Title: The Fire From Within Chapter 3
Author: Blue Ice
E-mail: Blue_IceSM@hotmail.com
Rated: G




Hi everyone. Thanks for coming back!! And thank you for all your 
wonderful compliments. I received more than I had expected. ^-^ 

I had thought that this story wasn't going to be that important, but 
I'm putting more efforts into this one than the others. I guess it's 
because I've written a Serena/Darien fanfic and it gets kind of old 
sometimes. I can tell you now that this story is going to be a sad 
one. Happy endings doesn't always exist. We should all know that by 
now. And another reason I'm just tired of writing Happily After...
endings....which happens in all of my other stories. Perhaps it's 
good to have a little change, ne?

Well.. I'll stop here and let you read the story...
(I'm not even going to bother with that copy right stuff.)



	Jedite stared after Rei's retreating back not comprehending 	
what had just happened. She just ran away from him like they've never 
met. "Rei." he sighed longingly. Shaking his head, Jedite sat down on 
the bench. It was really hopeless for them. Even if she felt the same 
way about him, she can't never be with him. 'She's betrothed for 
crying out loud.' Jedite thought angrily. "I'll find a way Rei." he 
vowed silently.
	Rei ran across the courtyard as her heartbeat fastened. "This 	
isn't fair." she hissed angrily and stopped to lean against the closed 
door. "I just want to be with him." she sobbed quietly. "Princess." 
Rei snapped open her eyes at the new voice. It was Prince Helius. 
"Prince Helius." she nodded. "I had been wanting to talk to you since 
breakfast, but didn't get a chance." he smiled and walked over to her.
	"I'm really sorry.. I was preoccupied." she tried to smile. 
"You don't have to apologize. I'm glad you're here now and available." 
he grins and takes her hand leading her down the hallway. "When we 
are married, our kingdoms will be united. It is very useful incase 
the negaverse ever attacks, which is less than likely since we 
defeated them so long ago. But precaution is better than any weapons 
isn't it?" Rei only nodded as she looked down at her clicking shoes. 
	The rest of their conversation was a blur to Rei. She didn't 
bother to listen about his plans for their future. As far as she was 
concerned, she had no future with this egotistic prince. 'He's a big 
talker.' she thought with dismay. That was another thing she didn't 
like in a husband. Husbands and wives should have equal say in a 
marriage. It seems like this Prince Helius guy likes to be the boss. 
	"Rei! Helius!" a high pitched voice hollered. Rei raised her 
head suddenly. "It's such a welcoming sight to see you two getting 
along so well." the queen said and looked down at their clasped hands. 
Rei quickly jerked her hand away. She was thinking so deeply about 
Jedite that she had forgotten about Prince Helius. "Don't push it
mother." Rei said calmly and walked into the throne room to see her 
father.
	"Rei dear. Are you happy?" he asked gently. "No daddy. I'm so 
miserable." the king shook his head. "You know darling." he says and 
takes her into his arms. "I was forced to marry your mother. At the 
time I had been only 21. I was still a young man. Marriage was the 
last thing on my 'to do list.' But I knew being the prince and future 
king had a great responsibility. My kingdom's safety and wellbeing 
rested in my hands." 
	Rei looked up to her father. "Did you love my mother?" she 
asked softly. "I fell in love with her the first moment we met." he 
answered honestly. "She on the other hand was quite reluctant, just 
like you. But I have no idea where you got your fiery personality 
from." he chuckled. "After a week or so, she begin talking to me. 
And then one night, we confessed our love to each other." "I want 
that daddy. I don't care who I fall in love with, prince or no 
prince, I know I'd choose him." the king sighed.
	"My dear daughter. You do not have a choice. It is tradition 
and the law. It is forbidden to ever change it. You must do what is 
right. Royalty isn't what it's cracked up to be. In time you will 
learn to love Prince Helius. He is a strong young man. He will 
provide for you. Try to understand." he said and turned to sit on 
his throne.  
	There was no arguing with him. Rei turned away sadly. 'If 
you'd only understand me daddy.' she thought as a tear escaped her 
sorrowful violet eyes. Closing the double brass doors with a soft 
click, Rei ran to her room. 
	"Rei? Are you in there?" someone knocked at the door. "Please 
just go away." Rei answered miserably. "It's just us." Ami whispered. 
Standing up slowly from her dresser, Rei trudged to the door. "I 
thought we were supposed to meet for lunch. We waited for you." 
Serenity asked. "I don't feel like eating right now." she answered 
hastily and sat back down in front of the mirror. "It's final. I have 
to marry him." she said with a calm tone. She just couldn't cry 
anymore. Her tears were dried up. 
	"Ahh. No Rei. You can't just give up. There must be something 
we can do...what about..." "Serenity! Did you hear me? I said it's 
final!" Rei shouted angrily as Serenity took a step back. The 
princesses looked at each other. If Rei has given up, what else can 
they do. "What about Jedite? You're just going to leave him in the 
dark? Don't you have feelings for him?" Serenity asked sternly.
	"It doesn't matter how I feel. I can never be with him. Don't 
you get it? I'm betrothed damn it. It's the law!" she screamed on top 
of her lungs. "I just want to be with him. I just want him to hold me 
again." she softened up and sobbed. Just when she thought her tears 
were all gone, they came back instantly the second she longed for 
Jedite. "Rei..." Serenity whispered softly as the princesses wrapped 
their arms around Rei.
	"If I were you I'd see him again. I'd spend every waking 
second with him. Time is precious, Rei. Don't waste it when you still 
have it." Lita encouraged. "But how? The only way I can see him is in 
secrecy. There are guards everywhere." Rei looked up to Lita. "Then 
we'll have to do something about that don't we?" she winked. "Go on..
.Lita." Serenity smiled.
	"Oh I don't like the sound of this." Ami shook her head. 
"What about Rei? Ami. We have to do something to help. She doesn't 
have much time left." Lita said urgently. "Tonight I'll talk to 
Jedite. We'll help you escape. Remember the river we went to last 
year? That's far enough from the palace. Take him there. Then you 
guys can talk and sort out things, ok?" Serenity asked. Rei nodded. 
"It could work." she said finally excited to see Jedite.
	"We'll be back before dinner. I'm going to find Mina and 
inform her too." Lita smiled. "It's got to work. I have a good 
feeling." she said and closed the door behind them. Rei leaned back 
on the chair. "I'll find a way Jedite. I promise." she vowed 
determinedly. "Law or no law, I have to see you again." 

Half an hour before dinner.....

	"Mina, you'll take that guard over there by the hallway. Ami, 
you'll have to distract Prince Helius right after dinner. And Lita, 
you take the guards by the door. And I'll help Rei escape." Serenity 
commanded. "Right!" they all said and went to their rooms to get 
ready for dinner. "Now I've got to find Jedite." Serenity thought as 
she went down the hall.
	knock, knock..."Who's there." A groggy voice from inside 
answered. "It's me Serenity. Please let me in. I have urgent news." 
she said quietly just incase. "Princess Serenity?" he asked and 
opened the door. "Shhh." she put a finger to her lips and quickly 
shut the door. 
	"Now here's the plan. You will ride out of the palace at 
exactly 7 p.m. which is right after dinner. That's when everyone 
begins dancing. If anyone asks...tell them you went to town to get 
fabric...." "Whoa slow down." Jedite spoke up. "And why am I doing 
this?" he asked with a confused expression. Serenity looked up to him 
and giggled. "Oh my. I didn't even tell you." "Tell me what?" 
	"Rei's going to meet you right outside of the palace gates 
tonight. You have to be there. You two may not have that much time 
left, but you just have to be together. It's killing Rei, not being 
able to be with you." she said in one breath. "Now back to the plan..
." "Wait!" Jedite interrupted. "You mean Rei wants to see me again?" 
he asked hopefully. "Yes. I know she has strong feelings for you. So 
what do you say?" she asked nervously. "I had been thinking about 
her all day." he looked away. "I miss her." 
	Serenity gently touched his arm. "So does she. Come one work 
with me here." Serenity begin telling him their plans. "...You got 
that?" she asked finally. "Yes." he answered with a hint of hope as 
Serenity smiled. "This is so exciting..." she squealed and turned the 
door knob. "See you at dinner. And act though as if nothing is going 
on between you two." waving one last time, Serenity shut the door 
behind her.
	
	Jedite stood there in front of the closed doors. His heart 
sped up all of a sudden at the thought of seeing Rei again. "She 
still wants to see me." he said in disbelieve. Suddenly the clock 
chimed 6 p.m. signaling dinner. Grabbing his pocket watch quickly, he 
walked out into the hallway. 

At the royal table.....	
	
	"Oh the most interesting idea came to me this morning while I 
was having tea in the vineyard. I thought perhaps we should have that 
famous tailor from Mercury to make the gown for Rei. I've heard that 
he makes the best wedding gowns in the whole galaxy. Uh...do you know 
his name Ami dear?" the queen asked.  "No I'm afraid not. Maybe you 
should ask my mother." she smiled and looked at Rei from across the 
table. She had her head down and was sipping her soup quietly with a 
knowing smile on her face. 
	Ami wasn't the only who noticed this. Prince Helius had been 
watching Rei the entire time during dinner. He had thought that she 
was thinking about him  Not in million years she doesn't. Turning 
slowly to look at the clock behind her, Rei noticed it was 5 till 7. 
'How long do I have to wait?' she impatiently counted the seconds. 

	6:56....6:57.....6:58.....6:59.....Bong, Bong, Bong...
The clock stroke 7 p.m.

	Rei jumped in her seat suddenly and looked across the table 
at Serenity. She nodded her head slowly and stood up. "Pardon me, 
your majesties....uh...may we be excused?" the queen looked up. "For 
what Serenity?" "Well, Rei has asked us to help with her hair...for 
the wedding of course." the queen smiled. "I'm glad to hear that 
you've finally made the right decision dear." the queen nodded with 
satisfaction. 
	Wiping her mouth quickly, she winked at Jedite and left with 
the other princesses. When they had reached a safe distance from the 
dinning room, "Ok guys take your positions." Serenity whispered. "Rei 
and I will be waiting around the corner." she pointed. "We're on. 
Good luck Rei." they all group hugged and went their separate ways. 

	Mina walked slowly to a guard standing against the wall just 
around the corner of the front doors. "Uh hum." she coughed slightly 
and batted her eyelashes. "Hello darling." she said in a deep sexy 
voice. The guard immediately started sweating. "Princess Mina." he 
bowed and looked up to her. Mina slowly ran her hands over her curves 
in an agonizing pace. "You look like a handsome fellow." she put her 
hand under his chin and brought him up to face her. "What do you say, 
you accompany me to the dance?" she asked seductively.
	"Gee I...I can't. I must stand guard." Mina smiled. "What 
for? There are other guards. Let them watch for intruders." "It's the 
kings orders...that...that...uh." he groaned as Mina slid her body up 
and down his, letting him feel her curves. He was handsome, she had 
to admit, but nothing compared to Malachite. "Are you refusing me?" 
she asked and touched his uniform. "No...of...of course not." he 
laughed nervously. She knew she was torturing him, but she had to do 
this for Rei. 
	"Come on just one dance. I'll make sure you have the time of 
your life." She winked and lifted her dress to reveal two creamy, 
slender legs that went on forever. "They said ballroom dancing is 
popular on earth. Have you ever ballroom danced." she asked and 
smiled as the guard started to loosen up. "No." he answered somewhat 
shyly. "I'll teach you." she winked and grabbed his wrist. "What do 
you say?" she asked her face right in front of his. "Yesss...your 
highness." 'Ha got him!' Mina cheered inwardly. And just as she 
pushed him through the door, she quickly gave a thumbs up to Lita who 
was watching right around the corner.

	"Ah ha...plan A is in action." Lita smiled and took out her 
watch. "I've got exactly one and a half minutes to do this. Come on 
Jupiter, lets go kick some butts. Putting on her most frightened face, 
she ran down the hallway whimpering. "Please somebody help.....help." 
she yelped and purposely bumped into one of the three guards at the 
door. "Princess Lita." they said in unison and bowed respectfully. 
"Oh help me please get him get him!!!" she screamed. 
	"Is there an intruder?" one of them asked. "I don't know!! It 
was oh it was terrifying! I had just walked into my room and I saw 
something outside my window. You must come and help me!!" She grabbed 
on to him frantically. The guards wanting to play hero followed Lita 
to her room. "You better go first I'm afraid." she pretended and 
rolled her eyes. 'ya right.' Just when she passed the hallway to the 
stairs, she whistled signaling coast clear to Rei and Serenity. 
	"What was that?" one guard turned around quickly and took 
Lita into his arms to protect her. "It was me." she smiled sweetly up 
to him. "I whistle when I'm scared." he smiled and held her by the 
waist. Was he going to tell his buddies that he had actually touched
a royal princess or what? They disappeared up the stairs as 
Serenity and Rei quickly escaped out of the front door. 
	"Here put the hood over your head." she whispered behind a 
bush. Rei had put on a cloak so no one would recognize her. "Just 
don't say a word when we pass by the guards. Rei nodded her and 
covered up her face . Serenity took her wrist and guided her through 
the courtyard quickly. 
	They ducked behind benches and bushes as they made their way 
to the gates. Luckily no one stopped them. "What are we going to do?" 
Serenity asked as she saw all the marching soldiers switching 
positions and patrolling. "Last time I just knocked one of them out 
and climbed over." Rei shrugged. "Good idea. Look we can take that 
one out." Serenity pointed to a guard standing by himself on the east 
side. "I'll distract him and you'll do the punching." Serenity 
whispered. 
	Walking up to him quickly Serenity cleared her throat. 
"Excuse me." she said as the guard bows. "Have you seen a cloaked 
person around here. I uh....I'm looking for my maid." she smiled and 
then "WHACK!!" the soldier fell against Serenity. "Ok just lay him 
here for now. He'll think he was dreaming or something." they giggled 
and climbed over the gate. 
	"Did you tell Jedite to meet us here?" Rei asked and looked 
around. It was already dark out as Rei squinted her eyes to see 
better. "Yes he knows." Serenity nodded and begin to get worried. 
They had been waiting for at least 5 minutes now and haven't seen a 
trace of Jedite anywhere. "Just wait a little longer. Maybe he's 
having trouble getting out." "I hope not." Rei bit her lip. 'Come on 
Jedite.' 

Meanwhile inside the ballroom....

	"Ah General Jedite." Prince Helius exclaimed as he saw him 
leaving. "Are you retiring already. It's not even 7:30." he smirked 
and stood before Jedite. "No...I uh was just going to the...uh my 
room." Jedite replied. "To get my schedule for the extensive training. 
I had been wanting to discuss it over with the king." Prince Helius 
nodded. 
	"Why don't we chat for a while. You're not in a hurry are 
you?" he asked as Jedite silently cursed him. 'you son of a jackass.' 
"Why no." Jedite answered and followed him to the wine table. "How 
long have you been first in command general?" he asked and sipped his 
wine. "For nearly 4 years now." Prince Helius laughed annoyingly. "Is 
that all? Why on mars, you have to have at least 8 years of training 
first. You must have been a close friend to Prince Endymion to get 
such a high position...hum...?" Jedite was at his boiling point. How 
dare he insult him like that. "No...in fact, I didn't even know Prince 
Endymion personally before I was ranked." he hissed barely containing 
his anger at this self-absorbed, egotistic prince.
	Prince Helius continued his challenge as Jedite looked around 
for Ami. Wasn't she suppose to distract him right now. As if on cue...
"Excuse me. Prince Helius?" a soft voice asked behind him. " Princess 
Ami...what a pleasant surprise. How are you?" he asked and turned his 
full attention to her. "Oh fine thank you, I had just heard from Rei 
of you ingenious plan for the future of your kingdoms. I couldn't 
believe her words, they were uh...they were beyond my understanding. A 
man of you intelligence should be praised." she smiled innocently. 
"Perhaps you could explain the whole thing to me..but in simpler 
words. I'm afraid I'm not as smart as you."
	"Oh why thank you Ami. You're too kind." he smiles and turned 
around to Jedite. "If you'll excuse me General Jedite, I have more 
important matters." Jedite sighed. "Of course Prince Helius. It was 
rude of me to keep her waiting." Jedite tried his best to smiled 
politely. "Good night then." he bows and walks out of the ballroom.
	"Princess Ami, as I was saying....I plan to hold a very 
important meeting after our wedding. My plan is to....." and he went 
on and on. Usually Ami loves to join seminars and lectures given by 
her professors, but this was way too much. 'Oh god.' Ami thought and 
sighed inwardly. 'What a showoff..I'm going to be here for a very 
long time.'Ami sweat dropped and tuned him out completely.
	Jedite wasted no time getting to the stables. Mounting his 
horse quickly, he rode to meet Rei. "Please wait for me." he prayed 
silently. As he came to the front gate. Two soldiers stopped him. 
"Why are you riding out late at this time?" one asked suspiciously. 
"I'm going to town to get some fabric." he said and took out a note. 
"Signed by Princess Serenity herself." the soldier read it silently. 
"Alright. You may go." Taking a breath of relief, Jedite rode into 
the night. 
	Just when he was out of sight, he got off the horse and 
quickly ran to the spot where he was suppose to meet Rei and Serenity. 
Ducking behind a bush, he saw them fidgeting nervously as the guard 
beside them was starting to stir. Keeping himself low, she walked 
swiftly to them. "Rei?" he asked and took her hand in his. "Jedite, 
what happened?" "I'll explain later." he whispers and turns to 
Serenity.
	"Thank you." he said gratefully. "Be back before midnight, 
and try to stay out of trouble." Serenity warned them. "We better go 
before he wakes up." Rei pointed to the yet another passed-out guard. 
"Have fun Rei." Serenity giggled and hugged her best friend. "We'll 
cover up for you as long as we can." she winked and climbed over the 
gate.
	"Come one Rei. Lets not waste anymore time." Rei nodded and 
followed Jedite to his horse. Holding on to Jedite tightly, they rode 
off towards the lake. Rei leaned against Jedite's back as the cool 
wind blew across her face, making her cheeks turn red. "We're here. 
We better walk to the riverbank. The horse isn't needed." Rei said 
and loosened her hold on Jedite to his disappointment.
	"Whoa!" he pulled the reigns on the horse and it stopped under 
a willow tree. Jumping off first, Jedite helped Rei down and tied up 
the horse. "This way." Rei smiled and took Jedite's hand, leading him 
through a wooded area too small for the horse, they finally came to 
the river. The water was calm and clear as its tiny ripples reflected 
the moonlight. 
	"It's beautiful here isn't it?" Rei asked and kicked her shoes 
off on the soft grass. "Not as beautiful as you." Jedite whispered 
sincerely into her ear. Rei blushed slightly. She has never blushed 
before from a man's compliments. Sure she receives thousands of 
letters from admirers each week and praises from suitors, but they 
merely caught her interest.
	"Rei.." "Jedite..." they said in the same time. Rei giggled 
and looked down at her cloak. "You first." she said and looked up to 
him. "I'm really glad that we came here tonight." Jedite smiled and 
tucked a small lily behind her left ear. "Me too." Rei replied. "I 
wish things were different. I wish I could do things my way. But I 
can't...." "Shh." Jedite shushed her with his finger lightly over her 
red lips. "Lets not talk about saying goodbye. Lets just enjoy what we 
have right now. That's all it matters." 
	Gently cupping her ivory face, Jedite looked into her violet 
eyes. "I missed you today. Even if it was only a couple of hours." he
whispered longingly. "I had really thought that you didn't want to see 
me again..." suddenly a gust of wind blew down Rei's hood as her face
was revealed to Jedite. "You are so stunning." he murmured and untied 
her cloak as it fell to the grass unnoticed to the couple. 
	Rei had been wearing an elegant gown of cream just for this 
occasion. It was revealing with two thin spaghetti straps that held 
the dress in place. The top clung to her curves and hugged her figure 
nicely. The rest of the dress flew down her longs legs like a 
waterfall. Jedite stepped closer to Rei. 
	"Kiss me Jedite." Rei whispered softly and slightly leaned in 
on tiptoes. Without hesitation, Jedite's lips came over hers with a 
passionate moan. Rei wrapped her arms tightly around Jedite's broad 
shoulders as he lifted her up slightly. They both groan at the
pleasure of being so close. Finally Jedite let go, needing some air.
	They both held each other and breathed rapidly. "Don't stop..
..Jedite..." Rei whimpered. Tightening his hold around her waist, 
Jedite smashed his lips to hers and kissed her passionately. Never 
has he ever felt so right with anyone. Rei ran her hands over his 
strong shoulder blades and down his back feeling him stiffen at her 
touch. 
	Suddenly Jedite urged her mouth open with his and slid his 
tongue into hers. Rei gasped at first not familiar with this kind of 
kiss. She's read about them in those romance novels that Lita likes 
so much, but never thought how pleasurable they can be. Opening her 
mouth to give him full access to her sweet mouth, they tasted each 
other. Soon, she caught on with it and kissed him urgently as he 
gently rubbed her exposed back sending delicious shivers all the way 
to her toes. Their tongues danced to their own rythums as the kiss 
deepened. 
	They finally broke apart and panted wildly for air. "Rei. I 
didn't mean to push like that....I just couldn't..." "No.." Rei 
panted and looked up with glazed eyes. "I liked it." she said softly 
and laid her head on his chest. "Your heart's beating so fast." she 
murmured. "That's because you're so incredibly close to me." Jedite 
replied as he ran his hand through Rei's thick luscious hair. 
	Feeling overwhelmed, Rei gently slid down to the soft grass. 
"Are you alright?" Jedite asked and sat down next to her. Rei nodded 
her head slowly. "I just felt kind of ...well so...lightheaded all of 
a sudden." she said and smiled. "I can't explain it." she sighed and 
leaned back supporting her body with her arms. "It's a strange 
feeling I know." Jedite sighed and chuckled. "You're a good kisser." 
he grinned and laid down on the grass.
	Rei blushed and followed him. "Look at the stars. They're so 
bright, glittering just like diamonds." Rei smiled and pointed to a 
cluster of stars. There's Aries." Jedite turned to look at Rei. She 
looked like goddess as the moonlight made her skin a muted tan. 
"What?" she asked as she caught his gaze. "Nothing. I was just 
admiring you." Rei giggled. "I like being admired." she said and 
propped herself up with one elbow and turned to face Jedite. 
	"This is perfect Jedite. I wish we could do this every night." 
she looked down at his handsome face and lightly traced her finger 
across his lips. She smiled as Jedite gently kissed her finger. "Lets 
run away together." he pull her down on top of him and raised an 
eyebrow. "You know I can't do that." she laughed and ran her fingers 
through his hair. "Ya I know. No harm asking though." he smiled and 
rolled them over with him slightly on top of her. "Ah, General Jedite. 
What are you going to do?" Rei asked giggling. 
	"Well first I'm going to kiss your nose." he bent down and 
planted a smile peck on her nose. "Then I'm going to kiss your cheeks.
...and then your neck." Rei moaned as Jedite planted a trail of wet 
kisses up her throat. "And then your luscious lips..." he says as 
they look into each other's eyes. Feeling his eyelids getting heavier, 
he closed them and softly gave Rei a butterfly kiss then deepening it 
into a passionate heated kiss that sent them both to who knows where.  

Sometime later.....

	They both fell asleep by the river as they held each other 
tightly, not wanting to let go. Jedite awoke to the sounds of 
crickets and looked beside him to see a fast asleep Rei. He gently 
kissed her forehead and covered them up with her thick cloak. Sighing 
deeply, Jedite leaned back and looked up to the stars. "Why does it 
have to be so difficult between us?" he asked softly. "It isn't 
fair." 'I love her.' he thought silently. 
	"mm....Jedite?" Rei asked sleepily and rubbed her eyes. "I'm 
right here." he smiled reassuringly and gave Rei's shoulder a gentle 
squeeze. "How long have we been out here?" "4 hours and 11 minutes." 
he answered and felt Rei sit up. "Were you counting the time?" Rei 
asked and touched Jedite's arm. "No I have a watch right here." he 
said nonchalantly and looked up to her lovingly.
	"Maybe we should head back. I don't want to worry Serenity." 
Rei said sadly and stood up to straighten up her dress. "I guess." 
Jedite got up and wrapped the cloak around Rei. "I had fun tonight." 
Rei whispered and touched his face tenderly. Taking her hand in his, 
Jedite brought it to his lips. "Would you meet me here tomorrow 
night?" "I will try." Jedite smiled. "Lets go."


Yeah!! End of chapter 3. 
Finally I'm one step closer to getting this story finished. What did 
you think? Liked it, hated it.....didn't care...whatever you want to 
say, just e-mail me at Blue_IceSM@hotmail.com. Bye for now! >^-^<