Warning: This chapter contains some heavy lime scenes with just a hint
of lemon. Only read if this sort of thing does not offend you.

You have been warned. ^_^

Current Edition: 1.2

Special thanks to Sharon, Kel and The Apprentice for their
helpful comments and continuing support for this story.

                *           *           *           *

Mistakes do happen
------------------

by Alex Gray

    Setsuna looked up at the address on the small shop in front of her
and compared it to the one on the business card. Yip, this was the
place. Not exactly what she had been expecting, but if Keril's
promised allies wanted to run a small pottery business, then who was
she to complain. Taking a moment to straighten her jacket, Setsuna
pulled at the door and walked cautiously in.

    A small bell hanging over  the door gave an old fashioned ring as
Setsuna closed the door behind her. Looking around she found herself
confronted by what was a perfectly normal looking shop. Displayed
along various shelves was a variety of different types of pottery
borrowing on styles that Setsuna was both familiar with and some that
she had never seen before. Moving forward to look at one particular
piece, Setsuna carefully picked it up and examined it. She was
slightly surprised to see that it was actually very well made. For if
the label on the shelf was to be believed, the artist responsible for
this work was one of the very people she was here to see.

    "Why surprising, Meiou-san?" an interested voice queried behind
her causing Setsuna to gasp with surprise and drop the small figurine
she was holding.

    The dark haired gaijin winced as the item struck the floor and
broke. She sighed, and giving Setsuna an annoyed look crossed over to
pick up the broken fragments. "I hope you're going to be paying for
that," she remarked, nodding towards a small sign which stated that
all breakages must be paid for.

    "Ah, right," Setsuna replied, feeling a bit annoyed that the girl
had managed to surprise her so completely. As with Keril and the
Avatar, her temporal sense had failed to even recognize the presence
of the young woman, and that more than anything alerted Setsuna to
just how dangerous this girl could be.

    "Oh, stop that, Meiou-san," the girl stated, looking up from what
she was doing. "I'm no threat to you whatsoever."

    For a moment, Setsuna's mind whirled with panic as she realized
that the girl had just read her mind despite all the blocks both
mundane and magical that she had in place. Calling upon all the
training that she had received from various masters over the long
millennium of her life, she slammed down all the mental barriers that
she had and squirreled away all the numerous dangerous secrets that
she carried into...

    "Don't bother, Meiou-san," the girl sighed dusting off her casual
jeans and getting to her feet. "I don't give two hoots for whatever
so-called 'secrets' you might have, I have enough problems of my own
as it is." She turned and crossing over to the sales counter put the
broken shards of pottery down on top of it. Staring at the remains for
a moment, she sighed and turned back to look at the older woman. "I
really wish you had been more careful, Meiou-san. I remember doing
that piece, it took me over two weeks you know."

    Setsuna did not reply, but just took a couple of seconds to
scrutinize the youngster thoroughly. The girl, a gaijin, looked to be
about seventeen or so, had short dark hair and a pair of blue gray
eyes that were typical for some Caucasians. There was nothing unusual
or out of place about her, and if Setsuna had not known any different
she would have dismissed the girl as a perfectly harmless teenager.
But from long experience, she knew how deceptive some looks could be.
Taking a small breath, she reached down into her pocket and bought out
the small business card that Hotaru had given her. "I believe this is
yours," she said carefully, holding it out. "Keril told me that he
would be sending someone to help."

    "Oh, did he now?" the girl snorted, taking the card and carelessly
stuffing it into the back pocket of her jeans. "How typical of him."

    Setsuna wondered what that was supposed to mean, but before she
had a chance to follow it up the girl abruptly held out her hand.

    "Oh, I'm being rude, aren't I? I haven't introduced myself yet.
Alexi De'Naime, pleased to meet you." The girl smiled and nodded her
head in greeting.

    "Meiou Setsuna," Setsuna automatically replied, taking the offered
hand.

    "It's Darline you really need to talk to, Meiou-san," Alexi
remarked shaking Setsuna's hand. "But I'm afraid she's out at the
moment, and I don't know for certain what time she's coming back.
Family business, you know." And at this, Alexi smiled as if laughing
at some private joke before turning back to the counter.

    "I'll wait," Setsuna replied calmly.

    Alexi shrugged, "Suit yourself, Meiou-san. But to be honest, it's
Hotaru and that cute little Chosen of her's that Darline gave the card
to, not you."

    "Be that as it may," Setsuna carried on unabated, "I am the one
who is here, and I am the one with whom you will be dealing."

    "Sure, whatever," Alexi said dismissively. "As long as Darline is
happy with that then I don't care. Well, now that you are here, what
can I do for you?"

    "I want answers," Setsuna stated.

    Alexi's face grew amused. "Answers to what, Meiou-san?"

    "Questions regarding the War for one, and why do beings such as
yourselves need someone like Saturn? Keril told me..."

    "Nothing?" Alexi finished with a laugh. "Yes, he's well known for
that, as well as for overstepping his authority. But that is neither
here nor there. As for your questions, well, the answer regarding
Saturn is simple. This threshold world, while in no immediate danger,
is going to have to deal with some of the seepage from Realms already
contaminated by... the entity that my kind are fighting. If this
seepage is not dealt with, then there is a good chance that this
corruption may also get a foothold on this Realm as well. And that is
something we can all do well without, believe me. Saturn is simply
going to be some, ah, insurance against that possibility happening."

    "Insurance?"

    Alexi smirked, "Insurance," she repeated.

    "And just what precisely does that mean?" Setsuna pressed staring
at the girl as intensely as she could.

    "Just what would you like it to mean, Meiou-san?" Alexi smiled
back sweetly, making Setsuna almost growl in annoyance.

    "Tell me."

    "It simply means what it says, Meiou-san. Saturn will insure that
this Realm is not contaminated that's all. I can't really put it much
clearer than that now can I?" Alexi held out her hands in a spreading
motion to emphasize her point.

    Setsuna had the feeling that in this case the word insurance meant
much more than the other girl was letting on. In the worst case
scenario, it could mean insurance of the final variety such as
removing the threat by removing the world that was the source of that
threat for instance. However, this possibility was based on pure
speculation and Setsuna highly doubted that the girl who called
herself Alexi would say anything on that, so she put the issue of
Saturn to one side and tried another tack. "And what about the War?"

    "The War? What about it?" Alexi asked, putting her elbows onto the
counter and resting her head on them.

    "Well, what exactly it is that you are fighting would be nice to
know for a start," Setsuna said stepping forward.

    At this, Alexi's smile faded slightly. "The end."

    "Eh?" Setsuna replied confused. "The end? The end of what?"

    "Of everything," Alexi clarified, straightening up.

    "What do you mean - everything?" Setsuna frowned. "I don't..."

    "Everything as in _everything_," Alexi interrupted. "If it were
anything less, then our Family would not even be involved."

    Setsuna could not really think of a suitable response to that so
she just remained silent and contemplated on what the girl had just
said. If it was true, then it explained a little more regarding the
true nature of the conflict that Keril had simply referred to as 'The
Great War'. The scope of it... Everything... And this realization made
Setsuna stop. If the Great War was being fought on _that_ kind of
scale, then why the hell would Powers such as those bother with such a
small world like this? This Alexi was not telling her everything.

    "So," Alexi said breaking into Setsuna's wandering thoughts. "How
would you like to pay for this figurine? Cash or charge?"

    Setsuna face faulted.

                *           *           *           *

    The teacher's droning voice changed its pitch as the young man
pointed to the board and seemed at last to be coming to the point of
his last ten minute talk. Hotaru however, was far too engrossed in her
own private thoughts to pay him any attention. It had nearly been a
week now since the events at the shopping center and the news plus the
police were still having a field day trying to figure out what had
truly happened. Almost every night there was some television program
or another speculating on what had really go on there, but Hotaru paid
it all no attention whatsoever. She had more than enough problems of
her own as it was without borrowing others.

    ::A penny for your thoughts, Hotaru-san?:: Bran's voice intruded
on her mind making Hotaru look up.

    Huh? Oh, nothing really. Just thinking about what happened last
week, Hotaru replied, smiling at the girl opposite her.

    ::That Darline woman?:: Bran queried, pausing in her writing just
long enough to give Hotaru a quick wink.

    Amongst others, yes.

    ::Did Pluto come back to you with anything on that card?:: Bran
asked shifting slightly in her chair. ::She said she would::

    I ain't holding my breath, Bran, Hotaru sniffed. Setsuna-mama
isn't exactly known for communicating her finds.

    ::Then why don't we do some investigating ourselves?:: Bran
suggested. ::Pwyll thinks...::

    Pwyll? Hotaru remarked with a small glint in her eye. And when
were you seeing Pwyll, Bran?

    ::...::

    Well? Hotaru pressed, noticing with amusement that the other girl
had stopped writing.

    ::Do... Don't be silly, Hotaru:: Bran sent back, her "voice"
somehow colored with overtones of embarrassment. ::I was just speaking
with him about all the things that have been going on recently, that's
all::

    Yeah, right...

    ::Just what are you suggesting, Hotaru?:: Bran suddenly started to
write furiously.

    Why nothing, nothing at all. Just...

    ::And how's Rhian doing?:: Bran abruptly remarked snidely,
shooting Hotaru a wide grin. ::The two of you seem to be getting
rather...::

    What!? Hotaru's head shot up and she gave the grinning Bran a foul
stare. For Heaven's sake, she's a girl, Bran! What are you trying to
imply!?

    ::Me?:: Bran turned her page innocently. ::Nothing at all::

    Now wait a minu...

    "Kaiou!" a voice suddenly filled the air and Hotaru's head shot
around to look at the man marching towards her desk.

    "Ah... Hai, sensei?" she flushed as all the eyes of the class
descended on her.

    "As I'm sure that an honor student such as yourself has been
paying close attention to what I have been saying, perhaps you would
like to answer the question that I just asked. I'm sure we would all
like to hear your learned opinion on the subject." The man stopped in
front of her desk and Hotaru could just about hear the sarcasm
dripping from his voice.

    Hotaru shifted nervously and desperately hunted around for some
words.

    ::Try saying that you disagree with his theory because it lacks
ecological validity:: Rhian's voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

    Eh? Hotaru blinked in surprise. Rhian? What...

    ::Just do it, Hotaru:: Rhian replied brightly.

    Hotaru swallowed, and then nervously met the teacher's eye. "I...
I, uh, disagree with his theory because it lacks ecological validity."

    ::And that trying to reach a generalization based on such limited
studies, especially in the area of social science, as he is attempting
to do, is risky::

    "And that trying to reach a generalization based on such limited
studies, especially in the area of social science, as he is attempting
to do, is risky," Hotaru parroted. "The entities which he has decided
to investigate are intangible, value-laden, characteristics that he
has deemed to be important. But they are only his interpretation of
the situation. Social science is essentially based on a
phenomenological, or contextual based epistemology, which means that
the assumptions used in his study are open to the social situations
that were prevalent at the time, and times change. What was valid then
might not be valid now."

    Blank stares met her answer.

    Ahh... Rhian... Hotaru started to say, when the teacher abruptly
turned around and without a further word went back to the blackboard.
Rhian...

    "Open your books at page 34..."

    ::Please pay more attention will you, Hotaru?:: Rhian giggled and
then withdrew, leaving Hotaru to sink into her chair and try and make
herself look as small as possible.

    ::Now you know just how I feel at our study groups:: Bran remarked
glumly. ::Rhian, Relnus and Pwyll are always like that. You'll see
what I mean tonight::

    Tonight? Oh, you mean...

    ::The first of our gatherings for the approaching midterms:: Bran
groaned. ::Elnear's reputation for high standards is only the tip of
the iceberg. This school pushes you until you drop - literally::

    An irrational desire to hit Setsuna-mama senseless suddenly filled
Hotaru's mind. Gods, why did her life have to be so... complicated?!

                *           *           *           *

    "So," Pwyll remarked looking at the circle of seven other faces.
"Maths first, then history, and finally we'll finish up with some
discussions about the events of the last week. That okay with
everyone?"

    "Do we have a choice?" Bran asked rhetorically and Maxen nodded in
agreement.

    "Of course you do, Bran," Pwyll smiled back. "We can do maths all
night if you really want." An answer to which Bran pulled an evil
face.

    "I'd rather discuss these stupid engagement plans that our parents
have," Arian growled. "In case you have forgotten, Rhian, Bran, we are
all still facing that as well, you know."

    Sitting next to Hotaru, Rhian shook her head. "No, I have not
forgotten, Arian."

    "I bloody well hope not," Arian swore looking at the other girl.
"I..."

    "Please don't swear at me, Arian," Rhian interrupted calmly giving
the girl a cool look. "I know how you feel, but there are other issues
afoot as well."

    Arian glowered at Rhian and then Hotaru for a moment before
turning her attention back to Pwyll.

    "Right... Okay, let's get things started then shall we?" Pwyll
looked over at Rhian who just smiled and opened the book in front of
her. Pwyll sighed and then followed suit.

    Hotaru briefly wondered what that small interaction between Rhian
and Pwyll had been about, but soon dismissed it as she got to grips
with the work before her. Maths had never been one of her strong
points and the level at which the questions in the practice book where
set soon took up her fullest attention. There were about twenty
questions on the page in front of her and the number of 'x' and 'y'
followed by '+' or other weird symbols made her swallow. Oh well...
she thought and taking up her pencil began in earnest.

    "Break time," Pwyll called out sometime later and looking up from
her little world of 'x>y where the co-efficient of z was 3', Hotaru
was surprised to see that an hour had already passed.

    "My turn to get coffee, I believe," Bran remarked with a relieved
look on her face as she got to her feet and stretched. "Anyone want
any snacks?"

    "You bet," Dylan replied getting up. "Those questions were evil. I
need some sugar intake."

    "I'll get something from the kitchen then," Pwyll said getting to
his feet as well. "Mum went shopping today, so there should be plenty
of stuff."

    "That's what I like to hear," Dylan replied. "What about you, Rel?
Want anything?"

    Relnus just shrugged. "Whatever's going will be fine."

    "Okay," Pwyll went over to Bran. "Come on, kiddo," and grabbing
her arm yanked her towards the door.

    "Hey! Watch it! You don't need to pull my arm out..." Bran's
protesting voice could be heard as the two passed into the hallway.

    Rhian grinned, "I swear, those two never change."

    "Have they known each other long?" Hotaru inquired, laying back on
the floor and stretching her stiff limbs.

    "We have known each other the whole of our lives, Hotaru-san,"
Relnus responded giving Hotaru a meaningful stare. "All of us."

    "Being the youngest of our kind sorta makes you want to stick
together if you know what I mean, Hotaru-san," Dylan added. "Our
parents try of course, but they are all quite a good deal older than
us, so it makes things a bit difficult in bridging the gaps between
our generations."

    "Really?" Hotaru responded, mulling it over. "Just how old are
they anyway? You all seem to look so young that it's difficult to tell
age differences."

    "My great grandfather was one of the survivors against the war
with the Assyia-Cthlia, Hotaru," Rhian said quietly. "If that gives
you an indication. None of us know our parents true age and they
wouldn't tell us even if we asked."

    "You need to understand something, Hotaru-san," Arian added. "Our
kind are totally different in both family structure and attitudes than
you might be used to. When Dylan spoke of gaps between our
generations, he was not just using a term. Throughout most of our
lives, the seven of us have only had each other. And while there are
three others of a slightly older generation than ourselves, they, like
our parents, stick to themselves."

    Hotaru frowned. "You mean your parents just ignore you?" she asked
slightly in disbelief.

    "No, of course not," Arian sniffed. "They'd protect us with their
lives. No. It's just that the primary so called family unit we belong
to is the seven of us. We were raised that way. And while we obey and
love our parents, that is secondary to the love and loyalty that we
have for each other." Her faced soured, "especially when they spring
shit like unwanted marriages on us..."

    "Sorry, I still don't get it," Hotaru complained, sitting up. "Are
you saying that you are loyal to each other first and then your
parents second? That's silly."

    "Think of it as a clan within a clan, Hotaru," Rhian put in. "We
know each other the best, so we trust each other the most. There are,
or at least have been, similar structures in the human race before.
The western model of the single family nucleus is only the most
popular at the moment. Things were different in the past and will be
in the future again probably."

    Hotaru shrugged. "Well, each to their own I suppose. It just seems
a bit odd to me, that's all."

    "Well, think of it like this," Dylan spoke up. "Which do you have
more loyalty to - your parents or your Queen?"

    "My Queen," was Hotaru's immediate response but then she frowned.
"Well... mostly," she amended slightly. "To be honest, I don't know
what I would do if I was ever forced to choose between them..." Her
voice faded away and she shifted uncomfortably, her eyes flittering
over to rest on Rhian.

    "In a way, it's not that much different with us," Dylan spoke up
again. "Except that our 'Queen' is all of us rather than just one
person."

    "Well, that's not strictly true, Dylan," Relnus corrected the
younger boy. "We do have a Princess, you know."

    Hotaru's interest perked up at this and her eyes left Rhian to
focus in on the speaking boy. "Who?"

    Rhian coughed drawing Hotaru's attention once more. "Er, it's me
actually."

    Hotaru's eyes widened in surprise. "You, Rhian?" she said in
amazement.

    "Hey, there's no need to put it quite like that," Rhian pouted. "I
know I may not look like one, but my father is our sovereign and as
his daughter, I'm a princess - well, technically," she added after a
brief pause.

    "Oh, I didn't mean it like that, Rhian," Hotaru defended herself.
"And besides, as the Senshi of Saturn, I'm a princess too, so I know
how empty the title is."

    Sitting opposite them, Dylan's mouth quirked and a glint of
amusement suddenly appeared in his eye.

    "Don't," Rhian said simply, throwing the boy a warning glance. "We
can all do without one of your little glibs, thank you very much."

    "Me?" Dylan smiled innocently. "I never said a thing."

    "Then let's keep it that way, eh?" Rhian advised him as she got to
her feet and gave a small stretch. "Ahh... That's better. Look, I'm
going out for a small walk around the block to clear my head, okay? I
won't be long, but I need some fresh air. I've been looking at old
exam questions nearly all day."

    At this, Hotaru felt her heart begin to beat slightly faster and
she got to her feet as well. "Rhian, do you mind if I join you? I need
a break as well. Those questions were evil."

    Rhian looked a bit startled at this request, but then she just
gave a small shrug. "I guess so, if you want to. Arian, can you let
Pwyll know? I promise, I won't be gone long."

    For a moment, Arian looked a bit uncertain, but then she seemed to
think better of the idea and slowly nodded. "Okay, Rhian, I will. But
you just watch yourself, all right? It's beginning to get dark and..."

    "I'm not a child, Arian," Rhian complained. "I can look after
myself, you know."

    "And I'll be there," Hotaru quickly chipped in. "I'll make sure
nothing happens to her, I promise."

    "Oh, not you too, Hotaru," Rhian griped, turning on the brunette.
"Why does everyone insist on treating me like some kind of small..."

    "No one's doing anything of the sort, Rhian," Arian smiled coming
over to ruffle the younger girl's hair. "We just worry about you,
that's all. Go on, go and have your fun, but just don't take too long,
okay?"

    Rhian gave a small but audible sigh, "all right." She turned to
look over at Hotaru. "You coming then?" and without waiting for a
reply, she started for the door.

    "Hey, Rhian! Wait up!" Hotaru called out as she hurried after her
friend. "I'm coming too, remember."

    Arian sighed and gave her head a small shake.

    "I see those two are going off alone again," Maxen commented to no
one in particular and Arian frowned, her eyes narrowing.

    "Yes..." she muttered and her frown deepened.

    Outside Pwyll's house the early evening had settled in and a cool
fresh wind was blowing in from the east, so both girls kept up a brisk
pace in order to keep warm. Hotaru kept a little behind Rhian as the
other girl seemed intent on walking by herself. The two of them had
not spoken since leaving the house and Hotaru was uncomfortable with
just jumping in, so she followed on behind waiting to see what her
friend would do. After about five minutes of this, they came to an
intersection and had to wait for the lights to change to allow them to
cross. Pushing the button for the crossing, Hotaru leaned back against
the pole and returned to watching Rhian once more. The wind was now
getting strong enough to blow the girl's long lavender hair back in a
lengthy agitated stream from her head, and the light from the street
lamps overhead caused the gold highlights to shine.

    "Mauu... Not again..." the girl complained trying to bring some
order to her flyaway hair. "Why me..."

    Gods... Hotaru thought to herself as she watched her slender
companion move. Rhian is beautiful... The sudden thought made her
breath catch slightly and she quickly turned her mind to other things,
least the still occupied Avatar pick up on her wayward thoughts.

    "So," she said hurriedly in an attempt to distract herself from
the increasingly confused feelings she was having for her newest
friend. "You're royalty are you, Rhian-chan?"

    "Hmmm? Oh, in theory, I suppose," Rhian replied noncommittally as
she still attempted to restrain her shifting hair. "But it doesn't
mean anything, not really. All it indicates is that the man I marry
will be my father's heir, that's all."

    "Oh," Hotaru replied, a flicker of resentment passing through her
at the use of the word 'marry', which she quickly suppressed. "But
aren't you your father's heir?"

    "Well, it's not quite as clear cut as that, Hotaru," Rhian
responded, looking over at her.

    "How so?"

    The long haired girl sighed, "I'm able to have children, Hotaru.
And to a race where only three of us are still fertile... Oh, come on!
You don't need me to spell it out for you, do you?"

    Hotaru reddened and felt her blood rise. "You mean that they will
expect you to..."

    "Yes. And thank you very much for reminding me of that, Hotaru,"
Rhian grumbled turning away. "I came out here to try and get away from
that kind of rubbish for a while if you don't mind." And so saying,
she started to cross when Hotaru abruptly reached out and grabbing her
arm, stopped her.

    "No," the slender senshi simply said.

    "Eh?" Rhian looked back at the slightly taller brunette clutching
her arm and blinked, confused. "Sorry?"

    "I won't allow that," the brunette stated firmly. "You are mine,
Rhiannon - my elin'rth. I will not share you, either your body or your
heart. You belong to me, and me alone."

    Rhian froze, Hotaru's unexpected statement catching her completely
by surprise.

    ...You belong to me...

    Property.

    Hotaru's property.

    All the effort that she had put into forgetting the true nature of
their relationship was abruptly stripped away, leaving Rhian reeling.
Hotaru had promised! Rhian had even started to trust her! And now...
now...

    "I AM _NOT_ YOURS!" Rhian shrieked, yanking her arm away from the
brunette. "I WILL NEVER BE YOURS! _NEVER_!" Pain and fury at Hotaru's
perceived betrayal raged through her body. She could no longer think
straight, the rage was just too great. So, spinning around, Rhian ran
off as fast as her legs would carry her.

    Saturn watched in silence as the slender form of her elin'rth ran
off crying and a small sigh emerged from her lips. Much had changed in
the millennia since she had first been born, and so it seemed had the
Avatar. The race that she remembered was totally different from the
fiery young girl now racing off down the street. Before the war with
the Tainted Ones in which she had died for the very first time, an
Avatar would have been honored at such words. They would have taken it
as a symbol of the devotion of their bonded and been delighted, but
Rhiannon had reacted in exactly the opposite way to which Saturn had
hoped.

    Sighing again, the Senshi of Destruction slowly shook her head.
Perhaps, she should have just let her current persona - Hotaru - deal
with her elin'rth in situations such as this. Young Hotaru did not
have the countless years of memories or experiences twisting her
perspective in quite the same way as the newly awakened Saturn. And
until the ancient senshi got herself more up to date with the changes
that had occurred since she had last truly awakened, such innocence
was more of a benefit than a liability.

    Rhiannon was her elin'rth, and Saturn was delighted with the
slender girl. Rhiannon was powerful, potentially more powerful than
any Avatar that Saturn could remember. And not only that, the young
girl was beautiful, feisty, open and yet had a hard edge to her that
Saturn found absolutely captivating. In short, the senshi would _not_
share Rhiannon with anyone. However, in trying to get that message
across to the young Avatar, Saturn had fallen afoul of her own
experiences. And now... Well, now she had to somehow try and salvage
what she could from the situation.

    In one way, Rhiannon had been more than right. Saturn did not want
her elin'rth to be a slave, no way! She wanted the girl to be her
friend, a companion, and God only knows, she had had little enough of
those in her life. In Rhiannon, Saturn knew she had a chance of
finding a true friend. Someone, who like Chibi-usa, would accept her
for who she really was and that was something the ancient senshi was
not about to give that up - not for anything. The question now
however, was just how could she repair the damage that she had just
inadvertently inflicted? Of that, she was not yet sure. It was
something on which she would have to think.

    Slowly, Hotaru felt the part of her mind that was Saturn once more
submerge into the background of her thoughts and cursed in fury. Damn
it! Why had Saturn interfered like that!? And of all the stupid things
to say! Rhian must hate her!

    Shit.

    Placing her head against the cool metal of the traffic pole,
Hotaru tried to think. Through the link she shared with Rhian, she
could still feel the other girl's anger and sense of hurt from what
she saw as Hotaru's betrayal of her promise. From the direction in
which Hotaru could sense the lavender-haired girl, the senshi surmised
that Rhian was just running about in random directions without thought
or aim, and such behavior matched the current state of the other
girl's mind. Despite this however, Hotaru knew that getting to the
angry girl would not be a problem. Indeed, Hotaru could just tell the
girl to return and Rhian would have no choice but to comply -  no. The
real problem was how to get the young girl to listen once she was
here. At the moment, Rhian was confused, angry and hurt - more likely
to spit in Hotaru's face than to listen to what the brunette had to
say. She needed a way of getting the lavender-haired girl to listen to
her, to be calm just long enough to accept what Hotaru had to tell
her...

    But how? Rhian was not likely to be co-operative, not in her
current state. So, how to calm the small girl down?

    The answer was obvious, Hotaru could use the bond. All she had to
do was to get Rhian to come back here and then calm the girl down just
long enough for Hotaru to explain what had happened. Rhian would
understand, Hotaru was sure of that. If she explained it well enough,
she could make Rhian understand. She could...

    Oh Gods...

    She _could_ _make_ Rhian understand... She _could_ _make_ Rhian
come back here. She could _make_ the young Avatar do _anything_...

    And that's what precisely she had been starting to convince
herself to do, was it not? She had been trying to rationalize using
the bond to _make_ Rhian do just what Hotaru wanted her to do -
precisely what Rhian dreaded.

    "Rhian..." Hotaru whispered as the idea of what she had just been
contemplating struck her cold. The temptation had been so easy and she
had nearly done the deed without any second thought. Oh, Christ... no
wonder the young girl had reacted as she did. "Shit!"

    Hotaru took a deep breath and began to run off in the direction
that Rhian had taken. The brunette had to do this the only way that
she could, the hard way, and beg Rhian for her forgiveness.

    At first, Rhian did not know where she was running. Her feet just
seemed to pick their own direction at random and she was just too
incensed to care. She just had to run. Run away from the pain of
Hotaru's words, run away from the mess that her life had become, run
away from everything. Blind fury however can only push the body so far
and eventually Rhian reached that limit. Gasping for breath and
dripping with sweat, the young Avatar stumbled to a halt and leaning
against a street lamp started dragging huge lungfuls of air into her
body. Sweat rolled down into her eyes and her hair clung to her face
in mattered tendrils.

    Slowly, some small semblance of sense started to return to her
mind. She felt numb, all her energy and rage literally drained away by
her insane run. Raising her head, Rhian pushed her hair away from her
face and started to look around her. The sight in front of her made
her give a small sigh. She might have thought she was choosing random
directions when she was running, but her feet had obviously betrayed
her intent.

    "I... I'm home..." she whispered, still slightly breathless.
Taking a moment to compose herself, Rhian pushed away from the street
lamp against which she had been resting and walked over towards the
ornate security railings that marked the perimeter of her house. The
building itself was quite large by local standards and fitted well
with her father's image as a successful international financier. The
lights in the well laid out garden were on and peering through the
railings, Rhian could see that her father was throwing a business
party of some kind.

    Rhian sighed and pulling back considered what to do. Going back to
Pwyll's was not an opinion. Hotaru might be there and at the moment,
Rhian could not stand the thought of seeing that... person. And even
if Hotaru was not there, her friends would know that something was
wrong and the questions that would follow was not something that Rhian
could face up to at this time.

    "I stink," she sighed and the thought of a nice hot bath in which
she could just lose herself suddenly had a great deal of appeal. So,
turning around, she slowly made her way towards a small side gate that
would give her access to the main house.

    "Can I help you, Miss?" a formally dressed chaperon of the kind
that her father usually employed for these sort of functions, asked
her as she approached the gate.

    Rhian forced herself to smile politely up at him. "I'm Rhiannon,
Rhiannon Annwvyn. I live here."

    The man nodded and smiled back politely. "Ah, yes, of course. If
you would like to hold on for just a moment please, Miss Annwvyn." He
bought out a radio and turning away, said some quiet words into it. He
then nodded as he seemed to receive some instructions and putting the
radio away, turned back to her. "Someone will be along for you in a
moment, Miss Annwvyn, if you would please just wait."

    "Er, okay..." Rhian replied a bit confused, but nodded and did as
the man asked. A few minutes passed in uncomfortable silence before a
middle aged woman hurried down the path towards them. Rhian recognized
the woman as being her father's private secretary, although she did
not know the woman's name.

    "Miss Annwvyn?" the woman's eyes frowned disapprovingly as she
took in the slightly disheveled state of the teenager standing in
front of her. "Your mother asked me to take you to her the moment you
got back. She has some very important business that she needs to
discuss with you and has been waiting for over two hours. Could you
please follow me and I will take you..."

    "Ah, wait a minute please," Rhian interrupted the triad. "I'm not
exactly in a fit state at the moment to see anyone. I need to grab a
quick shower and..."

    "I'm sorry, Miss Annwvyn, but your mother was most explicit. You
were to be bought to her the moment you arrived back. I'm sure she
will understand, so please come..."

    Normally, Rhian would have left her protest at that and gone to
see what her father's consort wanted, but now was not one of those
times. Her so-called mother, Hotaru, her father - they all seemed to
assume that they could get her to do whatever they wanted, that she
had no goals of her own and Rhian was getting sick of it! Of her
parents telling her who she should marry! Of Hotaru! Of everything!
Her fists clenched at her side and closing her eyes, she took a deep
breath.

    "No."

    "Sorry?" the woman asked, confused.

    Rhian opened her eyes and fixed the human with a cold stare. "I
said no. What part of that word do you not understand?"

    The woman blinked as if she was lost on how to react. "But your
mother..."

    "Can wait," Rhian finished moving forward. "Now, if you don't
mind..."

    "No," the woman seemed to collect her wits and reaching out caught
Rhian's hand in her own. "You will come with me, child. You mother..."

    "Is dead," Rhian finished and taking the woman's hand in her own
slowly started to apply some of her body's inhuman strength. The
woman's eyes widened first with surprise and then in genuine pain.

    "Ahhh!" she hissed.

    "Hey! Stop that!" the well dressed man stepped forward, reaching
out with his hands to grab at her. To Rhian's eyes however the
movement was slow and clumsy and she simply grabbed the outstretched
hand and pushed the man heavily to the ground.

    "You're hurting me!" the older woman whined in pain and Rhian let
her go, stepping back. Adrenaline was now pumping throughout her body
and the high that it gave her plastered a wide grin on her pale face.

    "Tell my 'mother'," Rhian said standing over the two stunned
forms, "that if she wants to see me, then she can come and ask me
herself!" And with that she abruptly turned and she walked off towards
the house.

    Five minutes later she was in her room, breathing heavily and
staring at her white face in the mirror. "Oh Gods..." she swore
looking down at her shaking hands. "What the heck have I done..."

    ::Rhian!?:: Arian's loud voice suddenly shouted in her mind making
Rhian wince. ::Where the hell are you?! Are you all right?!::

    ::Why have you not been answering our calls?!:: Bran demanded.
::We've been as worried as hell! We could not find you at all!::

    ::Rhian! Where are you?!:: Pwyll's harried voice came over.
::We've been going nuts trying to find you! Relnus and Dylan have been
out searching for the last ten minutes!::

    ::Pwyll...:: Rhian began to try and say when Relnus's voice
suddenly broke in.

    ::Rhian!:: he almost screamed at her. ::Where are...:: His voice
abruptly cut off and Rhian almost jumped out of her skin as a pair of
strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her.

    "Rhian!" Relnus demanded as he tightly embraced her. "Where have
you been?! Are you all right?"

    "I..." Rhian began but was once more interrupted by the sudden
appearance of six very worried friends who were each demanding to know
what had happened to her and if she was all right. A big smile slowly
emerged on her face as the warmth of their concern flooded her senses,
driving out the remains of her hurt and anger. Pwyll, Arian, Bran,
Dylan, Relnus and Maxen - Rhian could not imagine what her life would
be without them. They were the only ones she had ever really regarded
as family, and here, surrounded by their concern, that reality was
once more made clear.

   "I'm fine, I'm fine," she reassured them all, while they herded her
into her bedroom and sat her down on her bed. "I just had, ah, a
little argument with Hotaru-san, that's all."

    "That's not what it felt like, Rhian, " Arian commented as she
looked searchingly at her friend. "The emotions you were sending out
hit me like a baseball bat. What the hell did she do to generate that
kind of response?" The girl frowned, "and while we are on the subject
of Hotaru, what is the story with the two of you anyway? Ever since
the day she came you have been acting a bit weird, Rhian. I think we
deserve some answers, we're worried about you."

    "We respect you privacy, Rhian," Dylan added, "but after what
happened today and what with your eyes suddenly going gold, I think we
deserve some answers, don't you?"

    "We're your friends, Rhian," Bran put in. "If anything is wrong
then please, you should tell us. We've all been together since we were
children." The young girl halted, and with a slightly uncomfortable
look on her face she asked, "Rhian, you aren't in love with Hotaru or
anything like..."

    "No! Of course not!" Rhian burst out, blushing a bright red.

    "Then what is it?" Bran pressed, moving closer to her friend.
"There's something up between the two of you, and I... we just want to
know what it is."

    "Please, Rhian," Arian said gently. "You don't know what it was
like when we couldn't find you. We all thought you might have been
attacked or something. That another one of those... things had you..."
Her voice grew thick. "Rhian... You don't know how much you mean..."
she stopped, and Rhian was startled to see that Arian's eyes were
heavy with tears.

    "Arian... I..." Rhian swallowed. She had never imagined that the
others felt quite like this about her, or that they had been so
worried. She had been so locked up in her own little world over the
last week that like a fool, she had completely forgotten how that
would affect those she loved. Well, now was the time to correct that
mistake.

    Closing her eyes, Rhian took a deep breath to calm herself and
then opening them, looked at her near family. "I'm sorry. I've been an
idiot, haven't I? I should have told you everything from the very
beginning, but I was so afraid of it myself that I did not even think
how it might be affecting you." She took another deep breath and then
spat it out. "Hotaru and I are elin'rth."

    Silence met her words.

    "Oh Gods... No..." Pwyll whispered. "Rhian... No..."

    "I'll kill her!" Relnus swore angrily, standing up. "Kill her!"

    Arian slumped and then reaching, over took the long haired girl
into her arms. "Oh, Rhi..."

    Bran just looked confused and glanced over at Pwyll, while Dylan
and Maxen just stood still, uncertain what was going on.

    "How long?" Pwyll asked in a soft voice, kneeling down beside the
bed. "When did it happen?"

    "About a week and a half ago," Rhian whispered back from Arian's
shoulder. "She didn't tell me straight away, so... so... I'm not
altogether sure." Her voice cracked slightly as she said the words.

    "Why didn't you tell us sooner!?" Arian exclaimed angrily,
gripping her friend tighter. "You didn't have to face this alone, we
could have helped you!"

    "I know that," Rhian felt her eyes growing moist. "I just couldn't
accept it myself, not really. And If I told you then... then it would
really be true, no matter what I hoped. Oh, Arian! I don't know what I
was thinking! How would you react if you suddenly found that a tale to
frighten children with had become horribly real..." She gave a small
sniffle and clutched onto her friend tighter as her emotions began to
overwhelm her at last.

    "Did... Did Hotaru try something?" Pwyll asked cautiously reaching
out to squeeze the young girl's hand. "Is that what all that emotion
earlier was about?"

    "No! Of course not!" Rhian replied indignantly, lifting her head
and rubbing at her eyes. "She... Hotaru, well, Hotaru... said some
things that..."

    "Pwyll," Arian looked up at the boy. "Why don't you and the others
go outside and wait a bit, ne? Let me talk to Rhian alone."

    Pwyll's lips tightened and then nodding his ascent, stood up. "If
that is what you think is best, Arian. We'll just be outside if you
need us." He turned and gestured for the others to follow him. Bran
looked worriedly back at Rhian, then slowly followed after him and at
her movement, the others followed as well. Only Relnus hesitated, but
after seeing Arian flash him a look, he slowly followed the others out
as well.

    After the door had been pulled closed, Arian turned her attention
back fully to her friend. Putting a finger on the young girl's cheek,
she used it to lightly turn the teenager's head so that they were both
looking directly at each other. "Now, Rhian, what did Hotaru do? Did
she try anything... funny?"

    Rhian blushed. "Don't... Don't be silly, Arian. Why would she..."

    "Because I use my eyes, Rhian-chan," Arian said firmly, looking
straight into those wide golden eyes. "And believe me, Hotaru is
interested. She may not have said anything, may not even be sure
herself yet, but she is _noticing_ you and she is doing it in _that_
way."

    "Oh," was all Rhian could think of saying.

    "Surely, you must have noticed something, Rhi?" Arian pressed, but
then stopped herself. "No, no of course not. You've had other things
to worry about, haven't you..."

    "I... Ah... Well, before she told me about us being elin'rth,"
Rhian started a bit nervously. "I did think that perhaps she might
have a bit of a crush on me, but after she told me about the bond...
I, well, I sort of assumed that it was something to do with that..."
Her voice broke off and she looked down, her fingers playing nervously
with her hair.

    "But?" Arian gently prompted the girl.

    Rhian swallowed. "Tonight, when I was walking with her, we got to
talking about things, you know, marriages and such when... when Hotaru
said that... that I belonged to her... That she would not share me,
either my body or my heart..." Rhian flushed and looked at Arian
straight in the eye. "Arian, do... Do you think that... that she..."
The girl's voice died away.

    Arian stiffened and then she nodded. "I can't say for certain, but
it sure sounds like it." She took in a deep breath and then slowly let
it out. "And what about you, Rhi?" she carefully asked. "How would you
feel about it?"

    Rhian gave the girl a blank stare. "What?"

    "Come on, Rhian," Arian repeated. "Don't play all coy and innocent
with me. How would you feel about it? How would you react if Hotaru,
well, did try something?"

    ...You are mine...

    ...You belong to me and me alone...

    ...Mine...

    "I'd fight her in anyway I could," Rhian retorted angrily. "I will
be the one to decide whom I love, and I alone. If what Hotaru said
tonight is her twisted idea of a relationship, then I would rather
die!" But as soon as the words had left her mouth, Rhian flushed.
"Well, not die... but..."

    Arian gave a small sigh and gently squeezed the younger girl's
hand. "Then we will just have to ensure that that never happens, won't
we, Rhi-chan?"

    Rhian was just in the process of stating her reply when an angry
voice spoke loudly from outside the door.

    "Get out of my way, Pwyll. Rhiannon is my daughter and she has a
lot of explaining to do!"

    Rhian paled and she hunched up at the anger in the older woman's
voice. "Mother..." she whispered.

    Arian gave a small curse and nodded as she came to a decision.
"Come on, Rhi. You can stay at my house tonight. I'm sure that my
mother won't mind, and unless she asks, we won't even tell her that
you're there, ne?"

    Rhian gave a quick glance at the door and then nodding, reached
out to take Arian's hand. "Okay." And with that, the two girls
vanished just as the door was opening to reveal the figure of an angry
looking woman.

    Olwen glanced around the empty room and a hissing curse erupted
from her lips. "What in tarnation's name does that girl think she is
playing at?!" Her fists clenched at her side as her eyes narrowed.
"Don't think you can escape from me that easily, Rhiannon!"

    Reaching out with her senses, she located the fading emanations of
the recent teleport and tasting it with her mind determined the faint
aura of her step-daughter and one other. Smiling with success, Olwen
used her powers to take hold of the fading aura and brutally inverted
the teleport, causing two very startled girls to abruptly appear out
of thin air.

    "What..." Arian squawked, losing her balance and falling onto the
bed. Rhian wobbled, but caught herself just in time. When she saw the
furious face of her stepmother however, her face froze and she went
white.

    "Rhiannon," Olwen said in a flat voice as she slowly crossed over
towards the wide-eyed girl. "I'm not going to ask what you think you
are playing at by disobeying me, or what it was that possessed you to
attack your father's secretary - no. I will leave that up to your
father. I'm sure that he will be much more eloquent on the subject of
your behavior than I, especially when he finds out how much you have
embarrassed him." At this, Rhian blanched and took an involuntary step
back while her stepmother just continued in that same flat voice.

    "No. What I am interested in, Rhiannon, is you coming downstairs
with me right now so that you can apologize in person to your future
husbands. You are no longer a child, Rhiannon, and it is about time
that you start to live up to your responsibilities." Olwen gave the
slender girl an icy stare. "Such behavior as you have shown tonight
only serves to make you look like a silly child, Rhiannon, can't you
see that? It does neither you or us any credit whatsoever. Haven't you
yet understood anything of what I or your father have tried to teach
you? Or do you simply think that we have been doing it all for our own
amusement?" At this point, the woman's voice began to become scathing
and little by little Rhian slumped into herself as Olwen made her feel
like nothing more than a silly immature child.

    Having finished with the cowed form of her daughter, Olwen turned
her attention to the brunette sitting on the bed. "And as for you,
Arianrod, you can be sure that both your parents and my husband will
be told about your behavior tonight as well. You have responsibilities
too, responsibilities vital to the survival of our kind." The woman's
face softened just slightly. "I know that you are not happy with the
situation and I can appreciate that. But you, like us, have no choice.
Branwen, Rhiannon and you are our only hope for a future, and if we do
not do whatever it takes to ensure our race's survival, then we are
finished - full stop. I'm sorry, but that is the simple truth of the
matter. You, we, have no choice. It must be done."

    Arian tried to meet the older woman's intense stare, but could
not. Something about the way the woman looked at her drained away
Arian's will to protest so she remained silent. Taking the silence as
a sign of agreement, Olwen turned to face the other anxious looking
teenagers standing just outside the door. "Pwyll," she said. "I will
leave Arianrod and the others in your hands for the moment. Rhiannon
is going to be occupied for quite some time. She..."

    Rhian's head abruptly jerked up and she gave an audible gasp as
her senses alerted her to the close presence of Hotaru somewhere
outside the house. The sensation made her slightly anxious. After what
Arian had said about how the brunette might be possibly regarding her,
Rhian was unsure about what to do. What would happen if Hotaru did try
something - how should she react? Would... Would the brunette _make_
her... Rhian shuddered.

    At the sound of Rhian's gasp, Arian's head turned immediately to
look at her friend. Ignoring the mounting look of anger on Olwen's
face, Arian reached out to lightly touch her friend. "Rhian? What is
it?"

    "Hotaru..." Rhian replied nervously, staring towards the window.
"She's here..."

    Arian's face hardened and she smiled reassuringly at her best
friend. "Rhi, don't be afr..."

    Olwen had had enough. Reaching down suddenly, she grabbed Rhiannon
by the arm and lifted the girl forcefully to her feet. "I've had more
than enough of your stupidity for one night, young lady. You are
coming with me, and you are coming with me now!"

    Rhian winced at the force that her stepmother was exerting and
tried to pull her arm free. "Ow! Mother, please, that hurts!"

    "It serves you right, Rhiannon," Olwen replied, easily catching
the young girl's attempt to free herself. "You have been acting like a
spoilt child all day, and if you insist on still acting like one, then
I will treat you like one. Now, do as I say and come with me."

    "Lady Olwen, please," Arian tried to intercede on her young
friend's behalf. "There's things going on that you don't understand!
Rhian is..."

    "Enough, Arianrod!" Olwen exclaimed angrily turning to stare at
the other girl. "Rhiannon must learn to face up to her
responsibilities by herself! She cannot do that if all of you keep
trying to coddle her all the time. She _will_ come with me and
apologize to Owain and the others, and then once she has done that she
can set about repairing some of the damage that she has done to our
family's reputation by her little stunts tonight. And as for the six
of you, I think it is about time that you went home. You can talk with
Rhiannon again tomorrow." And with that, she gently but firmly led the
lavender haired girl away, pushing through Pwyll and the others to
head off down the long hall.

    Arian made to follow the older woman, but Pwyll reached out and
stopped her. "Let them go, Arian."

    "But Rhian..." Arian started to say.

    "I know," Pwyll reassured her. "I'm not suggesting that we leave
her alone, merely that we remain at a suitable distance so that she
does not get into any more trouble. Also, I think it would be best if
you or Bran went and found Hotaru before she tries to see Rhian. Don't
try and make a scene or anything, Arian, just tell Hotaru that for the
moment it would be best if she left Rhian alone."

    "I'll say a good deal more than that," Arian growled and Pwyll
shook his head.

    "Don't, Arian, please. I know that you are angry, but none of us
know what happened between the two of them tonight and it would be
wrong of us to jump to any conclusions. The elin'rth bond is a tragedy
that our race has not had to deal with for millennia and who knows how
it is really affecting either Hotaru or Rhian."

    "What do you mean, Pwyll?" Bran asked confused. "Just what is this
'elin'rth bond' anyway?"

    Pwyll sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, Bran, not now. I'll try
and explain it all later, okay?" He smiled at her and then turned his
attention back to Arian. "The little I remember from the stories about
the bond was that it forged some kind of union between both the heart
crystals and the star stones of those involved. Such an intimate
joining cannot help but have an affect on both Rhian and Hotaru's
perceptions of each other. I may be wrong of course, but I suspect
that as that joining matures then those perceptions will become ever
more polarized as the connections between their two souls are forged
even tighter."

    "You're saying that Rhian and Hotaru will end up either loving or
hating each other, is that it?" Arian asked with a frown.

    Pwyll shook his head. "No, what I'm saying is that what one feels
the other with feel as well, and as the bond gets stronger between
them, the more those feelings will merge."

   "Which is exactly what I just said," Arian stated. "If Rhian hates
Hotaru, then Hotaru will reflect that same hatred back and visa versa
- yes?"

    "Essentially," Pwyll admitted. "I'll need to do some checking to
confirm it of course, but yes, that is what I think will eventually
happen."

    "Oh Gods... no..." Arian swore softly. "Poor Rhi..." She sat down
heavily on the bed and ran a hand slowly through her hair. "What do we
tell her, Pwyll? What the hell do we tell her?"

    Pwyll shook his head. "I don't know, Arian, I really don't. The
only thing I can think of at this moment is that you have to speak to
Hotaru, Arian. Try and get her to realize what she is doing to Rhian.
I think Hotaru genuinely likes Rhian, but the way she is acting is
only making things worst. She needs to back off."

    "You don't need to tell me that," Arian grumbled as she headed for
the door. "Don't worry, I'll try and knock some sense into her head."

    Relnus, who had yet to say a word, now stepped forward. "I'm
coming as well."

    "Oh, no, you don't, Rel," Pwyll grabbed the other boy's arm. "The
situation is difficult enough as it is without you charging in as
well."

    Relnus shot Pwyll a sharp look. "But Rhian..."

    "I know how much you care for her, Rel," Pwyll said
sympathetically, "but given the current circumstances with both Hotaru
and Lady Olwen, how realistic do you think your aspirations are?"

    Relnus stiffened. "About the same as your's, Pwyll," he shot back,
glancing over at Bran. "But I'm not going to give up just because
things might be tricky. I care a great deal for Rhian and I know I can
make her happy. If she chooses someone else, then fine, but I don't
want to spend the rest of my life regretting my own fear. I will chase
my dreams, Pwyll, and Rhian has been one of those dreams for a very
long time."

    Pwyll shook his head and gave a small sigh. "I follow my dreams
too, Rel, but I try to use my head as well as my heart. And at the
moment, my head is telling me that this is neither the time nor the
place to discuss such things. If you go jumping in now with Rhian in
the state that she is in, then you will be destroying whatever chance
you may have. For Heaven's sake, Rel, think about what Rhian is going
through. If you start trying to push yourself onto her now as well..."

    "All right, all right, I get the idea," Relnus growled, pulling
his arm free from Pwyll's hold. "I'll back off and give her the time
that she needs, but I'm not going to give up on her, Pwyll. Not until
she tells me herself that she is not interested."

    "I'm not asking you to, Rel," Pwyll replied quietly. "I'm simply
saying that Rhian is confused and under a heck of a lot of pressure.
Having you add to that would only be bringing more fuel to the fire."

    "And I won't let you do that, Relnus," Arian added, looking back
over her shoulder. "Rhian is very nearly my sister and I will do
whatever is necessary to ensure that she is happy. For the time being
that means no one - not you, not Hotaru, nor her mother - puts her
into a position where she will be hurt. I just won't allow it."

    Relnus looked slightly surprised at that, but after a brief pause
just nodded and turned away. Arian looked at him and then at Pwyll and
without a further word she left, going to intercept Hotaru before the
brunette went and put her foot in her mouth even deeper than it
currently was.

    Outside the mansion from which Rhian's rather confusing signature
was coming, Hotaru stopped and looked nervously up at the gate. Her
breaths were coming in short gasps and her heart was beating like a
drum in her ears. However, whether her sudden shortness of breath came
from the mad dash to get here or from the fact that she was actually
here, she could not say. She took a moment to try and collect her wits
and then, with heart in her mouth, made her way towards the gate where
a bouncer or some kind of security guard seemed to be waiting.

    "Ah..." she began, her nerves coming to the fore again. "Can...
Can I see Rhiannon Annwvyn, please? I'm a friend of hers, Kaiou
Hotaru."

    The man looked at her carefully for a moment and then spoke. "I'm
sorry, Miss, but this is a private party tonight by guest invitation
only."

    "But I don't want to go to this party," Hotaru pressed. "I just
want to see my friend. Please, you don't know how important it is!"

    The man smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Miss, but those are my
instructions. Only those with guest invitations can..."

    "Hotaru-san?" a voice suddenly said from behind the man making
both him and Hotaru jump in surprise.

    "A.. Arian?" Hotaru turned to face the girl who had just spoken.
"What are you doing here?"

    Arian pushed past the startled looking man and gave Hotaru a stare
that made the brunette feel slightly uncomfortable. "We need to talk,
Hotaru-san," the girl finally said, "about Rhian, and more
importantly, about you."

    At the mention of her elin'rth's name, Hotaru took an anxious step
forward. "You've seen her? Is she all right? Please, I must talk
with..."

    "No."

    The sudden word caught Hotaru slightly by surprise and she looked
at Arian blankly. "No?"

    "Rhian is confused, angry and hurting, Hotaru," Arian dropped the
use of the formal honorific. "All because of you."

    The accusing nature of the words that Arian directed at her made
Hotaru's face flush and her lips tightened in anger. "What do you
mean?" she shot back. "I would _never_ do anything to hurt Rhian!
I..."

    "Love her?" Arian finished, giving Hotaru a blunt stare.

    Hotaru's mouth gaped like a fish and she reddened. "No! Of course
I don't! She's a girl for Heaven's sake, Arian! How can I love her?!"

    "Only you can really answer that question, Hotaru," Arian replied
still staring intensely at the other girl's face. A few moments of
awkward silence followed and then Arian reached out and tugged on
Hotaru's arm. "Come on," the young Avatar said crossing through the
gate and lightly pulling Hotaru to follow her. "Let's go for a quick
walk. eh?"

    "What?" Hotaru spluttered at the sudden change in subject. "What
are..."

    ::This is not the best place to discuss these things, Hotaru::
Arian's voice firmly stated in her mind. "Come on."

    "Um... right," Hotaru replied, following after the other girl as
they started to walk away from Rhian's house and up the street.

    "So, how did it happen, Hotaru?" Arian kicked the conversation
off. "How did you become elin'rth with Rhian?"

    Here we go... Hotaru thought as she took in a deep lungful of air
and slowly let it out. "Why?" she asked finally. "Does it matter?"

    Arian blinked in surprise at the senshi's comment and then
shrugged. "No, I don't suppose it does. What's done is done. What's
important now is what happens next."

    "You know, that is almost exactly what Rhian said," Hotaru
recalled wistfully more to herself than to Arian. "She said that the
most important thing was how we dealt with it as well, rather than the
fact that it had happened," she sighed.

    "Yes," Arian agreed. "That does kind of sound like her, doesn't
it? She's always been more of a practical type when it comes down to
the crunch, either that or hiding her emotions. It's something she
gets from her father, I guess."

    Hotaru halted and looked over at Arian. "Please, Arian," she said
carefully, "can you at least tell me if she is all right? I said...
well... I said some things that upset her and..."

    "Why should I tell you, Hotaru?" Arian interrupted the girl.
"Haven't you already done enough to the poor child without..."

    "Because she is _my_ elin'rth!" Hotaru snapped back angrily. "My
responsibility! What has happened to her is my fault! And I need to
know that she is all right, Arian!"

    "Responsibility?" Arian shot back. "Is that what this is all
about, Hotaru? A sense of guilt?"

    "No! Of course not!" Hotaru barked in reply. "I care for Rhian,
deeply! She is _my_ elin'rth! Mine!"

    "Yours?!" Arian thundered, her own anger raising at the words that
Hotaru seemed to be using. "What makes Rhian yours?!"

    "Stop putting words into my mouth, Arian!" Hotaru exclaimed,
clenching her fists in an effort to control her temper and remain
calm. "Of course Rhian is not mine! All I'm saying is that I need to
be sure she is okay, that's all."

    "Why?" Arian replied sharply. "Why such that matter to you so
much? It was you after all who..."

    "It just does, all right?!" Hotaru snarled uncharacteristically as
her calm began to fray. "Just tell me! I have to know!"

    Arian's eyes narrowed and she stared at Hotaru as if she were
trying to read the other girl's soul. After a moment had passed, she
sighed and turned away. "I was right," she said finally almost to
herself. "You are interested, aren't you..."

    "What the blazes are you talking around?!" Hotaru exclaimed, her
patience finally snapping altogether. "Just tell me will you?! Is
Rhian all right?!"

    "I already said, Hotaru," Arian continued to stare at the angry
girl. "Rhian is hurt, confused and more than a little angry. She
thinks you want to possess her, to use the elin'rth bond to take away
her freedom and the thought of that is frightening her more than she
can cope with."

    Hotaru's face went white. "You mean she thinks that I would..."
her voice faded into incredulity, totally shocked.

    "That was the impression I got," Arian stated firmly. "And to be
honest, Hotaru, from the way you have been acting, I can see where she
is getting it from."

    "What?!" Hotaru exclaimed, her face going red. "What the hell do
you mean?!"

    "Do you like Rhian?" Arian asked, ignoring the other girl's
question.

    "Yes! Of course I do! But what does..."

    "Attractive?"

    "Eh?" Hotaru was now completely confused.

    "Do you find her attractive?" Arian repeated.

    "She... She's beautiful," Hotaru replied in a hushed voice, her
mind returning to the sight of the girl from earlier that evening.
"Just beautiful..." Her anger faded away completely as she lost
herself in the memory of Rhian's lavender and gold hair streaking out
in the wind. "Beautiful..."

    Arian watched the far away look that came into Hotaru's eyes and
shook her head despondently. The dreamy smile slowly crawling across
Hotaru's white face stated far more than just an interest in Rhian, it
screamed captivation. "You want her, don't you?" Arian asked with a
fatalistic tone to her voice.

    "Rhian..." was the only reply that Hotaru gave.

    "Silly question," Arian commented almost to herself and with a
heavy sigh, lifted her head to look up at the darkening sky overhead.
Gods, what a mess. Either due to the intimate nature of the elin'rth
bond or simply natural attraction, Hotaru was smitten. And
unfortunately, the way the young senshi appeared to be showing her
interest was freaking Rhian out, and Arian had to decide in the next
few moments just what the hell she was going to do to clear up this
mess before it...

    SHOCK. PAIN. INDIGNATION.

    The sudden waves of emotion flooding her system made Arian sway
and she clutched at her head in an effort to block it out. Her eyes
bulged and instinctively she spun around back towards the house.
"Rhian!" she exclaimed as she knew immediately the source of those
intense emotions.

    "Elin'rth!" the senshi at her side shouted and an instant later
she vanished leaving Arian startled by the speed of Hotaru's reaction.

    "Hotaru! Wait, damn it!" Arian swore, invoking her own power to
chase after the small brunette. She materialized a moment later in a
small but comfortable room which was literally seething with static
tension. Rhian was laying on the ground, her white face completely
drained of color and holding a hand to her cheek which was sporting an
ugly red bruise. The girl's golden eyes were wide with shock and she
looked like she was either going to start to cry or scream and was
uncertain which. Looming over her was a furious looking young man who
had one of his hands raised out in front of him, and finally, standing
between them, was the literally glowing form of Hotaru. The sight of
seething fury on the young senshi's face making it more than apparent
what emotion was causing her visual display. The other three figures
in the room - two men and Lady Olwen - were almost inconsequential in
comparison.

    "You dare..." the brunette hissed at the man, fury choking off the
rest of her words.

    The man's eyes narrowed as he took in the form of the glowing girl
and he took a step forward. "Just who the hell are you!?" he raged, an
aura of power flickering into existence around his form that matched
Hotaru's own.

    "Dare attack my elin'rth!" Saturn finally managed to splutter out
as her eyes began to glow an enraged red.

    "Oh, shit..." Arian whispered as she began to get a very bad idea
where this was leading.

    "Elin..." the man said in shock as his aura died away.
"Elin'rth!?"

    "Elin'rth..." The expressions of shock and disbelief were echoed
by the three figures standing behind the man and the way their bodies
reacted showed perfectly their reactions to a childish nightmare come
to life.

    "You..." Saturn's aura began to take on an ominous dark blood red
tone as the teenager slowly started to raise her hand. "You..."

    Arian gulped as she began to sense the exponential rise in power
that Hotaru, no, Saturn was abruptly beginning to generate and a wave
of dread washed over her. The fury she could feel raging through
Saturn's mind was not completely sane, and Arian had a horrible
suspicion that the sight of Rhian being attacked had pushed Hotaru
slightly over the edge. Jumping forward, Arian ran over to stop the
young senshi doing something she would later regret. "Hotaru! Stop...
Ugh!" Encountering the aura now raging around Saturn's slender form,
Arian was thrown violently back and her words turned into a yelp of
pain as she smacked into the floor.

    The sudden shout of her friend snapped Rhian back to the real
world and wincing with pain, she struggled to sit up. Her chest felt
like it was on fire - no pain, just an unnatural burning sensation as
if some force were raging within her.

    "...hurt my elin'rth! I will kill..."

    That fragment of sentence and the raging fury behind it made
Rhian's head snap up and she gasped at the sight she beheld. Standing
protectively in front of her blazing with an aura that was almost
painful to look at was the enraged form of Hotaru. The sight of the
other girl bought on a wave of emotion in Rhian that was difficult to
describe, but chief amongst them was relief. "Hotaru!" she
involuntarily exclaimed.

    The sound of the name rang out far more loudly than Rhian had
originally intended, and the toll of it was the catalyst that caused
the potentially lethal situation to break.

    "Rhian!" Hotaru abruptly spun around, her aura of fury vanishing
as her concern for the lavender haired girl pushed all other concerns
aside. "Are... Are you all right?" She knelt down on the floor next to
the slender figure and without any further words dragged the girl into
a close embrace. "Oh Gods, Rhian! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it!
Please! I didn't mean it! I would never force you into anything! I
would never harm you! I would..."

    Rhian lost track of the words after that as the blubbering girl
seemed intent on crushing the life out of her and she was more
concerned with just trying to breathe. She was just about to push
Hotaru away when something happened that rendered her completely
senseless, something that pushed all coherent thoughts like trying to
breathe out of her mind utterly. Something that changed everything.

    Hotaru kissed her.

    Not the chaste kiss of a friend or a sister, but rather, the deep
stirring passionate kiss of one lover to another. A riot of intense
sensations exploded in Rhian's body as Hotaru pressed herself even
closer, weaving her fingers through Rhian's long hair and trying to
mold herself to the young Avatar's form. Rhian was so shocked that all
immediate thoughts of resistance or throwing Hotaru off melted away
under the assault of sensations that the brunette's actions were
causing. Her own body seemed to have lost all of its co-ordination as
a warm haze cast a soft lasso around her mind and stripped away her
ability to act. Indeed, at that moment, the only thing that even
seemed real to her was the fiercely demanding, but at the same time
gentle, sensation of Hotaru's soft lips pressing against her own. The
very presence of them made Rhian feel like she was melting, and
without any violation of conscious intent, her arms returned Hotaru's
embrace.

    All of Hotaru's attention was now totally consumed on the soft
form pressing so tightly against her. Her mind had no other thought
but how right and perfect Rhian felt in her arms. The touch of the
young girl made Hotaru's body burn with a strange sensation that was
like a furious need demanding release. The intensity of it was unlike
anything she had ever felt before and she was lost in how to react.
Rhian...

    As the demanding nature of Hotaru's kiss strengthened, Rhian's
scattered wits made one last heroic effort to pull themselves together
and with a desperate burst of strength, she finally broke free of
Hotaru's embrace. Pushing the other girl off her, Rhian rolled out of
reach and with a fluttering sensation pulsing throughout her body she
stared shakily across at the brunette opposite her.

    "Ahh..." she swallowed and struggling to sit up, tried to find
something, anything, that she could say. "That... That..."

    "I... I think I'm falling in love with you, Rhian," Hotaru finally
admitted in a small voice as she looked nervously at the blinking
lavender haired girl. "For real."

    Rhian fell back on her bottom as her legs suddenly lost all their
strength and she locked her wide eyes onto Hotaru's. "Love..." she
spluttered at last, stunned. "Me?"

    "Yes, you," Hotaru replied, her face heating up.

    "But... But..." Rhian's mouth was having difficulty working out
what her brain wanted her to say and so the only thing that kept
coming out was that one word.

    "I'm a girl?" Hotaru finished, gaining more courage as each second
passed. "So? What difference does that make?"

    "But..."

    "Rhian - you're beautiful, kind, warm, and I love you," Hotaru
simply replied. Then, ignoring the others in the room, she crossed
over to kneel in front of the stunned girl and took Rhian's hands in
her own. "You are my elin'rth, Rhian, and I love you. I love you."

    The sudden use of the word - elin'rth - made Rhian stiffen and she
finally found her voice. "I don't belong to you..."

     "Shhh..." Hotaru smiled and raising a finger gently placed it on
the young Avatar's lips to silence her. "You are your own person,
Rhian," she said looking deep into those wide golden eyes. "I would
have it no other way." And with that, she leaned forward to steal a
quick kiss from Rhian's lips before the other girl could react. Rhian
jerked back, her face bright red and giving a merry giggle, Hotaru
jumped lightly to her feet.

    "Rhian-chan," the brunette declared turning at last to stare
hostilely at the other adult Avatar, "is my elin'rth now. Touch her
again and..." Hotaru smiled sweetly, "well, try me and find out." She
giggled again as the light heartedness of having just declared her
love began to overwhelm her. Looking down fondly at the still blinking
form of Rhian, she held out a hand. "I know this is very sudden, Rhi,
but I love you - I really do... I..." her voice faded a bit as she
tried to find the words to express what she really wanted to say.
"I..." she swallowed, "Rhi... I... I want you to come home with me. I
can't leave you here, not like this. I have to protect you, Rhi, and I
can't do that if we're separated. Please, come with me - I don't trust
these people." She looked pleadingly down at the smaller girl and once
more held out her hand. "Trust me, please... I..." Her voice died away
as the strength of her emotions overwhelmed her and she just stood
there, her heart pounding madly in her ears. Rhian...

    Rhian looked at the offered hand and then hesitantly back up at
Hotaru. She was confused as hell and had absolutely no idea what to
do. When Owain had slapped her for saying that she hated him, the
first reaction she had had was to run away again like she had done
earlier with Hotaru. However, when that same brunette had emerged out
of nowhere to stand protectively over her, Rhian had felt a genuine
rush of  relief. In a strangely contradictory way, Rhian trusted
Hotaru with her safety more than anyone else alive - except perhaps
her six closest friends - and now, faced with the choice of staying
here at her home or leaving with Hotaru, the brunette's offer had a
great deal of appeal.

    "I..." she started to say and Hotaru knelt down beside her.

    "Rhian," the brunette said gently. "Believe in me. I... I love
you... I want to keep you safe... Please..." and tears started to
build up in her eyes. "Please..."

    Rhian felt her heart begin to pound. This... this was so
confusing... Hotaru, her stepmother... She needed time to think, to
sort things out and given the choice of spending that time here or
with Hotaru, the young senshi seemed a better choice. And while she
was not certain how to handle Hotaru's sudden declaration of love, she
felt she could deal with that far better than being left here to face
these four. Her stepmother was pushing her into things far faster than
she had imagined possible, and if her father was behind this then the
only place she could escape to was with Hotaru. She could not go to
her friends, not if her father came after her - no.

    Her eyes flickered nervously over towards Owain, the man who was
to be her "husband". He had been talking about marriage plans in terms
of weeks and the faint thoughts that she had been able to pick up from
his heavily shielded mind had, to be frank, made her shudder. Owain
was one of the most ancient of the Avatar still living, and his
attitude towards her and her friends was almost incomprehensible. It
had been as if she and the others were little more than servants,
expected to fulfill a purpose and nothing more. Those thoughts had
disgusted her, and when she had dared to say so, being slapped had
been her reward. She shivered, the idea of... coupling with a man like
this...

    Hotaru watched worriedly as an involuntary shudder passed through
the slender form of the beautiful girl in front of her and hesitantly,
she reached out to put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Rhi... Are you... If the thought of being with me repulses you,
then... I..." she shivered, and her emotions stole away her voice once
more. "Rhi, I..." Her eyes began to fill with tears.

    The sound of the pain in Hotaru's voice broke Rhian from her
confusion and she took hold of the other girl's hand. "Hotaru... No,
no, you don't repulse me - not at all. I... I like you... I..." she
swallowed. "I trust you, please... don't cry, not over this. I... I'll
go with you..."

    "Rhian..." Hotaru whispered, leaning forward, her lips pursed as
if for another kiss.

    Rhian jerked back, afraid that Hotaru might get the wrong idea.
"Only for tonight, Hotaru," she said hurriedly. "I'll only stay for
tonight. I need to..."

    "Daughter of Arawn!" Owain suddenly exclaimed angrily, stepping
forward. "Is this true? Are you really one of the Accursed? One of the
elin'rth?"

    "Accurse..." Rhian gaped back at him stunned.

    "Well?!" he demanded again.

    Rhian fought back the urge to scream and instead turned to look at
her stepmother. The events of tonight had just been too much and once
more her good sense went straight out the window. She hated this man,
hated the situation she had been forced into and most of all, she
hated the way these people seemed to think they could treat her. She
ground her teeth silently together as the words 'sod it all' sprung to
her mind. Dampening the controls she normally held in place on her own
power, she forced her aura to blaze to life and stabbing her "mother"
with a piercing gaze, she spoke.

    "Bring this fool before me again, Olwen, and I swear that I will
feed him to the Hounds of Annwn." Her threat was not spoken loudly,
but the sheer emotionlessness of the voice that uttered it made it all
the more real.

    Olwen made a noise that sounded like a strangled cat and then she
shrieked like some kind of common street vender. "WHAT THE HELL..."

    "SHUT UP!!" Rhian screamed back as her rage finally blew up. Her
power flashed, and Olwen was thrown brutally against the floor as the
small girl lost all her control. "SHUT UP! I AM RHIANNON AP ANNWVYN!
DAUGHTER OF ARAWN ANNWVYN, AND HEIR TO THE HOUSE OF ANNWVYN! I _ORDER_
YOU TO SHUT UP!!" Her shouted words literally dripped with power and
the older woman whimpered as the girl's strength shredded the barriers
around her mind. Totally exposed now to the incensed teenager's rage,
Olwen froze, her will completely dominated.

    Arian fell to the ground, sobbing in pain as Rhian's rage tore at
her mind as well. The small girl's power was frightening! Never had
Arian imagined that her best friend was so strong! So strong, that
Arian was afraid that the small girl's rage might render them all
unconscious.

    Standing to one side of the now cowed Olwen, the man Owain was
barely maintaining his mind against the power that was now raging out
of control. The girl's strength - like that of her father's - was
insane, and she had not even yet learnt how to tap into the true
legacy that the Assyia-Cthlia had bred into the Annwvyn bloodline.
There was no way he could live, yet alone mate, with one such as this.
The child would more likely than not fry his brain the first time he
tried to take her virginity. The Avatar mating process was more like a
battle for supremacy than true human lovemaking, and needed partners
of more or less equal strength for it to be attempted in any safety.
Attempting the act with this child would be paramount to committing
mental suicide, and that was something Owain was not willing to do. He
had lived a long, long life, and one of the reasons for that was by
making his decisions very carefully.

    The girl, Rhiannon Annwvyn, was a prize that many would consider
more than worth fighting for, but Owain was no longer under any such
illusion. He knew now that trying for this girl would be a pointless
exercise. She would only give herself up to the one who captured her
heart, and she had already made it crystal clear that he would never
be such a one. No, the best thing he could do in these circumstances
was to cut his losses and stay out of the girl's way, especially if
she was an... elin'rth. An Accursed...

    "I HATE YOU!" Rhian screamed at the whimpering form of her
"mother" again and again as all the pent up rage and emotion that the
last week had put her through abruptly exploded. All the subtle
insults the woman had made over the years that Rhian had had to
endure, all of it... It all finally erupted - totally and completely.
"HATE YOU! HATE YOU! HATE YOU!"

    Hotaru was literally shaking with the emotion that was flooding
out of control in the slender girl opposite her. Rhian had completely
snapped in a way that Hotaru would never have believed possible if she
were not now seeing it with her own eyes. Heck, she was not even sure
why the slender girl had suddenly exploded as she had. It was so
totally unlike the Rhian that she thought she had come to know, and
Hotaru was unsure how to react. Rhian's rage seemed to be exploding
out of all proportion, and with that rage the girl's power seemed to
be erupting as well. And an out of control Rhian, especially given
what the small girl was capable of, was not something that Hotaru
wanted to tackle. So, taking a deep breath, she reached out down her
link to her elin'rth and gently applied a block between the girl and
her rapidly surging strength. Hotaru only hoped that her... friend
would understand.

    The sensation of burning strength that had been filling her
abruptly, and without any explanation, vanished, and Rhian staggered
as a sensation of weakness swamped her body. Her rage, now devoid of
the fiery core of strength that had been supporting it, simmered and
collapsed upon itself leaving Rhian feeling numb. She fell to her
knees, struggling to find her center amidst the ocean of released
emotions still surging wildly throughout her body. Owain's disgust,
her "mother's" demands, Hotaru, the bond... It was just too much - all
just too much...

    "Rhian..." A hand gently touched her back as a worried looking
Hotaru knelt down beside her to put a comforting arm loosely around
her shoulder. For a moment, Rhian resisted as Hotaru attempted to pull
her into a loose embrace, but then she just gave herself over to the
protective comfort that Hotaru was offering and let the young senshi
simply hold her.

    "Shh, everything's all right, Rhi," Hotaru whispered as she just
held the slender form gently in her arms, rocking the small girl back
and forth like a young child. "Shhh... Everything's all right... Hush
now..."

    A small sob emerged from the face now nestled up against her
shoulder and Hotaru reacted very slightly by tightening her grip. The
young Avatar was in a very unsettled state at the moment - confused,
angry, vulnerable, and Hotaru did not want to add to that by reacting
too strongly to the soft form now pressed up against her. She wanted
to comfort Rhian, to let the young girl feel that she could trust
Hotaru, and that was not something she could achieve by using the
situation to indulge in her half-realized feelings for her elin'rth.
So, for now, she just held the sobbing Rhian as gently as she could,
all the time rubbing the girl's back in an attempt to soothe away her
tears. Hotaru did not pretend to know what is was that had triggered
Rhian off like she had, but that was something which would have to
wait for another day. At the moment, it was more important to simply
get her elin'rth to calm down and allow the girl to find her center
once more.

    Finally, Rhian pushed herself back and looked up at Hotaru with
her still tear ladened golden eyes. "Let's go home, Hotaru," she said
quietly. "There's nothing for me here now." She turned her head to
gaze over at the still cringing form of the woman she had called
'mother' for nearly all her life and lowered her head. "Nothing at
all..."

    Hotaru pursed her lips at the bitterness which sounded in Rhian's
voice, but said nothing in response. For good or ill, Rhian had made
her choice and Hotaru would stand by it. "Are you sure?" she said
quietly, using a finger to lightly brush back the girl's long hair
from her face.

    Without raising her head, Rhian nodded. "I can't live here
anymore, Hotaru, not now. I need... I need sometime... I..."

    "I understand," Hotaru interrupted the girl with a reassuring
smile. While she was not exactly sure what Rhian was referring to,
Hotaru could at least understand the sentiment. In the last week or
so, Rhian's life had been completely turned upside down and Hotaru
could more than understand the girl's need to try and find her balance
once more. Hotaru was just happy that Rhian still seemed to trust her
enough to want to try and find that balance with her.

    Standing up, Hotaru helped Rhian to her feet and then turned to
help Arian up as well. The Avatar brunette looked a bit shaken by what
had just happened and her eyes flittered about the room as if she were
trying to decide what to do next. Finally, her eyes settled on Hotaru.

    "You and Rhian had better get going," Arian said hurriedly. "The
amount of power that Rhi just released will be sure to bring others
and when they see what has happened here, then I very much doubt that
they will just let the two of you walk out of here alone." Her eyes
locked with Hotaru's and then flickered over to Rhian. "Make sure you
look after her, Hotaru," Arian said softly as she gave the senshi a
meaningful stare. "She is very precious to us all."

    Hotaru frowned at that statement, but before she could wonder just
precisely what the girl meant, Arian continued.

    "In the meantime, I'll try and keep the people here occupied for
as long as I can, but the two of you need to leave here now - got it?"
she queried, taking a step forward.

    Hotaru quickly nodded. "But what about you?" she asked. "Will you
be all right if we just go?"

    Arian smiled dismissively. "Don't worry about me, Hotaru-san. The
worst that can happen is that I get a good telling off by my parents.
No, the most important thing is to get Rhian out of here. Lord Arawn
can be very touchy when it comes to his consort, and when he sees what
Rhian has done..." she shivered. "I honestly don't know how he will
react."

    At this point, Rhian's face paled and the girl's eyes shot over to
stare at the still whimpering older woman.

    "Rhian?" Hotaru asked in a concerned voice, moving closer to the
other girl. "Are you all right? You're sure you want to come with me,
aren't you? I'm not forcing you to..."

    "I'm sure, Hotaru, really," Rhian gave the anxious looking
brunette a reassuring smile and forced her own concerns to the back of
her mind. "I haven't really seen this place as my home for a long time
now, and tonight's events have only served to re-enforce that. So
please, let's just go, okay?"

    Hotaru said nothing more and just nodded her head.

    "Hey! Stop wasting time and just go, will you?" Arian pressed,
giving Hotaru's arm a shove. "The others could be along anytime now -
go!"

    Hotaru nodded and reaching out took hold of Rhian's hand. Then, in
the blink of an eye they were gone, leaving Arian standing alone with
the four Avatar adults.

    "Well," Arian sighed to herself as she looked around at the mess
Rhian had made of things. "She is my princess, so, up and at them and
all that..." Arian shook her head. Gods, what a life.

                *           *           *           *

    "But I'm hungry, Mako-chan," a second princess whined as she
looked at the tantalizing fudge cake that her friend was putting the
finishing touches to. "Can't I please..." the young woman begged,
fighting back the urge to drool.

    "No."

    "But..."

    "For the fifth time, Usagi, no means no," Makoto almost growled at
her friend as she stood protectively over her morning's labor. Gods,
what was it with this girl and food?

    "Pleeeaaassseeee. It looks sooo yummy. Can't I just..."

    "There's some ice cream in the fridge, Usagi, if you want some,"
Ami said coming to her lover's rescue. "Frosted choco-mint..." The
rest of her words were lost on the recipient as the young woman in
question already had her head buried happily into the bottom of the
freezer. Ami smiled and after giving Mako a fond wink returned to her
computer. It was nice to know that at least some things in the
Universe never changed - like Usagi. It gave one the comforting
reassurance that no matter what life threw at you, there were some
things you could always count on.

    Ami put her glasses back on and tried to concentrate once more on
the paper that she was preparing for her final thesis. Her fingers
rested on the keyboard as she searched for the inspiration to start
typing. The words however were just not coming, not as they had been
last week. Ami gave a small sigh and taking off her glasses, stood up.
Walking over to the window she rested her head up against the cool
glass and looked out onto the small street below.

    "Who am I kidding..." she whispered almost to herself. She could
not work on her paper when her mind was focused almost exclusively on
last week's attack. Gods, it had been years since the senshi had last
had to face the possibility of a serious enemy. So long in fact, that
Ami had even dared to hope that she and the others could actually
begin to live a normal life - a life filled with normal hopes, normal
loves and normal dreams. A life that allowed Ami to focus entirely on
her two main loves - research and Mako. But the events of last week
had shattered her sweet illusion completely, and Ami was once more
having to face up to the prospect that she and her friends might have
to give up their lives to defend the world that they called home. It
was a prospect that made her guts feel queasy.

    Pulling back from the window, Ami took a moment to consider that
last thought. In some ways it was a bit strange. During the events of
her early teens, she had sometimes felt anxious about the enemies and
situations that she and her friends had had to face, but even during
the encounters with Galaxia as far as she could remember she had never
felt quite as, well, unsettled as she did now and that made her
wonder. What was so different between those times and now? Was it
something to do with her, or something to do with this particular
situation? Mulling the thought over, Ami did not really know. Oh, she
was older and perhaps a little wiser, but that still did not explain
the difference that she felt so keenly. She...

    "Ami?" Makoto called out, popping her head out from the kitchen.

    "Hmm?" Ami put a smile on her face as she turned to face her
lover.

    The bright expression on the brunette's face faded a bit and Ami
wondered if Mako had somehow picked up on her own unease. "What is it,
Mako?" Ami replied as she increased the warmth of her own smile in an
attempt to allay her lover's concern.

    "Oh, sorry, Ami. I was just wondering if you would mind popping
out to the shops for me and getting some icing sugar. I would go
myself but..." the young woman looked back meaningfully into the
kitchen and Ami's smile became more genuine.

    "Your cake," she concluded.

    "Something like that," Makoto replied, glancing back to keep an
eye on a certain nameless person who was still hovering like a waiting
hawk for a chance to strike at the poor defenseless child sitting all
alone on the work top. A child covered with wonderfully sweet fudge
and freshly made cream.

    Ah, the poor thing, so alone...

    "Usagi!" Makoto exclaimed vanishing back into the insides of the
kitchen. "Leave it alone, please!"

    Ami gave a small giggle and turning away from the window went to
get her coat, her earlier feelings of unease now forgotten. Walking
over to the door she opened it. "I'm off, Mako," she called out.

    "Take care, love," Mako's voice came back followed by a loud
"Usagi! Look, I'll make you something..." The rest of which was lost
as Ami closed the door behind her.

    Crossing the hallway to stand by the lift, Ami pressed the button
to go down and rummaged around in her coat to ensure that she had
enough money on her to buy the icing sugar that Mako needed. Her lover
was supposed to be supplying the food for a surprise diner party that
evening. It was for a hens night. One of Mako's friends from college
was getting married in a week, and despite the current "alert"
situation, Ami knew that Mako would not go back on her word.

    With a small chime the door to the lift opened and Ami stepped
inside. Pressing the button for the ground floor, Ami returned to
considering just what exactly 'the current situation' was. It seemed
that from what Pluto had told Rei and Mako, that the word uncertain
was perhaps the best and only way of describing it. There was no fixed
'enemy' as such, and indeed, apart from the two events that had taken
place prior to her arriving back, nothing else had happened.

    "A waiting game..." Ami mused. That was the word that Pluto had
used with Mako. "But a waiting game for who?" From the vague
descriptions that Pluto had given, it seemed that as far as the Time
senshi was concerned, this threat was nothing to do with them
whatsoever, and as such, they were to be sidelined in favor of some
other unknown allies. Pluto had even gone as far as making it clear
that the senshi's job was just to ensure the existence of Crystal
Tokyo and that was it. As far as the ancient senshi was concerned,
this other threat was happening so long after the girls deaths - why
bother with it? Ami herself was not quite so certain how she felt
about that. It was like saying that she and the others had but one
purpose and that was it. And while she could see the point that Pluto
was making, the knowledge that she was just being pushed onto the
sidelines annoyed her and the absurdity of that annoyance almost made
her smile. She had definitely been living around Mako for too long!

    The walk to the nearest shop took about five minutes and Ami used
the time to bring some order to her thoughts. According to Pluto's
information, while the source of the threat might be the same, the
possible effects could be split into two. The first was the vague
threat to a possible future timeline that neither she nor the others
could do anything about anyway. If they were all going to be long dead
when it happened, then logically, Pluto was right - why bother about
it?

    The second threat however, this so-called seepage from the even
more mysterious 'Great War' - that was different. That was a more
immediate threat that they were all going to have to deal with. And
although Pluto had not empirically stated that the two attacks last
week were directly connected to this seepage, as far as Ami was
concerned - it was a fact. This 'fact' however, raised another, more
problematic concern. Why the heck were these attacks just starting
now? From the little information that Pluto had given out, it seemed
that this Great War had been running for far longer than Ami could
ever conceive, and if that was so then why had such attacks not
occurred more frequently? From the descriptions of the creatures that
she had gotten from Mako and the even vaguer tales from Hotaru, then
Ami would have expected more records of such events to be present, and
the fact that there were not implied a number of ugly possibilities.

    The first of which was that this Great War was somehow perhaps
coming closer, and that the effects of it were only now beginning to
be felt. The second was that such events had occurred but were either
so far in the past that they had simply been forgotten, misreported or
even covered up. This was of course all pure speculation, but with no
solid information to go on, speculating was all Ami could do.
Therefore, the next thing she had to do was to track down the
information necessary to resolve some of her conjecture. To do this,
Ami had four possible routes that she could take. Pluto herself,
Hotaru, the mysterious teenagers that seemed to be hanging around
Hotaru, and finally, the even more mysterious pair of strangers that
Pluto had gone to see. Ami had been alerted to that rather interesting
snippet of information by a frustrated Haruka who was as annoyed with
Pluto's tightlipped mannerisms as Ami herself.

    According to Haruka, Pluto had visited those two strangers on
Hotaru's behalf and had returned frustrated and empty handed. From
what the ancient senshi had told the blonde woman, it appeared that
the two strangers would speak with no one but Hotaru herself or the
odd young girl that Hotaru had just become friends with - someone
called Rhian or Rhiannon. From this information, it was clear that as
with the Death Busters before, poor Hotaru was once again one of the
central characters around which the threat to their planet revolved.

    "Hotaru-chan," Ami muttered to herself as she entered the small
shop from which she could get the sugar that Mako needed. "She will be
the key. She will be the one I need to watch." Through Hotaru, Ami
might be able to get the information that she needed to help determine
how the senshi could tackle this latest threat. Those two strangers
had to have some reason for why they were so interested in the young
Saturn and if Ami could discover what that reason was, then may be,
just may be, she could workout some way of defending against those
inhuman monsters that Pluto just referred to as 'seepage'. It might be
a vain hope, but at this point in time, it was about the best hope
that Ami could think of.

                *           *           *           *

    "You love her?!" Michiru squawked in a most unlady like fashion as
a look of incredulity flashed across her face.

    "Yes," Hotaru replied with a rosy blush coloring her face. "I love
her."

    "But that's impossible!" Michiru burst out bolting to her feet.
"You hardly even know her! How can you love her?!"

    "I... Well..." Hotaru stumbled around for the words to try and
express how she felt. "I just do..." she finished off lamely.

    "You just do..." Michiru repeated dumbly as she tried to absorb
this completely mad piece of information. "You just do..."

    As if taking that phrase for her queue, the door to Hotaru's room
suddenly opened and in walked the person in question, wrapped up in a
bathrobe and carefully dabbing at her wet hair with a towel. "Hotaru,"
Rhian began, "can I borrow some paja..." Her voice faded away as the
older woman sitting next to Hotaru abruptly locked a pair of hawk like
eyes on her and with a stabbing motion of a finger, pointed at the
startled lavender haired girl.

    "YOU!" a damning voice boomed out. "YOU!"

    Rhian blinked and took a surprised step backwards. "Me?" she
spluttered confused as the imposing looking figure of Hotaru's mother
stalked towards her with a less than friendly look on her face.

    "You!" Michiru repeated, glaring down at the smaller form who had
rapidly backed away. "What have you done to my little Hotaru-chan?"

    "Eh?" Rhian furiously tried to determine just what it was the
older woman was so upset about. Had she somehow done...

    "Hotaru says she loves you!" Michiru exclaimed angrily as the news
that her daughter had just given her was now beginning to ferment a
reaction. "Why? What have you done to her?!"

    Rhian eyes slowly widened as understanding dawned and her head
snapped around to _glare_ at the now cringing form of Hotaru. "She
said what?" Rhian replied with more calm than she had ever thought
herself capable of.

    If Michiru had been in any form of her normal state, she would
have instantly recognized the bite that was contained in that simple
statement, but her temper was now beginning to bloom and this girl was
the sole target. "Tell me! What have you done to my little Hotaru-
chan?! Why does she say that she loves you?! Why..."

    "Mama! Please!" Hotaru cried out, rushing over to stop the
situation from exploding. "Rhian hasn't done anything! It's me! I'm
the one to blame! I'm the one..." Her voice cracked as the intense
conflicting emotions that Rhian seemed to be able to cause just by
being near her choked up her voice, and the best that she could manage
was a small sob. "Please..."

    Something of that conflicting intensity must have been evident on
Hotaru's face because both Michiru and Rhian broke their locked gazes
to turn instead to focus on the small brunette who was clutching onto
the older woman's arm like a lost child. Michiru's impulsive anger was
replaced almost immediately by a rush of concern. "Hotaru..." she
whispered, forgetting about the presence of Rhian altogether.
"You're... You're trembling..."

    Hotaru raised her eyes and locked them onto Rhian. Into that stare
she tried to put everything, all the crazy emotions that the other
girl who had become her elin'rth was causing inside her. Rhian's eyes
were so deep that Hotaru felt like she could just pour out everything
that she was into their golden depths and still get lost within them.
Their golden color was as rich as the sun, and as Hotaru stared deeper
she swore she could see veins of pigment that were like jeweled amber
flash in the girl's look. A warm feeling, almost like a glow, filled
her mind and she just lost herself in the perfection of Rhian's eyes.
All the thoughts of what she had been about to say, of the world
around her just melted away into nothing, and the only thing that
mattered was just being here, caught up in this perfect moment.

    "Rhian..."

    The name was whispered like a soft prayer, and the strength of the
longing in it made both Rhian and Michiru gasp. Rhian felt the blood
rise to her face as she tried to come to terms with the ardor of
feelings that she could see burning in Hotaru's eyes. How wrong she
had been! When Hotaru had first kissed her earlier this evening, Rhian
had managed to convince herself that perhaps Hotaru just had a very
serious crush on her, a case of first love or something like that. But
this... this...

    The fury of the longing burning in Hotaru's eyes was more like a
desperate hunger, something that went far beyond just the intensity of
a first love. They spoke of a depth of yearning and commitment that
rendered Rhian senseless and she was entrapped by the sheer intensity
of Hotaru's stare like a fly in amber.

    As the girl Rhian gave a small gasp of shock and went slack
mouthed, Michiru abruptly realized how wrong she had been. It was not
Rhian who was to 'blame' for this, but Hotaru. And what was even
worse, Hotaru had an expression of naked desire on her face that made
even Michiru feel hot. Gods, what in the name of all that was holy had
happened to Hotaru?! In less than two weeks, the quiet almost private
girl that she had raised was now staring at someone with a look that
Michiru could only describe as a mixture of wanton lust and devoted
love. It was a sight that made the older woman feel faint.

    "Rhiannon..." the brunette whispered once again and letting go of
Neptune's arm, she slowly approached the entranced girl like a panther
stalking a frightened deer. Step by small step she drew closer, always
holding the young Avatar's eyes entrapped in her own, and although her
heartstone was burning with an aching intensity, Saturn was extremely
careful not to do anything that would alarm or frighten off her young
elin'rth.

    Rhiannon was like a fragile crystal - beautiful yet dangerously
delicate. Given time, Saturn knew that the young Avatar might very
well begin to return some of the strength of emotion that was now
beginning to blossom to life within the ancient senshi, but taking
things too fast would shatter such hopes beyond all repair. So, with
that in mind, Saturn just brushed her lips across Rhiannon's soft
cheek and whispered, "Love you." before stepping back. Then, smiling
down at the still numb form of her beautiful elin'rth, she turned and
walked out of the room. She did not look back.

    Rhian felt like her cheek was burning and she sank to her knees as
all her strength suddenly abandoned her. Hotaru... Hotaru... Oh Gods,
Hotaru really _loved_ her, really _wanted_ her. That thought kept on
circling itself around and around in her head and Rhian lost all sense
of everything else except that single realization. She continued to
stare numbly at the floor until finally, the elegant form of Hotaru's
mother came over and kneeling down, lifted her head so that their eyes
met.

    "We need to talk, child," Michiru said as gently as she could. "We
need to talk now."

    In response to her statement, the lavender haired girl did not
even blink, but just continued to stare blankly ahead, completely lost
to the world. Michiru sighed, and raising her hand lightly brushed a
tendril of that unique looking hair away from the girl's face. "Rhian-
chan," she said again gently shaking the girl's shoulder. "Come on,
Rhian-chan, snap out of it, child."

    "Hotaru..." the girl finally replied, her voice the faintest of
whispers. "She..."

    "Yes," Michiru stated lifting the girl's chin so that their faces
were now at the same level. "She does. And very much so by the looks
of things."

    "Oh," the girl said and blinked.

    "Well, that's one way of putting it, Rhian-chan," Michiru
commented as she helped the slender girl to her feet and walked her
over to sit down on Hotaru's bed. Retrieving the damp towel from the
floor, Michiru draped it around Rhian's neck and then sat down beside
her. "Rhian-chan," Michiru began with the most obvious question. "How
do you feel about what Hotaru just said? Do you, well, do you love her
as well?"

    Rhian just looked at her blankly and Michiru slowly repeated her
question. "Do you love my daughter, Rhian-chan?"

    "Love her..." Rhian was having a hard time with today. When she
had first woken up this morning, everything had seemed to be perfectly
normal. Okay, she had a number of problems sure, but on the whole she
had thought that things in her life were at last under some kind of
control. But now...

    In less than just three hours her life had once more been reduced
to a complete shambles. For in that time not only had she managed to
lose her temper, threaten her own stepmother and future husband with a
fate worst than death, not to mention storming out of her own home -
it now also appeared that her newest friend had somehow managed to go
and fall passionately in love with her. And to make things worse, that
same friend's mother now seemed to be suggesting that she had the same
sexual preferences that Hotaru had suddenly manifested. When taken all
together, it was slightly too much for her to process. So, in a way,
Rhian could almost excuse her tired brain for not being up to its
usual sparkle. It, like her, had had a difficult last few hours.

    "Rhian-chan?" Michiru pressed, giving the girl's shoulder a small
squeeze.

    "She loves me," Rhian repeated as her mind started to confirm some
of the basics. "And she wants me."

    Michiru waited for the teenager to catch up.

    "Mother wants to know if I love her," Rhian nodded to herself.
"That's it. Hotaru loves me and her mother wants to know if I love her
too."

    Michiru was suddenly not so certain where this was going. The
glazed look in Rhian's eyes was returning, and the girl was now
mumbling to herself. So, bracing herself, Michiru gave the girl a
reasonable slap across the cheek and shook her, hard. "Rhian-chan!"

    "Ouch!" The abrupt rush of pain burnt through the sluggishness
that had taken up residence in Rhian's brain and with a sharp intake
of breath, two wounded looking golden eyes fixed themselves on
Michiru. "Why did you do that? That hurt, you know," Rhian complained
rubbing her stinging cheek.

    Michiru smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Rhian-chan, but it was
the only way I could think of getting you back to earth. You were
beginning to fade out on me."

    "You didn't have to slap me though," Rhian grumbled still rubbing
her cheek. "I didn't do anything wrong..."

    Michiru kissed a finger and then touched it to the startled girl's
cheek. The reaction that this movement bought made the older woman
smile and she could begin to appreciate what Hotaru saw in this girl.
"You know, you're really cute when you blush, Rhian-chan," she winked,
causing the small figure to look like she wanted to flee. Michiru held
the girl's wide eyes for a moment and then set her face into a more
serious expression. "Now, mirth aside, how do you really feel about
what Hotaru just said? Do you love her?"

    "No! Of course I don't!" Rhian blurted back going red faced. "She
is a just a friend! A friend!"

    Michiru raised an eyebrow, "Just a friend?" she queried, giving
the wide-eyed girl a pointed stare. "Nothing else?"

    Rhian's eyes widened even more before rapidly narrowing. "What are
you implying?" she said, giving the woman an indignant stare.

    Michiru returned the stare quite calmly and in the end it was
Rhian who finally, blushing furiously, turned away. Michiru sighed and
gave the girl's damp knee a quick reassuring squeeze. "Then it seems
we have a small problem, Rhian-chan," she continued. "Hotaru is quite
serious about what she said to you and I don't want to see her get
hurt."

    "Neither do I," Rhian added slowly. "I like her, I like her a lot,
but love..." she shivered. "I..."

    "Don't love her," Michiru finished with a nod. "I understand. The
lifestyle choices that people such as myself have made are not for
all. I'm just sad for my daughter, that's all. Hotaru's extremely
strong willed and throws herself at life with everything that she has.
When she says she loves you, she really means it. She will do
everything that she can to win your heart, Rhian-chan, and she won't
give up." Michiru gave a sad shake of her head and offered the small
girl a wistful smile. "Yes, I know my little Hotaru-chan, well. She
will never give up. She will try to win you until the end."

    Rhian swallowed, hard. "The end?" she asked with a sinking
feeling. "What end?"

    Michiru sighed and stood up. Without saying a further word she
walked over to the door. It was only then that she stopped and looked
back at the smaller girl. "The end of her life," she said sadly. And
with that simple statement, she closed the door behind her leaving a
stunned Rhian staring slack mouthed at where the older woman had been.

    How long Rhian sat lost in her own bemusement she did not know,
but a small hand gripping tightly at her shoulder slowly bought her
back to reality and she looked up. "Ho... Hotaru..."

    The brunette smiled and pulling back her hand sat down on the bed
beside the flustered looking girl. "Rhi? What are you doing up here
all alone? You've been nearly an hour now. What's up?"

    Rhian blinked and shifted nervously on the bed. "How can you say
that, Hotaru? After... After what you..."

    "Oh," Hotaru replied softly looking away. "Is that why..."

    "What do you..."

    "I meant it you know, Rhian," Hotaru abruptly interrupted catching
the girl's hands in her own. "I love you, Rhi, and I will do whatever
it takes to win your heart. I won't pressure you, Rhian, for I want
you to love me in your own time and in your own way, but I will win
you, Rhian-chan, I swear it."

    Even though Hotaru had been saying much the same thing all
evening, the intensity with which the brunette delivered the words
were still enough to make Rhian's throat go dry. She understood now
just what Hotaru's mother had been talking about. Just saying 'no' was
not going to work with Hotaru. Indeed, from the emotion shining in the
brunette's eyes, Rhian was not sure if anything would put the young
senshi off, and that made her even more confused about what she was to
do.

    "And just what exactly do you expect me to say, Hotaru?" Rhian
finally said, returning the other girl's look. "I like you - yes, but
I can't ever imagine myself... well..." she reddened and turned away
embarrassed.

    Hotaru smiled as the rosy blush spreading across Rhian's face only
served to make the girl look even more perfect than she already was.
The sight of it made the warmth in her heart swell as through the link
the bond provided to Rhian, Hotaru could feel her elin'rth's lost
confusion. Intermingled with that confusion was a conflicting sense of
fear and trust that made Hotaru more than ever just want to gather the
long haired girl into her arms and soothe everything away. Hotaru knew
however that given the current circumstances, such an action on her
part would only make the situation worst so she did the next best
thing she could think of.

    "Rhian, please, I'm not trying to pressure you into doing anything
you don't want to do. I love you, and I will accept any expression of
love you feel yourself able to give me in return. If you... if you
ever want a lover, then I will be honored if you would consider me,
but... but if you can only accept me as a friend or a sister, then
that is what I shall be. Please, Rhian, don't reject me... Don't throw
me out of your life... I... I..." Her voice cracked as she clutched
desperately at the girl's delicate hands. "Rhian... Please..."

    Rhian shook her head and sighed. For a moment, Hotaru felt a cold
shudder run through her body at the thought that Rhian might be
rejecting her, but then the long haired girl raised her head and
despite everything that had happened, a small smile was on her lips.
"Oh, Hotaru... You are impossible sometimes, you really are."

    The sight of the small smile on Rhian's lips made Hotaru grin.
"And what makes you say that, Rhi?" she asked, already getting lost in
her beloved eyes.

    In answer, Rhian's smile just widened slightly and the girl gently
pulled her hands free from Hotaru. Standing up, she yawned and gave a
small stretch, the movement causing her bathrobe to flap open slightly
around her thighs. "I'm tired, Hotaru. Today has been hard for me, so
I'm going to hit the sack early. Can I please borrow those pajamas I
asked you for earlier?"

    Hotaru forcefully adverted her eyes from the momentarily exposed
flesh. "Of course," she said getting to her feet and crossing over to
her dresser. Opening one of the draws she retrieved a pair of her
clean nightclothes and passed it over to Rhian. "Here you are," she
said, waiting to see what the girl would do next.

    "Thanks," Rhian replied with a brief smile as she took the offered
articles and headed for the door. Pausing to open it she turned, and
after a moment's uncertainty, spoke. "Hotaru, look, I don't pretend to
know what the future will bring for either of us. Heck, at the moment
I don't even know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow, much less a
couple of years from now. So... look, let's just try and take things
one step at a time, okay? If... If things happen... then they happen,
and I... well, I..." Rhian swallowed as she suddenly realized how her
words might be interpreted. Changing tact, she tried to organize her
thoughts into some sort of coherent order. "Look, what I'm trying to
say is that we are friends, but we are also elin'rth, and to be
honest, that still makes me very nervous about you. I want to trust
you, Hotaru, I really do..."

    "But?" Hotaru picked up on the word that Rhian left out.

    "But I need time," Rhian finished, more certain now. "Time to come
to terms with what has happened to me - to us. Time to determine just
how I feel about, well, things. Time to be al..."

    "You're wrong, Rhian," Hotaru abruptly interrupted, crossing over
to stand by the door.

    "Huh?" Rhian looked at the girl opposite her. "What do you mean?"

    "Rhian, do you remember what you said the morning after I first
told you about us being elin'rth?" Hotaru asked meeting the smaller
girl's eyes. When Rhian frowned and shook her head, Hotaru took a step
closer. "What's done is done, love. Worrying about it won't make any
difference at all. Things aren't going to change. We _are_ elin'rth,
and we always will be. What is important now is how we deal with it.
Those were your own words, Rhian, and they are the truth. We have to
deal with it, there is no other choice for either of us."

    Rhian pressed her lips together and then moistened them. "I know
what you're trying to say, Hotaru, but..." Her sentence was cut off by
a knocking at the door and the voice of Michiru coming from the
hallway.

    "Hotaru-chan, Rhian-chan, there are two young women downstairs who
are asking to see you. Would you mind coming down for a moment?"

    Hotaru swore quietly under her breath at the interruption but
moving regretfully away from Rhian, opened the door to let her mama
in. "Did they say who they are, mama?" she asked, determined to keep
her face calm.

    Michiru did not answer immediately, but instead gave each of the
girls an appraising stare. Rhian blushed and quickly dropped her eyes,
an action that made the older woman turn her gaze to focus on Hotaru.
"This is all they gave me, I'm afraid," the woman finally commented,
passing over a small white card to Hotaru who promptly turned pale and
gave Rhian a slightly wild stare.

    "It's them, Rhi," she said in a stunned voice as the card dropped
from her fingers. "Those girls from the other day. The ones who..."
her voice faded away and Rhian turned white.

    Michiru frowned at the reaction that both girls gave to her news.
"Hotaru?"

    Hotaru quickly forced a smile onto her lips to cover her mistake.
"It's nothing, mama, really," she lied through her teeth as
convincingly as she could. "Just a couple of people I know, that's
all."

    ::What are you doing, Hotaru?:: Rhian sent. ::I don't...::

    Just trust me, Rhian, please... Hotaru smiled at the girl, using
all the acting ability that she had to convince Michiru-mama that
nothing was wrong. She knew that her parents had heard about the
existence of those two young women who had so casually wiped out that
monster in the shopping arcade, but she also knew that they had no
idea who they really were. And at this moment in time, Hotaru did not
see any particular advantage in enlightening her parents to the truth.

    Rhian did not really know what Hotaru was playing at, but did as
her friend bid and made no alarming comment. "So, shall we go and
see..."

    "No, Rhian!" Hotaru exclaimed sharply, a protective instinct
towards the young Avatar coming unconsciously into play. However, at
the sight of the reaction that both Rhian and Michiru had to her tone,
Hotaru immediately softened her expression and lightly touched the
girl's arm. "Ah... Didn't you just say how tired you are, Rhi? Don't
worry about things here. You just go to bed like you were planning and
let me deal with this, okay?"

    ::Eh?::

    Please, Rhian. I don't want you to be in any danger, and besides,
this way you can back me up if I run into any trouble, ne?

    ::Now hold on a minute, Hotaru:: Rhian began to send. ::I'm not
a...::

    Rhian, forgive me for saying this but this is exactly the sort of
situation that the elin'rth were created for in the first place. I'm
the weapon remember. I'm the one who is supposed to be put in danger,
Rhian-chan, not you. You're my partner, my support. I just can't risk
you like that - I won't.

    ::I don't...::

    Rhian! Please! Hotaru sent back while at the same time furiously
trying to keep the mask of indifference on her face. Trust me in this!

    The long haired girl yawned and giving an unconvincing stretch,
nodded. "Okay, Hotaru. I'll let you deal with this, but..."
Deliberately leaving the sentence hanging, she clutched the pajama's
to her chest and headed off in the direction of the bathroom to
change. Once Rhian had left, Hotaru gave a small sigh of relief and
steeled herself for the encounter to come. Turning, she looked over at
the now frowning form of her mother and said in as light a tone as she
could. "I'll be down in a moment, mama. Would you mind getting them
some coffee or something first, please. I just need to freshen up a
bit first."

    Michiru looked at her daughter closely. She knew the smiling
brunette was up to something, but what it was she did not know.
Something about these two strangers had made both girls very nervous
indeed. Michiru however did not think that Hotaru would appreciate her
mother sticking her nose into what was basically her daughter's own
private business, and because of that respect for her daughter,
Michiru just nodded her head. "Very well, Hotaru-chan, if that is how
you want it..." she left the sentence hanging so that the young
brunette would know that her act was not fooling her mother in the
least, but beyond that, made not further comment. Then, turning, she
opened the door and left Hotaru to her devices.

    For a moment, Hotaru considered going after her mother and warning
her about the two women downstairs, but then dismissed the idea almost
immediately. Those two were far more powerful than any of the senshi
could ever hope to be. Even her, with the full support of Rhian, could
probably only muster a fraction of the strength necessary to harm
them, and there was no way Hotaru was going to risk either her beloved
or her parents in a battle that could not be won. No, warning her
parents served no purpose whatsoever except to put them in danger.
These two women were here for a reason, and Hotaru had to ensure that
if anyone were to come under threat from them, then it would only be
her.

    After taking a few minutes to compose herself, Hotaru took a deep
breath and opened the door. She was slightly startled to see that
Rhian was standing poised just outside the door looking exactly like
she had just been about to enter. "Rhian..."

    The young Avatar looked slightly nervous as if she were uncertain
about something, but at seeing Hotaru, the lavender haired girl
straightened and her mouth took on an expression of certainty. "Ah...
I was just coming to see you, Hotaru. I... I was wondering if you...
well... if you needed to borrow my power like you did before." The
look of determination on her face faltered a bit as she said this, and
Hotaru could see a small trace of fear flicker in the girl's golden
eyes. Rhian swallowed and took a step forward. "You can, if you need
to, Hotaru. I... I'll link myself to you like we did previously if you
think..."

    Hotaru felt her heart almost wanting to burst with pride and love
at the bravery that her beautiful elin'rth was showing, and she could
not help herself from sweeping the slender girl into a tender embrace
and landing a warm kiss on the girl's lips. Gods, how she loved her
brave, wonderful companion! Despite all that had happened, the fact
that Rhian still had the strength to make an offer such as this
touched Hotaru deeply, and she wanted to show that to Rhian the best
way she knew how.

    The lithe figure in her arms was warm and smelt of spring, and the
fact that only a thin layer of cotton was separating her hands from
the soft contours of Rhian's body was not lost on the young senshi.
She felt slightly lightheaded as she gathered that soft form even
closer and succumbed somewhat to the rush of gushy love that
overwhelmed her.

    Finally, when the initial surge of impulsive emotion had passed,
Hotaru abruptly realized that she may have gone too far and with a
gasp, she broke the kiss. Pulling her head back, Hotaru looked down
slightly afraid at Rhian's face. She was surprised to find that
instead of the look of anger that she had been expecting, Rhian
instead simply had her eyes closed with a calm reposed expression
resting on her face. The girl's head was even tilted back as if she
were waiting for Hotaru to resume her kiss and this unexpected
behavior made Hotaru feel a bit nervous.

    "Rhi..." Hotaru swallowed. "Rhian?"

    The pair of golden eyes opened and calmly met Hotaru's. "Well?"

    Hotaru was confused. What was Rhian doing? Was the girl offering
Hotaru... Nah! That was nuts! Hotaru got a grip on herself and gently
pushed Rhian back. "I... No, Rhian, I won't. I can't risk your life
again like I did before. I won't do anything like that ever again, not
until I am certain that you will be safe."

    Rhian did not answer, but simply watched Hotaru with those deep
golden eyes of hers. Eventually, she nodded and released herself from
Hotaru's arms. "Very well," she said meekly, flashing the senshi a
warm smile. "But if you need me..."

    "I'll call," Hotaru smiled back, raising a hand to brush Rhian's
hair back from her face and over one ear. "Rest assured of it."

    "Keep safe, elin'rth," the girl replied much to Hotaru's surprise
and with that, Rhian pushed passed her and entered the bedroom Hotaru
had just left.

    Hotaru blinked as the door closed softly shut leaving her alone in
the hall. "What the heck was all that about?" she murmured to herself
trying to figure out what had just taken place. Had Rhian just...

    "Hotaru-chan!" Michiru's voice calling out from downstairs
abruptly ended the young brunette's reverie, and rather nervously she
turned and headed off. Her heart was now beginning to pound loudly in
her ears and her stomach felt nauseous at what this encounter might
bring. Reaching the bottom stair, Hotaru took a deep breath and
forcing herself to calm down, she walked into the kitchen where she
knew her parents and her 'guests' would be waiting.

    "Ah, Hotaru, there you are at last," Haruka said with a nod as she
greeted her daughter with a rather intense stare. "Been having
difficulty tearing yourself away from your new _friend_, have you?"

    Hotaru's heart skipped a beat at her papa's not so subtle use of
the word 'friend'. It was obvious that her mama had told Haruka-papa
about her confession to Rhian and that the older woman had a great
deal to say on the subject. Hotaru groaned internally and felt her
anxiety levels rise once more, but then she forcefully reminded
herself of the issues at stake and put that concern out of her mind.
For now, she had much more important things to worry about other than
how her parents might feel about Rhian - no. She had to focus her
attention on the two amused looking young women, who even now were
watching her discomfort with a great deal of obvious interest.

    "Good evening," Hotaru said as politely as she could, giving her
two 'guests' a small bow.

    "Hello, Hotaru-san," the young woman with dark chestnut hair who
Hotaru remembered was called Darline, replied.

    "Is Rhian-chan joining us?" her companion asked straight off much
to Hotaru's concern.

    "Rhian has a bit of a headache, I'm afraid," Hotaru replied with a
pleasant smile. "She has had to go to bed early."

    "Ah," the gaijin commented. "Shame."

    Hotaru waited for a second to see if the young woman would say
anything else, but that seemed to be it. Her eyes narrowed slightly at
the fact that this gaijin seemed to be so interested in Rhian, but
other than that remained silent. At the moment, she had to play the
game that was set out in front of her. "So, Darline-san," she asked at
last, "how have the two of you been? It has been quite a while, hasn't
it?"

    A small smile crept across Darline's face as if to acknowledge the
deliberately casual way Hotaru greeted her. "Fine, fine," she replied
nodding her head. "And you? Keeping well I hope?"

    "So, so," Hotaru responded, sitting herself down.

    "Ah, good," Darline replied. "I had wondered, you see. When you
did not come and see us last week, I had thought you might be ill or
something. Indeed, Alexi even suggested that we should come around and
pay our respects just in case you were, and so, here we are," her
smile widened.

    Hotaru tilted her head in apology. "The rigors of moving to a new
school I'm afraid, Darline-san. I've been so busy trying to catch up
with all the new lessons, that I just haven't had time to take you up
on your gracious invitation. I must apologize, I really must."

    Darline waved her hand dismissively. "Don't let it worry you,
Hotaru-san, I can more than understand. Time is precious to us all."

    "Some more than others," Alexi chipped in with a small laugh.

    "Delighted as I am to see you," Hotaru continued ignoring Alexi's
comment completely, "perhaps now is not the best time to discuss our
little problems. Might I suggest instead that the three of us get
together..."

    "Four," Alexi interrupted with a smile. "Don't forget Rhian-chan,
Hotaru-san. She has an interest in our... little problem as well you
know."

    At the other woman's words, Hotaru's eyes went flat and a strange
new ugly emotion suddenly flared to life in her heart. "Rhian stays
out of this," she said softly. "That is not negotiable. She is
mine..." those last few words slipping out almost unnoticed.

    "Really?" Alexi replied still smiling. "How inter..."

    "Of course, Hotaru-san," Darline interrupted quickly, flashing
Alexi a hard look. "Of course. So tell me, when would you like to meet
up? Any time in particular?" she paused and looked at Hotaru
expectantly.

    Hotaru however did not answer. Her eyes were still locked on
Alexi, that weird emotion making her feel an almost natural animosity
towards the gaijin. An image of Rhian flashed through her mind, and
Hotaru was surprised to find that she was clenching her fists so
tightly that her nails were biting into her flesh.

    "Hotaru-san?" Darline tried again and Hotaru kicked herself,
transferring her attention back to the young woman.

    "Sometime this _week_ would be preferable if you don't mind,
Hotaru-san," Da