Yookoso Minna
Sama,
It's my latest story, La
Morte. This one's gonna be about nine
chapters I think. It's AU and just so
you know I'll put my authors notes at the bottom from now on. Just had to say I don't own BSSM in case the
great Naoko-Sama ever reads this. Enjoy
minna! Oh by the way, thank you to my
editor Ekaterinn!
La
Morte
"Cheshire
Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would
like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. "Come, it's pleased so
far,' thought Alice, and she went on. "Would you tell me, please, which way I
ought to go from here?'
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
"I don't much care where — ' said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
--Lewis Carrol Alice in Wonderland
Chapter 1:
La Lune
Some call her the lady of the lake, the eternal keeper of
the waters, the woman, Spring. The
silvery liquid she offers, youth eternal, has been sought by great heroes from
the beginning of history. Likewise, the
sea of history with it's murky depths and cresting waves has served as a
challenge to all people throughout time. For as surely as the silvery lady's waters promise eternity, the sea's
fleeting waves do not hesitate to take it away. The war between the silvery waters of eternity and the murky
black of history has raged on the shores of life for all time. The year of nineteen hundred and twenty-nine
was no exception, the deadly black waters threatened to devour the silvery
stream forever.
Blue flags flapped in the wind as a band of colorfully
dressed gypsies wandered down the enchanting promenade. The world sang to them of opportunity and
excitement. Now was the time to be
here, time to live this moment to the fullest. This world with its majestic castles decked with red turrets, its
latticed walkways and flowered trellises, and its plethora of lights, visible
from mainland at night was their home now.
Children laughed as they skipped through the fairytale
world of Luna Park and the tarot card reader, one of the gypsies, sighed as she
sat down at her table. Pulling her long
black hair out of her face, the gypsy set up her deck on the red velvet
table. Today she would tell fortunes .
. .
Serena Livingston smiled apathetically as the cool breeze
played with wisps of her blond hair. She stared at the calm blue water from her vantage point on the top deck
of the Coney Island Ferry. The
beautiful white boat glided across the harbor like a swan across a clear
mountain lake, but none of its merry occupants noticed the splendor of their
ship.
"Serena!" shouted a tall brunette as she strode
towards the metal railing Serena leaned against.
Serena
turned away from the water and gave a small smile. "Good to see you, Lita." she said softly.
"I thought I'd never find you on this boat,
Sere!" Lita exclaimed. "But I'm glad you came, when I didn't
find you before we left, I was worried you'd changed your mind. You're going to love Luna Park."
Serena nodded complacently and turned back to the blue
waters, her mind dwelling on a different shade of blue, the one that haunted
her dreams.
Setsuna looked up as the large white swan pulled into
dock on the island. The gangplank
lowered and the gates of Luna Park opened cheerfully, the magical park awaiting
its first load of adventurers for the day. Setsuna picked up her deck of cards and carefully shuffled and cut the
deck one last time, a last minute tradition before the crowds came in. Carefully patting the deck down, Setsuna
placed the thick pile of cards onto the table, face down. Then, cutting the deck into two uneven
piles, Setsuna slipped one card off of the larger pile and placed it on the
table in front of her still faced down. This was to be her card for the day, and as always, she would not look
at it until the day was over. This card
would answer all the riddles of the deck for the day. Opening a brown leather satchel, Setsuna put the card inside of
it and then slipped the satchel back under the table. She began setting up the cards even as her first customers approached.
"Serena Livingston!" a beautiful blond
exclaimed as she and a tall blond haired gentleman made their way towards
Serena and Lita.
Serena smiled as Lubina Amethyst and her fiancée Richard
Greenston made their way towards the railing of the boat. Lubina's grace and elegance were almost
princess like and it was no wonder that Lubina was a darling of the silver
screen.
"Oh Serena, it's so good to see you here today. Isn't it wonderful Richard?" Lubina cooed as she turned to her fiancée
for support.
Smiling briefly
at Richard, Serena crossed her arms in mock indignancy. "I don't know why everyone is so
surprised to see me. I said I was
coming, didn't I?"
Lita nodded. "Of course you did, Serena, but, you've been so serious lately and
everyone is just worried about you."
Lubina reached over to give Serena a hug. "We do worry about you darling, and
considering you've turned down or avoided every other outing we've tried to
take you on . . ." she paused to give Serena a kiss on the cheek. "Oh well, happy birthday Serena. May your twenty-fourth year be your best
yet." Lubina smiled earnestly
letting go of Serena as she looked towards Coney Island.
"Well, what is everyone waiting for?" Richard
asked in a deep tone. "Let's go
see the most magical place on earth!"
Molly Banks watched as some of the most well recognized
celebrities of the radio and screen walked down the red carpeting towards the
plaster arch of Luna Park. Scanning the
crowds, Molly looked for a celebrity to interview. Spotting Serena Livingston, Molly gave a grin. Today was the siren's twenty-fourth birthday
and that would certainly make an interesting interview. Pulling out a pad and a pencil, Molly rushed
towards the siren and her entourage. "Miss Livingston! Miss
Livingston! A moment please!"
Serena stopped grabbing Lita's wrist. It was that vicious gossip columnist
again. Lubina shook her head in
distaste as Serena turned to give Molly a withdrawn smile. "What can I help you with, Miss
Banks?" she asked in a silvery voice.
Serena Livingston, siren of the radio waves had earned a
reputation for being elusive and beautiful. Like her voice which lured so many men to fall in love with her, her
natural grace and beautiful features were prized possessions. Although the siren was known for her beauty,
many were of the opinion that she was a snob. Serena kept to herself for some reason, not eager to participate in the
gossip columnists' scandalous or sensational rumors. Although Molly couldn't find any real complaint to hold against
the siren, that didn't change the fact that she didn't particularly like
her. The siren's ice-cold demeanor
towards her was well known by all journalists, most of whom found the situation
to be amusing. Molly would get a story
on the siren today if it killed her.
Examining the siren's companions, Molly sighed. Perhaps Serena was truly as boring as she
made herself out to be. Although her
friends were all celebrities, she wouldn't be able to make much of a story out
of it; unless, of course, the readers wanted to read about her fairytale
friendships. Perhaps knowing that the
siren was with the princess of the motion pictures, Lubina Amethyst, her
handsome prince and fellow actor Richard Greenston, and Lita Kingsley, the
Amazon, a co-worker of the siren's at WBSH would interest a few housewives, but
Molly would need something more sensational if she wanted to make front
page. Molly straightened out her skirt
and cleared her throat.
"I wanted to wish you a happy birthday on behalf of
the American Star. Readers of the Star
simply adore you, Miss Livingston!"
Molly's voice oozed with fake happiness as she said
this. Serena winced with the knowledge
that Molly Banks despised her.
"So Miss Livingston, how does it feel to be
twenty-four?" Molly asked cheerfully.
"The same as it felt to be twenty-three. Honestly, I'm only a day older!" Serena said, slightly annoyed by the silly
question. Richard gave her a
sympathetic smile.
"Oh, um ok then." Molly said, somewhat taken back by Serena's attitude. 'I never remembered her being quite this
rude before,' Molly observed as she tried to formulate her next question. "So, how about the rumor I heard about
your dashingly handsome co-star Evan Diamando? Is love finally in the air?" Molly asked once again using her fake enthusiasm.
"I'm sorry, Miss Banks, I don't believe in
love." Serena said icily as she turned sharply on the red carpeting
walking brusquely towards Luna Park. Her hand still firmly gripped Lita's wrist as she dragged the hapless
brunette along with her.
"Ouch, Sere!" Lita exclaimed once they were out
of Molly's earshot.
"Huh?" replied Serena automatically. Her mind was elsewhere.
"My WRIST!" Lita yelped as she tried to wriggle
out of Serena's grip.
"Oh . . . " Serena said, releasing Lita's wrist
to reveal a large red mark from where she'd been holding on to her.
"I'm gonna have a bruise, Sere!" Lita said, her tone indicating her shock.
"Sorry." Serena said softly. Something
was bothering her again.
Lita turned to Lubina and Richard and her mind drifted as
well. She wished that she could be as
in love with someone as Lubina was with Richard. Theirs was a true miracle romance, and Lita couldn't help but
sighing.
"Well, come on then!" Richard said
impatiently. "We won't get
anywhere standing outside of Luna Park. Let's go IN, ladies!" With
that said, Richard took Lubina's arm and Serena's arm and dragged the two of
them into the park leaving Lita to straggle behind.
Luna Park truly was a place of enchantment. The piped in music and the lush flowers only
accented the superb architecture and elegant embellishments that made the park
so famous. All around groups of people
excitedly gawked at Luna's large castle, some of the models of famous places,
and the fairytale cottages. Standing
around the promenade, barkers announced sideshows and merchants sold food and
little baubles. The lines were already
forming for some of Luna's more well known rides like chutes and ladders and
the whirling cups. The sun had risen to
a high point in the sky, and according to Luna's topiary sundial, it was
nearing one of the clock.
"Honestly, love!" Lubina exclaimed. "You can stop dragging us now. Serena and I are perfectly capable of
keeping up!" she giggled as Richard continued to lead them along.
"I, for one, want to ride on the roller
coaster! I have it on good authority
that Luna Park's roller coaster is the eighth wonder of the world, and I'm sure
that Serena wants to ride it with me!" Richard announced as he let go of
Lubina's arm.
Serena groaned as Richard steered her towards the large
piece of metal and it's long line. "Why don't you take Lubina instead, Richard? I'm sure she'd appreciate this way more than
me!" Serena tried to wriggle free of his hold.
"Oh no, Serena! Lubina hates heights, and besides, this is your birthday. I want to take you!" he said softly,
his eyes flashed an emotion that almost scared Serena . . . but Richard was
madly in love with Lubina . . .
Molly Banks watched the multicolor parade of fashions
glide by her. All of the really
interesting people had, no doubt, already passed; however she waited outside of
Luna Park to see if any final stars would appear. So far her most promising story would probably be the sizzling
romance between Serena Livingston and Evan Diamando. Although Miss Livingston had been a few degrees beyond cold, Mr.
Diamando had been more than happy to supply all of the juicy details of their
romance. Molly wondered if Serena would
enjoy reading the article as much as she would enjoy writing it.
A shockingly short red dress caught Molly's eye as it
passed and caused her to look up. Only
one person would dress with such flamboyancy, Ann Williams. She'd certainly have something scandalous or
noteworthy to share with the Star. Walking towards the flashy red dress, Molly was pleased to see Ann's
dreamy brother Alan and her charming escort. While Molly did not recognize the gentleman, she was impressed by his
designer suit, well kept black hair, admirable build, and dark blue eyes. 'If he weren't with Ann, I think I'd take
him myself.' Molly observed.
Sensing that someone was staring at her date, Ann turned
around quickly. her sparkling green
eyes briefly clashed with Molly's soft brown ones as if to warn her, and then
she turned around. Her date stopped
realizing that she was no longer walking beside her. Annoyance flashed in Alan's blue eyes as he registered that Molly
Banks, gossip queen, was about to pry into their lives.
"Ann, darling!" Molly purred. She once again pulled out a pen and pad as
she hurried towards the retreating starlet.
"Oh, hello, Molly." Ann's sugary voice cooed. Ann wrapped her arm around her date's arm and turned them both to face
Molly.
Alan frowned at the reporter, crossed his arms, and
excused himself from the group.
Molly clucked her tongue in disapproval of Alan and then
smiled at Ann's escort. "So,
Ann. Who is this charming man?"
Ann smiled. It
was a self-assured smile that oozed confidence. "You mean this barbarian?" she asked playfully
gesturing to her date.
"Ann . . ." he complained under his breath,
eyebrows creasing into a disapproving look.
"Shush, Darien!" Ann exclaimed lightly hitting
his shoulder. "This is Darien
Reynaud, you know the owner of Reynaud Investments?" Ann said casually as
she waved her hand at Darien.
"Ohh, of course." Molly said once again memorizing his features. Readers would be delighted to hear that Ann
had such a gorgeous man as her date. Well they'd either be delighted or insanely jealous. It would definitely make a good story. If she could just get some truly juicy
gossip on the two of them she would be set.
"So then, Ann. How come we've never heard about Darien before?" Molly asked.
Ann smiled and stood on her toes to brush a stray piece
of hair out of Darien's eyes.
"It's just that my darling is so shy, but I'm sure
you can expect to see much more of him in the future." she said after a carefully formulated
moment. Entwining her arm around his
Ann gave Molly a nod. "I'd love to
stay and chat Miss Banks, but we're already so late, and darling does so hate
being late. Why don't you drop by
sometime and we'll talk?" she cooed.
Molly gave Ann a grateful smile as the woman guided
herself and her date towards the entrance of Luna Park.
It was eons before her ride with Richard was over and
Serena was very grateful to see the ground again for many reasons. "Ohh, if I never climb into one of
those coasters again, it won't be too soon!" Serena said as she reached Lita and Lubina.
Lubina gave a sympathetic smile and said "I know,
that's why poor Richard always has to ride those sorts of thing by
himself." Then looking at Richard
she gave him a heartwarming grin. "And it looks like you've lost yet another thrill seeker from the
group, my Pumpkin. Poor Pumpkin, will
you ever find someone who actually likes those metal deathtraps?" Lubina
teased as she grabbed his hands.
Serena groaned at the mushy sentiments Lubina and Richard
were sharing. Turning to Lita, Serena
was surprised to see that her other companion was also distracted by someone of
the opposite sex. "Lita?"
Serena said as she waved a hand in front of Lita's face. "Hello . . . Lita? Are you in there?" Serena turned to get a better look at the
guy Lita was staring at. He was tall
with blond hair and blue eyes. He was
rather handsome, and he was most decisively Alan Williams, Ann Williams'
charming older brother.
Lita blinked a few more times before turning her gaze
back to Serena. "Sorry." she
said softly. "It's just that I saw
an old friend, and well, I haven't seen him in a while. Guess I was a bit surprised . . . "
Lita trailed off and went back to staring again.
Serena grinned as she debated whether teasing Lita would
be the best idea. Deciding that perhaps
teasing could wait, Serena waved at the guy Lita had been staring at. He had been staring back. Looking at the pair, she decided that this
guy was definitely more than just an old friend . . .
As
Alan made his way towards Lita and Serena, Lita slipped out of her daze and
gave Serena a panicked look. "Sere, WHY is he coming over here?" she asked in a small
voice.
"Well, Lita, if you'd been paying attention to me
instead of staring at *him* you would have noticed me waving to him. After all, he was staring at
*us*." Serena said as she patted
Lita on the head.
"Sere, you are not going to live to make it to work
tomorrow! You know what Molly's
esteemed column in the Star is going to say? I'll tell you." Lita said as her
voice rose in tone. "It's going to say
'Siren killed by Amazon in a tragic fight on Coney Island'!" Serena rolled her eyes as Lita's balled up
fist hit her other hand. "So how would
you like to die, Sere?" Lita
hissed as Alan reached the two of them.
"Lita!" he said happily as he reached over to
hug her. "My, but it's been a long
time, Lita."
Lita who was uncharacteristically speechless nodded and
returned his hug. Her eyes still shot
daggers at Serena.
Serena grew a bit uncomfortable, knowing that Lita would
find a way to pay her back, and that turnabout was definitely fair play. Trying to disappear from Lita's view, Serena
turned back to the 'lovebirds' and breathed a sigh of relief. Lubina wouldn't let Lita kill her on her
birthday, would she? She was too nice
for that . . .
Lubina's eyes scanned the midway looking for something to
do. Judging from the look on Serena's
face, she'd just caused some trouble again, and they would need a
distraction. Her eyes grazed over a
table covered in red velvet and her lips curled into a sweet smile. The perfect distraction. "Oh Richard, look! There's a gypsy over there! See?" she motioned with her eyes
towards the table where a dark haired young woman in bright colored cloth and
bangle bracelets sat, a deck of cards in front of her. "Pumpkin, we simply must get her to
tell our fortunes!" Lubina said amiably.
Serena rolled her eyes at Lubina's distraction of
choice. 'She would choose a gypsy'
Serena noted bitterly. Not believing in
all that hocus pocus, or finding the romanticism of it appealing to her
nonexistent sentimental side, Serena tried not to seem ungrateful to
Lubina. Fortune telling was a waste of
time. However, a distraction was a
distraction, and perhaps this sort of thing would appeal to Lita. Serena turned back to look at Lita and Allan
who now had his arm around Lita's waist. There was definitely something between them. Serena smiled as she saw the look in Lita's eyes. The look broadcasted 'You are soo not
forgiven.' so loudly that Serena could practically hear Lita say it in her
head. "So, do you guys want to go
watch Lubina get her fortune told?" she asked trying not to make the
question seem too awkward.
Lita gave her a big grin and shook her head. "Actually Serena, I think YOU should
get your fortune told. At least you'll
know when disaster is about to strike."
Serena gave a pretty smile and nodded slowly. "OK then, I'll have my fortune
told. But that doesn't mean I believe
any of that sort of thing." she answered as the group made it's way
towards the gypsy.
"I'm
so sorry about that darling. Those awful gossip columnists just won't leave
well enough alone!" Ann cooed in her sickeningly sweet voice.
Darien
frowned. "Ann, if you really wanted them to leave you alone, they would. I
certainly don't have any gossip columnists talking about me yet, and I've had
just as many opportunities as you. It's all a matter of how you deal with those
people. If they don't think there's a story, they aren't interested in
you." he said disapprovingly.
"But,
darling. . . " Ann purred. "I honestly can't help it! I've always
been a target of all the gossip columns and fan magazines across the country.
It's just a price of fame." Ann said with a charming smile, shrugging
helplessly.
Darien shook his head. "It has nothing to do with fame. You bring those rumors and articles on yourself, because secretly, you
want them! I'm beginning to think my
mother was right . . . " Darien
said angrily as he scrutinized Ann.
Her actions and dress were definitely edging on tasteless,
and her ability to draw gossipmongers and negative attention seemed too much
for him to handle. His parents
certainly weren't crazy about Ann Williams. Perhaps it was time to end this relationship after all.
He drew a deep breath. "Ann, I've been thinking about this for a while now, and as much as
it hurts, I don't think we're suitable for one another. Our lifestyles are so different as our are
values, and while I had hoped that this relationship would work out, I think we
need to break up." Darien said as
he watched the expression of rage grow on Ann's face.
"Just like that?" Ann said angrily as she
snapped her fingers. "After four
months, you're going to discard me like last weeks newspaper?" she hissed as she closed the distance
between the two of them. "FINE
THEN!" she shouted as she slapped him hard across the cheek. "If I NEVER see you again, Darien
Reynaud, it will be TOO SOON!" Ann said as she turned on her heel and went
in search of someone, no doubt her brother.
Darien sighed in relief, realizing that his break up with
Ann had been highly successful. "If I'd known it would be that easy, I might have done that month's
ago!" The break up had been too
easy, almost. Then again, Darien knew
that nothing was that easy with Ann, she'd have her revenge. However, Darien was beyond caring. Straightening out his jacket, Darien went
off to find Alan. He hoped to tell him
before Ann did. Regardless of Ann,
Darien still considered Alan to be a good friend. He would try to salvage at least some relationships from the
ordeal.
Setsuna looked up to see a blond being escorted to her
table. Her large garnet eyes studied
the girl closely as she read deeper into the girl's unguarded aura. She had once had a bright and lovely aura,
the purest white that had gleamed like sunlight reflecting off of the snow; but
something had caused it to dim. It was
amazing to watch a soul who had once given off so much light but who was now
covered with murky gray patches all over. Did this girl even know?
Lita guided her straight to the wooden bench in front of
the gypsy's velvet draped table and forced her to take a seat. "Hi there." Lita said with
glee. "My friend here wants to
know her future." Lita was
enjoying tormenting Serena and it caused Serena to grit her teeth.
Alan smiled at Lita before spotting Darien out of the
corner of his eye. He excused himself
from Lita explaining that he needed to collect the rest of his group and that
this time he would indeed be back. Lita
gave him a trusting and heartwarming smile and then he turned away to go
collect Darien and Ann. Or perhaps he was just trying to retreat from the
intensity of her green eyes.
Setsuna smiled sympathetically at Serena and then nodded
to Lita. She could tell by how the girl
remained silent that she was uncomfortable being there. Without even using the cards there was so
much that the girl needed to know. 'I wonder if she can still feel the
emptiness she carries' Setsuna thought as she searched deeply into the girls
crystal blue eyes. Picking up her deck
of cards Setsuna closed her eyes and carefully shuffled. Placing the deck on the table she gestured
for Serena to cut the cards.
Darien looked up and down the busy path in the center of
Luna Park. There were too many people
there and he would never find Alan in such a large crowd. His eyes drifted from the Ferris wheel to
the roller coaster and then over to a pavilion. He wondered what type of ride would suit Alan. He didn't really see Alan as the fair type,
while he was a great stockbroker, he was rather serious and Darien was
surprised when he'd agreed to come with them to Luna Park.
A
frown creased his face as Darien's eyes wandered from ride to ride and finally
started searching the vendors. A flash
of golden hair caught his eyes and Darien let out a sigh. Perhaps he should go for a blond like the
one having her fortune told at the gypsy's table nearby. She looked respectable, her posture held gracefully
and her clothes tasteful. A girl like
that would be a breath of fresh air, Darien decided as he let his eyes linger
for a moment before resuming his search for Alan.
"Hey Dare, where's Ann?" a voice asked as a
hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Alan?" Darien asked as he turned to face the voice.
Alan grinned. "Don't tell me you've broken up already!" he teased.
"Uhmm . . ." Darien responded.
"It figures." Alan snickered. "So did she call it off or did
you?"
"Huh?" Darien asked surprised that her older and usually protective brother was
taking the news so well.
"Maybe I just have a gift, but I could tell you guys
were going to break up soon. It just
wasn't working out." Alan said as
he gave Darien a pat on the back. "Oh well, considering how you're acting, I'm guessing you did the
breaking up, so I think I'll stick around with you. I don't want to know what kind of foul humor Ann is in right
now. Don't worry though, she'll get
over it."
Darien nodded and went back to staring at the blond girl.
Alan gave him a big grin as if amused by some private
joke and then pointed in the direction he had been staring. "See
that table over there where the blond is sitting? Would you mind if we joined that group for the day?" Alan asked happily.
Darien nodded his head slowly, excited to get closer to
the girl, but uncertain of Alan's reasoning.
"Great, Lita will be so delighted!" Alan said as he pushed Darien towards the
group.
"Huh, Lita?" Darien asked, wondering if the name belonged to the blond.
"Yeah, she's an old friend of mine." Alan said his voice taking a far off tone.
"Just a friend?" Darien pried.
"Well . . ." Alan trailed off as he noticed that Darien's attention was on the gypsy
and her table and not his reply.
Serena glanced at the cards on the table in front of
her. The cards, which were still face
down on the table looked yellowed and tattered to Serena. Their back side all had the same intricate
golden design on a black background. Serena squinted to make out the intricate detailing of the gold on
black. The picture looked rather
familiar, although Serena was not certain of why the elegant lines of the
palace or the flowing fountains in front of it held any significance to
her. She had never been outside of the
United States, much less all the way to Europe, where this castle was no doubt
hidden. She wondered if the gypsy had
even been to this palace.
The
gypsy carefully placed three rows of three cards neatly on the table. Then gesturing to them she looked at Serena
intensely. It almost felt as if the
gypsy was looking through her.
"Each row of cards represents an arc of your life,
the past, the present, and the future." Setsuna said calmly as she focused on Serena's aura once again. "Just as fate and chance are a big part
of destiny; the past and the present are very important for the future. So you shall have three cards for
each." Setsuna turned away from
the fading aura and looked down at the table. So far the girl had completely ignored all the emotions she had sent to
her as well as tuned out her voice when she had explained the cards.
As
she continued talking to the inattentive blond, Setsuna couldn't help but feel
uneasy about this reading. A fortune
was not something to be taken lightly, and if this girl tempted the fates she
would be sorry. Setsuna wished for the
day to end so she could pull the final card out of her satchel and examine it
closely, however, the day was just beginning.
"Lita!" Alan said
happily as he slid his arm around the brunette's waist. "Allow me to introduce you to my dear
friend, Darien Reynaud."
Lita turned to smile at them and Darien sighed with
relief. His nameless blond was not the
object of Alan's affection. Darien's
eyes drifted back to the blond girl as Alan turned his back to Darien.
Setsuna looked down at the nine cards. She realized that her procrastination was
futile. The blond would not back out of
her fate. For some reason she wanted
this girl to stand up and walk away. Perhaps if the girl kept on walking and never turned back, her deadened
spirit would not harm her, but the girl sat at the table staring blankly into
the space in front of her.
"We'll start with your past." Setsuna said softly as she reached out a shaky hand to reveal the
first card. Her bangles made a jingling
sound as her hand shook. The blond still
paid no attention to the cards.
Flipping over the first card, Setsuna frowned. A large white sphere stared up at her and
the uncaring girl. The moon card was a
part of her past. Setsuna tried to find
the girls eyes with her own and realizing that the girl really wasn't at the
table mentally, she cleared her throat. Pale blue crystals gazed into her own garnet eyes and Setsuna sighed her
relief. At least she was paying attention
now.
"This is the moon card." Setsuna said as she gestured to the face up card on the table. "The moon card often symbolizes bewilderment
in one's life. This is a sign that you
have lost your way, child. Heed the
advice of the fates and find your way back to your path."
The blond nodded silently and Setsuna hid her disappointment. She hadn't fully explained the moon card to
the girl. She felt a strong need to
protect the girl from her own fortune. Her sense of despair was so strong for the girl. Her eyes expressed her wish. 'I want to warn you about your fear. It is eating away your soul.' Setsuna
thought even as her mouth forbid her from saying it.
The entire reading proceeded similarly to the first card,
and the whole while Setsuna's sense of dread grew. After the final card Setsuna put her hand on top of the girls to
stop her from leaving. The girl did not
understand how much power the cards had.
"Please, don't take this so lightly." She said as her eyes pleaded with the
blond. "Your world is so full of fear
that I can feel it. Don't let the fear
control you or it will seal your destiny." She whispered as a tear slid down
her cheek.
Serena was not impressed by the sentimental show . . .
Rising
from the table, Serena turned and walked away. Lita was standing with Alan and a stranger. Perhaps stranger wasn't the right word. Serena felt as if she knew him, but she couldn't figure out where
from. Walking over to Lita, Serena
grinned. "I figured you would have
hovered over my shoulder the whole time Lita. After all I just found out all about my future."
Lita nodded as she devoted her full attention to
Alan. "That's nice, Serena. I'm kind of busy now, Alan and I have a lot
of catching up to do. Why don't you
talk to Darien?" she suggested as she gestured towards the dark haired man.
Darien smiled at Lita's informal introduction of Serena,
if you could call it that. She and Alan
seemed a bit preoccupied in their reminiscing to pay anyone else much
attention. But he was here to meet
Serena, and so he would. Smiling
warmly, Darien kissed Serena's hand and said "Pleased to meet you, Serena. I'm Darien Reynaud."
Serena resisted an urge to roll her eyes at the
Darien. He wasn't as charming as he
thought he was, however, as she had nothing else to do, Serena decided to talk
to him. "It's nice to meet you
Darien. I'm Serena Livingston." She
said with a hesitant smile. In the
corner of her eye she could see Richard staring at them.
Serena spent a while chatting with Darien before Richard
lost his patience with visiting. Serena
watched him stride towards her and tried not to flinch when he happily said her
name.
As Richard reached her and Darien, he placed an arm on
her shoulder. Inwardly, Serena
groaned. She'd wished that she could
ignore him, or that Lubina would keep him busy, or most anything if he would
just keep out of her hair! She was even
tempted to latch herself onto Darien so that Richard would leave her alone, but
Richard had already made his claim.
"Serena, there's a ride I simply have to show
you!" Richard told her with a grin.
Serena returned a smile to Richard. There were a million things she simply had
to do, going on a ride with Richard was not one of them.
Richard guided her reluctant form up to a marble
pavilion. In the center of the pavilion
was a large merry-go-round with intricately colored wooden horses that floated
up and down as they continued their eternal race to nowhere. Serena almost pitied the horses because she
felt just like one of them. Constantly
racing on the same circular path, she would never find her way. The gypsy had at least been correct about
one thing, her world was full of confusion and fear. Although that didn't mean that Serena really believed the gypsy
knew what she was talking about, the idea of fate and destiny was just a silly
fairytale . . .
As they waited in line for the merry-go-round Richard
chattered about sentimental nothings. Serena sighed and blew a wisp of her blond hair from her face. "Richard?" she asked growing
impatient with his chatter.
"Yes?" Richard said immediately stopping his story.
"What's going on with you and Lubina?" she
asked innocently. Perhaps she could
drop hints gently. Certainly Richard
wasn't that dense.
"Nothing." Richard said with a frown.
Perhaps Richard was that dense, Serena fretted as the
merry-go-round stopped and let off giggling children and handholding
couples. She would need to approach
this from a different angle, perhaps.
"What I mean, Richard, is why am I on this ride with you
instead of Lubina? It seems to me that
you're ignoring her." Serena said
softly.
Steering her towards a white horse decorated with
garlands of flowers, Richard helped her up onto the wooden horse and took the
black stallion next to her. Reaching
for her hand, Richard gave her a longing look.
The merry-go-round went around in its dizzying circles
playing bright giddy music for a while before Richard spoke.
"I'm not ignoring Lubina really." He said suddenly,
somewhat angrily. "But the thing you
have to realize is that the ring she's wearing isn't even mine." Richard paused and sighed. "It's all a big stunt by the studio to sell
more tickets. They think that if we're
in love on and off screen, it will make us more appealing to the audience."
Serena felt a pain in her chest as she looked towards
Lubina. She was watching the
merry-go-round adoringly. Perhaps
Richard didn't love Lubina, but Lubina was smitten with Richard. Shaking her head, Serena realized that it
wasn't her place to care about Lubina, after all she didn't really believe in
love.
"But, I realized something today Sere." Richard said as his eyes searched for
hers. "I don't want to pretend to love
Lubina any longer, because I'm in love. For the first time in a while, I really feel love again. I know you probably already know this,
Serena, but I love you. Please say the
feeling is mutual. If you would, I'd be
the happiest man alive!"
Serena looked into Richard's sparkling eyes and then out
at Lubina's adoring gaze. She moistened
her lips and took a deep breath.
~@~@~@~@~@~~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Sooo, what do you think? Hmm, I'd really like to know. As you noticed, this story is set in New York in the 1920's. What a great time to be in New York. (Yes I read the Great Gatsby too many times as a high schooler) Now, I've gotten some questions about this Lubina character. Is she from the SM universe or what? She is actually! She's in Super S. Princess Lubina of the Amethyst kingdom. That cute episode where Diana says that Endy and Sere skip out on royal festivals. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed my new story and rest assured that I am working on Kiss Eternal. I also have the second chapter of this halfway done. So to review e-mail me, IM me, review me, anything! You don't even have to talk about my fic, I just like talking with minna.
Till Next Time,
Ja Ne,
Bejiin Ripley
http://www.geocities.com/hoshi_no_shita
AIM: Bejiin
4/10/01