Book 1 Chapter 4: The Spy
They say that true loyalty is born from self-sacrifice. A death of sorts. But nothing says loyalty more than putting yourself on the line to help your country out. Sometimes I wonder why people want to spy. There's so many factors that are against you. One could say that to be a spy is a sign of the truest of loyalties. One could also say, to be a spy, is to put certain friendships at risk, or at least in question.
I was training at the Moon Palace and suddenly, we hear a huge horn being blown. A guard burst through the Training Room, breathing heavily. He then said "Queen Selene…it has begun!" Queen Selene then said to us "Now is the time to put your training to the test. I'm afraid we have a long battle ahead of us!" We all quickly exited from the Training Room, each of us took a different corner of the Palace, but right before we split up, all 4 of us were speared to death. Our deaths were quick, since we did not have any time to react.
I then wake up from my slumber, realizing that it was just a nightmare. I then sigh in relief and I get up. Everyone on the Planet is asleep at this hour, but I quickly sneak downstairs to the Control Room of the Palace. I then tried getting ahold of Planet Earth's Queen.
The Queen seemed to be asleep, but she finally showed up on one of the monitors and rubbed her eyes. She looked at me and said "Princess Mercury, why are you contacting me so late at night?" I said "I need to know…does the war continue to be waged down there?" She said "Yes…I can sleep through it because #1 the Palace is the only place down here where they couldn't try to bring down even if they tried. #2, I'm used to the sounds of ammo and bombs. Why are you calling me asking for that?" I said "Just making sure you're still having problems. Do you think I can meet up with you early in the morning, say Half Moon?" She then said "Sure."
As soon as it hit Half Moon, I was already down by the docks. I decided to take a small raft. I wanted to go down to Earth without anyone joining me. When I get back, I'll probably hear from Father why I disappeared, but I had to go to Earth early. I had some questions for Her Highness.
As I descended to Earth, I quickly made my way towards the Throne Room, as I did however, I overheard a conversation going on inside the Throne Room. As to not interrupt, I decided to stay near the doors. I also decided not to snoop in on the conversation. Something I did note rather quickly, was when the conversation stopped, the Throne Room doors opened wide and a hooded figure came out, and I couldn't help but notice a bleeding scar on the hooded figure's leg. A little distraught on what I saw, I decided to disregard it and go into the Throne Room to talk to the Queen.
I came in and I started the conversation "So…I wanted to come here a little early today. I need to know…this isn't going to escalate so bad as to involve Planets, correct?" The Queen said "This is why we appointed you to be a representative, in hopes that the Planets would never have to be involved." I then said "But, it's possible?" The Queen said "Well…yes, it is possible. But, that's one possibility that we can't afford. Is this why you came early today?" I said "Well…more or less, yes." The Queen said "Well…I could see why. And look, I'm sorry I dragged you into this, truly. We've just been going through some very hard times." I then said "Well…I'll try my best." The Queen then said "Good. So, today, we finally get to go over your duties as Planet Representative."
As the Queen talked, the list was long. As she went over my duties, I was almost too distracted at the distant noises of war. On the one hand, it was horrible to know that some country far away was warring with someone else. On the other hand, it was comforting to know that war still hasn't started in other parts of Earth. Something tells me though that I was in this for the long haul, and that was something I didn't care for much at all.
The Queen then said "So, to begin your duties, the first thing we're going to do is fly to a hospital that has extremely wounded men. Don't worry about being killed. My men will be with you, and if needed, they will call backup without skipping a beat." I said "Well…better now then never."
As the Queen's "secret service" drove me out to Europe, I was extremely scared. Something that was a little comforting was knowing I wasn't going into the battlefield, helping nurse people back to life. On the other hand, I was going to the very continent that was in war with another. And, in war, anything can happen. My mind just continued to race on any possible outcomes. If the enemy was to ever get intel that a Representative from the Solar System was on Earth, I would probably be as good as dead.
As we arrived to St. Luke's Hospital, I checked in and one of the nurses led me to one of the halls that was housing injured men of war. I then said to the nurse "Ok…I need a bucket of water, something to scoop the water with, and a small bowl. Make sure the bucket is big and filled with as much water as possible. If I'm going to do this, water cannot be on short supply." The nurse bowed and immediately went to get the tools I would need to heal these beloved men and women.
I went into the first room to start my healings. It was a man, roughly 40 or so, multiple gun wounds, including one near his heart. I pressed on my earrings and my goggles came out, and I got out my little computer and did a quick x-ray of the wounds. I then checked his vitals. Everything seemed to check out ok, except for his heart. I was worried.
Like I've said before, war isn't a stranger to me. I've had to heal countless numbers of men, even brought some back from death. Sometimes however, I wondered if it was ever right to bring men or women back from the dead. Healing a wound is one thing, but bringing back someone from beyond the veil was another thing. After all, who am I to tell who lives and who dies? I've also been told by a lot of men I brought back from the dead during the wars at home that they wished I would've just let them die. Most of them said that, beyond death, there's a beautiful place for everyone that dies, and a lot of them have even said that everyone has a good afterlife. This is why…sometimes healing someone who has died makes me hesitant.
I was then given my tools for healing. I scooped a little bit of water in a bowl, and I dipped my whole hand in the bowl. The water glowed a bright blue color. I then bent a little sliver of water and put it lightly over the heart wound. After whispering a few words, the wound started to close till it became as skin as before. I then healed the other wounds. The man was so grateful for having me do this for him. I then smiled and said "This is why I'm here."
As I healed more and more men and women, I started to become a tad paranoid. These people have never seen or even heard of me, a woman who can bend water to heal people. They're not going to keep this under wraps, because that's how people are. When something odd happens, they want to know more about it, because the less people understand something, the more curious they become. This was something I would bring up to the Queen when we would have our next meeting.
I then spent a good portion of my day healing people in that hospital.
When I arrived for training, it was always so much fun. All of us Princesses, training under one roof. And, we've gotten to know each other better as well. But today, I got to know something I didn't want to know.
As we all were leaving, Queen Selene said "Mars, could I have a word with you?" Princess Mars said "Yes Queen Selene." As she turned around, I started to notice a scar across her leg, and it just so happened to be in the same place the hooded figure had. Selene then looked oddly at me and said "Is there something you want to say to me Princess Mercury?" I got out of staring at Mars's leg and I said "No…I'm fine…" I smiled and pretended to leave but didn't. I waited near the docking bay of the Moon Palace to talk to Mars myself.
Mars then came out and was about to board her Phoenix to fly home, but I stopped her and I said "Hey…um, I hope you don't mind, but I would like to have a word with you." Mars then rolled her eyes and said "Everyone's been wanting to have a word with me. What is it?" I then said "What are you doing on Earth?" Mars then backed away a little bit and said "How do you know about this?" I said "I'm the Representative of the Planets, and as such, I'm trying to help Earth eventually get out of their war." Mars said "Look, my mission on Earth is different. As long as we stay out of each others way, we'll be good." I then said "Mars, if we're going to train together, we have to be willing to work together. I don't understand, why were you wearing a hood on Earth today." Mars then looked around and she whispered "I'm a spy. Look…just like Selene, I've been having similar visions of bad things that are about to go down. So, I've decided to take it upon myself to be a spy and to get down to what's really going on. I can't help but wonder if Earth has anything to do with the Moon Kingdom's downfall. And, when I was in Earth's Palace today, I sensed something or someone was in there that didn't belong in there. I've decided to befriend the Queen for now. As far as she knows, I'm a spy in her area. I needed to gain the Queen's trust first. You have to understand, I'm on a very dangerous mission here, but like Selene, I worry about the future of the Moon Kingdom too." I then said "You honestly don't think the Queen of Earth is behind this war, do you?" Mars said "I dunno, but I've got to find out who is. Until then, the Queen remains as a suspect." I said "Don't do this Mars, you're putting yourself in very hostile situation. One slip-up, and the Queen could have you dead." Mars then said "Right now, that's a chance I'm willing to take. I'm sorry, I've got to go back to my Planet to go over tomorrows plan of action. See you on Earth."
As I journeyed home, I didn't know how this was all going to work. If Mars does one thing wrong, it could not only mean the end of her, but the end of me as well. Things have just gotten worse. I know I said before that Mars truly cares about everyone, but she's been known to be unpredictable. Hopefully that unpredictability doesn't cost her and I's life.