Redemption
By Bashfulglowfly
Mizuno Ami never knew what caused her to go to sleep and she never knew what caused her to wake up again. The one thing she did know was that when she fell asleep, she wasn't pregnant but when she woke up…she was.
She gently rubbed her belly and felt her child kick in response. It had taken her some time to stop thinking of her child as "it" or "the" but eventually she used "my" and "mine." She was actually looking forward to having the baby…but not looking forward to giving birth in the conditions that she was now living in.
By her standards, the conditions were primitive. When she woke, it was as if the Earth had turned back to a feudal time. She couldn't understand why. She knew that the Earth was to have slept for a thousand years then, when it woke, Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion were to form Crystal Tokyo. Of course, when she, the other Senshi and Mamoru had so brutally betrayed Usagi, the timeline had to have changed but she was surprised that it had changed so drastically.
And no one seemed to remember that they used to live in a highly technical world. They were happy going about the daily business of being farmers, weavers, stonemasons, blacksmiths and other such jobs that were needed. Ami held the position of herbalist in the village where she lived.
Her village was one of the largest in the area. It was well situated at the edge of a large river that provided fresh fish, water for the mill and transportation to and from other villages. The streams that fed into the river provided excellent irrigation for the fields of wheat, corn, rye and other crops. The forest provided game and firewood.
Ami considered herself lucky that she had a well of her own at the back of her modest house. While it was getting harder to pull the water up as her pregnancy continued, it was easier than going to the village well and walking back and forth several times a day to water her garden and herb beds.
"Mistress Mizuno! How do you fare today?" asked the baker.
Ami smiled as she picked a loaf of bread. "Quite well, thank you. How much?"
"Ah, do you have some thyme and rosemary?" Asked the baker.
Ami did and brisk trading went between the two until they came to an agreement. The baker would take all of the harvested rosemary and thyme that she had with her and she would get eight loaves of bread before she would have to trade with him again.
There was very little coin in the village. Most people traded goods and services for other goods and services. As the herbalist, Ami was much sought after. Not just for her potions for coughs and colds and such but for her herbs that provided savory additions to meals. She was mostly paid in food or goods but there were times that she asked to be paid in labor for things that she could not do around the house herself. It was very rare that she had to part with coin for something.
Ami was glad that no one thought that it was strange that she had no husband around. She would have a hard time explaining that she didn't know how she got pregnant. But on the other hand, she did wonder why no one asked her about the father of her child. It was as if the only thing important was the fact that she was going to have a baby, another precious addition to the village.
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"Mama! Mama! Look!"
"What is it, baby?" Ami carefully sealed the bottle with wax and turned to face her son. She nearly smiled at the sight of him glaring at her, his fine, dark eyebrows pulled down over his golden eyes because of the hated word.
"I am not a baby!" Arthur enunciated.
Ami had named him after King Arthur; she had loved the tales of Camelot as a child. Five years ago, that was the only name she could think of when the midwife placed him at her breast, red-faced and squalling with a mop of dark hair and those beautiful golden eyes.
"You are not a baby. I know. But in my heart, you will always be my baby no matter how old you are."
Arthur sighed deeply as if the whimsies of adults were not only beyond comprehending but strange as well. "Look!" And he held out a snake to her.
Ami took a deep breath and barely managed to keep from screaming. She did not like snakes but knew enough to tell that this one was of the harmless variety. "That's a lovely snake." She managed to choke out. "But, it belongs outside. Why don't you put it near the hen house so it can catch vermin."
"Okay!" Arthur turned and ran outside while Ami collapsed on a stool.
"What was it this time?" asked a familiar voice.
Ami looked at Mistress Carey, the midwife. "Snake."
Mistress Carey just laughed. "I have been shown many of those in my life!" She patted Ami on the shoulder. "It's the fate of being a mother of boys."
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Ami was weeding her back garden. Ten-year-old Arthur was not there, he was out with the Huntsman learning woods lore, so she was without his help. She did miss having him there since the weeds were especially invasive this Spring but Arthur was an indifferent gardener so he missed as many weeds as he found.
"Mistress Mizuno! Mistress Mizuno! Come quick! Come quick!" Ami rose to her feet, brushing the dirt off her hands as she hurriedly rounded the corner of her house. A boy stood panting at the front of her house. "Jemmy? What is it?"
"Mistress Mizuno, you must come! The mayor requests that you must come!"
"What has happened?" Ami opened the door to her home, already reaching for one of the packs she kept ready for emergencies at all times.
"A miracle!"
She stopped and looked at Jemmy. "A miracle?"
The boy nodded. "Yes, a sword sheathed in a huge stone has appeared in the center of the town square! The mayor wants you to come."
Ami blinked. Then bit her lip to keep from laughing hysterically. A sword in a stone? Oh, please don't let this be what I think it is!
She picked up the pack anyway and followed Jemmy down the street towards the town square. She could hear the voices of many people as she approached. The square was crowded for a non-Market day. She spied the mayor, who was also the village's blacksmith, and made her way to him.
The mayor smiled with relief at the sight of her. "Mistress Mizuno, thank you for coming."
"Mayor Smith." Ami politely nodded her head. "Jemmy said something about a sword in a stone?"
"Yonder next to the well." The mayor pointed.
Ami turned to look. There was a stone, black and shiny and in a roughly carved rectangular shape. Ami was fairly certain that it was obsidian - which wasn't found anywhere near here. And, yes, there was a sword stuck in the middle of it. The hilt was gold but the blade was steel. Both glittered in the sun.
Then a cloaked and cowled figure appeared through the crowd. People edged away from the strange person, whispering all the while. The pure white of the robe and cowl seemed to glitter as well.
Ami felt her eyes widen as a tiny part of her, long abandoned, woke.
She knew, she just knew who that person was.
Ami, like the other villagers watched in fascination as the figure walked around the stone. A slim hand reached out and touched the hilt. Then the figure turned and faced the crowd. Using both hands, the figure pulled the cowl away from her face leaving her hair covered.
The crowd gasped. This was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. She was unearthly beautiful.
Ami, alone, was not in awe. She had seen such beauty before. After she had betrayed the one who had been her friend. Ami shook and fought back tears and hysterical sobs.
The woman spoke. Her voice was like silver bells. "I am Serene, High Priestess of Luna. It was I who brought this here at the command of the Gods." She paused for a moment. "This sword was wrought in the fires of Mars, cooled in the waters of Mercury and Neptune and tempered in Jupiter. It will accept no master accept one who is pure of heart, strong as the mountains, honest as the day and who loves and cares for the people. For the one who pulls this sword from this stone will be the King of kings. This person shall rule this planet with Honesty and Justice.
"This village has been chosen to protect this sword." The priestess smiled with amusement. "Not that it can be carried away from here. But every year on Beltane, you will hold a contest to see who will be able to draw the sword from the stone. Anyone who has seen twenty winters may try his or her hand at drawing the sword."
At that the priestess turned and walked away, the crowd parting before her. Ami edged back until she was free from the people surrounding her, then picked up her skirts and ran. She followed her heart and as she circled the edge of the village she spied the woman in white entering the forest.
"WAIT! WAIT! PLEASE WAIT! USAGI! USAGI!" With a final desperate scream, "SERENITY!"
The woman stopped and turned to look at her. Ami stopped just out of arm's reach, panting for breath. "Thank you." Ami gasped.
The woman tilted her head. "Who are you?"
Ami drew back as if she had been slapped. She couldn't believe that she'd been forgotten. "Usagi, it's me. Ami."
The woman blinked at her. "It is true that my formal name is Serenity. But the name of Usagi is not my personal name. That was the name of my great-grandmother."
Ami fought to keep her knees from collapsing her to the forest floor. "Great grandmother?" she whispered.
Serenity pulled back her cowl until it lay flat against her cloak. Her silver hair gleamed in the sunlight that made it through the trees, her hair was styled just like Usagi's had been: two buns with ponytails streaming down. She stared at Ami then her eyes widened. "I know who you are now! You are Sleet!"
"Sleet?"
Serenity nodded. "The betrayer of Serenity the Restorer. My great-grandmother."
Ami closed her eyes. "I betrayed my friend. And I live with that pain every day of my life."
"So you should." Came the stark unforgiving reply.
Ami looked at the woman before her. "Where is Usagi – the one you call Serenity the Restorer? Do you know what happened to the others…the ones who betrayed her along with me?"
Serenity stared at her for a moment. "The one you knew as Usagi died over 15 thousand years ago."
Ami froze in shock. "15 thousand years ago? But, but the Earth was to sleep for only a thousand years!" her voice tore at her throat.
Serenity shook her head. "The Earth was gravely wounded by the damaged done to it by the insane people. It took a very long time to heal. It only woke up a few years ago. As for your fellow betrayers, my Grandmother told me that the one known as Ashes murdered her grandfather and then killed herself after burning down half the city where she lived. The Harlot was murdered by one of her many lovers. No one knows what happened to the Broken Tree." Serenity took a breath. "The Betrayer of the Moon also know as the Destroyer of Earth took his own life by jumping from the Three-fold Tower."
Ami moaned and covered her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks.
Serenity looked at her without pity. "Too bad you didn't show this compassion when you went along with them to betray your Princess."
Ami nodded and started to speak.
"Mother! Mother!" Arthur dashed up, bow across one shoulder, quiver of arrows on the other and pheasants bounced on his hip. "What are you doing here, Mother." He saw her tears and spun to the strange woman. "Why have you made my mother cry?" he demanded, hand on his dagger.
Serenity's blue eyes widened and she reached out a hand to Arthur's chin tilting it up so she could see his eyes. "Golden eyes." She murmured. Arthur tried to jerk his chin from her and but she tightened her grip. She looked over his head to Ami. "Golden eyes, Golden Crystal. Teach your son the lessons that you failed so miserably at, Sleet. I would hate to see the Earth fall again. Because if it does…it will never and can never be reborn again. It will truly become a dead planet."
Serenity released Arthur's chin, turned and walked away. Ami could see that she was joined in the depths of the forest by four figures in familiar clothing…then they disappeared.
"Mother, what did that woman mean?"
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Ami walked the hallway of the castle. It had been twenty-five years since Arthur at the age of 20 pulled the sword from the stone. She had suggested that he call it "Excalibur." After all the trouble that Serenity had gone through to set up the test; Ami felt that tradition should be followed.
It had been twenty-four years since Arthur brought the shy Jenelle to meet her. Ami was thankful that while the name had a similar meaning to Guinevere, Jenelle was nothing like the woman of legend that she alone remembered.
It had been twenty-three years since she held their first child, Danielle, in her arms and twenty-one years since she first held Alexander. She had the temperament of her mother and he was his father's son, down to the eyes of gold.
"I'm getting old and maudlin." She muttered to herself.
"Queen Mother! Queen Mother!" A maid came pattering up to her.
Ami smiled. It was Arthur's idea to have her called that. It always made Ami think of the incredible British Queen who had the title first and she hoped that she was living up to her. "Yes, child, what it is it?"
"Prince Alexander has returned!"
Ami smiled in relief, Alexander had gone off to battle a warlord who had attacked a small town that had submitted a request to be admitted to the kingdom. Not long after the request had was made, the town had been attacked and Arthur felt that it would work in his favor to send a force to free it and cement the new alliance. It would be another good lesson for Alexander on how to lead and to rule. "He has? Good! I will go and welcome him home."
"He has also brought three women with him, a girl, her mother and grandmother."
Ami raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? I wonder why?" she muttered to herself. "Where have they been given rooms? And do you know their names?"
"They have been given rooms in the East Wing, your Majesty. And the girl's name is Beryl, the Mother's name is Emeraude and the Grandmother's name is Acacia."
Ami's blood ran cold. She turned and walked away from the maid, barely remembering to thank her. Her thoughts raced. It couldn't be. It's not possible. There is no way that those two names in the same family are coincidence. Queen Serenity said that no one knew what happened to "Broken Tree." And Acacia is a type of tree. Blessed Selene, could this "Acacia" be Makoto?
Ami moved quickly to the East Wing of the Castle. She didn't run, she wasn't strong enough for that anymore but she did move as fast as she could while trying to hide her agitation from the people she passed.
She slowed as she entered the East Wing. She didn't know what rooms they had been placed in but she could guess. She walked towards where she thought they would be and met with success. Three women of various ages exited one of the rooms. Ami barely noticed the two younger women; she had eyes only for the oldest. Her hair was no longer auburn and wasn't in a ponytail but Ami would have known her anywhere.
"Hello Makoto." Ami was surprised as to how calm her voice was.
The woman looked at her with puzzled eyes then widened with memory. "Ami, fancy seeing you here." Makoto smirked and tried to stand as tall as possible, which was difficult to do considering the hunch in her back. Makoto had turned into a storybook crone.
"I could say the same thing." Ami flicked a glance at the younger two women. "Aren't you being a bit obvious with their names?"
Makoto grinned a gap-toothed leer at her. "No, I don't think so, since that handsome young prince didn't seem to recognize them."
"That's because I have never told my son and grandson of my sin."
"That's too bad, because I told my daughter and granddaughter of mine."
"You will not harm my son, my grandchildren or this kingdom."
Makoto sneered at her, eyes nearly hidden for the wrinkles. "I will use what I want and when I get it, I will use your son or grandson to get my revenge on that bitch!"
Ami closed her eyes. "You poor old fool. Usagi has been dead for thousands of years."
"WHAT?" came the screech.
"Usagi is dead. She died over 15 thousand years ago." Ami shook her head at Makoto's shock. "The Earth didn't sleep for a thousand years. It was so badly wounded that it need all that time to heal itself."
"You're lying."
"I have never lied to you, Makoto."
Makoto's hands flexed. Then she screamed. "I WILL STILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" And she lunged at Ami, hands clawing for her eyes.
Ami grabbed Makoto's wrists and the two old women struggled and fought up and down the hallway. Ami barely heard a footman yell for help. She could only focus on Makoto.
Ami gasped as sharp pain sank deep into her side and into her shoulder. Makoto tore herself free. "Stab her again!"
Ami turned just in time to see Emeraude and Beryl come at her with knives drawn, stabbing her in the stomach and through her ribs into her lung.
"NO!" Came twin roars of anguish.
Ami fell to the floor and saw Arthur and Alexander pull their swords and behead Emeraude and Beryl. Makoto was laughing insanely, babbling about her revenge and that Ami deserved everything she got. That ended when Arthur, face grim, beheaded her as well.
Alexander was already cradling Ami in his arms while screaming for someone to fetch a Healer. Arthur dropped his sword as he knelt by Ami's side. He tore his own tunic apart to try and stop the bleeding.
Ami rested her hand on his. "No, my darling boy, it's too late."
Arthur shook his head in denial. "No, Mother, the Healer will come and you will get better."
"No, Arthur, I won't. I am old and the Healer can't help me."
Alexander sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Ami reached a hand up and placed it to his cheek. "No, this wasn't your fault."
"But I brought them here."
"They were witches." Ami knew that she didn't have time to tell them her story. "The eldest was someone I knew from long ago and had gone mad because we betrayed someone close to us." Ami coughed, blood stained her lips. "It was only a matter of time before we had to pay for our sin. I can only hope that what I have done in these last years will make up for it."
Arthur kissed her hand. "You are blessed among women, Mother. Whatever sin you committed in the past has surely been redeemed."
Ami sighed and looked around. Jenelle and Danielle had joined them. "I only hope that she will think so too. I love you all so very much."
Jenelle, Danielle and Alexander began crying. Arthur's jaw tightened but he didn't let his tears flow. "Put the heads of the witches on pikes above the Castle gate and throw the bodies into the midden."
Ami coughed again, her breath shallow and gasping. "That is harsh, my baby."
Arthur smiled shakily at the hated endearment. "They deserve much worse."
"I love you. Don't forget that." Ami's eyes fluttered shut and white light began to surround her.
Dimly she heard her beloved family call for her, "Mother!" "Grandmother!" "Mother!"
"Ami."
She knew that voice.
"Ami."
She opened her eyes.
Before her was someone she never thought that she would ever see again. That hair, those lovely eyes and that infectious smile.
"Usagi."
That beautiful smile grew even wider. "We've been waiting for you, Ami."
"You have?"
"Yes, we have…welcome home."
Author's Note #1 – Beltane is a pagan holiday that falls around the First of May. I chose this as the day for the contests to pull the sword because Midwinter would make it rather difficult to get to the village and Midsummer is just used too often, in my opinion.
Author's Note #2 – Yes, there are discrepancies in Serenity's tale to Ami. And I thought I would explain before anyone writes asking "Why." Ashes = Rei, The Harlot = Minako, Broken Tree = Makoto and the Betrayer of the Moon/Destroyer of Earth = Mamoru. And the Three-Fold tower is the Tokyo Tower because it is 333 meters.
The discrepancies are, at least the way I envision it, because Usagi, Kunzite and the other Senshi and Shitennou of that time NEVER talked about what happened. So, Small Lady and her Senshi gleaned the story from others. And like many oral tales, the details are not always accurate.
Author's Note #3 – This is a sequel to "A Heart Mended" so figuring that Ami was 14 when she betrayed Usagi, 15 when she left for the United States, which would make her 18 when the Earth went to Sleep. So, she would have been 19 when she gave birth to Arthur. So by the end of this story she should be around 64 or so (if my math is correct). In a feudal society, she probably would be considered to be VERY old at the age of 64.
Author's Note #4 – Acacia is a type of tree and, depending on which type, is considered invasive.