Act I, Chapter II
I've been feeling these eyes watching me the last few days, which isn't that strange, since the girls ended up explaining everything to me. I'm really starting to wonder about all that stuff that happened with Mami, or Rose, or Megan, or whatever her name is. Maybe Sixela, and the Dragon were only pawns in a greater scheme, that's how it feels anyway.
I mean how else would she be able to defeat both of them so easily. I've often studied Nadilire, and his power (mostly in books) and even he wouldn't have the power to defeat such evil things, not so easily at least.
But no one wants to believe me. I was always the one who separated myself from people, but not events. Malia is simply too attached. But her word is law, I can't break her standard of conduct. I know because I've tried. I've had to behave differently since I awoke as Michelle again. As Livi I was carefree, and rather irritating if I do say so myself. But as Michelle I had to be more mature, and 'act my age'. Of course my literal age in this life is only 17, but my mind's age is five hundred or more years old. So most people would think that someone my age would be crippled, old, ugly, stupid, and slow. I'm none of those to tell you the pure truth.
"-san? Michelle-san?" Corey asked rather nicely.
"Yes?"
"We're all going to Rei's temple to do a fire reading, we think we might be able to get a lock on her using Mico. She left him behind, that more than anything else worries us. She never goes anywhere without Mico,"
"I think Neptune's mirror, or Mico himself could shed just as much light on the subject as a fire reading," I told her. None of the normal prophetic channels had been behaving properly for the last several months, in fact it's been nearly a year.
"But that's another thing, Mico is turned off, we don't know what to make of that. I don't know if that's bad, or if that's good, since she's not here. But Mico's no help, and her laptop's gone so no help there, the mirror is cloudy and dark, and Pluto's gone silent again,"
"Again?"
"Yeah, she didn't say a single word for month in there, but she suddenly started talking again, right at the same time Megan got her sight back. But after Megan disappeared she went silent again,"
"Megan got her sight back? When did she lose it?"
"At the same time when she lost her hearing,"
"Her hearing too? When though? When, a date!"
"Last day before Summer Break. She was talking to Usagi then she collapsed, she wouldn't respond, not even to Lan. None of us could get her to wake up. But then suddenly she woke up on her own, and started moving. She reached around and found Lan's leg (we were all sitting around at Rei's at that point). And felt upward a bit. Lan tried to talk to her, but she didn't act like she heard anything. So Lan picked her up and started running to the Hospital. I mean we had no clue what was going on. I'm not sure when Lan got there anyway, but before I did.
"But anyway Part way there Megan started talking. I think she had figured out that it was Lan, and I think she later said something about a scout touching her shoulder. But She said that she couldn't see, or hear anything. That really freaked us out, and Uranus ended up taking her the rest of the way to the Hospital.
"Megan was in that state for weeks without change. But then one day A little girl showed up. She showed up in front of Usagi, so she sort of had a meltdown. Something like 'not another one!' I think that's what she said. So Emma convinced us she was from the future, like Chibi-Usa, and Chibi Chibi. She also managed to convince Lan that she was Lan and Megan's daughter from the future. We were having a meeting in Rei's room, and somehow we ended up talking about Megan's condition.
"Emma said something and all the sudden Megan says something. I think it was along the lines of 'Mommy? Mico explain,' We all stared at her and rei started in on how she was faking it, and she was really fine. And Emma said something about how Megan was focusing on something only she could see, like an invisible TV. Emma was ecstatic and practically attacked Megan.
"Megan got her hearing back that same day. She had been zoning out, not focusing on her 'TV', and all the sudden she screamed. We didn't know what to make of it. But Lan and Emma were worried and fell asleep right around her, the rest of us slept a little ways away.
"But when Megan woke up she could hear again. I wish I could show you exactly what happened, but to relive it like Megan tends to would take too long.
"But she just recently got her sight back after a short fight with The Dragon, who I have to say doesn't really look that fierce. But I know she could rip any of us apart, unless we work together. I still can't figure out how Megan managed to kill Sixela,"
"She killed Sixela?" I asked in surprise. I hadn't thought that she could pull it off two lives in a row.
"Yeah, we showed up to the fight scene and Megan was standing there transformed and staring off into space. Lan asked her what happened and sahe just said 'Sixela'. When she was pressed she said that she had killed her, then had an emotional breakdown.
"We thought it would be better to leave her alone, I can remember how she used to shrug us off all the time when she was upset, she didn't want someone to try and make her feel better.
"But it was during that time that she disappeared. Even Malia, who's so strong and sensitive to power couldn't tell what had happened, but she didn't just walk out of the house," Corey's story was turning disturbing.
"She just killed someone, and you left her all alone?! I think it's all you lot's fault that whatever happened did. I can't see her not wanting at least Lan, Emma, Hannah, Malia, and you by her side. She would trust any of you with her life, and everyone else's, but she also trusted you all with her heart, soul ,and her past. She needed you to comfort her and you left her alone!" I couldn't understand their stupidity. Malia has several hundred years on me, she knew more people, (she knew Rose for heavens sake!) and she still couldn't figure that Megan would need comforting after she killed someone? Just because you've done something in a past life doesn't mean that doing the same thing in a next life isn't still doing something for the first time.
All of them are idiots. I wonder if I can kill them?
No, Malia's Code of Conduct would catch me first. The Code says only kill in defense of yourself or someone you are sworn to. Figures and since I'm sworn to Rose, and she's sworn to Elle then I have to protect Corey anyway. Stupid Code.
But Corey looked chastised, so I left it at that for now. I'll yell at them all together later on.
The fire was burning really brightly as we all took up seats behind Rei. Rei was sitting directly in front of the fire, and seemed to be concentrating. As we watching she began to chant. I wasn't sure what she was saying, or what it meant. But she was spending large amounts of her Power. I suppose given that information It was some sort of either magical, or religious chant. I don't know which.
Malia looked highly uncomfortable. I wonder what she expected? Rei had done fire readings before, she wasn't going to spend too much Power, yet Malia was always paranoid of that kind of thing.
As we watched an image formed in the fire. It was a woman, who wasn't more than twenty, and likely more than fifteen. She had long dark brown hair, nearly black. Her eyes were so dark, I think they might have been black, but it's more likely that they were a very dark brown. She had pale skin and a perfect complexion. Her dress covered all the way to her feet It was silver with decorations in black and dark blue. A tiara rested on her head, slightly to the left side. I knew that tiara. It was always the one they depicted Rose I wearing. I heard Malia take a sharp breath as she came to the realization as well.
That tiara was very famous, it's still worn by every woman to take the throne, but only on their coronation. It's like full regalia, it's rarely ever worn. It was a simple triangular shape, which was curved to fit on her head properly. Engraved in the front part, where it was largest, was a diamond set by two equilateral triangles. All together the three parts made a new equilateral triangle. The problem was it had one important difference than how we had always seen it.
It was black.
The engravings were silver, as they should be, but the tiara itself should have been made out of a perfect sapphire, this one seemed to be made out of onyx.
"Malia," I said with a quiver in my voice.
"I see it too Michelle,"
"What are you two going on about?" Rei asked angrily. I'm surprised she could spare that much concentration.
"The Crown," I muttered.
"It should be made out of sapphire. It's almost sacrilege that it be made from onyx," Malia explained. So I was right, it was onyx.
"The Crown? But isn't that a tiara?" Emma asked quietly. She obviously had no memory of her last life. She had watched her granddaughter get crown after her mother's, her sister's, and her daughter's deaths. It was all in rapid succession. It was right around that period that I killed myself.
"Yes, but it's the Crown," I said with a little bit of a glare to my look. I didn't mean to, I just did it.
"Well how can it be a crown and a tiara?"
"No, it's The Crown, as in the one we use in coronations? Yes it is a tiara, but it's called 'The Crown'. It's a symbol of our kingdom's power. But also of our beautiful gem-work," I told her. I know I was glaring, but I couldn't help myself. She should have been told all of this by her mother, even if she couldn't remember anything.
"oh, okay then,"
Okay then. Okay then. OKAY THEN! Is this girl really that stupid?
I think my glare would have burnt through steel, and yet Emma was completely unfazed. What is with this girl?
"Alright, let's leave Michelle alone for a bit," Malia said softly.
"Alone? That reminds me," I started quite congenially, "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU LEAVE MEGAN ALONE!! You should know quite well that that was the stupidest thing you could have possibly done, and you could have done a lot of stupid stuff. You know that her soul has never settled properly after being separated all that time! She was split in two! Don't you think that you should have watched her? The fact that she was staring off into space, and had emotional breakdown, don't you think they were good warnings?"
I was really pissed at Malia, she was there when Rose's soul was put back into one piece, and she never thought to consider that she wasn't entirely whole? I mean there could have been a rift within her soul still. She has never Wandered long before she was Reincarnated. Even when her sould was split. She simply had too much love of lie to Wander.
"I didn't consider it. Rose ahs been quite sane the entire time I've known her. And you know this is her third life I've been around for. She is very dear to me, and she is quite whole," Malia's voice was icy. I hadn't broken the Code, but I had questioned her, and that was almost as bad. I stood, and bowed, then I left the room. I hate being at the end of her icy glares, just as much as many hated being at the end of my burning ones.
I sat outside and waited for them to finish. I knew no one was going to bother with me. It wasn't important enough, but I had to wonder who the darkly glittering queen was. She was a mystery to me, and yet the answer seemed to be just on the tip of my tongue, if only I could let it out.
"What was that about?" It was Hannah. She sat down next to me, even though I didn't ask her to.
"I'm worried. Something's been off all along. I didn't concern myself until now, but the Power here is rather skewed, and I assumed that it was a simple problem, easily remedied. But I think you all are well out numbered; will you remember that and go into a fight with caution? The balance is shifting even farther from our favor, and I fear if it moves much farther, nothing we do will be able to fix it," I turned from her face and focused instead in front of me.