WE MET …
Orange shoes aligned with red high-heels shoes, "Is it beautiful, isn't it?"
Sailor Mars turned her head to Sailor Venus, her long raven hair fluttering in the breeze, "Earth is amazing." She averted her purple eyes from the blonde Senshi and stared at the landscape, "One day, we followed our Princess to Earth and we found out how beautiful it is. Now I understand why Princess Serenity loves coming to the blue Planet."
Venus gently placed her right hand on her mouth and had a soft laugh. She finally looked into Mars' eyes, violet-blue eyes into purple eyes, "Earth's beauty isn't the only reason why our Princess is attracted to this Planet."
Mars sighed and shook her head, "Prince Endymion is the main reason. I know it, Venus, and I am not happy about it: I feel this is wrong … and dangerous."
Venus shrugged, "Maybe not. Things look peaceful, here. Speaking about Prince Endymion, what do you think of his Guardians?"
Mars blinked and stared at Venus, "The Shitennou?"
Venus nodded, her look serious.
Mars smiled, "Do you want to know my opinion, don't you? You are studying them in order to understand if they are a possible harm to our Princess, I see. And I reckon you asked Jupiter and Mercury the same question. OK." She sat down on the grass and looked at the landscape in front of her, "The one with long silver hair … uh … Kunzite?"
Venus sat by Mars' side, "Kunzite, yes."
Mars nodded, "He is their leader. He is really serious and aloof. He looks strict and I guess he is really strong. Better not having him as enemy."
Venus smiled, "I agree. He is a good leader. I can learn a lot from him, both about this Planet and the Court. What about the others?"
Mars tossed her long hair behind, "Nephrite, the one with long brown hair. He always has that self-confident smile on his face, like if he thinks he is better than you or he understands everything better than you. Annoying."
Venus sniggered, "Jupiter says she feels very comfortable with Nephrite, instead. Despite that self-confident smile, he is really kind and clever. But, yes, he is overly proud of himself and impulsive, so I am not surprised you don't feel comfortable with him." She sniggered again.
Mars frowned, "Why aren't you surprised I feel uncomfortable with him?"
Venus shrugged, "Just a thought." She prevented Mars' upcoming question and she asked "What about Zoisite?"
Mars looked up at the sky, thoughtful, "He is polite and really elegant. He has a piercing look, and I guess he is really smart."
Venus nodded, "Good analysis. He is the strategist of the foursome. Mercury too thinks he is really clever and smart; she is curious to understand how his mind works."
Mars stirred and stood up, "Before you ask, I haven't met the last one, yet … what's his name? Uh, yes, Jadeite. When I'll meet him, I'll tell you my opinion about him."
Venus remained sitting, "You haven't met him, yet, 'cause he was away from Elysion until yesterday. A reconnaissance. He is a sort of ambassador, the peacekeeper of the group. Kunzite introduced him to me, yesterday."
"I heard some people of the Court … women … saying he is beautiful. It is true?"
Venus turned her head to Mars and smiled amused, "You'll see. He has short blond hair and he wears a pale blue uniform. It seems any of them has his color, like us."
Mars rested her hands on her hips and bent her head toward her right shoulder, "Short hair? I thought he had long hair, as the others. Blond hair, OK, and what about his eyes? You know, those women were babbling about strange eyes." She folded her arms, closed her eyes and had a deep sigh, "Women's talk. I don't understand how they can waste their time this way."
Venus laughed, "Yes. I understand why you feel uncomfortable with Nephrite." She stood up and prevented Mars' upcoming rant about her implied likeness with Nephrite, "I don't know what women say about Jadeite's eyes. I can't say what's the color of his eyes, honestly. For sure, he doesn't talk very much."
Mars frowned, "You haven't noticed Jadeite's eyes 'cause of Kunzite. It looks like you have a soft spot for him. Be careful, Venus. Love brings just complications, and Princess Serenity in love with Prince Endymion is already a BIG complication."
Venus stood up and stared into Mars' eyes, smiling sweetly, "Kunzite is just an interesting man to talk to and to learn from. Don't worry. There's nothing wrong in becoming friends with the Shitennou." She winked, "Besides, you look really curious about Jadeite even if you haven't met him, yet." She gently brushed some grass off her short orange skirt and she walked away, waving goodbye, "See you later."
Mars yelled at Venus going away, "I am not curious about him! I am curious of any creature of this Planet, especially if it's described as beautiful, no matter if it's a flower, a plant, an animal or a human!"
Her high heels nearly sank into the soil as she walked up to the hill. She murmured to herself, "Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion … I don't know why but I feel something terrible is going to happen because of their love." She shook her head in frustration, "Why these pesky feelings?"
She stopped, looking at the cape fluttering in the breeze behind the tree at the top of the hill. She recognized that cape, white outside and crimson inside: the Shitennou's cape.
She had a step to the tree and she caught the uniform beside the cape: pale blue.
Mars smirked: she was talking with Venus about the Shitennou just few minutes before, and she was now going to meet the one left, Jadeite.
She slowly reached the top of the hill and she glanced at the Knight, pretending casual indifference, but her gloomy nonchalance faced a total indifference: Jadeite had his eyes close and a vague smile on his face as the breeze made his hair and cape fluttering.
Mars opened her eyes in surprise; Jadeite radiated a deep calm and looked like away from everything, lost somewhere inside his mind, and Mars envied him. She knew what meditation was, she knew the need of closing her eyes and getting lost into her mind, trying to catch feelings and intuitions, but it was painful and difficult to her whereas it looked pleasant and easy to Jadeite.
What was that calm and peace radiating from him? How to reach it?
She observed everything of him: his short blond hair, curly to the point to look disheveled, cowlicks nearly covering his closed eyes; his perfect nose and soft features; his lips curved into a seraphic smile; his pale blue uniform with cyan piping, and his white and crimson cape; his height (he looked, to her, probably the shortest one among the Shitennou) and his build (probably the slimmest among the Shitennou, a bit less muscular that the others, his shoulders a bit tighter).
She observed his seraphic calm, silently, until he opened his eyes.
Jadeite slowly turned his eyes to her, and his seraphic smiling melted into a curious look. He was studying her the way she previously studied him.
"I can't say what's the color of his eyes, honestly." Venus was right. The color of his eyes was an indefinable mix of pale blue and gray; pale blue, gray and … some lavender too? Beside that amazing but indefinable color, his eyes' shape too was puzzling: wide eyes faintly slanting – no – they weren't slanting but they looked slanting because of their shape. And those eyelids, long and perfectly defined.
Mars understood why Court's women talked of Jadeite's beauty: he was beautiful, of course, a different kind of beauty than the other Shitennou, a classical and clear beauty, objective beauty. She couldn't deny that both Endymion and his Shitennou were good looking, any of them, nevertheless, but Jadeite …
… She pushed her confusion away and had a step to Jadeite, murmuring, "Short blond hair and pale blue uniform," she gently blushed, embarrassed for unconsciously voicing Venus' previous description of him (she didn't voice how women at Court described him, fortunately). She stopped, her arms along her slender body and her head bent toward her shoulder, nonchalantly, "Jadeite, the Knight of Patience and Harmony, I suppose."
Patience and Harmony: his previous peaceful and seraphic look was a perfect show of his title.
His curious look turned polite; he smiled amused, "Red skirt, violet ribbon, red high-heels shoes … "
Mars blushed furiously. Was he teasing her?
He had a quick and polite bow, " … Sailor Mars, I suppose. Nice to meet you." Simple and genuine bow, different from Kunzite's aloof one, Nephrite's prideful one, Zoisite's elegant but cool one. And his voice, perfectly fitting the softness of his features and gestures.
No, there wasn't teasing in his tone but plain kindness. Mars relaxed and smiled, "Nice to meet you. Have you already met Sailor Venus, Jupiter and Mercury? You were away, when we came to Earth, weren't you?"
Jadeite had a step to her, walking away from the shadow under the tree and entering the full sunlight, "I met Sailor Venus yesterday, but I haven't met Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury, yet, just a glimpse from the distance. Yes, I was away from Elysion during the last few days, and I am surprised to see Princess Serenity's Guardians here."
As he moved from the shadow to the sunlight, Mars caught the gray fading into his eyes, swallowed by the soft blue and the lavender – yes – there was a shade of lavender too, pale lavender, in those eyes. She rested her right hand on her hip, her left arm still along her body and her head still bent toward her left shoulder; she closed her eyes, "Our Princess kept on sneaking to Earth, escaping our guard, but we finally managed to follow her and catch her. This is why we are here."
His sudden and soft laugh surprised her. She opened her eyes and observed him laughing, his eyes closed and his head down. She frowned and folder her arms, "Do you find my Princess so funny? I hope your Prince is more conscientious."
Jadeite stopped laughing and stared at her, an amused smile on his face, "I wasn't laughing because of your Princess; she is really sweet and I am really happy for my Master, they look happy when they are together."
Mars had a sweet smile, stirred by Jadeite's way to talk of Serenity and by his way to call Prince Endymion as 'Master'. She felt Jadeite's deep affection for Endymion and his willing to make him happy, the way she loved Serenity and wanted to protect her.
Jadeite kept on talking, "I was laughing because of your way to talk about Princess Serenity. Like a mother scolding her child."
Mars blushed, "A mother scolding her child?" She burst out laughing.
"Nephrite too, sometimes, talks this way."
Mars stopped laughing and opened her eyes in surprise, "What?" She placed her hands on her hips and looked at Jadeite, frowning, "I don't look like Nephrite!"
Jadeite smirked, "Like what, exactly? Proud? Impulsive? Over-protective?" His smirk turned into a sweet smile, "It isn't bad, being this way."
Mars had a deep sigh and finally smiled.
He turned around and walked to the tree; he sat down and stared at her.
Mars walked to him and sat by his side, naturally, spontaneously. Simply attracted to his candor and kindness.
… THEN WE FELL IN LOVE, and we are still in love
Princess Mars looked outside the window of the Crystal Palace, her home along Neo-Queen Serenity, King Endymion, the other Senshi and the Shitennou: the Palace was wide enough for all their families, both enough privacy and enough closeness.
She smiled and walked to the door, opening it, "How's your journey in Far-East lands?"
Jadeite entered the house and unbuttoned the first buttons of his pale blue uniform with deep blue piping. He undressed his cape and rested it on the couch, "Everything's OK, out there." He sank into the couch, "I am happy to be at home, finally." He smiled, his kind and open smile Mars loved so much since the first time they met, during their previous life.
She walked to him, smiling, her red and pink long dress rustling, "I too am happy to have you back home, Jadeite." She stood in front of him, caressing his messy blond hair; her hand slid from his hair to his face and finally to his bare chest.
He gently took her hand in his one and kissed her palm.
She giggled and let him tickling her skin, his lips moving from her palm along her bare forearm and arm. She came closer him and placed her left leg across his lap; she rested her head on his one while he held her close, his left arm around her waist. She placed her left hand on his right shoulder then she moved it into his uniform's open jacket.
Jadeite smirked, "Mars!" He wrapped both his arms around Mars' waist and pulled her to him.
She stared into his blue-gray-lavender eyes. She finally closed her eyes and kissed him deeply.
How many kisses along their lives? How many hugs? During the Silver Millenniun, first (until everything was destroyed by something above them), then during the 20th Century (after the pain of losing him, finally the joy of having him back), and, now, during the 30th Century.
They met. Then they fell in love. And their love was still there, along two lives and thousand of years.
Hope you enjoyed it. The cover of this story is drawn by me ... this is the scene described at the end of this story. :-) (you can find the larger version on my tumblr page).
Waiting for your reviews!