Okay so this chapter took a very long time to even get started. It's due to a couple reasons, first of all, shortly after the release of the previous chapter of this story my grandpa passed away. I'm okay now but I don't really deal well with loss, though I have to take it one day at a time. I was pretty messed up for a while.
A less depressing reason is that I have, as of December, recently graduated college. That's right readers, you're humble author is officially a historian (trumpets sound and cheers) while I realize that it may not be obvious, as you can probably guess the final semester of college is chocked full of frantically trying to finish all the things you must to get to graduation, including an 80 page monstrosity known as a "senior project" As you can probably imagine, after working on that I was disinclined to pick up a pencil for a bit. That all changed a couple weeks ago…in the last few weeks I've been under an enormous surge of creative energy. I've written several songs (my life passion ) as well as a few chapters in a novel I'm working on.
In the reviews for chapter 5, I was told that my author notes are longwinded. So I included absolutely none of them in the last chapter to see if it was better received. Sort of a trial run you might say. It doesn't seem to have made a hill of beans difference though, still, in the future, if I want to take up more than a page, I promise it will come AT THE END of the chapter, thus making it easier to ignore if you so choose, but I do appreciate every one of my readers and that is my special way of telling them so.
And finally to my friend Crystal Saturn, a big thanks for everything you do. I may not say it enough but I really appreciate your help on this one, you rock
….So enough of this and ON WITH THE SHOW
Chapter 7: Normal
Serena had arrived at the park in a flustered state. Having overhead a snapshot of the scouts conversation about her, it became quite clear that they no longer considered her to be a leader. She had been used to this kind of subterfuge when they first started this, as they were all younger and the natural teenage bickering often got in the way of their more important duties. But it had been years since this normal back and forth had actually become something to be concerned about. With all that had happened to her lately, it seemed to just sort of be the nail in the coffin.
She'd stood there by the red painted wood bridge over the Koi pond, just watching the fish swim around. There was something so calming about them, and her rage faded. The bridge was small, with low railings. It hadn't been intended for use really, as most people stayed away from that corner of the park. After all, the trees shaded the area, and it was close to where the heart snatchers had been attacking children, so it was mostly deserted now days. Serena leaned forward to rest her folded elbows on the rails, she laid her head down and just took in the serenity of the scene. A soft sigh later, she found herself drifting into a drowsy partial consciousness. Dreamily she leaned over the railing, half asleep, she gingerly splashed into the water, the wooden bridge leaving scrapes across the top surface of her legs as she made her way over. She then laid down as she had in that meadow, she felt the grass underneath her face and she slept; Oblivious to the fact that her newfound bed was under water.
She hadn't been able to control what happened, she hadn't known it was happening at the time. Now amid her friends, she was remarkably calm. They pressed her with questions, but she was silent. It was, in fact, her silence that Darien found most uncomfortable. He pushed her friends away and stood right in front of her, she didn't seem to see him.
Stunned he shook her. Hard. Perhaps with more aggression than he'd intended but he'd arrived at the park in a dangerous frame of mind. He'd been all set to demand answers from her. Insist that she'd be honest with him, even mention the handprints if she denied everything. Hell, it was all over the news that they were looking for someone who matched her description. He was all set to be firm and authoritarian of the situation seemed to call for it.
When he'd arrived, she wasn't where she was supposed to be, but remembering the Koi pond across the path, he'd went there. He'd expected her to be sitting on the bridge. When they first started dating, they'd sit there together, no one hardly came near the pond so it wasn't necessary to feel as if they were inconviencing anyone. They'd have the whole pond to themselves. Serena said it just reminded her of a memory she had, from her time in the moon kingdom. There had been a garden then, with a fountain that had water lilies on the surface. She remembered being ever in that garden with him before. It was a short memory but it did make the Koi pond a romantic spot for the two of them.
Serena's return to cognitive consciousness was best described as quick. Serena was awakening once again to concerned faces. This time she was wet all over. Okay that's new….She stood up slowly, hissing at the sudden stab of pain. A quick inventory of newfound scrapes on the front of her legs brings to mind the reason why she was soaked. She remembered being in a haze, it didn't even really seem like it was happening at the time. But as the whole incident crept into her mind she felt her skin crawl. It was like what happened in the bathtub except this had felt peaceful. The water hadn't shocked her awake, neither had being removed from it. She felt quite certain that she would've continued in that dreamlike trance until she drown had Darien not arrived.
It was this that struck her most. She'd had the dreams and occasionally those trances but this was different somehow. It had taken complete control of her mind and body. She hadn't even known she was stepping into the water. She hadn't done it of her own volition, but even being forced to do it seemed too harsh. It was as if she was eased into it, like a mother laying down a sleeping infant to sleep, everything was calm and gentle. The dreams were many things, but gentle was certainly not one.
For his part, Darien saw the truth of the whole situation as it occurred to her, he saw the fear coming into her eyes and, more than the entranced Ophelia had, he found his anger at her to be redirected to whatever had made her so scared. He'd known her since she was smaller than Rini and he'd never seen her so terrified. The hero in him just wanted to protect her from it. She seemed so helpless all the sudden.
In an instant though, the terror was masked. She pushed everything out of her features, schooled her expression and rose completely to her feet. She'd allowed herself to forget for a moment that she wasn't alone. As her eyes met his she realized suddenly that he'd seen her fear. For a few minutes she was at a loss. He'd seen it, she couldn't hide it from him anymore, could she? Without lying about it, though even then she couldn't think of anything to say. She couldn't make up a story that would make sleeping in a koi pond sound natural. She doubted anyone could.
The simple fact that even the truth didn't make much sense wasn't lost on her either. She stood ringing the water out of her uniform skirt, using the repetitive motion to try and think. When she had done all she could, she looked up, concern and fear from her friends made her feel somehow guilty. As if she'd done all of this on purpose. She hadn't and she was sure they knew that but something about the looks all around made her feel as if she was somehow to blame.
"I think I need to change…" She said, her voice sounding stronger than she felt at the moment. Darien stood their stunned. Clearly that wasn't what he expected to hear.
"You can't go home like that Serena." Rini said, her answer surprised everyone "What would your mom say?" Rini's answer was so very practical that everyone stared at her instead of Serena. She was growing up, they all were starting to see that. Maybe it was because of what she saw the other day, but she seemed very strong and less terrified than the rest of them still were. Collectively, they all began walking to Darien's, the only place that a soggy Serena wouldn't raise eyebrows. Sometimes the girls wondered if anyone else actually lived in that big tower, they never seemed to see them, and no one seemed to complain about teenage girls coming and going at weird hours. Credit seemed due to the fact that it was an expensive place, and perhaps they just don't worry about things like that in such a nice complex. The fact that someone his age wasn't throwing wild parties and seemed to be considerably well off appeared to work in his favor.
That his financial security was due to the fact that parents he couldn't remember died when he was very young wasn't something most people knew. It wasn't really something he ever mentioned. Simply because he couldn't remember anything more than what he was told afterwards. After all, when you don't know anything about your past, it seems easier not to mention it. He realized once that he remembered more about being Prince Endymion then he did about his own past. It seemed ridiculous to him, but it was true none the less.
The girls, plus Darien and little Rini, made their way up to his door. He'd had it fixed after Sailor Venus had destroyed it so he had to fish for his keys for a moment. Serena and Darien went to his room where they both grabbed something dry to wear and Darien went off to the bathroom to change in private. Serena did the same, her wet uniform making a soggy pile on the carpet.
Fresh warm socks on her feet, her hair pulled out of her signature Odangos to dry, she studied herself in the mirror. She looked alright she thought, there was a red welt on her forehead from her close encounter with the car that morning, an event which she had almost forgotten given everything else that the day had seemed fit to toss at her. Indeed, being hit by a car seemed so normal all the sudden. It happens to people all the time, it didn't happen because of any other reason then she wasn't watching where she was going. There was nothing mystical about it. In fact it was so normal that she was even a little delighted. Moreover, perhaps she had a slight concussion from her encounter with the vehicle, and perhaps that was the reason for the Koi pond thing. It actually made sense, it was NORMAL. She could even convince herself that the trance thing was just a side effect of having cracked her already damaged head against the rocks in the Koi pond, some sort of temporary brain damage. It made sense!
She was so delighted by her new found rationalizations that she practically skipped into the living room where her friends were waiting. Darien stepped out of the bathroom just in time to see her darting down the hall in her normal bubbly way. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, he hadn't seen her act like that in a month, perhaps more, and he had to admit, in spite of everything, it made him feel good to see her bubbly again. He almost didn't want to disturb her apparently good mood by asking her how it was possible that something held her down in the shallow water, like something was pulling her from him in that moment. He almost didn't want to see her smile die like that. She hadn't been herself in a while, longer than he'd really stopped to realize. He'd missed her, it was as simple as that.
Her friends reacted to her suddenly sunny disposition less altruistically. To say they were shocked seems entirely inadequate. The fact that she'd bounced into an easy chair and was currently possessed of a preposterously huge smile seemed impossible. Mina couldn't look at her, being back in this apartment for the first time since they'd all witnessed her die was a little too much for her. She wanted to leave. She felt that urge. Her eyes darted between the front door and the balcony door, each seemed to beckon her as a way out. Serena's sudden reappearance felt ghastly to Lita too. Though, instead of being afraid to look at her, Lita couldn't stop. To Lita, this Serena looked like some sort of ghost. She couldn't process the change in her, she was afraid to touch her unless her hand passed through her. She was completely convinced it was an apparition.
As each in turn took in her appearance, they all seemed unwilling to speak. Darien reluctantly broke the ice, he settled onto the arm of the chair Serena was in, she scotched over so they could share, though he seemed unwilling to do so. Rini, however, wasn't so reluctant. Seeing the slot open up she looked expectantly at Serena, who gave her a conspiratorial smile and beckoned her over. They both settled in as Darien began to talk.
"You seem to be feeling better Serena." He looked at her, snuggled in the chair with an arm around Rini's shoulder. She gave him a bright smile which he allowed himself to be lost in for a moment before shaking his head and clearing his throat. He had to discuss this with her. He didn't want to, especially given her disposition at present, but he was unable to rationalize it away. "Look Serena we've gotta talk" He sighed and stood up, his hand rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think of how to put this. Finally he settled on the obvious.
"What happened Serena? This morning, just now in the park, lately it just seems like there has been something going on with you and just now I saw it, felt it, there is a problem here Serena and I want you to tell me. I don't understand any of this and I've had a long day here and I'm glad that you're okay now and everything but I think I've taken all I'm going to take of this, I'm loosing my mind here Serena, I just want you to be honest with me."
Serena's sunny disposition clouded perceptibly. "Oh and you were all so honest with me weren't you?" Mina, Rei, Amy, Lita and Darien all exchanged a look. "I can tell you've been keeping something from me guys, I know you all well enough to tell that. Why should I feel compelled to share every little thing if you all won't? As for today it was weird I'll grant you but completely normal weird, not scout business weird." Serena finished, still trying to stay positive.
Darien looked poised to interrupt her, his unspoken interjection prompted her to continue. "Look okay it's very simple, this morning on my way to class I wasn't looking were I was going and got grazed by a slow moving vehicle. I kinda bumped my head and woke up in the hospital. I was feeling better so I went on to school. Apparently though I overestimated the feeling better part and must have passed out or something up by the bridge. That's it, nothing else, completely normal clumsy me."
Darien and the girls weren't buying it. She hadn't addressed the question of the handprint, which certainly lead him to believe his worst fears, that she'd met someone else and had been entirely willing for that particular escapade. Though the conversation he had overheard had suggested otherwise. She also didn't explain the trance, or that whatever it was that had held her down in the water. Perhaps she didn't know about those two things but he had a hard time believing she hadn't noticed the first.
As for her friends, who had been expecting to hear about that horrifying incident with her desiccation and apparent death, they were once again thwarted. Though they realized they hadn't told her about it, they had a very hard time believing that there wasn't some connections. Moreover they were convinced, even if she wasn't, that there was nothing "normal about it" An awkward silence descended as each processed what Serena had said and tried to think of how to explain this secret they'd been keeping. Though they scarcely could believe it themselves, they'd all seen it. It had been like a vision, something more horrible than any nightmare any of them could recall. They'd expected answers. It didn't seem like too much to ask.
Rini, for her part, wanted to believe Serena's story. She wanted to believe it so badly. But she knew better, and the fact that she knew better made the whole thing feel like a betrayal. She was still snuggled next to Serena when the story was over, and she got up slowly, and backed away from the chair. As she watched her mind's eye zapped back to that frozen face then to those unblinking entranced eyes. And finally to that cursed crystal back home. The images played in quick succession as she continued to move backwards until she came to the wall of Darien's apartment. Her head hit it hard then she slid all the way down, hugging her knees. No one but Serena seemed to be watching her as she resumed her position from that terrible morning, muttering and rocking herself. Serena seemed frozen in her spot. She'd seen Rini's movement across the room. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched. Unbidden she too rose to her feet, though her movement across the room was swift. She gathered Rini up in her arms, and carried her away, struggling to do so as Rini had grown so much as of late. Still she felt she had to, she carried her into the other room. Serena knew this time she was at fault. She didn't know why but this was DEFINITELY her fault.
Well okay apparently Rini's finally cracked o.O and yep that was supposed to happen. It almost did before, but she was able to hold it together.
Ophelia refers to a character from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ophelia was hamlet's girlfriend who supposedly went crazy and drowned herself. Though it was never proven that she wasn't drowned by someone else, sort of a fitting illusion for the pond sequence.
And yes I know there isn't a lot of action here, but I wanted to get inside everyone's head, which I did for the most part. I got a little sucked in to Darien's for a bit which might have brought everyone to mind of the previous two chapters so I hope it wasn't too repetitive. Any questions please feel free to ask.
Until next time ,
Katrina
