Chapter Three
Venus listened. Silence. She picked up the letter and left for the garden. Luckily, no one had stayed up to taunt her. They'd probably decided that earlier was enough. Good, she thought as she raised her hand to the sky. In an instant, she appeared in the palace on Earth.
Walking into the hall from where she appeared, she quickly ducked behind a column to avoid a guard. She waited a moment, and after he passed she crept to the window and jumped out onto the grass. Wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible, she went straight to the fountain where she'd often found the princess with the prince. To her surprise, the prince was not there. She sighed and looked around. There were too many windows; She could easily slip into one, but there was no guarantee she'd find his chamber. She thought about just leaving the letter there, but Serenity would be upset if she found out. She looked at the letter and then at the palace again. Serenity… you owe me. She tucked the letter away and started off towards the nearest window.
Venus ducked into a room to avoid a pair of guards coming down the hall. She'd been doing this for almost fifteen minutes now. Swearing she'd scold Serenity for not telling her where she'd find the prince, Venus peaked out the door to find the two guards still out in the hall talking. One had long wavy brown hair and the other long silver hair. The man from last night? I wonder... Distracted in thought, she did not realize that one of the men began walking toward the door she was hiding behind. She shut the door and frantically looked around for somewhere to flee. If she got caught down here she'd never hear the end of it! Not to mention, the Queen would reprimand her, if not move straight into some sort of punishment. What kind of leader gets caught creeping around down here? Coming wasn't so much a problem, if there was some sort of business to handle, but creeping around in the middle of the night was very un-lady like. Across the room she spotted a window and sprinted for it just as the door opened.
"Hey!"
"Ah!" Venus cried and then hopped out the window. To her surprise, the silver haired man followed her. Just great. She ran across the grass and looked for a spot to duck into and hide. There was nothing! This garden, unlike the one in the back of the palace, was open, no trees, no rocks... nothing. Behind her, the man was making ground.
For a moment, Venus through about teleporting herself back to the moon and trying later, but she really wanted to get this over with. Right now, she needed to focus on not getting caught, which, relying on the sounds of the man's breathing, was going to happen soon if she didn't speed up. She did, but so did he.
Venus took a sharp right into a hall and then took a series of lefts and rights in an attempt to lose him. One of the turns she took, however, led her into a group of guards and she was forced to stop and turn around, right into the silver haired guard. The collision caused them both to fall back, but Venus recovered quicker and took off running again. She led the guards back out into the garden; the silver haired guard was the only one that could keep up with her, though.
He sure is persistent.
Off in the distance, she saw the prince in a window and her hopes brightened. She could finally deliver this troublesome letter and get home.
She reached for the letter, slowing just a bit, and suddenly felt a pair of arms around her. Moments later she was staring into the blades of grass with the silver haired guard on top of her. He sat up and got on his knees, straddling her. In a violent motion, he grabbed her by the shoulders and rolled her over so she'd be looking up at him.
Venus couldn't see the man's face, it was much too dark out.
"Who are you!?" he demanded.
Venus sighed, momentarily regretting wearing this robe. She was unmistakable in her fuku, but that was, however, part of why she wore it. She didn't want to be noticed or recognized. So much for not getting caught. She'd known this was going to end bad, but she came anyway. 'Don't worry about it, okay?' Pft. She tried to escape, but he pinned her arms down.
"I'll ask again: Who are you?" He stared down at the young woman menacingly.
She wriggled to get free, but his grip was too strong, even for her. He'd positioned himself so that she couldn't do any damage by kicking his groin, either. "Let me go," she demanded.
"Not before you tell me who you are."
She scowled. That's fair… I guess.
"Fine. You won't talk? I'll just throw you into a cell and we can talk later."
She sighed. She wouldn't have much of a chance if he took her to a cell—she needed to be outside to use her teleporting power. She needed to explain and get back to the Moon before anyone noticed her absence, especially the Queen. "My name is Venus. I am Princess Serenity's main guardian and the Princess of Venus. And you," she paused, her tone getting slightly stern, "need to get off of me."
He let go, realizing that she was who she said she was, and stood up apologizing. "My humblest apologies, Venus-dono." He bowed and then lent a hand to help her up. "I did not recognize you at all."
She reluctantly took his hand and then brushed herself off. "Right. Now, if you don't mind. I need to deliver—" She reached for the letter, but it wasn't there. "Oh no!" She looked around frantically.
He pulled out Serenity's letter. "Is this what you're looking for?"
She snatched it away. "When did you—"
"When we collided." He grinned slightly.
She frowned. Why is he smiling like that? She then looked back to where she'd seen the prince. Oh no! He's not there anymore! What am I going to do now?
"If you're looking to deliver that, I can take it to the prince."
"How did you know who it was..." she stopped mid-sentence and firmly stated, shaking her head, "No." She turned back to him. "I have orders to deliver it myself."
He nodded, realizing this wasn't an argument he'd win anytime soon. "Then at least allow me to escort you, Venus-dono."
She agreed and he led her to the prince's chamber.
"A letter?" the prince questioned.
Venus nodded and continued to stand straight with her hands clasped behind her back. "For both of your safety, I've decided it would be best to send letters. Prince, surely you know how dangerous your meetings are. I can not allow them to continue, at least, not at the present time."
The prince nodded sadly and took the letter over to a chair to read. "Kunzite, would you escort Venus-san out?"
Kunzite? That name... Venus looked over to the guard who'd tackled her for the first time since they'd entered the lit room. Those eyes. It was him. She couldn't tell before, but there was no mistaking it now. "You..." Venus let out a small gasp as she felt her cheeks burn again. It was the same man from the night before! The man with the soft glowing eyes, the broad, strong shoulders...
Kunzite took a bow. "Yes, Venus-dono. We met just last night. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier."
Venus nodded, and adverted her eyes to the prince. "Prince, I will be back tomorrow night for a response to her letter. Will that be okay?"
The prince nodded, and the two, Venus and Kunzite, left his quarters. The walk back to the outdoors was a silent one. Venus didn't know what to say. She felt flustered standing next to this handsome man. Something about him excited her, but the feeling was strange and she didn't know what to think of it.
As the reached their destination, Kunzite took Venus' hand in his and raised it to his lips. "It was nice to see you again, Venus-dono."
Shocked, Venus pulled her hand away. What was this feeling rushing over her? Her cheeks turned a deep red as she raised her hand high above her head and disappeared.
