Shades of Purple

Give a Little Love

The training madness on Earth had settled down a bit. They were still training, no doubt, but not as intensively as before. Endymion began to calm down a little from the war paranoia, either because the dark vibes had begun to fade, or because he was getting used to them.

It had been a while since he had a party or gathering of some sort, and wanted to reward the troops for all of their hard work in training, so he decided to have an honorary banquet for them. He invited the moon kingdom since we were now officially his allies, and naturally we all attended. I decided to try and avoid Kunzite and let him seek me out if he really wanted to. I was sick of being the one chasing after him, and of the way he was treating me.

It was a more formal social, with a bunch of well-dressed people moving around the room and mingling; most people I didn't know, as usual. I stayed close to my fellow guardians, who were actually in the same boat as me. Apparently, their men had been acting hostile towards them as well. At least I knew I wasn't alone. It all seemed so strange.

After a while, Endymion stepped onto the stage and called the attention of the party.

"Thank you all for coming tonight, and especially for all of your hard work. Your dedication to this kingdom is greatly appreciated and will never be forgotten. I want to thank my commanding officers, Kunzite, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite and Beryl, for giving so much of themselves to train our soldiers and protect this kingdom."

Beryl? Who's that?

I looked over to the left and saw Kunzite and the others standing together in the distance. He didn't see me, but I kept looking. He still looked frustrated and uneasy. I saw a pretty redhead standing with them, and assumed that was Beryl.

Endymion kept going with his speech, when suddenly he paused for a second to take a deep breath.

"I also want to thank my beautiful girlfriend, Princess Serenity of the moon, for never failing to be there for me and supporting me at all times, no matter what the circumstances. She rushed here to offer help in whatever way she could before I even asked her. She's the sweetest person I know. Serenity... can you come up here?"

Serenity was a little caught off guard at this request, and blushed as she stepped onto the stage.

"We have been together for a year now, and it has been the most wonderful year of my life," he continued. "I want all of the years to come to be as amazing as this one has been. So..."

He got on one knee and pulled out a box, opening it to reveal a gorgeous, shimmering diamond ring. "Princess Serenity, will you marry me?"

She screamed and jumped up and down in excitement. "Yes! Yes yes yes! Of course I will!"

He stood up and everyone applauded at their kiss.

I clapped in the background, standing against a wall. As happy as I was for them, I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself. Selfish, I know, and I was ashamed for feeling that way. I looked over at Kunzite, still standing there looking the same way. I doubted he would speak to me that night.

You think you're really serious, clever and mysterious... talking like you're dangerous, talking like a fool.

I'd never been so genuinely angry with him. There Endymion and Serenity were, engaged and happy as ever, going into their future together. That was supposed to be us someday! We were happy. We were on the right track, it seemed like. We were heading towards a future together. Now he acts like he doesn't even want me.

I looked away and turned back to the girls. Jupiter was just as frustrated as I was.

"Look at him over there, pretending not to notice me, acting like I don't exist. The nerve of that guy! Who does he think he is?"

"Try to stay calm, Jupiter," Mercury said. "You're not alone in this. We're all experiencing the same thing from them. Maybe together we can figure out what's going on."

"At least you never made your relationship public," she sneered. "No one will give you a hard time about it."

I turned to Mars, who was leaning against the wall with crossed arms.

"Hey. You're quiet tonight."

"So?"

"So, you're usually the most outspoken of all of us."

"Well, I'm not feeling chatty tonight, okay? Is that such a problem? I didn't realize I was the designated spokesperson of the group." She rolled her eyes and leaned further into the wall.

I walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. It's okay to be mad at Jadeite. You have the right to be."

She sighed and looked sorrowful. I felt bad for her. She hated showing emotions other than anger, but I could tell she was hurting.

Despite not wanting to become dependent on alcohol whenever I was stressed, I went over to the wine table to pour a glass. I would only allow myself to have one.

I started sipping it slowly, not moving from that spot. I could see Kunzite walking away from his group and coming towards me out of the corner of my eye, but I pretended not to notice.

"Venus," he said sternly.

"Can I help you?" I continued looking the direction I was facing, not turning towards him, continuing to sip the wine.

"Things have been very busy around here. If you want to come during a time that's not busy, Sunday nights are best."

I finally turned to him with a frustrated look. "Is that all you have to say to me?"

His face didn't change. "Tell Serenity congratulations for me. We're all very happy for them."

He turned and went back over to his group. I stood there with my mouth still gaped open a little, so dumbfounded by what just happened.

Was that it? Seriously?

I chugged the rest of my wine.

I continued watching him walk away, just desperately hoping that things would change soon; go back to normal.

Please don't be like this, Kunzite. You can find it in your heart...give a little love; have a little faith in the two of us. 'Cuz all I can do is watch and wonder where the man I know has gone.

That woman Beryl gave me a look, just for a split second... a look that was similar to how Karla would look at me, except... a lot more menacing. I didn't think that was possible. What was her problem?