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"Do you know where Marin can be found?"

Lune heard Merle's voice as if it had come from very far away, and reluctantly forced his eyes open. He reached up lazily with his left hand and took off the cool wet towel with which he had covered his brow, slowly sitting up and leaning his lower back against the rock which had supported his neck just a moment ago. Focusing on the wonderful sensation of the almost cold water on his whole body, Lune thanked the Goddess for the existence of the natural clear water basin close to his and Merle's small house.

Speaking of Merle.... Remembering the badly veiled tension in his friend's voice, Lune turned his head towards him and found the incredibly pale blue eyes focused on him, alight with worry. Lune sighed inaudibly, and met the other's gaze, replying, "At this time, no. But you might find perhaps her at her own house, resting before she starts her watch. It's still two hours before sunset, so it's reasonable to assume she'd be there." He grinned. "Even so, I wonder about the wisdom there is in disturbing her now. I have the feeling she wouldn't welcome any intrusion while she's trying to gather strength." Softly, he added, "Not even from you." The other flinched at that, ever so slightly. Lune distantly thought his friend was stupid to even consider trying to conceal his reaction. Merle's heart was wide open for him to read like a book. A book whose story Lune could write and lead where he would have it go; and indeed--

"It doesn't matter. I need to talk to her now." His train of thought interrupted, Lune stared at his friend's somber expression, and felt something distant and faint stirring within him. Like heartbeats speeding up, all of a sudden....

Now?

Would Merle....?

No, no it couldn't possibly be. It was still too early for this to come to pass. Lune needed time. Not much of it, but...if Merle acted now, it would be inconvenient, and Lune didn't like "inconvenient". Not to mention having to acknowledge events were not matching his plans down to the smallest detail. He had too much of a pride, he had known that since the day Marin had thought him a very painful lesson all those years ago, but he'd never bothered to correct the flaw. Discarding his reflections, Lune chuckled at the other, asking, "Oh, and might one inquire why you need to speak to our revered teacher so urgently when we saw her no later than this morning?"

"One may not."

Merle's voice had been flat and toneless this time, and the fire in his eyes.... Lune looked at his friend appraisingly, and for the first time earnestly weighed Merle's strength, comparing it to his own and considering possible outcomes of a confrontation. He didn't think it'd come to that, his careful plan having always included to get Merle safely out of the way from the earliest stages, but if it ever did.... Merle's strength wasn't a laughing matter he could carelessly shrug off. Neither were the other's intelligence lacking or his wits slow.

At last, Lune nodded. Ah, I see," he laughed, "you'd best be on your way to her then. I hope that this discussion will lighten your mood, because you're really no fun at this moment."

Merle turned on his heels, and quickly left his and Lune's small house's area, unwilling to bear with the other's sarcasm and mockery a moment longer. He really wasn't up to patience or tolerance at this time. It had been almost two weeks since he had met Aquila Marin at dawn, as she had come down from Star Hill. Why she had even been there, when it was Ophiuchus Shaina's duty to guard that place, he had no idea, but since then the image and feeling of her has haunted him ceaselessly. She had been....

Exhausted.

Drained of energy, of....

Life.

Grieving.

Trapped, like a caged animal.

Her mask, the Eagle's hood. Chaining her up.

Hurting her, so much.

He couldn't let this go on any longer. It was all wrong in the first place, Merle knew this as he knew himself. Nobody had the right to restrain and fetter human beings in this terrible fashion. Nobody, be they Gods or those who had edicted the Sanctuary's laws. Something had to be done, the order of things had to be changed, even if it was an unforgivable crime to simply harbour those thoughts. Merle didn't care if Athena and the Gods cursed him for all eternity. He didn't give a damn about respect when it was supposed to be applied to laws and concepts which only deserved contempt. Besides, for *her* he'd have stepped over the abyss's edge and dived down the forever blazing flames of Hell.

With a smile on his lips.

Shaking his head, he made himself focus on Lune in an attempt to detach himself from the thought of what he had decided to do. Lune had smiled, as usual. Lune had looked at him with those unfathomable emerald eyes and he had smiled, and grinned. Then he had laughed. Why couldn't he ever take things seriously when Merle asked him a question? Why couldn't he see the matter wasn't funny? Why couldn't he see Merle would have welcomed his help? Sometimes Lune didn't make sense, sometimes he angered Merle so much that he wondered what kind of insanity had possessed him on the day he'd decided they'd be friends.

There was much, much more to Lune than met the eye. Merle was more aware of this than anyone else in the Sanctuary, so he knew it was possible the other had understood the matter was important, and had deliberately shrugged it off as laughable. It was possible Lune had done that in order not to become involved in what he might have perceived as a private problem, but Merle didn't think so. Lune was his friend, and if he had truly seen and understood how troubled and worried Merle was, he'd have stepped into it. It was what friends did: to intrude into things they were perhaps not welcome to in order to help those they cared about when they felt support was needed. No, Lune wouldn't have let him leave without an answer to his question if he'd grasped the seriousness of the matter.

Lune was his friend.

Lune allowed himself to slide back into the comfortably cool waters of the basin, resting his head against the rock once more and setting back the wet towel on his brow so that it would shade his eyes from the blazing sunlight. In his mind, he could picture Merle walking towards Marin's house, and he hoped the other wasn't up to anything too rash or stupid. He didn't really think so, he knew Merle's nature well enough to be reasonably confident of the correctness of his judgment of what his friend's reaction to events were likely to be .

Still, something had happened at dawn almost two weeks ago, when Merle had met an exhausted Marin as she'd come down from Star Hill. Something that Merle hadn't told him, something that Merle had kept for himself, and that Lune hadn't been able to guess or read from him. That thought was worrisome. Shaking his head, Lune thought he had no choice but to wait and see. He was quite sure things would turn out the way he'd planned them to. Oh yes. Merle was strong and bright enough, his ability to keep silent and master himself as well as his emotions even when Lune deliberately drove him crazy were a witness to that, but....

There was a fatal flaw in Merle.

Merle was his friends, or to be correct Merle considered Lune to be his friend, and as such Merle had allowed himself to be utterly vulnerable where Lune was concerned. Because, as Lune's friend, he....

Trusted.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, relishing the feeling of cold water running down my face. This afternoon's long nap had been a blessing. It had been weeks since I had been able to achieve a thing as close to true rest as this had been. For once I even felt up to my task as guardian. I froze as I suddenly perceived the faintest trace of a cosmo approaching the house.

Who could be coming here at this time?

No matter. Sighing, I quickly toweled my face dry and carefully set my mask into place. There, now I was ready. I cursed under my breath, thinking whoever was approaching should have known better than to come to a female Saint's house unannounced and without displaying his cosmo in a clear fashion to warn of a visitor's imminent arrival. It was true they were few, those who were left and who could hide themselves completely from me. In fact, as far as I knew for certain nobody could, but I suspected my two weird apprentices could have done so, had they chosen to apply themselves to such a task.

the one who was coming now wasn't trying to hide himself from me, he was simply restraining himself out of what had likely become instinct or reflex for years.

Do not let the light within you shine too brightly, lest you blind others with it.

Lest you be betrayed by it.

Leo Aioria had advised the two boys so right before entrusting their training to me. A wise piece of advice the two had taken to heart to follow. I smiled softly to myself, remembering I was lucky to have been given the charge of such astonishingly interesting students. Unnerving though I often found them to be, I liked both young men very much.

It was my hope that when the day came--

Ah, he was getting very close now. Ending my reflections, I walked out of the house to greet the visitor.

"Good afternoon to you, Aquila Marin. My apologies for disturbing you unexpectedly, but--"

I cut him of gently, waving his words aside. "It's all right, don't worry. You're welcome, Merle." I led him towards the rear of the house, and stopped beside an old Olive tree whose trunk was so thick my hands wouldn't have touched had I tried to embrace it. Resting my back against it, I looked up to see the slight afternoon breeze take in its branches, revealing the delicate silver colour of the back of the leaves. There were a lot of young olives there, slowly ripening. December would bring a plentiful bounty this year. Patting the tree like an old friend, I focused on Merle and asked him, "So, what brought you to my home that couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"You must stop it."

For a fraction of a second I didn't react, uncomprehending. Eventually, I shook my head. "What?" The pale, icy blue eyes were locked on me, and the expression on Merle's face was unreadable. I suddenly realized that a very powerful reason had brought him to my home, and experienced a vague feeling of uneasiness. The silence stretched on between us for a few moments, and then he sighed, looking away.

"This watch that you've set yourself a sacred duty to stand every night, you must stop it now."

I blinked behind the mask, too stunned by his words to reply at once. How did he know?

How?

This didn't make sense, any sense at all. Merle was just as apprentice, not even a mere Bronze Saint, there was no way he could be aware--or could he? Remembering my own words to him and Lune and my suspicions concerning the both of them, I gave up on trying to understand how this was possible for now, and instead told him softly," What you're telling me--admitting you were in a position to give me orders in the first place--is impossible, Merle. What I do, I do following the will of Athena herself--"

"I know." Merle's voice was strangely flat and emotionless, his eyes focused on me once more. He gritted his teeth, as if he was trying to control anger, and added in a whisper, "I know, just as I know it's killing you." Before I could find a suitable retort, he went on, "I'm not saying that Athena's sacred trust should be broken and the task she set for you be abandoned, but you can't go on like this, you can't go on alone. I know this, just as Lune does, we *know*, we can feel you like a fragile light dwindling a little bit more each day. You *must* stop this now, and at least share your burden with us."

This....

No, I couldn't allow him to go on. I shook my head, fighting to keep the tone of my voice calm and gentle as I replied, "I'm glad to learn you care so much about me, Merle, but this is futile. Even if I could share my task, I certainly couldn't share it with two apprentices who've never been drawn to a Cloth in all the years they've been training here. As it is, my task isn't one I can share or pass on, anyway." Besides, I was more than strong enough to fend for myself, and even if I was dying, so what?

It was none of Merle's business.

Damn him.

Damn him for having met me down Star Hill' stairs on that day. Damn him for having understood and felt the truth, and for the faint echo his words were finding in my heart.

Futile and impossible wish, ridiculous.

"To hell with all those stupid rules!"

Merle's harsh whisper had been almost inaudible. I focused on him, taken aback by the restrained violence in his voice as he went on, "To hell with laws that hurt and take lives away. They're all wrong in the first place, they have no right to exist." He stared at me steadily. " You're going to tell me the Goddess has her reasons and knows things we don't, but it's al meaningless. The Goddess Athena is *dead*, she has left us." He laughed ruefully. "Oh the secret has been well kept, but how could any of you Silver Saints believe we would have remained unaware, that neither Lune nor I would have felt a part of us falling into the dark during that horrible night? everything became meaningless then."

His right forefinger pointed right towards my face. "That mask which imprisons your soul, whichever rule it is which forces you to kill yourself to uphold a task which is beyond you...." He concluded fiercely, "All of this has no more reason to be. I'm done watching you die without reacting. It ends now, I can't stand for it any longer. You must stop this madness and let us help. You *know* how strong we are, and--"

Enough.

I had heard more than enough.

A distant part of me sternly reproached the other for not having foreseen this, for not having known Lune and Merle would feel, would hurt as we had, for not having helped then, but it was too late for that now, too late for regrets or berating myself over my own stupidity. I pushed away from the Olive tree and walked away, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it from the unwanted emotions the young man's words had stirred to life. Goddess, I hadn't often been struck that badly.

Slapped.

It didn't matter, though. It was foolish, even stupid of Merle to have come to me to say that. There was no way his words could bear any weight, no way I could allow them to. So I told him as I passed him by, "I think it's time you left, Merle. the sun will soon set, and besides staying here would only be a waste of your time."

Something abruptly seized my left arm, gripping it hard and forcibly preventing me from moving farther away.

"No!"

Finger were holding me, bruising the flesh on my arm.

Merle's hand.

He had....

"No, you haven't even listened to me! You don't understand why--"

I heard him then, I heard the tone of his voice and read all that was being held in it, restrained.

Hidden.

Fear clawed at my heart, as harsh and sudden as a winter storm. I couldn't let him go on, I couldn't allow him to say the truth which hurt him, I had to put a stop to this idiocy now, while it was still possible and both he and I could escape this more or less unscathed. So I allowed my cosmo to shine brightly around me as I whispered softly, not deigning to turn to face him, "I have no need for your help or your concern, Merle. Your emotions are unwelcome burdens I don't intend to deal with. I know my duty, my path was set on the day I swore fealty to the Goddess. You're no Saint, so maybe you're unable to understand how grave an offense what you've just done is. Bearing that in mind, I'll forget this conversation ever took place, and you will release me..." I paused for a short moment, before adding, "immediately."

The pressure on my arm lessened, and eventually disappeared. It was likely that Merle had perceived I would have struck at him had he not obeyed my command. He was wiser than I had hoped. Absentmindedly massaging my bruised arm, I nodded and concluded in a flat, matter-of-fact voice, "Now leave my house and follow my advice: learn to master your heart, lest a less gentle person rip it to shreds."

I walked away then, not waiting to see if he would obey me. I knew he would. Just as I knew how badly I had hurt him.

And myself.

But I couldn't have let him say aloud what I had seen in his heart. He had no idea, no idea what he'd have brought about by confessing that simple feeling. I didn't want it. I didn't want it to be real.

Foolish, idiotic wish taken away by the evening breeze.

No, I couldn't want it to be. I bit my lower lip until I tasted blood, and shook my head slowly in denial.

Aioria....

I looked up at the great stairs leading up to the temple of Athena and smiled behind the silver mask which was both the symbol marking me as a Saint, and the curse which had sealed away my humanity and my soul when I had been but a little girl afraid of the dark.

Merle walked straight ahead, ignoring the lying shape of Lune taking a late sunbath like the lazy cat he was, trying vainly to come to terms with what had just happened.

She'd rejected him. Worse, she'd been on the verge of striking out at him, he had felt the sudden tension in her body as well as the incredibly strong power rising within her. How strong she was, more, far more than Lune or he had thought.... Not that it would change anything. Merle knew what Aquila Marin had done, he knew why she had reacted so, at least in part. To her, giving up even a part of her duty was the same as betraying the Goddess' sacred trust. There was that, and pride as well, anger.

And fear.

Fear of failure, of inadequacy and above all, fear of Merle himself. He had perceived that clearly from her. It was possible she had read the truth of his heart, and he could understand how terrifying his feelings could be for a female Saint.

A threat to her very self, to what little freedom she thought she had.

But Merle wasn't that. He'd never let himself be that. He cared, he loved, but he didn't expect anything in return.

"Hey, wait up!"

Merle went on towards the small nearby house, ignoring Lune's voice. There was no way he could deal with the other now, no way he could muster enough patience. He had to think, to find focus and then he had to act. Fingers gripped his left shoulder, forcing him to stop and to turn back.

"I told you to wait, didn't I?" Merle found himself staring at Lune's very earnest face. the beautiful green eyes didn't hold the slightest trace of laughter this time; Lune's expression could almost have been called grave. "What happened? What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into again?"

Merle shook his head silently while trying to gather his wits and to find a coherent answer. At last, he said, "I told Marin we could help her stand watch, and she refused."

Lune laughed shortly at that. "As simply as that? You were gone long enough, I'm sure there was more to it."

Merle didn't reply for a while, observing his friend and wondering if he could avoid having to tell the whole tale, but it seemed quite clear that Lune wouldn't allow him any escape this time. Eventually, Merle shrugged. "I told her she had to stop it. I told her I couldn't stand by watching her kill herself. I told her it was time cruel and despicable rules be discarded and I told her she should be free of the mask--"

"And that's all you did, or did you also tell her she ought to forsake the Goddess' name on top of it?!" Lune's voice held a complete incredulity. He let go of Merle and stepped back, sighing heavily. "Man, I know why you went that far, and I know you mean well; but you could only get a negative response, coming to her with a speech like that. Do you even have the slightest idea of the effect your words must have had on her?"

Merle bowed his head, whispering in the dim light of dusk, "I know, but what could I do?"

Lune shrugged. "Wait, perhaps. Now, what do you plan on doing? Will you just forget about the whole matter?"

Lune watched as his companion's lips shaped a smile which never reached his eyes. Merle's icy blue eyes locked on his, unwavering, as he said, "No, I cannot drop the matter. So I'll take the only course of action open to me if I want to save her life. I don't care if she hates me for it, but I'll challenge her right to stand guard over the altar of Athena," Merle's smile showed his teeth, "and I'll defeat her."

Lune nodded slowly as he heard this. It was exactly what he had hoped for, what he'd expected.

Almost on cue.

Now he just needed to delay Merle a little; so he told his friend, "You shouldn't sound so confident. Such a confrontation will be extremely difficult for you, for the very reasons which push you towards it. She won't feel such restraint. If you rush towards it, you might very well fail. I'd advise you against it, period. There must be other ways," Lune flashed Merle a knowing smile, "but I'm very much aware of your inability to step back from a carefully chosen course of action. So I'll just tell you this: wait, and consider for a while. Watch her. think, and then, if you find you really must, act."

Merle's troubled eyes stayed on Lune's for a very long time, until at last he broke the contact and looked up at the sky, whispering, "Very well. I'll follow your advice, but I cannot walk back from the path I've set for myself. If I must be damned for wanting to save Aquila Marin, then damned I will be." That said, Merle walked past Lune and entered their small house.

Lune stared at the hand which had held back Merle, and chuckled inaudibly in the falling night. Poor Merle, so generous, kind, brave and trusting. So easily manipulated that it was almost child's play. A sudden breeze came from the mountains, flying Lune's fiery red hair, and he the same time he felt something rising within.

Faint.

So distant....

It hurt a bit, somehow, but only a bit. It was something which ran along his spine and radiated through his chest. A strange pain, almost like sorrow.

Or regrets.

Grinning at the stars, Lune chased the ludicrous emotions away. He knew what had to be done, and what was required for him to reach his goal. The rest was immaterial, and unimportant. Easily sacrificed, discarded and then forgotten like all tools once they'd outlived their usefulness. And this included Merle.

Friendship was a stupid concept only the worst of romantic naive fools believed in. Lune prided himself in not belonging to that category.

End of Part 2.

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