Author's Notes:
Hi all! First, I'm so sorry for the long update! I had quite a few exams to deal with. However, you will get a new chapter very soon. :)
Thank you to all my reviewers: ShikiKira, TMH09, Sugar0o, criticat, Anonymoose13, Jaimesesshy, DemonQueen17, and Anne Whitehead! I really appreciated all your reviews, comments, and questions! Also, to those of you involved on Dokuga (thank you to Sugar0o for the original thread recommending my story- I check up on it and read it!), you can tell everyone that I will post it there after I post the next chapter (Chapter 10) here. In addition, thank you for all the support there! I'm so excited to share my story with them! By the way, Sugar0o, I would love to see that fanart. ;)
I am considering having a "chapter" that basically contains all the Q&A you guys have asked me (and I'll update it with any future ones), because they're all really great questions, and some of them I can't answer directly in the story. If you guys think that's a good idea (or a bad idea!), let me know.
Jaimesesshy, I apologize, but you'll see Kagome's father's reaction (and the ensuing changes) in the next chapter. When I answered you, I hadn't conceived this chapter as separate from the next one. Your questions, by the way, are marvelous.
Additional Notes:
The Sol System Federation is a group of planets/asteroids/stars, etc., all obviously from the Solar System, who have made themselves allies based on a set of values. The most important criteria, however, is that your planet/asteroid/star does not have any demons on it. Serenity I conceived the idea for the Federation, and it is pretty much comprised of the planets/asteroids/stars that have (cruelly) purged the demons off of them.
The Silver Millennium Alliance is a group of galaxies/planets/asteroids/stars, etc., who can be from any part of the universe (though typically in a range of five galaxies around the Milky Way) that have allied themselves based on a set of common interactions (think the United Nations), such as not torturing prisoners, etc.
A planet/asteroid/star/galaxy can be in both, either one of, or neither of these organizations.
Thank you again for reading! Feel free to review or send me questions! Enjoy!
Love,
Ladykikyo1792
Chapter 9: The Dark is Full of Secrets
It was nearly three in the morning, and the party had only just broken up merely an hour before. The king and queen had offered to have the guests remain for the night, not only because the ball had gone so far into the morning, but as a small method of compensation for the attack during it. It had nearly thrown all the servants into a fit of consternation, but they'd somehow readied all the apartments for the guests within forty-five minutes. All of the guests had been assigned individual rooms, but the Inner princesses and Kagome had yet to return to theirs. Instead, they were been in Rei's chambers, lounging on various red and purple silk pillows, discussing the fairly incredible events of the night. Each of them were still in their formal gowns, except for Rei, who sported a light red silk robe.
"And Kagome, when you threw that fork-" Minako trailed off, collapsing in a fit of giggles, "I thought I was going to die!" She practically was rolling around on the floor. Only an amused Ami, wielding a nearby pillow, was able to keep her from crashing right into the wall.
"Oh, come on," Makoto said, "You would have died, if not for Kagome's quick thinking," the brunette added, with more than a touch of admiration in her voice, "and her apparent superpowers." Her green eyes were filled with warmth.
"Priestess powers," Rei said haughtily, with a flick of her hair, "are not superpowers. They are an incredible gift from Mars Ares, and a sign of his favor," from her red pillow across from Kagome, Rei smiled, "but either way, they're amazing." Kagome blushed, flattered by their attention. She hastily looked down at her hands, unsure what to do.
It was strange to be the important one in the room, never mind the important one in a room full of the Federation's golden girls. Kagome had no idea what to make of their newfound appreciation of her, but she liked it. They had been her friends before, but she'd always felt like an outsider. Now, though, she was definitely in.
"You were pretty amazing yourself, Rei," Kagome replied, returning the compliment to the Martian princess. Looking at the raven-haired beauty, Kagome couldn't help but think:
I can't believe I'm going to be a priestess, too! Not just any priestess, either, but one from a prophecy! It was hard to wrap her mind around. Only a few hours ago, she'd been the Princess of Mars' ragtag friend. Now she was someone walking right out of a legend.
It was a lot to take in, for only a few hours.
"Thank you," Rei answered with another toss of her hair. She eyed the other girls, then said conspiratorially, "but enough about us. Can we talk about how amazing it was to have the Shitennou lords there!"
"What about if they were here right now?" a soft voice, equally conspiratorial, whispered from the shadows. Minako shrieked as a laughing Kunzite picked her up, bridal style, from her pillow and kissed her. Serenity turned her head behind her to catch Endymion bending towards her with a red rose. Zoisite chivalrously helped Ami to stand, and Nephrite shyly waved at Makoto (which Kagome couldn't help but laugh at. The brunette general seemed utterly aware of his own good looks, and was completely like a shy boy with his first crush around Makoto. The princess, to her credit, didn't seem to mind). Last of all was Jedite, who merely smirked at Rei. He was still half in the darkness, and Kagome realized it was him who had spoken.
How did they even get in here? Did Rei know they were all going to show up? Kagome tried to discover whether Rei had deliberately allowed the lords and their prince into her chambers, but from her stunned- though not at all unhappy -face, she realized Rei had had no idea at all.
As if reading her thoughts, Jedite said, "I hope you ladies do not mind us spending some time with you." The princesses immediately protested with cries of "No!" "Of course not!" and "How could we?" Jedite, seemingly very satisfied with himself, strode towards Rei, dropped to her side, and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back into his embrace and closed her eyes.
"I'm so glad you came," Rei said softly, "but how did you manage to get by Riku and Yuuto?"
"You think we've managed to become the best generals of Earth without knowing how to slip past a few guards?" Jedite murmured as he nuzzled her neck.
"What he means is that we knew to pay them off," Zoisite replied. When the others balked at his frankness, the blond general shrugged: "What? It's better to be honest."
By Serenity, Mars has got to get better guards!
"We didn't quite pay them off," Endymion said sternly, "We asked if you had retired yet, and if not, if they would allow us to see you." Serenity raised an elegant eyebrow at him. Smoothing her gown, she announced primly:
"There is no way two Martian guards would simply allow Earthans to enter into the private chambers of their princess and future queen. It just isn't possible." Despite her own love for Endymion, it seemed the values ingrained in her since she was a child were still very much a part of her. They affected her entire outlook on life. It was bizarre to Kagome that such a sweet princess could sometimes be...well, classist and racist. The strange thing was that it did not alter her behavior to people individually. She was unfailingly kind to servants and had never once mistreated anyone, even Sesshomaru, a demon who seemed to be at the pinnacle of Serenity's hatred.
Sesshomaru...
Seeing the princesses with their own lovers made Kagome's heart ache. After the startling announcement that Kikyo and Kagome would both be studying to become priestesses with Rei, the demon prince had been forced to withdraw from the ballroom. He had not even been able to say his goodbyes before Kikyo, Inuyasha, and he had to leave. Kikyo had made their apologies to Ariesna, saying that they needed to inform Queen Kikyuri about the sudden development of her daughter being part of a centuries old prophecy. Then they all left. Newly aware of the statutes of Sesshomaru's position, Kagome understood why he had to leave, and she didn't blame him for it. As Andromeda's ambassador, he would have to be on hand when they told Queen Kikyuri of the incredible news. Still, it would have been much easier to deal with Sesshomaru's absence if the Earthans hadn't shown up.
She was shaken out of her thoughts by Ami's amused declaration, "Of course Sir Riku and Sir Yuuto would not allow Earthans to pass under normal circumstances. However, if they thought that the future high priestess of Mars Ares had summoned them, as devout followers, I'm sure they would make an exception, particularly if the Earthans brought the traditional tithe to the gods."
Kunzite's mouth dropped open, "How did you...?" Minako delicately pushed his chin back into position, giggling all the while.
"Well," Ami shrugged, "It follows logic, especially when you consider how quickly you were all invited to the celebration, that you were given a crash course of Martian religion by Zoisite on the flight over," as Zoisite blushed, she continued, "and so you would know all about the tithe to the gods which is traditionally given to the Martians' high priestess. I'm sure the more devious among you probably knew what to manipulate from there."
"Guilty as charged," Jedite grinned wickedly. At Endymion's exasperated sigh, he winked at the girls. Rei snuggled closer to him. Casting his gaze down to her, all joking out of his eyes, he asked:
"Do you mind that we...well, tricked them that way?"
"I would technically call that lying," Kagome cut in, "but I guarantee none of them mind. Still, I really don't want to be the..." she took a quick count of them all, "eleventh wheel. So, I'm going to take a walk, okay? I'll be back in an hour. And by then," she said sharply, but with a hint of amusement in her tone, "I want all of you out!" She pointed at the Earthans, who laughed.
Kunzite teased, "Well, Miss Newly Famous Priestess has gotten bossy very quickly, hasn't she?"
Minako swatted him on the arm, "Be nice to Kagome!" with that, she smiled at Kagome, "We promise, they'll be gone in a half hour."
At Nephrite's sound of protest, the Venusian said, "Look, I know Riku and Yuuto are super devoted to Mars Ares, but even they aren't going to believe it took an hour to give Rei a tithe to the god. If you stay that long, they'll come storming in," her voice slowed, "and then we won't get to see you again."
And that's my cue, Kagome thought dryly as the couples seemed to snuggle closer to one another. She gently opened the door.
Two guards in Martian livery, undoubtedly Riku and Yuuto, abruptly stood at attention.
"Your Highness!" one gasped, hurriedly standing straight and gripping his spear tightly, "I mean- I mean Lady Kagome-"
"Shut up, idiot," the other growled, "She's a princess. You call a princess 'Your Highness,' except Serenity. She's a 'Royal Highness.' And Princess Rei, of course-"
"No!" the first guard retorted, gesturing to Kagome, "She's a priestess! And you call a priestess Lady-"
The second guard leaned in closer to the first one, "She's not a priestess yet!"
"Then how do you explain what she did tonight!" the first demanded, "She imbued that fork with holy power-"
"Um, gentlemen?" Kagome said timidly. She raised her hand slightly, as if she were in Lady Crawford's class hoping to grab a teacher's attention.
The two guards, however, were far too ensconced in their argument. Their faces were only inches apart as they yelled at one another.
"Oh, you mean the fork you're carrying around right now, Riku!" the second guard, presumably Yuuto, scoffed, "The one you picked up off a dinner table?" He crossed his arms, staring at his companion in disdain.
To Kagome's shock, Riku slipped a fork out of his jacket and waved it in front of Yuuto mockingly. Then, he shouted:
"This fork is a holy relic! It is one of the first objects used by a priestess from the Prophecy of the Three Priestesses! It is the very object that revealed her identity! How can you not treat it with respect?"
"Because," Yuuto said tiredly, "You picked that fork up off a dinner table. The one Princess Kagome used was destroyed in the blast." He gave his partner the same look Kagome had seen Kagura often give their overly excitable (and naive) five year old brother Tyru, which consisted of a mixture of exasperation and resignation. Riku did not notice. Instead, he became even more incensed:
"It was not destroyed! It flew onto the table! And that," Riku narrowed his eyes at Yuuto, "is when I picked up the relic!"
"Common dessert fork."
"Relic!"
"Dessert fork!"
"RELIC!"
"DESSERT FORK!"
"GENTLEMEN!" Kagome finally shouted with them. Stunned, the two guards quieted immediately. Riku gazed at her in adoration, while Yuuto stared at her apologetically, as if attempting to make up for Riku. Seizing the moment with their undivided attention, Kagome asked, "May I pass?"
"Of course-"
"Of course-"
Kagome acknowledged their salute and walked through the entryway.
"-Your Highness."
"-Lady Kagome."
Laughing as the guards' bickering resumed behind her, she began to wander the myriad halls of the Mars Palace.
Kagome walked aimlessly through the halls, letting her feet carry her wherever they wanted to go. Earlier, she would have been concerned about getting lost. Now, though, even if she did, a Martian guard would only be too happy to assist her.
With this knowledge firm in her mind, she was more than comfortable with traveling in the twisting hallways. Although both the ceilings and the lighting were low, the soft candlelight didn't frighten her. It was comforting and welcoming. In some ways, it was more welcoming than her own home.
Despite how content Kagome felt in the Mars Palace, she couldn't help but notice how empty the halls were. In the Moon Kingdom, even at the latest hours, there was always someone scurrying about. But here...it was as if the entire population had disappeared after two-thirty. It was slightly unnerving to be so alone, especially when she was never alone. Even at home on the Sun, solitude was hard to come by. She always had at least one other person around. In the stillness of the Mars Palace, Kagome felt like a ghost, vaguely haunting a place that she remembered as happy, but wondering where her companions had disappeared to.
It's almost...sad, she thought, slightly shocked, It feels like a sadness is here...or will come here...
Kagome shook her head, willing herself to be rid of those dark thoughts:
Come on, Kagome! Don't be stupid. Sadness? Why would anyone be sad? Mars just had its biggest celebration of the next five hundred years! Besides, she chastised herself, even if you were somehow onto something, Rei's the psychic one, not you. There was no reason for Kagome to be feeling this way, especially after tonight.
Hushed voices interrupted her reverie:
"You know we can't. This isn't possible, by my laws or yours."
The first voice was soft and sad, feminine, and distinctly familiar.
"Are you going to let laws run your life!"
The second voice was angry and masculine. Kagome had never heard it before, and she struggled to place it. The accent was rough and contained none of the cultured tones of the Federation royals. Even the commoners didn't sound like that.
"You don't understand...I was born to maintain laws, and for that, I am ultimately subject to them! Laws are what balance life-" the first voice said, full of despair.
"Laws ruined my life," the second voice growled, "Laws killed my mother, and they killed my father when he tried to defend her. Laws made my brother an exile and an outcast of me!"
Who in the stars?
Kagome, by this time burning with curiosity, ventured a peek around the corner and nearly fell over at the sight before her. Hidden in an alcove were two figures standing far closer together than they should have been. One wore a beautiful purple and white ochre dress. The other had red robes. One's hair was dark as the night sky, and the other's was white as the moon. One had blue eyes, and the other had a gleaming yellow.
Kikyo! Inuyasha! Kagome gasped, then hurriedly covered her mouth, but neither of the lovers seemed to notice her. They were too preoccupied with one another.
Kikyo tried to take a step away from Inuyasha, muttering a soft "I'm sorry," but the half-demon's hand reached out like lightning and grabbed her wrist. Kikyo, unlike Kagome expected, did not struggle or try to pull away. Instead, she stood there, tears filling her eyes.
Inuyasha said firmly, "Laws ruined my life," he pulled Kikyo towards him, "By hell am I going to let them ruin yours!" With that, he kissed her fiercely. A trembling Kikyo wrapped her arms around him, and he gripped her even harder into a tight embrace.
In the name of Serenity! Kagome stared at them in shock for a few moments, but then took a step back. As she began to run back through the hallways, her mind was struggling to make sense of what she had just seen. It made no logical sense-
Kikyo is Princess Imperial of the Andromeda Empire. She's betrothed to Sesshomaru, a Lord of the Empire and True Prince of the Moon Kingdom...his brother is her bodyguard. Inuyasha is Kikyo's bodyguard-
-but at the same time, it made perfect sense. It explained Inuyasha's constant anger towards Sesshomaru. It explained Sesshomaru's reference to "a doomed love." For an imperial princess and her bodyguard could never be together. Inuyasha had no status to speak of, and Kikyo was one of the most important people in the nearest five galaxies. Any potential husband had to bring something incredibly valuable to the table, and Inuyasha had nothing to offer her. According to the oft-cited Galactic Marriage Laws- which Kagome knew well, from Narchesa reciting them incessantly while searching for her own groom -a husband for an imperial bride had to be of imperial or royal-capital rank, have excellent ties with his house (in order to have access to an army almost immediately and protect his new galaxy in times of war), be educated in warfare, philosophy, diplomacy, history, mathematics, science, and various languages (with additional education in any magical disciplines preferred), be knowledgeable of his own religious tradition as well as be willing to learn and adapt his bride's, be unmarried at the time of his betrothal (in other words, not be divorced or have ever been in a previous marriage), be born into wedlock, and finally, present himself to his bride's parents and receive their blessing to be welcomed into the imperial house.
Inuyasha, as far as Kagome knew, satisfied none of those requirements, except for the previous marriage clause. His parents' marriage, meanwhile, wouldn't be recognized because Queen Selenity VI Erinna was still alive at the time King InuTaisho married Lady Izayoi. At best InuTaisho would be accused of bigamy and Inuyasha would be called an "illegal heir." At worst- and most likely -the marriage would never be pronounced as valid at all and Inuyasha would be a bastard. As such, he had no house or royal rank. His education, while undoubtedly fairly good since it had come from the Andromedan Empire (which was known for its rigorous schooling), was still nothing compared to that of a prince's. He did not seem to be very religious.
He couldn't have any hope of presenting himself to Queen Kikyuri...how awful!
Kagome felt a surge of pity well up inside her. She was still stunned by Kikyo's and Inuyasha's apparent affair, but she couldn't help but sympathize with them. It was a completely forbidden love that would probably never be realized. The laws were simply too strict.
How terrible...
She was practically panting by the time she made it back to Rei's chambers. Riku had dozed off, still clutching the fork close to his chest. Kagome couldn't help but smile at that. Riku, for his part, looked ridiculously happy.
Yuuto, meanwhile, snapped to attention as soon as he saw Kagome. He saluted her, then said:
"I'm sorry, Your Highness."
Kagome, thinking he was apologizing for Riku, replied, "Oh no, it's all right-" She reached for the doorknob, only to have Yuuto lean forward and gently push her back.
"Princess Rei has gone to sleep. The other princesses have also retired to their chambers."
What? Kagome was thoroughly confused. It couldn't have been more than forty-five minutes since she'd first left. It wasn't possible for the princesses to go to bed so fast. Aside from that, it wasn't in their natures to just...lock her out.
At least, Kagome thought doubtfully, I didn't think it was. Especially after tonight.
"Her Serene Highness asked me to offer you her sincerest apologies and to give you your room key." Yuuto gave her a simple bronze key, which Kagome tucked into her gown.
Why would they just shut me out? Or even if they were going to shut me out, why would the others leave? Kagome was perplexed, Unless...
"Yuuto, did the Earthans pay their tithes to Mars Ares?"
"Yes. It was very...noble of them to do so. I suppose even Mars Ares touches those on Earth."
"I suppose so. Where did the Earthans go?"
"The princesses offered to guide them back to their respective chambers."
Aha! Kagome thought in triumph, though she couldn't help blushing a bit. Now things made much more sense. The princesses had apparently taken advantage of having their own rooms. While Kagome wasn't sure she would have done the same in their position, having seen Kikyo and Inuyasha's anguish at being kept apart, she could certainly understand why they might try.
"All right then," Kagome tried to hide her embarrassment, "well...goodnight, Yuuto. Thanks for my key."
"You're welcome, Your Highness." Yuuto saluted her again, and then Kagome set off once more in the hallways.
Kagome surreptitiously checked her key one last time. The number read "526." None of the guest apartments in the Mars Palace were numbered, of course, but with so many guests, the servants had had to quickly devise a method of helping guests discover their assigned rooms. The easiest way for them to do this, they had discovered, was to tape various numbers next to each room, and corresponding numbers on the tiny bronze keys, as fast as possible.
"526," Kagome muttered to herself, "526..." She'd managed to find the wing of rooms that began with 500s, which were luckily only two halls down from Rei's chambers. She had a sneaking suspicion that these suites had all been given to Rei's close friends, which made her extremely happy.
At last, she came to a door with the hurriedly taped, "526" on its left. Kagome, to her surprise, found the door was unlocked. She slipped the key around her neck, and opened the door.
The room was shrouded in darkness, but it was not quiet. Nor was it empty. Kagome could just barely discern two figures in the great bed. Aquamarine hair was splayed all over the pillow, and pale white hands were entwined in the golden hair of the other figure. The sheets were half on the floor, and half around the couple.
"Michiru," the blond said, kissing the Neptunian princess' neck.
"Haruka..." Michiru sighed, and she clutched her lover's hair.
Haruka? Kagome thought. She couldn't believe her eyes, and so she could barely move. She was transfixed by the two princesses. This type of thing didn't...exist. Two lovers of the same gender?
Kagome had never heard of it, but even she knew it would be forbidden under Federation Law.
Suddenly, Haruka noticed the shadow of the open door. She whirled around, a few stray pillows flying off the bed, and stared at Kagome wildly.
"Haruka, what's wrong?" Michiru asked worriedly. Haruka pulled the blankets up to cover Michiru, grabbed a smaller one for herself, then strode towards the door. Fire was in her eyes as she glared at Kagome:
"What, Kagome?" at Kagome's incredulous stare, Haruka continued, "Well, what? Do you think we're abominations, too?"
"N-n-no," Kagome stammered. Haruka towered over her, and her face was flushed red. It was painfully obvious that the Uranian princess was angry- so angry that Kagome realized it was quite possible for Haruka to strike her if she was incensed enough.
"Why are you staring, huh?" Haruka demanded, "See something freakish?"
"Haruka!" Michiru admonished. She gracefully exited the bed, taking a white sheet with her, then pulled both Haruka and Kagome into the room, "Stop making a scene." She shut the door gently behind them.
"Would you care to take a seat?" Michiru, unbelievably, politely offered Kagome a cushion on which to sit. Despite Haruka's incredulous stare, the Neptunian princess forced her lover to sit down as well, then gave them all glasses of water. Kagome had absolutely no idea what to do. She wanted nothing more than to get herself out of this very...awkward situation. The last thing she wanted was two of the princesses mad at her.
"Michiru," Haruka said, tension evident in her voice, "what are you doing? She found out about us!" She jerked a finger clumsily towards Kagome.
All of her rage stems for a desire to protect Michiru, Kagome realized. Somehow, this made Haruka's anger more bearable. It's like any other lover, she thought in wonder.
Michiru calmly sipped some of her own water, then said, "Yes, Kagome did. However, she's not going to do anything about it, are you, Kagome?" Her deep blue eyes met Kagome's full on. Michiru's gaze held no fear.
"No!" Kagome said, "Of course not!" She looked back and forth between Haruka and Michiru, trying to gauge their reactions. Haruka still appeared of a mind to rip her throat out, but Michiru was perfectly tranquil. In fact, she seemed to view the situation as a positive thing.
"I mean...I'm sorry I scared you, Haruka," Kagome began, "It was a complete accident. I was looking for my room-" she gripped the chain around her neck, quickly showing them the key and its number, "and I thought this room was mine. I didn't mean to intrude at all!"
"Haruka, you remember how strangely the servants numbered everything? And that my room was missing its number?"
Haruka grumbled, "Yes. Your room number was missing. We looked on the right and nothing was there." She folded her arms, a bit like a chastised child.
"The room numbers were supposed to be on the right?" Kagome clapped her hand over her mouth, "In Serenity's name, I'm so, so, so sorry! I thought they were on the left- the hallways are very dim-" Kagome's excuses, however true, sounded ridiculous in her ears.
I'm such an idiot. I can apparently destroy demonic creatures, but I can't count room numbers!
"It's perfectly all right," Michiru said smoothly, "A mistake anyone could have made, to be sure. And although next time I'm sure Haruka will be more careful to lock the door when she sneaks in-" Michiru shot a glance at her lover, "there still remains the fact that you are here now, Kagome, and that you have discovered our secret," the Neptunian princess stared at Kagome, "Kagome...you understand that Haruka's and my relationship is forbidden, yes? Under Federation law, we are committing high treason." Kagome gulped.
"They think," Haruka spat, "that a love like...like ours...is caused by demons! That our love is somehow...tainted! Worse!" Michiru let Haruka rant for a few minutes before laying a hand on her arm, at which point the Uranian princess dutifully stopped. Haruka's chest was heaving, and it was evident that she was extremely upset by the law.
At last, Kagome repeated, "I'm sorry I scared you both. The reason I was so shocked is just that...well, I've never heard of a love like yours, that's all. Still, I don't think it's evil at all. Love is love, right?" she smiled weakly.
"Even though you think that," Michiru said, "most in the Federation will not. It is absolutely imperative to our safety that you do not say anything, to anyone. We could be executed."
Executed? Kagome thought, stunned, That's...insanity. They'd kill them for this? Admittedly, she'd never met anyone like Haruka and Michiru in the Sun Kingdom, but even if she had, she knew Savitr wouldn't have killed them. Execution was saved for only the gravest crimes, like murder. In fact, no one had been executed in the Sun Kingdom for hundreds of years.
Despite herself, she couldn't help but ask, "Does Amarion know?"
Haruka snorted, "He's the only one who does- and now you. And if you ever give us up," her eyes flashed, "I don't care how much I like you, Kagome, I'll kill you first!"
"I won't give you up!" Kagome swore, "I promise, I won't!"
"Good," Haruka said, only semi-satisfied, "Now if you don't mind...I'd like to go back to bed." Without waiting for a reply, she stretched, then walked across the room.
"Oh! Um...of course!" Kagome scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping over her pillow in the process. She quickly returned the pillow to its position, then practically ran for the door.
"Kagome?"
Kagome turned around to see Michiru in front of her, a slim envelope clutched in her hands.
"I knew you wouldn't betray us," she said softly, "And in return...we won't betray you." She winked, then gave Kagome the envelope as she closed the door.
Kagome, at last settled in her own room, was poring over the events of the night.
First I'm a priestess from a prophecy, then Kikyo's in love with Inuyasha, and then Michiru's in love with Haruka! I know I said I wanted an eventful night before...but this might be a little too much! For the first time, she understood why Savitr had avoided joining the Federation. When she'd asked as a child, he had always told her that he did not want to become a member because of "absurd court intrigue" and "unnecessary restrictions by rulers in power." Kagome had never quite grasped what he meant, but she'd had enough of the Federation's shady secrets for one night.
Sighing, Kagome lounged in her bed, finally decided that she had to address the envelope on her bedside table. It had been staring at her for the better part of twenty minutes, practically begging to be opened. She hadn't wanted to touch it, slightly afraid of the contents. Michiru's promise only made her more wary of it.
Why would they betray me? What do I even need to be betrayed for?
Shaking her head, Kagome at last picked up the envelope. She opened it easily, then pulled an elegant piece of parchment out.
K,
My sincerest apologies for having to leave you like that. Unfortunately, my duties forced me to do so. It was absolutely necessary that Her Majesty hear about what happened tonight.
However, I hope you will be happy to know that I am commanded to remain on Mars for the duration of your priestess training (as a diplomatic liaison, of course).
S
Kagome held the paper close to her chest, and smiled.
On second thought, a night like this was absolutely perfect.
Author's Notes:
Hi all! I hope you enjoyed it! I'd like to put in a little disclaimer: the rules of the Sol System Federation DO NOT in any way represent my own personal views. If you haven't picked up on it by now, the Federation is more than a little morally...off. Kagome doesn't really approve of the Federation, either. If you think about it, they're racist, classist, and homophobic. Those aren't great things for anyone to be.
A note on the Federation's View of Homosexuality:
The Federation's view of homosexuality is inspired by the view of certain churches' views of homosexuality, i.e., that it is a sin caused by evil forces. The Federation blames demons for pretty much anything and everything, so in this story, the Federation (somehow) connected it with demons.
A note on Haruka & Michiru:
If you've only been exposed to the American dub of Sailor Moon, you will be under the mistaken impression that they are "cousins." In Naoko Takeuchi's original work, Haruka and Michiru are lovers. I chose to stick to the original. Go Haruka and Michiru! :)
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Ladykikyo1792