Gardens of the Moon
Prologue: This Rich Evil Sound
It's a story of survival. It's a story of the time in which she lived. The story of success and failure.
- Maximilian Schell
A flame of hair danced in the wind, red against the deep blue of the sky. Stray tendrils fluttered erratically as the woman turned on heel to face her companions, she was beautiful in an intimidating and otherworldly manner.
"I trust that our communication with the others has been successful?" She asked, her gaze trailing upwards towards the moon that hung above them silently... watching. One of her companions hacked out a chuckle.
"Yes, we've sent a transmission asking for help with the darkness plaguing our planet." He said with an ungodly smirk plastered to his face. "Poor bastards didn't even suspect that we could be responsible for the outbreak."
"If you wish to keep your tongue you shall refrain from showing them any sympathy whatsoever." The redhead snapped out. The man's companions shared amused looks as he bowed his head.
"As you wish, your highness." He murmured respectfully. She smiled, reaching out to cup his cheek.
"Be cautious where you use that title, Kunzite." She told him. It seemed her storm of poor temper had passed, leaving behind a peaceful calm. "I would hate to see you go to trial for heresy."
"I shall." He told her, jerking his head in a swift nod. The redhead smiled sweetly at him again. She looked up towards the moon, a twisted smile developing.
"Just you wait; soon we will have you painted red with the blood of your people."
Suddenly my world was disjointed and chaotic. Images flashed in front of me. The plains of Mars, torn by war. A mottled blue orb hanging in front of the vastness of space. As suddenly as they had started the images began to swirl and melt into one another, each image more grotesque than the last. War torn streets melted into a battle field. Broken bodies changed into a crying child with its young mother.
Peace became carnage and the beautiful became hideous. The legendary Moon Palace deteriorated until it became a smoking ruin. Bloody bodies were scattered across the land in front of my eyes.
Blood and fire consumed the lifeless landscape before it too decayed before me, leaving behind a series of images that disappeared before I could understand their significance.
A different world, a new place, a new time. A queen dying on her throne as her kingdom crumbled, the sound of battle was flush in my ears.
Then suddenly everything stopped. I turned around, confronted with two larger than life orbs. The moon hung silver in the sky, while just beside it, slowly spun the blue orb I'd seen earlier. Earth. Then all the light around me turned red as the Moon was consumed by blood. I tried to close my eyes, tried to turn away but it proved futile. Until the only thing watching with me was the sheen of a blue ocean in the sky... even as it fell into the darkness with the disappearing sun. Then from behind the Earth emerged the same red haired woman I'd seen earlier, her clear laughter echoed around me. She seemed happy and victorious, while all I could feel was dread. It ran through my veins, burning and freezing me at the same time, locking me in place so all I could so was stare at the sight before me.
I jolted awake, left with an imprint of her blood chilling grin on my mind. I was shaking slightly as I rolled out of bed, setting my feet on the cold floor. I leaned over, holding my head in my hands, she had been plaguing my dreams for months now and they weren't getting any easier to deal with, if anything it was getting harder.
My stomach swirled treacherously inside of me before I leaned over and retched, vomit spattering on the floor beside my bed. Shakily I got to my feet; I needed something to rid my mind of the images that constantly plagued me. I stepped out onto the balcony, the cold night air waking me up enough for me to realize that my dreams of late had been horrifically consistent. Well, more so than usual. Normally I just had to deal with dreams of past campaigns, but now they had gained a new element. A new element which terrified me more than anything I had experienced before.
I was also awake enough to realize just how weak I felt. I wasn't just weak, I felt ill. The world began to spin again, making me increasingly nauseous. My legs crumpled underneath me and I sank to the ground, managing to lean back against the wall. My forehead came to rest against my knee and I folded my arms about myself, trying desperately to stop myself from vomiting again.
There was a noise, much like a soft fluttering of wings, then a pair of arms wrapped about my shaking frame.
"Oh, Rei..." A soft, familiar, feminine voice murmured. Warmth spread from the arms encompassing me and I allowed the darkness to consume me. At least when unconscious I didn't feel anything.