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Day Four
Darkness enshrouded her and Setsuna never wanted to leave it. The blackness of her dreamless sleep hid something from her. Something important, but that she did not want to remember. Eventually she lost the battle. Against her eyelids, she could see the memories returning to her. Revealing the truth. Almost as if she were still there she could smell the foul stench of the blood, could feel it sliding under her bare feet. But most of all she could see Bryant's limp body.
A strangled sob ripped from her throat but there were no more tears available for her to cry. The sound alerted the other person in the room and Chelsea's worried face filled Setsuna's vision.
"I was wondering if you would ever wake up. You never sleep past noon. In fact, if you hadn't awakened on your own I would have had to do it. You're mother is determined that the wedding will precede." This last sentence was filled with resigned disapproval.
Setsuna gasped and looked at her friend in disbelief. 'I still have to... the wedding will precede... I can't marry. I love Bryant!' "But, but Bryant..." she managed to get by the lump in her throat.
Chelsea shook her head. "I tried to convince your mother to postpone it at least a day. But she is positive that the wedding must take place today, on your birthday. She started talking about how it was your destiny and that this was how things had been planned on the day of your birth." Seeing that her words were disturbing the princess, Chelsea stopped talking.
Setsuna pushed away Chelsea's comforting hand and swung her feet off the bed. The nightgown she wore was hiked up around her thighs and the air was chilly on her legs. As she stood the gown swung down to cover her but the chill remained. Walking to the window she pulled the curtains back and was dismayed to see the bright sun in a clear blue sky. Why couldn't there be black clouds and raging winds to match the emotional turmoil in her soul. "Why did he have to die?" she asked. Strangely there was no emotion in her voice as she asked the question, only a desperate need to know the answer.
Sensing that the princess wasn't asking her, Chelsea went to the closet and reached into the deepest corner to pull out a dress protected by folds of deep green fabric. When Setsuna finally turned away from the window, pulling the curtains closed to block out the bright day light, Chelsea had the dress laid out on the bed.
Setsuna felt a twinge of sadness threaten to bring more tears but she suppressed the emotion quickly. Spread out on her sea green comforter was a shimmering white dress. Almost in a trance she walked up to the bed. With cautious movements she ran her hand over the fabric, admiring the magic that made it appear to be made from spun glass. The last time she had tried this on it had been merely a dress, made from normal cloth. But even then Bryant, who had snuck into her room via the same tree she used to get out, had said she was beautiful. She wondered what he would think when he saw her in it now.
That thought ran through her mind a few more times before she realized what was wrong with it. Then it hit her, Bryant would never see her in the dress, and she would never see him again. Squaring her shoulders she began to pull off her nightgown, only to be stopped by Chelsea's gentle voice.
"It is okay to cry some more. No one will fault you for it."
Looking over at her friend, Setsuna almost told her that she couldn't afford to cry anymore, but when she met Chelsea's eyes, the world spun away. She no longer saw her room. Instead she could see Chelsea down in the village, crying over the shattered body of her youngest son, the other one laying a few feet from her, also lifeless. There was no sound but she could almost feel the anguished cries that were being ripped from her friend's throat.
She came back to her room because Chelsea was shaking her, calling her name with a voice that was laced with worry.
"I'm fine," Setsuna insisted, at first not remembering. When she did remember she grabbed the older woman's arm and forced her to meet her own red eyes. "Promise me that when you are done here, you'll go and tell your sons you love them." At the look of disbelief in Chelsea's eyes she added, "Promise me!"
Chelsea promised in a quiet, fearful voice, and Setsuna could see all the possibilities running through her mind. But the princess no longer cared. The vision had been one of the most vivid she had ever had, and only the second one to come while she was awake. Something was happening to her and as soon as she was dressed, she was going to get the truth from her mother for once and for all.
By default she pulled on the wedding dress, there was nothing else that was ready to be worn. Even without her garters and shift, stockings or shoes Setsuna felt smothered by the dress. The magic changed fabric weighted her down. Blaming the feeling on her depressed, ravaged emotions she pushed past Chelsea and the guards outside her room. Her long, sure strides led her up to her mother's door but once there she hesitated, her confidence leaving her. Determined that now was the time she would obtain the answers she desired she didn't bother knocking. Once in the room, she found that her mother had managed to evade her questions once again. This time by merely not being where Setsuna had expected her to be.
Standing in the middle of her parents bedroom, dressed in her wedding gown, Setsuna felt more lost than when she had knelt by Bryant's still form. Slowly she lifted her necklace up off her chest and gripped it in her palm, willing it to tell her what she felt she needed to know. When no answer came she sighed, tucked the necklace into her dress and retraced her steps back to her room. This time her bare feet dragged on the ground, the energy her determination had given her gone.
Hours later, just as the sky started to darken with the beginning of the prolonged sunset, Setsuna was ready to be married. At least physically. Her hair fell about her in gentle, green waves. The wedding dress seemed to glow, her silver slippers glowed in the soft light. Mentally, Setsuna was dreading the moment her father would come to the door to escort her downstairs. The feelings she had felt budding for Corlan were dead, replaced by the wish to see Bryant, one last time. A time that would last the rest of her life.
Setsuna shook her head, glad that she was alone. That meant there was nobody around to witness her depressed daydream. Standing up she walked to the window and threw open the curtains, determined to chase away her melancholy. Bryant would have wanted her to be happy, and she planned to see that she was. Moping around wasn't like her. The sight outside her window did rid her of her sadness, only to replace it with fear. Now the odd, crystalline ships could be seen as more than tiny star points in the sky. Though they were still far enough away as to appear small, the massive number of them managed to cloud the city.
A knock at her door scared the breath from her. Setsuna stared at it, motionless, until she heard her father calling her name. Composing herself with a few deep breaths she opened the door. The look on her father's face brought a smile to her own. He looked so proud, so sure of her. It gave her the confidence to be sure of herself. She wrapped her fingers around his proffered arm and followed him into the hall.
"Are you happy, Setsuna?" he asked, concern in his voice as well as his eyes.
Setsuna almost broke down and told him the truth -- that she would try but doubted that she would ever be truly happy again. But even as she hesitated, her father's eyes grew stern, almost daring her to say no. This time her smile was forced. "I am," she replied.
The king was back to playing the loving father. "I'm glad to hear that. Your mother will be so pleased. She has been rather nervous lately. After all, it's not every day the princess turns eighteen and gets married."
They were almost to the main hall where the wedding was to take place when she asked, "She wouldn't happen to be nervous over anything having to do with my necklace. Would she?"
"Your necklace?" King Amund stopped, pulling his daughter to a stop beside him. "Your mother has filled your head with tales and every time you mention them you upset her." After a pause he added, "Promise me you won't mention it today."
Setsuna remained silent. As the day had continued she had become aware of her necklace more with each passing moment. It had grown heavier and warmer between her breasts and continued to do so now. She wanted to protest, to declare that she wouldn't rest until she had her answers. Instead she nodded silently and turned to enter the hall.
A strong hold on her arm stopped her in her tracks. "You will promise Setsuna. Your mother will not be bothered.."
"I promise," the princess managed to say around the lump in her throat. She was promising away her last chance to learn about the secret that had been hidden from her for her entire life. A feeling in her said that after today she would never have another chance.
With that last thought in her mind Setsuna and her father finally entered the main hall. Following the well rehearsed plan, the king and princess stopped just inside the wide open double doors, waiting for the accumulated guests to notice them. The pause gave Setsuna the chance to study the room. Looking around she was surprised by the changes. The teal tinting on the lights was gone, brightening up the room more than she had ever imagined it would. Large bolts of fabric hung from the balcony, displaying the crest of Pluto and the individual family crests of Setsuna's family and Corlan's. The guests created a living painter's palette, with their brightly colored suits and dresses. Just in front of her, leading to the front of the room, was a cleared path, blocked off by a delicate white, chain fence, no higher than her knee. After a silence had settled over the room, Setsuna and her father took their first steps towards the alter. Before they reached their twelfth Setsuna met the eyes of the priest and froze in fear. In her mind she could see her first encounter with that very man and the terror he had bred in her.
The man looked down at her and Setsuna got the oddest impression that his black eyes were seeing right through her and killing everything they saw. She was too terrified by him to even shiver.
As if from far off she could feel her father's grip tightening on her arm and his harsh whisper blowing across her ear. Even that was fading as her vision blurred. The scene in front of her was replaced by a desolate plain, everything as far as the eye could see was smoldering, wisps of smoke curling towards the black sky. In the middle of it all stood the man posing as a priest. Only now she saw him naked from the waist up and from the waist down he was no longer human. His lower half curled along the ground and around itself in the form of a snake. As she watched a forked tongue slipped in and out of his mouth, tasting the air.
With a violent shake the vision disappeared. At least the surroundings did. Up on the alter the half-man, half-serpent remained. His black eyes no longer focused on her but rather on Corlan. The prince seemed to be writhing in pain. Setsuna started to run toward Corlan, certain he was dying. It wasn't until she was only a few feet away that she noticed the coarse hair that had replaced his suit. Setsuna stopped, frozen with fear as before her eyes her betrothed changed into a man sized wolf.
"We meant to wait until after the wedding to reveal ourselves to you, but it appears you somehow saw through our disguise." The gravelly voice of the wolf threw open the gates in Setsuna's mind. The flashes of memories, visions of the lady with the golden key staff and the attack flooded her mind.
Like an echo to her thoughts the world exploded around her. Black lightening bolts flew through the room. Tumbling walls and incinerating people where they stood. Spinning around in confusion and terror Setsuna saw her mother and father standing side by side. Each was directing a different segment of the guests. Attempting to organize a counter attack. Even as she watched a bolt of the black lightening sliced through the air toward them. It passed so close to her that she could feel the static charge it release! It's jagged tip pierced her father's back. He was dead before he could yell in pain. The same bolt changed direction and embedded itself in her mother's side. The force pulled the queen up into the air, where she remained suspended for the briefest amount of time. Then the black lightening disappeared and Chemarian collapsed to the ground beside her dead husband.
Before she consciously thought about it, Setsuna has running toward her mother. She fell beside her, skidding to a stop on her knees. Tears were streaming down her face, splashing in the puddle of blood that was forming under her mother. The queen's breath was coming in quick, short gasps. Each space between them was longer than the next. Before she breathed her last, Chemarian reached a shaking hand up to her daughter's cheek. "Your destiny is being fulfilled." The last word was barely even a whisper. Her raised hand started to fall and by the time Setsuna caught it between her own the life was gone from it.
Hearing a soft, padding noise behind her, Setsuna turned to see the large wolf that had been Corlan standing behind her. "Who are you? What do you want?" Setsuna was surprised at how steady her voice was, considering the circumstances.
"I am Howlite," the wolf responded, "My companion is Serpentine." The strange snake-man's only response was to flick out his long, forked tongue. "We are here to destroy your people, possibly your world. You stand in our way of controlling this system. This universe. And now, 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." Setsuna screamed as the wolf became a gray blur as he leapt at her. But the impact never came. She never felt the ripping teeth that she was now so certain had killed Bryant.
Opening the eyes she didn't remember closing she saw standing before her a woman in a tight jet black body suit, short emerald skirt, and knee high boots. The woman's eyes were a brilliant red and her dark green hair fell in waves to her waist. Gripped tightly in her hands was a staff as tall as she, shaped into a slender, golden key. When her eyes landed on that key she realized she had seen it before, not from a vision but rather from the pendant she wore around her neck.
Setsuna didn't have a chance to reach for her necklace; the woman started to collapse and she barely managed to catch the woman before she hit the ground, providing her with a softer landing.
"Setsuna," the woman said in a voice that was barely audible "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. I can't leave my home to them." She nodded in the direction of Howlite and Serpentine, both of whom stood frozen. Just as everyone in the room stood frozen.
"You must. One of us must survive and it is too late for me. You can't remain here much longer, they won't stay frozen forever. Now go!" The woman pushed the staff into Setsuna's hands, forcing her to take it.
When Setsuna felt the strange cold warmth of the staff her fingers curved around it unconsciously. "How will I know what to do?"
"Everything will become clear in the gate. Besides, you read the book I left for you. It explained much. Now go!" The woman's voice was just above a whisper until that last command, which rang through the room.
Under the commanding gaze of the woman lying at her feet Setsuna whispered, "Take me to the time gate." On the other side of the fallen woman the space started to shift. Light from all over the room seemed to become concentrated into that one spot. A vortex of colors appeared then shifted until an empty expanse of navy blue could be seen. Walking up to it, Setsuna looked back once before stepping through. The last thing she saw before she left her home world for good was the woman forcing herself to her feet to face the enemy one last time. To gain precious moments for the doomed planet.
She almost turned back to help. Guilt swarmed over her at even thinking of leaving this fight, but the woman's words pushed her onwards. With another glance back she squared her shoulders under the torn and bloody remains of her wedding dress and stepped into the portal. Almost before she was through it snapped shut. But not before she saw the former guardian fall under the jaws of Howlite. Then, though she could no longer see anything, she felt the pain the woman must be experiencing.
Finally, with a sinking in her heart, Setsuna knew she was alone.
A/N: And that is the end… as well as the beginning I suppose. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed righting it.
Until next time
Blessed Be