Ad Ultimum
Chapter III
The two girls turned to see said cart roaring down to meet them, its sides overflowing with vegetables. At a distance the owner of the cart was waving his hands frantically and there was much commotion as pedestrians scrambled out of the way, foregoing possessions in favour of their lives. Only Hotaru and Usagi remained on the path, in the middle of their conversation, as it tore through discarded stalls; they had a scream to thank to finally knock them out of their shock. Hotaru recovered first and she threw herself at the frozen princess without a second thought. Their bodies slammed into the dirt as the vehicle thundered pass, meeting an early end with a magnificent crash.
She stayed frozen in place until the ground had long stopped rumbling, and the echoes had faded off into the distance. The silence that followed was somehow deafening by contrast and clashed strongly with the earlier restlessness of the marketplace. Everyone held their breath, almost anticipating another danger flash by. A few moments passed before the crowd started breathing again, stirring some to take to treating psychological wounds and ensuring the safety of their young. Merchants slowly itched from the sidelines to pick up what remained of their livelihoods and were truly appreciative of those who stepped out to lend a hand. While the dust settled, the aggressive ones cornered the cart's panicked owner, while a few of the more useful individuals took survey of the injuries and damages sustained.
Her heart was hammering. Hotaru tightened her hold on the younger girl as if to reassure herself of her presence and let out a heavy breath beside her ear. She felt the Princess squirm in her grasp and pulled back to inquire what was the matter, only to find herself staring straight into her brilliant rubies. The two had fallen onto their sides, just like how it'd been when they met, but this time Hotaru had one arm wrapped around Usagi's shoulders and another one snaking up the back of her head. The situation had called for an embrace to shelter the Princess from any flying debris, but even though the danger was past, Hotaru was still bombarded with a desire to pull the girl closer. Her arms stiffened at the thought and when she saw Usagi's cheeks, smeared with dirt, tint pink, she immediately released her.
The pain in her shoulder all came rushing back.
Noticing the grimace, Usagi forgot the awkward situation and reached out to touch her. "Are you okay?"
Hotaru looked at the Princess, at her clothes all ruined and her long hair splayed out like an unkempt blanket underneath her. Her face was covered in dust and a trail of blood ran across her forehead, but a selfless emotion reflected in her eyes and Hotaru was relieved to see it shine once more. Ignoring the pain, she sat up and focused her attention in the direction of the cart's owner. He was desperately trying to calm down his pursuers, claiming that it was an accident and agreeing to pay for damages if they didn't make it a big deal. Hotaru did not sense any malicious intent from him, but she nevertheless decided that it was not safe for the royal child to remain in this kind of environment.
"Princess, we must leave this place now. We have to return to the castle before anything else happens."
A frown tugged at her lip, and Usagi sat up to close the distance with the older girl. She had a serious expression on her face and seemed about ready to argue when she was interrupted by a sudden wailing. The cart had collided into a carriage further down the road and it was only now, prompted by a child's cry, that people started to take notice of the disaster.
The blood was visible from their distance.
She could hear the Princess' breath catch at the sight, watched as the shock passed and her gaze sharpened in determination. Usagi looked to Hotaru as if asking for permission and she scrambled to her feet when Hotaru rose as well. They ran over to the scene and had to push past a number before they could even glimpse the damage done by the collision. The momentum of the cart had driven it straight into the other vehicle, practically merging with it and sending countless numbers of splinters off in all directions. The wood protruded mainly from the point of impact and this was also where the blood originated; if the force from the collision wasn't enough, the horse was also mercilessly impaled on the spikes. Its blood continued to drip as its eyes, dark as obsidian, stared blankly at nothing.
"Children shouldn't be here!" a woman cried above the noise, and hands stretched forward in anonymous agreement. Hotaru struggled successfully through them, but Usagi wasn't as strong or fortunate. Her hand slipped when she tried to hold onto the older girl, and when Hotaru turned to catch her, the Princess had already been pulled into the crowd. Alarmed, she watched the pink figure drift further away and was about to follow her when a ear-splitting howl pierced through the air.
"MAMA!"
She froze.
"MAMA!"
She had to go back and get the Princess. She was obligated to see to her safety, and this was not an area in which she could interfere.
Flames dancing carelessly and fumes that sought only to suffocate...
"PLEASE! MAMA!"
In the midst of it all, a raspy voice.
Biting her lip, Hotaru spun and fought her way through the crowd, breaking free of the circle of bystanders. She chose to ignore the ones who had taken notice and fixed her gaze upon the picture of destruction. Having been forced to accept the full weight of the carcass, the carriage had caved in completely and leaned heavily on the broken cart for support. Its wooden panels collapsed everywhere and a number of people were currently trying to get them out of the way; rushing against time, they sought to free the individual responsible for the child's tears. The child in question was standing by the sidelines, the fresh bruises on his knees a sign that he did not escape the accident unscathed. His toy lay abandoned in the mud as he bawled.
It took Hotaru a second to realize what was wrong with this picture, and the irony almost killed her. The people who tried to hold her back, who claimed that this scene was nothing appropriate for children, were just standing there, gesturing and whispering amongst themselves. No one dared to step up to the responsibility of comforting the child, were unwilling to involve themselves any further in the incident. Why was this so hilarious?
Hotaru made a move towards the boy but to her surprise, the pink-haired Princess emerged from the crowd before her and, after a pause to analyze the situation, immediately took hold of the reins. She watched as Usagi knelt before him, spoke to him softly words of comfort, then held him when his tears showed no signs of stopping. "Those nice men are trying to get your mama out, okay?" She pulled back to face him with a reassuring smile and gently wiped off his tears with her thumb. "So please don't cry. I promise you that she'll be safe."
I promise you. Then she turned and their eyes locked in understanding.
There was a cry when one of the diggers uncovered an arm and suddenly people jumped at the opportunity to help, eager now to know that their efforts would be worth something. It wasn't long before a young woman was pulled from underneath her prison of rubble and laid to rest someways from the collision point. The boy abruptly cut off his sobs and twisted from Usagi's grip, waddling over to his mother and collapsing by her side. The few who'd set her there tried to get him out of the way as they tended to her injuries. Her skin was marred by cuts and bruises and a deep cut ran down the side of her face, rendering one of her eyes useless. The fabric of her clothes was probably indicative of some status, but now they were ripped and tattered. Her hair sprawled out wildly and her chest heaved for breath, a groan escaping every now and then when she pushed the limits of her body.
"Can we do anything to help?" Usagi asked, taking a place beside the boy.
One of the adults looked up and a sour expression seemed to cross his features, though it was gone as quick as it had come. "Someone has already gone to get a doctor so we'll wait for his instructions before doing anything―moving her might be hazardous to her health." He paused and exchanged a glance with the others. "If you want to help, stay by her side and make sure she doesn't lose consciousness while we go help the other guy trapped in that thing. Do you understand what you have to do? Keep the kid company too; it would do the mother a huge favour." Her nod was confirmation enough of her assignment and the men returned to the rescue.
The boy continued to call out to his mother, shaking her to get her to respond, but his fingers stained red and pain flashed across her face when he pushed too hard. Usagi wrapped an arm around the boy's quivering shoulders and he naturally responded to the action, pulling in to cry on her chest. The Princess hugged him close and looked up at her partner with a worrisome expression, but Hotaru chose to walk to the woman's other side instead. She knelt to get a proper look at the woman, and her attention was drawn to the lower half of her body, drenched in blood. Her first conclusion was that the woman had suffered a miscarriage, but then she noticed a long rip in her dress that exposed her leg, a tortured mass of pus mingling with the dark red liquid.
Hotaru pulled back abruptly and met the Princess' eyes, who had looked up in response to her reaction. "She's suffered a serious injury to her right leg," she explained quickly, "and if she's allowed to lose anymore blood, her life may be in danger. We have to stop the blood flow, but the problem is that we don't know whether or not moving her will worsen her condition."
"But we have to do something!" Usagi insisted, trying to calm the boy down by stroking his hair. "It'd be even worse if there was something we could've done but didn't because we feared the consequences. We have to help this child's mother. It wouldn't be fair for him to lose his mother like this." She caught the woman beginning to nod off and clasped her hand over hers in an effort to send her strength. "We have to do something, Hotaru-chan; if we wait for the doctor to come, it might be too late. Please..."
Her expression softened. 'She was like this yesterday, wasn't she? She's always eager to help and must feel guilty that she escaped unscathed. She'd feel responsible if anything bad happened and that'd be a weight to carry for the rest of her life.' Hotaru recalled the throbbing piece of meat, running down the full length of the woman's leg, and the streams of blood that laced it. She closed her eyes and reached for the spark inside, almost falling off balance when the nausea seized her. 'More importantly, that boy does not deserve to lose his mother; no child should have to live through that. I shouldn't have hesitated.'
The girl placed her hands over the wound and concentrated on converting her energy into healing power, pouring the latter as quickly as she could into the woman. The skin began to stitch itself up immediately but Hotaru was forced to rewind the process a little, having almost forgotten about her internal injuries. She didn't use her ability often and whenever she did, it was always limited to minor cuts or skinned knees; even on such a small scale was the strain on her body tremendous. Therefore healing for as long as she was now was getting her light-headed and made keeping upright a test of endurance. Hotaru watched blood vessels patch up, torn muscle rebuild itself, and skin dance the hole close for what seemed like hours of struggling against the dizziness. She closed her eyes to remind herself why she was doing this and removed her hands when she felt the last of her strength leave her. She pitched forward in exhaustion and Usagi was suddenly there to catch her before she crushed the woman.
"Hotaru-chan, you..." The Princess' eyes were wide and kept darting from her to what used to be a life-threatening gash, reduced now to a mere redness. "Did you do this...? Ah! Hotaru-chan!"
She ignored the warning and stumbled when she tried getting to her feet, saved from falling only because the Princess had reacted quickly to her movements. "Have to... return to... castle," she forced out, and the fatigue in her voice surprised her dimly. She closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the world from spinning. She had to take the Princess back, she reminded herself, make sure no more outside influences touched her. However, Usagi refused to surrender her hold on Hotaru's arm and tugged her so that they stood face-to-face, red eyes boring into a purple shade. The fact that every breath tore her lungs, that she was on the verge of losing consciousness, faded into obscurity when she looked into those eyes... And saw tears.
"U...sagi...-chan?"
"Don't be so stubborn for once," Usagi whispered, clinging onto her tightly. "Worry about yourself for a change."
They sat in silence for the most part of the ride. Hotaru had relented to the Princess' will and, in accordance with her wishes, they remained on the scene waiting for the town doctor to arrive. The woman was diagnosed with a concussion, a few broken bones, and would require medical supervision for the next twenty-four hours; it was already too late for the man rescued second, whose lungs had been punctured by a stray piece and subsequently collapsed. It was unfortunate, but there was only so much that she was capable of doing.
Unable to find anything physically wrong with her, all the doctor could prescribe was lots of rest. Usagi tried to press the issue, but Hotaru agreed with the suggestion and held her back from interfering any further with the treatment of those who needed it. It was a fact that displeased the Princess, and that was why few words were passing between them as they headed back to the castle. Hotaru personally believed that, after the morning's chaos, a moment of tranquility was mandatory. This street was removed from the incident, but word spread quickly and now she was left with a fantastic view of shop vendors and nothing else. The lack of scrolling civilians left the area soundless and only emphasized the silence that prevailed in the carriage.
Hotaru ignored it and rested her elbow on the window sill, propped up her chin as she looked out at the almost ghost town through half-lids. Her highest priority now was ensuring that the Princess got back safely to the castle―the same Princess who was currently sitting opposite her, fidgeting awkwardly. Usagi was worried about her, kept concerning herself too deeply in her affairs, and that always sparked a conflict on Hotaru's side. Neo-Queen Serenity requested nothing from her except to attend the meeting, and if it weren't for that obligation she felt for the royal family, she would have left Usagi a long time ago.
Hotaru frowned. No, that wasn't right.
"Excuse me." Usagi's voice was an intruder in the silence. She didn't have to lean forward to make herself heard but she did so just the same. "Is it possible for us to turn around? I want to go to an apple farm."
"Apple farm?" echoed the coachman, turning around briefly to look at his passengers. "The closest one's located someways out of town. It would take an hour to get there; is that still okay?"
"Yes, thank you very much." Usagi fell back against the seat and smiled sheepishly at her partner. "Hope you don't mind."
Then the conversation finally registered. "What... Princess!" Hotaru stood up quickly in protest and nearly toppled over when the blood rushed to her head. However, probability did not stop the younger girl from moving to catch her, and Hotaru was rendered speechless by the pinkness that suddenly claimed her body. She tried to move, to distance herself from the urge to take the Princess closer, but her limbs stayed unresponsive. Maybe she was more exhausted than she thought.
Usagi surprised her by being the one to surrender to that urge. She tightened the embrace and looked up hopefully at her. "Remember the bag of apples I bought? I think I lost them after all that happened so I thought that a trip to an apple farm would be pretty appropriate. The doctor said that you needed to rest, right? I'm sure you'll rest better there then back at the castle where people are constantly demanding this and that from you... Wait, no. You said you had the day off, didn't you?" She bit her lip and stepped back to her seat, holding her hands tightly in front of her. "I guess you'd prefer that instead of spending the rest of the day with me... It's perfectly normal, but maybe I'm just a little disappointed." She smiled and reassured her, "Not much though."
"No, I'm fine with it." The words were out before Hotaru had a chance to think them over, and the look on the Princess' face proved that the immediate agreement was surprising to her as well. Why was she contradicting herself so much today? Hotaru sat down and took a second to rearrange her feelings on the matter. Her head was still pounding. "For us to sneak out of the castle to fulfill a task only to return empty-handed speaks negatively about our persistence. If you really wish to go, I will not stand in your way. I agree to accompany you."
The rubies lit up once more. "Really? Thank you," and saying thus, she returned to fiddling with her hands until she was ready to expand on her gratitude. "Um, if it isn't too much trouble, can I ask about what happened earlier? Hotaru-chan, you healed the woman, didn't you?"
She casted her eyes downward and breathed out lightly. "It's a power I've had ever since I was young. As you can see, it takes an incredible amount of energy on my part. It's strange, isn't it?" she asked off-handedly, falling back into the wood.
"No," and her eyes opened to reveal the other girl's honest smile. "I think it's great that you possess such a beautiful ability. Being able to heal people like that just shows how kind you really are inside."
There was that feeling again.
Swirls of red and orange blended around each other on the ground, each twirling out of control until time came to lift them high into the air. Together the wind and leaves danced into meadows swarming with nectar-seekers, and tickled the very surface of a nearby lake. They softly caressed the trees and sent those that still retained their growth shuddering in anticipation. A young girl, balanced carefully on the branches high above the ground, welcomed the touch and breathed in deeply. Keeping one hand pressed into the trunk, she pulled the flapping garment closer to her body and a shiver shook her small frame; it was autumn indeed.
"Princess! I understand that you're enthusiastic about this activity, but you have to consider how we're going to bring these back to the castle!" On the ground below, her dark-haired companion gestured to the basket of apples to illustrate her point and all she got was a wave in return. Hotaru looked again at the overflowing container and sighed. She lied; she really didn't know why the other girl was so eager to hoard fruits.
When they first arrived, the entrance was packed. It being the season of apple picking, this was perfectly understandable, but neither girl was particularly ecstatic about standing in line after the hour-long ride to get there. Sore and tired, Usagi had contemplated the idea of simply going up to the owner of the farm and revealing her identity―taking a page from her experience with the restaurant manager. Fortunately, she quickly shot down that idea when she realized that it would be unfair to everyone else and endured the wait with Hotaru by her side. The Princess tried to push for a conversation, asking questions that were indicative of neither boredom nor a need to get too close too fast; Hotaru answered them as truthfully as she could without betraying her own self.
After what seemed like forever, they were finally allowed a basket in which to hold their loot and Usagi had dragged the older girl promptly to a rather empty section of the farm. That such an area even existed begged the question of why they were forced to stand for hours on end in the first place. It wasn't a question that concerned the Princess, however. She made a beeline for one of the trees and, with the aid of a ladder, was among its branches in no time, tossing bright red fruit down to her receiver.
How long have they been here? Hotaru wondered dimly. With evening fast approaching, most in their area had long started the journey home and the breeze was moving in to discipline those who dared stay. The sun was on the edge of the horizon, resisting darkness to the last and trying to touch all with one final illuminating orange. The wind picked up and she winced at the sharp touch, almost missing her name and the apple that came with it. Twisting to yell again, Hotaru's voice caught in her throat at the sight of her Princess. Glowing majestically with her eyes closed and her loose hair flowing out behind her, Hotaru was reminded of the spell she held over her.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
It took a while for Hotaru to remember that she was the only one to whom the question could be directed, but she remained silent until those bright red orbs looked down at her and smiled.
"Princess...?"
Suddenly the girl was hanging in the air, then falling with her arms outstretched. Hotaru snapped out of her daze immediately and had only enough time to ditch the apple before being driven into the ground. The soil was relatively soft compared to all the floors and dirt she had been falling into lately, but the world was spinning all the same. As she resolved to no longer subject her body to this type of torture, she realized that Princess had chosen to physicallyrestrict her respiratory system this time. Arms wrapped tightly around her neck and while Usagi was by no means heavy, the force of the impact made the weight lying against her painful.
Usagi noticed the grimace and quickly got off. "I'm sorry. I've always wanted to try it once, but I obviously didn't think it out very well. I didn't make it worse, did I?"
"You caught me off-guard is all, Princess." Hotaru pulled herself up, using her hands as supports as she leaned back and tried to catch her breath. When her breathing evened out, she fixed the the younger girl with a stern look. "But you shouldn't have attempted such a dangerous thing. What would have happened had I not prepared myself in time?"
"Yeah, it was stupid, but I knew you would catch me no matter what." Usagi laughed nervously and stuck out her tongue.
"How were you so sure?"
"Just a feeling." She smiled at the skeptical look she received and grabbed a hold of Hotaru's hand. "But that's not why I came down here. Come with me." And she proceeded to pull her up on her feet and drag her over to the base of the tree.
Panic suddenly gripped her and Hotaru shot forward, stood in front of the ladder with her arms out to either side of her. "I'm sorry, Princess, but I can not permit you to go back up there after what you just tried."
"I won't," Usagi reassured her, and she eased herself down onto the grass. Pressing her back against the bark, she breathed a sigh of comfort and cast a glance at her still-standing partner. "Don't just stand there, Hotaru-chan. Come sit down with me; you need it more than I do."
That certainly couldn't be argued, though the dark-haired girl knew better than to elaborate on the thought and instead moved silently to her place beside the Princess. She tried to follow Usagi's example and let go of everything, but the darkness made her uneasily.
"I'm amazed how different it looks." Usagi braved after a while, looking up at her with a smile. "I make it a habit to end my days like this so I'm usually up on the castle walls when the sun sets. It looks different from down here, with all the trees in the way, but the light makes them look so magical, and I'm mesmerized all the same. I was hoping it would do the same to you―that is, I was hoping that seeing such a familiar scene would remind you of your home." She cut off abruptly and shifted her gaze, laughing nervously as she realized her stumble. "Not that I assume this is the kind of stuff you do back home, but I thought it might be a little comforting."
There was no comfort to be found in the dynamic clouds, the constantly shifting winds, the encroaching darkness. Hotaru could certainly acknowledge the beauty of the picture, streaks of red running against the violet, but to relax in it was impossible when her mind kept digesting the individual pieces. Everything kept changing, remaining not once static, and an ebbing started in her chest.
"I've never done this before."
"What?"
Why did she speak? Usagi was turned towards her now, hand on her arm to silently encourage elaboration. A cynic part of her taunted that this too was a part of the Princess' plan to get closer to her, but what precisely was so bad about that? The concern in her eyes was genuine, tainted not by any knowledge of her true identity, and a mutual friendship was all she sought. If she allowed some semblance of that to surface for this one night, would that be so bad?
"I've never done this with my father," Hotaru finally confided, feeling as if she had just been relieved of a crushing weight. "Partially because he was so busy with work. As a family, we never really had the time to sit back and enjoy anything like this. There was very little we could actually do together, and most of them would not fit your ideal definition of family, Princess. Therefore this 'comfort' of which you speak, I'm afraid I feel none of it."
"Is that so...?" and that was all the pink-haired girl was able to say. She bit her lip and in the silence that followed, could only bring herself to lean against Hotaru and nothing more. They sat like this for a while, staring out into the horizon with half-lidded eyes and relying only on their fabrics and each other for warmth. Hotaru felt the Princess slump further into her but couldn't summon the strength to respond. Or maybe she didn't want to.
"Hey, Hotaru-chan?" Usagi's voice drifted, almost inaudible amidst all the wind. Hotaru had to tilt her head to look at the girl resting against her shoulder. "Would it be okay if I helped you fill in that feeling of family? I know we've only known each other for a day or so, but I really do like you." She laughed to herself softly. "I know it's strange, yet it still feels good to just sit here like this with you. I'm sorry about what happened earlier, but it hurts every time you try to put some distance between us. It doesn't feel... right. This, however, does."
"Princess..." Hotaru was cut off when she gently put her hand over hers.
"Please, say my name. Just once more."
Her eyes softened. "Usagi-chan."
Note: Gaaaaah. I accidentally read the last line of this thing and my embarrassment knows no bounds. Just to let you know, I planned this chapter ending years before I ever even heard about/watched Nanoha (May 2007), and now it sounds like a total rip off. ...Aaaand nobody believes me anyways. Whatever. I don't even like that scene anymore. It weakens my HayaFate resolve. Bad.
Written: August 30, 2008 - October 05, 2008.
Posted: June 10, 2010.
