Title: Letters To No One: Tomoe Hotaru
Part One of Two
Part One: Betrayal
Rating: PG-13 for violence and evil (EAH-vEEl) intent.
Disclaimer: Insert Witty Disclaimer Here. You guys know the drill. I don't own Sailor Moon. Takeuchi Naoko does. I do own this plot (sort of… I'm building on her plot thing, in a way), the lullaby, this series (except for Rei's letter, which Opal wrote, but the series idea is mine), and the evil, malevolent characters.
Thanks: Arigato to Sailor Opal, my Beta-chan!
Notes: This is the next installment of the 'Letters To No One' series! (SMRFF: What's 'Letters To No One'?) This part ends sad, but the next part is happy. It is! Don't give me that look!
***
Dear Friend,
My happiest memory… It's quite a story. And this will be quite a lengthy letter.
Did you know that in the Time Gate there are windows, which pan the entire galaxy? (You do remember what I told you about Setsuna-mama and her Gate, right?) Well, they do exist. My happiest memory has to do with those windows and my family.
I was twelve. I knew about almost everything, senshi wise, but I had never seen my own planet, or any of the outers' planets, for that matter. I mean, I had seen pictures, but that was nothing in contrast to the real thing. (I know what you're thinking, Friend. But you must realize that to a senshi, the sight of the planet you represent and protect is one you truly cherish. Well… for most people anyway.)
The night of June fifth was clear and warm. Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, and I had just finished dinner and we were loading the dishwasher. A flash of black smoke erupted in the middle of the room, and Setsuna-mama, in full senshi uniform, stepped out from the smoke. I smiled and ran to her, and we hugged briefly. Michiru-mama stifled a laugh, and Setsuna-mama sent her a questioningly glance. She motioned to Setsuna-mama's shoulder, where my slightly dirty hand had left a handprint. Setsuna-mama did nothing but raise her eyebrows slightly, then pushed me toward the sink to wash my hands. (My handprint can still be seen faintly on the right shoulder of her uniform, for some odd reason. Maybe the 'soap' used to clean our fukus is immune to gravy…)
"Where were you?" I asked Setsuna-mama, wanting to be cross with one of my adoptive mothers. Ever since Galaxia, I had grown used to meals with the whole family.
"Somewhere," she replied vaguely, examining her nails.
I frowned, and my frown grew deeper as Michiru-mama pointed out the glass of milk I had been avoiding the entire meal. I absolutely hate that stuff. I always have. It's just a fact of life.
As I concentrated on trying to down the glass without throwing up, Setsuna-mama, Haruka-papa, and Michiru-mama were having a quiet discussion next to the kitchen table.
About halfway through that icky white stuff, I found it taken from my hand by Setsuna-mama, who dumped it into the sink, then took out two sodas from the fridge, handing one to me. I gave her a look of utter and total adoration as I began chugging the soda down.
"Setsuna-chan!" Michiru-mama said in disbelief. "She needs to drink milk!"
Setsuna-mama grinned. "Cut her some slack, Michiru-chan." She glanced at me and chuckled. "Slower, Hotaru-hime. You'll give yourself a stomach ache."
"I've already finished it," I said in reply, placing the can on the counter. "What's going on?"
"A surprise," Haruka-papa replied, watching me with speculative eyes.
I frowned slightly, hating to be left out of whatever secret they had. "Why haven't you de-transformed yet?" I asked Setsuna-mama, switching the topic.
She smiled and took my hand. "All of us are going to take a mini-vay using the Time Gate." 'Mini-vay' was our word we used to describe a short vacation. We took them rather frequently, but this was the first time we were going to use the Time Gate.
"Isn't that against the rules?" I asked, sort of perplexed.
"Depends," Setsuna-mama replied, avoiding any lengthy explanation she might give in reply to my question. A brief flash of light filled the room, and in place of my other two parents stood Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. "Time to go," Setsuna-mama said softly.
"Do I need to transform?" I asked her as we walked over to Uranus and Neptune.
"No," Michiru-mama answered confidently. A brief, unsure look crossed her face, and spoke again. "Probably not."
I really didn't like that 'Probably not.'
Setsuna-mama's Gate appeared in our small kitchen in a flash of black smoke. Without speaking, all four of us stepped into the mists of Time.
I walked between Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa, and Setsuna-mama walked ahead. For the first time in my life I noticed how she appeared to be part of the mists that floated in the Halls of Time, an ethereal, otherworldly being. For the first time, I wondered how Setsuna-mama had come to have the duty of guarding the Time Gate.
We finally stopped in front of a stretch of black, immovable mist. Behind it I could vaguely see the shadows of something that seemed very, very familiar. With a flick of her wrist, Setsuna-mama chased the mist away, scattering them as if they were mere playthings. A gasp caught in my throat.
Saturn lay before me in all its beauty. Seven magnificent rings encircled the yellow and orange planet, spanning thousands of miles.
"Oh my…" I whispered faintly, entranced, stepping forward slightly. As I did so, the picture changed. It was the surface of my previously beautiful planet. Everywhere you looked, ruins lay thickly upon the ground, bearing witness to a horrendous incident. I only knew of one power that could do this. Mine. A thousand or so years ago, maybe more, I had taken my Glaive… and destroyed the lives of millions of people. My friend, you may be wondering why I consider this my happiest memory, since I was reminded of how many people I had killed. You should understand by the end of this letter… but perhaps you will not.
I was upset at my parents. "Why did you bring me here? Why are you showing me this?" I asked, turning to face them. Tears were streaming down my cheeks by now.
Setsuna-mama stepped forward, a tear of her own slipping down her cheek as well. "In the Silver Millennium the senshi were not as we are now. We had all been raised solely as protectors, as warriors- none of us had a 'normal' childhood. We only made friends within our circle of senshi- it was always the Inners and Princess Serenity, and the Outers, consisting of Neptune, Uranus, and myself." She stroked my hair awkwardly, then continued. "Though Saturn was senshi like us, we had all been raised with the tales of what her main duty was- to bring the Silence when the time came. The people teaching and raising us were well aware of this fact, and attempted to shun Saturn. They thought if she was kept isolated with her people on her planet the Silence would never come. For years this was taught, and after a while, Saturn became no more than a myth, a story told to scare children into being good." She smiled slightly. "I'm afraid I, myself, was guilty of telling those stories while trying to coerce Neptune and Uranus to behave."
"Soon after the stories came to be, even the senshi forgot," Haruka-papa added, stepping forward. "But then, one day, Saturn basically blew sky high. Queen Serenity sent us, the Outers, to investigate, and what we found…" Her voice trailed off, and a memory wiggled it's way to the surface of my mind.
"Yes," I whispered. "I remember."
Perhaps it was the force of the memory, or perhaps Setsuna-mama triggered the window, but suddenly, the image shifted, then refocused. The surface of Saturn was no longer in ruins, and the window slowly panned across the city. It focused on one particular building, made of cold gray marble and standing higher than any of the other buildings in the large city. My mouth grew dry as I named it: the palace of Tacere*, capital city of Saturn. The focus shifted to a small, dusty room inside the palace, where two men and a woman sat around a table, clad in black and silver garments.
Lord Adjutor, the High Chancellor. The High Duke, Lord Percussor. My nanny, tutor, and only 'friend,' Lady Aspis.**
Once focused on the three occupants, we could hear what they were saying. This part of the story I had little knowledge of.
"She is the only reason we are shunned by the people of the Moon Kingdom and their cohorts!" Adjutor said heatedly, pounding his fist on the table.
Percussor nodded in agreement while Aspis spoke up. "I agree, but any actions we take will assure execution orders in Queen Serenity's hands. Even if they despise her because of the Silence, she will not allow violent actions against one of her senshi."
Percussor frowned as she uttered this thought. "Saturn no Senshi is also our queen. If we continue on with this plan, Queen Serenity will also condemn us for murdering our leader. But something must be done!"
"Leader!" scoffed Adjutor. "She's barely a hundred years. She is only a weak child." His expression grew thoughtful. "A frail one, at that. Perhaps a poison, one not so easily traced…"
The three exchanged glances. "Kami-sama would also condemn us if we disposed of the child in that manner," Aspis replied, shaking her head. Suddenly, a malicious light crept into her eyes. "But… perhaps a sacrifice. One we could easily cover up."
The three once again exchanged glances, but this time they all seemed victorious.
"That might do…" Percussor said slowly. "The people of Tacere would deny any happenings such as that. Most are as tired of this shunning as we are." He looked up at them, eyes thoughtful. "When was the last time the ceremonial dagger was cleansed?"
"I'll see to that," Adjutor said, standing up. "We shall not be shunned for long."
The three exited the room, and Aspis separated from the bunch to walk quickly down the hall, toward the queen's quarters. Opening the door, she swept into the room, frowning at the small child sitting in a chair before the fire.
Me.
The child turned her head slightly to glance at Aspis. A simple silver circlet held back her straight, waist-length, black, almost purple hair. She was clad in a simple yet elegant dress made of purple silk. She looked exactly like me… and yet, she wasn't me. I was different from her, as strange as it may sound to you. Her expression was carefully guarded, as if she had been trained not to reveal her emotions to a single person.
She scared me.
The black mist swept away the scene, and rapidly began shuffling through others. Percurssor and Adjutor meeting in a shadowy hallway with an even more shadowy man, who's eyes glinted menacingly in the flickering torchlight. Aspis trading notes and dark meaningful looks with the two Lords. The scenes went on and on, and somewhere during the changes Haruka-papa placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
As I watched, I realized that I felt disconnected from the fate that was in store for this small child. I felt as if I was a completely different person from the young girl who ruled this large planet. And in a way, I am, now that I think about it. All of the senshi are.
The window stopped and focused on the young queen, who sat in her small chair in front of the fireplace in her room. She was alone, and shadows pressed in on the three sides not lit by the firelight. A book lay on her lap, closed, one hand resting languidly on the cover. A small sliver of moon shone in through a window, casting faint moonlight into her lap and on her small face, illuminating her small, white form. She was clad in a plain white nightgown, and her hair was braided simply. All of the held back emotion was clearly visible on her face now, the moonlight turning her tears into glittering diamonds, a stark contrast to her porcelain white skin.
Her lips moved as she silently sang a song she knew, a simple Saturn lullaby. A faint memory of a beautiful, kind woman and loving man was attached to the simple lyrics of the song, along with the feeling of being cradled in safe, secure arms.
The young queen stood up, allowing the book to fall to the floor unheeded. She moved softly over to the window where the crescent moon shone in it's glory. The young queen had no way of knowing that on the moon, a young princess with moon-beam hair was meeting, for the first time, a young prince with ebony hair, and that their love would last several lifetimes.
The young queen lifted her head to the moon, silent tears still dripping down her cheeks. She opened her mouth in a silent plea, closed it, then spoke up in a lilting, wishful, childlike voice. "Tsuki-sama, hear my wish. Send someone to love me. Tsuki-sama…"
The moonlight seemed to grow brighter, then it dimmed. The young queen wiped away her tears and allowed a glimmer of a smile to grace her face. She began to sing the lullaby again, louder this time, cherishing the accompanying feeling of being held.
"Silver light
Of the moon
Wrap around me in my room
Safely sheltered in your arms
Keep me safe till dawn's
First kiss
Bless me and my dear ones near
For the darkness
Hold a threat
Moonlight angel hover near
Beams of silver light
Light of love."
From her faint memory, she could hear the woman singing,
'Silver light
Of the moon
Wrap around me and my child
Babe of Saturn
I hold dear
Turn her tears into
Diamonds
Turn away her fears
Light of the moon
Light up her life.'
The young queen turned away from the window, one last tear falling from her upturned face onto the windowsill. The moonlight shone on the small tear as it became a tiny diamond, full of beauty.
As the young queen drifted to sleep, lulled by the last strains of the lullaby, the flickering, dieing firelight danced over the forgotten book on the floor.
The scene melted away, replaced by a vision of the dark, shadowy man Adjutor and Percussor had been talking with in the hallway. He held a small object in his hand as he crouched in a corner, waiting to spring. Faint footsteps echoed in the corridor, and the man tensed. He waited…
The young queen turned the corner, alone.
The man pounced.
A cloth, drenched in sleeping draft, was pushed over the young queen's nose and mouth.
And
She
Collapsed.
Onto the floor.
The cloth fluttered softly to the floor. It was revealed to be a highly embroidered white hanky, gay with bright flowers.
The small piece of gaily-embroidered cloth became the enemy, on the side of darkness and malevolence.
A young child, the frail queen of a large planet that hated her very existence, lay unconscious on the floor.
A simple silver circlet, the symbol of a virgin monarch, lay a few feet away, having fallen of the young queen's head.
And the man smiled gloatingly, then roughly picked up the small body, tucking the silver circlet into a secure pocket. Part of his payment for participating in the murder
of the girl-child that was his queen.
The scene shifted to one of a large crowd amassed around a platform, on which stood a man arrayed in bright, glittering robes, Lord Percussor, Lord Adjutor, and Lady Aspis, as well as the now awake young queen, who was gagged and tied down to an alter. The shadowy man stood beside the platform, wrapped in a black cloak. The gloating smile still played faintly about his lips.
The man in the glittering robes withdrew a sparkling dagger from a pocket in his robes, and walked calmly over to the young queen, who's lips refused to make a final, futile, plea for life through the gag, even as tears puddled in her violet eyes.
The crowd around the platform stayed silent, their opinions mixed. Some felt this was the right thing to do, that it should have happened years ago. Some felt hatred toward the people on the platform who dared to kill a child in such a way, even if the child was their hated queen. And some… some did not know what they thought.
The man lifted the dagger.
The young queen lifted her eyes beseechingly to what could be seen of the moon at this time of day. 'Tsuki-sama… Tsuki-sama…'
The dagger plunged down.
The young queen, who was no more than a child, closed her eyes.
The dagger found her heart.
And the long asleep Silence ripped from the dying child's body and spread across Saturn.
Every crevice, cranny, and nook.
And no one on Saturn was spared.
On the moon, Queen Serenity's head jerked up from the papers she had been reading. She felt something rip through her like a knife, and she momentarily doubled over. The three Outer senshi, Pluto, a young woman now, Neptune and Uranus, both in their early teens, rushed forward, alarmed.
"Serenity-sama!" they cried simultaneously.
"Senshi," she gasped out, straightening. "The Silence has been brought to the surface. The people of Saturn… are no more."
***
*Tacere: Latin for 'to be silent.'
**Adjutor: Latin for 'henchman.'
Percussor: Latin for 'assassin.'
Aspis: Latin for 'asp.' You know, the snake?
Part One of Two
Part One: Betrayal
Rating: PG-13 for violence and evil (EAH-vEEl) intent.
Disclaimer: Insert Witty Disclaimer Here. You guys know the drill. I don't own Sailor Moon. Takeuchi Naoko does. I do own this plot (sort of… I'm building on her plot thing, in a way), the lullaby, this series (except for Rei's letter, which Opal wrote, but the series idea is mine), and the evil, malevolent characters.
Thanks: Arigato to Sailor Opal, my Beta-chan!
Notes: This is the next installment of the 'Letters To No One' series! (SMRFF: What's 'Letters To No One'?) This part ends sad, but the next part is happy. It is! Don't give me that look!
***
Dear Friend,
My happiest memory… It's quite a story. And this will be quite a lengthy letter.
Did you know that in the Time Gate there are windows, which pan the entire galaxy? (You do remember what I told you about Setsuna-mama and her Gate, right?) Well, they do exist. My happiest memory has to do with those windows and my family.
I was twelve. I knew about almost everything, senshi wise, but I had never seen my own planet, or any of the outers' planets, for that matter. I mean, I had seen pictures, but that was nothing in contrast to the real thing. (I know what you're thinking, Friend. But you must realize that to a senshi, the sight of the planet you represent and protect is one you truly cherish. Well… for most people anyway.)
The night of June fifth was clear and warm. Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, and I had just finished dinner and we were loading the dishwasher. A flash of black smoke erupted in the middle of the room, and Setsuna-mama, in full senshi uniform, stepped out from the smoke. I smiled and ran to her, and we hugged briefly. Michiru-mama stifled a laugh, and Setsuna-mama sent her a questioningly glance. She motioned to Setsuna-mama's shoulder, where my slightly dirty hand had left a handprint. Setsuna-mama did nothing but raise her eyebrows slightly, then pushed me toward the sink to wash my hands. (My handprint can still be seen faintly on the right shoulder of her uniform, for some odd reason. Maybe the 'soap' used to clean our fukus is immune to gravy…)
"Where were you?" I asked Setsuna-mama, wanting to be cross with one of my adoptive mothers. Ever since Galaxia, I had grown used to meals with the whole family.
"Somewhere," she replied vaguely, examining her nails.
I frowned, and my frown grew deeper as Michiru-mama pointed out the glass of milk I had been avoiding the entire meal. I absolutely hate that stuff. I always have. It's just a fact of life.
As I concentrated on trying to down the glass without throwing up, Setsuna-mama, Haruka-papa, and Michiru-mama were having a quiet discussion next to the kitchen table.
About halfway through that icky white stuff, I found it taken from my hand by Setsuna-mama, who dumped it into the sink, then took out two sodas from the fridge, handing one to me. I gave her a look of utter and total adoration as I began chugging the soda down.
"Setsuna-chan!" Michiru-mama said in disbelief. "She needs to drink milk!"
Setsuna-mama grinned. "Cut her some slack, Michiru-chan." She glanced at me and chuckled. "Slower, Hotaru-hime. You'll give yourself a stomach ache."
"I've already finished it," I said in reply, placing the can on the counter. "What's going on?"
"A surprise," Haruka-papa replied, watching me with speculative eyes.
I frowned slightly, hating to be left out of whatever secret they had. "Why haven't you de-transformed yet?" I asked Setsuna-mama, switching the topic.
She smiled and took my hand. "All of us are going to take a mini-vay using the Time Gate." 'Mini-vay' was our word we used to describe a short vacation. We took them rather frequently, but this was the first time we were going to use the Time Gate.
"Isn't that against the rules?" I asked, sort of perplexed.
"Depends," Setsuna-mama replied, avoiding any lengthy explanation she might give in reply to my question. A brief flash of light filled the room, and in place of my other two parents stood Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. "Time to go," Setsuna-mama said softly.
"Do I need to transform?" I asked her as we walked over to Uranus and Neptune.
"No," Michiru-mama answered confidently. A brief, unsure look crossed her face, and spoke again. "Probably not."
I really didn't like that 'Probably not.'
Setsuna-mama's Gate appeared in our small kitchen in a flash of black smoke. Without speaking, all four of us stepped into the mists of Time.
I walked between Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa, and Setsuna-mama walked ahead. For the first time in my life I noticed how she appeared to be part of the mists that floated in the Halls of Time, an ethereal, otherworldly being. For the first time, I wondered how Setsuna-mama had come to have the duty of guarding the Time Gate.
We finally stopped in front of a stretch of black, immovable mist. Behind it I could vaguely see the shadows of something that seemed very, very familiar. With a flick of her wrist, Setsuna-mama chased the mist away, scattering them as if they were mere playthings. A gasp caught in my throat.
Saturn lay before me in all its beauty. Seven magnificent rings encircled the yellow and orange planet, spanning thousands of miles.
"Oh my…" I whispered faintly, entranced, stepping forward slightly. As I did so, the picture changed. It was the surface of my previously beautiful planet. Everywhere you looked, ruins lay thickly upon the ground, bearing witness to a horrendous incident. I only knew of one power that could do this. Mine. A thousand or so years ago, maybe more, I had taken my Glaive… and destroyed the lives of millions of people. My friend, you may be wondering why I consider this my happiest memory, since I was reminded of how many people I had killed. You should understand by the end of this letter… but perhaps you will not.
I was upset at my parents. "Why did you bring me here? Why are you showing me this?" I asked, turning to face them. Tears were streaming down my cheeks by now.
Setsuna-mama stepped forward, a tear of her own slipping down her cheek as well. "In the Silver Millennium the senshi were not as we are now. We had all been raised solely as protectors, as warriors- none of us had a 'normal' childhood. We only made friends within our circle of senshi- it was always the Inners and Princess Serenity, and the Outers, consisting of Neptune, Uranus, and myself." She stroked my hair awkwardly, then continued. "Though Saturn was senshi like us, we had all been raised with the tales of what her main duty was- to bring the Silence when the time came. The people teaching and raising us were well aware of this fact, and attempted to shun Saturn. They thought if she was kept isolated with her people on her planet the Silence would never come. For years this was taught, and after a while, Saturn became no more than a myth, a story told to scare children into being good." She smiled slightly. "I'm afraid I, myself, was guilty of telling those stories while trying to coerce Neptune and Uranus to behave."
"Soon after the stories came to be, even the senshi forgot," Haruka-papa added, stepping forward. "But then, one day, Saturn basically blew sky high. Queen Serenity sent us, the Outers, to investigate, and what we found…" Her voice trailed off, and a memory wiggled it's way to the surface of my mind.
"Yes," I whispered. "I remember."
Perhaps it was the force of the memory, or perhaps Setsuna-mama triggered the window, but suddenly, the image shifted, then refocused. The surface of Saturn was no longer in ruins, and the window slowly panned across the city. It focused on one particular building, made of cold gray marble and standing higher than any of the other buildings in the large city. My mouth grew dry as I named it: the palace of Tacere*, capital city of Saturn. The focus shifted to a small, dusty room inside the palace, where two men and a woman sat around a table, clad in black and silver garments.
Lord Adjutor, the High Chancellor. The High Duke, Lord Percussor. My nanny, tutor, and only 'friend,' Lady Aspis.**
Once focused on the three occupants, we could hear what they were saying. This part of the story I had little knowledge of.
"She is the only reason we are shunned by the people of the Moon Kingdom and their cohorts!" Adjutor said heatedly, pounding his fist on the table.
Percussor nodded in agreement while Aspis spoke up. "I agree, but any actions we take will assure execution orders in Queen Serenity's hands. Even if they despise her because of the Silence, she will not allow violent actions against one of her senshi."
Percussor frowned as she uttered this thought. "Saturn no Senshi is also our queen. If we continue on with this plan, Queen Serenity will also condemn us for murdering our leader. But something must be done!"
"Leader!" scoffed Adjutor. "She's barely a hundred years. She is only a weak child." His expression grew thoughtful. "A frail one, at that. Perhaps a poison, one not so easily traced…"
The three exchanged glances. "Kami-sama would also condemn us if we disposed of the child in that manner," Aspis replied, shaking her head. Suddenly, a malicious light crept into her eyes. "But… perhaps a sacrifice. One we could easily cover up."
The three once again exchanged glances, but this time they all seemed victorious.
"That might do…" Percussor said slowly. "The people of Tacere would deny any happenings such as that. Most are as tired of this shunning as we are." He looked up at them, eyes thoughtful. "When was the last time the ceremonial dagger was cleansed?"
"I'll see to that," Adjutor said, standing up. "We shall not be shunned for long."
The three exited the room, and Aspis separated from the bunch to walk quickly down the hall, toward the queen's quarters. Opening the door, she swept into the room, frowning at the small child sitting in a chair before the fire.
Me.
The child turned her head slightly to glance at Aspis. A simple silver circlet held back her straight, waist-length, black, almost purple hair. She was clad in a simple yet elegant dress made of purple silk. She looked exactly like me… and yet, she wasn't me. I was different from her, as strange as it may sound to you. Her expression was carefully guarded, as if she had been trained not to reveal her emotions to a single person.
She scared me.
The black mist swept away the scene, and rapidly began shuffling through others. Percurssor and Adjutor meeting in a shadowy hallway with an even more shadowy man, who's eyes glinted menacingly in the flickering torchlight. Aspis trading notes and dark meaningful looks with the two Lords. The scenes went on and on, and somewhere during the changes Haruka-papa placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
As I watched, I realized that I felt disconnected from the fate that was in store for this small child. I felt as if I was a completely different person from the young girl who ruled this large planet. And in a way, I am, now that I think about it. All of the senshi are.
The window stopped and focused on the young queen, who sat in her small chair in front of the fireplace in her room. She was alone, and shadows pressed in on the three sides not lit by the firelight. A book lay on her lap, closed, one hand resting languidly on the cover. A small sliver of moon shone in through a window, casting faint moonlight into her lap and on her small face, illuminating her small, white form. She was clad in a plain white nightgown, and her hair was braided simply. All of the held back emotion was clearly visible on her face now, the moonlight turning her tears into glittering diamonds, a stark contrast to her porcelain white skin.
Her lips moved as she silently sang a song she knew, a simple Saturn lullaby. A faint memory of a beautiful, kind woman and loving man was attached to the simple lyrics of the song, along with the feeling of being cradled in safe, secure arms.
The young queen stood up, allowing the book to fall to the floor unheeded. She moved softly over to the window where the crescent moon shone in it's glory. The young queen had no way of knowing that on the moon, a young princess with moon-beam hair was meeting, for the first time, a young prince with ebony hair, and that their love would last several lifetimes.
The young queen lifted her head to the moon, silent tears still dripping down her cheeks. She opened her mouth in a silent plea, closed it, then spoke up in a lilting, wishful, childlike voice. "Tsuki-sama, hear my wish. Send someone to love me. Tsuki-sama…"
The moonlight seemed to grow brighter, then it dimmed. The young queen wiped away her tears and allowed a glimmer of a smile to grace her face. She began to sing the lullaby again, louder this time, cherishing the accompanying feeling of being held.
"Silver light
Of the moon
Wrap around me in my room
Safely sheltered in your arms
Keep me safe till dawn's
First kiss
Bless me and my dear ones near
For the darkness
Hold a threat
Moonlight angel hover near
Beams of silver light
Light of love."
From her faint memory, she could hear the woman singing,
'Silver light
Of the moon
Wrap around me and my child
Babe of Saturn
I hold dear
Turn her tears into
Diamonds
Turn away her fears
Light of the moon
Light up her life.'
The young queen turned away from the window, one last tear falling from her upturned face onto the windowsill. The moonlight shone on the small tear as it became a tiny diamond, full of beauty.
As the young queen drifted to sleep, lulled by the last strains of the lullaby, the flickering, dieing firelight danced over the forgotten book on the floor.
The scene melted away, replaced by a vision of the dark, shadowy man Adjutor and Percussor had been talking with in the hallway. He held a small object in his hand as he crouched in a corner, waiting to spring. Faint footsteps echoed in the corridor, and the man tensed. He waited…
The young queen turned the corner, alone.
The man pounced.
A cloth, drenched in sleeping draft, was pushed over the young queen's nose and mouth.
And
She
Collapsed.
Onto the floor.
The cloth fluttered softly to the floor. It was revealed to be a highly embroidered white hanky, gay with bright flowers.
The small piece of gaily-embroidered cloth became the enemy, on the side of darkness and malevolence.
A young child, the frail queen of a large planet that hated her very existence, lay unconscious on the floor.
A simple silver circlet, the symbol of a virgin monarch, lay a few feet away, having fallen of the young queen's head.
And the man smiled gloatingly, then roughly picked up the small body, tucking the silver circlet into a secure pocket. Part of his payment for participating in the murder
of the girl-child that was his queen.
The scene shifted to one of a large crowd amassed around a platform, on which stood a man arrayed in bright, glittering robes, Lord Percussor, Lord Adjutor, and Lady Aspis, as well as the now awake young queen, who was gagged and tied down to an alter. The shadowy man stood beside the platform, wrapped in a black cloak. The gloating smile still played faintly about his lips.
The man in the glittering robes withdrew a sparkling dagger from a pocket in his robes, and walked calmly over to the young queen, who's lips refused to make a final, futile, plea for life through the gag, even as tears puddled in her violet eyes.
The crowd around the platform stayed silent, their opinions mixed. Some felt this was the right thing to do, that it should have happened years ago. Some felt hatred toward the people on the platform who dared to kill a child in such a way, even if the child was their hated queen. And some… some did not know what they thought.
The man lifted the dagger.
The young queen lifted her eyes beseechingly to what could be seen of the moon at this time of day. 'Tsuki-sama… Tsuki-sama…'
The dagger plunged down.
The young queen, who was no more than a child, closed her eyes.
The dagger found her heart.
And the long asleep Silence ripped from the dying child's body and spread across Saturn.
Every crevice, cranny, and nook.
And no one on Saturn was spared.
On the moon, Queen Serenity's head jerked up from the papers she had been reading. She felt something rip through her like a knife, and she momentarily doubled over. The three Outer senshi, Pluto, a young woman now, Neptune and Uranus, both in their early teens, rushed forward, alarmed.
"Serenity-sama!" they cried simultaneously.
"Senshi," she gasped out, straightening. "The Silence has been brought to the surface. The people of Saturn… are no more."
***
*Tacere: Latin for 'to be silent.'
**Adjutor: Latin for 'henchman.'
Percussor: Latin for 'assassin.'
Aspis: Latin for 'asp.' You know, the snake?
