Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Miyako, Cleo, Lia, Harper, and Owen, as well as a few others, are only figments that have escaped from my imagination. Another little note, I'm going back to the divisions of Terra I used back in by other Sailor Moon stories, so, when I refer to the five divisions of Terra, I refer to them by their direction from Elysian, thus North and South America, being to the East of Terra are the Eastern Division, Africa and the Middle East are the Western Division. Europe, Russia, Greenland, and Iceland are all the Northern Division, while Australia, Antarctica, and the Pacific Islands are the Southern Division. The rest of Asia would be Elysian.
Chapter Four: Secrets from the Golden Kingdom
"So, did you recognize either of the girls?" The police officer demanded of Darien.
The raven-haired young man shook his head, trying to dislodge the strange sensation that he knew the officer questioning him. "No, I'm sorry, but I didn't."
Judging by the way he'd been sent over to question Darien with the other officer standing a little ways back, observing, this guy was obviously still a fairly new recruit to the force. But, he didn't have the attitude or the presence of a newbie. And Darien had dealt with a number of newbie cops back in Tokyo, after one of Beryl's attacks. This guy was a little bit taller than the other officers, but part of that was due to the fact that he seemed so much stiffer, seemed to hold himself straighter. The buzz cut didn't seem to suit the young officer, especially since it kept Darien from seeing what color it was, though his eyebrows were a very light blonde. Something was telling Darien it should be much longer, down to his shoulders, and almost icy white. Which didn't make sense, because the man looked like he might have some Arab in his ancestry, with his darker complexion.
"And you didn't see how the monster got in?" The officer continued, dark grey eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"No, afraid not." Again Darien shook his head. "Wish I could be of more help, Officer…"
"Lambert. Kyle Lambert," supplied the officer. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Shields."
He turned and walked over to join the rest of the officers, who were now getting ready to leave.
Slowly, Darien let out a sigh of relive. It was still strange, even after all the times he'd done it in Tokyo, to have to deal with the police after a monster attack. Though, this creature certainly hadn't been one of Beryl's youma. The two scouts had called it a Creature of the Void. And, why did the Garden of the Elements seem so familiar? Maybe it was something from the days of the Silver Millennium? Something from his previous life, with Serena?
Even as the officers were leaving, Darien could feel Officer Kyle Lambert watching him, as if he expected Darien to turn around and do something, to say something. But Darien just tried to keep a pleasant expression on his face, until after the last officer had driven away.
"Why did Officer Lambert have such an interest in you?" Owen demanded. "It's almost like he knows you were keeping things from him, like he knows you know more than you were saying."
Darien shrugged. "I don't know. But, there is something familiar about him."
"Well, you have met his little sisters, Cleo and Miyako. But, I don't think that explains much. Though, it might be because he's trying to prove himself. He did just join the force last year, but everyone knows he's one of the best, already," offered Harper. He clapped his hands. "Well, let's get this place cleaned up. I'm sure we're still going to have a few customers stopping by, after this."
He pretended to ignore the dark glare sent his way by the reincarnated prince of Earth.
The clock on the wall chimed the hour, and Harper walked over to flip the lock on the main doors to the bookstore, the others already locked.
"Enough stalling, Melanthios! Explain! Everything!" Darien snapped, his voice going icy cold. He'd had enough of Harper dodging his questions all afternoon.
Harper sighed. "The hard part is knowing exactly where to begin. Though, perhaps we may start by sitting down?"
"How about at the beginning?" Darien reluctantly took a chair.
Owen gave a slight chuckle, lifting one of the mugs of hot chocolate Noland had left, earlier, along with a handful of pastries. "Which beginning, your highness? There are several, you know. And there are just as many endings, some of which have yet to be written." Harper and Darien both glared at him, but the blind boy just chuckled some more. "I'm just saying."
Harper sighed. "Exactly what do you remember, your highness?"
"Just glimpse, disconnected pieces of my life. Except the last day. I remember that clearly," replied Darien, having been slightly thrown off by Harper calling him 'your highness.' Harper didn't use that title.
"So, does the Golden Kingdom mean anything to you?"
"Golden Kingdom?" Darien frowned at the table top. "That was home. My father ruled the Golden Kingdom of Terra, essentially the High King over all of Terra."
Owen nodded. "The Golden Kingdom was divided into five divisions. Four were ruled by selected warriors, chosen to defend the king. Anyone could become one of those four Shitennou, though tradition passed it down through families."
"And the fifth division?"
"Elysian, itself, under the direct rule of the Golden King," explained Harper. "At the time of Beryl's attack, you had a full complement of Shitennou, all six of the chosen warriors."
"But there were only five divisions to the kingdom." Darien's frown deepened.
Harper nodded. "Four came from the four, well we'll call them sub-kingdoms, if you will. The fifth Shitennou ruled over the Underworld, which isn't officially a part of any kingdom, much the same way Sailor Pluto served Queen Serenity, by ruling over Time."
"And the sixth?" Darien pressed, dark blue eyes narrowing.
"The sixth Shitennou only exists in times of great upheaval. He is the warrior of the shadows, to be the king's, or in your case prince's, personal bodyguard. The head of the Shitennou usually held that job, in addition to his other responsibilities, in times of peace. But, first and foremost, he was tasked with protecting all of the Golden Kingdom. Thus, when it became necessary, the sixth awakened to protect you."
"Both of you were members of my Shitennou."
"I am Heliotrope, Shitennou of the Soul, ruler of the Underworld," declared Harper, bowing as much as he could from his seated position. "Like Sailor Pluto, I exist outside of time. I will hold the position until I choose to pass it on, or until I am killed."
"And I am Onyx, Shitennou of the Shadow. By all rights, I should have perished along with the rest of the Golden Kingdom, and been reborn after you, to awaken to my powers when you needed me. Even all these centuries later, my survival is a mystery," explained Owen, his hand dropping to the head of his seeing eye dog. "Vista, as well, has survived the ages with me. For that, at least, I am grateful."
Darien nodded, slowly. "And the other Shitennou? Surely you know who they were? Or who they now are?"
"Kunzite, Shitennou of the Sword, from the Western Kingdom, Jadeite, Shitennou of the Spirit, from the Southern Kingdom, Zoisite, Shitennou of the Snow, from the Northern Kingdom, and Nephrite, Shitennou of the Stars, from the Eastern Kingdom."
"You called them Kunzite, Jadeite, Zoisite, and Nephrite." The frown which had begun to disappear from Darien's face returned. "But the Dark Kingdom Generals are Malachite, Jedite, Zoycite, and Neflite."
Harper and Owen adopted frowns of their own.
"I don't understand," muttered Harper, puzzled.
"Operation: Decoy, your highness," came a slightly deeper, familiar voice.
All three heads turned as the new arrival entered from the kitchen. Officer Kyle Lambert stepped confidently towards the table. "Noland let me borrow his key."
Harper stood, placing himself between Darien and the police officer.
"You can relax, Heliotrope. I'm not here to harm anyone, especially not Prince Endymion." The cop gave a dry chuckle.
Darien rose to his own feet, placing a hand on Harper's shoulder. The older man relaxed, slightly, and he stepped back.
"Why are you here, Officer Lambert? And what was Operation: Decoy?"
The officer placed his fisted right hand over his heart and dropped to kneel on his left leg. The overhead light caught on the ring worn on his right hand. A golden dragon curled around a pink, diamond-shaped stone. Turning his head, Darien looked towards Harper, seeing a similar ring, a golden three-headed hellhound guarding a diamond-shaped green stone, flecked with red, a piece of heliotrope, a bloodstone. Owen stepped forward to join them, and Darien glanced down to see his ring. A golden, winged snake, a wyvern, coiled around a black, diamond-shaped piece of what he figured had to be onyx.
"Kunzite," whispered Darien.
A shiver passed through the room. As it passed, the room once more changed to that open field, the same one he'd seen after the attack, earlier. Harper and Owen were in their same uniforms, uniforms identical to the one now worn by Kyle Lambert, with one difference. The lining on his cloak was a darker greyish blue, not the black of Owen's or the white of Harper's.
Darien, himself, was dressed in the armor that marked him as Prince Endymion of Terra. No, he corrected himself, the Golden Kingdom.
Just as soon as he corrected himself, the room and its occupants returned to their previous state.
Kyle rose to his feet, looking Darien in the eye. "I don't doubt the two of them have no idea about Operation: Decoy. It was put in place before the two of them arrived at the court.
"You had a habit of sneaking out of the royal palace. Usually, one of the four of us would be able to follow you, and the other three would try to cover. However, we realized this couldn't work forever, especially as your father began giving you more responsibility, and we heard about the uprisings around the world."
"So, we found decoys," muttered Darien, "or, I should say, the four of you found decoys. You even found someone to play me. Then, all five of us were free to leave Elysian. But, to save confusion among ourselves, their names were different."
Kyle nodded. "That's how you ended up meeting Princess Serenity. You had both escaped from your royal duties and you met outside the borders of Elysian. I believe Jadeite and Zoisite had accompanied you, that day."
"But not you?"
"There were reasons. I was there the day Sailor Venus came to retrieve her princess, though."
An image flashed across Darien's mind, of Serenity standing with him, looking out over a crystalline lake. Kunzite hovered a few feet away, leaning against a tree, apparently not paying attention to the two of them, but he knew better. The icy haired Shitennou was ever watchful, ever wary. Then Sailor Venus appeared, glaring at Darien before she dragged Serenity away.
"I remember, Kunzite."
"I have a feeling your memories will be returning at a greater rate, now," stated Harper, "and probably with greater clarity, too."
Darien nodded. "I can only hope that is true." He turned and looked out the window, seeing the moon rise higher in the sky.
Alright, there we go. Chapter Four of Elemental Secrets! Yes, it's a little short, but I wanted to focus more on Darien and my explanation of the Dark Kingdom Generals, though I'll come back to them later, to explain how they ended up serving Beryl and all of that.
Okay, I know, no excuses, but real life has been pretty hectic. I changed jobs, started going back to school, and it feels like a hundred other things. I did spend all of November participating in NaNoWriMo, which I did manage to complete! I was so happy to see a final word count of 50,086! Even if the story itself isn't actually done yet.
To anyone who was hoping this would be my Harry Potter and the Secret Past update, I'm sorry. The next chapter there is giving me more trouble than any other chapter ever has before. I'm hoping you will stay patient with me as I try and untangle the knots in it. I do, however, have the next four chapters of Elemental Secrets written out, and I'm going to try and get them up soon. Hopefully while I have time over semester break.
As usual, I am going to ask for any comments and questions you want to give, though, if you'd rather wait and post them at the end of the next chapter, I understand, too! See you at the end of chapter five!