The air around the chateau was pure and clean and warm. Haruka sharpened her dagger as she sat on a rock, the maids chattering around her as they hung wash on the line that bobbed in the wind from the nearby sea. Michiru sat beside her, wearing a light cotton dress with a cinched waist, her hair curly and wavy around her shoulders aside from the braids woven with seashell beads that the maids had done. The eldest maid gave the princess a smile. Haruka had discovered a few days before that the maid had been Michiru's nanny before the princess's 5th birthday.

The princess huffed when Haruka paid her no mind and moved to sit on the same rock as Haruka. The blonde blinked at the princess, who smirked and pushed with her hips. The blonde promptly fell off the rock, making the maids giggle. "Princess!" she exclaimed.

Michiru merely gave her a smile. "Care to accompany me on a walk?" Haruka blinked, then nodded, smiling lightly. It had been a week since they had arrived, with no word from the palace. It had been so easy for Haruka to forget there even was a duty they must both fulfill. She slept in Michiru's room on a small cot, went with her everywhere, talked to her about anything, except of course Haruka's identity, or her past.

"Will you tell me today?" Michiru asked as they walked along the perfect beach. Michiru's hand held her dress up and away from the surf, and Haruka watched her feet make soft prints in the white sand.

"Sorry, princess," she said and Michiru stopped and turned to her. "Yes?"

"Why? Just, tell me why." The princess's sapphire eyes searched her own and Haruka felt her heart clench at Michiru's hurt look.

"Please, princess, I can't...," she began, but Michiru interrupted, her surprisingly sharp tone shocking the blonde.

"Why? If... if I am to be unwillingly forced to marry some dimwit from Uranus who only wants me for my body, and the only real friend I feel I have is being forced to be my servant, then why can't I at least know your name, even if...," she trailed off, her tone weakening, her eyes turning to the sea. Haruka sighed and stepped closer to her, laying her hand on Michiru's shoulder. The princess's eyes slid up to meet her own.

"I'm sorry, Michiru. In all honesty... I hate this too." The words slipped out and Haruka held her breath. She wasn't allowed to say this! The fabric of Michiru's dress slid against her scarred hand as the princess moved. What she did caught Haruka entirely off guard, and Haruka's eyes widened as the princess rested her hands on the blonde's shoulders, leaning up to press her soft lips to the knight's.


Michiru's heart skipped in her chest as she kissed her guard. The blonde stiffened at first, set to move away, but slowly her long fingers slid from Michiru's shoulder, up the skin of her neck, and to her cheek. Her other hand slid around the princess's slim waist, pressing them lightly together. Michiru felt her hands shake at her own bold forwardness, but she deepened the kiss, her lip skimming the blonde's low lip. At that, the guard's grip around her waist tightened and she was lifted slightly from the sand. Her hands slid from the guard's shoulders into her short, shaggy blonde hair.

Her heart was hammering against her ribs now. What was she doing? She had wanted this for several days, ever since the night she'd had another nightmare. The universe was being swallowed into itself, the stars screaming as they were eaten. Planets swirled out of control in their orbits, pulled into the dead sun. Michiru had felt so alone as she watched from Triton Castle. She remembered looking to her hands which were covered in aged skin, her body that of an old woman. Her city was deserted, the people running to the cold south in hopes of safety. The sun approached, its blackness still smoldering, its pull making Neptune's faint rings shake and disintegrate. She had turned her eyes to Uranus, which followed her, caught in the pull and Neptune's own orbit. Tears fell from her eyes, the planets whirling dangerously close to eachother. Earth was gone, even Jupiter swallowed. The exploded sun came upon them ridiculously fast and planetary Neptune began to scream, its cries horrible in Michiru's ears.

As the blonde shook her, she realized Neptune's screams were really her own. Her eyes had snapped open, finding the worried guard leaning over her. Those sky blue eyes had seemed so familiar, glowing almost like the moon in the night, their blue-grey depths holding volumes.

The guard's arms gently released her and she blushed, looking away. "Princess...," the guard said uncertainly.

"I'm sorry," Michiru gasped. She felt the comforting sand beneath her fingers, her lips still tingling, but her mind pushing aside even her desire for the blonde guard as it searched for an answer to her vision. Would there truly be a war?

"Sorry for what?" The Hand asked, pulling her up from the shore. Those grey eyes held worry, concern, wonder, and even fear. She rested her hand on the blonde's shoulder, looking up to her. She leaned up, so ready to take this further, her mind eager to possibly discover new visions, new thoughts.

"Princess!" her mind snapped to reality and she pulled from her guard's side, turning to see a maid calling cheerfully from the house. She sighed, swearing she nearly heard her guard do the same. "Princess!" the maid repeated. "Your betrothed has arrived!"


Haruka's heart fell. Michiru's hand wavered so close to her own and she longed to take it, to usher them both away forever. Her breathing felt erratic, Michiru's kiss having left her raw. Her feelings and memories circulated around the princess, their childhood. Her closest friend, now her charge.

Michiru glanced uncertainly to her, and Haruka went against her better wishes and nodded to her, escorting her to the house. The maid smiled, chattering as she brushed off Michiru's soft white dress. Each step felt like torture, and Haruka wondered how far she could get before her nerves convinced her brain it was better to run. She heard the king and her brother in the next room, laughing softly. How long would it be before Michiru was taken from her?

Michiru felt her heart patter like an anxious bird in a cage. Her hand attempted to stray to her guard's, but the blonde's eyes were distant and dark, like a stormy day. She followed the maid reluctantly into the hallway by the door where her father was discarding his cape. The prince took in Michiru's body like a piece of meat, as usual, and Michiru felt her loathing of him grow ten-fold. She sent a chilly glare his way and he turned his eyes to her guard.

"My daughter! We were so very worried for you. I trust everything is alright?" her father hugged her close.

"Of course, father. The Hand protected me," she replied, as though she was trying to convince the Grand Council that the blonde protector was a better match for a suitor. Her father simply chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"Ah, we are famished from the ride. The rest of the court shall be here soon. I trust the feast outside shall be ready in a few hours?" the king asked, his attention turned from Michiru. The maid nodded and sent away several of the younger girls to get snack sandwiches for the newly arrived royalty. Her father turned to her. "Michiru, surely you would want to change into something more formal for the dinner. It is your rehearsal dinner, after all."

Michiru complied only because she felt filthy under Riushi's gaze. She returned to her room, the guard and several maids in tow. Her blonde companion took her seat at the window, looking over the sea as Michiru was dressed. She stood in a long, pale green dress that hugged her tiny waist and bosom, and flared from her hips delicately, covered in soft golden embroidery. Her hair was set into a long braid.

The maids left and Michiru turned to the blonde. She moved to sit beside her. "About earlier...," she began softly, timidly.

"Don't, princess. Please." The Hand turned her grey-cloud eyes to Michiru. "It is nothing."

"It isn't nothing to me," she frowned. "If there was any way I could just get out of this wedding...," she paused and sighed. "I don't wish to marry him. Not by a long shot. However, my father just brings up the duty I have to my people, to this planet and Uranus." She sighed, exasperated. "Sometime I'd just like to be a normal girl! Perhaps learn to play the violin... or... or paint! On my own time, not when they would like. This life is... it's stifling!"

"I know," the blonde whispered. Michiru looked to her. "It's not easy to sit here and watch him look at you like you're a trophy. But how far could we truly get in this place before we were found? Raiders, guardsmen, bounty hunters... they would all be after our heads, my princess," the blonde explained, her voice soft.

Michiru lowered her eyes, knowing she was right. The blonde laid her hand on Michiru's hands, squeezed it reassuringly, and once again the princess felt her mind and body calm.

"When and if we are meant to run, we will. Fate will guide us to where we must be. For now, please, keep faith." The blonde kissed her knuckles, then leaned to kiss her once, softly, on the lips. It made Michiru's heart skip and she grasped after her for more, but the guard was at the door. "Now, shall we?"


The dinner was lovely, the plates piled high with huge crabs and lobsters, clams and oysters, and many other delicacies. Haruka sat to Michiru's right, the princess sitting beside Riushi as well. Haruka watched her brother very closely, silently rejoicing when his attempts to hold a conversation about armies with Michiru failed. The king was speaking with the other fine-familied guests around the table, nearly 40 in total. They had all come for the wedding, though Haruka believed several of them looked displeased over the venue.

"How odd!" Haruka had heard a duchess mutter over her clam chowder. "Is the king losing money that he must hold his only daughter's wedding on a beach?"

The first course was clam chowder, the second plates of sea creatures, and the third was a cold concoction tasting of the sweetest fruit and garnished with mint. Michiru had seemed delighted with this, and Haruka smiled at her momentary happiness. Her mind whirled with ways she could get them away, the black ribbon feeling hot against the skin of her covered wrist.

That night, she made her cot, Michiru watching her. "What would you do, if you were me?" Michiru asked, sitting on her blankets. Haruka moved her from the stack of folded bed dressings, Michiru surprising her with a kiss. The blonde chuckled and placed her on the bed.

"I am unsure, princess. I couldn't imagine it," she said, but she knew it was a lie. She had imagined it, because it was happening at that very moment. She was living in a situation she had never supposed she'd be in, trapped just as much as Michiru was. How had she dealt with it? She had allowed it without complaint. Thinking back on it, she felt a hint of regret and shame pierce her heart. She was a warrior, and yet she could not fight for her own freedom. She found solace in Michiru's soft kisses and went to bed on her lonesome cot, fearing the changes the morning could bring.


Maids scurried here and there before the royalty had risen. Michiru sat beneath a tree, watching them set up the decorations, including a white-capped tent. They lay down an intricate rug beneath the tent, marking it as the place Michiru would marry Prince Riushi. When they went inside to retrieve the flowers and chairs, Michiru stepped hesitatingly to the tent. It was barely sunrise, even the guard still asleep. She stood beneath the tent in her nightgown, staring down at her bare toes on the beautiful velvet rug. She lifted her eyes and felt her heart quiver.

The handsome blonde woman, dressed in a fine blue suit, her hair freshly cut, stood across from her, an amused smile on her lips. The rug was still the same, but the setting had changed. A familiar, and yet unfamiliar, castle stretched around them, a stained glass window looming over them, casting rose-colored light around the room. Looking down to herself, Michiru wore a gorgeous white dress that hugged her curves and flared to touch the legs of the blonde. In her hands was a bouquet of white lilies garnished with a black ribbon. A priest spoke, but all she remembered were the stormy grey eyes of her suitor. The words stopped and she smiled, her voice, and yet not her voice, seeming to rise, joyous. "I do!" Michiru felt a huge smile grace her lips and she was scooped up, perfect, soft, sweet kisses pressed to her lips. Around her, the congregation seemed to cheer.

Voices rang in her head and around her. She felt as though she was floating, but it was only her head. The voices began more distinct and she opened her eyes, maids around her, chattering. They patted her face with damp cloths, each trying to comfort her. She blinked, the fuzziness leaving, everything gaining color once more.

"Oh! Princess! There you are. Are you alright? You gave us quite a scare," the elderly maid cooed, and Michiru found herself laying on a soft chaise.

"I'm... fine... I...," she was cut off as a stern voice entered the room.

"Where is she? Is she alright?" the blonde guard moved to her and Michiru's heart skipped a beat. The guard's eyes were a mixture of concern and fear, but it went away, replaced by relief when she saw Michiru. "Are you alright, princess?" she asked, and Michiru nodded. The Hand knelt beside her, kissing her knuckles softly. "Your father is concerned as well. He wishes to know if you want to postpone the wedding due to your condition."

Michiru looked to the other woman. Was this her chance? Her hand tightened around the blonde's, her mind racing, but she shook her head. "I'll be alright. I can do this," she reassured her. Whenever her time was, it wasn't quite yet, and she could feel it.


The wind blew softly around the chairs and tent, ruffling the blonde's hair. Haruka stood behind the rows of royalty, her hands relaxed at her side, and yet her body tense. Michiru stood beneath the tent with Riushi, her dress long and white, but not grand, as per the taste of a beach wedding, she supposed. Riushi wore a blue coat and breeches, his unruly blonde hair combed back. Haruka's eyes strayed back to Michiru, noting how uncomfortable the petite girl seemed. She wanted nothing more than the scoop her up and take her away.

"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace," the elderly priest spoke up. His old, tired eyes scanned the crowd, and although Haruka's voice longed to be heard, she did not speak. Michiru's eyes closed for a moment when no one did speak, but then opened as the priest continued. "Then, Princess Michiru of Neptune, do you take Prince Riushi of Uranus to be your husband?"

Haruka drew in a breath, Michiru's eyes turning to meet her own, their sapphire depths holding uncertainty, the same that the blonde felt. Her hand clenched on the hilt of her sword, the seconds ticking by as she waited for Michiru's answer, and words she would either despise or draw her hope from.


A.N.: Wooo! It's been a while! XD I really do love to write this, but sometimes the inspiration just doesn't seem to want to come home. Lol. So, bear with me. It does have a plan!