed and merged with one another. In this cave however, he could feel nothing but complete chaos, and none of the energies he should be feeling from outside the cave.

The girl seemed to anticipate this. “We have a barrier set up here. It prevents anyone from entering or leaving without Beryl-sama's permission and also blocks all forms of magic,” she explained. “Don't worry, we don't mean you any harm.”

“Where's Beryl?”

“Follow me.”

The girl began to lead him deeper into the cave. Water could be heard dripping off the ceiling and walls, which seemed to have their own glow. The cavern was bright enough to see well, but Zoisite couldn't see what exactly was lighting it.

The tunnel opened up into a much larger room. This room was filled with various crystals, amulets, charms, and other magical items. Zoisite probably could have kept himself entertained for hours just examining them all. Since they had lost their old Master, he hadn't been able to work with his own magic. Endymion feared they would use it against him.

A woman with bright red hair stood at the far end of the room. She was staring deeply into one of the crystals, this one was rather large and a pale purple. The girl Zoisite followed paused in the middle of the room and bowed while they waited for Beryl to acknowledge their presence.

“You may leave us, Mio,” Beryl said, in a surprisingly soft voice. Zoisite watched the girl turn and leave then, giving him a strange look right before doing so. Had she smirked at him?

“You would be Beryl?” Zoisite asked, even though the answer was obvious.

“I am. You took much longer to reply to my letter than I thought you would.” She still had part of her attention focused on the crystal. Because of the all the conflicting energies in the room, Zoisite couldn't get the slightest feel for what she was doing.

He wasn't here to chat however. He needed to get back to the palace well before daybreak. “I'm not going to pretend that I even remotely trust you. When a witch offers her help, she wants something in return. What is it?”

The witch comment caused the woman to look up finally. “You certainly lack a few manners, don't you.”

“I don't have the time for them.”

Giving a slight smile, Beryl turned and picked a few items off the table nearest her before walking over to the Tennou. “Then let's talk about Prince Endymion-sama. Something has happened to cause you to turn to 'a witch' in desperation. I assume that Metalia's hold has deepened.”

Zoisite swallowed nervously. “As each day passes, I can see less and less of my Master in that man. As one of the Shitennou, I want to help him, but...”

“But you are powerless.”

Zoisite didn't like the way she said that, even though it was true. He didn't like the idea of asking anyone to help them protect their master, let alone a witch.

“I mean you no disrespect,” she continued, “but Metalia is a strong entity. I have studied her for some time now, and I do know how to remove her from the prince. It will be more difficult now that she is more firmly rooted however. If you had come to me at the beginning, this would have been much easier. It also would have cost you much less.”

There is was, as he expected. “And what will it cost me, exactly?”

“Well,” she said, as she casually walked in a circle around him. “Once Metalia is out of your prince, I want her for my own studies. Also, I want free access to the palace and my own quarters within.”

“Both of those can be arranged,” Zoisite said, looking over his shoulder at the woman. “So long as Metalia is kept out of the palace.”

“That was my intention,” she agreed. “And there is one more thing...”

As she explained the final condition, Zoisite's eyes grew wide and he took a step away from the woman, who was suddenly a bit too close for comfort. “I can't do that.”

“I thought that you would do anything to ensure your Master's safety and well being.”

“But that goes against everything I have sworn to! My life is dedicated to my Master,” he was yelling at her, but that didn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

“Are you sure about that? What about Jadeite?” the corner of her mouth crept up in a smirk as she used her trump card.

“What the hell do you know about Jadeite?” It wasn't often that Zoisite got angry, and when he did it was rarer yet that he would show it.

Beryl herself remained quite calm and in control. “I know more than you think. For example, I know that you are in love with him. I also know that Metalia is forcing him to...”

“Stop it.” It hurt. He knew that Beryl was doing it on purpose, but that didn't make it any less painful. There were very few people in the kingdom who knew the things that she did, it would be impossible for someone outside the palace to come across this information. “How do you know about that?”

The red haired woman smiled, “I have my sources. The girl who lead you here is my shadow, and I have others. One of them works in the palace.”

A shadow? Zoisite knew the theory behind it. A being created as an extension of one's self. So Beryl had planted spies in the palace. He felt foolish for not having noticed, but then again he had been rather distracted lately from his duties. He had been more concerned with Jadeite's well being than palace security. A fact that made him feel incredibly guilty.

“Those are my demands. If you cannot meet the third one, then you will be left to deal with a demon possessed Prince on your own. I can guarantee that things can and will be much worse for both you and your lover.”

She had him and they both knew it. Even though the deal, on the technical side, was not a betrayal to his Master, Zoisite couldn't help but feel like it was. “Alright. I will agree to all three terms, but only after you have successfully removed Metalia.”

“No,” Beryl said, her expression becoming deadly serious. She revealed a small, intricately designed blade and held it towards the Tennou. “You do this now.”

---

Jadeite stirred in his sleep. Dreams of his Master and Zoisite haunted him. Zoisite would be holding him, or kissing him. Sometimes it was more than that, but always they were ripped apart by the prince. Tonight his eyes had glowed red as he grabbed Zoisite by his neck, tight enough that he had clawed at the prince's hand and arm before being thrown to the ground. Jadeite had tried to run forward, begging the Master to leave him alone, but he was easily thrown aside, and left helpless, only to watch while the Master drew his sword, and brought the tip of it down and through Zoisite's chest. Jadeite screamed, but no sound came forward. Blood quickly stained the white uniform of his lover, whose eyes were still open as if in permanent shock. Jadeite tired to reach out to him, but he was roughly pushed down again. He struggled against his Master, begging and crying for him to stop as he began to tear at Jadeite's uniform, only moments after killing Zoisite. “I don't like to share,” his Master explained, running his fingers through Jadeite's hair and down over his cheek “You belong to me.”

“No!” Jadeite's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly. He panted heavily as he slowly realized that it had been just another dream. He clung to Zoisite's uniform jacket as if his life depended on it, then he buried his face in the fabric.

“Jade...” a soft voice whispered beside him.

Jadeite looked over, shocked to see his lover sitting on the edge of their bed, his face full of worry. The younger Tennou was suddenly aware of his own appearance, a tear streaked face and a crumpled jacket in his arms. He must have looked so pathetic, and right after he had sworn to himself that he was going to be stronger, that he was going to hide his pain. His wrists. He couldn't let Zoisite see his wrists.

As casually as he could, he tried to hide his hands under the sheets on the bed. “Did everything go as planned?” he asked, hoping to take the attention away from himself.

“You don't need to worry about that. Nothing happened tonight, you understand that, right?”

Jadeite nodded before Zoisite gathered him in his arms. It felt so good, and Jadeite had to fight every urge to wrap his own arms around Zoisite as well. If he could hide the marks and scars, and be strong, then maybe...

“Jade? What's wrong?”

“Nothing's wrong...” his voice shook a bit as he spoke, giving away the truth.

Zoisite pulled away, but kept his hands on Jadeite's shoulders as he tried to look Jadeite in the eye. Instinctively, Jadeite avoided his gaze, but felt it look him over before stopping at the sheets that partially covered him. “Why are you hiding your hands?”

“I'm not hiding them.”

“Jade... let me see.”

He shook his head. “I said that it's nothing.”

“Jadeite, please.”

Zoisite only used his full name when he was very serious about something, usually when he was worried about Jadeite's well being. He had trouble saying no when Zoisite was being so serious. Jadeite slowly brought his hands back out from under the sheets, the red marks on his wrists clearly visible.

He heard Zoisite let out a sigh. “Oh Jade...” he said as he carefully examined the burn marks, taking care to be very gentle. “Why were you trying to hide this from me?” Zoisite released his wrists and wrapped his arms around the young man again, holding him close. “I want to help you, and I need to know what he's doing to you.”

Maybe his plan to hide his abuse from Zoisite had been wrong after all. Zoisite did love him, so maybe all he needed to do was take the first step, to prove to Zoisite that he was ready. Jadeite looked up at his lover, looked into his grey eyes. There was not even a hint of disgust or disapproval in them, and so Jadeite pressed forward yet, and brought his lips to Zoisite's own.

Zoisite didn't resist in the slightest, and returned Jadeite's kiss. A soft kiss, the furthest that Jadeite had ever gone with him. 'But I was always waiting for him to press forward,' Jadeite thought. It made sense that Zoisite would be waiting for him. Waiting until he was really ready.

Taking another step, Jadeite applied a bit more pressure and opened his mouth just enough to brush his tongue against Zoisite's lips. Zoisite shifted on the bed then, and for a split second, Jadeite feared that he would back away. In fact, he only moved so that he could better hold Jadeite, moving one hand to the back of his head while the other remained on his back.

So far so good, but Zoisite still was holding back. So Jadeite deepened the kiss further, and in a desperate attempt to drive his point home, he brought his hands to Zoisite's shoulders and tried to pull the other man down on the bed with him.

This got a reaction, but not the one Jadeite had been hoping for. Zoisite moaned in protest and broke the kiss, pushing Jadeite away from him. “Jade, what do you think you are doing?”

“I...” Jadeite's eyes grew wide in fear as he tried to stumble through an explanation. “I thought that you... I wanted to... we should... be together.”

Zoisite exhaled loudly and removed his hands from the younger man's shoulders. “Jadeite, we can't. I can't do that with you.”

Jadeite's breath caught and his heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be true, could it? He backed away from Zoisite a bit, crawling further into the centre of the bed. “He was right? He was telling the truth...” He started shaking, this realization caused him so much pain, he didn't know what he could do to calm it. He was crying again, and he needed to get away from Zoisite.

He jumped off the bed and ran from the room.

---

“You asked to see me, Your Majesty?”

Nephrite had told Kunzite about the king's desire to speak with him, but Kunzite had held off until after Zoisite's return. That part of the plan had gone flawlessly. Too perfect in Kunzite's opinion.

“Yes, thank you for coming, Kunzite.”

The Shitennou leader bowed deeply upon arriving at the cell, resulting in a protest from the king. Despite the circumstances, Kunzite still saw this man as the rightful King of Earth, and so proper protocols had to be followed. “What can I do for you?”

“Nephrite tells me that my son is not doing very well. I wanted to hear your opinion on the matter.” The King stood in his cell, leaning back against the far wall.

Kunzite nodded slightly. “It is true that Metalia's hold on him is slowly gaining strength, however...” Kunzite paused and looked around him, and down to the entrance to the dungeon to confirm that they were in fact alone. He dropped his voice to a whisper regardless when he continued. “However, there is a plan in motion to free the Master from the demon's hold.”

The King straightened himself up and approached Kunzite at the bars of the cell. “A plan? Nephrite made no mention of it.”

“He does not know of it, your majesty. Zoisite and I agreed to keep it a secret from both him and Jadeite for their protection.”

The older man seemed to think about this for a moment. “May I ask what the plan involved?”

“You may,” Kunzite allowed, “but with all due respect, I would prefer if it remained classified to those already in the know. The walls have ears, as I am sure you are well aware.”

“Of course, you would be correct.” The King turned and returned to the wall he had previously be resting against. “The reason I called you was in regard to the oath you took when you agreed to be my son's protector.”

“I will always do everything in my power to keep your son from harm, Your Majesty,” Kunzite responded, bowing his head.

“Not that oath, Kunzite. The other one. That one that you alone took and the others know nothing about.”

Kunzite's breath caught in his throat and his eyes grew wide. Surely his king couldn't be referring to...

“Should this plan of yours fail. Should it look as though Metalia can never be removed, I want you to carry out that oath you took. Do you understand?”

Kunzite raised his eyes to look at the king. His expression was dead serious, and Kunzite's heart fell at the realization of what he might have to do. “Yes. I understand.”

---

Zoisite had no idea how to proceed next. Why had Jadeite run from the room? What had he been talking about right before he left? Why had he suddenly tried to seduce Zoisite right after being so obviously abused by the Master? It was this last question that bothered Zoisite the most.

Jadeite was raped almost every night, and tonight he had been tied down rather harshly. Zoisite suspected that he would find matching marks around his ankles as well. Until now, Jadeite had only wanted a safe sanctuary, and Zoisite had done as best he could. He wouldn't even consider touching Jadeite in a sexual way, as that would negate the safe haven he provided. So why was Jadeite asking him to take him now? After what appeared to be one of his worst nights with the Master? It didn't make any sense.

In fact, when Zoisite turned him down, he seemed frightened and scared. The exact opposite reaction to what Zoisite thought he should have. Jadeite looked as though he had been betrayed. What exactly had happened in his absence?

Zoisite sighed and looked down at himself. He was still dressed in all black, which would be a strange sight for Jadeite to begin with. He removed the dark clothing and retrieved a pair of comfortable, plain white pants. He took his hair out of it's usual pony tail as well.

He didn't know what he should say when he left their bedroom. Would Jadeite just run from him again? He wanted to help Jadeite more than anything, if he could just understand how he was supposed to do that. Taking a deep breath, Zoisite slide the bedroom door open and stepped into the living area.

At first, he did not see the blond haired man, and thought that perhaps he had left their chambers all together. A soft sob however, directed his attention to the large stuffed chair, the back of which was facing Zoisite.

Jadeite was curled up in a ball in that chair, hugging himself as he continued to cry uncontrollably. Zoisite reached a hand out and touched Jadeite's shoulder, only to have him jerk away from his touch. He couldn't believe how much that hurt him, to see Jadeite so distrusting of him.

“Jade?” he asked, kneeling down in front of the chair, but knowing better than to reach forward a second time. “Jade, please. Tell me what I've done.”

Jadeite shook his head, either telling Zoisite that he won't tell him, or that there was nothing he had done. Zoisite wasn't sure which of the two it was.

“Is what he said true?” Jadeite asked between sobs, “I didn't want to believe him, but...”

He? “Who said what? Are you talking about the Master? Jadeite, what did he say to you?”

Jadeite was crying in full force again, and it pained Zoisite so that he couldn't hold him. That he wasn't permitted to. What had that bastard said to Jadeite to cause all this? For the first time in his life, Zoisite felt no remorse at thinking of the Master in such terms.

“He... he said that... the reason you haven't... it's because I'm... used. 'Spoiled goods'.”

Zoisite had never felt more rage in all his life. Anger, hostility, hatred, these were foreign to him until now. Now he felt all of them, and they were all directed at his Master.

He stood suddenly, and strode across the room. When he didn't find anything that he could throw against the wall, he slammed his fist into it instead. How dare he say such things to Jadeite? Zoisite balled his other fist and launched it at the surface next, as his right hand hurt too much to continue with it. He felt so much animosity inside him and he had no idea how to release it.

He brought his left fist back a second time, but it fell limp at his side when he heard Jadeite whimper behind him, still huddled in the chair. He was scaring him, Zoisite realized, and he was scaring himself as well. Why was he having these sudden hostile feeling towards his Master, and not just Metalia. Surely it couldn't be...

Zoisite gaze lingered on the bandage he had wrapped around his right palm, remembering the deal he had to make with Beryl. 'It wasn't... it shouldn't have an effect on me yet...'

Slowly, Zoisite turned and looked over his shoulder. Jadeite was staring at him, wide-eyed and afraid. Gods how Zoisite hated to see him like that.

He walked back across the room, stopping a few feet short of the chair and sunk to his knees on the floor. He hung his head, his long hair falling around his face. “I'm sorry I worried you, Jade. What he said to you was cruel, and not true. I don't think of you like that at all. I do want to...” he trailed off, unsure if he should continue that sentence.

Zoisite heard Jadeite slip off the chair and onto the floor in front of him. He felt Jadeite's hands on his face, cupping his cheeks and lifting his head so that he was looking at his lover. “You do want to...?” Jadeite repeated.

“I do,” Zoisite affirmed, “but I'm afraid to. I'm so worried that I'll do something to hurt you.”

“You would never...”

“Not intentionally, but I might. After everything that he's done to you...”

Jadeite leaned forward then and kissed Zoisite's lips softly. He only pulled back enough to speak again. “I'm not afraid. I trust you.”

“I don't trust me,” Zoisite whispered in reply, barely getting the words out before Jadeite kissed him again, a bit harder this time. Zoisite knew what Jadeite was trying to suggest, and he was torn between what he knew Jadeite wanted and his own fears. Regardless, he did want to hold Jadeite close to him once again, and so he shuffled closer, wrapped his arms around the other man, and drew Jadeite closer, deepening their kiss a fraction more as a result.

It was becoming difficult to hold himself back. Both he and Jadeite wanted the same thing, and he wanted it so much it was almost unbearable to be in this situation with Jadeite now and not be able to press forward. His body was already reacting to this desire, and when Jadeite accidentally brushed against him, he couldn't contain a low groan.

Jadeite pulled back, to both the relief and disappointment of his lover. He looked uncertain as he glanced down at the bulge in Zoisite's pants and then back up. “I...” he started.

“We should stop,” Zoisite said, the part of him that wanted to protect Jadeite from anything, even himself, finally winning again.

“No! Please...”

Just as Zoisite was pushing himself away, Jadeite pulled them back together, pressing himself against Zoisite's arousal as a result. He didn't want to alert Jadeite to this, even though he would be able to feel him surely enough, but a quiet 'ah' did get passed his lips.

“Please,” Jadeite repeated, sounding more confident than he had in a long while. “You said that you wanted this, and I want it as well. Not because I think it's expected of me, or because I'm trying to prove something to you, but because... because I want to be close to you. You always make me feel good, and I want to feel good like that...”

“Jade...” He sounded so sure of himself, and even though Zoisite knew that things might be different in the actual act, Jadeite's words were starting to convince Zoisite that perhaps it wouldn't hurt to at very least experiment a little bit. “Alright, but we're going to move slow. Very slow. I refuse to do anything that might hurt or frighten you in the slightest.”

Jadeite's face brightened considerably. “Zoi, I... Thank you.”

Zoisite couldn't help but smile, and ran his hand through the blond curls on Jadeite's head. “I'm sure our bed is much more comfortable then this floor,” he said, “why don't we move ourselves back in there?” Zoisite stood and reached out a hand to help Jadeite up. He had forgotten for the moment that it was that particular hand that was bandaged, and Jadeite had noticed for the first time.

“What happened to your hand?” he asked, touching the cloth gently. “You had no such injury when I saw you last.”

“It's nothing,” Zoisite replied, offering his other hand instead. “I just... scratched it on something. Don't worry about it.”