**********
I expected my sleep that night to be restless, but it turned out to be one of the most peaceful slumbers of my life. Just knowing that she was across the hall, a mere thirty feet or so, was enough to make me nod off with no impediments. When I woke, I stretched my arms over my head, settling them against the pillows. It had been years since I had let myself lie in bed, idly. I stared at the molded wood of the ceiling for a minute before getting up and slipping into my riding clothes. I quickly pulled a comb through my hopelessly tangled hair and stepped out of the room.
Neptune was waiting for me. She stood in the doorway to her room wearing a light blue floor length riding habit, her wavy hair pulled away from her face and held in place on either side by aquamarine clips.
I blinked and looked down the hallway. There was no one else in sight. "Um...where are Mars and Jupiter?"
"Good morning to you, too", she replied, wryly.
"No...no!" I put a gloved hand to my forehead in embarassment. "That came out wrong. I'm just...surprised to see you here. Dressed to go riding."
Neptune began pulling on her own gloves. "Well, a girl can't live in the water alone. And after last night, I'll probably never get you near the pool again, so..." She looked up at me, a smile on her face. "Riding it is."
I looked at her strangely. "You do know how to ride, right?" She didn't reply, much the same way I hadn't last night when pressed about swimming. "I'm going to guess there aren't many horses on Neptune."
"We have sea horses", she said, brightly.
"Not the same", I laughed. "You're in for a treat; there's nothing like riding a horse. The power of the animal...the wind on your face...." I stopped, embarassed. "There's just something about it."
There was no mocking in her gaze. Or her words. "Your eyes are shining, Uranus", she whispered. I cleared my throat uncomfortably. She quickly changed the subject. "So...should we wait for Mars and Jupiter?"
As if on cue, Mars stepped out of her room, closing it quietly behind her. She looked surprised to see us down the hall. "Uranus...Neptune", she said. Her usually carefully coiffed hair was in a state of disarray and her cheeks were suspicously flushed. It didn't take long to put the pieces together. I wondered if Jaedite was still asleep; I pitied the chambermaid who stumbled upon him in the Princess of Mars' room.
"Good morning, Mars", Neptune replied, completely oblivious. "I trust you had a very pleasant sleep?" Perhaps she wasn't all that unaware....
Mars looked down at the floor abashedly. "I have a little bit of a headache", she mumbled.
I began walking towards her, Neptune trailing behind me. "We should get going", I said, giving Mars a knowing smile.
"Where's Jupiter?", Mars asked, making a vain attempt to direct attention away from herself.
"I'm sure she's still asleep. You can understand", I answered. The girl nodded and blushed even deeper. Although the situation was more than amusing, I found my stomach tightening up at the thought of the young girls in the arms and under the spells of the handsome Earth generals. I didn't disapprove; with my sexual history, how could I? But I couldn't help but feel uneasy. Something wasn't right about the four men, but it wasn't anything I could easily identify. I just knew that I didn't like it. And I didn't like how close they were to my fellow Senshi. The girls were lambs. Lambs amongst wolves....
************
"Are you ready?"
The beautiful girl next to me adjusted her grip on the leather reins in her hands. "I think so."
"All right. Just remember, the horse will do what you tell it to do as long as you're gentle with it. Keep your feet in the stirrups and your hands on the reins and tell me if you have any trouble", I instructed. Neptune nodded and took a deep breath.
Mars was already out on the trail, several yards ahead of us. She turned her horse around and gave us an impatient look. "Come on!"
I indicated for Neptune to go ahead of me. She gently nudged her horse's side with her boot as I had showed her and the horse began walking. Tapping my own horse's sides, I followed her.
After a few minutes, she twisted her head around and smiled at me. "This is nice", she said.
I returned the smile. "Do you want to move up to a trot? Just tap her sides again...she'll know what to do."
From up ahead, Mars breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, please...let's trot. Anything to go faster!!"
Neptune pressed her tongue between her lips in determination. Following my instructions carefully, she guided her horse into a trot. I did the same to keep up with her. "You're doing great!", I encouraged her.
"I don't think I like this side-saddle very much", she called out. "Next time, I'm going to ask for a saddle like yours."
I tried to hide the childlike glee in my voice at the thought that she was already planning a next time. "But your riding skirt would be a problem with this kind of saddle", I replied, gesturing to the leather I sat upon.
"So, I'll wear pants." I thought I caught her wink over her shoulder but it might have been my imagination.
"No...pants don't suit you, Neptune." I pulled back on the reins; my horse was like Mars...itching to go faster. "We'll think of something."
She noticed the gesture. "Oh....you two want to go faster, don't you?"
"It's all right, Neptune. We..." She cut me off.
"No, I don't want to slow you down. I think I'm ready...this isn't so hard."
I looked ahead at Mars. She shrugged, indifferently. Her mind wasn't completely with us; for someone who had presumably had a very good night, she was certainly in a foul mood. I almost wished she had stayed in bed with her general. "All right", I agreed. "Cantoring is different than trotting. You're going to have to lean into the horse's neck a little to streamline. The wind could get ahold of you and knock you down."
"No problem", she declared. I watched her curve her back, leaning down closer to her horse's mane. With a tap of her heel, the animal took off. Shaking my head in amusment, I followed.
We continued on at this speed for twenty minutes or so. I could hear Neptune's laughter, carried by the wind. It made me indescribably happy to see that she was having fun. Even Mars began to relax and enjoy herself.
The palace was miles away when the flat moon terrain began to give way to a silver forest. As the strange colored vegetation grew thicker, I pulled my reins sharply. "Whoa!", I called out, signaling to the others to do the same.
Neptune slowed her horse down with all the grace of an experienced rider. Shifting in her saddle, she looked up at the silver canopy of leaves that hung high above our heads. "What an odd forest", she declared. Her hair was windblown; soft tendrils had escaped her jeweled clips and now framed her face.
"These are the Lunar Woods", Mars informed us. "The Queen's great-grandmother Serenity had this planted after her marriage to Prince Naylor of Atarasii."
"Why?", I asked.
Mars' horse stepped forward, then backwards. "Well, Serenity and Naylor could never get a moment alone in the Palace. The Sailor Wars were at a peak and no one would let the Queen go unguarded...ever. So under the guise of beautifying the Moon Kingdom, Serenity had all of this planted. The special seeds she had the gardeners use grew so quickly that she and Naylor were able to escape the Palace every now and then to get lost in here...together." Mars blushed. "They say that's how Serenity's grandmother came to be."
Neptune smiled. "That's so romantic." She guided her horse forward. "It reminds me of my..." She didn't get to finish her sentence. Just then, a white furred rabbit darted out from behind the silver trunk of a tree. Startled, Neptune's horse bucked.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The horse threw its head back and raised its front legs high off the ground, balancing precariously on its hind quarters. The suddeness of the move threw Neptune out of the saddle. She hit the hard silver ground with a sickening thud as her horse bolted into the woods.
"Neptune!", I cried, jumping from my own horse. I ran to her crumpled body. She hadn't been knocked unconcious, I was relieved to see. Gently, I helped her sit up. A small trickle of blood ran down her cheek from a cut on her forehead.
"Are you all right?", Mars frantically asked, getting down from her horse.
The Sea Princess was in pain, but she managed a brave nod. She took ahold of my hand and began to try to stand. But as she put pressure on her right foot, she cried out and fell back into my arms. "My ankle!"
I reached for her leg. As lightly as I could, I pressed my thumbs against the leather boot covering her right ankle. When I pressed on a certain part, she drew in a sharp breath. "I think you might have twisted it", I told her. "We should probably get you back to the Palace physician."
Mars looked around. "Her horse is gone."
"She can ride with me", I replied. I slipped my arm underneath her knees. "Here...put your arm around my..."
She cut me off with a shake of her head. Her eyes were large. "No...I don't want to.." She gave my horse a look of pure fright.
I couldn't blame her. The old adage of getting back on the horse seemed cruel just then. I thought quickly. "Mars, can you ride back to the Palace and have a carriage sent here? I'll stay and ride back with them."
"All right", Mars agreed, swinging herself back up onto her horse. With a click of her heel, she galloped out of the forest. The Princess of Neptune and I were alone.
I left her momentarily to tether my horse to a silver tree, but quickly returned to her side. Without a word, I picked her up and carried her to another, larger tree. I set her down so she could rest her back against the wood, then kneeled next to her. She gingerly touched her ankle, then closed her eyes in pain.
With a linen handkerchief from my pocket, I carefully wiped the blood from her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Neptune", I eventually said.
Her thick, black lashes lifted until she was looking at me again. "Please don't be. This couldn't be futher from your fault."
"I suppose...", I said, non-committally. I wasn't ready to give up the blame; there must have been something I could have done to have protected her.
Neptune smiled, her mouth tight in pain. "I'm a quick healer. You'll see; I'll be back on my feet in a day or so. Of course, Venus might go into hysterics if she doesn't get to lead the entire group soon."
I laughed. "She just might. She's a nice girl though. Just a little..."
"Flaky?", Neptune finished my thought.
"You know me too well", I replied. An awkward pause fell on us. "How is that?", I broke it a minute later. "How can you know me like this after only a day? Less than a day."
Neptune stared at a spot over my left shoulder for several painfully long seconds. "Do you believe in destiny, Uranus?"
"I didn't used to."
She looked down at her lap. "Do you know why it took me so long to arrive here? Why I didn't come with Pluto?" I shook my head. "I was all set to go. But when it came time to board the transport....I just couldn't do it."
"Why?"
"Oh, I had a million reasons." Her gloved hands spread across the blue fabric of her riding skirt. "Ranging from my mother needing me when my newest brother or sister will be born in a few weeks to my violin wasn't tuned." She flashed a brief smile. "The truth, however, is that I was scared."
I blinked. "You? You were scared?"
"The thought of meeting you all seemed so very intimidating. When I met Jupiter last year, she was so...energetic. So alive. She made me feel like the most withdrawn person in the universe. The idea of being surrounded by seven other people who could be the exact same way..." She sighed. "I didn't want to get lost for two months. To be so lonely, you know?"
I swallowed thickly. "Believe me...I do." Hesitantly, I shifted closer to her. "Do you still feel that way?"
Her blue-green locks shook back and forth slowly. "Not since last night. Since I met you."
Neptune's words hung in the air between us. I felt her getting ready to lean forward; to bring her lips to mine. But being the somewhat obtuse person that I am, I spoke again, stopping her. "What were you going to say?" Her brow crinkled in confusion. "Before the horse threw you...you were saying Mars' story reminded you of something. What was it?"
"Oh!" She cleared her throat delicately. "It reminded me of my grandmother, Tangaroa. When she and my Grandfather Triton were still alive, they would drive the Palace guards crazy by swimming to the surface and spending hours alone on the beach, unguarded." A laugh escaped her lips. "I like to do the same every now and then...but not with anyone in particular", she quickly added. "Just by myself."
"It sounds wonderful", I said, truthfully. "Tell me more about Neptune."
She closed her eyes. "I will soon." She felt for my hand, entwining her fingers with mine. "First, there's something I have to say."
I reveled in the feeling of her hand. "All right."
Neptune opened her eyes. "We won't have very much time together", she said in a tone I couldn't read. It wasn't mournful, yet certainly wasn't pleased.
"I know", I found myself agreeing. "Two months...and then we leave here."
"It's more than that. Something is coming....I could see it in the waters back home." She tilted her head to the side and studied me. "Can't you hear it in the wind?"
I wanted to tell her I couldn't. That the restlessness building in me was because of her, having nothing to do with anything unfavorable. Or maybe she really had hit her head too hard and was imagining things. But I couldn't lie. It was in the air all around us. And I had been aware of it for much longer than I cared to admit. "I can."
She nodded. "I don't know if there's anything we can do to stop it. Whatever it is...it's not going to be something we can prepare for. So..."
"So what do we do?" I looked down at our gloved fingers.
"Love each other." Her tone was blunt. I blinked. "There I go again", she scolded herself.
I put the index finger of my other hand against her lips. "No...you're right. You're absolutely right."
"Are you sure?"
It was my turn to nod. "Whatever happens, I don't want it to happen without you by my side." The moment that followed was so intense that I had to look away. Change the subject. Something. "This is crazy, you know?"
"Is it?"
"Maybe 'crazy' is the wrong word", I amended.
She gave a small smile. "What's the right word, then? 'This is...?' It's what?"
"Nice", I said. "It's nice. And..." I stopped.
"And?"
I couldn't wait any longer. Taking her chin in my hand, I guided her lips to mine. Our second kiss was longer. I wanted it to last forever. I never wanted the warm softness of her mouth to leave mine. But eventually, we pulled apart. "Right. It's just right."
She kissed me again. "Yes, it is."
**********
It's painful to commit these words to paper. The things we said to each other that day...I can't write like this anymore. I'm sorry, but I have to skip ahead.
Neptune was right; she was a fast healer, back on her feet in two days. And finally, Venus got her wish and the Sailor Senshi began our training. From the start, Neptune impressed me. Her attacks were steady, her power never wavered. She was in complete control of her element at all times and she possessed a gift for strategy that rivaled even mine. I soon realized that was a benefit of teamwork; our resources were pooled together. It was a hard lesson to learn but as the days passed, I learned it. Alone, I was strong. With the others, I was indefatigable.
But with just Neptune, I was myself. I didn't have to be a Princess. I didn't have to be a Senshi. I didn't have to pretend and I didn't have to hide anything. She let me be me. And in turn, I let her be her. We made no attempt to hide our growing romance, not that we could have even if we had tried. It was in our eyes every time we looked at each other, in our voices every time we spoke to each other. Even a blind, deaf and mute person could have sensed that we were falling in love.
Endymion left the Moon after two weeks, a week longer than he had intended to stay. And he took his generals with him. I was relieved to see them go. Not that I wished lonliness upon the Inner Senshi, but the more I came to know the four men, the less I wanted them around. I didn't like the way they looked at the Princesses and I certainly didn't like fact that all four girls eventually allowed one into their beds. Even Mercury, the last one I would have expected to do that sort of thing. A part of me felt more sorry for Endymion than anyone else, though. The Court could turn a blind eye to the actions of the Princesses of other planets, but not to the nocturnal activities of the heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom. Endymion spent every night he was with us in his own lonely bed, far down the hall from Serenity.
We continued training after the men left. Days passed and with Neptune by my side, I relaxed into the routine of life in the Moon Palace. I was becoming fast friends with all the girls, especially Jupiter and Pluto. My connection to Saturn also grew, although it never really seemed like she was one of the Senshi group. She never trained with us and from what I gathered, never would. On the surface, it didn't seem to phase her. But I think, deep down, she wondered why she was a Princess and a Senshi if her destiny was to never use her powers.
The training and my friendships with the other girls were important to me, but Neptune was the only one who made me truly happy. Happier than I had ever been in my entire life. We were in love. With that love came passion. And one night, after a particurally long day of training, we found ourselves alone in Neptune's room.
I won't go into too much detail about that night or the nights that followed. For starters, I don't have a lot of time and far too much left to write. But more than that, I'm not entirely sure I want to share that part of our relationship with anyone. Suffice it to say that after that night, our bond was unbreakable. We were one...mind, body and soul. And I found what had been missing with those other two lovers. Love.
**********
To Be Continued....
I expected my sleep that night to be restless, but it turned out to be one of the most peaceful slumbers of my life. Just knowing that she was across the hall, a mere thirty feet or so, was enough to make me nod off with no impediments. When I woke, I stretched my arms over my head, settling them against the pillows. It had been years since I had let myself lie in bed, idly. I stared at the molded wood of the ceiling for a minute before getting up and slipping into my riding clothes. I quickly pulled a comb through my hopelessly tangled hair and stepped out of the room.
Neptune was waiting for me. She stood in the doorway to her room wearing a light blue floor length riding habit, her wavy hair pulled away from her face and held in place on either side by aquamarine clips.
I blinked and looked down the hallway. There was no one else in sight. "Um...where are Mars and Jupiter?"
"Good morning to you, too", she replied, wryly.
"No...no!" I put a gloved hand to my forehead in embarassment. "That came out wrong. I'm just...surprised to see you here. Dressed to go riding."
Neptune began pulling on her own gloves. "Well, a girl can't live in the water alone. And after last night, I'll probably never get you near the pool again, so..." She looked up at me, a smile on her face. "Riding it is."
I looked at her strangely. "You do know how to ride, right?" She didn't reply, much the same way I hadn't last night when pressed about swimming. "I'm going to guess there aren't many horses on Neptune."
"We have sea horses", she said, brightly.
"Not the same", I laughed. "You're in for a treat; there's nothing like riding a horse. The power of the animal...the wind on your face...." I stopped, embarassed. "There's just something about it."
There was no mocking in her gaze. Or her words. "Your eyes are shining, Uranus", she whispered. I cleared my throat uncomfortably. She quickly changed the subject. "So...should we wait for Mars and Jupiter?"
As if on cue, Mars stepped out of her room, closing it quietly behind her. She looked surprised to see us down the hall. "Uranus...Neptune", she said. Her usually carefully coiffed hair was in a state of disarray and her cheeks were suspicously flushed. It didn't take long to put the pieces together. I wondered if Jaedite was still asleep; I pitied the chambermaid who stumbled upon him in the Princess of Mars' room.
"Good morning, Mars", Neptune replied, completely oblivious. "I trust you had a very pleasant sleep?" Perhaps she wasn't all that unaware....
Mars looked down at the floor abashedly. "I have a little bit of a headache", she mumbled.
I began walking towards her, Neptune trailing behind me. "We should get going", I said, giving Mars a knowing smile.
"Where's Jupiter?", Mars asked, making a vain attempt to direct attention away from herself.
"I'm sure she's still asleep. You can understand", I answered. The girl nodded and blushed even deeper. Although the situation was more than amusing, I found my stomach tightening up at the thought of the young girls in the arms and under the spells of the handsome Earth generals. I didn't disapprove; with my sexual history, how could I? But I couldn't help but feel uneasy. Something wasn't right about the four men, but it wasn't anything I could easily identify. I just knew that I didn't like it. And I didn't like how close they were to my fellow Senshi. The girls were lambs. Lambs amongst wolves....
************
"Are you ready?"
The beautiful girl next to me adjusted her grip on the leather reins in her hands. "I think so."
"All right. Just remember, the horse will do what you tell it to do as long as you're gentle with it. Keep your feet in the stirrups and your hands on the reins and tell me if you have any trouble", I instructed. Neptune nodded and took a deep breath.
Mars was already out on the trail, several yards ahead of us. She turned her horse around and gave us an impatient look. "Come on!"
I indicated for Neptune to go ahead of me. She gently nudged her horse's side with her boot as I had showed her and the horse began walking. Tapping my own horse's sides, I followed her.
After a few minutes, she twisted her head around and smiled at me. "This is nice", she said.
I returned the smile. "Do you want to move up to a trot? Just tap her sides again...she'll know what to do."
From up ahead, Mars breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, please...let's trot. Anything to go faster!!"
Neptune pressed her tongue between her lips in determination. Following my instructions carefully, she guided her horse into a trot. I did the same to keep up with her. "You're doing great!", I encouraged her.
"I don't think I like this side-saddle very much", she called out. "Next time, I'm going to ask for a saddle like yours."
I tried to hide the childlike glee in my voice at the thought that she was already planning a next time. "But your riding skirt would be a problem with this kind of saddle", I replied, gesturing to the leather I sat upon.
"So, I'll wear pants." I thought I caught her wink over her shoulder but it might have been my imagination.
"No...pants don't suit you, Neptune." I pulled back on the reins; my horse was like Mars...itching to go faster. "We'll think of something."
She noticed the gesture. "Oh....you two want to go faster, don't you?"
"It's all right, Neptune. We..." She cut me off.
"No, I don't want to slow you down. I think I'm ready...this isn't so hard."
I looked ahead at Mars. She shrugged, indifferently. Her mind wasn't completely with us; for someone who had presumably had a very good night, she was certainly in a foul mood. I almost wished she had stayed in bed with her general. "All right", I agreed. "Cantoring is different than trotting. You're going to have to lean into the horse's neck a little to streamline. The wind could get ahold of you and knock you down."
"No problem", she declared. I watched her curve her back, leaning down closer to her horse's mane. With a tap of her heel, the animal took off. Shaking my head in amusment, I followed.
We continued on at this speed for twenty minutes or so. I could hear Neptune's laughter, carried by the wind. It made me indescribably happy to see that she was having fun. Even Mars began to relax and enjoy herself.
The palace was miles away when the flat moon terrain began to give way to a silver forest. As the strange colored vegetation grew thicker, I pulled my reins sharply. "Whoa!", I called out, signaling to the others to do the same.
Neptune slowed her horse down with all the grace of an experienced rider. Shifting in her saddle, she looked up at the silver canopy of leaves that hung high above our heads. "What an odd forest", she declared. Her hair was windblown; soft tendrils had escaped her jeweled clips and now framed her face.
"These are the Lunar Woods", Mars informed us. "The Queen's great-grandmother Serenity had this planted after her marriage to Prince Naylor of Atarasii."
"Why?", I asked.
Mars' horse stepped forward, then backwards. "Well, Serenity and Naylor could never get a moment alone in the Palace. The Sailor Wars were at a peak and no one would let the Queen go unguarded...ever. So under the guise of beautifying the Moon Kingdom, Serenity had all of this planted. The special seeds she had the gardeners use grew so quickly that she and Naylor were able to escape the Palace every now and then to get lost in here...together." Mars blushed. "They say that's how Serenity's grandmother came to be."
Neptune smiled. "That's so romantic." She guided her horse forward. "It reminds me of my..." She didn't get to finish her sentence. Just then, a white furred rabbit darted out from behind the silver trunk of a tree. Startled, Neptune's horse bucked.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The horse threw its head back and raised its front legs high off the ground, balancing precariously on its hind quarters. The suddeness of the move threw Neptune out of the saddle. She hit the hard silver ground with a sickening thud as her horse bolted into the woods.
"Neptune!", I cried, jumping from my own horse. I ran to her crumpled body. She hadn't been knocked unconcious, I was relieved to see. Gently, I helped her sit up. A small trickle of blood ran down her cheek from a cut on her forehead.
"Are you all right?", Mars frantically asked, getting down from her horse.
The Sea Princess was in pain, but she managed a brave nod. She took ahold of my hand and began to try to stand. But as she put pressure on her right foot, she cried out and fell back into my arms. "My ankle!"
I reached for her leg. As lightly as I could, I pressed my thumbs against the leather boot covering her right ankle. When I pressed on a certain part, she drew in a sharp breath. "I think you might have twisted it", I told her. "We should probably get you back to the Palace physician."
Mars looked around. "Her horse is gone."
"She can ride with me", I replied. I slipped my arm underneath her knees. "Here...put your arm around my..."
She cut me off with a shake of her head. Her eyes were large. "No...I don't want to.." She gave my horse a look of pure fright.
I couldn't blame her. The old adage of getting back on the horse seemed cruel just then. I thought quickly. "Mars, can you ride back to the Palace and have a carriage sent here? I'll stay and ride back with them."
"All right", Mars agreed, swinging herself back up onto her horse. With a click of her heel, she galloped out of the forest. The Princess of Neptune and I were alone.
I left her momentarily to tether my horse to a silver tree, but quickly returned to her side. Without a word, I picked her up and carried her to another, larger tree. I set her down so she could rest her back against the wood, then kneeled next to her. She gingerly touched her ankle, then closed her eyes in pain.
With a linen handkerchief from my pocket, I carefully wiped the blood from her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Neptune", I eventually said.
Her thick, black lashes lifted until she was looking at me again. "Please don't be. This couldn't be futher from your fault."
"I suppose...", I said, non-committally. I wasn't ready to give up the blame; there must have been something I could have done to have protected her.
Neptune smiled, her mouth tight in pain. "I'm a quick healer. You'll see; I'll be back on my feet in a day or so. Of course, Venus might go into hysterics if she doesn't get to lead the entire group soon."
I laughed. "She just might. She's a nice girl though. Just a little..."
"Flaky?", Neptune finished my thought.
"You know me too well", I replied. An awkward pause fell on us. "How is that?", I broke it a minute later. "How can you know me like this after only a day? Less than a day."
Neptune stared at a spot over my left shoulder for several painfully long seconds. "Do you believe in destiny, Uranus?"
"I didn't used to."
She looked down at her lap. "Do you know why it took me so long to arrive here? Why I didn't come with Pluto?" I shook my head. "I was all set to go. But when it came time to board the transport....I just couldn't do it."
"Why?"
"Oh, I had a million reasons." Her gloved hands spread across the blue fabric of her riding skirt. "Ranging from my mother needing me when my newest brother or sister will be born in a few weeks to my violin wasn't tuned." She flashed a brief smile. "The truth, however, is that I was scared."
I blinked. "You? You were scared?"
"The thought of meeting you all seemed so very intimidating. When I met Jupiter last year, she was so...energetic. So alive. She made me feel like the most withdrawn person in the universe. The idea of being surrounded by seven other people who could be the exact same way..." She sighed. "I didn't want to get lost for two months. To be so lonely, you know?"
I swallowed thickly. "Believe me...I do." Hesitantly, I shifted closer to her. "Do you still feel that way?"
Her blue-green locks shook back and forth slowly. "Not since last night. Since I met you."
Neptune's words hung in the air between us. I felt her getting ready to lean forward; to bring her lips to mine. But being the somewhat obtuse person that I am, I spoke again, stopping her. "What were you going to say?" Her brow crinkled in confusion. "Before the horse threw you...you were saying Mars' story reminded you of something. What was it?"
"Oh!" She cleared her throat delicately. "It reminded me of my grandmother, Tangaroa. When she and my Grandfather Triton were still alive, they would drive the Palace guards crazy by swimming to the surface and spending hours alone on the beach, unguarded." A laugh escaped her lips. "I like to do the same every now and then...but not with anyone in particular", she quickly added. "Just by myself."
"It sounds wonderful", I said, truthfully. "Tell me more about Neptune."
She closed her eyes. "I will soon." She felt for my hand, entwining her fingers with mine. "First, there's something I have to say."
I reveled in the feeling of her hand. "All right."
Neptune opened her eyes. "We won't have very much time together", she said in a tone I couldn't read. It wasn't mournful, yet certainly wasn't pleased.
"I know", I found myself agreeing. "Two months...and then we leave here."
"It's more than that. Something is coming....I could see it in the waters back home." She tilted her head to the side and studied me. "Can't you hear it in the wind?"
I wanted to tell her I couldn't. That the restlessness building in me was because of her, having nothing to do with anything unfavorable. Or maybe she really had hit her head too hard and was imagining things. But I couldn't lie. It was in the air all around us. And I had been aware of it for much longer than I cared to admit. "I can."
She nodded. "I don't know if there's anything we can do to stop it. Whatever it is...it's not going to be something we can prepare for. So..."
"So what do we do?" I looked down at our gloved fingers.
"Love each other." Her tone was blunt. I blinked. "There I go again", she scolded herself.
I put the index finger of my other hand against her lips. "No...you're right. You're absolutely right."
"Are you sure?"
It was my turn to nod. "Whatever happens, I don't want it to happen without you by my side." The moment that followed was so intense that I had to look away. Change the subject. Something. "This is crazy, you know?"
"Is it?"
"Maybe 'crazy' is the wrong word", I amended.
She gave a small smile. "What's the right word, then? 'This is...?' It's what?"
"Nice", I said. "It's nice. And..." I stopped.
"And?"
I couldn't wait any longer. Taking her chin in my hand, I guided her lips to mine. Our second kiss was longer. I wanted it to last forever. I never wanted the warm softness of her mouth to leave mine. But eventually, we pulled apart. "Right. It's just right."
She kissed me again. "Yes, it is."
**********
It's painful to commit these words to paper. The things we said to each other that day...I can't write like this anymore. I'm sorry, but I have to skip ahead.
Neptune was right; she was a fast healer, back on her feet in two days. And finally, Venus got her wish and the Sailor Senshi began our training. From the start, Neptune impressed me. Her attacks were steady, her power never wavered. She was in complete control of her element at all times and she possessed a gift for strategy that rivaled even mine. I soon realized that was a benefit of teamwork; our resources were pooled together. It was a hard lesson to learn but as the days passed, I learned it. Alone, I was strong. With the others, I was indefatigable.
But with just Neptune, I was myself. I didn't have to be a Princess. I didn't have to be a Senshi. I didn't have to pretend and I didn't have to hide anything. She let me be me. And in turn, I let her be her. We made no attempt to hide our growing romance, not that we could have even if we had tried. It was in our eyes every time we looked at each other, in our voices every time we spoke to each other. Even a blind, deaf and mute person could have sensed that we were falling in love.
Endymion left the Moon after two weeks, a week longer than he had intended to stay. And he took his generals with him. I was relieved to see them go. Not that I wished lonliness upon the Inner Senshi, but the more I came to know the four men, the less I wanted them around. I didn't like the way they looked at the Princesses and I certainly didn't like fact that all four girls eventually allowed one into their beds. Even Mercury, the last one I would have expected to do that sort of thing. A part of me felt more sorry for Endymion than anyone else, though. The Court could turn a blind eye to the actions of the Princesses of other planets, but not to the nocturnal activities of the heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom. Endymion spent every night he was with us in his own lonely bed, far down the hall from Serenity.
We continued training after the men left. Days passed and with Neptune by my side, I relaxed into the routine of life in the Moon Palace. I was becoming fast friends with all the girls, especially Jupiter and Pluto. My connection to Saturn also grew, although it never really seemed like she was one of the Senshi group. She never trained with us and from what I gathered, never would. On the surface, it didn't seem to phase her. But I think, deep down, she wondered why she was a Princess and a Senshi if her destiny was to never use her powers.
The training and my friendships with the other girls were important to me, but Neptune was the only one who made me truly happy. Happier than I had ever been in my entire life. We were in love. With that love came passion. And one night, after a particurally long day of training, we found ourselves alone in Neptune's room.
I won't go into too much detail about that night or the nights that followed. For starters, I don't have a lot of time and far too much left to write. But more than that, I'm not entirely sure I want to share that part of our relationship with anyone. Suffice it to say that after that night, our bond was unbreakable. We were one...mind, body and soul. And I found what had been missing with those other two lovers. Love.
**********
To Be Continued....