Hello my dear readers. I took a two month break because of an arts show and a play I was in. I'm leased to say at my art show, one of the two pieces I sold was a Chibi, Sailor Moon exclusive 11x14 print! But now I'm back working on this story. You might be surprised on how low action this chapter is. I relized after re-reading Chapter Seven that this is supposed to be as romance between Helios and Rini, and so far not a lot of that has been going on. So, before we get back to the conflict, I thought I'd give our lovers some time to themselves. For all you HeliosxRini fans; Please enjoy!
~Dreams under the Crescent Moon
8 ~Romantic New Moon
So much for a relaxing, romantic vacation.
Rini sighed as she slipped on her linen night gown over her head. The cool, fragrant night air filled her hut, chilling it. She pulled out her house coat and tugged it on, sitting in front of her dresser.
She carefully pulled her hair ties out, her buns dropped and married with her long, wavy tresses. Diana hopped onto the dresser with a shiny, satin colour brush in mouth.
"Are you hurt?" she basked after Rini took the brush.
"No, just thinking," Rini said.
"You and Helios haven't been able to spend a lot time together, I'm sorry."
"Trouble seems to follow me wherever I go, that's part of being a Sailor Guardian. It was the same with my parents."
"They ended up alright," Diana pointed out.
"Sometimes I wonder though," Rini pulled her hair up and brushed slowly through.
"Did the battle really make them stronger, would they have been happier without all the agony?"
'"It's hard to say," Diana replied. "But I like to think if love is real and meant to be, it'll work out no matter what."
"Real love," Rini mumbled. Was she in love? The truth was that's why she had come to Elysion. To find out if she was truly in love with Helios. If perhaps they had a future together.
Seeing him again as Pegasus brought back so many wonderful memories. Seeing him in human form however, made Rini shiver. A man possibly more handsome than her father, with the same deep, soothing voice of her beloved Pegasus friend, but she still knew so little about him. That was part of the allure, but she knew it can't last. She wants to love all of him, and right now, as things stand she can't love him. Her childhood crush remained; falling in love was at a standstill.
"How can I even be thinking about this, Elysion is under attack."
Diana placed a paw on Rini's hand.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't stop thinking about him."
"It always sadden us, my parents and I, we know everything there is about being Guardians, the sacrifices are always too much to bare, and if it can be helped, we like you to do some normal things, like love. Love shouldn't be a luxury."
"It always is for Princesses in regular Fairy tales," Rini pointed out.
"Well, not this Princess," Diana smiled. She leaped onto Rini's lap, snuggling.
"You'll figure something out, and then make kissy faces with Helios," She teased.
Rini rolled her eyes and grinned, then turned back to the mirror. She blushed as she decided she'd be selfish tonight and dream of Helios.
Helios grinned as he stepped out of his hut. He caught a glimpse of Rini's thoughts as she lay down to sleep. He'd stay away from her dreams tonight. He closed his eyes and kneeled, feeling his back pickle as his wings spouted and grew, wrapping himself in them, he felt his body grow warm. The golden crystal glowed and he stepped forward, folding his wings back against his Pegasus body.
When he was first cursed, the transformation, the merger between himself and his steed, was torturous. The King and Queen's blessings had made it pleasant.
He ran through the woods and soon flapped up into the sky. He began performing his duty, visiting and watching over the beautiful dreams of humans.
It always made him so happy, to visit each dream, filled with hope, laughter, and love. But no one's dreams were like his maidens'. He used to linger in her dreams a little longer. They overwhelmed him with so much hope and courage. They had given him strength during his darkest days.
Now, however he visited each dream through the dream realm, adding a touch of his power where needed. He mostly visited children's dreams, where his Pegasus form would be less than unusual. What felt like days usually took only a couple of hours. And then he found himself trotting on the stone path leading to the temple. He gave a small leap and burst into his human form dropping a few loose feathers. He sighed and looked up at the shiny stars, counting the present constellations. He walked into the temple and blew out all the glowing candles inside. The end of another day.
He usually made tea once he was back at his hut, but tonight he was anxious to sleep . Perhaps he'd meet Rini in his dreams tonight.
He fell onto his feather mattress, a white mesh curtain above him, and he swore, he could see Rini's face, smiling on the part of the curtain that blew in front of the moon.
He instantly recognized her dream. It always was set in his shimmering woods that circled around the large, blue crystal lake. He saw Rini sitting on a large stone, kicking her feet gently in the water. Helios froze, taking the sight of her in. Her long pink hair fell down her back and dripped sweetly on the grassy banks like ribbons. She wore a lilac stain night grown, modest, but at the same time made her look grown up. That's right. He sighed. His little maiden was now a young woman. He remembered a time he wished she was older but also felt joy at the thought she could stay his sweet little girl forever. But the curse of the black moon family had lifted, and she grew at a normal pace at last. Suddenly, in an instant she had become a young lady and now, he missed his girl and adored the woman she had become.
His fingers trembled to comb through her locks. His legs finally began to carry him to where she sat. Rini turned and saw him when she heard his footsteps.
"Helios" she gasped, jumping off the stone.
"I'm sorry" he said. "Don't go."
"Why are you here?" she asked, stamping her foot as if she was nine again.
"I didn't come before when I did my dream walk, but I'm asleep now, so it's not as if I'm doing it deliberately." He smiled and held out his hand. "My subconscious brought me here, like yours did."
Rini blushed, and took his head, he pulled her towards him, and he gazed her, chuckled as she flustered.
"You wanted to see me?" he asked.
"Sort of," Rini mumbled.
"I'm sorry, I know it's been hard." He said.
"How do I even know you're real and I'm not just dreaming you here?" Rini asked. She wrapped her arms around him.
"I don't think you can dream of me without summoning me into it." He grinned.
"We've been meeting this way for years. When did it stop being enough?"
Rini's face dropped, she started to apologize.
"I didn't mean it in a bad way." He said.
"You've grown up, and even with my power this is not the real world, or the real me."
Rini looked up at him and nodded.
"I'd like to know more about you."
"Why have you never asked before then?" Helios asked.
"I always used to get lost in just being with you, flying around in the dream." She replied.
"Ah, I see," he said. "I can't blame you for that, I guess." He offered his arm and she took it. They began to circle the lake, Rini stare at him. He had a small smile. What did it mean?
"The truth however, is you already know most of what there is to know about me." He said. Rini's eyes grew wide, confused.
"For as long as I can remember, I was always here in Elysion. That King's Grandfather told me one of the guards found me on their door step as a baby. I never knew my parents."
Rini froze and squeezed his hand, but Helios kept smiling and shook his head.
"It's alright. The King court took good care of me. Being a child of the Palace I never wanted for anything."
Rini heard feet pattering, and then she saw a little boy with Helios' white, soft wavy hair run past her and into the arms of a young woman in a simple, peach gown. A man in dark, shiny armour and a bellowing violet cape stood beside her.
""They raised you?" Rini asked. "You're projecting these from your memories?"
"Yes." Helios smiled.
Rini watched as boy Helios laughed in his foster parents' arms. A group of children soon ran in, dressed in robes, or long cotton shirts in deep reds, navy blues, bright mustards, and crisp white. Boy Helios jumped from his foster mother and ran with the other boys. The figures then changed. The boys and Helios laid in a dozen beds, bronze framed beds. Rini watched a peaceful Helios, breathing softly. Soon his whole body began to glow a bright yellow light, which grew and spread to the other boys. And slowly, each boy was engulfed in the yellow light began to smile or softly laugh.
"My powers appeared at a young age, and luckily, because of my closeness to the Royal family, they began schooling me to become a Priest, claiming my powers as holy, not witch craft or extra
+terrestrial."
Rini watched a slightly older Helios, sitting at a desk, reading from candle light. Behind him walked in an older man, wearing long, deep blue and red robes. On his chest was a Golden Shield. The crest in the center was a long stem rose, surrounded by vines.
"The late King Aram." Helios whispered.
Beside the King walked a little dark hair boy with deep blue eyes.
"Papa," Rini gasped. The adorable Endymion wore a blue boy suit, purple stockings and a feathered blue cap. Boy Helios turned and saw them. He climbed down from his stool and knelt in a deep bow, then glanced at the little Prince and shook his hand.
"My first meeting with the Prince," Helios gave a soft, cheerful sigh. "I instantly received visions from shaking his hand. I knew he'd grow into a great ruler, with an equally great and lovely Queen."
The scene changed, Rini saw Helios at his present height, kneeling at the top of a velvet covered stair case. Standing in front of him was King Aram, holding a Golden box above Helios. Beside the late King, stood a Bishop, dressed in white and red robes with gold trimming. Rini's father, the Prince, a young man in this memory stood slightly behind his Grandfather, and at his left aside, stood the four Captains.
Rini watched as Helios was handed the Golden box, and she instantly knew what the box contained.
"You were given the Golden Crystal on this day." Rini said.
"For years, I studied hard. I loved this land, this world and the dream world. It was during this year that I learned to visit other people's dreams. I understood their connection and the need to care and preserve light and hope in the dream world, because it in turn brightens humans and the real world.
"I had gained the King's absolute trust, performing my holy tasks as a monk to perfection. They trusted me with what they most valued. Of course at the time they did not know it was Endymion's crystal, his star seed. Just an unstable, but invaluable treasure. Their most prized possession."
The scene changed again, the sky darkened and Helios stood outside his temple, many, many centuries later. In front of him, wearing a long pale, silk dress stood Queen Nehelenia.
Helios' face stiffen, and the scene faded away.
"You still feel guilty about Nehelenia's attack on Elysium, stealing the crystal from you."
"It was my duty. Had it not been for you, I would have-"
Rini turned around and frowned at him.
"It wasn't your fault. Period."
Rini looked and the image of Nehelenia and Helios reappeared.
"She claimed she loved me, and that we would rule the Universe together if I gave her the crystal."
Helios took Rini's hand as the circled around the scene. Rini stared at Nehelenia's hallow eyes, that seemed to gaze through Helios. It was full of a sadness Rini recognized.
"She wanted someone to share in her loneliness." Rini concluded. "You seemed ideal. A lone Priest in a temple, guarding a secluded land with a powerful crystal. What more could she have wanted?"
"You felt the same?" he asked, stopping to stare at Rini.
"Once," she admitted. She looked up at him, placed her palm on his cheek. His eyes darted, searching hers.
"But I didn't want to possess you. That's not love. I wanted to get to know you, and you know me. Maybe then, we could both stop being lonely."
Helios grinned and wrapped his arms around her.
"I wish," he started softly, "I could tell you something about me. Something unique or exciting but, the reality is my life had been one of a monk. A solitary soul watching over life, unable to live one."
Rini squeezed back, and leaned in to rest her head on his chest.
"What you shared tonight, tells me so much." She turned and kissed his clothed chest slowly.
"You trust me and you want to share. That tells me, my feelings aren't misplaced."
Rini and Helios both turned to where the scene was. It now had become a holographic slide show. They watched their first kiss. Rini blushed. Then she looked up at Helios. Her eyes were glassy as she stared at him lovingly. He held her tightly, lowering his lips till they touched hers. She barely felt it, but his touch sent a current of sweet warmth though her whole body. They had fought together side by side, endured torture and pain, and she was sure, no, she'd known for so long that she wanted no one else by her side. Through all the happy times, and the darkest ones. When they parted, Helios dropped to the ground, and pulled Rini into his lap. They gazed at the lake, and watching the dark sky turn indigo, then pink. Rini chatted about her nine hundred year long childhood. The stalling of her powers. Helios smiled at the shared coincidence, they both as children had what the other needed at the time: To be normal in their respective worlds.
Rini trembled, and Helios began to remove his outer coat but she shook her head.
"I'm not cold," she said, watching the orange skies beginning to rise.
"I'm just thinking about our struggles ahead."
"Really, on a night like this?" Helios said.
"I'm sorry," Rini sighed. "It's just, we're together and happy, but as usual it's in our dreams."
She took his hand and squeezed it. "I want this in the real world."
It was Helios' turn to blush, as he looked straight at her.
"Your dream is to be with me?"
"If you want me to be," Rini admitted on small, shy voice.
He kissed her forehead and held her tightly.
"We'll be like this in the real world. Through whatever battles or obstacles. We've conquered them before, we will again."
A line of burning light appeared beneath thick ribbons of orange, red, and purple across the sky, Rini found herself doing off in Helios' arms.
"I'm falling..."
When she opened her eyes, she saw the straw roof of her hut. She gave a moan and slowly sat up. She began to stroke at her hair when Diana ran into the room.
"Rini!"" she cried. "Come quick! Hotaru's hut has been attacked!"
Rini's eyes widen and she stormed out of her hut, following close behind Diana.
To her angst, the wonderful dream was indeed now over.
*Blushes* Alrighty then. For those of you familiar with both the Manga and Anime, you know that the whole Star Seed theory get s a little complicated and contradicted in both versions. You'll see why the Star seed is important later on. For now, I think that went pretty well. But the battle continues and in the next chapter we get to find out why these plant mutants have come to Elysion. Thank you so much for reading and supporting my story thus far!
