Haruka was comfortable, propped up with her back against the pillows. She blinked in the faint light from the window, her eyes adjusting to the dimness of the room. Here she was in her own home with her family, everything had worked out, the world was safe for the moment... she was holding her beloved in her arms...
A gentle smile appeared on her lips as she glanced down at her partner. Michiru slept peacefully, her breathing deep and even, completely relaxed and calm. She moved slightly, cuddling closer to Haruka as she slept. The violinist was so beautiful, her body warm and comforting, her silhouette outlined by the scant light of the waning moon.
Haruka breathed deeply through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, the breath coming out almost like a sigh. So much had happened... and apparently a lot more had happened in the past.
She had been somewhat tense since Setsuna had told them both of a time in their past where instead of meeting as equals, Michiru had been the one who held a higher place in society. Not that that was a problem in itself, but... Haruka just couldn't picture herself as a slave.
A slave... being considered a piece of property, something less than human... no, she probably would have run as fast as she could from such a destiny...
Then Haruka remembered something that Michiru had mentioned... they had both been royalty, born to the Royal Houses of their respective planets... Haruka had left her planet, her home, in order to... what?
The blonde haired woman yawned sleepily and stretched a little, being careful not to wake Michiru. Her eyes slid closed and she breathed in deeply, relaxing between the warm sheets and comforter. That had been the past; this was her present. In the morning, this could be reasoned out… but not now…now was the time for sleep...
The clink of manacles ringing as they hit each other was her grim reality. The weight on her wrists was a constant reminder that she wasn't walking down these streets as a free person.
Haruka kept her gaze focused forward, though she desired with all of her being to confront those who were staring with a haughty glare. There was a slight blush on her face, but she held her head up all the same. Even if she was being lead on a chain like some sort of animal or a...
Slave.
The word stabbed itself into her brain. Part of her burned with shame, remembering the servants that lived on her home planet, who did so much for so little... True, there was no slavery on Uranus, but servants were considered to be among the lower social rankings of her society.
And now, the Princess of Uranus was ranked even lower than the lowest servant on Neptune. A personal slave for a woman she barely even knew...
'No... I know her, somehow... I just need to figure out how...' Haruka thought to herself. A sudden pull on the chains disrupted her train of thought.
"We're here, at my home... and your new home as well."
Haruka looked up, expecting a wealthy merchant's home or even a small apartment. Instead she found herself standing in the shadow of a small castle.
Her mouth dropped open in shock as she realized that this was not a low ranking member of society's home. Michiru was connected in some way to the Royal House of Neptune! But how? Could she be-
A gentle finger pressed on her lips, closing her mouth. Haruka looked away from the castle to Michiru. The ocean haired woman had a smile on her lips, amusement in her eyes.
"Are you surprised by your home?"
Haruka wanted to speak, but she kept her mouth shut, a question in her eyes, as she stared back at Michiru.
The amusement in Michiru's eyes was still there, but her smile became gentle.
"I can explain everything later...first we need to get inside, past the guards and everyone else. Then you and I can take care of some…things."
Haruka had several images (some innocent, a few not so innocent, others... well...) invade her mind, and as Michiru tugged her forward on the chain, she was able to think one coherent thought:
'Kami-sama, help me.'
It hadn't been as bad as she expected. At least, on arrival it hadn't been as bad as she had expected.
On entering the palace, Michiru had lead Haruka past several well-armed guards carrying tridents, down many corridors, and finally to a doorway leading into a large room. It was larger than her cell had been, but it wasn't cavernous at all.
The walls were that same bluish color, but Haruka knew that what was drawn on the walls wasn't natural. Some started out as scribbles, then shapes, contours, shades, combinations of patterns, beings and moods appeared, created using paints. People and those that appeared to be half human, half... something, were swimming through the ocean, one reaching down towards glittering jewels, her hair shimmering in the waters... exotic creatures of all colors, shapes and sizes seemed to form into realistic beings. Haruka felt as if she were watching from the bottom of the sea instead of on land. She turned toward Michiru, the question barely forming in her mind before she spoke.
"How did you... who painted...?"
"I did."
Haruka looked from the walls to Michiru, then back to the walls again. "It's beautiful..." Haruka spoke softly, almost reverently. Michiru watched as the taller woman stared up at the mural in wonder, completely ignoring her surroundings for a moment. A hand came up and pointed to a dolphin.
"What's that?"
Michiru blinked. Surely Haruka hadn't-
"Is it a type of... whatever those things are-" Haruka waved towards the fish, then pointed at the whale, "But this and the smaller one both have holes on the tops of their heads! They don't have the slits on their sides... at least, not from what I can see..."
Michiru was surprised, for the moment. But then she remembered that Haruka was a foreigner, not a native of Neptune, she didn't know of its citizens... or of its creatures.
The Neptunian woman walked towards the mural and pointed first at the dolphin, then at the whale. "You're right, dolphins and whales have those so they can breathe air. They're mammals, which means that they're warm blooded."
Haruka nodded, understanding. She gestured towards the grouping of fish. "All those are different, but they're the same..."
"They're called fish. You've never... seen a fish before?"
Haruka noted the confused tone in Michiru's voice. She shook her head. "My planet didn't have..." She rolled the unfamiliar word off of her tongue. "-fish on it... but I know about mammals, since we have both warm and cold blooded creatures that live in the deserts. There's lizards, spiders, a lot of insects… in the summer, the mosquitoes come out in droves..."
'Deserts...?' Michiru thought in confusion. Then it clicked in her mind as she interrupted Haruka. "You're from Uranus, aren't you?"
Haruka turned towards Michiru, anger and dismay starting appearing in her eyes, but she cast them downward, even as she nodded once, her head bowed. Maybe that wouldn't be enough to reveal to Michiru her true identity...
Michiru, however, was much more observant than Haruka perceived. She noted the slight look of helplessness and slight rage that had been in the taller woman's eyes, but she chose to say nothing about it. If Haruka had a secret, she could reveal it in her own time, there was no use forcing someone...
Not when there were other options to consider.
"Ah... Well, we can discuss your origins later. Right now, I think we both need to freshen up... I need to rinse off the dust of the marketplace, and you... well, you were in the prison for a while, you must be in need of a bath ..."
Michiru was rewarded with a slightly panicked look as Haruka's head quickly came up.
"Nani!... I mean, are you sure that's-"
"Are you questioning what I want...slave?" The last word was whispered, but Haruka caught it as if it had been spoken right in her face. Though the word had negative connotations, the sheer eroticism of how it was spoken had brought a quivering feeling to her stomach, a small shiver down her spine... she did her best to ignore them, concentrating on the woman in front of her.
Dead silence filled the room. Michiru met Haruka's eyes, noticing how they quickly changed their expression, from surprise to coldness.
Haruka glared back, not wavering in the slightest. She knew she didn't have to take this- she could leave anytime she wanted. Without warning, she jerked on the chains in Michiru's hands, expecting the smaller woman to let go, and give her a chance to run away.
Instead, Michiru gripped the chain handle tighter and pulled back.
A game of 'tug-of-war' started, Michiru holding the lead as tightly as she could, Haruka gripping the manacles to keep the cuffs from digging into her wrists. There was a tense moment, as their eyes met, each of them determined to get their way.
But in most cases of sinew against sinew, the stronger ones usually prevail.
Michiru was pulled forward, almost off of her feet, stumbling towards the floor- only to land in Haruka's arms.
The surprised woman looked up at the taller woman, and was surprised to see the cold gaze had vanished- to be replaced by mocking eyes and a self-satisfied smirk.
"I knew you'd fall into my arms." The soft laughter was evident in Haruka's voice, sending a shiver down Michiru's spine. "In fact, I was counting on it." The blonde finished throatily, noticing the surprised look in her captive's eyes. Outwardly, Michiru looked shocked.
But inwardly, she was rejoicing. Maybe the stronger beings won some of the time, but it was really those who used their intelligence and cunning that most often won the day.
And Michiru had both intelligence and cunning hidden beneath her polite exterior.
Haruka looked quizzically at the ocean-haired woman as she suddenly smiled, appearing not to care that she was now captured. Then a stinging made Haruka jerk away from Michiru, and she looked down at the needle embedded in her arm, only to look up again with amazement at the other woman.
Michiru was still smiling, even as Haruka fell to her knees, then onto her side, the woman's final words echoing in her mind as she slipped into unconsciousness.
"I was counting on it too."
She felt liquid heat roll over her lower back. That was her first sensation as consciousness returned. Pressure followed the coating warmth, kneading from her exposed tailbone and following up the length of her spine. The blonde gave a low moan. Blissful warmth and a feeling of complete relaxation... the hands were now working the muscles between her shoulder blades and it was wonderful... those fingers were weaving away the tension that had accumulated throughout the time ... of her imprisonment...
Her eyes slitted open, and felt a draft of air on the small of her back. She tensed, her muscles tightening, realizing that even though a towel was covering her butt, she was completely naked beneath it.
The hands stilled for a few seconds, then did a certain movement, flexing and working the muscles that were now tensed.
And ever so slowly, the tension faded away. With a sigh, Haruka turned her head to see who was doing this to her.
Michiru was smiling, her hands still working, not pausing as she moved them in sweeping strokes down Haruka's sides.
"Welcome back."
Haruka kept her face expressionless, but she opened her eyes, glancing towards Michiru questioningly.
"Why did you drug me? You couldn't have told me what you were intending to do?"
Michiru was silent for a while, looking down at Haruka's legs, admiring the toned muscles as she removed her hands and walked over to a nearby table.
"I... I could tell what your intentions were."
Haruka closed her mouth, watching Michiru as she poured more translucent oil into her hands, then as she walked back and pressed her hands gently down on Haruka's shoulders. The taller woman suppressed a moan as she felt the slightly hot oil being rubbed into her skin. She could even smell the fragrance of cherry blossoms wafting into her nostrils, slowly easing the soreness and tension away. She heard Michiru speaking again.
"You intended to escape. You enjoy freedom, not being tied down to a cause or a person. It's in your body language, your voice... your attitude. As free as the wind..."
Haruka blinked. She had felt a degree of familiarity when meeting this woman, and already this woman knew her... maybe not entirely, but still...
Michiru's hands made that movement again, and Haruka once again lost her train of thought... until she realized Michiru was speaking again.
"The guards would have caught you, even without the chains you wear... It would have meant your death."
A low laugh, empty of mirth, escaped from Haruka. The taller woman raised herself onto her elbows, her arms covering her chest as she turned to face Michiru. Though Haruka was naked, it was Michiru who felt that way underneath Haruka's piercing eyes.
"So in order to keep me from risking my life, you drugged me and laid me here..." Haruka blushed suddenly, a thought occurring to her. Had... she didn't think that… did she think of…?
Noticing Michiru's confused look, Haruka's mouth twisted into a rueful smirk.
"You know, that last sentence sounded better in my mind before I said it..."
Michiru's mouth opened, but then closed, blushing and shaking in silent laughter. Haruka chuckled a little, still watching the ocean haired siren.
Michiru managed to control her laughter and smiled politely at Haruka.
"I can promise you, I did not do any scandalous thing such as taking advantage of you."
One of Haruka's eyebrows rose as she gestured at herself, a disbelieving look on her face. "I don't know, this could be considered pretty scandalous... taking a new slave into your house, drugging them... giving them a massage worthy of royalty..."
Michiru's smile became coy as she walked over to Haruka. Her hand slowly moved upward, her fingertips tracing the smooth cheek bones and contours of Haruka's face, cupping the woman's chin as she gently raised Haruka's head so their eyes met - lips just inches apart.
"I did that because you had been hanging in that jail cell for who knows how long... and besides, if you are 'serving' me...
Haruka immediately tensed again as Michiru leaned down and gently kissed the blonde's cheek, finishing her sentence before she walked back to her place and her hands began working their magic again.
"...you're going to need to be in good shape."
Haruka smiled lazily, relaxing under Michiru's touch.
Maybe it wasn't so bad being a captive; especially if the one who owned you was so kind.
Haruka sat up straight, the sheets still tangled around her body. The t-shirt she wore to bed was slightly damp…
'Probably soaked with sweat from that dream last night… that was-' Haruka shook herself from her thoughts as she looked to the spot next to her. Michiru was wide awake, her eyes staring up at the ceiling.
"Haruka, did you dream last night?" Michiru asked suddenly, not looking at Haruka as she spoke.
"Hai, I did dream last night…" Haruka answered back slowly, a hint of suspicion in her tone as she looked down at Michiru.
Michiru sat up as well, this time her eyes stared down at the comforter that was rumpled and wrinkled. Haruka started as Michiru raised her eyes to meet Haruka's- tears, unshed yet building, were shining in them. Michiru spoke in a whisper, but the trembling in her voice betrayed her emotions.
"Can you forgive me?"
Haruka moved swiftly, catching her beloved in an embrace as Michiru pressed against her shoulder, the tears soaking into the cloth of Haruka's t-shirt.
The wind senshi gently caressed the distressed woman's back, whispering into her ear as she did so.
"It's alright… that was in the past… we've faced so much together, this is nothing… its alright. Truly, Michiru… there's nothing to forgive…"
Michiru relaxed in Haruka's arms and slowly disengaged herself from the other woman's embrace. She reached up and wiped a stray tear from her face.
"I still… I can't believe I drugged you like that…"
Haruka thought of the pain in the dream and smirked slightly.
"I guess you just didn't want me to leave… but you missed your chance because in a way, an aphrodisiac could also be considered as a sedative…"
Michiru choked on her laughter, even as she hit Haruka on the shoulder playfully.
"Ooh, you… I'm going to get in the shower… and no, you can't join me, we have to save the hot water for the others!"
Haruka pouted, and in Michiru's opinion, it was one of the cutest things she had seen. She knew that that mouth was begging to be kissed...
Several seconds later they parted and Haruka smiled and leaned back, admiring the view as Michiru sashayed towards the bathroom.
Given a kiss like that… now THAT was the way to start the morning.
She exhaled and breathed in gently. Her eyebrows narrowed- her clothes had a familiar scent to them…
She glanced down at the t-shirt, speaking out loud wonderingly.
"Is that…cherry blossoms?"