"Hey, wait up! Don't go so far!"
"You're not the boss of me, and I have to find it!"
Chibiusa panted as she raced through the snow. It wasn't her fault the wind had stolen her hat. Was she supposed to just let it go?
By the time she wanted to give up and slow down so Usagi could yell at her, she was out of hearing range. Chibiusa's teeth chattered as she yelled for her friend, but she got no answer. And after all that, she hadn't even found her—
"Is this yours?"
The little girl gasped as she turned her pink head towards the speaker. The woman had alabaster white skin covered by elegant black hair that seemed to go on forever. Her dark purple dress had the most beautiful jewels she had ever seen. And her deep eyes seemed to bore into Chibiusa's as she handed over the yellow hat.
"Th—thank you," she stuttered, her teeth chattering more than ever.
The lady surveyed her with a worried look. "Oh, you're freezing! I'm being impolite," she said apologetically. She took off her black fur coat and held it out for the girl.
Chibiusa looked at the offering nervously, but the mistress smiled at her in reassurance, and she decided a coat couldn't do any damage. The woman's pale hand brushed hers as she took the coat, and chills went down all the way to Chibiusa's heart, but she didn't even notice.
"This feels so much better," she sighed.
"I'm glad," the lady said, planting a kiss on Chibiusa's forehead. "But you look so tired… my castle is just nearby, if you're willing to trust me."
Chibiusa nodded without a second thought and latched herself to the mistress' side. After all, as far as she could remember, she had no one to go back to.
Usagi would have passed out right outside her house if she hadn't been so wound up. Her heart was racing, her limbs were numb, and her throat was raw from screaming for Chibiusa.
She could've asked for help. She looked through the window at her mother, making five cups of hot coca, but she couldn't bring herself to disturb the peace. Her family already thought she couldn't stand Chibiusa; losing her certainly wouldn't help. And besides, she feared it was more than just your everyday missing child story. It could've been an enemy at work, and Sailor Moon would've died before she let her family face the enemy.
"If it's not the enemy, I'll kill you for making me cry over you," Usagi muttered as she tried and failed to hold back tears. Her daughter—sister—whatever she was—was in trouble, and Usagi couldn't afford to break down over it.
The castle was like nothing Chibiusa had ever seen before. Literally everything was made up of ice, reaching higher than the clouds themselves. The walls glittered in a way that made it impossible to look away. And from the inside, it all felt layered in inescapable shadow.
But despite how empty and blue it made her, Chibiusa couldn't stop smiling. The mistress kept playing with her, watching her make silly shapes out of ice as if she was the most important person in the world.
"Can I stay here forever?" she asked, snuggling up to the woman.
"Of course, my dear," she replied. "Here, you are s—safe…"
But the mistress began shaking, and Chibiusa only leaned closer, hoping to offer some sort of comfort. "You're going to hurt her…" the lady mumbled, but she didn't seem to be speaking to the little girl. "I won't let you… argh, my head!"
"What's wrong? Please, let me help!" Chibiusa begged, looking imploringly into those dark, bottomless eyes.
Only the mistress wasn't looking back. Her eyes were fixated on Chibiusa's amulet—a heart placed securely on her chest. "Please… need power…"
Chibiusa furrowed her brows, but before she could even blink, her captor's hand was on the amulet, trying desperately to tear it out. "Stop it! You're hurting me!" she cried, but she only got laughter in response.
"Chibiusa!"
Her confusion only increased as she looked up at the teenager storming down the icy halls of the palace. "I won't let you touch her!" the girl yelled as she pulled the mistress away from Chibiusa.
"Who—who are you?" Chibiusa asked. "What are you doing?"
Tears prickled Usagi's eyes as she looked at her friend. "I'm… I'm Sailor Moon, here to save you from the Snow Queen. Don't you remember?"
Chibiusa just stared at her self-pronounced savior, then at her attacker, then back again. "No, I don't remember! And I shouldn't need saving from her! She's my friend!"
"I'm your friend, Chibiusa," Sailor Moon said weakly. "I throw snowballs at you, then you throw them back right at my meatball head, and then Mamoru joins you and I get covered in snowballs, so I'm mad at you both but I still hug you when it's over! You have to remember."
The queen's laughter echoed across the palace, but Chibiusa barely even heard. "Usagi…" she whispered as she ran into Sailor Moon's arms. "How could I forget an idiot like you?"
Chibiusa's skin lost its blue tint as Usagi's warmth engulfed her. "Well, isn't that just sweet," the queen drawled behind them. "Those will make for lovely last words."
She lunged at Chibiusa again, and the soldier tried to stand between them, but Chibiusa refused to turn away from the enemy. "How could you?" she cried. "We were friends!"
"Oh, you poor, oblivious little girl," the mistress sighed. "Haven't you heard the legend? I'm the Snow Queen, the one who has been destined to cause destruction ever since my father rewired me. I'm not even human anymore."
"You're lying!" Chibiusa said as she dodged the queen's attempts to steal her amulet. "There's still a human in there, isn't there? I saw her, when I was asking to stay. She didn't want me to stay and get hurt by you. You're trying to get rid of her, but it won't work!"
"You dare accuse me of being good?" the mistress screamed. "I'll show you how bad I can be!"
Sailor Moon shot out Rainbow Moon Heartache, but it was no use. The bringer of destruction drove Chibiusa into a corner with no way out.
"I know you're there," Chibiusa said firmly, squirming as her amulet was torn out. "You can break through! I know you can!"
And when Chibiusa's life began to be sucked out, and she couldn't suppress the cries of pain, the mistress felt some herself. "My head! You can't!"
Her cries kept going on, but it didn't stop her Hoste from regaining control of her body. Where the cold-hearted Snow Queen had stood seconds before stood a young girl with short hair, kind eyes, and a purple outfit similar to Sailor Moon's.
"Hello, my friend," she greeted, releasing Chibiusa's amulet instantly. "I am Hotaru Tomoe, blessed with the powers of Saturn: silence, rebirth, and hope."
The ice palace melted around them, and Hotaru and Chibiusa hugged so tightly Usagi almost expected them to suffocate.
The three soldiers spent the remainder of the day playing children's games in the grass, as though hope and innocence were all they knew.