If it wasn't for the large glass container in the middle, the room would have been utterly black. The long tube was filled with liquid and a light at the bottom of it caused the container to emanate a dull blue light that only stretched a few feet beyond the glass. The rest of the room remained hidden within the shadows.
The body of a woman floated within the tube, her eyes closed and long hair waving about her, bobbing gently with the movement of the liquid. With the exception of her hair and tiny air bubbles floating to the top of the tube, the woman was utterly silent and possibly dead.
Soft tapping began to echo about the room, and a man, seemingly appearing out of no where, walked right up to the tube, lifting a hand and pressing his palm and long fingers against the glass. It was hard to tell what color his hair, eyes or even clothes were because of the glow from the liquid, but a swarm of emotions could easily be seen within his eyes.
"Topaz…" Crimson Rubeus of the Black Moon Clan whispered, his voice barely audible as he stared at the woman within the tube. Sighing, he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the glass, so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even feel the icy temperature of the container.
Many women from the Black Moon Clan had often showed interest in Rubeus, especially Koan of the Ayakashi Sisters along with her sisters Beruche and Calaveras, but he never returned the interest. All of the women were, as he viewed, utterly stupid or far too vain for his taste. What was beauty if you had to use layer upon layer of makeup to look nice? Or if you had to cover yourself in toilet water to get someone's attention? It didn't make any sense to the commander, and he always made sure to let each woman know that, sometimes in a very cruel manner. But what did he care?
The woman before him, though… she was different. Her grace, her poise, her natural beauty, her laugh, her voice, oh, gods her voice! She had unintentionally seduced him years ago when he had first heard her singing.
Topaz had been off in one of the many rooms of the Prince's fortress, and thinking that she had been alone, she sang to herself, a lullaby her mother her taught her when Topaz was a child. Rubeus had been walking past the room as her voice floated from the chamber and, curious, decided to find out what it was. Seeing her sitting at a window, her slender fingers running through her hair, her lips moving ever so slightly as she sang… It was at that moment he felt a part of him change. It was at that moment he fell in love with her.
She had bewitched him without even trying to win his attention like all those other women. Sure, he knew who she was, what she was to the Prince, what she could do, but he was too busy serving the Prince in his own ways to ever bother talking to her. But at that moment, that was all he wanted to do: he wanted to talk to her, to learn everything about her. He wanted to hear her sing over and over, forever… His soul was haunted.
When her song had finished, Rubeus made his way into the room to introduce himself, and he was surprised to see a deep blush come to her cheeks. She was embaressed! He could have kissed her right then as she explained she thought she was alone. Apparently, she didn't like to sing in front of other people, for fear her voice was horrible. But he made sure she knew he thought otherwise.
He could remember it clearly now. They spent hours talking to each other, never running out of words to speak, of things to say. It had been one of the happiest days of his life, when he had completely forgotten the pain and poverty he and his people suffered. His heart was light, his spirits high. And every day for weeks they would meet in that same room. Often, he would try to coax her in to singing for him, and eventually she would.
Days passed and they became close, a mutual affection grew. Slowly, her caution and embarrassment faded, and he would spend afternoons lying in her arms as she sang to him.
When Prince Demando let his commanders know of his new plan, to send some of them to the past to try and disrupt it, Rubeus was thoroughly ecstatic that Topaz would be going with him. But he was the Crimson Rubeus. He didn't allow people to see what he was truly feeling. So no one ever knew, except for her.
That was when he felt a piece of himself break. It was when he learned what Topaz's role really was. He knew, as all of the other commanders knew, that she had very strong telekinetic and telepathic powers; weak in the body but abnormally strong in the mind. The Prince's greatest plan: to destroy the love between Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity. To do that, he would need Topaz's powers.
Every day, Topaz would strip and enter that tube. For a few moments, she would choke on the liquid until it completely filled her lungs and carried her off into a coma-induced sleep. The first time he saw it happen, Rubeus wanted to break the glass down and rescue her, but he knew he couldn't. He could only stand and watch as Topaz did her job. In her dream-state, she would be able to enter Endymion's mind when he slept and plant seeds of doubt. "Nothing but ruin will occur if you go near Serenity." That was the gist of it, or so he assumed. Either way, the plan was to break the future lovers up, and if the Prince asked her to do it, Topaz would, no matter what might happen to her.
And so every day, when Rubeus could get away from his underlings, he would make his way to the hidden room and stay with Topaz until she was finished. He thought that after seeing it happen so often, it would get easier, but it didn't. For hours, he wouldn't hear her angelic voice, see her beautiful blue eyes. But he would be there for her when she was done.
At the top of the glass container, a few rubber tubes snapped away with hisses as steam poured out of them. Rubeus glanced up at them before taking a few steps back and shrugging his green jacket off of his shoulders. Slowly, the blue liquid drained out of the bottom of the large tube, and Topaz's body followed the current, slowly falling to the bottom as well. When the tube was completely drained, the glass rose into the air with another hiss and her body fell forward, straight into Rubeus' waiting arms. Carefully, he wrapped his jacket around her small frame and slowly brought her to the floor, kneeling beside her and resting her upper body in his lap. He didn't notice his clothes quickly becoming soaked from her body, nor did he feel the icy chills running up his spine as the cold liquid hit his skin. He only took notice of her face.
It had become a ritual that he knew exactly what was going to happen and when. Slowly, he counted from ten to one, and at one, Topaz's body shook as she violently coughed the blue liquid out of her lungs. When the spasms stopped and she could breathe normally, she opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"My crimson prince, awakening me from a deep sleep once again," she spoke quietly as she smiled up at him.
"Which I'll do tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, every day until our Clan is saved," he replied with a smile of his own, using one of the sleeves of his jacket to wipe the remaining bits of liquid away from her mouth. With a sigh, he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.
It had been a promise he would never be able to keep, for the next day, Rubeus and Topaz were killed at the hands of the Wiseman.
Song listened to while writing: "Kissing You" / Desree (R+J SDTK)
Setting: little bit of manga, little bit of anime. It's been a while since I've read this part of the manga, so truth be told, I can't remember whether or not Mamoru has those dreams in just the anime, or both manga and anime. Oh, well. As for the dreams themselves – yes, I know this was explained in the anime, but hey, it's a fanfic, and I decided to take a different view on it. XP
I know Rubeus isn't considered a commander, but I needed a word that would sum up what he, Esmerodo and Safiru are, and the word just seems to fit. Bite me. XP
Topaz: She's a character I wanted to create, but never really had the energy to do so. So! She's © to me. Rubeus and all other characters are obviously © to their respective owners. Not mine!