So come on love, draw your swords
Shoot me to the ground.
You are mine, I am yours
Let's not fuck around.
"Draw Your Swords" – Angus and Julia Stone
The princess' ears had grown accustomed to the sound of swords clashing together and being removed from their sheaths over the last week.
She stood stationed above the archway overlooking the training grounds—the same spot she first saw Rei's skills being put to the test as she took down members of the Venusian army one by one. While all those months ago Minako would deny any outward admiration toward the Martian's talents, she now embraced them wholeheartedly since the incident on Jupiter. Since then she has felt secure whenever she was near her. Her presence was a reassurance that no matter what would happen, she would be safe from harm. That was just the kind of feeling Rei exuded.
There was another side to her, though—the side that oddly both frightened and intrigued Minako. It was one built with such untamed anger and emotion. It was the part of her that she tried to mask with a resolved demeanor and stoic expression, but at times would arrive in random uncontrollable spurts. It was the part the princess wanted so desperately to figure out if Rei had not always been so quick to dismiss with a sneer and incoherent mutter. It was the part that had prevailed over the course of almost seven days now, leaving Minako to wonder if the other woman would ever speak to her as she did before.
Minako had taken to watching her from a safe distance so as to not be seen by the intuitive warrior. Rei had accepted the role in instructing the army on new ways of combat, and from what the Venusian has seen thus far, it seemed to be working. It had been eating away most of her time lately, however. Not that Minako necessarily minded; it was she after all who appointed her with the task. She just felt that it was more or less a way for Rei to avoid confronting her further on their… conversation that occurred a few days ago. She just barely upheld her duty to the blonde by being by her side when appropriate, and that side of her—that anger—is the wall that separated them from their usual harmonious interaction. Rei wouldn't so much as offer a glance Minako's way, and any time that the princess actually did manage to catch her eye, the Martian would avert her gaze hastily. Minako knew the reason behind her actions—it didn't take a Venusian to figure out that Rei was suppressing feelings when it came to her, and instead of approaching her about it, she took to passive aggression and indignation.
And Minako was growing restless of it.
She watched as one of the soldiers fell to his knees in mercy as the woman in question gave his wrist a firm twist after he attempted to send a sucker punch her way. She started some lecture on not going after your opponent blindly, and Minako took that as her cue to leave the area undetected.
She had her own opponent to deal with soon.
The command center was unoccupied at this time, and for good reason. The workers granted the princess the privacy she needed in order to conduct the meeting without any interruptions. She knew her way around a control panel enough to make a conference call.
She took a seat at one of the panels and typed in the coordinates on the keypad for the palace Io. Once located, a request for an invitation of conference was sent, and she was left awaiting confirmation from the other party. Of course, the Jovians were aware of the call, it just may take more time sending the signal to their system due to their location in the outer realm.
Minako leaned back in her chair and drew in a breath. A few days prior Queen Aphrodite had suggested that it would be best for her to not go into the betrothal blindly; Minako, after all, had no idea what the Jovian Princess looked like, let alone knew anything about her. The only other way to make contact with the planet would be a formal conference, seeing as traveling was out of the question. The request for conference was accepted by the Jovian delegates on behalf of Princess Makoto two days ago.
Minako readily agreed with her mother on the subject. In fact, she had been wanting to talk to Makoto about it and even so much as thought of going incognito and shuttling down to Jupiter herself, though, the consequences outweighed the outcome, and she didn't want to put herself and her people at more risk. She was prepared to fight her; she wasn't going to hold back her feelings on the contract she had yet to complete. Minako wasn't known for withholding her thoughts, and she would be damned if she was silent now.
After a few short moments, she was notified that a connection was finally made. She straightened back up in preparation, and in seconds the screen calibrated, blaring the young woman for her to gaze upon.
At first, Minako was taken aback by her display. The Jovian was certainly not at all what she expected her to look like; what she pictured to be a simple brute turned out to be quite the opposite. She was tall—most Jovians were, and her frame was slim yet muscular from what she could tell by her exposed arms. Her dark mahogany brown mane was pulled back tightly while two loose strands fell against her cheekbones. Her garbs complimented her eyes, which were an enthralling shade of emerald. She greeted the Venusian princess with a warm smile.
"You must be Princess Minako," she started. "My name is Jupiter Makoto, heir to the Jovian throne. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Her voice snapped Minako out of her blatant gazing. "Um," she sputtered, returning the gesture. "Yes—I mean, likewise."
"I'm sorry we must meet under these circumstances. I was hoping to greet you on Jupiter all those weeks ago, but unfortunately, too many duties came up and I was unable to. I'm sure you know just as well as I that one hour council meetings can quickly turn into all-day affairs," she chuckled. Minako smirked at her wit.
"It can be quite tiresome," she agreed, suddenly realizing that the princess wasn't nearly as brutal as she thought she would be. She was beginning to rescind any thoughts of aggression toward her since she clearly didn't deserve it. Still, she had to make her point clear enough for her to understand.
"I'm sure you heard the terrible news about Saturn," Makoto continued. "I fear this terrorist group is only growing more powerful each day."
Minako nodded solemnly. "It's all anyone has been talking about the past week. I can only imagine the king's grievance."
"Two heirs and one king," Makoto murmured with the disdainful shake of her head. "It seems no planetary rulers are safe, no matter how strong they are."
Minako's crystal blue eyes found the keyboard as she spoke. "Makoto-san, I have been wanting to talk to you about our… situation," she bit her lip in hesitance to speak. "You see, I… I'm actually in love with someone else," the words slipped out before she could control it, though, it didn't feel wrong coming from her lips. "I'm choosing to go through with the betrothal in order to help my people because we desperately need it. I just… thought it would only be fair to be frank with you."
The brunette's intent frown morphed into a soft grin. "I also have my heart set on another," at this, the Venusian's gaze shot back up to hers. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices in order to do what's right. Arranged marriages aren't uncommon on Jupiter, but for you, this must be a very difficult task, and for that I'm sorry. Times of war call for measures beyond our control."
"Yes," Minako said distractedly, still processing her prior statement. "Do they know?"
"What?"
"The person you love," she clarified. "Do they know that you do?"
Makoto chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck somewhat awkwardly. "Well, she is the smartest woman in the solar system, so I suppose she may have an inkling."
Minako smirked. "A Mercurian, hm? Sounds interesting."
"I—I never said it was a Mercurian…" Makoto attempted to defend.
"Oh? Well, the smartest woman that I know of just happens to be a Mercurian. And a princess. So next time you see Princess Ami, you should tell her how you feel."
The Jovian opened and closed her mouth in attempt to find her voice, but her words seemed to fail her. The blood rushing to her face more or less told the Venusian she hit the nail on the head, anyway. She watched her with an amused grin.
"I'm sorry, I tend to try to figure people out, especially when it comes to love. It's a bad habit," she admitted.
"It's alright. You aren't exactly wrong…" she said sheepishly. "I'm just not sure it's even worth mentioning to her."
Minako offered a small smile as she stared into her pair of emerald. "With everything that has been occurring the solar system, now would be the best time to do so. You don't want to regret not telling her if something were to happen. Even if she doesn't want to admit her own feelings, it's important that you do."
Makoto watched as the other princess seemingly zoned out then, and a knowing smile graced her lips. "I suppose you're right," unlike Minako, she decided not to inquire about her own affairs despite her curiosity on the subject. "At any rate, I have fulfilled the appropriate documents and submitted them, so your people should receive them soon. From what I understand, we are to come to Venus in order to perform the ceremony within the upcoming week."
Minako nodded robotically. "Yes."
"Very well. Thank you for your time," Makoto said, offering a deferential nod.
"You as well."
"And Minako-san," she started up once more, earning the blonde's attention. "Just because some documents say we must be coupled, that doesn't necessarily mean that we are committed. I would advise you to be careful should you choose to defy the contract, however. Just know that I wouldn't say anything."
Minako swallowed hard, then flashed a smile at the brunette. "I understand. Take care."
The screen went blank as the connection dropped. Minako pressed her back to the chair, eyes glazing over the keyboard in thought.
She sat there only a moment longer before leaving the command center in search for the Martian warrior.
The knocks on her door were so incessant, Rei was sure there had to be some type of emergency due to their quick and repetitious nature. She hastily made her way across the room to stop the continuous pounding, but seeing Minako on the other side made her wish she hadn't opened it at all.
For the first time in days, Rei stared into her pools of blue which so fiercely looked back at her own dark ones. She stood with her chin held high and arms crossed, and Rei could tell just by her presentation that the princess had concocted some kind of argument in her head that she was ready to unleash. Rei expected it, though; it had been almost a week since their last conversation, and she knew Minako would be the one to address it first.
"What is it?" she asked. She knew the reason, but someone had to speak first, and Minako was far too busy upholding her indignant disposition to do so.
"We have to talk," she replied relatively calmly. "Can I come in?"
Instead of answering, Rei stepped aside to grant the blonde access inside the room. She closed the door in the wake of her entrance and turned around to find the other woman peering out the vast window.
"The soldiers are doing better," she noted quietly. Rei narrowed her eyes, for a moment ago she looked as though she was about to have an outburst.
"There's a lot that still needs to be done. But… yes. There has been some improvement." she said, eyeing her warily. "But I know that's not what you came here to talk about."
At her words, Minako finally craned her neck to meet the warrior's gaze once more. "You're right," she started. "I'm upset. I'm upset and hurt that you chose to ignore me for days instead of confronting me. You can suppress your feelings all you want, Rei, but you can't run from them."
"I'm not running from anything; not from you and certainly not any feelings you keep claiming I have," Rei shot back.
Minako flung her hands in the air in exasperation. "Then what were you so afraid of this whole week? I hardly saw you at all."
"I was busy training your incompetent soldiers, which, need I remind you, was a job you appointed me to do," she said, jabbing a finger in the blonde's direction.
"And what of all those hours you weren't busy with that task? You certainly weren't with me like you should have been; most likely you were locked in here doing gods know what instead of doing what you were brought down here to do."
Rei sneered. "Excuse me for not being there to hover around you all day, your highness. Or perhaps you needed me to carry you back to your room again because you had one too many drinks at dinner."
"You're incorrigible," Minako cried, hands balling into tight fists. "I know you're still upset about that night, but it's for a much different reason than that. You're angry that you wanted me but couldn't and you're angry that you have these feelings—"
"Stop it!" Rei demanded, the outburst causing a small jolt to go through the princess. "I don't have those feelings!"
"Yes, you do!"
"I don't!"
"You're a coward, that's why you can't admit it!"
"I'm a coward?" Rei's voice rose in disbelief. "What about you? You talk a lot of talk, princess, but I don't remember you confronting me at all this week about your own feelings."
"Don't turn this around on me," Minako uttered.
"You're a hypocrite. Don't pretend like there isn't a part of you that wants me. You were the one to initiate everything that night."
"Fine, do you want to know how I feel, then?" she muttered, taking the few strides she needed to stand directly in front of the Martian before leaning up ever-so-slightly to press her lips fully against hers. Their mouths met rather clumsily, mostly due to the Venusian's eagerness that caught Rei off-guard. It took her a moment to react to it, but when her brain finally processed the kiss, she couldn't suppress herself from succumbing to it. It's what every part of her has been waning since gods know how long, but what every part of her has been denying as well. Minako parted her lips away after a few lingering seconds and scanned the other woman's features, which were seemingly unreadable.
Rei found herself leaning in this time, and just as she could feel Minako's breath against her lips, she spoke up, effectively halting her movements.
"Now can you stand there and tell me you feel nothing for me?" she murmured, cerulean boldly meeting amethyst. Rei said nothing, and it was her silence that told Minako she had one the argument.
Rei waited for Minako to close the space between them for a second time, only to have the warmth of the princess escape her as she brushed past her to make her way to the doorframe. Rei watched her carefully as she paused by the door before turning to meet her gaze once more.
"When I talked to Makoto earlier today, I confessed to her that I was in love with someone else," she stated. Her eyes softened as Rei's lips parted slightly at the revelation, but Minako didn't give her enough time to respond had the warrior been able to formulate a response in the first place. "Goodnight, Rei."
The hinge met the frame with a gentle click as she left the room. Rei's hand clenched into a tight fist before she swung it at the wall adjacent to her, letting out an angered cry as her knuckles met the concrete.
It was the first battle in all her life she had lost.