Chapter Seven

Venus entered the garden, where Queen Selene was entertaining some of the representatives with an afternoon tea.

"Ma'am?" she spoke loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to be disrespectful or disruptive.

The Queen turned to her voice with a smile, "Oh, my dear Venus, how are you? Join us?" She motioned for Venus to take a seat in one of the empty chairs.

"Actually," Venus leaned in so that only the Queen could clearly hear her, "I need to speak with you, when you have a moment. It can be later, I just need a few moments of your time."

Selene agreed, and later that afternoon, they met in the prayer room where they wouldn't be interrupted.

"What is it, Venus? Have you finally decided that you would speak about what's been burdening you?"

The two took a seat on the crystal steps leading up to the glowing pillar in the middle of the room. "Well," Venus started. She didn't want to lie. It was time to bring the situation to light. "I wanted to ask you to lift the ban from traveling to Earth."

The Queen raised a brow. She didn't understand why she would request such a thing, let alone how she'd figured out that's what she'd done. Venus hadn't been in the room when she told the concerned representatives. "Why?"

Venus thought for a second. She hadn't fully prepared for this talk, even though she'd been thinking about it most of the day. "A few days ago, I retrieved the Princess from Earth's palace. After bringing her back, I reprimanded her, and once again, explained why she couldn't keep sneaking down there. And in an attempt to comfort her, I suggested, that until the time came when it would be safe again... that they exchange letters back and forth, since I knew cutting off contact altogether would be a much harder thing to achieve."

Selene listened intently. She was interested to know what this was all about, and what had caused one of her most beloved guardians to act so strange the past few days.

"I delivered the first, and then delivered the response." A small fib, that's all, Venus, doing good. "But, after that first set... I wasn't able to continue." The pace of her speech became more rapid after this point, as she tried to conclude. "Serenity has been so torn that she couldn't send him another letter, and I feel terribly responsible for it. I shouldn't have suggested such a thing without asking, and now I feel guilty."

She rested her hand on the side of Venus' face, who was now looking at her own feet. "My dear, it's okay. I did not know that you had come up with such a plan. Had you only told me, I wouldn't have done such a thing." She smiled and sat back in her chair. "I'll tell you what, I will permit you to travel to Earth, and you can continue to deliver my daughter's letters."

"Oh, that would be so wonderful!" I can finally take him back! "I can't wait to see the princess's face! This will surely bring her smile back."

She smiled warmly. "I do, however, trust that you will share this information with no one. This isn't only a matter of her going there, I don't want people up here running around. I'm not sure who we can trust as of now. You are the only one allowed to travel back and forth to the Earth. Is that clear?"

Venus nodded. "I promise."

She took Venus' hands into her own. "Good. I hope you feel better now. Don't be afraid to bring such things to my attention, okay? There is no reason to fear telling me the truth."

"In the future, there shall be no hesitation."

Venus left the Queen's chamber, filled with a sense of accomplishment. Sure, she didn't tell the whole truth, but within the next few hours, the whole ordeal would simply be a thing of the past. No one needed to know. On her way back to her own room, she stopped in Serenity's. To say that the Princess was excited to hear the news that she could again communicate with her lover was quite the understatement. After she settled down, she handed Venus a letter she had written prior, before she knew it couldn't be sent, and hugged her graciously. Venus smiled, kissed her friend on the cheek and headed back to her room.

She was so excited to tell Kunzite that he could leave. It would be so nice to have her space back. Her days could go back to normal. She wouldn't be so anxious all the time. She wouldn't feel bad for locking him up all day. She imagined he would be thrilled to get back to his life, too. Confined in her quarters all day had to have been torture. Her room wasn't exactly the most interesting place to hang out.

She slowly opened the door, as she had been since the other morning's incident, and entered the room. "I have great news," she sung into the air.

Kunzite looked up from the watch he'd been playing with before. "Oh really? So the Queen knows I'm here, Venus-sama?"

"Oh no, but," she waved the letter in the air. "I have found a way to safely continue this letter endeavor and get you back home."

"Well, that sounds terrific. When do we leave?"

"About an hour or so, we just need to wait until most of the servants retire to their rooms."

That night, Venus and Kunzite left for the garden. She hadn't revealed to him yet the full details. He was not aware that once he left, it would be for good. He wouldn't be able to come back up here, at least until the lock had been removed. She took his hand, as they reached a clearing, and with the Queen's charm she'd given her, raised her hand high and they traveled to the Earth's castle.

"Well, I suppose this is farewell," Venus stated as she took a step back, and prepared to leave again.

Kunzite smoothed the front of his jacket. "Well, for a short while, at least. I'm sure the Prince will have a response by tomorrow." He smiled a bit, but his eyes did not meet hers.

Venus looked down to the ground and waited a moment before extending her arm to hand him the letter. "You won't be coming back up, Kunzite-san. Only the bearer of this charm can do so, and it is not for you."

He was shocked for a moment, but nodded after a short while. It was the best way to go about this. The safest, at least. "I understand. You're only doing what is best. I appreciate you finding a way to get me back without any trouble, Venus-sama." He did a fine job of hiding the disappointment in his voice.

Venus let go of the letter and reached to the sky. "Good bye, Kunzite-sama."

"Good-" before he could finish, a bright flash took her away. "Good bye, Venus..." he said aloud to himself.