Seeking Love

Chapter 21

It all happened. It happened so fast that the sky turned red, and the stars disappeared with the sun. Shadows were erased, and the unnaturalness of the universe felt like a hole made by a gunshot in the darkness.

Serenity's brain was a buzzy, grainy faded gray of humming static. The synapses of her brain reverbed with the resonating pump of her heartbeat. She lifted her hands to her panicked face. She couldn't feel it. It was as if another set of hands were grabbing urgently at her, as if she were controlling a body from a separate room filled with wires and cables with no windows to the outside. The information coming back at her was that she was as cold as a tiled bathroom floor in the early morning. Her eyes shifted, spasming from her overflowing consciousness. Her thumbs slid over her fingers, as if feeling for an invisible piece of cloth. All she felt was a glossy liquid coating them. It was warm, it was sick, it was blood. Finally her senses focused to the body laying in front of her. His black hair feathered across his gaping open unmoving eyes.

6 hours earlier...

"Are you done yet?" Makoto yelled on the other side of Serenity's bathroom door. " It's a date, but a court date!"

"I'm just taking out the curlers, I'll be out in a minute. How about you just go ahead of me, I'll meet you there."

"Fine. Hurry though, the court can't wait forever." Makoto didn't believe her, the Princess rarely used hair curlers. She was probably gathering her wits, and she deserved her time.

Makoto joined the other soldiers and guardians at the front gates of the palace. An ivory carriage sat in the drive, the coachmen restlessly looking at his pocketwatch. He was going to have to stretch his patience a bit longer.

"Where is... Mina?" asked Rei. "Don't tell me she is still getting ready."

"She'll only be a minute," replied Makoto.

"Well, I was just finishing telling the Prince about the Moon's court system" Mina cut in.

The court system on the Moon was different from Earth's judge and jury system. It didn't make room for human error, and thus did not rely on humans. Instead the voice of reason was given by a device from the ancients of millennia past. Witnesses are called into a room one at a time. The last people to enter are the defender and the prosecutor. For the past 100 years, Engineers from all over the galaxy pried to see the piece of tech, but not one has been allowed near it. Reasons from the Moon council of it being tampered with by a human would compromise its use. Some people thought that it was a tool used by the royals to pardon criminals in their favor, but others believed that the ancient artifact could find the truth in any soul.

-The Universal Commons. Article 21

"So Kunzite, what are your thoughts about the two kingdom merger? Which law system would take precedence?" asked the stand in Prince.

"For public opinion, I don't think it would be wise to follow the Moon's. How is it not just a flip of a coin? I see how your system works, hypothetically, but it also sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo." Endymion turned to Ami. "How do you know that this 'machine' is handing out justice?"

She didn't have a second to answer before Nephrite cut in. "I can't even imagine what a trial would even look like. It's like the whole accumulation of an event, but taking out the emotional ties between those on the stand and the jury. No way to sway another human through words. It's like taking a direct photocopy of the brain!"

"That's it, but not quite. In a sense, there is so much more happening around us then we can perceive. The device isn't just replacing a jury, but it is our law," explained Ami.

The seriousness of the moment swelled, and was popped with, "I'm ready! Let's go!"

Serenity was running through the doors, tan heels in her hand. She was halfway in the carriage by the time everyone could comprehend her presence. "There isn't any time to waste! Come on, hurry up!" Eyes rolled, but they followed suit anyway.

The normal bump and grind of the wheels passed the silence. The courthouse was at a disclosed location, even from the royals. It only seemed like a half an hour passed by the time the drivers boots hit the ground. Serenity stepped out of the carriage first and took in the view. In front of her spanned endless rows of pearl white trees in white soil. The only color that stood out was the contrasting blue sky. Endymion stepped out next, and the scene reminded him of a fresh snowfall at home. His childhood memories of making snow forts with his generals rushed him. The smell of a light nectar and mint passed under everyone's noses.

A man in an all white uniform finally presented himself to the group and started to lead them down a path made of white stones. The group walked in two lines behind the strange courier. He had a big bumpy nose, and it looked like the hard outer shell persona was probably the cause of it.

What court system would I choose? Endymion thought to himself while shuffling his feet. What his generals had stated before really stirred his mind. Already the process seemed more like an ancient ceremony then a government trial. He was astonished that the court seemed so under-wraps Did the citizens really believe in the system this much that they hadn't raised questions about it?

The path twisted underneath a bridge. The arch above was high and had a sharp incline. Decorated upon the bridge was colored glass pieces. Inset was the phrase, "Do not judge. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged in, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." A chill ran up his spine, and he folded his arms over his chest. Before them wasn't just a simple arch, but more like a tunnel without a light at the end.

Serenity had never been to the courtrooms before. Her mother talked about them briefly once, but only restated what she read in the history books. Two by two the generals and guardians walked under the archway. A small blast of air hit her face, and her eyes closed in reaction. When she opened them again a they were all in a narrow hallway facing a white marble door. Serenity let the air out of her lungs she had been holding in. Wisps of white floated out of her mouth. The place felt like a freezer.

"I will call you in one by one. You may sit in these seats while you wait. Once you are done, you will exit out to another room," announced the crooked nose man. "Miss. Makoto, you are up first."

The group of 10 began to dwindle. Serenity's hands were tight in fists under the pressure. What would the device say about her? Did she want Takeshi to be sentenced? A warm hand fell on top of hers. It was Endymion's. "Don't be so nervous. It is technically your way of things. Shouldn't a soldier be showing confidence in the system?" asked Endymion. Serenity wasn't sure if she was relieved by the comfort, but she did enjoy his warm hands.

Soon it was just Serenity waiting alone. Takeshi would be at the stand now, as the defender. She would be next. "Princess, it is your turn."

She wasn't sure if she was as prepared as she had hoped to be. Turning the warm brass knob, she entered the room. She had expected the room to be empty, black, and drab. It was. In the center of the circular room floated a glass ball the size of a well rounded watermelon. Multiple colors struck through it every few seconds, like lightning was being contained by the glass surface. Rubbing her hands on her clothes to dry them, she stepped forward. An intuition to place her hands on the globe like a seer came to mind, and a jolt ran through her connecting her to the device, connecting her to truth. The feeling of power, righteousness, and understanding of the world rushed through her. Images of her own memories ran through her mind, as if a replay button had been hit. She was stuck in a whirlwind of her past, her regrets, in her own times of trial and strife. Then it started doing something she did not expect, showing her something she did not know.

She was in a pink lace taffeta ball gown. A smile was on her face, and she felt like she was on top of the world. Nobody could stop her. A man's warm hand was positioned at her back, and the other holding her arm up in the waltz. Violins played in the background, and the ballroom floor seemed to disappear. Was it her coronation? What were they celebrating? She tried to look up at the man's face, and then the sound of nails on a chalkboard broke the tranquility. The screams of women and children resounded in her ears. Glass falling as the windows and wine glasses shattered. She felt like she was in the middle of a tornado. Wind whipped up her dress and her hair. Then a voice trying to drill into her mind came through.

"You think you have everyone fooled. You think you can rule this Universe. You think that you'll bring peace to this world. You will never be a Queen, least be called one. You've stolen our right, and now we will steal your life. Princess, the storm is coming."

Serenity grabbed her head. She wanted it to stop. The pressure was all too much. Her eyes were squeezed as tight as possible. Where was she? A blue light glowed beneath her eyelids. Peering out, she looked around. Then she looked at her hands and her body. The light was coming from her! What was happening?!

All too soon, the effect stopped, and she was back to her original state in the dark room. It was as if someone had turned the off button on a terrible movie. Was this suppose to be a sign? Her future? The globe stood still in front of her. The energetic lightning through it ceased, and it looked like a regular glass blown ball. Looking around the circular room, she looked for a door. There was the one she came in from, and a black one on the opposite side of the room.

Scrambling for the door, she wanted out of there. She wanted her guardians, she wanted anywhere but here.

"Where do you think you're going?" rasped a harsh voice. It was the same one from her connection to the device.