Chapter Two
It was the time after we had returned from the Sailor Scout Academy on Earth, a time of festivities and celebrations despite the growing frequency of battle.. The banquets on the Moon lasted for many days and nights, and everyone was invited.
It was at such a celebration that I met him - Sir Leander. He lived near the Sun Palace and was the only son of a prominent Duke in our community, but as I spent most of my childhood at the Moon Kingdom, and he was at least two years older than I, I had never met him.
He was handsome, by all accounts, with golden-brown hair falling into his gray eyes. He was a few inches taller than I, and that was saying something, for I was abnormally tall for the people of the Sun. He stood at the entrance to the ball with several of his friends, and for an instant our eyes locked. I saw something in his eyes that was often reflected in my own - passion, determination, and intelligence. I don't know what he saw in my own eyes, but the look he gave me made me blush and turn my gaze to the floor.
He bowed deeply to me, murmuring "Princess," and I, in turn, curtsied to him, saying "Sir," quietly, for I was unsure of his proper title. He offered me his arm, and I lightly placed my hand on it, as he led me into the ballroom.
"How are you, Princess? It has been a long three years since I saw you last," he said gallantly.
"I'm well, thank you. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I do not know you by name. May I ask your title?" He did not seem offended by my lack of knowledge, he only bowed again and said,
"Sir Leander, son of the Duke Ricolath of the Sun."
"Oh, of course. I knew I had seen you somewhere. How are you, Sir Leander?"
"I'm well, thank you, Your Highness." He swung me onto the dance floor as the music started.
"And please," he said, looking me straight in the eye with those unfathomable gray eyes of his, "Call me Lee."
From there our relationship blossomed into what I considered to be a romance, and for the next several weeks I could think of nothing but him. He had completely enchanted me, and I longed for him to ask my hand in marriage.
But I kept it secret, for I knew that, if Serena found out, the whole Solar System would know within the next three minutes. It was hard, as I listened to her talk for hours on end about Prince Darien, not to put in my praises of Lee, but I succeeded.
A few weeks after I met Lee and he had begun courting me, I was out for a walk alone in the rose gardens when I saw Lee walking with my father. They appeared to be arguing. Curious, and yet not wanting to intrude, I came just within earshot of the conversation.
"No, Leander, I didn't ask for your opinions! The enemy continues to grow and we must activate the Elemental Sailors! Why must I tell you, time and time again, that they will save more lives than the entire Army of the Sun put together!"
"But -"
"I realize you wish to protect your sister, Lady Avaris, but she was born for battle, and you were not! Let her live her destiny as she was born to, Leander, and stop trying to interfere! Silence!" My father roared as Lee tried to put in a word. "I have heard enough! Unfortunately, too many of my colleagues agree with you, and I hear their nonsense prattle quite enough, thank you. No, I won't speak of it again. This conversation is over!" He said, and silently stalked away. Leander stood quite still, and I could see he was seething with rage. I hurried to Serena to tell her of what I had overheard.
"So . . . there is an enemy, after all? I've heard rumors about someone called 'Queen Beryl.'" Serena said, her blue eyes wide. I nodded.
"I guess they're true. But who are the Elemental Sailors, anyways?"
"Oh, them," Serena said, waving her hand as if it didn't matter. "I've heard my mother talk about them lots of times."
"But who are they?" I pressed.
"Well, apparently, they are the Sailors of The Elements, that is, each one of them represents an element of her own. You know, the kind of elements we use, Light, Soul, Fire, Water, and so on. And from what I've heard, you're one of them."
"Me?" I breathed. Serena nodded.
"Yup. The Sailor Of Light."
"Well - how come I was activated, but not the other ones?" I questioned. Serena shrugged.
"Don't ask me," she said. I leaned back, thinking hard. This whole episode just didn't make sense.
A few days later, I had almost forgotten about the entire event, and went home for a few days to see family and friends. Serena wasn't at the Moon Kingdom, anyways. She was visiting Mars with her Mother for a conference about something of other. I was glad to get out of it - Serena and Princess Rei didn't get along too well.
As I was wandering the corridors of the Sun Palace, reminiscing about events and people - mostly my mother - I recognized Lee and three of his friends walking down the hall, backs to me.
Leander? I thought. What on earth is he doing here? He should still be on the Moon.
Curious once more, I slinked through the shadows in the hallway after them. What exactly were they up to?
Just then, they stopped abruptly and faced what appeared to me to be a solid wall of marble. Lee held his hand up to the wall and uttered a strange word; I didn't hear what it was. A gaping black doorway appeared in the wall, and I gasped in shock. Leander glanced up and down the hallway - I pressed myself against the wall - and disappeared into the dark. His friends followed him, and after I was sure they were out of sight, I went in myself.
I was confronted with a very steep spiral staircase that went down as far as I could see. I grasped the railing tightly and followed the echoing footsteps as quietly as I could. Once I tripped on the hem of my dress, and fell down a few stairs. The footsteps below came to an abrupt halt, and I held my breath as I listened intently.
"What was that?" I heard Leander ask sharply.
"What?" One of his friends asked, exasperated.
"I heard something." Somehow, his voice was not the one I knew.
"Go on," his other friend replied, "No one knows where this is. They don't even know it exists."
"I know I heard something," Lee said, starting to get angry.
"Fine. Go back up all the steps we just spent fifteen minutes climbing. We'll just tell Beryl you changed your mind."
"Fine," Lee said. I could definitely hear the anger in his voice now. "But if we're found out, don't point at me." He said, and the footsteps resumed.
Beryl?! I wondered. What business do they have with Beryl? She's the enemy! I was definitely scared now, but I knew I had to keep going. I waited until the footsteps were almost out of earshot, and followed, twice as careful to be quiet as I was before.
After what seemed to be an infinite amount of stairs spiraling down into the depths of the Palace, I came to a rough wooden door. Pressing my ear against it, I listened intently.
A whooshing noise filled the room on the other side of the door. A great wind seemed to have struck up inside. A flash of purple light shot out under the cracks of the door, and with a resounding boom, everything fell silent. A few seconds later I heard a murmuring inside. I held my breath and listened harder.
"My Queen."
"Majesty."
"Your Highness."
Four or five voices - one of which I recognized as Lee's - addressed someone who had not spoken yet.
Who are they talking to? I wondered. I didn't have long to find out.
"So, my trustworthy spies, what information do you have for me?" A grating voice echoed in the cavernous hallway. It was a voice I recognized from a battle on Mercury a few days before - it was the voice of Queen Beryl, Queen of the NegaVerse!!
My heart felt ripped in two. The one person I loved, the one person I trusted, had betrayed me! The betrayal I felt soon turned into anger. How could he?! I quieted myself and pressed my ear to the door again, eager to hear what they were planning.
"The news is all good, your Majesty," a voice I did not recognize responded. "They are undecided about whether or not to activate the Elemental Sailors. It is a good time to attack."
"And you, Leander? How is your project moving?" I held my breath.
"Well, My Queen. In a few days I shall 'propose' to her, and then we shall either have one more ally, or one less enemy." His throaty laughter filled the room. I could listen to no more - the rage in my heart and mind blinded all common sense. I burst through the door.
"Leander!" I shouted. "How could you?!" Not waiting for an answer, my hand went to my throat as I yelled out: "Sun Crystal Power!" When my transformation was complete, I stopped for the slightest instant to catch my breath and call up my Scepter. Pointing it straight at Leander, I cried out,
"Shimmering Sunlight Attack!" the attack caught him directly in the chest. He fell down, severely wounded. I pointed my weapon at the other spies, all of whom I recognized as Lee's friends. Saying the attack once more, I mowed down all of them with a single command. One seemed to be dead and the others dazed and wounded, in a condition similar to Lee's. I turned to Queen Beryl, who was watching me calmly. My rage built up inside me as I tossed the Scepter spinning into the air.
"Sun . . . Scepter . . . Create!" The scepter lengthened and thinned, and a new pattern formed on top. It spun for a few moments in the air, then I reached up and plucked it from where it hovered. I held, in my hands, the Solar Staff.
"Sunbeam Slash!" I yelled, pointing it straight at Beryl. The golden boomerang shot through the air, moving closer to Beryl with every second, yet she made no effort to move. The beam of light grew nearer and nearer -
- and passed right through her. My mouth opened in shock, as she began to laugh uncontrollably. "Do you really think I would actually come here?" She asked in disgust. "You foolish girl, this is only an illusion! Such fools humans are! Leander!" she snapped. "wake up! Regardless of whether you're ready or not, now is the time! Cast the spell!" Leander struggled to his feet and looked me straight in the eye. His gray eyes now held a red spark in them I had somehow not seen in the previous weeks. His hand flew out at me, and I ducked as a reflex, but the only outcome was the heavy wooden door slamming shut and locking. He pointed at me, and I was drawn toward him, like a magnet, hard as I tried to withstand it. In an instant, he had his hands on my shoulders, and leered down at me, his gray eyes so different from the ones I had fallen in love with. Then, unexpectedly, he brought his face towards mine and kissed me.
It was a kiss unlike the few we had shared before. It was empty of the passion and kindness that our previous ones possessed. There was nothing behind this kiss but pure desire, and I wrenched myself away.
"How dare you," I said, in a low voice. Twisting myself out of his grip, I raised my staff in the air.
"I hope I never see you again," I said, my voice full of spite. Closing my eyes, I called out the words,
"Solar Staff Teleport!" And my surroundings disappeared.
I opened my eyes, and blinked. Avaris, Mina, and Hermes were all watching me curiously.
"Wha - what was that a memory of?" I asked, confused. "Did you guys get memories too?" Avaris and Mina both nodded.
"What were they?" I asked.
"Mine was of my brother," Avaris said, her jaw tightening.
"Mine was of a child hood playmate of mine," Mina said, a sad look in her eyes.
"What was yours of?" Avaris asked me.
"A - a man who courted me during the Silver Millennium." Avaris and Mina exchanged glances.
"So - is that guy, Leander or whatever, is he the enemy now?" I asked Hermes. He looked up at me, and there was something in his eyes I couldn't quite interpret.
"I don't know quite yet."
"But you think its him, don't you?" pressed Mina.
"What makes you say that?"
"You wouldn't have given us those memories if you didn't." She pointed out. Hermes didn't answer. We were silent for a time, each lost in our own thoughts, and, in my case, memories.
After a while, Mina and Avaris left, Mina needing to go to her volleyball game, Avaris to another art class. I had nowhere in particular to go, so I went for a walk in the park by myself. I needed some time to think.
I was strolling along the banks of the sparklingly clear lake of Juuban park when a gust of wind blew up, and a racous laugh sounded with it. I looked around wildly for its source, but I was unable to find it. Suddenly, there was a flash of purple light to my left and I whipped around to see the person I last wanted to see ever again.
Leander!
Floating casually a few feet off the grassy turf, he was clad in much the same clothing as I had remembered him in. He wore a black tux and a black cape, much like Tuxedo Mask's, but the inside of the cape was a deep purple, not red, and he had a sword tucked into his belt, the hilt of which glittered viciously in the after noon sunlight.
He had not bothered with a mask, or even a hat to shadow his face. His brown-blonde hair still fell into his stormy gray eyes as they had in my memories, and yet those eyes contained a wicked spark that I had failed to notice a millennia ago. He continued to laugh, looking down on me from his position in the air, and then he said:
"So, I've finally found you. It has taken a thousand human years and a thousand human lifetimes, but I have finally got you . . . Celeste."
Instinctively, I brought my wrist up to my mouth.
"Avaris!" I said. "I need you in the park!" A slight frown crossed Leander's perfectly shaped lips.
"Calling up my younger sister? She always did tag along." Not wasting another moment, I held up my Sun Crystal and called out the words:
"Sun Crystal Power!" A brilliant white light flooded the park. Leander shielded his eyes with his arm and looked away. Within moments I was Sailor Sun - not Sailor Light, because I knew too few commands in that identity. For this battle, I needed Sailor Sun's expertise.
A slight flicker of anger crossed Leander's face, but it quickly faded.
"Even when you are in your warrior form, you are still too weak to defeat me." He said, raising his voice. I didn't respond - I had nothing to say to him.
"Shimmering Sunlight Attack!" I yelled, and waited for the gold and yellow laser beams to shoot Leander out of the air. But - nothing happened. I had no power.
"What?" I cried, as Leander began laughing again. Suddenly, a glimmer appeared before me, just a tiny sparkle, that's all, but then it lengthened and broadened and - with a flash of golden light - the Sun Scepter hovered before me.
It was different from in my memories. It was about a foot and a half long, and made of what looked like pure gold, instead of the marble wand in the Silver Millennium. On the top of the Scepter was a crystal easily the size of my fist, and glowing with a pale, throbbing light. My hand went to my throat - and to my surprise, I didn't feel the Sun Crystal attached to my choker! Somehow, it must have transformed into this Scepter. I looked up at Leander, who did not appear to be unduly concerned.
I can fix that, I thought and allowed a smirk to cross my lips. Raising my new found weapon, I yelled out the words:
"Sun Scepter Comet Chain Encircle!" A chain, in the appearance of a comet, flew towards Leander and wrapped itself around him. He was startled by this sudden attack, and fell out of the air and hit the ground.
Just then, Avaris, dressed as Sailor Soul, appeared, and gasped at the scene her eyes fell upon.
"Leander!" She cried. I was unsure whether her tone of voice carried horror at what I had done to her brother, or at the fact that he had returned. I turned back to Leander, and to my surprise, he was standing up, free of the chains that had bound him only instants before.
"Hello, dearest sister." He said, his gray eyes glowing red. "I see Celeste has taken the liberty to activate you. How inconvenient."
"Stop it!" She cried. "Stop it, Leander! I see through you now! I thought you were trying to protect me, but you just didn't want me in your way! You betrayed me!"
I watched Avaris in amazement. The pain in her eyes was displayed all too clearly - why was she still so hurt? Then it came to me -
- she still loved him.
Leander noticed it too. I could tell by the way he flicked his eyes at me before turning back to his sister, who was taking strong, determined strides towards us. She raised her hands, ready to utter a command I felt sure would destroy Lee once and for all, but then, right when I thought she would do it, she stopped. She let her hands fall to her sides, making her pale pink cloak ripple in the light breeze. I turned to Leander and watched his eyes widen, and the spark in his eyes seemed to be extinguished. He floated back down to the ground and approached her slowly, his arms outstretched. I held onto my Scepter tightly and watched him suspiciously - what was he up to? Then, he did the thing I least expected - he enfolded Avaris in a tight embrace. Avaris began to sob uncontrollably and wrapped her arms around him. He made shushing noises and kissed her hair lightly. I blinked. What was he doing with his hands? Behind her back, he had brought them together and a soft purple light began to glow from them. He raised his head and looked at me, and the spark in his eyes had returned.
"Avaris!" I shouted. "Look out!!"
But it was too late. He had delivered the blow, and Avaris crumpled to the ground. My heart thudded - was she dead? But I closed my eyes and reached out to her with my mind, and I knew that she was not dead, merely unconscious and perhaps wounded. I opened my eyes and turned back to Leander, who was watching me with a calculating look. My eyes blazed with anger, but he remained - strangely - calm.
"You monster," I said, quietly, trying to control my fury. He merely chuckled in response. "Well, here I am," I continued, clutching my Scepter and assuming a fighting stance. "Come and get me." My eyes narrowed to slits. But Leander merely looked at me as if he was puzzled, studying me, observing me.
"Well?" I challenged.
"No," he said, cocking his head, "No."
"What?" I was enraged.
"Just what I said. No." And without another word or gesture, he disappeared. I heard the pitter patter of many footsteps coming around the corner, and I knew without looking that they were the Sailor Scouts. I bent and gathered Avaris up in my arms, and began to walk away when I heard Serena's voice.
"Sailor Sun! What happened here?"
"Sorry girls, you missed all the fun," I said, looking back over my shoulder coldly at them. Jupiter noticed the bundle I carried.
"Who's that?" She asked. I looked away.
"Nobody." I whispered, and teleported myself and Avaris silently away.
When we reached my aunts backyard, I lay Avaris down again.
"Sun Scepter Solar Power," I whispered, touching the tip of the Scepter to Avaris's tiara. The familiar golden light flowed out of the Scepter and moved like liquid through Avaris's veins. She blinked, and sat up abruptly.
"Where is he?" She asked, loudly. I detransformed.
"Shh," I said, in a comforting voice. "It's all right. He's gone now." But Avaris turned to me with tears in her eyes.
"No," she said. "It isn't all right. He betrayed me! Twice! I trusted him during the Silver Millennium, and just when he earned my trust again, he betrayed me!" The tears began to seep out the corners of her bright green eyes and leave shining trails of sorrow on her freckled face.
"I know," I whispered. "He betrayed me too. And Mina."
"How - what did he do, back then?" She asked me.
So I poured out my memories to Avaris, how it was the first time I felt love, the first time I truly believed in love. How I longed every day to be with him forever and ever, and to live a happy life with him at my side on the Sun. Then, how he turned out to be a spy, a spy for Queen Beryl, and how he was working me into his master plans. Despite myself, I began to feel tears run down my face as well. The one thing that hadn't come back to me with my memory was the pain of betrayal I felt.
And I am definitely feeling it now, I thought, as I watched a pearly tear fall from Avaris's face. But so help me, I swear to God that I will not let him do such a thing to Avaris - or anyone else - ever again.