My heart literally stopped when I saw those green eyes boring into my own.

Oh, Petz and I, we had hardly been friends. I had been her superior, her Prince, the one who ruled over her and her sisters, the controller of her destiny...

Yet she now gave me a peculiar look that seemed almost mocking, as if she thought I was mad. She did not appear to recognise me at all; despairingly, I realised that that was hardly remarkable, not in the end.

However, her expression changed somewhat as she -- belatedly -- realised what it was I had called her. "Do forgive me for asking, but how did you know my given name?"

"Ayakashi Petz," I murmured this time, still staring at her with narrowed eyes. I never had been overly fond of Petz, this being mostly due to the fact that I thought my brother could do a lot better than her.

She seemed only mildly surprised. "Oh, so you know my last name, too?"

Sensing that I wasn't going to reply to Petz's question, Setsuna stepped forward slightly, coming to my side. She bowed her dark head, and said in her low, mellifluous voice "Please forgive my companion's rudeness. I am Meiou Setsuna, and this is Shirouji Demando."

I shot her a warning glance; she ignored me. I had a sneaking suspicion that Setsuna was one of those rare people who honestly didn't care what others thought of her.

Petz's eyes narrowed in that instant; she did not pay much attention to me, she seemed somewhat off-put by Setsunaâs introduction. "Your name is not Nemesian, though that of your companion's is. You sound as if you are affiliated with the White Moon."

Setsuna was not at all perturbed by this veiled warning, if her neutral facial expression was anything to go by. "Is that a crime?"

A patronising smile oozed onto her face -- Petz seemed somewhat more... trying than I had remembered her to be. "It depends on the depth of your loyalty to the Neo-Queen. Prince Saffir-sama has some tolerance for-"

"Saffir," I whispered suddenly, startling both women. However, Setsuna turned back to Petz, effectively distracting the other green-haired woman. It was a good thing she did; I could feel that my skin had gone as pale as alabaster, and I knew my shock must be evident.

The parade had long passed by, the streets had emptied quickly. I briefly wondered where the others had gotten to, but Setsuna's next words jolted me back to reality rather sharply.

"I was once a citizen of Crystal Tokyo, but I have married into the Nemesian society through my husband, Demando."

I almost choked, but I hid it when Petz gave me a strange look. I made a decision then that Setsuna and I needed to have a LONG talk about this. Later.

Petz then raised an eyebrow as she ran her eyes over the slender length of Setsuna's body. "Well, Meiou-san, I wouldnât exactly advertise your origins. Most of us are tolerant of your kind, but Saffir-sama has been... less than tranquil lately."

"Surely you're not implying that Saffir-sama would begin a war with those of the Neo-Silver Millennium, are you?" asked Setsuna pleasantly.

Petz snorted, gathering her dark cloak about her, putting the hood up so that it more or less obscured all of her face. I shuddered; her appearance reminded me sharply of that traitorous bastard, the Wiseman. "I am under no obligation to answer that, Meiou-san."

Setsuna looked vaguely amused. I swiftly garnered the impression that this was the best anyone could get out of her, in the way that she would look happy or sad. It seemed to me that vague feelings were the best she could do after her many years of existence... for I knew that she was old. "You are part of the Ministry of Defence, are you not?"

Petz visibly started; Setsuna had accurately hit a nerve there. "I hardly think that is any of your concern, non-Citizen. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"You're a member of government?" I asked suddenly, reaching out with one gloved hand to grab her sleeve when it seemed she would turn away from us.

Setsuna almost laughed. "She's the minister of defence, ottosama," she replied, almost beratingly. I had to resist the temptation to blast her for using that term, actually, but it was Petz's dry observation that caught the majority of my attention.

Petz shook off my grip, looking annoyed. "You two seem the wrong way around to me. For a non-Citizen, you know rather a lot about Nemesis, while your husband seems to know very little."

"Weâve been away from Nemesis for some time. I just happened to follow the news," Setsuna replied with a straight face. To her credit, she didn't react to the sharp elbow I surreptitiously shoved into her ribs.

Petz shrugged for a second, then looked back at me, narrowing her eyes as she looked me over. "You knew my name... you must have known my position."

"No," I replied, and then something occurred to me. "Minister Ayakashi-sama, are you able to speak with the Prince at will?"

"If his will allows it, yes," she replied carefully, not taking her eyes from mine. "Why do you ask?"

Setsuna laughed, high and fluting. "My husband desires to meet his sovereign, in order to compare him to the great and noble Neo-Queen and Neo-King of the Crystal Empire."

I think Petz's jaw would have hit the floor if she could have done it without needing extensive plastic surgery afterwards. "Youâve met the Neo King and Queen?!"

"Indeed," Setsuna said softly, her eyes somehow shadowed. "Demando-sama is as unaccepted on Earth as I am here... and naturally, the rulers wanted to see my Nemesian husband, to... approve his presence on their planet."

Confused, Petzâs eyes flicked back and forth between us in mystification. "How in the Universe did you two even meet?"

"I have always wanted to be a diplomat," replied Setsuna smoothly, before giving me a strangely affectionate smile. "Demando-sama has long felt the same way. Call it the coming together of mutual minds that have always thought alike..."

"I would like to see the Prince," I said suddenly, interrupting Setsuna's oddly quiet words. "I have seen the Neo-Queen, and I wish to speak to my sovereign about what it was that I saw."

That was where Petz's paranoia kicked in. "You are not people whom the Prince has time to see..."

And that was where Setsuna surprised the both of us.

"I am a diplomat from the Neo-Queen myself," I remarked softly, the lie falling smoothly from my tongue. I hated to admit it to myself, but it vastly amused me to continue shocking Demando. He was completely out of his element, he was used to being the one in absolute control. "My husband and I wish to speak with the Prince about things I feel will be beneficial to us both."

She gave me a sceptical look, which was less amusing than Demando's wide eyed puzzlement. "If I were to allow you to see the Prince, I would need some confirmation of your status, gaikoukan."

I nodded, and took from the air a scroll of paper which materialised at my command. It shimmered silver in the early morning light, the writing pale pink against the argent parchment.

Demando managed to conceal his surprise, Petz was somewhat less successful. "Why did you not come here officially, Meiou-san? Why were you not announced by your deity Queen?"

I gave her one of my most straightforward looks, not blinking my cerise eyes in the slightest. This meant that my stare must have been penetrating, because rarely blinking is the secret behind such gazes. "The Queen did not wish to alarm anybody by making this a public and media circus. She asked me to return home with my husband, and while here, to speak with the Prince about various matters of state. It is not a job of great significance, more one of mutual interest. If she wanted to make this official, she would have sent one of her Senshi, ne?"

Demando coughed rather loudly beside me; I simply ignored him. I could understand why he was beginning to think I was crazy, but the truth was, I was having fun. It had been a long time since I had ever done such things... far too long, even for one like myself.

Petz didn't react to Demando's delicate complaint at my irony, and took the scroll into her gloved fingers. She seemed to read over it again, and then she sighed. "It seems real enough."

"Oh, it is," I remarked gamely, before gently placing my arm about Demando's waist. He stiffened underneath my touch, but remembered to play his role, and did not pull away. "My husband and I are both vagabonds of this universe, we wander... but we do not like to see two such kingdoms ignore each other as they try so desperately to do. Wouldn't it be better for all of us if you could live together, instead of just co-existing?"

Petz was by now looking at Demando, who wasn't really paying all that much attention to what was going on between the Minister and me. He seemed fascinated by the towers of the palace, and I couldnât say that I was surprised. After all, that was where his brother was. "I could take you to the palace, I suppose, but I had been planning to go and listen to the speech of the Princess..."

Demando tore his eyes from the glistening tower to stare at Petz. "That was why she was coming through the streets like this? She was going to give a speech?"

"In the square, yes," Petz replied, cocking her head to one side. "You are not familiar with Nemesian politics, are you?"

Demando almost gagged; I almost laughed. The most prodigal demagogue and orator of the thirtieth century had just been asked if he was not familiar with Nemesian politics... oh, this was classic.

Managing to keep his composure -- just barely, I might add -- Demando replied civilly with "I have been away from such matters for some time, Ayakashi-sama. However, that is not what we came here to discuss. I think it is now time that you take us to see your Prince."

I winced internally at that speech; Demando had unintentionally allowed some of his former power to creep into his words, and it obviously irked the minister somewhat. After all, she was probably unused to hearing such a peremptory tone from a so-called civilian.

However, before she could reply, he asked her what could be regarded as a very odd question. "Ayakashi-san, if the Prince is married to the Princess, then who are you married to?"

I remained calm and undisturbed by this question; it made Petz look suddenly uncomfortable, and very bewildered. "I don't know what you mean..."

Demando brushed that aside. "Tell me, what rank do Rubeus, Esmeraude and Serpentine hold these days?"

She gave him a suspicious Look, before replying slowly "Admiral, Field-Marshal and lieutenant-general, in that order... though Lord Serpentine acts as a bodyguard to the Prince and Princess."

Demando chuckled, sounding as if he were both shocked and not surprised, as impossible as that sounded. "Ah, both of them do so well.... and Serpentine, I can't say I'm surprised. He was always fiercely loyal to me...why should it be any different now...?"

"What?" asked Petz, looking horribly confused, and somewhat suspicious. "What are you talking about?"

I tightened my grip about Demando's waist, which seemed to bring him back to this alternative reality with a bit of a thump. "Nothing," he replied evenly, and even though it was obvious she was not completely satisfied with that answer, she looked one more time at the scroll, then turned to gaze up the street. "The Princess is in the square, giving one of her famous speeches, but I daresay the Prince will be in his audience chamber, or thereabouts."

"Have you ever heard of the jakokuzuishou?" Demando abruptly blurted out, before I could stop him. Internally I sighed; externally, I didn't react at all. That was one of the greatest talents of the Guardian of Time, and a completely necessary one at that.

Petz gave him a queer look, like he had suddenly grown a third head or something. "There is a ginzuishou, and only one of them at that. I have never heard of a jakokuzuishou... do you care to explain to me what it is and why I should have heard of it?"

Demando had visibly relaxed; obviously, the question had been at the forefront of his mind for sometime, annoying him immensely. "It is nothing, Ayakashi-sama. Nothing at all."

Unconvinced, she seemed on the verge of complaining that Demando couldn't possibly be sane enough to be granted an audience with the Prince of the Nemesis. However, I merely said "Let us go," and she appeared to be calmed by that. I didn't know how I could do that to people; I figured that it was because of my many years of solitude. One might think that that would ruin my people skills, but after being an observer for many years, I had witnessed the quirks of many people, and I knew certain ways of calming their fears and suspicions.

However, I knew that I would not be able to help Demando keep in control once we actually came across his brother.

Petz moved easily through the streets, shielded from the soft drizzly rain by only her cloak. Setsuna and I still shared the umbrella, though she had by now removed her arm from about my waist. I understood why she had done it in the first place, we had to act as husband and wife to avoid even more suspicion. Certainly, I was doing a good enough job to blow our cover. However, it was odd... now that she had taken her comforting arm away, I almost... missed it. Before she had even touched me, I had never even begun to wonder what it would be like to be near her, but now that I had, there was something... something about her that made me want to stay beside her.

Sighing shakily, I realised that we had come upon the outer gates of the Nemesian royal palace. I almost shuddered as I looked up over the tall wrought iron, up at the strange construction that looked nothing like my own palace.

Petz spoke easily to one of the four guards outside the gates; they were dressed in the same blue and silver uniforms I had observed Serpentine to wear, but they were lesser-ranking than that which the violet-haired man had worn. They obviously knew Petz well; it was most evident that it was our presence that was giving her trouble.

Finally, they allowed us through, after making what appeared to be hundreds of phone calls from the guardhouse. It was clear to the both of us that the person they had spoken to was less than impressed at having been interrupted from their duties.

As we moved inside, I expected a bodily search for weapons of one sort or another, but we were merely allowed to pass through. However, I knew that we weren't getting off that easily. There must be something we would have to go through before we got to my brother's audience chamber... if we ever made it that far.

We moved down the avenue beyond the heavy gates; two guards from the gatehouse accompanied us. They flanked Setsuna and me; Petz led the way, her cloak flapping about her long legs. She brought us all up the stairs to the main doors of the central building, from which the three towers arose.

At the head of these stairs was a small figure, dressed in long, black robes of state. They were lined with pale rose-gold, which glittered almost ominously in the bright kaleidoscope light of the glowing orbs. As she looked at us, I recognised the verdant eyes, the long curtain of violet hair that characterised the woman to me, as it always had.

Petz inclined her head to her, bowing respectfully. "Lady Chancellor, these are the two whom wish to speak with Prince Saffir-sama. The man is the Nemesian, the other of the Neo-Silver Millennium."

Amethyst gave me an almost bored look; I was actually very insulted. The girl -- for that was how I remembered her, a shy, timid little girl -- had always been afraid of me, of my position. It seemed she had grown up, however. And to be a Chancellor, instead of that reticent archivist...

"I don't have time for this," she said clearly, slowly. "As Supreme Court Judge, I have things I should do. For example, the coroner wishes to speak with me, regarding the incident in Judecca two months ago. Now, I have to deal with this, and it seems, in my mind, to take more precedence than this matter."

"Coroner Ayakashi can wait," Petz replied evenly. I wondered for a moment which of the sisters had become the coroner... without much further thought, I understood that it had to be Beruche. After all, the white-haired sister had always been the most logical and level-minded of the four...

Amethyst shook her head, the long waves flying about her narrow face. "I have an appointment with the Prime Minister in less than an hour. Now, if you would like to keep him waiting, that's your funeral, but-"

"Give us the clearance, Amethyst," Petz broke in, sounding bored. "My authorisation is enough to make you do it, you understand that, right?"

Amethyst looked annoyed, but it seemed there was little she could do. "Fine. Come with me, then, to the throne room. I do believe that Prince Saffir-sama will be there... but have you screened these two so-called 'diplomats' yet? I don't want to be responsible for the assassination of the Prince, especially not with the Princess in such a condition."

I opened my mouth to ask "And what condition would this be?" but Setsuna's hand tightening about my own made me shut up. I had the feeling she had no idea what Amethyst had meant by that, but she was obviously tired of covering for me.

Petz snorted. "They come from Serenity herself. The Neo-Queen is not a Neo-Nazi, Amethyst; she doesn't believe in such things as assassination. However... it never hurts to be paranoid, does it?"

"A phrase coined by the Prince himself," remarked Amethyst dryly. She then startled the pair of us by invoking our auras; a simple spell that allowed her to effectively read our motives. If there was anything even remotely evil plotted in our minds, our auras would reveal this by being dark, corrupt.

Setsuna seemed at ease while Amethyst's roving eyes moved through our auras. I stood stock still myself; I was dreadfully afraid something in my rose-coloured aura would give me away.

She waved her hand, effectively dismissing us. She sounded fed up with this kind of incident as she then motioned for our accompanying guards to open the large, heavy wooden doors. "Come then," she said, somewhat sharply. Petz looked annoyed at her tone, but looking over at Setsuna, I saw that she seemed to have no reaction to this at all. However, even though she had taken the umbrella down, I noticed that she was holding it in her left hand in a familiar way.

She was holding it the same way she held her Time Staff... it was as if not having the staff with its Garnet Orb atop it was somehow unsettling her inside, even though she refused to show it externally.

I think that was why I did what I did, which was to take her right hand into my own, and gently squeeze it, as I had done so often to my brother when he needed silent comfort. She didn't seem at all surprised, going by the expression on her face, but I saw something flicker in her eyes when they flinched over mine for but a second in time.

Amethyst more or less stalked through the dark, crystalline corridors, all of them dim in the pale yellow glow of the lighting orbs. Tall columns of crystal flickered in this dusky light, but I had no time to examine the scenery. Setsuna's hand, still wrapped about my own, provided a strange distraction. I had only meant to hold it for a second, but she had yet to release it... and for some reason, I didn't want to release her hand, either.

It seemed eons later when Amethyst came across a guarded door. Without even paying so much as a whit of attention to the military presence, she pushed the doors open and stormed in. I marvelled at this; my memories of the girl in my kingdom had her pegged as a shy, retiring little girl who had been deathly afraid of the military faction... well, afraid of authority in general.

We walked in slowly behind her just in time to see her stamp her foot on the glassy floor and swear rather creatively -- another first. I never thought I would have lived to see the day when Amethyst said "Darn."

I had to gasp as I looked about my brother's audience chamber. It was circular, like my own, but there, the similarities ended. The roof was a huge dome decorated with stained glass, obviously lighted by an external light source, for the light shining through the coloured glass was too bright to be that of the sun. The dome and the arched windows about the sides cast coloured shadows across a quartz floor, which shone with the light it refracted back into the room.

Tall crystal statues -- most made of semi-precious crystal, though I saw three in sapphire, emerald and ruby -- lined the walls, each glowing faintly in the filtered light. They almost appeared to be watching me, but it was not an uncomfortable feeling. In fact, it seemed appropriate; not only had my brother loved to sculpt and shape such things from crystal, he had liked to keep an eye on things... my paranoid little brother...

I had to fiercely blink back tears as I allowed my gaze to finally travel to the dais that stood three steps higher than the rest of the room. I gasped to see it -- three tall silver chairs stood there, the middle one the largest by far, but still, I was shocked to see three of the damn things...

But then, it was not the throne and its two lesser subjects that caught my attention. It was the waterfall at the back of them, a rainbow shimmering across its surface as the tiny droplets caught the light from the windows. Dark green vines wrapped themselves about the chairs and the archway of the dais, giving it a slightly surreal look...

Not to mention the flowers. In ornate silver pots on either side of the middle throne sat two tiny flower plants, which I instantly recognised as being the only flower that grew on Nemesis...

Tears really stung my eyes now. Even in this world, all he wants are those bloody flowers...

Amethyst looked severely annoyed as she turned from the three empty thrones to face us. "Well, that's just terrific, isn't it? Prince Saffir-sama's not even here! And seeing that Ouppira-sama is in the square, and Esmeraude-sama, Rubeus-sama and Serpentine-sama with her, I haven't got any idea who to ask about his whereabouts..."

Amethyst seemed to fall into short contemplation; I used that time to lean over to Petz and whisper -- without letting go of Setsuna's lithe fingers -- "Why are there three thrones?"

"One for the Prince, one for the Princess, and one for the Prime Minister," she replied in a low voice, keeping her eyes trained on Amethyst, whom appeared to be thinking quite violently to herself.

"All that trouble for a cat?!" I asked incredulously.

The violet haired girl then turned before Petz could formulate a reply. "I have it! He'll be in the conservatory... not the most formal place to run into the Prince, I'll grant you, but as his chief advisor, I'm bending the rules. The sooner I get you to him -- the sooner I can leave." With that, she stormed out of the throne room and disappeared down the western corridor, all without turning to check that we were following her.

Petz chased after her immediately; it left Setsuna and I alone for a moment. She gave me an almost amused look; I figured that that was the best she could do in making a friendly smile. "Was she always like that, Demando?"

I shook my head, slightly dazed. "I swear, if you met her back home, you wouldn't even think they were from the same planet, let alone the same person..."

Setsuna chuckled, low and to herself. "People can and do change."

I snorted. "Yeah, well, with Amethyst, it might have been for the better. After all, I have to admit I love a woman who takes the reins."

Setsuna then gave me the most peculiar, veiled gaze; even her tone of voice sounded funny, different. "What do you think I've been doing all this time?"

I was shocked to discover that for a moment, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the pained cerise eyes of the Senshi of Pluto. It was in that moment that I understood that somehow, she was hurting just as much as I was.

"Excuse me!" snapped a voice, and we jumped, breaking our hands apart to see Amethyst standing in the doorway, verdant eyes blazing. "The Prince is in the conservatory, waiting for you!"

As we swiftly strode from the room, I allowed myself a glance back at Setsuna. Her eyes, however, were once again guarded, shielded... and I could feel her aura of detachment once again surrounding her like a cool blanket. I didn't understand why, but for some reason, that made me... unhappy.

However, all thoughts of what was on the Senshi's mind disappeared when we came across Petz standing alone outside a shut wooden door.

Amethyst pushed past her, and moved into what I thought was the outside; but no, it was a remarkable greenhouse, contained within the palace's interior walls. I barely had time to look about, however; Amethyst's loud shout of "Oujiiiiiiiiiiisaaaaaaamaaaaaaa!" was enough to make even Setsuna wince.

"I don't think screaming 'Prince' all over the place is proper royal protocol, do you?" I asked Setsuna confidentially, with a slight chuckle.

She shook her head, a ghost of a smile on her face. "You should see the royal family of Crystal Tokyo..."

Amethyst then moved through the paths of this internal garden quite quickly; even though she was a tiny woman, I had to move quite quickly to keep up with her. Setsuna was, as usual, a comforting presence by my side. I was glad for that a moment later, for it was her arm that I gripped when I saw him.

There was a stream running through the garden; by its side was a young man, kneeling on the stone path. He seemed to be running his long fingers through the cold water, almost as if trying to touch his own reflection. In his other hand he held an open book, his fingers obviously marking the page he had left off at. However, upon hearing our footsteps, his dark head snapped up, dusky blue eyes looking slightly confused as a bemused smile crossed his face. "Amethyst-san, Petz-san..."

He then stood up to his full height -- two inches shorter than me, but still tall none-the-less. He was dressed in a long navy coat that matched the shade of his hair, a beautiful coat that fell to mid-calf, decorated with the quartz clasps of a Nemesian Savant. His hands were gloved in white, his trousers and shoes white, his skin as pale as alabaster... a person who never saw much sun, even though when he was young, he had wished for little else...

Dusky blue eyes, wide, trusting, yet somehow suspicious as they fell on both Setsuna and me.

"Forgive me for asking, but who are you?" he asked pleasantly, stepping so close to me that I could almost feel his breath, could almost hear his heartbeat.

I would like to say that I reacted as a Nemesian Prince should; I would like to say that I calmly introduced Setsuna and myself as quasi-diplomats from the Neo-Queen. However, saying that would be a lie, for I actually did something a lot less dignified than that.

I fainted.

As written by Celeste Goodchild.

Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Comics, and Toei Animation.

To Part Four