A Gamble Gone Wrong
Words: ~ 5k
Writen for the Reinako same prompt fic party. Prompt: Mythology
We all know what happened after Venus got married to Vulcanos, but not many know that there's actually a story prior to that. This is the prelude of the famous affair of Mars and Venus reinako-fied
For information about the original myth look at the Notes at the end.
"Father, what is the meaning of this?" Minako asked slightly annoyed as she followed her father down the halls. It was too early in the morning for her liking, and the way her father ushered her towards the audience hall while she was only clad in her morning robe did nothing to calm her down. He seemed anxious and worried and Minako couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Initially, her first instinct had been that they were under attack, but there were no guards with her so she could deduct she wasn't in immediate danger. Whatever riled her father up like that didn't seem like a threat.
He gave her an apologetic look and opened the big winged doors towards the audience hall. Minako blinked in confusion as she found the hall filled with nobles, soldiers, ambassadors, and sellswords.
"Father?" She asked once again, but he grabbed her by the wrist and ascended the stairs towards the thrones. Her mother was also there, but not sitting on her throne. She rested in an armchair, her face frozen solid, her eyes empty, her skin grey…
A gasp escaped Minako's lips and she felt sick. Her mother looked dead.
"Mother!" She wound out of his grasp and hurried over to touch her mother's skin, only to be met with cold stone. She pulled her fingers away, feeling they were slightly shaking as she struggled to grasp the reality of the situation. Her father had yet to explain a single thing to her.
"As you see, a curse has befallen our beloved Queen." The king proclaimed loudly, his mighty voice echoing through the hall and silencing the chatter of the others. Minako turned towards him, listening anxiously.
"The chair has been a present from one of the Earth's Generals in favour to win my daughter's hand in marriage. Your Queen received it some time ago, but last night she sat down in it for the first time and turned to stone." Minakos eyes widened. She had known of the General who had wanted to wed her, and she had known that her father declined because he thought him weak and unworthy of his daughter. To think he had put a curse on that chair…
"I hereby offer you my daughter's hand in marriage to whoever can free my Queen." His voice was strangled as the words left his mouth and he pleaded for forgiveness as his eyes locked with Minako. To say she was aghast would be an understatement. Her head turned around sharply as the mob in the hall bawled and shouted, all eager to board the next shuttle to earth.
Unbeknownst to him, her father had also presented her an opportunity, one she had been waiting for so long. Her heart pounded as she raised her voice as well, silencing everything else in the room.
"I hereby promise to marry whoever" she made sure to emphasize the last word "will free my mother." Her eyes locked with her father who was surprised, but pleased by his daughter's reaction. Of course he didn't know that she was going to use his promise for her own agenda. She felt a bit guilty using her mother's situation for her own goals, but it was for a good cause.
"Whoever can free my Queen." Had been what her father said, and she had a precise idea who that 'whoever' was going to be.
She smiled slyly to herself as she turned on her heel and left the hall.
A few days later, the first adventurers returned. All of them beaten and defeated, quivering in fear and telling tales of shaking mountains and lava raining from the sky. More and more had given up and the King became desperate. Meanwhile, Minako sat back and awaited someone's arrival, someone who was sure to win and free the Queen.
And arrive she did.
Her father wasn't pleased with the sight of the Martian shuttle in the hangar. It was true that word had spread to the other planets. Jovians and Mercurians were already under the adventurous fools that tried to win his daughters hand, and now a Martian entered the competition as well.
It wasn't just some Martians however; it was the princess of Mars herself, the goddess of war personified. Minako knew her father harboured dislike for her, for all Martians in fact, but he was bound by his words to give her hand to 'whoever' freed his Queen.
Her lips curled upwards as she watched the Martians set up camp on the palace grounds. She and the princess of Mars weren't strangers at all, even though her father didn't know all of their history together. When he had sent her to the Moon years ago to meet the other princesses, she and Rei had grown close and eventually fell in love, although they did have a rocky start. Pursuing their relationship in secret had become difficult ever since they had to return to their respective planets, but they managed. Three years earlier, Rei had won the tournament for her hand, but her father interfered. He kept saying he'd rather see Minako never married at all than to marry his only daughter off to a barbarian and so, the deal was cancelled. He justified his actions by saying Rei had been impersonating someone she hadn't been. She had been calling herself a Saturnian instead of a Martian to get the permission to enter the tournament, but of course her secret had been spilled.
But now with the public pronunciation, her father could not turn her down without having his word doubted by all the royal houses in the solar system.
Minako grinned as she spotted the raven haired beauty down in the camp, issuing orders, helping her soldiers to put up the tents, all while wearing that armour of hers… the wonderful leather armour that made sure to cling onto her on all the right places…
Minako loved it.
She left her place on the balcony in favour of descending the stairs towards the entrance hall, and from there, to the outside. It had been months since she had last seen Rei and frankly, they had a lot of catching up to do.
She stood out between the Martians. Her blonde hair and golden dress were like a shining beacon amongst all the red and black of their armours. The Martians bowed to her respectfully. They clearly knew who she was and they probably also knew of Rei's reason to be here. If Rei won, she would become part of the Martian royal family, and she couldn't help but compare how respectfully the 'barbarians' treated her, while her own father had nothing left for them but scorn and disgust.
She made her way towards the big tent in the middle bearing the royal sign of Mars and slipped inside.
Rei wasn't here yet she noticed with a bit of disappointment. She was probably still outside helping her people to set up camp.
Minako strode through the tent, observing the various kinds of things the martian brought with her. There were her weapons, a chest with her clothes…some personal belongings… and a makeshift bed consisting mostly of furs.
She contemplated looking through Rei's clothes only to have something to do, but someone stepped into the tent and stopped her in her tracks.
"Mina?" a familiar voice asked with a bit of surprise, a bit of annoyance, and a large part of happiness.
"Surprise." Minako grinned slyly at her as she crossed the room, practically swaying towards Rei who finally gave her a smile. Rei was about to respond, but Minako's lips cut short whatever words were about to leave her mouth. It had been too long. Almost three months since the last time they had seen each other, and if it weren't for this occasion, it would have been another three. Their kiss grew more and more heated and urgent, almost to the point where Minako contemplated that the verbal part catching up could wait a bit longer. Apparently, Rei was thinking the same thing and she tightened her grip around her lover, breathing in her intoxicating scent while burying her head in the other's neck.
Yes, the verbal part would have to wait.
One and a half hours later, when the more pleasurable part of their 'catching up' had been dealt with, Minako wasted no time in explaining the situation in detail. She had given Rei a rough description through the command centre before, telling her to come to Venus as soon as possible, but leaving out some information.
Rei listened to her every word, carefully taking in every bit of information she could gather about her mission. It sounded simple. Go to Earth, drag the General out of his Mountain and to Venus, and make him release the Queen. Who else was fit better for that than the goddess of war?
Minako thought the same or else, she would have never taken the gamble. She trusted Rei to pass this test and finally get what should've been theirs three years ago.
"Do you think you're up for it?" Minako teased her and propped up on her elbow, looking down on the woman lying next to her. It was a rhetorical question of course. She knew this Mars would tear down the sky if it meant finally having her Venus by her side.
"I'll travel to Earth at first light in the morning." Rei promised with such conviction that Minako would never have doubted her words. The Venusian smiled and gave her a light peck on the cheek before leaning back against her lover.
And so, Rei boarded a shuttle to Earth right in the morning with her two most trusted warriors and companions by her side. Minako watched her leave with an encouraging smile, believing that she would come back as victor, much to her father's dismay.
After three days, they arrived on Earth.
They stepped out of their ship on sandy ground, very similar to the desert on Mars, although lacking the red colouring of her home planet. They made sure to land in the middle-eastern section right away, having been granted permission by the new Governor of the land.
The man seemed to happy about Rei's agenda it seemed. Of course, she could only guess but ever since Kunzite had to step down from his position there had been a power struggle between the new Governor and and the followers of the old one.
Rei wasn't on good terms with Kunzite.
She was the one who had defeated him three years ago and smashed his knee, crippling him in the quarter finals of the tournament and sent him back in shame. It had been his fault entirely. He was the one who disgraced the discipline of war with the unnecessary massacres he had initiated on Earth. An act of meaningless violence wasn't something she understood, even after having killed so many men herself. Wars on Mars were fair, quick, and used to make way for peace. The survivors were granted full protection and integration, and not slaughtered like animals and leftover food for dogs.
Minako told her he lived inside a mountain in a cave system ever since he deserted his palace and title. It was a mountain that was more like a fortress from the inside, with various corridors, traps, and other surprises only waiting for the chance to kill her. A lot of men hadn't made it back from this place and those who did were still in shock back at Venus, refusing to speak.
After gathering some information from a merchant, they marched towards the directions he gave them. The mountain was hard to oversee; with his giant, barren cliffs and the fresh skeletons warning every adventurer to turn away, mocking the young woman with further display of unnecessary cruelty. With horror, she realized that a child was amongst the casualties as well.
"That one probably went out to fulfil a dream of his." Phobos said and cut the ties loose, holding the remnants of the body in place. The bones fell to the floor and they gathered them, preparing a small burial.
"That was a child. A naïve child caught in the daydream of marrying the Venusian princess."
Rei bit her lip. With every passing second she hated the man more and more and silently asked herself if she had to bring him alive to lift the curse or if she could just kill him on the spot and set an end to this perversion. She didn't want to risk it though, if the Venusian king wanted him alive, then her killing him might give him some sort of leverage to go back on his word.
After they had finished the small grave, they investigated the cliffs, finding an entrance on the foot of the mountain leading into its depths. She summoned fire in her palm and Phobos and Deimos unsheathed their blades, cautiously following her every step.
It was quiet on the inside, almost as if they were in a tomb. The spilled blood on the walls gave them some sort of indication when there was a trap nearby, and for the most part, they managed without activating them. It only got narrow when Phobos accidentally stepped on the wrong stone, setting off a couple of spears flying in their direction.
The amount of traps they encountered was in no way justifying the horrors she had heard so far. She almost felt like she was guided towards the centre of the mountain, as if someone held back in order to get her through.
Half an hour and a few traps later, they arrived in a giant cave adorned with all the accommodations necessary for living. Rugs were on the floor, tables, chairs, bookshelves and weapons all around the place, and the crystals that grew out of the walls artificially illuminated the room.
"I am honoured Venus sent me her beloved Mars to keep me company." The sultry voice of the man echoed through the halls, giving him a much more impressive aura than she remembered. Back then he had kneeled before her in the dust; here, he was the king of the mountain. "In fact, I am so honoured I let you find me."
Kunzite limped into view and towards the throne in the middle of the cave.
"I have orders to bring you to Venus. Release the curse that binds the Venusian Queen." Rei commanded and unsheathed the very blade that had crippled him all these years ago.
His eyes took notice of the sword and a look of disgust crossed his face.
"I am supposed to release her so that you can come back as victor and wed her? My dear Mars, I thought you were smarter than this."
"If you don't want to come willingly I am going to use force. I have won against you last time and I will again." Rei shouted, stepping deeper into the cave.
"You forget one thing, Mars." The ground started shaking as Kunzite snapped his fingers. Rose coloured spikes suddenly shot out the earth and Rei narrowly managed to dodge them. She dashed towards him at full-speed, ready to attack him, but a searing pain in her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. She slumped down to her knees, breathing heavily as she eyed the giant crystal shard which had pierced the left side of her chest. "You're playing on my turf now and as long as I am alive, I will keep you from her."
Another snap and the mountain above them started rumbling. Rei gritted her teeth and glared back at Kunzite who was smirking at her, enormously enjoying the pool of blood that gathered at her feet. If it weren't for Phobos and Deimos dragging her outside, she would've stayed in the cave and killed him for sure. The wound on her shoulder was deep and she lost a lot of blood. Phobos was shouting something, but it didn't reach her ears. Parts of the walls crumbled, blocking their path, some minor rubble hit her head, her body, and suddenly, everything went black.
She awoke a few hours before returning to Venus. Phobos and Deimos had to physically restrain her from making the captain turn this ship around. She was hell-bent on killing Kunzite and bringing his head back to Venus, but the wound on her shoulder urged her to lie back down. A goddess she was, but only in title. Death was still a very real threat to her.
Grudgingly, she gave them a promise to hold still until their arrival on Venus while simultaneously making plans to make Kunzite pay.
"I see you managed to drive Mars away. I'm impressed." Kunzite didn't need to look to know who the voice belonged to. The arrogance, the teasing tone…
"Nephrite. Which god have I angered so that you bless me with your company?"
Nephrite's lips curled upward "Mars."
"Ah yes, victory is sweet, isn't it?"
Nephrite raised his eyebrows.
"You call that a victory? You may have won one battle, but she will return with an entire army and drive you out of that mountain. She came here with the goal to get you alive, and now you have angered her. I wouldn't put my money on you." He casually strode through the cave and sipped on the goblet in his hands. He made himself comfortable in one of the armchairs and nonchalantly flipped through a book he gathered from a shelf.
"So you came to warn me? I am touched." Kunzite rolled his eyes and limped over to one of the armchairs next to the fireplace. He had cut all his ties with the other Generals after his shameful defeat 3 years ago, so he didn't buy a single word coming out of Nephrite's mouth.
"Oh I did not come to warn you, I came to make a preposition."
Kunzite was intrigued. "I'm listening."
"The King of Venus offers the hand of his daughter to whoever makes you lift the curse. Don't you understand?" Nephrite explained, looking at his old comrade over the edge of the book.
Kunzite started grinning as he caught on what Nephrite meant. The man smirked and took another sip out of his cup.
"Right now, Venus freely shares her bed with Mars. Her father is against it. He would take anyone over the goddess of war, even you. You could have your revenge and your Venus, you only have lift the curse out of your free will in front of the entire Venusian court and- "
"and the king would be bound by his word." Kunzite finished.
Nephrite raised his cup towards him, slightly swirling the liquid. "And Mars can't do anything but watch. You'd be under the protection of the Kingdom of Venus as next in line of the throne and fiancé of the princess."
"And why are you suddenly so interested in seeing my private affairs settled?"
Nephrite laughed. "I just want the lion's share of the marriage portion."
Minako was about to lose her patience. Nothing had gone according to plan. Rei had come back injured and without Kunzite, defeated by him in his mountain in mere minutes. Rei's reputation was damaged since now she wasn't the undefeated goddess of war anymore, but someone who had to yield before a cripple. Without a doubt, word of her defeat had gone to Mars and her father, meaning that she had to answer herself sooner or later for her disgrace.
On top of all of that, the goddess of war was also too stubborn for her own good and didn't know when to listen to someone else.
"You're an idiot. Stop squirming and lie down already!" Minako hissed at Rei sharply. The other woman was currently resting in her bed, bandaged up and hell-bent on seeking revenge. Minako had insisted they brought Rei up in her quarters so that she could rest comfortably, but also to give them more privacy. It wouldn't do the Martians any good to see how grumpy and cranky, yet unbelievable soft their princess could be when Minako was around. For a warrior, she should be ashamed how easy she melted around the Venusian.
"I can't! I have to get back to Earth." She started to push herself out of the bed, but Minako put her back down. Rei had been eager to get back to Earth as soon as she set foot on Venus, but Minako could see that physically, she was not up for it yet.
"Yeah you have to get back to Earth, very soon actually or someone else might win, but first that wound here needs to close up." She snapped at her and Rei defiantly let out a huff and tried to cross her arms, but failed miserably.
"It can close up on the way to Earth."
Minako looked incredulously at her, and as if to prove her point, poked Rei's injured shoulder, urging a small wince out of her.
"Stop struggling, you can barely move your arm. Believe me, the only thing worse than getting married off to someone else would be you dying now." Rei glared at Minako's words and rubbed the spot Minako had pinched her.
"I thought that would be preferable now. Then you wouldn't have to deal with me anymore." Rei sassed back. She didn't have much patience either. Her defeat had been a shame for her since she had never failed in anything else before.
"If you're dead then how would we have a torrid love affair during my future marriage?" Minako cracked a joke, but she knew it was a tasteless one. She sat down on her bed and stretched next to Rei. She closed her eyes, trying to hide her nervousness. The only reason she didn't resist her father's proposal to be the prize for the victor was because she had been sure Rei would prevail without effort, but her plan had backfired drastically.
Rei was frustrated with the entire situation. Martians were possessive by nature, just as much as Venusians. She had chosen Minako, and Minako had chosen her and yet, they had to go through such an ordeal to be together.
"No one's marrying you but me." Rei stated what had been on both their minds for years.
"Yeah about that…great job so far." Minako sighed and cuddled into Rei's uninjured side, intertwining their fingers. The only good thing coming out of this disaster was that the majority of the other adventurers had given up. If the Martian warrior princess was injured in a bed after an encounter with Kunzite, then it was a certain death sentence for a normal person. They just had to bridge a few days like this, then Rei would be healed up and ready to go for a round two, and this time with the entire Martian army.
Rei made an effort to comfort her and gently kissed her forehead. She was sure she could keep her promise and be the one to walk Minako down the aisle, or she would die trying.
Minako sighed and pressed a good night kiss to Rei's cheek.
"We should sleep. You have an appointment with the royal healer tomorrow morning." Rei growled something about 'The martian healing techniques are sufficient enough, thank you', but eventually shut up when Minako shoved a pillow in her face.
The next morning was spent rather peacefully. After sleeping in, they both enjoyed a bit of cuddling as far as Rei's injuries allowed them to. Minako tried to help her dress, but Rei refused the Venusian clothes she got offered, saying that they were too bright and that she still had a bit of pride left in her body.
Minako sighed and helped her in her uniform, poking fun at Rei's hatred for colours and anything fashionable. Her teasing couldn't go that far however, since Rei made use of her favourite way to shut Minako up.
Their peace was cut short when the doors barged open and the King stepped in. Rei and Minako jumped apart as much as they could, yet Minako didn't seem in the mood to get out of bed.
"You should learn how to knock." She scolded her father and leaned against the headboard, demanding an explanation. Rei followed suit, sitting upright as far as she could and was met with the disgusted stare of the Venusian king. Like a bull ready to charge, he flared his nostrils and glared at her, but Rei braved it fiercely.
He gave her one last loaded look before sharply addressing his daughter.
"Get up. You're coming down to the great hall now."
Minako was confused, but she had a bad feeling about this. "For what?"
"Your wedding." He snapped his fingers and the guards stepped forward towards the bed.
"Wait a-" She struggled and slapped when they came near her, but without her sword or any other kind of weapon she was overpowered. Rei wasn't of much help either. She could barely move and even though she tried to get to Minako, one of the soldiers pushed her face-down on the mattress. She wasn't the goddess of war for nothing though and her legs were healthy. She kicked the soldier between his legs and tried to roll out of the bed, but she accidentally put too much pressure on her wounded side. Pain seared through her body and the soldier got a hold on her again.
Minako was furious. She yanked the guard's arm away and kicked his shin before getting her hands on his blade. She stormed towards her father and aimed it at his heart.
Her father was furious. "Put that sword down child or the Martian princess will pay for your defiance."
Minako turned her head slightly around to see that the guards had caught themselves again. One of them pulled Rei's hair back to bare her throat while the other threatened her with a dagger. The wound on her shoulder had been ripped open again, staining the bandages they had applied the night before. She was breathing heavily and yet, her eyes screamed at Minako to defy her father.
"You gave your word, now you have to keep it." The king stated coldly. "Or Mars will get the news that its princess died because of the injuries she received on Earth."
Minako gritted her teeth. She wouldn't put it past her father to kill Rei, his dislike for Martians was that severe. She dropped the sword, but not without giving him one last glare. As much as she hated it, she was the one giving the promise to marry the victor; she couldn't let Rei pay for her mistakes.
"Nothing will happen to her." She demanded coldly.
Her father wanted to take her hand and lead her out, but she yanked his arm away, giving Rei one last look before storming out of her chambers.
The king waved at his guards and they took a hold on Rei, forcing her to stand up and look him in the eyes.
"You will leave this planet right now and never come back." Were the last words Rei heard from the king before she got dragged out of the room.
The guards were holding her up a bit more gently as they 'escorted' her to the Martian camp. If word got out that the Venusian king was mistreating their princess then who knew what the soldiers would do. Rei couldn't risk an all-out war, but she would lie if she said she wasn't heavily considering it.
Phobos and Deimos rushed over and took her out of the guard's grasp, who then proclaimed that the Martians had to clear the camp by noon and be on their way back home as soon as possible.
Phobos and Deimos guided her back towards her tent where they instantly began to change her bandages.
Rei was fuming. She barked overly aggressive at Deimos when he pulled the bandage a bit too tight, knocking the air out of her lungs, or shouted at Phobos when he tried to prevent her from wearing her armour.
For all what's worth, she wanted to catch a glimpse of the victor, and maybe sneak off to speak with Minako again. Grudgingly her guards obeyed their stubborn princess and so, Rei marched out of the camp battle-clad in full armour a short time later. She stormed through the halls, Phobos and Deimos on her heels, ignoring whatever kind of searing pain plagued her left side. Bells were starting to ring and she sped up until she reached the ceremonial hall.
It was crowded and filled with a lot of people, all gathered together in a fast make-shift celebration. The decorations were sparse, the guests appeared surprised as well, and the food was a long shot away from the usual luxury the Venusian cooks liked to offer at celebrations. Everything was unworthy of a wedding, especially the one of the princess.
Rei pushed her way through the nobles, encountering a curious gaze here and there but overall, she managed to get through to catch a glimpse at the main plaza.
There, on the steps leading up to a smaller elevated area she saw Minako in a white dress. She was about to rush to her side, ready to shove away anyone who'd get in her way, but when Minako made eye contact, she was stopped in her tracks.
Minako slightly shook her head, her indicating that Rei should stay put. She didn't understand why until Minako's eyes gestured to the area above them.
Archers were lined up and aiming not only at her, but also at Minako. Grudgingly, Rei realized that she didn't have a choice. The seriousness in Minako's eyes told her that her father wouldn't hesitate to kill his own daughter for sharing her bed with a Martian.
Minako's mother had been freed from the curse and stood beside her daughter, as did the king. As for the groom…he came into view shortly after, limping his way up the stairs.
Rei's eyes widened in fury and her uninjured arm grasped the handle of her sword.
It was Kunzite.
He bowed to the King and Queen of Venus and took Minako's hand, leading her down the aisle.
She was about to move, but Phobos and Deimos grabbed her and pulled her back as they also noticed the archers. They dragged her out of the ceremonial hall, trying to calm their fuming princess as she remembered the words Kunzite had told her back in the cave.
"As long as I am alive, I will keep you from her."
AN: In the original Myth. Juno sat down on a cursed chair that Vulcanos had gifted her and she couldn't stand up again. Jupiter then promised Venus hand to whoever freed his wife and Venus agreed because she thought her lover Mars would win anyway. Mars tried to get Vulcanos to Olympos by force, but was driven out of the mountain. Bacchus managed to persuade Vulcanos and told him that he could have the goddess of love as wife anger his brother Mars and so, he returned to Olympos out of his free will and freed Juno. Venus was now forced to marry Vulcanos despite loving Mars and Mars was of course pissed as fuck. We all know what happened afterwards.
Roles:
Rei - Mars (duh)
Minako - Venus
Kunzite - Vulcanos
King/Queen of Venus - Jupiter and Juno
Nephrite - Bacchus
I hope this one wasn't that shitty