Selene's Promise
Chapter Three: A Mistake
Living was a curse. That thought was what motivated Beryl to start this war. Her entire existence was filled with anguish and despair. She had been born from a thoughtless wish, a sudden shift of thought in the presence of the Gods. She was a mistake, one which would cause the world's ruin.
She had taken Uranus first, for they were the strongest defence within the outer planets. The King, however, had a weakness that Beryl was all too happy to make use of; his daughter. With Princess Haruka taken as hostage, the King had no other choice but to start a war. Of course, he believed that the royalty of Neptune had taken her. How could he have known his daughter was in love with their Princess? Such relations were unheard of at the time.
Beryl was a master of manipulation, and seemed able to shift any situation in her own favour. Offering her help to Uranus' King, she provided him with an army of shadow warriors to defeat Neptune. While he was fighting, his planet had been destroyed. Before the King realized, the shadow warriors turned on him. He died with the planet Neptune.
Beryl moved onward to Pluto, but found it already destroyed. Among the dead bodies laid Sailor Saturn. She had destroyed this planet on her own, knowing the horrors that would occur should Beryl manipulate their people. The powers of Pluto were better left untouched.
Of course, with Sailor Saturn's death her planet was easily wiped out and all that was left were the inner planets. Knowledge of the outer planets had not yet reached their ears and so they were caught off-guard. First Beryl went to Earth, gathering an army quietly. Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter… they were destroyed easily. The blame was put on the Earthlings, their Queen and King burned so that the truth would never be heard.
All that is left is the Moon.
Serenity paced her room with unease, her guard watching every step. Although they had easily accepted her reason for trusting the Prince (since no one could question the Ginzuishou), they began to watch her more closely. Serenity wanted, no, needed to see Endymion and speak to him, but couldn't leave while under her friends' intense watch. After having paced the room a good hundred times over, Mars gave in to her annoyance and grabbed Serenity by the arm.
"Can you please just tell us what is on your mind? We are worried for you," her words sounded harsh, but her face showed worry. Serenity sighed in response and grabbed a cloak from her dresser.
"You're going to ignore us? We still haven't discussed how to deal with the situation of Queen Beryl," another voice, this time Mercury's, spoke. Serenity gave her a sad look and turned towards the door.
"I need to speak with King Endymion," her voice whispered. The senshi moved to join her at the door, but she raised her hand to stop them. "Alone." The word was spoken in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Let us at least accompany you to his room, and then we shall leave you in peace Your Highness," said Venus. Serenity nodded her head in agreement and left towards the outer grounds.
"I feel like a prisoner," Endymion said with humour in his voice. The senshi had demanded he stay in a small house in the outer grounds of the palace. They had also demanded the house be surrounded by soldiers at all times.
Serenity smirked while removing her cloak and sitting on a chair by a fireplace before saying, "Well, in their eyes you probably are one." Suddenly the light mood shifted, and their faces held pained looks.
Endymion took hold of Serenity's hand and brought it to his lips. He lightly kissed her finger tips, then her palm, before holding her hand to his cheek. Serenity watched as he closed his eyes tightly, wishing she could comfort him forever. After placing a soft kiss on his forehead, Serenity removed her hand from his grasp and leaned back in her chair.
"I will return to the Crystal Tower tonight and pray." Endymion looked anguished to hear this news, and again reached out for Serenity's hand.
"I promise not to make the same mistake again," she said, answering his thoughts. He would trust her, he had to. She needed him on her side in order to right their wrong.
"Then go now my love. We have no time to waste."
The Moon would not be taken over by Queen Beryl. It was impossible. There was absolutely no way. It. Will. Not. Happen! Mars thought. The senshi had spent all night thinking of plans to save their home while their Queen prayed. It was too much to hope that the Gods would spare them; Queen Serenity had been praying herself in the Crystal Tower not to many nights ago. Mars was getting impatient just waiting around for the enemy to strike. She knew they were just waiting, biding their time.
Mercury scanned the area surrounding the Moon for traces of dark energy, while Jupiter made up battle plans. Venus was ordering the soldiers around and making sure that all news came directly to her. With the rest of the senshi kept busy, it was Mars' job to watch the Queen. After having prayed for so long, she was exhausted and had slept way past noon. Now it was close to evening, but the Queen had not left her room.
Lost in her thoughts, Mars almost missed the sound of whispers in her Queen's chambers. Talking to herself…Has she finally lost it? Mars thought before straining to hear the voices. One was definitely male, which caused her unease. It sounded familiar, but it took a few minutes for the name to come to her. Endymion! Mars grabbed for the door handle and opened the door slightly, but stopped from entering as the whisperings became easier to hear.
"…I promised to never think about leaving you again." Serenity's voice sounded anguished, just as it had when she received news of her mother's death.
"If you hadn't thought of me at all none of this would have happened!" Endymion's slightly raised voice replied. "I will go to Beryl myself."
"No! I won't allow it! She will kill you, do you understand that?" Her voice sounded strangled, as if holding back tears.
"Better that she kill me than you and your people." Mars agreed.
Footsteps were heard, and then weeping.
"Your death will mean mine, love. We have already been bound." Love? Bound?
"What did you pray for? What have you done?" Endymion said anxiously. What is going on?
"I prayed for us. I have already forsaken my people; the Gods will not save this world. You are all that matters." What does she mean?
"You think this world is doomed, and hope we will find life elsewhere?" Are we really doomed?
"No, I would never give up so easily. I believe we can save it."
Mars had had enough. She was utterly confused, but afraid to make her presence known and question her Queen. It was like she barely knew the woman, as if they had not spent a hundred years being friends. She closed the door to silence the whispers. She needed to consult her fire, needed some answers. There was still some time until Jupiter relieved her of her watch, and Mars would spend it replaying what she'd just heard. When Jupiter arrived, Mars would immediately go to the fire and ask for guidance.
Well that's all for chapter 3. I was going to add more but figured that was a good place to end it. Hope you enjoy and please review!
