Twenty Kisses
Rated T
Chapter Title: "Phantom Princess I"
Setting: Second season
Genre: Canon
The air was biting, surroundings shrouded in a pall of ice reminiscent of winter's embrace.
But it was not winter.
Two figures stood wrapped in each other's arms under the sky of eternal night, just under the shadow of Crystal Palace. The tallest- a man- had his ebony cloak tucked securely around the petite body of his female comrade. The girl was scantily dressed for the searingly cold weather, adorned in a gown of sheer white silk that gathered form-fitting at the waist and continued in an elegant trail all the way to the ground. The back of her fancy bodice sprouted fairy-like wings, in mimicry of a Queen trapped inside a quartz coffin only stories above them. She was beautiful; a princess in all respects of the title...
But not his princess.
No, this was Demande's princess. A phantom of the girl he truly loved; a mockery of the woman she was meant to be.
"Tuxedo Kamen-sama," Usagi sighed, with grateful inflection to her voice. Kamen knew she was relieved to be safe once more in his grasp, far away from the bewitching snares of that devilish prince. He tried to keep the memories of their most recent escape from his mind, for it made the raven-haired man sick to think of what could have occurred had he been only seconds too late.
The botched kiss.
The hungry look in Prince Demande's eyes.
The bed.
Tuxedo Kamen could only imagine what perverted fantasies his Usako would have had to reenact for the pleasure of that deranged bastard.
"King Endymion said, that our time to be severely tested is yet to come," Kamen related, an edge of foreboding to his tone. What trials were yet to plague them? Hadn't Usagi's kidnapping been horror enough? Why could they never have peace?
Usagi looked down and then up, blinking rather bashfully. With the earnest conviction of only an angel, she reassured, "No matter what happens, we will..."
Words failed, but Kamen knew immediately what his future wife meant. After all, it was a sentiment they lived by. Overcome with emotion, he delved down to capture Usagi's frozen lips, promising inwardly to never let that starved prince or any other man touch her again.
She was his, now and forever.
A/N: So ends part 1 of "Phantom Princess"! The next installment is related to Usagi's kidnapping, but will be AU and occur a couple episodes later. I'm unsure if I'll post immediately following this chapter or wait a couple... hmm...
Anyhoo, thank you to the fabulous reviewers: Ummster, sakanascales876, SelenityHyperion, CharmedSerenity3, Henna Ryans, My Starry Sky, mae-E, dancingprincess1093, QueenOfPlanets, and Angel no Yami. My sincerest thanks to you all! *Wipes tears*
AngelMoon Girl