A warm fire flickered, coals burning low now. It was late, but Peklo didn't feel like returning home. Her parents wouldn't notice the absence, undoubtedly. Maybe her brother, but she knew he would panic more if he saw her face. It was safer to remain here, in the warmth of the fire.

Before her lay a tiny pool, the large one that opened up around the south side of the large expanse. She was crying, in the comfort of her own wonder, which nobody could enter without her say-so. Right now the door was firmly locked, as she reflected upon the tiny pool.

In her reflection, she saw the hideous transformation that was her "haircut." It lay assymetrical to the length of her chin; it was rounded, curved by the edge of Labyrinthite's scythe. She still recalled his eyes, so dull and empty. Compassion seemed to have fleeted the moment he spotted her. Now all that remained was a sort of confusion about Peklo.

She couldn't understand his words. Fight for yourself. His words about Chronos and the other senshi meant very little to her. She knew they wouldn't come to her aid, and she didn't expect that they would. It was no let down to hear the truth coming from Labyrinthite's lips; a truth she had accepted long ago. To be honest, she didn't feel any remorse towards Chronos. She knew the lovely princess had better things to do than just drop everything the moment any senshi was in need. To do so would be silly, and disadvantageous anyways. They couldn't lose the queen for a single little pawn.

Oddly, Peklo made peace with her situation this way. While others might have spat at the idea of being a pawn, Peklo was very content to be manipulated and moved around the chess board. She felt safer when she had someone telling her what to do.

So why were Labyrinthite's words bothering her so much? Fight for yourself. She heard them over and over in her mind, to the point where even her aura's comforting aura could not penetrate it.

What bothered her the most was the idea that she had to fight at all. Fight for Chronos. Fight for good. Fight for herself. She had never signed up to be a knight, she had never been told she had to fight. Yes, there was the factor that she was indeed Miss Chronos' knight, essentially enlisting her in an army, but she had never been under the impression that Chronos wanted her to destroy all the evils that strewn themselves about Earth.

So what was her duty as a knight then? What was she supposed to do with the gifts she'd been given? Maybe that was the real problem. Labyrinthite had told her to use her powers for herself. Peklo didn't want that though.

She stared into the pool, noticing the bruise smarting on her face. It was an ugly red thing, a heart-shaped purple blotch across her cheekbones. It would be incredibly difficult to explain to her parents how she'd managed to punch herself and cut all of her hair off in the same move. Even Peklo couldn't hurt herself that much in one sitting.

She buried her face in her arms, trying to ignore the slight stinging sensation that came from moving too much. The gentle lull of the water was starting to put her to sleep.

Peklo wasn't intelligent enough to see any other option, any other way out of her predicament. All she could think about was how she had to fight fight fight. Peklo didn't want to use her power to take out anyone. She didn't want to limit anyone's existence.

She just wanted to use her power to protect.

With that thought bubbling around her mind, she quietly drifted off to sleep in the comfort of her pillows in her wonder.