Disclosure: I do not own Sailor Moon and have not received financial benefits from this work of fiction.

AN: Eurus = Zoisite; Setting: Fribourg, Switzerland circa 1775.

Chapter 21: Thunderclaps

Lita had only been in Fribourg for a few hours. As a traveler from a conveniently distant city travelling to another conveniently distant city, it made sense to stop in Fribourg to rest for a moment while one of the horse's thrown shoe was being attended to.

It had been incredibly clever for Eurus to arrange everything. Every detail was exquisitely accurate, down to her clothing. It was a Paris gown from last season, which would place her in the upper class, but not among the nobility. This would allow her to mingle with the leaders of society and see how the economy was working based on their decisions. Already, she had received an invitation to a salon that evening. With Eurus' approval, the horses would be deemed unable to travel until sometime tomorrow.

She smoothed her gown, a rich peachy-pink with an elegant burden of skirts. She stifled a laugh remembering her conversation with Eurus about her clothing.

"So… how exactly do you, a man, know so much about women's fashions?"

He had blushed and hid his face momentarily, a frighteningly feminine gesture. Tossing his long hair back and squaring his shoulders, he looked her at her directly. "I don't think it's really any of your business."

She lifted an eyebrow in unspoken question. "All right. As you wish."

The cleric could see the wheels turning in her head, and he knew that if she asked any of his brothers, the story would get blown quite firmly out of proportion and matters would be even worse.

"If you must know," he sighed, "as a man of the cloth, ladies tend to trust me as a safe confidant and hint into the minds of a men. There have been several young women of marriageable age who have sought me out and speak of nothing but their gowns and balls and conquests. I don't particularly like it, but it cannot be helped."

She giggled. "That's innocent enough. Why hide it?"

"You don't know my brothers. I'd never live it down."

All of a sudden she was standing in front of him face-to-face. Taking his hands, and with a merry, sisterly grin, she said. "Then I won't tell them. This will be our little secret."

Her tact, sincerity and delicacy in that matter surprised him and it showed on his face.

"I may be a princess, Eurus, but I'm not a vacuous fool who thrives on gossip and embarrassing others. We all have secrets after all."

She smiled distantly. The more time she spent with these brothers, the more she looked forward to it. On the moon, so many of the men were … so flat. They were only ambitious: either militarily, politically or socially. Often, a woman was only a means to an end, at least a young unattached princess who was the heir to the throne was usually treated that way. Most of her conversations with a young man had no more depth than a puddle. Yet these men had such character.

"You find something amusing, Liesl?"

The words brought her back to the present like a splash of icy water.

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

"Your smile. Clearly you found something amusing. Perhaps ridiculous?"

"Should I?" Lita personally hated this kind of verbal fencing. Parry, thrust, riposte, touché… people should say what they mean, and mean what they say. Thankfully she had been well schooled by Mina, the mistress of the innocent façade and Rei, the queen of the icy rebuke. At this point, she copied Mina's innocent doe-eyed look, even though it hurt her eyes when she did that.

Another voice followed angrily. "Ridiculous? I should say! This government is a farce! Your guest is only too polite to say so."

Lita now wavered between the masks taught to her by Mina and Rei. Remain innocently friendly or leave in a huff? She decided to play her cards cautiously… for now. "Good sir, I do not believe I have had the pleasure?" She held out her nearer hand to him graciously. "How do you do?"

"Ah, Major Chenaux, I would like to introduce to you Liesl Mahler. She is visiting us from Germany, and traveling to meet family in…"

"Sicily. I travel through Switzerland and Italy and then to Sicily via boat. This is not the fastest way to travel, but my route was arranged for me." She shrugged dismissively, as a lady of wealth. "I do not mind the travel, for I enjoy meeting all of the interesting people."

He bowed over her hand and kissed it. "Pierre-Nicolas Chenaux, at your service. Please forgive the intrusion, but I find myself increasingly frustrated with the world."

Lita looked at him carefully, searching his face for clues. He was a military man, for he had been addressed as "major." However, he did not appear to be of the upper class. No, he was definitely not among the sixty or so families who "ruled" Fribourg. If he was, it was doubtful that he would have been so frustrated. He was an older man, no longer in the first bloom of youth. Perhaps that was also part of the problem. Often when youth and idealism are wasted, they leave behind a disillusioned, impotent man.

She decided to drop Mina's artful smile and just be herself… sort of. "Indeed? Sometimes a listening ear is just the thing to wash frustrations away from one's eyes like the dew washes the earth clean in the morning."

She almost grimaced. She didn't use that phraseology, not really. But in the short time she had been with the people, it appeared that anyone in the upper class was supposed to adorn their words with so many frills and fluff that the meaning all but disappeared.

Her slight expression had not escaped the major's notice. "No fancy words are needed here, not with me. Plain talk is what I want."

She heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said, "that's a relief!"

"Are you sure you want to hear my tale of woe, young woman?"

She looked into his tired eyes, and there was only one answer she could give. "Yes."

In the intervening hours until the party at the salon, Lita listened quietly to Chenaux. While no doubt, his tale of woe was partly elaborated both for her benefit and because he was so close he could not view his own history with any sort of impartiality, she was still shocked by the economic power wielded so poorly by so few on behalf of the many.

Honestly, she commented, "I am surprised that there hasn't been an uprising against them yet."

Bitterly he replied, "How can we? Who would lead this mismatched group? I hear that over in the Colonies in the Americas that one has already begun… but those men live far from their oppressors. Here? We live in their very shadows."

"Why not you?" She covered her mouth in shock. Lita hadn't meant to blurt that, but it had come out before her brain had been able to catch up with her lips.

"Me?" He was on the brink of hysterical laughter when a thoughtful, hungry light appeared in his eyes. "Yes, why not?"

Lita was dismayed by his sudden avaraciousness. "Perhaps another question should be asked. 'Why you?'"

"Why me? My dear lady. Look at me! No," he held up a hand and her words fell dead on her lips, "I can tell merely from your expression that despite having travelled, you are still an innocent."

Lita prepared herself to become angry, but couldn't muster the necessary force. "What do you mean?"

"I think I can best show you what I mean, Lisle." He stood and held her wrap for her, albeit impatiently.

A man of action, she thought. I only hope that life has not ruined him.

He strode directly to the door and held it open for her. "Forgive my abrupt manner, but I am not a man who can sit about doing nothing easily."

In response, Lita hurried to meet him.

They traveled together down streets the like of which Lita had never seen before. Behind the elegantly cobblestoned streets were squalid alleys where the poor gathered. Behind one tavern, children stood begging whenever the door opened like hungry baby birds. Dressed in rags, the small bodies were undersized, underfed and unclean.

Despite the poverty, kindness reigned supreme. One woman gave pieces of stale bread to the children, unfit for the wealthy patrons to eat. Instead of wolfing down the morsels as Lita could see they wanted to, the children scurried off to their homes. Chenaux and Lita followed one little boy who gave the entire roll to his sick mother. Another little girl shared her food with yet another smaller child. It was touching how the little ones cared for one another.

He led her from alley to alley showing the sheer waste. Many children and adults were scrounging among the wasted food thrown outside. Heartbreaking though the seeing children begging was, what sent pangs of distress to Lita's heart was the sight of mothers unable to even breastfeed their infants. The mothers were so unnourished that their milk had dried up and there was no money for a substitute.

A few tremblingly approached them, obviously afraid of punishment but too desperate to not try. Later, after the first ones were not rebuked, children were drawn to Lita's warm smile like moths to a candle's flame. In her small purse she had only a few coins, but she gave freely all that she had. One young girl delicately stroked her gown longingly. "So pretty..."

Despite herself, Lita was drawn into doing something more for them. She remembered the story once told to her about the "Stone Soup." She asked the children to hurry up and bring what little they had, to beg from their mothers and from others. Despite the sad state of the vegetables and other foodstuffs, she was determined to make what she could. From one family, she borrowed their large cauldron (sadly, they rarely had enough food to use it,) from another a sharp knife and so on. As the broth boiled, a crowd of poor people gathered, enjoying the delicious aroma.

A last taste informed her that the soup was done at last. The children and adults gathered in lines and Lita ladled bowlfuls to each one. But before all but a few had a chance to eat to their fill, they were interrupted by a most unwelcome guest.

"What is it we have here?" A large man walked in, face ruddy from too much wine too early in the day. His clothing was very good, but now stained by sweat and gravy. The formerly snowly lace cuffs were now gray and grimy and in his hand he held a walking stick of heavy oak.

"Ritter," spat Chenaux. "This is merely charity. You have no reason for concern."

"Charity," oozed the Ritter, "How... noble. And the cook?" Here he finally caught sight of Lita who had been crouching down to speak to a few of the youngest children, mere toddlers.

He looked her over carefully. Suddenly, she was aware as never before of the cut of her gown. The corset was designed to lift her breasts up and display their soft roundness. It pressed her waist in, yet in such a way that did not conceal the full curves of her hips. Never before had she hated her figure but now, at this moment, she did. Despite herself, she blushed with the heat rushing up to her ears and down over her breasts. Embarrassed, she covered herself as best as she could with her crossed arms, while looking frantically for her recently discarded shawl.

"Von Grumpenberger, you have no place here."

"Now Major, please introduce me to your charming companion here. Truly, a lily growing out of the mud."

Be like Rei, she commanded herself. Stiffly, she held her head up, chin pointed out and dropped the merest curtsey to him. "Lisle Mahler, from Germany. I am passing through." She did not offer him her hand to kiss, and despite his drunken state, he no doubt recognized her slight.

"As you are a stranger, I will forgive your ignorance... but this," he kicked the cauldron, nearly upsetting it, "is not a recommended activity for a lady of your stature."

One of the children was standing too close to the cauldron and was splattered by the hot soup. Her shrill cries of pain hit Lita like a slap. Like lightening, stress had to build up to a sufficient level before Lita's anger was released, but also like lightening, once her anger was sparked it was hot and flashing.

He mocked her anger. Not a good idea. "So the kitten has claws, does she? What are you doing, protecting these brats? The peasants breed like rodents. A few more or less won't make any difference."

Take deep breaths. Count to ten. Think of butterflies. Nothing worked. Lita could feel the hot rage come surging up from her belly. The heat filled her, made her strong and powerful. As it filled her throat and fists, she could feel the electricity there, just waiting to be called upon.

She struggled to keep her voice low and controlled. "I think you owe someone an apology, sir."

"An apology?" He pulled out a dingy, stained hankerchief. A wave of heavy musk hit everyone standing nearby, and Lita gagged. "Yes, I apologize. I apologize to me, for having come here and been exposed to the stench of these peasants." Upon saying the word "peasants," Von Grumpenberger held his odiferous bit of cloth to his nose.

That was enough. Lita leapt forward and grabbed that man by his lapels. Pushing, she pressed him against the stone wall, the heat of his sweaty body bled off of him into the cooling evening air. Perhaps it was the alcohol or the sheer bravado, but still he did not back down. They stood face to face, so closely that Lita could taste the alcohol on his breath.

"Like an audience, do you my dear?" He bent closer and tried to touch her lips with his slobbering mouth.

Disgusted, Lita stepped back and dropped him heavily. Children and old women tittered, thoroughly enjoying the humiliation that rich man was receiving at the hands of a young woman. His ruddy face was now empurpled in rage and he swung the stick he carried at her viciously, aiming for her head. The fool had no idea he was dealing with the senshi of protection and thunder!

Lita raised her left arm, warding off the blow, and grabbed at the stick with her right hand. She twirled under the cane they both held, and von Grumpenberger, still intoxicated, lost his grip and his balance. He rolled in the slime of the streets, ruining his fine coat. Yet, he did not give up. Although a man past his prime, he still had a fine figure and maintained his physique. He rolled to his knees and paused there for a moment, breathing heavily. Then, with a sudden thrust of his feet, he launched himself at Lita... who was not there. In surprise, the Ritter slid on the mucky ground and impaled himself on a long sharp rod.

The man laid there bellowing like a gored bull, holding his leg, trying to staunch the flow of blood. The people scattered, leaving behind a nearly empty cauldron, a woman and two men, one injured. Lita was half-tempted to leave him, but knew she couldn't. That would only prove that she was no better than von Grumpenberger. Lifting her long skirt, Lita began tearing strips from her petticoat in order to place compression on the wound until a proper doctor could arrive.

Perhaps a little viciously, she tied the strips of cloth tightly, finding some small satisfaction in each howl of pain. "It has to be tight, you know, to help prevent further blood loss." Her smile was now tight and hard. During this entire activitiy, Chenaux had run to find the nearest physician and thankfully returned as Lita finished her rough tourniquet.

"Wonderful my dear, just wonderful." The doctor was a little man, older and balding. He checked his vital signs. "His pulse is fast and shallow," he said, "which is normal considering the trauma. Can you two manage to carry him to my office?" He turned to leave the alley. "It's almost a pity he's not unconscious from the pain," Lita heard the doctor mutter, "it would make my job far easier."

Easily taken care of, she thought. Her anger was still hot and it was easy for her to apply a quick jolt of electricity to him, knocking him out cold. If Chenaux noticed, he did not say, but the man was deep in thought. Once Dr. Kunze had von Grumpenburger firmly in hand and tending to the wound, both in removing the rod and in closing the wounds, Lita and Chenaux left the office.

"I am surprised that you helped him. I would not have," he said.

"I will admit, I didn't want to, but if I hadn't, how would I be any better than he is?" She shook her head. "No, a true leader, a real revolutionary's job isn't just to change society or the government, but to change them for the better, don't you think?"

Chenaux nodded slowly. Together they walked back to the inn Lisle had contracted to stay for the night. He bowed deeply. "Thank you for a most edifying afternoon. I hope that this will not be the last we see of each other."

"I hope we meet again, as well, but tonight is the last night I spend in Fribourg. Who knows what the future will bring. Will you be attending the party at the salon?"

"No... I think not. High society is not my preference." He touched his hat again before leaving. "Goodnight my lady. Goodnight."

The party was everything it had promised to be. There were people of all sorts, all interesting or amusing. Conversations were one moment droll, another serious, and the next whimsical. The food was deliciously delicate and abundant. Lita had changed from her previous gown (now blood-stained) to another in deep wine. If anything, the gown was even more daringly cut, and several gentlemen spent more time staring at her cleavage than actually listening to her words.

Maria, a bubbly young woman made the point of accompanying Lita at each trip to the buffet table. She lovingly described each hor'devoure and their ingredients. The young woman's plump figure showed that she dearly loved food.

It was delicious, but such a waste! Some people would take an item and only nibble at it to later discard the remainder. Several bottles of wine and imported French champagne were opened, and in some cases to fill only one glass! Lita thought of the poor children who were virtually starving at their doorsteps and the rich pastry she was eating turned to ash in her mouth.

Maria must have seen her blanche and swallow stiffly. "Liesl, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, it's just a bit hot in here." Despite her low-cut gown, the layers of undergarments, petticoats and the heavy gown did nothing to keep her cool. Looking at the flushed faces of the gentlemen in their waistcoats and cravats only made her feel more stifled.

Maria kindly ushered out of the room into the cooler library, where Lita gratefully collapsed onto a sofa. Only a small fire burned here. "Stay here Liesl and let me open a window." The short figure struggled with a window and then a cooling breeze entered the room bringing her relief.

There was a knock on the door. "Is Liesl in there?"

Maria bustled to open the door slightly. "She is ill."

"I have to see her!"

"And who are you, sir?"

"Major Pierre-Nicolas Chenaux, at your service. She will wish to see me!"

Lita bolted upright. "Let him in!"

Maria opened the door and he dashed inside. "Liesl, Lisle! You must leave now! Ritter von Grumpenberger has the aristocrats in an uproar. He claims that you injured him, after luring him into a dark alley. Even now, they are hunting for you. The cleric has gone to ready your carriage. They won't listen to me Lisle! I was there, but I can do nothing against such a man!" He clutched her hands desperately, the frustration evident in his eyes. He nearly vibrated with anxiety.

"Then I must go. I had planned to leave in the morning anyway. A few hours make no difference to me."

"But your safety? Are you not concerned?"

"Thank you for your kindness to me Pierre. I will always remember that, as long as I live."

In a rush of silken skirts, she was gone. He stared at his hands which had so recently held hers. "I will remember too, Lisle, and mark my words, the people of Fribourg will one day be free!"

Frogs in a nearby pond interrupted their late love songs and plopped back into the water as a carriage rattled by. Once a few miles outside of the city of Fribourg, not too far from where Ami and Mina had first appeared, Eurus and Lita got out of the carriage, and sent it along its way.

The moonlight was hidden behind clouds. Perfect for the way I feel at the moment, thought Lita. As if on cue, the clouds parted and the silver light flooded the meadow. Silver trails of tears shone on her face; she was unable to hide her pain.

Eurus was unsure what to do. He turned his back for a moment, imagining that she required privacy to compose herself. As her tears turned to choking sobs, he knew that he couldn't stand there doing nothing!

Gently, hesitantly, he rubbed her shoulder. "I'm... I'm sorry."

She turned to him, her eyes wide in pain. They seemed to accuse him... for what, he did not know.

"Why, Eurus. In all of the gods and goddesses' names, why? Why do the rich and powerful oppress the poor and weak? Is it a curse of humanity?"

He held her hands as she had held his not so long ago. "Lita, I don't know."

"This government, this society does not work!"

He sighed. "I can only quote Thomas Hobbs. He said that if we lived in a state of nature, that is one without any government, we would have Bellum omnium contra omnes, or 'the war of all against all.' In such a world, our lives would be 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' The world here is not perfect, but can you say that the Silver Alliance is?"

She sniffed, and accepted the handkerchief to dab at her wet face. "No, it isn't perfect..."

"Lita, have you found my brothers and I to be such brutes?"

She gasped. "Oh no! You have been wonderful!"

"Then work with us to civilize this world, and then we will help you civilize your own."

"Thank you."

There in the dark, the crickets and frogs resumed their etherial chorus, as two figures, a man and a woman vanished into thin air.