Shadows at the Dawn - Part 37
Lord Afont turned from the map, his face weary, his body feeling the defeat already. A patch now covered one eye, a souvenir from the Hiransh Front the year before. The clans had continually retreated, merged together - to repeat the process many times over the past two and a half years. Things were not getting any better, and even those few ever optimistic souls were beginning to tarnish. Most of them did not know their only hope lay in the hands of one woman who had been ready to sacrifice herself the year before.
Something held him back however, he was not ready for Zeeda to live up to being a legend. It was selfish really, he had no connection with her other than being a friend of the family. But he had known her since she was an infant, had watched her grow as the daughter he had never had. Now, he was an old man that had somehow outlived his own sons. It was something that never should have happened, but it had, and time was growing ever shorter. The map before him was one large angry expanse of deep red. Part of him really wished they had chosen a different color. They had all seen more than enough blood.
Messengers moved about their duty, paying him no heed. Not that there was much new to report lately. Nothing changed other than the list of casualties that grew longer with each passing day.
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Zeeda sighed and closed her eyes, trying to hold off the headache that had been trying to distract her all afternoon. She had been trying to compose a briefing message for Queen Serenity for the past two hours, and a pile of crumpled paper lay strewn on the floor beside the desk. She could not tell them the whole truth, they had enough of their own worries with Earth at the moment. But she was not very good at making things seem better than they were. Especially when they were as bad as the situation had gotten.
The Centurious Stronghold, like its two nearest neighbors, was filled beyond capacity. Some places had become so crowded that families began to leave for other sectors of the void. Though if the rumors were to be believed, they fared little better. One would think that with all the space in the void people could find somewhere that was safe, but it was not turning out that way. How it had ever gotten so bad, no one would ever know - if there were any survivors to keep records in the first place.
Reports of more watcher sightings did not please her either. Watchers were an enigma, and in most cases, merely thought of as legends. Once, they had been like those of the clans, living in the void with a simple existence. Something had changed them though. Maybe they had always been a little different from their neighbors - but it had resulted in a split of the two peoples. Watchers were ever nomadic, solitary beings. They held claim to nothing, and truth be told, most people had no wish to claim them as anything either. Their name came from the fact that they simply "watched". They did not interfere with events. They did not lend a helping hand, they simply just sat on their asses and did nothing while the peoples of the void were slowly exterminated.
Zeeda had possibly spotted one herself a few months ago, but she had immediately dismissed it because there were more important things to think about. The brief image of a man's face surrounded by glowing blue lights was not worth the effort of recalling the memory. She had a house, a compound, and a village full of people looking to her as if she was their personal savior. It really was no one's fault. It was generally accepted as a clan head's duty - but right then she wished she could be the one hoping someone would come up with a brilliant plan to save everyone.
Thankfully, Lord Afont had managed to keep anyone from thinking about Far'Merat or anything related to it. But it was never far from her thoughts. She thought about it constantly now - having gone so far as to have read all the histories, even the "wrong" ones about a hundred times now it felt. It did not make Lienta happy, but he was keeping that to himself. Opening her eyes, she turned back to the papers scattered across the desk. The report was not going to write itself after all.
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Queen Serenity sat in her darkened bedchamber, staring out the window with eyes that saw something other than the view of her beloved gardens. Relations with Earth had finally fallen apart two months before, banning any form of contact with those of the Silver Millennium. King Ethos had tried, but he was only one man. In the end his words had fallen on many a deaf ear. The Queen had assured him that if he ever truly did need their assistance, she would send it - edicts be damned. His accepting smile had been wan and bitter, knowing he could never make use of her offer. It frustrated her.
The other planets all worked together just fine. The great houses did not always agree with each other, or with her, but they still worked together. Perhaps it was that the Earth was so divided already. Instead of the single monarchies of the other planets, their limited landmass was divided up under many different rulers. It was understandable that they would never reach agreements with each other that way. If the people of Earth could not live in peace with themselves, how in the world had they ever expected them to live in peace with the rest of them?
But that had not always been the case, Serenity reminded herself. Once, not all that long ago, the rulers on Earth had all gotten along with each other. They had only begun to change in the past few years, and no one had a clue as to why. Neighbors were fighting each other again, and the people's hearts had darkened. Perhaps they would be ready in a few more years, after they got it all out of their systems - but Serenity certainly was not going to hold her breath waiting for that day to arrive. That would surely be an exercise in stupidity.
Cartographer Wensel had not helped her mood much that day either. The map showed the void filled with nothing but a dark angry red, blocking out everything else. And that strange red glow was now constantly flickering around Earth. Probably just because of the turn in people's behavior, but it bothered her none the less. King Pluto had not been a comforting presence either with his news from the realms of time. Apparently the shadow voices were growing louder. He had reported that they were loud enough now that they could be heard before the doors even opened.
All in all, it had turned out to be a terrible day. The most disturbing news though had been a rumor that the princess had been secretly visiting Earth after all in the palace had gone to bed. Serenity had not yet had a chance yet to confront her daughter, something she was not looking forward to. She had always held a secret hope that an alliance through marriage would strengthen their relations with Earth, but had given up on that idea a few years ago. Now, it would only make things worse. She prayed they were only idle rumors stirred up by maids with nothing better to do. But she knew her daughter, and a heavy weight descended upon her heart.
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"You most certainly are not going!"
"Riann, you don't give the orders around here."
"Sere, why are you so interested in that backwards planet now? You were never like this before."
"I also didn't have the power to transport myself down there before either."
"You ..."
The princess kept her smile to herself as violet eyes flashed in anger. Riann and the others had not been very pleased to find out that their princess had been making secret visits to Earth for the past few months now. Princess Serenity was not sure though if they were angry about her going, or for not telling them in the first place. Either way, the four of them had now become rather annoying and never let her out of their sight for long. It was not going to stop her - it was not like she visited inhabited areas.
"Riann, you come with me or you stay here. Either way, I'm going now."
"What happens when your mother finds out? Have you thought about the consequences?" The princess from Mars snapped in reply.
"I have, and she hasn't said anything yet. I don't visit the people, I just want to see the planet."
"Still, what if someone sees you?"
Serenity kept her mouth shut. She still had not told them someone had come across her on her last solitary visit before Mialian had set them on her like guard dogs. She had transported back, but not before recognition flashed in a pair of dark blue eyes. It had to have been him, not that she had not helped things along by only ever visiting his lands. But still, it had surprised her to be face to face with him that night. He was everything she remembered from the few times they had met before, and so much more. Prince Endymion haunted her dreams. It was only fitting she haunt his lands on Earth.
"No one will see us. It's a secluded garden in the high mountains with no villages nearby."
"I'm going to regret this someday." Riann muttered, fists clenched at her sides.
"You're only scared of running into him." Serenity teased.
"I am not!" Riann blushed deeply.
"If you say so."
A few moments later, Riann found herself standing next to her delinquent friend in one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen. Deep lush forests surrounded the "garden" as Serenity called it, though it did not look like anyone had tended it in a while. Ruins of some ancient building were buried under nature gone wild. Climbing vines and fragrant flowers were everywhere.
"See, I told you."
"Just a few minutes, then we have to go."
"It's forbidden for you to be here."
Both girls jumped at the deep voice that came from the shadows behind them. A tall man with dark hair and a piercing gaze stepped out from between two of the shattered columns.
"Prince Endymion," Serenity replied with a small nod of her head.
"And the Princess of the Moon - who apparently believes herself well above the rules."
"You didn't tell me we had guests my prince."
Riann winced at the sound of a familiar voice - one she by no means had been wanting to hear again. At least, that was what she continued to tell herself.
"We've seen enough. We'll be going now," Riann said, tugging on Serenity's arm.
"Oh, but you just go here." The blond man sneered.
"Jadeite ..." Endymion grumbled.
"The least we could do is show them around Prince."
"I've been here before, I can show myself around. We'll only be a few more minutes." Serenity replied, her voice not quite as commanding as she wished.
She moved away from the other three to her favorite spot in the little forgotten garden. It had probably been a gazebo at one point, but he roof had rotted away leaving only the tall slender columns that had once held it up. From here though, was a wondrous view - both of the moon and the valley below. This was where she had been standing when the prince had come along to ruin the evening a few weeks before.
"Why do you keep coming here?"
"Forgive me prince, I only wanted to see your planet."
"Circumstances being otherwise, I generally wouldn't mind. But you know what anyone else would do if they saw you." He smiled, but she was not looking at him to see it.
"I do, and I apologize. It's just so beautiful here in this seemingly forgotten place."
"The garden isn't the only thing of beauty," Endymion said softly.
"Now you're just teasing." Serenity's cheeks grew warm.
"You weren't supposed to hear that."
"You shouldn't have said it out loud then."
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"Just couldn't stand not seeing me again, could you?"
Riann wanted desperately to beat the smirk of his face right then. Jadeite was an arrogant, ill mannered, annoying flirt. Somehow, he always managed to make her feel flustered and lost, even if she knew where she was going. Alright, so maybe he was not quite so bad. But he did seem to have a nack for making her feel like a flustered little girl on occasion. She had been present at a few of the negotiations, though the two of them had never really spent any time together.
"I'm only here to protect my princess. Nothing more."
"It's a convenient excuse my lady, but if that's the way you wish things to be ..." He shrugged and began to turn away.
"I didn't say I wouldn't talk to you while I'm here, but don't be expecting anything else."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
Riann was taken aback. His smile was not the annoying smirk that irritated her to no end, it was a warm genuine one that made her feel just a little weak in the knees. Shaking her head, she tried to clear such thoughts from her brain. Bad enough if Serenity ended up in love with this prince - the rest of them did not need to follow in her footsteps.
"What is your world like?" Jadeite asked.
"You've been to the Moon before."
"That's not your world, Princess of Mars."
"Oh ... We don't have plants like this here. Some people consider it a barren empty waste with nothing other than red hued rocks. But the plains on Mars are alive - they have a warmth that many places are missing."
"You have no plants?"
"Some. Only small sturdy shrubs, and these light wispy things that grow on canyon walls that pull moisture from the air. We don't have as much weather as other places do."
"And what do you do there?"
"What do you do in your own lands when you're not babysitting a prince?" Riann replied with a smirk.
Jadeite grinned – at least she was talking to him this time. Well, they had spoken to each other those few times he had managed to run into her while accompanying King Ethos on visits to the moon, but she had been barely civil then. He had no idea why he was drawn to her. She had made it abundantly clear she wanted nothing to do with him. But he could not stop himself from thinking of her no matter how hard he tried. Though she was only sixteen like the princess and the others, it was a different sixteen than the girls constantly around them back home. Perhaps it came from their duties or their skills, but they were certainly all very mature accomplished young ladies – even if the princess did not always appear so.
Turning back to the dark haired princess near him, he smiled again as he listened to her describe her home. Part of him wished he could see it himself, but such things could never be. So he would be content to attend to these secret visits whenever he could.