In the Shadow of Starlight

By Ms. Moonstar

A/N: Sorry this took so long, rotten finals week! _

Here is the next chapter of my story. I actually wrote two chapter, but in backwards order, so I'll have the next one up soon. Sorry if this one seems a bit short. The next one will be a little more interesting.

Star Note: Thanks very much, I appreciate the compliment! I'm hoping to be a writer, so this is good practice.

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Chapter 3

Fighter breathed slowly as she skulked into the shattered remains of one of the long corridors. It seemed like forever ago that she had been here. Now with the crumbled walls of the palace seeming to be in every hallway, her sense of direction was sorely upset. It was hard to tell where exactly she was, though the raven-haired Starlight was certain that Kinmokiuan stronghold had shrunk, as there was little left standing. That was why when she came to a corridor, it seemed familiar to her.

Stepping into the exposed space, Fighter could see the remnants of the wide oak doors that lead to Kakyuu's chambers. The ruby marble was riddled with large pieces of debris that had easily smashed under its huge force. The leader of the Starlights had to carefully maneuver over the broken pieces of ceiling. It took twenty to cross through the maze of of the rubble to the doors, leaving her out of breath. Putting her hands to her knees, the raven-haired Starlight waited for her breathing for to her return to normal. When it had, Fighter ran a gloved hand through her bangs before standing and pushing the doors open.

The opulence surrounding Kakyuu's sitting rooms were in shambles, where parts of the roof had collapsed inward so that the sunlight poured into the chamber. There was something odd however. There were some pieces of broken furniture, but some of the room was undamaged. and the dark imprints of where some of the furniture had been.

The raven-haired Starlight brows furrowed in thought. Who would want to steal those particular items from here? It seemed impossible that anyone could have taken anything during the invasion because Galaxia and her minions had already killed.....

Fighter's thoughts trailed off as she tried to dislodge the memory of the horrible day when Kinmoku was destroyed. If there were survivors that had returned, there was not way that they could move anything the way she came in, as it had taken her so long just to get to this room. And then there was another problem; there was little furniture that was left intact. The few pieces that could have been salvaged would have very few that could have benefited from the pilfered furniture. But she supposed that like the palace, there were very few homes that were still standing. Any home comforts among the rebuilding would have been greatly desired by the people.

Next thing I know the bedroom set will be gone too... Fighter though wryly. Pushing another set of double oak doors, she walked into Kakyuu's bedroom. Then her mouth dropped. Here too the furniture had mysteriously disappeared from this room. How they managed that feat was really beyond her. Unlike the other room, the ceiling had not caved, leaving it fairly habitable. Going to wardrobe and swinging it open, the leader of the Starlights that most of the clothes were gone from it. There were only rather gaudy gown that a designer had made for an event. The raven haired Star senshi couldn't help herself, she chuckled to herself. But almost the minute that it started she looked towards the bottom of the wardrobes and her laughter stopped and her heart clinched. She pulled a flashlight from her pocket, stooping to shine it on the floor of the closet. The outline of a a body or rather, the remains of a body came into the light. Fighter dropped the flashlight, and put her hand to her mouth, horrified at the sight. A moment later, she had calmed down, and reasoned that it was one of the servants who tried to escape the carnage, but was found and had a starseed stolen.

Finally able to compose herself, Fighter turned and walked out, continuing her mission away from the horrors of that room.