Act Eight: Secretly Coveted
"Michiru... Michiru!" shouted a voice.
The voice sounded as if it came from the other end of a tunnel. The bar maiden shook her head, and adjusted her grip on the cloth that she held over the half-cleaned table. It had been several days since she had regained conscienceness, and just a bit longer before the shock of everything hit her. So much had happened, and she didn't know how to deal with it, except—
"Michiru!"
The bar maiden lifted her head to look up at the barkeeper Oberon. —Except to go back to work and shift through it as she did her daily chores, and spend time with some of the regulars. She wiped a few stray locks of hair behind her ears before looking up and giving him a small smile. Like always, he was quick at knowing when there was something off in Michiru's life, and was quick to point it out. Even if she didn't talk about it. The gentle giant let it go, allowing her to work it out for herself.
"My dear, you seem even dreamier than normal," he said with a kind smile on his face. Oberon came up to her and cupped the side of her face as an understanding father would. "It is as if, instead of a world resting between your shoulders, there is an entire universe." He chuckled.
Michiru smiled back, her eyes half shut. "I did not realize that I was that out of it, Oberon." She dropped the rag back into the wooden bucket with a splash, murky water sprinkling the table.
He gave her a sideways look, before speaking again. "There are some letters for you. I've actually had them for quite a few days, but decided to wait until you looked a little better. You are a bit worse for wear, my dear."
Michiru frowned. Her mind immediately went to Haruka, but she dismissed it just as quickly. The blonde sea captain seemed like the type, if she ever did get a letter written, to deliver it to her in person, and embellish it as she went along reading. "I will get it towards the end of the day," she decided.
"But you mentioned that you would be leaving your shift early," the barkeeper reminded her.
"I'll come back for it," she said with the wave of a hand.
After her shift she would be headed back to Menarsia to see how the young couple was doing—and, though it was hard to admit it to herself, she wanted to see the doll. For a while, since Haruka had even mentioned the doll, she was curious about what it looked like. What she looked like. The blonde sea captain probably didn't even know that she was transporting an actual human being. As well as the fact of how powerful this girl was—even though she wasn't quite alive. When Elios had tried to explain it, Michiru found that she was still confused.
Finally, she felt that she could put everything behind her and return to the hotel; and curiosity had gotten the better of the bar maiden. Michiru, if she dared to actually sit down and think about the first few moments of waking up, the memories were bright as if she were living them again. Those hours in the cave felt like a nightmare, a pain so terrible it made her shrink away—an unusual reaction for the bar maiden. And the people? They all felt like characters that her mind had derived and had thrown at her.
If it weren't for Elios being there, she probably would have believed those thoughts. If it weren't for Elios, she would have been dead—or worse.
Her conscienceness slowly put itself together, bit by bit; and when she finally opened her eyes, she found that there was a fog all around her. Her eyelids were heavy, so she closed them again, her mind bumping back and forth between reality and the strange fog. Michiru knew that there were people moving all around her, fluttering around like butterflies, and their voices soft like a lullaby. She tried a few more times to open her eyes, and after a few more tries, she could finally make out the figures in front of her.
Underneath her was a soft bed; like a cloud. She was warm, and she was almost tempted to go back to sleep—but something in the back of her mind tugged at her. Something dark and weighted, something she didn't want to face began to spread through her mind. The bar maiden remembered the shocks—and her head pounded as if she was hit again. She opened her eyes, not realizing that she had closed them once more, and found that there was someone standing in front of her.
"How are you feeling?"
It was Elios. His voice was soft, calming. His amber eyes observed her with a sort of pain skirting the edges of them; he looked like he hadn't slept in at least two days. Behind him bustled two silvery-haired women, one carrying a silver tray with a porcelain basin perched on top. The room around them was bright, open, as well as comfortable. The main colors were white and gold, plants dotting the large room. Curtains fluttered from the sea air. One of the women stopped by another bed, not unlike the one Michiru was reclined in. In it was the pink haired maiden—the probable root of Elios' pain.
It took Michiru a few moments to speak, overwhelmed by everything around her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. Licked her lips when she realized how dry they were. "I'm fine," she decided, even though that didn't even feel quite right. Not really the truth. The aqua haired woman sat up slowly, cautiously. Piles of blankets shifted around her—had she been cold? The air around her was fresh and cool, with a warm edge to it.
Elios nodded slowly, as if he didn't believe her, but he seemed to accept her reply. He glanced over his shoulder, leaving Michiru to her own thoughts and memories. The darkness, the cavern, the chandelier hanging from the top.
"Where were we?" she asked. Her voice sounded soft and so small even to her. It scared her, and made her feel even smaller.
The hotel owner jerked in surprise, and returned his attention to her. He winced, and she almost thought that he wasn't going to answer her, but then he sighed before speaking.
"Tarturous," he said slowly. He was then looking down at the well-polished floor, checkered light blue and white. "Somehow, they—the scientists and the Queen's court—were able to open a doorway here, and were able to hide under our very noses. They took a small piece of Tarturous so that they were able to have their own rooms to conduct their experiments."
He laughed bitterly. "They're now able to even warp parts of the underworld to do their own bidding. And again I was their fool."
"I think that not knowing that someone had hell in one of your hotel rooms is understandable. That's something that shouldn't be possible."
"Yes," he agreed, as he shifted his weight in the chair he had been sitting in, "something that shouldn't be possible." He seemed to relax at her comment.
Michiru found that she had been staring at the sleeping maiden, when Helios finally looked back up at her. It took her a moment before she realized that there was a silence. "Is she going to be all right?"
The color drained from his face, and the bar maiden regretted even asking. When Elios realized that he was so tense, he relaxed his shoulders. "I hope so," he finally answered. "They've done so much to her. To you as well."
"What did they do?" she asked. She rubbed her forehead as she began to try to shove the hazy memories back. "They accused me of being some sort of holy warrior. I've never done any sort of fighting, let alone work for some great queen."
"One question at a time my lady," the hotel owner said, placing a gentle, warm hand on her shoulder. He forced a tired smile.
"Khaos has been hosting a series of experiments that first started out on just simple town's people. Strange, horrible experiments that tore their very souls out of them. Of course the people that were used for such things died right after whatever these scientists tore right out of them. These were just ordinary, innocent people that they tortured.
"Eventually it caught the attention of my Queen, and she sent forces to tear down Khaos. But these people are very slippery—hard to find, as you must have seen. As soon as we found one lab, another would pop up, and the first would disappear, literally when our backs were turned. Who knows what they have been doing in their own lands?
"The head of Khaos had always known about the Queen's soldiers, though none of us could have guessed what those experiments had originally been for—until they finally captured one of our own." Elios shook his head, brushing a lock of silvery hair away from his face distractedly. "It was recent, and we don't know if the damage done to the only other transformed soldier can be undone."
He went silent for a few moments, and Michiru patiently waited for him to continue. He looked like a man who carried the weight of the world, illogically blaming all that happened on himself. Though the bar maiden could understand—had that soldier been transformed in his very hotel, the Menarsia?
"The only way I can understand how these experiments work, is that they take the soldier's soul, their star seed, right out of their very bodies. And this way they are able to be controlled and twisted." He glanced over at the sleeping princess, before reading the questioning look on the bar maiden's face. "Their star seeds are a source of great power, and as long as it is not shattered, a soldier can continue to live without it. Though the source is kept within them because of the chance of it being used against them—just like what happened in the cave.
"I didn't think such a thing was possible, until I had seen it with my own eyes." Michiru quickly realized that he was regarding herself and the Princess. "My Queen suspects that many of Khaos' court and the higher ranked people surrounding the leader have had the same process done to them. We've never even seen their ruler."
Stiffly, the young man got up, stretching his shoulders and legs. Michiru sank back down into the pillows, the weight on her shoulders suddenly weighing her back down. "So I almost died," she mumbled.
Elios was now at the side of the pink haired princess, his back turned towards the bar maiden. Slowly, he reached down and picked up a delicate, pale hand. Michiru almost expected her to move from the gesture, but still she slept on.
"You weren't close to dying, my lady," he said. His voice was quiet and emotionless. He now had the Princess' hand between the two of his, as he slowly began to warm them up. "I suspect that you are one of the ten soldiers. You would have died after the first or second strike. Not all ten of the warriors have been found," he reminded her.
"For a while, four of the remaining soldiers were hidden, while the other four were in the Queen's service. The Queen herself and the Princess are the final two, though we hope to never have them set foot inside a battlefield. That of course is a last resort.
"The Queen's own mother had kept track of these soldiers, until her untimely death—and then all of that information was lost. Fortunately, one of them kept tabs, however she decided to remain a leader in her own country, instead of working as a warrior for the Queen. The other's star seed had literally been ripped out by Khoas and shattered from the force—she was the first warrior to have such things done to her." Finally, he glanced over to look at the stunned bar maiden, but he continued with his train of thought. "Of course you have heard about her—the doll?"
"But what about me?" Michiru found that she had snapped at him, anger and fear the most dominant emotions in her mind. Her voice echoed in the room. She was now sitting up and ignoring the wave of dizziness that invaded her mind. The bar maiden put a fist to her heart. "What am I? How do you know?" Before the hotel owner could speak, she added bitterly, "And don't give me that 'you didn't die' shit."
She nearly sat back at the lash of her own anger. Michiru was not normally one to throw around curses, and the sound of her voice shocked even her. She also felt embarrassed at losing her own temper.
"I do not have any other proof to give you," he said quietly. Well, at least he was completely honest. The aqua haired maiden hated him even more because of that—because he was so kind and gentle, and yet he still looked guilty for everything. "I can sense it from you is all that I can say. The only way that you would know for sure, is to go to the Queen herself. Only the Queen would be able to see her own soldiers—that is unless they wanted to remain hidden."
Michiru would rather have remained hidden. She bit the inside of her cheek as she forced back her temper and fear. "And I suppose you know who the remaining soldier is?" she asked sarcastically. In reality, she didn't really want to know—she wanted to know as little as possible about this distant kingdom that this hotel owner served. She had nothing to do with it. Wanted nothing to do with it. An ordinary life was what she wanted. A simple life.
Elios shook his head. Gently, he placed the maidens hand back down on the bed, before bending over to kiss her forehead. Michiru turned her head away, giving him some semblance of privacy.
"I do not know the answer to that question."
The bar maiden finally decided that it was time to try and leave. Slowly she moved her weight sideways, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed. She noticed that the hotel manager had moved a hand out to stop her, but he hesitated and let her get her way.
Michiru had to admit to herself that she was afraid of standing, as a wave of dizziness hit her head. She stopped when her feet touched the floor, and took a couple of deep breaths. Slowly the dizziness abated, and she tried again at moving—this time standing to her full height. She slid slowly off of the bed, weighing how her mind felt as gravity slowly changed. Resting a hand on the soft mattress for balance, she finally stood erect before looking at Elios.
"I think I am going to leave," she said calmly. So far the dizziness didn't return, but she knew that she would have to be careful on her journey home.
"Return when you are well, my lady," Elios said. He stood straight, his back to the sleeping maiden's bed. "We still have a bit to discuss—that of the doll if you are willing. I feel it only fair to show you her because of all that you sacrificed."
She knew that he was tempting her, and she knew how curious she was and that she would take the bait in the end. Slowly she nodded.
It was midday when the bar maiden finally made it out of the Ariel. The sounds of people entered her ears, conversations, yelling, cursing, laughing. Fish shone like bright silver light when the sun hit them, the seller's throwing them into baskets. Exotic fruit dotted other stands, swollen and fresh, just for the taking. The scent of fresh bread and cooked meat combined with the fresh salty air.
Michiru had a hard time admitting to herself that the island town had already earned back her trust, even after all that had happened on it. It was a hard place to hate or distrust. In the daylight people seemed to be at ease, relaxing after long voyages.
She passed through level after subtle level through winding stairs, rising higher towards the Menarsia. Shutters of houses were wide open, as wives spilled heavy buckets of soiled water out of windows. More shops, more stands piled one on top of the other, selling clothes and jewelry of varying qualities; more bakeries. Hotels were mixed in amongst the organized chaos. Michiru didn't know this part of the town as well, used to the outer fringes as well as the below decks, where she of course lived.
More prominent townspeople lived around the upper floors of Elysia, but of course, class wasn't as much of an issue like other lands. Most of the population contained sailors, pirates, and other assorted travelers, but if one struck it rich on one of those lucky voyages, they could make their way upwards and spend what they had. The economy was based on the peoples' mentality—work hard and party hard. Most didn't bother to save their money.
Though occasionally there was the high ranker from an exotic—or even—close by land. The aqua haired bar maiden remembered the hushed and excited whispers from her companions at the Ariel about the courtesan of Piscia. Michiru wished almost bitterly that she could have seen the woman and heard the tales that she would have told. She guessed that was why the Menarsia was built in the first place.
Elios had also alluded, during their short and strained conversation, that there were indeed royals who visited the hotel regularly, albeit secretly. Michiru slowly put it together that it was probably from that land he was always going on about, where that strange Queen resided.
For a moment, she glanced over her shoulder to see how far she had come. Down below, she saw the deep reds and oranges of roof tops, and lanterns hanging serenely from poles, which were at the moment unlit because of the bright daylight. Lacing almost delicately around from what she could see of the coast of the island, were the sails of ships. They waved magnificently in the wind, and were of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Eventually, after her wandering walk upwards, she made it to the rich, marbled doors of the hotel. Part of her knew that she had been procrastinating—she didn't want to hear anything about these holy warriors that she had been hearing so much about, and how she somehow had something to do with them. Which she didn't. But she wanted to see the doll—see the very same thing that Haruka had seen and make some sort of real connection with the blonde haired pirate captain.
Richly dressed gentlemen bowed to her before opening the doors. They were dressed in the same colors of the hotel, their wigs powdered white, shoes clicking evenly across the ground. Soft, cool air greeted her, as well as the Menard maidens, each bowing their heads lightly before leading her farther into the hotel. Michiru noted to herself that they were probably the very same two women that had waited on the Princess while she slept.
In front of them contained the grand staircase, leading to the higher levels of the hotel, where the majority of the rooms were contained. Around her bustled more of the staff, a cook carrying a silver tray, laden with something heavy—though covered. More maidens trailed about the place, whispering gossip to each other as they moved along in twos and threes. A gardener watered a small, large leafed tree with a watering can.
The bar maiden was suddenly very aware of how under dressed she looked. She wore what she wore most days—an apron, and a head rag, a customary style of dress where she worked—and under the apron, a well-loved dress, that showed off her rather curvacious body. And of course, to make her feel even more hyper aware of this fact, were splatters of assorted food and drinks that got spilled onto her during her work day.
Her escorts guided her away from the staircase and into the inner workings of the hotel. One of them, in a soft voice, told her that they were taking her to Elios' quarters where he was waiting for her.
Through the maze they went, through passageways, hallways, all intertwined. Soon Michiru wouldn't be able to find her way around if she wanted to get out on her own. All around her bustled even more of the staff; maids carrying freshly cleaned and folded linen; others carrying heavy metal tools to fix things around the hotel; and she could smell food cooking. All sorts, though she couldn't identify many of them, their smells exotic. She soon noticed pipes overhead, steaming filtering out of them with a soft hiss. Mostly windows lit the way, the bright midday sunlight showing through cleaned curtains in spots of gold.
Eventually, they came to what the bar maiden guessed to be the back of the hotel, the ceilings a bit lower, and the pipework had wandered around somewhere else. Wooden doors blocked off any peaking eyes, and heavy bronzed door knobs adorned them. At the end of the hall, she noticed that one of the doors was opened, more golden light filtering through.
It was Elios' office, and she came to a stop at his doorway, the menard maidens moving on to give them privacy, but not before giving the hotel owner a slight bow. The room was small, cramped, and made even more cramped by all the bookshelves against the walls, all crammed with leather books with golden or silvered edges. A lantern hung from the ceiling, though it was now not burning because of the natural light from the large, wide widow at the other end of the small room. In front of the window was the silver haired young man, who pored over a thickly bound book on a heavy, well polished desk.
He at first didn't notice the aqua haired maiden, scrawling numbers across a thick piece of parchment with a quill—a quill! How old fashioned was that? She cleared her throat when she became impatient, and the young man jumped—but not before lifting the pen away from the paper.
Elios smiled warmly, putting the pen down on the desk. "Ah," he said, "Welcome back."
Michiru didn't know what to say; she clamped her hands right in front of her, and waited for him to get up to go. Carefully, neatly, he placed the pen inside of a narrow drawer, before closing the book with a soft thump. He slid it to the side and rolled up the parchment, and finally he stood on his feet.
"This way," he said.
Instead of going back the way she had come, he merely crossed the narrow hall, and felt around the flat wall. Eventually, his fingers felt a well camouflaged crack, before prying open a part of the wall—a hidden door. Elios felt the bar maiden staring at him, and he grinned sheepishly. It was the youngest she had ever seen him, a smile that revealed his true age.
On that train of thought, she asked him, "How old are you?"
They moved into the darkness, and Elios waited for her to get by him before closing the door behind them. Along the way was candle light, allowing them to see ahead of them, and it took Michiru a few moments to realize that they were even there. It was so dim. The tunnel was made of unpolished, rough stone; she could hear water dripping from somewhere off. The pipe work reappeared, bronze, golden, and silver. Elios took the lead after a few moments of making sure the door was secured, and they moved underneath the hotel.
"I'm seventeen," he answered.
"That's young!" she blurted.
The silver haired young man chuckled, and looked over his shoulders. Then his tone was more serious. "I was raised in aristocracy in the outskirts of Lune. My parents died when I was very young, and the Queen somehow took notice of me, and handled the rest of my training. Eager to please her, I worked harder, and even trained for priest hood."
Michiru was surprised at that. So young of a boy—younger than he was now—and he had already decided to remain celibate and a scholar of religion. "But—" she prompted him.
"I saw her daughter." Even though his back was facing her as they walked, she could literally feel him smiling.
They began to climb a narrow stairway, and the bar maiden was able to look up and observe more of the pipework. It webbed and wound its way upward; Michiru was awed.
"I fell in love when I first saw her—and I am not at all the sort to believe in love at first sight. It made me feel so awkward, so unsure of myself, that I ran away. The Queen, soon after I first met her, said that my parents had left me some property. In Elysia.
"My Queen didn't at all realize my feelings for her daughter, and I felt it a wise move on my part, at first, but she worried about me for some reason. Worried that I wouldn't travel, see the world. The lady believed that I still wanted to be a priest, so she encouraged me to take the opportunity, and become head of this hotel. So I took the chance.
"Even though I am rather stationary, I am still exposed to so many different peoples—it is almost overwhelming."
"I take it the princess found out about your love?"
Elios cleared his throat. "I think she guessed from the start—I am a very easily read person, to my luck. She sent me letters as often as she could. And then she snuck on a ship to visit me as a surprise. And that was where Khaos caught her—I didn't even know she had arrived here, until the King and Queen communicated with me."
They finally arrived to the top of the stairs, Michiru almost out of breath. Elios began to feel around the wall like he had done before. The brick where he felt around looked loose, and just slightly out of place—he began to peal it open, and a shard of light broke through.
"But everything is okay now—and the princess is saved. By you no less," Michiru said kindly.
His smile was embarrassed and small. "Yes, but the damage is already done."
A thought popped into the bar maiden's head. "Will I actually be talking to the Princess?"
She had never spoken to anyone of royalty, a princess or queen. Maybe a lord here or there, but never anyone who ruled an entire country. They never came to the outer fringes of Elysia; never came at all, except to get off of their ship—or so she had originally thought.
Elios' smile widened at that. "Yes you will be. She is awake and alert now. Usagi is still a bit weak, but she is almost herself." Then his look darkened. "Though she remembers mere seconds of what was done to her—fortunately none of her darker side, and what she was made to do."
Michiru stayed silent as they walked out into the bright white light. She was momentarily blinded as she came to the outside, so she hardly knew where she actually was in the hotel. By the time the vague shapes began to sharpen, the hotel manager had already closed the hidden door. Out of curiosity, she turned around to look at the wall, trying to see the vague outline of door—she could see none. Still blinking rapidly as her eyes still struggled to get used to the light, she followed Elios up a series of five steps.
On the landing below, where they had just come from, the floor was of polished, white marble, just like the lower floors, the stairs fringed with gold, as well as the bottoms of the high walls. Above them was the domed ceiling, closer than ever before. A table stood against the balcony, overlooking the grand foyer. A thick volume lay open, a quill right next to it.
Before them, where they stood, was a wide, well lit hall, and every so often were arched doorways, leading into the richly kept rooms. Under the bar maiden's leather sandals was the soft carpet, making her feet spring as they moved. Elios soon told her, as they moved towards the Princess's quarters, that they were on the upper most floor. He didn't want to take any chances of her getting kidnapped again, and there were even guards posted at the doorway when they came towards the end of the hall.
Elios stopped next to one of the guards, the far one opening the door for them. Michiru made a step forward, but hesitated. The hotel owner had not moved.
"You're not going in?" she asked, confused.
He smiled once more, but she knew that it was forced. It didn't reach his amber eyes, and instead they looked sad. "I cannot join you—I don't deserve to." He forced a chuckle. "I've been a very irresponsible person."
"If she cares for you..." the aqua haired maiden started. "It wasn't your..."
She stopped herself, and looked down at the floor. She had meant to say 'it wasn't your fault.' It was truly none of her business, she felt, even after all that he told her. It was his choice—and she had some experience with so called love and its choices. Finally she stepped into the room, and as she looked around her, the door closed with a soft click. Quickly she realized it was the same room that she had woken up in—only the smaller bed had been moved out. Her bed.
The Princess, Usagi, as Elios had called her, sat on the large, square bed. At first the pink haired maiden didn't notice her, poring over what appeared to be a fashion magazine. Michiru smiled to herself when it dawned on her how young this princess was. An adolescent youth. The young lady chewed on her thumb nail distractedly, when she finally felt an alien presence in the room.
She jumped, her red colored eyes widening in surprise—before a warm smile appeared on her face. Michiru could see that she was still exhausted however, her eyes appearing haggard. The Princess pulled her thumb nail away, resting her delicate hand onto the sheets. She appeared to recognize the bar maiden, but it could have been the older woman's imagination and eagerness to be noticed by someone of such a high rank. Michiru was not the type to brown nose her way around when she saw anyone that was famous, but it was still human to want to be noticed at all.
The aqua haired woman gasped when she realized that she had forgotten her manners. She reached for the sides of her dress and began a curtsy—when Usagi raised a hand, color rising to the young woman's cheeks.
"Please don't," she started. Her voice was deceptively soft, though Michiru could catch the hint of the strong notes underneath. Demanding, perhaps spoiled, but that could have just been the stereotype. "I get tired of all the bowing, and the 'yes princess's or 'yes your majesty's—it was why I came here."
She stopped herself, and then she truly looked tired, all of the child like energy gone. Michiru wanted to say something, but instead she felt compelled to move forward. The bar maiden padded towards the young princess, until she came to the side of the bed. Gently, she sat next to the Princess, wrapping her arms around the girl's small form. She wondered how many laws and customs she was breaking, but it felt like the right thing to do.
Usagi rested her head on her shoulder, and sank her weight a bit, like she had really needed that kind of attention all along. It took the bar maiden a moment to realize that she was speaking again.
"You know, I was so happy to see someone so beautiful right next to me—you know—in that room. I was so embarrassed though, so I tried to keep myself quiet and make myself as small as possible." She laughed inspire of herself. "Then I felt so terrible because you were even there—then everything blanked out.
"You know what?" she said, lifting her head so that she could look at Michiru in the eyes. "I'm glad I don't remember anything. I heard about what had happened to General Mizuno, and all the things that she did afterward—willingly. I don't even know how that was possible. It was probably what they did to her. I was so sad, and so scared that the same thing was going to happen to you. The same thing that was going to happen to Hotaru."
Michiru kept her arms around the young woman, despite all of the confusion that she felt. The Princess had been worried about her? Usagi should have been more worried about herself, she was more valuable than an ordinary bar maiden. She rested her aqua head on top of the Princess's while she continued to ramble on. It seemed to help her feel better. For a brief moment, she felt a flare of anger at Elios—he had not been there to comfort someone that he cared deeply for. But the anger fizzled away.
"Hotaru had been one of my closest friends at the palace—the only person who treated me like a normal person. She was training to be a doctor you know. It's complete magic what they do, and I was happy for her. Her father took her away, and did those things to her, those strange, horrible experiments—and something worse happened to her.
"I haven't seen her in years, and didn't know, until I saw her for myself. Mama said that she could be fixed. That was the other reason why I had come here. I over heard it from her soldiers when they spoke in hushed whispers. I know my way around that palace, every secret place—so they didn't even know that I was there."
She went silent after a while, she had been crying a little bit before that. Michiru could feel her shaking underneath her, and she stroked her hair and shoulder blades, hoping that the gesture would comfort her. The bar maiden could feel the sea breeze moving in through the window, caressing her hair, and cooling the sheets. Finally the Princess lifted her head, looking out of the window, as the same breeze dried her tears. The girl breathed slowly as she composed herself.
"I suppose that you should see the doll." Her voice was steady, calm, as if the last few moments had not happened. Stiffly she moved forward, passed Michiru until she slid off of the bed and she was standing.
"I do not need to see the doll. If it hurts you so," Michiru said. Her voice sounded quiet against the expanse of the room. The bar maiden now stood facing the Princess, only a couple inches taller than the young girl. She suddenly felt guilty about her own curiosity.
Usagi shook her head. "No. You're involved in this, and I believe that you should see everything." She put her hand on the bar maiden's shoulder. "After all that you've been through and because of me, I think that you should see everything."
Without another word, the Princess moved into an adjoining room. There was no door blocking off access, but a wide, columned archway. The room was dark, save for the light that filtered in from the main room. The curtains were closed, and the room smelled of dust as if it had been a while since someone had been in it, yet at the same time, it felt respectful.
The Princess moved ahead into the darkness, moving towards the floor-to-ceiling window, and spread open the curtains. Light exploded into the room, reflecting off of the marble, shattering against the walls. The small room was empty—save for a box in the center of the room. It was a narrow crate, made of cheap, flexible wood. The Princess knelt by it as she touched the top. Michiru turned away when she saw a tear falling down the young girl's face.
Finally, with another heavy sigh, the Princess carefully, respectfully lifted the crate top, and slid it away from herself, until it was resting on the floor. The bar maiden felt as if her whole body was made of lead because it felt so hard for her to move, even though her curiosity begged her to go forward. In a couple of steps she could see the sleeping—or dead—figure in the crate. She knelt down right next to Usagi.
Now she knew why the Princess's friend was called a doll. Her skin was porcelain, her hair dark, and so straight that it would have taken a straightening iron. Her lips were small and curved, like that of a girl's toy. The "doll's" eyes were closed, and fringing them were thick, dark eye lashes. Covering her from the shoulders down was a soft blanket, so Michiru didn't see the vines that Haruka had described in her stories.
But Usagi reached under the blanket, so careful and gentle, grabbing the sleeping girl's hand. They looked almost real, and it took Michiru a moment to realize that the long fingers contained joints, and when the shadows hit them, she could see the intricate vine work moving up her hands and up her arm.
"Most of her body is like this, all the porcelain." The Princess shook her head, but never pulled her eyes away from the doll's face. "She's always been like this. All of it—I don't know how she moved, but she moved like anyone else. Her dad helped her. Made all of the limbs; he was a magician. Then they were both gone.
"She was always talking about how she always wanted a normal life, and that she was indebted to her father because the limbs allowed her to at least try for it. That was why she wanted to be a doctor—it would give her the chance, and the many others she would have helped, the chance to be normal. But then just as quickly as her father gave her the chance, he took it away...
"We both kind of hoped to live a normal life. We would come up with stories, impossible fairy tales really, about how we would run away—for my sake, I was a princess, and she could have that average, boring life—and live on some huge continent where no one could find us." The Princess began to laugh bitterly.
The pink haired girl was suddenly looking up at the older woman, though the bar maiden was at a loss for words. Michiru suddenly felt guilty, almost selfish at having somewhat the average life that the girl so wanted. She, too, understood that need for normalcy. There still felt like there were things missing, like there was some kind of hole in the middle of her chest.
Towards the end of the day, Michiru finally dropped by the Ariel, remembering that there was a letter waiting for her. Oberon was wiping off tables, the pub quiet in between rushes. Other bar maidens cleaned and carried the heavy mugs to the back before returning to pick up soiled plates. The owner of the pub immediately noticed the aqua haired woman and a smile rose to his face.
"Come for an extra shift, my dear?" he asked.
"Hardly." She stepped up towards one of the stools, resting her weight into it, glad for the short break. Her feet ached from the full day left behind her. "I came for the letter that you said had come in. I apologize for not getting it sooner, but I had a lot on my plate for the passed few days. I had completely forgotten about it until now."
"It's no problem," replied the older man, as he finished up with the counter. He tucked the rag into a pocket at the front of his apron.
Michiru turned her head to the side. "Who is the letter from? Did the envelope say?"
"I don't quite remember who. From the thickness of it, it seemed like a love letter from a suitor."
Michiru sighed heavily as Oberon disappeared into the kitchens where his work quarters were buried. Occasionally there would be a particularly aggressive suitor after the aqua haired woman's heart, with things like poetry, or even buying her hundreds of roses—to even following her where ever she went. Through these suitors, she learned to keep up a sort of mental wall, a sort of coldness, that scared away anyone who tried tried to break through. It was surprising that she had one after so long—and Michiru suddenly began to worry if those walls were crumbling and people were able to see through.
Minutes later, the older man came back out, carrying a thick, cream colored envelope, almost bursting from so many sheets of parchment that had been stuffed into it. He stopped in front of her, a wicked grin on his face. He rubbed his beard with the other hand. "Hmmm, says that it's from a Haruka Tenoh," he pondered out loud, watching the bar maiden's eyes widen in surprise. She reached out to grab it from him, and he yanked out of her grasp playfully.
"Stop it!" Michiru said, still reaching out for the over stuffed enveloped.
Laughter rumbled from deep inside the old man's throat, and finally he relinquished the letter, Michiru grabbing it away greedily. The aqua haired woman seemed to forget everything around her, as she looked down at the thick paper, her eyes wide, almost disbelieving of the envelope's existence. Slowly, she sank into a chair at an empty table, her fingers shakily trying to pry the seal open, though too afraid to put any rough force because it would have torn the envelope the wrong way.
The woman had very little of any chance to worry about the awol captain. What in Neptune's name had caused the blonde to disappear? She knew that Haruka loved her ship and its crew more than her own life, but the bar maiden still missed her terribly. The letter finally came lose, freed from the envelope, which she placed neatly on the clean table. Immediately her eyes were pulled into the sea captain's words.
Michiru,
I am deeply sorry for any stress that I may have caused you—I know that it has been months since I have last seen you.
Something from my past life has come up at present, calling me backwards through time—at least it feels like that, though it is hardly nostalgia. Normally I don't like mixing the two lives, and I leave out this life from you because it is hard to talk about. Now I have the time, and I feel it only right to tell you. Maybe it will help to heal old wounds and make sense of what is going on now...
Just so I warn you, this was before I knew who I was, and of a first conquest, no matter how clumsy it was. I was quite the awkward, bumbling little creature, and I am almost too embarrassed to tell you. Perhaps I will not send this along...
"Michiru, perhaps you will be more comfortable reading the letter in the comforts of your home. It looks like quite a hefty thing," said Oberon, pulling her out of the spell that she had been yanked into. He rested a hand gently on her shoulder.
Michiru silently nodded, almost unwillingly folding the letter back up, placing it carefully back into the cream envelope. She left the Ariel without looking back to say goodbye to her companions, eager to get home quickly, and continue the tale. It was dusk, the skies smattered with reds, oranges, and purples. The wind was warm and strong, and Michiru was almost tempted to find a place to sit outside where there would be a lantern to read the letter. She thought against it: a lone woman out at night, no matter how safe Elysia felt, was not a wise thing to do...
AN:
Haha You're welcome Petiyaka! ^_~