The masque finally ended well after midnight and Endymion found himself exhausted and ready to end the night as he bid the remaining guests their farewells. All too early it seemed Venus had swept in and stole his Serenity from his arms, stating that they had to return home before it became any later. It had been a sad parting, but he knew that it wouldn’t last for long. It rarely did with Serenity, much to Venus’s distress. What Endymion didn’t miss after their departure was the sullen look his lead Shitennou wore for the remainder of the night – or for at least the few sparse moments he had as the woman with red hair found him again, reminding him of his promise for another dance. Her name eluded him all night and at some point he lost interest in trying to remember at all. He was more so content to remember the feel of Serenity in his arms rather than deal with his current line of would be admirers.
Once the spacious ballroom began to empty itself of visitors, Endymion cast Kunzite a look, advising him to follow as he made his exit outside. In return, Kunzite signaled to the remaining Shitennou that they could retire for the night. Although judging by the look Nephrite was giving to the petite blonde on his arm he doubted that retiring was on his mind at all. Jadeite seemed relieved to forgo the smile he had plastered on his face at Kunzite’s urgings and was quickly gone from the room. On the opposite end stood Zoicite, who seemed to be flirting shamelessly with the two women standing before him. It was normal for the younger man to find himself surrounded by a crowd of admirers. He was the only one out of the four that seemed to thrive on these events and so people were naturally drawn to him. Although despite his deferred attentions, Kunzite knew that his mind was always alert towards the activities surrounding the Prince.
Kunzite followed Endymion out onto the credenza where they stood under the glow of the moon. Endymion seemed to be looking at Kunzite suspiciously, but Kunzite said nothing, instead opting to wait for his Prince to make his intentions known. Endymion sighed and shook his head, almost as if he were having the entire conversation with himself. Finally, he verbalized what he had been wanting to say for the better part of the night. “So who was the blonde that you spent the night entranced by? By all appearances it seems like she is someone that you care very deeply for.”
“The blonde?” Kunzite asked, offering no hint that he had any inclination of what Endymion was asking.
“Are you really going to be coy at a time like this?”
“Perhaps the Prince has danced with a few too many women tonight that he has misplaced their images.”
Endymion frowned at Kunzite’s words. “Are you refusing to tell me her name?”
“And who was the lovely woman with red hair that held you captive for most of the night?”
Endymion’s face fell even further. “Let’s not speak of her again. She was absolutely infuriating.”
“So infuriating that you never stopped dancing with her?”
“Normally I would have expected that at least one of my loyal Shitennou would have stepped in to put an end to my suffering.”
“There was no threat being made to your life. We cannot intervene at your discretion otherwise we would never get anything done.”
“Discretion?” Endymion laughed. “I think all of you were too busy having fun at my expense to “get anything done” as you so put it.”
Kunzite grinned. “It’s all a matter of perspective then. So if that is all I will be retiring for the night.” He bowed his head and walked back inside, leaving Endymion to glance up at the moon thinking of the girl with silver hair who surely was looking back at the Earth, thinking of him. With a shake of his head he brought himself back to his previous line of thought only to realize that Kunzite had managed to slip away without revealing the identity of the blonde behind the white feathered mask.
