"Memories of Sorrow"
It’s a memory spell. One meant to search for the location of the Moon Princess, not to be used on a Shitennou. Squabbling with Jadeite is not uncommon, and he berates himself for being so foolish. A careless shove and the spell backfires.
They’re out there in the gardens again. A lover’s couple, hand in hand, proper and poised and portrait perfect. Even from this distance, he can tell from his posture that he’s smiling and she rewards him with a laugh he’s certain sounds like bells. Tonight, they will waltz, he will bestow her with a rose and she will kiss him on the cheek and they will indeed be happy.
Zoisite watches from his balcony.
The people from the Moon Kingdom are so carefree.
She will flirt with him, she will kiss him, she may even love him - but they’re eternal, like the stars. Whilst the mortal beings of earth rise and fall like waves against a shore, endless and short. He envies her, the way she holds possessively to him, the way she’ll never have to question her life and loyalties because heirs will never cross her mind though they will weigh endlessly on his, the way illness and death will never touch her.
The European Prince bites his thumb and blinks back tears, turning from the sight before him and striding back into his room with uneven steps.
It’s not fair.
At home, his people battle illness and poverty. The Golden Kingdom is far from perfect, but he’s certain it can be. If the people of the Moon will not interfere (their code, he hates it, he hates all of them for being so above mortal suffering) then all he can do is try to accomplish what they cannot in his own, small way.
He is jealous, and in the end it is not Kunzite he hates, nor the Venusian Princess, it’s himself.
And it’s a hate that burns all too bright.
"You love him," she says somewhere behind him, and he turns with a start. "Don’t you?"
Her smile is venom in his veins.
"You know they’ll only bring ruin," she says, and he feels something twist and crack.
"Leave, witch. I want nothing to do with your petty jealousy. How did you even get into my chambers?"
Her smile turns sharper. The shadows of the room thicken and waver, and suddenly he smells something akin to rot. He recoils sharply, a hand raising to summon flame.
"I- I mean it! Begone with you!" His voice falters, the frantic darting of his eyes from her to the door is enough of a slip for her to get in close. A cool hand presses against his cheek, dagger sharp nails curling into his skin. His body stiffens, breath stalling. He knows her magic, her kind, he knows that this can only mean --
Throw out of the memory, the blonde lashes out. Shoving the other Shitennou hard and backing up, gripping the desk behind him.
"You're an idiot," he spits, full of fire and venom, breathing hard and trying to chase the thought from his mind.
