A/N: I am so sorry this update took so long. I have no excuse except that I am a bad person. Please forgive me. To make it up to everybody reading this I am putting up the last to chapters together. Hope that makes it a little better. Anyway, enough from me
Enjoy!
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Day Three
"Must they follow us everywhere?" Corlan asked, pointing towards the two guards.
"Unfortunately yes," Setsuna sighed, "Mother's orders. That and I must stay in the gardens. This new enemy has her terrified."
"That I don't doubt," Corlan said. "Tell me, what do you know about this enemy from the skies?"
"Princess...," one of the guards began.
Setsuna didn't even bother looking at him when she interrupted. "He is to be the future king. I'm sure Mother and Father won't mind if I tell him."
The guard didn't protest again.
"Well, I didn't hear much when I was at the conference. Only that there are about fifty of these alien ships above the city right now. They were discovered last night by the astronomer. He was busy checking to see if the planets were in a suitable alignment for our wedding." Setsuna looked at him, "Does that bother you? That they still want us to marry, even though we may be going to war?"
Corlan looked surprised by her question, "Of course it doesn't. In fact, I think that it is a good idea. This way, if your parents should die, one or both, there will be someone to take their place immediately. The planet will not be left with no ruler."
Setsuna stared at him. He had a point but, it was her parents he was talking about so cruelly. Before she had a chance to voice her protests he asked, "What else do they know?"
"Well, it is known that these ships seem to be made completely of some sort of dark crystal. I don't think I've ever seen it before. Also, these ships shoot beams of pure energy to destroy things, almost like black lightening." Setsuna continued telling him, never once realizing that what she told him was details her parents couldn't possibly know. It was all information she had received from her vision.
When she stopped talking, Corlan waited for a moment than said, "It appears to me that this topic is distressing you more than a little. Why don't you tell me about the wedding? Things are different where I come from and I have no idea what will be happening."
Setsuna indeed did feel relief over that change of topic, though it was to another one she would rather not talk about. 'Oh well,' she thought, mentally shrugging her shoulders, 'Anything is better than war.'
"It will start at the beginning of sunset. Just like your continent has the longest days, we have the longest sunset. It will last half the night." She was silent for a moment, "I've always wondered why our sunrise isn't the same, instead of barely lasting any time at all." She shook her head to put her thoughts back on course. "The main part will all be done during the sunset. After, there will be the ball, which my mother has been planning forever it seems."
"Let me guess, just as the sun sets, that's when we will be pronounced husband and wife?"
Setsuna looked down at the ground. That's what she had thought at first as well, at least, that was how it was done for the other weddings she had attended. "Actually no. My mother told me that there will be a surprise guest. Someone that only she has met before. I'm hoping it will be the person that..." her voice trailed off and she reached up to touch the chain that disappeared into her dress.
Corlan noticed her reaction to whatever it was she had planned on saying. "The person that what? Does it have to do with this?" He reached up and placed his hand over hers.
Setsuna stopped breathing. Her heart beat sped up, though out of fear or excitement she couldn't tell. His hand was perilously close to her chest. She moved her eyes up from where his hand lay on hers to his nearly black eyes. Suddenly that was all she could see. Then she heard him speak in a flat, soothing voice, or did she hear him? Or was it only her own thoughts she was hearing.
"Why don't you show me the necklace, Setsuna. Show me what you are hiding."
His hand tugged on hers and she followed the movement, her eyes never leaving his. Absently she could feel the cold medal of the chain, trailed by the warmth of the pendant, moving up from its resting place between her breasts. 'What are you doing!' her thoughts screamed at her. She jerked away from his touch as if burned, but as soon as she broke eye contact with him, she couldn't remember a thing. Looking up at him shyly she said, "I'm sorry, I don't know..."
"I'm the one who should be sorry," he interrupted, his voice still strangely flat, "I am moving too fast; we are not yet married. I shouldn't be kissing you, not yet."
Setsuna's eyes flashed red briefly. Corlan sat up straight, moving away from her. "What was that? What is wrong with your eyes?"
Shaking her head, her elaborate hair style threatening to tumble down from atop her head, Setsuna tried to clear her vision. Yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn't. Hoping to make it go away, she focused as far away as she could, looking through the gardens until the trees blocked her view. Suddenly a gasp ripped from her throat. No matter where she looked she didn't see what she knew she should see. Instead all the trees were merely burned out stumps, all the flowers were turned to ash and blowing around her in the wind. Hearing Corlan's voice, she followed it until she found the young man sitting in front of her, yet, after only a moment that visage disappeared. To be replaced by a fiendishly red wolf. Its jaws hung open and it looked at her with a fierce hunger in it's demonic eyes.
The wolf spoke her name and Setsuna couldn't control herself. She stood up from her seat and started to flee, making it only a few steps before she fell to the ground in a faint.
Everything was a blur around her. Everything except the huge wolf in front of her. It snarled and the animal sound turned into a gravelly voice, "Dear princess, how sad it is, that you should die at your own wedding. And by the jaws of your husband-to-be as well. So sad... Too bad there will be no one left to mourn you." Then it lunged at her and all she could do was raise her arms to protect her face and pray.
The impact never came and she opened her eyes to see a woman with long hair as green as her own standing before her. Setsuna got the strangest sense of familiarity from this lady, but she didn't have a chance to think about it before she saw the wound in the woman's side.
Rushing forward, she caught the tall warrior as she collapsed to the ground. "Setsuna," the woman said in a voice that seemed much too quiet for her. "Setsuna, you must take my staff. Take my staff and say, 'Take me to the time gate'. You must do this and you must do it now!"
"I can't," Setsuna whispered. "I can't leave you. Besides, the time gate, it is only a myth. It can't be real."
Even as she felt the tears in her eyes start to fall, the princess saw the woman in her arms fade out and then back into reality. But there was something different about this copy of the woman. While they looked identical, the other had shown confidence in everything about her, and her eyes looked as if they had seen too much time pass, too much suffering. This one was almost shy, looking as if she had to force herself to meet Setsuna's eyes. When Setsuna did get a look at those eyes she noticed that not only weren't they quite as red as before, but they also seemed younger somehow. And though the pain that was visible was still the same, it looked fresher somehow.
What disconcerted her the most, was that Setsuna knew this woman. Knew her as if she had grown up with her. In fact, "You're me," she whispered in awe.
"Yes I am," the woman said, standing up to reveal that the wound was gone. With a gentle, almost hesitant touch, the woman reached down and covered Setsuna's eyes. "Remember nothing. You are not supposed to know this yet. Remember nothing."
"Princess Setsuna? Setsuna, are you all right?" Corlan's voice was the first thing she heard when she woke up, his face the first thing when she opened her eyes. At first she felt an unexplainable fear of him but it was gone quickly. Gone and forgotten before she could try and explain it.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice surprisingly strong. "The last thing I remember, you asked me about the wedding." Taking the hand he offered she stood and looked at the guards questioningly.
"We aren't sure what happened Princess. We were staying a short distance away when suddenly Prince Corlan called out. We rushed over to find you just opening your eyes."
Setsuna looked at the young man and suddenly felt sorry for him. He looked as if he were having trouble meeting her eyes, as if he felt guilty for neglecting his duties. "Don't worry about it. I did ask you to stay back. Now though, now I think I'll go back up to the castle. Maybe my mother can use an extra set of hands. Corlan?" She turned to see that he was looking not at her exactly, more through her to a point off in the trees.
"That's okay Princess. I'll just finish walking through the gardens. You go to your mother."
"I'll see you at dinner tonight. Till then?"
"Till then," Corlan said, kissing her hand in farewell before turning to continue down the path.
"Shall we?" she asked the guards and started back towards the palace.
Back up at the castle though, she didn't even bother pretending to look for her mother. Instead she quietly let herself into the library. It was a large room and rose up two floors. All four walls at this level were lined with bookshelves that reached the ceiling. A ladder had to be used to reach the top shelves. The only part of the walls not lined by books was were the floor to ceiling windows stood, letting enough light in for the readers. On the window where dozens of small suncatchers and they cast their rainbow lights around the room. In the middle of the room was a great fireplace, grated all around so that the room would stay comfortably warm. Around the fireplace were half a dozen matching chairs, all of them padded generously. The top floor, which was where Setsuna was headed, once again had walls covered in shelves and the large windows. But instead of chairs around the fireplace, there were more, smaller bookshelves. It was one of these that Setsuna found herself standing in front of.
Running her fingers over the familiar bindings she picked up a leather green bound book. She paused a moment before lifting the cover. The letters of the title were done in gold leaf, slightly scuffed due to age. Gently, almost as if she were afraid they would break, she traced the letters with her finger. The title read: The Guardian of Time. 'That's strange,' she thought. Out loud she mumbled, "I've been all over this rack. Where did you come from?" The book didn't answer. 'Of course it won't answer,' Setsuna scolded herself. Curious as to what lay between it's covers, she didn't bother waiting until she had found the comfort of one of the reading chairs. She just opened the book and started reading where she stood.
The first line caught her attention:
The Guardian of Time is more than a legend; she is real. Yet she is more than real; she is the stuff legends are made of.
Setsuna stopped there. Setting the book carefully down on the floor she lowered herself after it, careful of her skirt. Once seated, leaning against the very shelf she had found this book in, she started to read once again.
The Guardian of Time is more than a legend; she is real. Yet she is more than real; she is the stuff legends are made of.
The warrior that holds the key of Pluto is destined to enter the Gate of Time. Within these gates time no longer exists as most mortals know it. Here time is the basis for everything and with a single thought the Guardian can appear anywhere along the timeline.
I am the current Guardian of Time, the current Sailor Pluto. I have held my post for thousands of years and in all those years I have not aged past eighteen. I was eighteen when I took up my post, just as all Guardians must be.
Setsuna turned the page, her eyes never straying from the book. Legends fascinated her, and already this one had entered her list of favorites. She continued to read, learning about a place called the Moon Kingdom, during a time the author called the Silver Millenium.
The princess found that she was crying as she finished that particular story, told from the guardian's point of view. Setsuna could almost feel the helplessness this Sailor Pluto felt as she watched the princess she had sworn to protect lose everything and everyone she loved. Finally she pulled her dead prince's sword from its scabbard and impale herself on it.
The next story in the legend took place before the attack on the Moon Kingdom. The events happened on a planet called Earth and Setsuna was stunned by the hatred she could feel in the guardian's words. A hatred and, again, a helplessness as she watched the Queen's Beryl and Metallia ready the attack that would destroy the Silver Millenium.
Standing here in front of the Gate of Time, I can looked out into the world. The point I watch is the time that is. Not the future or the past, but the present I am forbidden to interfere with. On Earth, on the most northern continent, spreads a castle made of a stone that has turned black from the evil within. With a thought I can see inside the castle, down into the deepest levels where the two Queens talk of the coming battle.
"We need more soldiers," Beryl demanded, "If we don't have them, the Moon Kingdom will win!"
I focus on this Beryl. I have watched her grow from an abandoned farm girl into this creature that is power hungry, and ready to gain her revenge on those she believes to be at fault for her lost childhood. Her hair is as deep a red as the blood she is so eager to spill, and her skin looks paler than the whitest of snows. The ruby red dress she wears is skin tight and a familiar cut. I have seen something similar on Sailor Mars many times, though my friend manages to make it look elegant.
The creature that Beryl talks to, Metallia, answers from within the black mist that shrouds everything but her eyes. "Patience, Beryl," her voice is gravelly and aggravates my already growing headache, "We will triumph. There is no need to bother yourself with that. The Sailor Soldiers are no match for the power of the negaverse."
The negaverse. I shudder at the name of a place that shouldn't exist but does. Made to accommodate a growing evil, populated by poor souls that are trapped within their own bodies. Unable to do anything while these two queen's control their limbs. Then the portal's picture changes, though I have not willed it so. Now I see four young men standing at attention just inside the door. They wear the uniforms of the Earth Guard, for indeed they were the Prince of Earth's personal guard and friends. Now though, their eyes are black and they are under her control.
Setsuna flipped forward in the book. While the time sequence of events didn't bother her, she enjoyed learning things as they happened in this guardian's life, instead of how they happen in the real world. What bothered her was that this legend was written differently than any others she had read. Most were written about the creature or place of legend. This one was written as if the author was this Guardian of Time, writing down her life and thoughts as she had lived it and thought them. But that wasn't possible, because a legend is gone, or never was. The heroes shouldn't be able to write about themselves. Then another chapter caught her eye. It was written in a quick scrawl, so unlike the neat calligraphy that filled the rest of the pages. It was titled simply, 'The Past.'
The end is coming for my reign as the Guardian of Time. I can see it approach in both the future and the past. Two portals are open before me, one shows the events that will happen in a few days time. Two of my friends, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, will die in a battle. But I can't let that happen, they are needed in the future. We are all needed in the future or not only will this universe be lost to the negaverse but so will the next. My decision is made, I only hope I can trust myself enough to do what I must do.
The other portal shows the young girl I was more than a millennia ago. This is the girl that will take my place when I die. Though I know she can handle it, for she is me and I have managed my post well, I wish I did not have to make her give up her life. I wish that I could save myself and her, but she was born to this destiny, as I was born to mine. All the guardians will be needed; it is better for her to lose her normal life at the time that I lose my mortal one, than for the future of our galaxy to be lost.
I must go now, and I hope that this young girl will appreciate the memories I will pass onto her with my staff.
Setsuna closed the book with a heavy thud. There was an odd sense of foreboding tightening in her heart. This was no ordinary legend, of that she was sure. On impulse she pulled the small charm out from under her bodice. The delicately carved golden key shone in the diminishing light. It was only then that she realized just how much time had passed since she had entered the library. With a quiet groan, muffled by tightly closed lips, she lifted herself up from her position on the floor. She had been so engrossed in the book that she had never even realized when she had become uncomfortable.
Limping slightly on a foot that had fallen asleep, Setsuna made her way out of the library and up to her room. Supper should be called soon and she wasn't anywhere near being ready. The queen would definitely not be happy with that. Tossing the book onto the pillows at the head of her bed, she turned to inspect herself in the mirror. Sometime during the day her hairpins had fallen out and now her green hair was waving around her slim figure. Reluctantly she picked up her brush to start fixing it but the same sense of foreboding that had come to her in the library came to her again. Only this time it didn't disappear. With a wistful glance out her window towards the horse's fields, she stepped back out into the hall.
She had to get outside, even if it was only into the private gardens. They were large enough that she could lose herself in them for awhile, giving her time to think and shake off this feeling. Luck held with her and no guards spotted her. They would only demand that she return to the palace at once. Once hidden from view by the bushes and trees that lined the path, Setsuna started to relax. At first she kept her training about what a lady did and didn't do in mind. But the evening air was too sweet with the perfume of the many flowers, and she was sure the grass along the path would feel heavenly on her feet. With a sly smile she kicked off her shoes, not even bothering to pick them up. Then she pulled up her skirts and started to run in the grass, following the path but never allowing her bare feet to touch the stone.
After her short flight she slowed to a walk, allowing her delighted laughter to fade away. She was getting closer to the spot where she and Corlan had talked earlier and she didn't really want to go there. But this path led a full loop through the gardens and she would get back to the castle quicker if she continued forward. Besides, if she was out much longer, her mother would surely kill her.
Silence descended as her steps got smaller and smaller. The thoughts in her head were jumbled, though her weird feeling from earlier was gone. For some reason it had been replaced with thoughts of Bryant. The last time they talked, just last night, had ended badly. The conversation still confused her and she wished she knew what was upsetting him. Setsuna felt that she would be able to help him if only she knew.
In an attempt to clear away the hurt Bryant had caused her, Setsuna took a deep breath of the night air. The air she inhaled left her gasping, it was so foul. There was something terribly wrong with that smell. Something she was sure she didn't want to find out about. But she was almost to the small clearing and there was no turning back now. The bench she and Corlan had rested on came into view and glittered eerily in the star light.
The grass beneath it, in fact, all the grass she could see, also shone strangely. Suddenly the ground beneath her bare feet changed from the soothing cold that had almost numbed her toes to a sticky warmth. With a squeal of disgust she jumped onto the path, fully entering the small clearing. Looking down at her feet she had a frown pulling at the corners of her delicate mouth. Carefully she bent down and ran a finger across her foot, unable to determine what she had stepped in. Holding it close to her face so that she could see in the dim light she found that she couldn't focus. Not because of the lack of light but because her hand, as well as the rest of her, was shaking uncontrollably.
'This isn't real,' she told herself, even as her heart admitted her terror. Slowly she raised her eyes from her blood covered finger out onto the grass. At the edge of the clearing, half hidden in the trees, was a lump that shouldn't be there. The few scattered clouds that had been blocking some of the light parted and Setsuna screamed.
The scream raised shouts throughout the gardens. Every guard at his post had probably heard her, or at least the guards set to this garden. No longer caring about the blood that coated the grass she ran towards the body. She hadn't counted on the grass being slippery though and she soon found herself sitting in a pool of blood. But now she was near enough to the body that she could touch it, could see it's face. Except that she couldn't see it's face, it was turned away from her and all she could see was the large gapping hole in it's chest. She wasn't sure if that was the killing wound though, for there was another one that would have been just as deadly. The throat was slit, the skin hanging in loose flaps, allowing the glistening white of the spinal column to show.
Holding back her stomach, determined not to lose it's contents, Setsuna reached out a none too steady hand. With a gentleness the dead man couldn't appreciate she grasped the chin and turned it's face towards her and the light brought up by one of the guards.
Time froze.
Setsuna couldn't breath, couldn't feel her heart beat, could no longer think. Staring up at her were a pair of eyes that she knew too well. Finally it sunk in. The body before her was no longer just a body. Bryant lay dead in front of her.
"NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Her anguished scream echoed through the night and her tears couldn't be controlled. She collapsed to the ground beside him in a fit of sobs. Her world had collapsed in on itself and her own crying was the only thing she could hear. She didn't hear the commotion around her until she was assisted to her feet by her father. Through tear blurred eyes she saw that she was getting blood all over him but at the moment he didn't seem to care. Off to the side, still on the path, she could see her mother standing with Corlan. Concern was visible on Chemarian's face but even that wouldn't make her venture out onto the grass.
When they reached the path, Chemarian did give up her own shawl to cover Setsuna's shoulders, despite the blood. Then she pulled her daughter into her embrace. They stood there for a long time while Setsuna cried into her mother's shoulder. Cried because she had just realized something deep in her heart and now it was too late. Too late for anything.
She loved Bryant and now he was gone.