Disclosure: I do not own Sailor Moon nor have I received material recompense for this work of fiction.
Chapter 14: Gravity
The trade route between China and India could be difficult. True, it wasn't as bad as the routes that crossed the Sahara desert, but although the valley was beautiful and grass there plentiful, the journey through the mountains that surrounded them were difficult, if not treacherous.
Zephyrus considered himself lucky. The last time that they had left Bhaktapur to continue along the route that would eventually take them to Xi'an, they had a much smaller caravan with fewer guards and wagons with them. Although he was careful to remain circumspect, Zephyrus had begun to develop a small band of loyal people. These ones knew not only his cover as a caravan leader and trader, but his identity as a son of Aeolus. A few had even heard of Elysion and the hope for the entire Earth. As far as Zephyrus knew, none of his brothers had begun making allies of the common people, but he knew that to succeed their plan had to be bold!
So, although he was the leader of the caravan, no one was surprised when Zephyrus disappeared without a trace for some days, nor for him to reappear without notice. So, his accompaniment by a tall, beautiful woman also was accepted without a fluttered eyelash.
They were dressed in comfortable clothing suitable for travelers. Lita graciously agreed to put aside her court gown for a more practical set of trousers, tunic and fitted boots. Now that she was garbed as a man, Zephyrus was struck by how intimidating that tall woman was!
Their caravan was mostly comprised of oxen pulling the trade wagons, but a few rode horses, including Zephyrus. He had also claimed a very special mount, in order for Lita to ride as well. The horse was slated for sale farther along their route, so Zephyrus figured that there would be no harm in making use of it in the meantime.
She had clearly never seen or touched a horse before, but she was charmed by the beast. She approached it directly, from the side and raised a gentle hand to its long nose. Her other hand reached over to stroke the long coarse mane, to caress the bulging muscles of the neck. Her eyes wore an expression of warm delight that touched all who beheld it. Even the horse sensed her deep calm; it had been well known for being high-strung, but now stood quietly, eyes half-closed like any tame old nag.
He mounted and directed a person to give her a leg up, but it was unnecessary. She had observed his manner of mounting carefully and swung up astride the horse without hesitation. The horse pranced a few strides as she perfected her balance. The sunlight glinted off the horse's copper bright flanks as it twitched its tail.
"Easy, easy now love," she said to the horse. The horse's ears swiveled backwards, listening to her warm voice. "What's her name?"
"Desert Wind," the man who held the bridle replied. "She is said to run as swiftly as the wind that sweeps across the Arabian plains."
"We will have to try out your paces, won't we?" Lita rubbed Desert Wind's neck softly.
"Have you ridden before, Lita?" said Zephyrus.
"Never a horse, but I have ridden other beasts. The principles of balance are not so different as all that. Besides, she is exquisitely sensitive to every small change of balance and weight I make." To demonstrate, she moved the horse in a small figure-eight and then stopped her precisely besides him.
She beamed at him. He beamed back. "Let's go look at some of the wares!" He nudged his horse around and cantered towards the back of the line. Zephyrus could hear Lita urge Desert Wind on behind him; he wasn't going to race her… yet.
At the end of the line of caravans was a very full wagon that was surrounded by men mounted on horses as well. The driver raised an arm in greeting to the two riders, calling out, "Supply wagon is all packed. Unless we get buried by an avalanche in the middle of winter we'll have no problems with supplies. We could even skip a resupply point if necessary."
Zephyrus nodded. "I'd rather we didn't do that, but it's good to know. Is there anything we're running short of or have an excess supply of?"
"We've plenty of water, but no excess. Next river we cross we should refill."
"That's not an issue, we come to the Trisuli in a few days. The water there is good."
The driver nodded. "Otherwise we're well provisioned. The last few years have taught us what to pack and how much of it!" A few hearty laughs accompanied that statement. These men had traveled long miles together and enjoyed each other's company.
With a wave, Zephyrus nudged his horse along to reach the next in the caravan. This time it was a trader who specialized in spices. A long conversation ensued, detailing the relative prices of spices based on quality. In fact, the man had a vial of saffron that, so he said, could easily equal the value of the rest of his wares.
Throughout this conversation and many of the ones like it, Lita remained silent. She smiled, nodded, and was utterly rapt with the conversations, but she didn't contribute one word. It was odd, because he had remembered her as being so much more vocal before. In fact the only thing he could hear from her was the occassional low hum to her mare.
They had almost reached the front of the caravan when calls of alarm arose midway back. Thankfully, it wasn't raiders… those thieving vermin! A wagon wheel had become stuck in particularly deep rut in the road. A signal was sent ahead for the entire company to halt while Zephyrus and Lita cantered back to where the problem was.
It was not good. In fact, it could hardly be worse. There wasn't thick mud, but a crack in the earth so deep that when the axel broke in half, one end lodged under the wagon and the other end was driven down into the deep crevice in the earth. While they had extra sets of wheels and axles, this delay was not good for tempers or beasts. In fact, the team of oxen had to be unhitched, because the wagon was tilted so much on its side, the animals were almost thrust on top of each other.
One thing Lita could say positively after observing him all morning… that blond man certainly had charisma. He knew exactly what to say and do to each individual to make him or her feel not only important, but essential. It was no wonder that he was so popular with his caravan.
When he dismounted, so did she. They handed the reins to nearby individuals and went to the damaged wagon. While he inspected the axle, she went straight to the oxen, and gently soothed the spooked beasts.
Zephyrus looked at it. The problem was that the wagon was so heavily loaded (this one with brass and iron work) that they could not lift the wagon, for a wooden lever would break under the stress. Neither could several teams of animals pull it loose, for the axel had been well lodged in the earth. One idea was to unload the entire wagon, but this caused several problems. For one, the delay would irritate the rest of the caravan. Secondly, having people walk around on a wagon with a broken axel could cause other problems to an otherwise sound vehicle.
He smirked, recognizing the weightiness of the situation. "Stand back please," he said. Zephyrus closed his eyes and focused on the strength of the Earth, drew upon it and told the wagon that it was light. Light as air. He lifted it, and without a word, men joined him in moving it to be repaired.
In utter silence they worked. They pulled off the wheels and slid the axel from its housings. Another was found, inserted and the wheels were reattached. All the while, the blond man stood, eyes closed, silent, just holding up the massive wagon with seemingly super-human strength. As the oxen were brought back to the wagon, a hand was gently laid upon his shoulder. "Thank you sir, we're done."
Zephyrus let the Earth once again grab hold of the wagon and let go. His eyes were glazed over, and beads of sweat covered his brow. "I think I need a drink," he said, as he dropped to his knees. He grasped the first strong hand he saw and was hauled up and leaned against… Lita? Her physiology was significantly different from a man's that he was shocked by her embrace.
"Shush," she said, holding a cup with her left hand, as he leaned against her right side, "just drink."
She guided the cup to his lips and he helped hold it there with shaking hands. After a swallow, he felt the cup leaving his mouth and protested weakly. "Let your body get accustomed to the first swallow. There will be plenty after that." She raised her voice to the men gathered around. "Your master Zephyrus needs air! Be about your business! Please, hitch the oxen back to that wagon and lay a board over the crevice so that this doesn't happen to another wagon behind us. By the time the supply wagon arrives, he will be fit to travel, so leave our mounts here." Eyes stared, mouths gaped. "What are you standing here looking at? Move!"
And they did. After a rest of a moment or two, she continued to give him sips of water followed by brief rests and slowly his strength returned to him. His breathing and heartbeat slowed, the color came back into his face and he was no longer in a cold sweat. He grabbed the cup from her and downed the last of the water in a few quick gulps. She laughed and moved away from him, letting him stand on his own two feet again.
He was both thankful and disappointed. She had been very pleasant to be held up against. That curious blend of hardness and softness…. No! Now was not the time to consider such things. So with a hot glare at Lita—which made her laugh—he remounted and trotted away.
Men! Such an odd reaction to a mere anatomical difference! She continued laughing as the wagons slowly passed, only remounting as the last, the supply wagon approached. She rode alongside the last wagon, softly humming to her horse.
Zephyrus swung back, still angry, still unsettled, but with his emotions now under full control. This was not a man who enjoyed a lack of control. Interesting.
"Lita! May I have the honor of your accompaniment?" he said.
"Certainly." She urged Desert Wind to join him, and their horses walked side-by-side for a long time in silence.
"What did you do back there?" Lita said finally.
"What do you mean?"
"I could feel you drawing on some strength from the Earth, from this planet and then suddenly the wagon weighed less. What did you do?"
He shrugged. "My brothers and I have been given different gifts by the blood of our father. Mine appears to have something to do with weight. I can make things weigh less or more as I will or even draw particles together to the point that their mass is extraordinary and they begin to attract other particles to themselves."
"Sounds like gravity."
"Pardon?"
"Gravity."
"You mean that thing that Sir Isaac Newton talked about? The guy who got bopped on the head by an apple?"
"I don't know who Isaac Newton is, but it sounds like you have power over gravity. I can't explain it any more than that; you'd need Ami for more, but that's what it sounds like to me."
"And my other brothers?"
She shrugged. "Physics was never my favorite subject in school. I don't know any more than the merest basics. You know, the three laws of matter, the three laws of thermodynamics… that sort of thing."
"Do you mean the laws of inertia, the equation for Force and 'for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction'?"
"Precisely. Whew!" she wiped her brow. "That's as technical as this gal can get." With that, Lita threw her head back and laughed heartily. He couldn't help but laugh too. Together they laughed loud and hard and long. The caravan drivers smiled to see them behave so. It was good, for the men had sensed the tensions between their master and his guest and were now relieved.
He brushed a tear from his eyes and sighed gustily. "So Lita, if you don't mind my asking, now that you have an idea about my power, can you explain yours? How do you work?"
"Well… it's a little like yours. We have all been blessed by the guardians of our respective planets. Mine is Jupiter, and my power takes the form of lightning and plants."
"Wait… you're not all from the Moon?"
"Well, we all live there now, but we originally come from different planets. Only Serenity's from the Moon. Mina's from Venus, Ami's from Mercury, Raye is from Mars and I'm from Jupiter. There are also other princesses from other planets that you haven't met yet."
"Oh."
He processed this information slowly. Sensing that, his horse dropped to a walk, and Lita allowed hers to slow too. "So, how exactly do your powers work? Can you say… electrocute a person just by glaring at him?"
She giggled. "Sometimes, I'd like to. Usually our powers are tied to key phrases that we have to yell, either that or moments of extreme stress may trigger them. In fact, the current batch of princesses are very unusual." She pressed her lips together, unsure how to continue.
"How so?"
"Well, we are all hereditary princesses. That means that our parents are the rulers of the planet we come from. We also won the right to be our planet's representative through various forms of training. On Jupiter, the tests were physical, and ranged from hand-to-hand combat to long distance running to the culinary arts."
"Cooking?" He laughed, "you have got to be kidding!"
"Not at all, traditionally, the queen of the planet and her representatives are well known for their expertise in the kitchen. It is a mark of pride to be able to claim the title of 'chef' at home."
"Boreas will adore you, then. No man can eat like he can!"
"Really?" her eyes lit up unexpectedly. Zephyrus smiled to himself. Those two were a match made in heaven. A master cook and a master gourmand… perfection.
She seemed to muse for a moment on the joys of having someone new to cook for… oh delights of delights! With a shake of chestnut curls, she brought herself back to the here and now. "There is one other way that we are princesses, and that is by virtue of our powers. The stresses of birth triggered our powers, as the blessed of the planet. Usually, in each generation, there will be two or three princesses, as it is not unusual that the one who is blessed by the planet is also the champion of the tests. Nor is it unusual for one or two of the planets to have only one, but for every planet in the solar system to have only one princess… it is unprecedented!"
"Do you think it means anything important?"
"No one knows for sure. But there is word of unusual solar activity, dark activity. The best scholars of our solar system are completely stumped."
"That sounds problematic."
"Yes, we're told that if the worst happens, there will be a large solar flare and boundless malevolence will be unleashed upon us."
"Really."
From his tone of voice Lita could tell that he thought she was just pulling his leg. "Okay, I know it sounds a little crazy… but look at us! You can make something heavy or light by just thinking it, and I can call down lightning from the sky and throw electrified cocoanuts at people. Don't you think there's more to life than what we can readily see and touch and hear?"
She had a point. It wasn't like being able to disappear and reappear anywhere on earth at will was a "normal" thing to do, and he'd been able to do that about as soon as he could walk.
He conceded. "True, but I still prefer to see and touch and hear instead of merely believing."
"So do I, but sometimes all we have is faith."
Sometimes all we have is faith. Wow. Talk about a mind-blowing statement. There was no witty reply to make to that.
Lita urged her horse forward, leaving him behind with his thoughts. She wanted to investigate this area more fully. Clearly he had a lot to absorb and needed silence to do so. Zephyrus had proved himself to be good company, but she didn't feel comfortable around him. Odd chemistry, she figured.
The caravan continued along the worn track. Grass had begun to grow along the road, but was quickly being trodden down by the long line of wagons and beasts. As she spoke to the men and few women who were employed as merchants, assistants and guards, she learned that they all liked Zephyrus. He was a kind, if distant man who always took care of them and never left anyone, human or animal behind.
She also learned how much the small villages enjoyed it as they travelled through. People would scrimp and save all year to be able to purchase a special trinket, length of fabric, lacey shawl, or certain spice. For the most part, the people who lived throughout China, Tibet, India and Nepal were extremely poor, and while the rich often lavishly bought from them, and the merchants in turn bought from the local artisans to add to their stock, most people were still hopelessly impoverished.
That was not good news. When there was too large a gap between the classes, then that created social unrest. The difference in wealth would lead to greed, dissatisfaction and ultimately conflict. Somehow, wealth needed to be injected into these peoples' lives. She would have to look at what they could do or make that was desirable to others. With improved machinery… which would need to be improved, frankly… just look at what happened with that axel! Iron would never have cracked like that!
These areas were oddly primitive. Not the people, of course, but the technology. Ami would have to look at that, though. Her concern was economic and from what she was hearing, the stability of the government was likely, but the happiness of the people was not. Tricky situation. There were ways to inject wealth into the system, but it didn't seem like they were ready yet.
The question was: despite the questionable situation on Earth, did it really make sense to continue excluding it from the Silver Alliance? Further, would the turmoil spread outward to through the Alliance, or would the peace of the Alliance be sufficient to ameliorate the effects of absorbing the people of Earth into the galactic court?
AN: For anyone who wondered, Zephyrus is Jadeite. The biggest clue is the location... they're in the Far East after all. Further, as flattered as I am that several have put this down for a story alert or a favorite, few have taken the time to review. Please do! They help me to know where to improve and upon what to embellish. Thank you for reading! And as a note for Sailorashes... Raye's coming up next. Whew! That fiery gal is a challenge to write, but incredibly fun too!