Disclaimer I do not in any way, shape, or form own the characters from Sailor Moon. They are property of Naoko Takeuchi. Because, I mean, if these were my characters, would I really be writing fanfics about them instead of anime episodes? A clue: no. (And if you can figure out what show that last line was taken from, you get a virtual cookie! XD)
Now. On with the story!
"OFF WITH HER HEAD!"
Usagi's eyes grow as wide as saucers. "W-What?" But her question goes unheard as she feels her arms being grabbed by grinning daemons clad in bloody heart-adorned card suits. Panicking, struggling, fighting for her freedom, she glances up to the balcony her fate came from. "P-Please!" she pleads shakily. "Think about what you're doing! This whole place will be dead soon if you continue to ignore your people's cries for help!"
The figure, draped in a deep shadow by the awnings hanging overhead, does not respond. Instead she gives a quick signal with her hand, like a wave, and she and her party of guards, nobles, and servants leave Usagi Tsukino to her impending doom. The blonde, bun-headed girl screams and continues to beg for reconsideration as she is dragged out of the courtroom. Within minutes, all that is left of her is the remnants of her shrieking hanging in the air.
Meanwhile, the crowd that has gathered to watch begins to disperse. Some are sullen, some are indifferent, others are filled with a sense of justice. A few are utterly horrified.
"We should have known she would get caught." Setsuna Meioh, must commonly referred to as "The Hair" because of her long, dark green locks, shakes her head and sighs. "We should have known this wouldn't go smoothly. There are too few of us."
The blonde female next to her, Haruka Tenoh, rubs at her eyes with her thumb and forefinger wearily. She realizes Setsuna is right—realizes they should have anticipated the Queen would find Usagi and get rid of her before she could cause any trouble. But for the first time in her life, the Hatter had been hopeful. As in truly, sincerely hopeful. Now with Usagi behind bars, her hopes are dashed and broken, and she is thrown back to square one. And square one is a terrible place to be.
"We were careless," Setsuna goes on.
"Careless," repeats Haruka. "Like how you're acting right now, ranting away while we're still in the enemy's very home." Setsuna narrows her eyes, scowls, and Haruka, ignoring her, struggles to see the silver lining in their predicament. If there is one. "We're lucky we weren't also arrested. We can still get her out."
The room is emptying quickly, and both women know they need to move as well if they don't want to risk snatching a daemon's attention. While Setsuna gets to her feet, Haruka turns to her left. As she anticipated, her friend, the third of their three-member dysfunctional family, is curled up in the chair, fast asleep. Hotaru. Her furry brown ears twitch at the sounds being made around her, her nose scrunches and sniffs, but she shows no sign of waking. "She must have fallen asleep during the trial," Setsuna murmurs unnecessarily, following Haruka's gaze.
The Hatter gets to her feet and gently scoops the delicate frame into her arms. Setsuna helps her maneuver Hotaru onto her back, wraps the young girl's arms around her neck, and then both women join the crowd to the doors. Neither says anything more, but both know their thoughts are mutual: if they don't find help soon, they're all dead.
