Act 6 - Falling for You
Yumeko breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh morning air. It felt so good to be out of bed again after several days of being cooped up in her bedroom. Though she wasn't completely recovered from the attack she suffered the night of the Crystal Ball, she was really feeling much stronger. After much begging, she finally managed to convince her parents to let her go out to the gardens, although they still wouldn't let her go to school, which was hardly a punishment.
"Princess!"
She turned around at the sound of the voice, a secret part of her wishing that it was Shadow, whom she hadn't seen since the ball. Instead it was the old caretaker Poppy. He handed her the most beautiful bouquet of white roses and pink carnations.
"I'm happy to see you are out and about, Princess," he said. "Everyone around here has been worried sick about you, especially me. You know, you remind me so much of my little girl, Violet. When I heard about the attack, my heart jumped in my throat. Losing you would be like losing my own daughter."
"You're very sweet to be so concerned about me, Poppy," she replied, smelling the bouquet of flowers. "Thank you for the flowers. They're absolutely beautiful."
"I'm glad you like them. They're the best the garden has to offer."
Poppy then said goodbye and went back to work. Yumeko set the bouquet on a nearby bench and went on a walk around the gardens, pulling the light sweater she wore tightly around her body. Winter was coming soon, and there was already a slight chill in the air.
The gardeners, who had been given a few days vacation to recover from the excitement of the ball, were back to work and preparing for the harsh season that lie ahead. A group of men was working nearby, gathering the last batch of juicy fruit from the trees. Yumeko searched their faces, hoping that one of them was Shadow, but he was not there.
Even though she had told him not to speak to her ever again, there was still a part of her that wanted to look into those dark eyes, just one more time. Yumeko sighed. Shadow had probably decided to quit, or perhaps Noburo had recovered his illness. Either way, there was no sign of him.
"Yumeko!"
Phoenix, dressed in his uniform again, entered the garden, carrying a large suitcase in his hand. The queen had told him that Yumeko was feeling better and had decided to go for a walk around the grounds, which he was very glad to hear. Knowing that she was going to be okay would probably make it easier to say what he had to say.
Yumeko turned around at the sound of her fiancé's familiar voice. She wondered why he was here. He usually didn't visit her until around dinnertime, and even then it was just for only about twenty minutes or so. She couldn't quite explain it, but she had sensed a distance between them ever since the night of her attack. He checked on her condition everyday, but it seemed more out of obligation, rather than genuine concern.
"Phoenix, what are you doing here?" she asked. She reached up to kiss him, but strangely enough, he turned his lips away from hers, the kiss landing lightly on his cheek.
"Yumeko, we need to talk," he said in a serious tone.
Phoenix set his suitcase on the ground and took Yumeko's hand, leading her toward the bench Poppy's bouquet was laying. They sat down, Yumeko getting a bad feeling about what was about to come. Why was Phoenix acting so strangely?
"Why do you have your suitcase? Are you going back to Earth? I thought you were on leave until after the holidays."
He took her hand in his own and stared into her deep golden eyes. She was so incredibly beautiful. He wished he didn't have to do this, but…
"Yes, I am going back to Crystal Tokyo."
"But why?"
"Well, I'm sure you've heard about the attacks on Mercury and Venus over the last couple of days, right?"
She nodded. The recent battles were big news around the Dream Palace. Everybody was talking about the attacks, but she hadn't really paid much attention, not realizing the seriousness of the situation.
"The Delian Nightmare Alliance has declared war on Silver Millennium. Your parents were hoping that it wouldn't come down to this, but there appears to be no other choice. Early this morning, I spoke to King Helios, and he has assigned me command of Fort Crystal. I must leave as soon as possible."
Tears filled Yumeko's eyes as she took in the news. Phoenix was going off to war. It was her nightmare come true. "How long will you be gone?" she asked.
"I don't know how long it will take to defeat King Scorpio's forces. It could be a couple of weeks or several years. There's also the real possibility I won't come back at all."
"Don't say that, Phoenix! Of course you'll come back, and we'll get married and have those six children you wanted…"
He placed a tender finger on her lips, silently telling her to be quiet. "Yumeko, I love you, but you're still so young. It would be wrong to expect a beautiful girl like you to wait for me, so I'm releasing you from your promise."
"I don't understand. It's no problem to postpone the wedding. We haven't even sent out the invitations."
"It's more than that. I know how you feel about me, Yumeko. I've known a long time. You don't really love me, do you?"
She cast her eyes down on the ground, too ashamed to look directly in his eyes. Phoenix had known all along. "I'm sorry. I tried to fall in love with you, really I did…"
"…but it was not meant to be," he said, completing her sentence. "You love another."
Yumeko looked up into his soft green eyes and saw the pain she had caused. Phoenix knew about the kiss. Since he hadn't said anything about what happened at the Crystal Ball, she assumed that she had managed to keep the kiss a secret, but he had known. She never felt so ashamed in her entire life.
"I'm sorry, Phoenix," she repeated, knowing that no amount of apologizing would make things right again.
She glanced down at her left hand at the beautiful ring he had given her. It sparkled in the sunlight, almost blinding her. Yumeko slowly took the ring off and slipped in on to Phoenix's pinkie finger. "Perhaps someday you will find another girl to give this to, like Ryo-chan," she said, a small smile on her lips despite the tears that ran down her face.
Phoenix shook his head. There would never be another. Yumeko had been his one true love, and no one, not even the lovely Ryoko, would ever take her place in his heart.
"Goodbye, Princess Dreama Aurora."
The princess watched sadly as Phoenix grabbed his suitcase and went out the golden gate that lead out of the garden, out of her life forever. Once he was out of sight, she allowed herself to break down. She hadn't wanted it to end like this. Phoenix deserved better. He was the kindest man she ever met, one of her dearest friends, yet she had betrayed him for a stolen kiss. She would never forgive herself for causing Phoenix so much pain and suffering.
Shadow swiped the sweat from his brow. Despite the cool autumn air around him, his body was as warm as a blazing fire from the work he was doing in the gardens. Poppy assigned him dig up duty, meaning he had to remove the summer plants from the ground to put in the greenhouse during the winter months. Shadow took it as another sign of the caretaker's dislike for him. Why did his father have to send him back here? He thought that after the ball he would finally be rid of that suspicious old geezer.
At least he wasn't alone in his misery. Botan and Joji were also given the horrible task of digging up the plants, although Joji wasn't really much help. Most of the time, he just leaned on his shovel, staring out into space, until either his brother or Shadow brought him back to reality.
After the fifth or sixth time of reminding Joji to get back to work, Shadow finally had enough of his foul mood. "Joji-kun, what is wrong with you, man? You've been like this the entire morning."
Joji sighed and went back to work, refusing to answer Shadow's question.
"Don't mind him," Botan said. "He's just upset that your little sister left him locked up one of the spare bedrooms during the ball and never came back. Apparently, he fell really hard for Midnight-chan."
"Sounds just like my sister," he mumbled.
"Plus, Aiko-san refuses to see him or even talk to him on the telephone. As you can imagine, she's pretty pissed at him."
"Yeah, she did seem kinda mad when he asked Midnight to dance with him."
Joji sped up his digging, the anger evident in his eyes, as Poppy came up to them. "Botan-kun, Shadow-kun, I don't believe it is break time just yet, so quit gossiping like a bunch of girls and get back to work. We only have a short period of time before the winter winds blow in."
"Yes, sir," Botan said, picking up his shovel.
Poppy was about to leave when he beckoned Shadow to follow him. Shadow reluctantly went with the ancient caretaker, wondering what new torture he had cooked up. They stopped in front of one the fountains that dotted the landscape, and Poppy handed him a large pail filled with soapy water.
"I want you to clean every single one of the ten fountains on the grounds. They need to be washed, polished, and a couple need to be repaired. Nothing too difficult, it shouldn't be a problem. You can find some tools in the shed over there."
"All ten of them?"
"Of course, they don't all need to be finished today, but try to get it done by the end of the week, okay?" he said, walking away.
Shadow reached into the pail of cold water and pulled out a large sponge, silently cursing the old man. He was freezing. This was even worse than digging up the plants.
He climbed on to the side of the fountain and began scrubbing the sculpture of Queen Lady Serenity and King Helios, careful to keep his balance so that he wouldn't fall into the pool of ice cold water below. This was the largest of the fountains, carved by the very talented Queen Nagisa of Neptune. It was located right in the center of the gardens, and if you went to the top of the statue, it was possible to view the area in its entirety.
Grabbing the queen's scepter, Shadow pulled himself up so that he could reach the very top of the fountain. He looked around, taking advantage of the elevation. It was possible to glance inside the second floor windows, which he did, looking for the Dream Crystal, but he saw no sign of the bright light from the power of dreams. Most likely the crystal was kept in one of the interior rooms, meaning he would have to find some way to get inside the palace.
He was about to climb back down when two voices reached his ears, a man and a woman. He searched for the couple, finding them sitting on a nearby bench. The man was dressed in full military uniform, and a suitcase sat on the ground close by. From the sad tones in their voices, Shadow guessed that he was about to go off to war, most likely the one his own troops had started with the attacks on Mercury and Venus.
It was difficult to see the woman's face from the angle he was in, but he recognized the curly blue hair styled with two large buns on top. She was the beautiful girl who had stolen his heart, Princess Dreama Aurora, and the man sitting next to her was most likely the fiancé she had told him about.
He watched in curiosity as the couple exchanged their goodbyes. It was difficult to understand what was being said, but he was able to comprehend bits and pieces of their private conversation. Shadow just about fell into the fountain in shock as he heard the man say to Dreama Aurora, "You love another." Was the man referring to him? Could it be possible that Dreama Aurora felt the same about him as he did about her?
Shadow moved to the other side of the fountain so that he could get a better look at his beloved. Her lovely golden eyes were filled with tears as she pulled a ring off her finger and placed it on her lover's pinkie. How he wished he could hear their conversation better, but they were now speaking in hushed voices. Had the couple just called off their engagement as he suspected?
Her (hopefully) former boyfriend then stood up, grabbed his suitcase, and walked out of the gate, not even turning back for one last glance at Dreama Aurora, who looked her best friend had died. As soon as the man disappeared, she burst into tears, her entire body shaking with grief and sorrow.
Staring at the princess, Shadow felt an overwhelming urge to take Dreama Aurora in his arms and comfort her in her time of need, but he knew it would not be wise. Midnight, for some strange reason, had not yet told their father of the forbidden kiss. Perhaps he had managed to fool her into thinking it was just an innocent mistake, or maybe she was just waiting for a more opportune time to spill the beans, but whatever she was planning, there was no need to give his little sister more ammunition against him.
Spotting Poppy about a hundred feet away, he decided that he better get back to work before the geezer assigned him manure duty, which was usually the punishment for slackers. Shadow slowly climbed down the statue, but as he placed his foot on the side of the fountain, he slipped on the wet surface, falling into the freezing water. As he was going down, he felt a bone in his left leg fracture, causing him intense pain.
Yumeko, who heard him scream, ran over to the fountain, wiping away her tears. She was surprised to find Shadow sitting in the pool, his clothes soaking wet with water.
"Shadow-kun, are you okay?" she asked, the concern evident in her amber eyes.
"I'm fine, Princess," he answered through clenched teeth, trying to hide his pain. "Just a minor slip. If you help me up, I'm sure I'll be able to make it."
She grabbed his arm and tried to help him stand up, but he collapsed again in pain. Yumeko waved Poppy over to assist her. "We've got to get you inside and have someone look over that leg. It might be broken."
"No, really, that isn't necessary…"
"Shadow-kun, you've hurt yourself, and you need medical attention, and that's final. Don't try to be a man about this."
Shadow had to smile at Dreama Aurora's take charge attitude as an annoyed Poppy came over and helped the princess pull him out of the fountain. The two of them held Shadow up, Dreama Aurora on the left and Poppy on his right, and gently walked him toward the palace.
"Poppy, let's take him in here and put him on the couch," Dreama Aurora said, opening the door to a warm, cozy living room.
In the corner of the room, a small fire burned in an elegant marble fireplace. The room was filled with expensive looking rugs and furniture, including a comfy couch covered with dark blue velvet near the fireplace, where the princess and Poppy laid him down.
"The water is going to ruin the fabric," Shadow protested as Dreama Aurora elevated his leg up with a large, fluffy pillow.
"It's okay."
"Will you be needing my services any longer, Princess?" Poppy asked the princess, glaring at his clumsy employee with a suspicious eye.
"I can handle everything else, Poppy-san. Thanks for the help."
No longer needed, Poppy exited the room and went back into the gardens, much to Shadow's relief. He was always uncomfortable when the caretaker was around.
Shadow shivered, still freezing in his wet clothes despite the warmth of the blazing fire. The princess placed her hand on his forehead, feeling a slight fever coming on.
"Shadow-kun, you're burning up," she said. "I'm going to get you some dry clothes, okay?"
He nodded as Dreama Aurora left the room and went upstairs to her father's closet. She returned a few minutes with an old pair of Helios' jeans, a black cashmere sweater, socks, new underwear, and a couple of towels to dry him off with.
"Tomoe Shizu-sensei, our resident doctor, isn't here right now, but her daughter should be home around lunch time, and she can heal you," Dreama Aurora informed him. "I brought you some of my father's clothes. I'm sure he won't mind you borrowing them."
"Great."
Shadow began unzipping his coveralls and pulled them halfway off, but realized that he wasn't going to able to finish the job with his bum leg. He looked up at the princess, who seemed to notice the problem, too. "I think I'm going to need some help," he said sheepishly.
Yumeko started to blush profusely, her face glowing a hot red. She was the only one home. Her parents, along with the rest of the court and their servants, had gone to Mars to discuss the war, and wouldn't be home until later that night. She could ask one of the gardeners to come in and help Shadow undress, but she didn't really feel comfortable doing that. Besides, Poppy would be mad if she stole another one of his workers. He didn't look too happy about Shadow's accident as it was.
"I'll help you," she replied, handing him a towel. "Use this to dry your hair."
Gently, she finished pulling of the rest of his coveralls as he took off his T-shirt, exposing his rock hard abs and muscular arms. Yumeko's blush grew even deeper as she unzipped his pants. Shadow took in a sharp breath, feeling himself getting aroused despite himself. Yumeko then quickly took off his pants and boxers, using the towel to cover up his manhood. Though she tried to do it with as little embarrassment as possible, she couldn't help but take a couple of peeks. Yumeko had never seen a real naked man before, and she liked what she saw.
Using another towel, Yumeko quickly dried off the rest of Shadow's body and helped him put on the clothes she had brought down from her father's closet. She set his old clothes by the fire to dry.
"Would you like something to eat, Shadow-kun?" Yumeko asked, taking a seat on the armchair next to him. "I'm not really much of a cook, but I think I could manage to heat up a can of tomato soup if you're hungry."
"No, that's okay, Princess. You've already done so much for me. Thank you."
"It was nothing," she replied, feeling the blush creeping up her face at Shadow's gratitude, although she couldn't help thinking she should be the one thanking him. Helping him had made her forget about Phoenix, at least for a little while, but now the feelings of remorse came flooding back, stronger than before.
Yumeko sighed, her eyes coming across a picture of her and Phoenix at last year's Crystal Ball. She wiped away a tear that managed to escape from her watery eyes. They looked so happy back then.
Somehow Shadow's hand found her own, soft and comforting, sensing her need for a friend. At first, he didn't say anything. He just held her hand, looking at her with those dark brown eyes.
"I saw you crying in the garden," he admitted, finally breaking the silence between them. "Is something wrong, Princess?"
"You wouldn't be interested in my problems," Yumeko replied.
"Of course I am."
Yumeko walked over to the mantle and took the heavy silver frame in her hands, tears falling over the happy picture. She remembered that night so well, because that was the night Phoenix asked her to become his wife. He had proposed to her in the gardens, right beside the fountain Shadow fell from. The irony was not lost on her.
"Phoenix…"
"Is that your fiancé?" he asked, referring to the picture.
Yumeko sighed and placed the picture back on the mantle. "My former fiancé," she corrected him. "We broke up this morning."
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
"No, I'm okay with that part. I'm just worried about him. Oh, you wouldn't understand how I feel…"
"Let me try."
Shadow carefully sat up and motioned for Yumeko to take a seat next to him on the couch. He held her close to him, her tears soaking the borrowed sweater.
"From the uniform he was wearing, I'm guessing that this Phoenix guy is in the military and about to go off to fight in the war, right?" Shadow said as Yumeko nodded. "And he broke off the engagement because he was afraid that he might die?"
"That wasn't the only reason. He saw the kiss we shared the night of the Crystal Ball. If you could have only seen the look in his eyes…"
Shadow breathed in deeply, realizing what was going on. "So, now you feel guilty because you never wanted to hurt him," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Princess. This is all my fault. I didn't think the kiss would do so much harm."
"It takes two to tango, Shadow-kun," she said, looking up at him with those large round eyes, which he saw were filled with desire. "I wanted that kiss just as much as you did, maybe even more."
"I don't think that was possible…"
Unable to stop himself, he bent down to kiss her again as he began to unbutton her sweater. Their lips were just about to meet when the sound of the front door slamming brought them both back to reality.
"That's probably the girls, home for lunch," she said, disappointingly. "I'll go get Kaya-chan, and she can fix your leg."
"So, Taro-kun wants us to go on a double date with you and Toki-san on Friday," Suki said, setting her book bag on the kitchen table. "What do you say, Kagami-chan? Please? Taro-kun knows this fabulous sushi bar we can all go too."
"I don't know, Suki-chan. I'd like too, but next Friday is our two year anniversary and we were planning to do something special, just the two of us. Maybe next week."
"Okay," she replied, disappointedly. "Maybe next week."
The girls took their seats around the kitchen table as Hana passed around a tray of sandwiches she had made. "I wonder how Yumeko-chan's feeling," Tokemi said, taking a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches. "Maybe I should go up and check on her."
Right on cue, the dreamy princess herself walked into the kitchen, fully dressed and looking much stronger. Her cheeks were rosier than usual.
"Speak of the devil…" Ryoko said teasingly.
"Yumeko, what are you doing out of bed?" her cousin asked.
"It's okay, Tokemi. I'm feeling fine. My parents gave me permission to walk around the grounds," she explained, turning to Kaya. "Kaya-chan, I need your help. Will you come to the living room with me? I'm afraid one of the gardeners was hurt cleaning one of the fountains."
"Of course, Yumeko-chan."
The two girls went to the living room where Shadow laid, writhing in pain. While the princess stayed with him, he had hid the agony he was in from her, but after she left to get Kaya, he allowed himself to show his weakness.
"Shadow, this is Tomoe Kaya-chan, the doctor's daughter," Yumeko said, introducing the pretty girl to him.
Shadow immediately recognized her as one of the Dream Soldiers, Sailor Saturn, and dug into the pocket of his nearby discarded coveralls for the potion his father had given him. Kaya's eyes darkened as she sensed an evil aura surrounding the handsome patient.
"Have we met before, Shadow-kun?" Kaya asked suspiciously.
"No, I don't think so," he lied, spritzing some of the clear liquid over his body. The two girls glanced at each other in confusion, but the potion seemed to have the desired effect. "It's cologne," he explained as Kaya rolled up the leg of his jeans. "I'm afraid I don't exactly smell as fresh as a daisy after working in the garden."
"I see."
Kaya saw that Shadow's leg was in pretty bad shape. He had broken it in several places, but it wouldn't be too difficult to heal.
She gently placed her soft hands on the injured leg and whispered something in a low tone. A few seconds later, she began to glow a bright purple color. Shadow could feel her soothing healing power chase away the pain, giving him much needed relief.
"Thank you, Tomoe-san," he said, standing up and grabbing his still damp clothes. "I better be going. Thank you for all your help, Princess. I appreciate it."
"It was no problem, Shadow-kun."
They exchanged an intimate look which Kaya didn't seem to notice, then the princess walked Shadow to the front door. "I'll bring the clothes back tomorrow," Shadow promised.
"You don't have to do that. I'm sure my father won't miss them. He hasn't worn that sweater in years, and he has plenty of jeans."
An awkward silence fell between them. What would have happened if her friends' arrival hadn't interrupted that moment? Finally, when Shadow was sure no one was looking, he gave her a hug.
"Goodbye, Princess," he whispered in her ear. "Try to cheer up, okay?"
She gave him a small smile. "Goodbye, Shadow-kun."
Midnight smiled to herself as she stared at the image that appeared on her large, full-length magical mirror, but for once it wasn't because of how good she looked (although, she did look hot in a short black mini-dress that was low-cut in the front, showing off her generous bosom, and the hauntingly beautiful onyx amulet that hung from her neck).
Her brother was such an idiot. Shadow just could not keep away from Dreama Aurora, could he? She knew that something was going on between the golden-eyed princess of Silver Millennium and the commander-in-chief of the Delian Nightmare Alliance. This recent development could be very useful in her ultimate goal.
"I'm watching you, big brother…"
