Author's Notes: First of all, the legal disclaimers. Sailor Moon and all
the characters contained within that show belong to Naoko Takeuchi and her
gang of animators. The Black Jewel Trilogy belongs to Anne Bishop. The
only thing I own is this story and the idea of crossing the two.
The point of view here switches between my two favorite characters, Sailor Pluto and Daemon. Please note that this is my first crossover, and my first story with Pluto, so it may turn out a little odd. I just had this great idea and I had to try it, so bear with me. I don't think you will be too disappointed. It's set during Crystal Tokyo before Wiseman and all of the Black Moon stuff. I'm using Japanese names on a whim here, so I'll provide a list for those of you who watch the dub.
Sailor Moon Usagi/ Neo Queen Serenity
Sailor Jupiter Makoto
Sailor Mars Rei
Sailor Mercury Ami
Sailor Venus Minako
Sailor Pluto Setsuna
A Tangled Web
Daemon Sadi sat in the coach, watching the light shine off of his long buffed fingernails. His golden eyes smiles cruelly as he glanced over at the two officials in charge of bringing him to his new court. The air stank of their fear and they pushed back in their seats away from his eyes. He recalled her name again, Queen Serenity of the little known realm of Earth. It was a small area that had not yet been polluted by Hayll's touch. Dorothea hoped to keep him there for a while, hoped that the stay there would calm him down and dispose of another troublesome queen.
The coach stopped at the landing web closest to Crystal Tokyo, the capital of Earth. Clear jewels gleamed around as Daemon and the two ambassadors disembarked. The coach disappeared again on the yellow web, and Daemon took his first look at Crystal Tokyo. One thing that had not been taken from him was his appreciation of beautiful things, and Crystal Tokyo was definitely a beautiful city. Tall crystalline spires reached up towards the sky, and delicate buildings graced the skyline. It reminded Daemon of Hayll before the corruption of Dorothea and her quest for power.
The palace in Crystal Tokyo was made of the same crystal as the rest of the city, and showcased all of its beauty. A slender golden-haired queen waited for Daemon in the front gardens, her raven haired consort by her side. Four women stood to one side, their warrior like uniforms identifying them as the queen's guards and nobles. They were dressed oddly for soldiers in short miniskirts with an almost sailor type collar on their fukus. Daemon bowed as was expected of him, setting the chips of red- jewels in his shirt cuffs to auditory retention so he could listen later. The ambassadors babbled on and on Daemon took the time to examine his new master.
The queen herself was still young looking, her jewel resting against her breast in a heart shaped setting. Daemon frowned upon viewing it, a clear diamond like jewel. He had always thought that clear jewels were useless except for light. How could this queen be expected to rebel against Dorethea if she only wore the clear? He turned to observe the other nobles there. They were quite, but watched him very carefully, their muscles tight and ready to spring to action should he attempt any violence. Daemon allowed a slow smile to turn up the corners of his mouth. It seemed that his reputation had preceded him. Which was just as well, since fear was a very motivating factor.
"Hmm?" asked Daemon, realizing that Queen Serenity had just spoken something to him and was waiting for an answer. He turned back towards her, his eyes focusing back in on the present. The queen looked at him very oddly before repeating her statement.
"I said, while you are here you will mainly service my court," she gestured towards the warriors to her right. "Therefore, one of them will show you to your room. Rei."
The dark, almost purple, haired warrior stepped up, her red jewel flaming on her bow. She examined Daemon with fiery lavender eyes, pausing and then continuing her examination. Rei didn't speak to him, her haughty demeanor signaling that she thought she was above pleasure slaves. Fine, thought Daemon, they all change in the end. He allowed himself a brief glimmer of satisfaction, before recomposing his face into the perfect beautiful mask.
His room was nicer than the previous places he had stayed in, true testimony to the beauty of Crystal Tokyo. It overlooked the large rose gardens that spread out like a maze across the grounds. It was rumored the queen liked roses. Well, she would soon find that this rose had thorns. A bell rang deep within the hollows of the castle signaling it was almost time for the evening meal. Daemon called in his trunks and began sorting through the outfits.
Setsuna awoke a long while later, no longer transformed as Sailor Pluto. She stretched, relaxing cramped muscles. She remembered vaguely the events of the past hour, being sucked through the opening time gate. Looking around, she tried to pinpoint exactly where she was. It looked like the Crystal Tokyo of the future. She was lying on a bench somewhere near the palace. Rubbing her aching head, Setsuna looked everywhere for her transformation pen. She had to get back to the time gate and make sure everything was okay.
"Pluto Crystal Planet Makeup!" shouted Setsuna, finding the pen safely in one pocket. She felt the familiar rush as her transformation sequence embraced her. Back into the familiar fuku, Sailor Pluto called up her time staff and garnet orb. The garnet orb appeared in her hand, then fused into a necklace sort of thing around her neck. Confused, Pluto wondered if she had discovered a new transformation. Trying again to call up the time staff, she decided that she would have to make due with just the Garnet Orb. Closing her eyes, she tried to teleport back to the time gate.
Sailor Pluto opened her eyes, disappointed to find herself still in Crystal Tokyo. She untransformed from Sailor Pluto back to regular Setsuna. Without her time travel abilities, there was no point in being Sailor Pluto. But something was amiss and it was her job to find out what. The most helpful thing would be to contact her queen at the palace and find out exactly what time it was. Setsuna tried to remember if there was ever a time in the time stream where she knew she would lose her powers, but she couldn't recall one.
Daemon glided into the large ballroom, recognizing his seat near the end of the table, next to the lesser guards. He stood behind his chair, watching through lowered eyelids as the queen swept down the grand staircases and took her seat. There was the customary applause which Daemon took no part in. As he seated himself, he took note of who he was next too. To his left sat a tall green haired woman. She was turned away from him so he couldn't see her face. To his right were a rather large merchant and his overly suggestive wife. Daemon looked away disgustedly, his attention momentarily captured by studying his other dinner companion.
She turned to look at him, garnet eyes meeting golden ones. There was a flash of confusion in the garnet eyes, but Daemon didn't notice it. He was too busy trying to think of which race might have garnet eyes. He couldn't think of any. She had the dark skin of any of Terreille's three long-lived races, but her eyes didn't match anything Daemon had ever seen. He dismissed it as crossbreeding in this far out part of the Realm.
The confusion flickered again, and this time Daemon caught it and was confused by it himself. He kept his cold mask on, pretending to be mildly amused with the woman and nothing else. He was feeling like a troublemaker tonight, bored from the hours spent traveling in a coach with two old men. Spinning his seduction tendrils like a spider cornering its fly, he began to reel her in.
Setsuna looked at the man across from her strangely. There were many variations of colors among the Sailor Team, but she had never seen a person with golden eyes before. She was overcome with a need to get back to the Time Corridor and set everything to rights. Looking around the room, everything seemed normal enough. But this man sitting next to her was plain proof that something was amiss. She rubbed her temples. Lately she had been getting the worst headaches. Maybe it was a sign she had spent way too much time watching the time gate. So now that she was away from it, why did she feel so strongly that she had to get back? Duty was a strange thing. Setsuna moved her mind from those matters and thought back to the events of that afternoon.
Neo Queen Serenity had obviously recognized her, but some vital part of her memory was gone. When Setsuna had told her about the time gate, Serenity had looked at her blankly without comprehension. Something was definitely fishy. None of the Sailor Soldiers that she had talked to so far remembered about their lives in the Silver Millennium, or even on Earth before they went into the cataclysmic sleep. It was as if the entire past had disappeared to be replaced by something else. There was also something subtly different about Crystal Tokyo, though she could not put her finger on it. The sky was some how different, stranger and less comforting. Shaking her head to clear it, Setsuna turned back to her dinner partner.
She needed to stimulate some kind of conversation, or she would go crazy with the disconcerting way he watched her. It was almost like a hungry predator surrounding his prey and toying with it. Setsuna stiffened herself into the stone mask she had worn most of her life. Three thousand years was a long time to practice and perfect. Trying to think of something neutral, she was instead bothered by the question that had been plaguing her all meal. "Why are you here in Crystal Tokyo?"
It slipped out without her noticing and Setsuna could not take it back. She bit her lip, hoping that the powerful looking stranger would not be offended. She felt vulnerable without the powers of the garnet orb backing her up. Besides, she could not risk losing what was obviously an important link in the puzzle. She held herself very still and waited for the response.
Daemon stopped weaving his seduction tendrils, puzzled as to why the woman is showing no response. She must be made of stone, he thought to himself. It didn't matter though. In time she would break with the rest of them. In a way, Daemon relished a little bit of a challenge. Lately his job had been all wait and no effort. Daemon reflected on the question. It seemed genuinely asked, not one of those who wished to emphasize his purpose in being at the court. Still, it was better safe than sorry.
"As if you didn't know," he replied bitterly. She looked genuinely surprised at this answer, and didn't press it. Daemon allowed himself some time to pause and eat the dish in front of him before turning back to their conversation. She was still looking at him in that strange kind of way, like someone trying to remember something just out of reach. Her food was still untouched, but she had the air of someone who had gone long without and no longer needed earthly sustenance.
"I'm sorry, that got started on a bad note," said the woman, pushing a strand of her dark green hair behind her ear. She tilted her head sideways to study him for a second before saying, "My name is Meioh Setsuna, or just Setsuna. Who are you?"
Daemon looked at her as if she was crazy. There was something seriously wrong here. Setsuna had the air of one of the palace guards even though she had not been present at the earlier meeting. If they had heard about his reputation, how could she not know? He was so used to everyone already knowing who he was and avoiding him, that this naiveté caught him off guard. Daemon decided that since she was so under informed, saying his name would have no ill effects. It would be fun to educate her, he could already tell. "I'm Daemon Sadi, better known as the Sadist."
Setsuna showed no comprehension of his nickname, and the usual fear did not flicker across her face. Mildly disappointed, Daemon ignored her for a few minutes and finished off the meal on his plate. He was getting a little tired and bored of this game. Looking up, he saw several ladies sending coquettish looks across the table in his direction. Instantly his opinion changed. He would rather be talking for hours with the infinitely boring Meioh Setsuna than entertaining the nobles of the court.
Setsuna looked up and followed his gaze across the room to the noble ladies. Something was happening here, but she couldn't piece it together. She sighed, tired of "the Sadist's" negative attitude. Why had she been assigned as his dinner partner tonight. She thought back to that nickname- the Sadist. It was obviously supposed to mean something by the way she said it, but the English word held no place in Setsuna's vocabulary. She tried to remember if they had ever fought an enemy by the name of the Sadist, but none came to mind. The only way to solve this puzzle would be to get more information.
Setsuna allowed the servers to take her plate, smiling at the man in a crisply ironed uniform even though she had not eaten a bite. One of the side effects of being immortal was no need for food or drink. It was handy, but sometimes she missed the taste of real food. Folding her napkin into a design on the table in front of her, Setsuna allowed her thoughts to wander. Almost unconsciously she borrowed Daemon's napkin as well to complete the design.
Daemon was about to snap at Meioh Setsuna for taking his napkin when he saw what she was twisting from the cloth. The sight almost chilled him to the bone. It was unfinished, but the resemblance was clear. Setsuna was creating a tangled web with the dinner napkins! He looked at her face, but she was in some far off vision. Daemon was reminded of Tersa. He looked closer into the tangled web to read its secrets, but all he couldn't sense anything. Reaching out on hand, he touched the twisted cloth, his skin brushing Setsuna's.
Suddenly, images of fear, pain, and destruction filled his mind with Dorothea sitting at its head, whipping it onwards. Flashes of red, garnet, and black light danced around the outlines, and Daemon could smell the pungent smell of burning blackened flesh. He almost lost himself in this vision of the war to come, the vivid images swirling around his head and battering against his inner barriers.
There was a loud crackling sound and then the tangled web burst into flames. Daemon pulled back, surprised, his eyes meeting Setsuna's for a second. Who is she? he wondered for the first time. Even Tersa's webs have never shown him images like that. And more importantly, what messages has she brought? Suddenly it became important that he tell her why he was in Crystal Tokyo. But there was no time and this was not the place.
Queen Serenity stood up in her chair to announce that the dinner guests would now be moving to the ball room for dancing. Daemon pushed back his chair and followed the flow of bodies, ignoring those who purposely pushed up against him. He kept track of Setsuna, her dark green hair easily recognizable among the blondes and brunettes. She was only a little ways behind him, in conversation with one of the palace warriors, the other woman's hair a short bobbed blue.
Someone bumped into him, pushing him into the other people. Daemon turned, snarling angrily. His face hardened into a stone mask as he saw who it was. One of Dorothea's little followers, they seemed to lurk at every court he ended up at. Pushing her roughly aside, he was tempted to unveil his poison. But he didn't want to call attention to Crystal Tokyo just yet. He still had unfinished business and questions that needed to be answered.
Maybe they sensed the cold fog surrounding him, but nobody else approached Daemon that night. Deep inside he felt an almost sadness, for ballroom dancing was one of the few court things he really enjoyed. Several times, Daemon got up to ask Setsuna to dance, only to be surrounded by giggling females. Of all the people here, she was the only person he could really ask because she knew nothing of who he really was.
The Queen's consort came over to speak to Daemon once during the ball. He was a tall handsome man, but no rival for Daemon, and he knew it. Still, Daemon didn't mind him that much. King Endymion was a good man for his only wearing the rose jewel. He didn't view Daemon with the same barely controlled jealousy that the others had, but rather with polite courtesy. Daemon knew that game and could play it well, plucking all the right strings and coming in on the proper cues.
When Daemon finally retired to his rooms, it was past midnight. Angrily viewing the bell hanging in a small corner of the room, he willed it to be silent. But as expected, the small tinkling sound filled the room after a few seconds. Changing into proper attire, Daemon let the door bang behind him as he walked down the hallways to Lady Makoto's room. She was one of the palace guards, her strange fuku exchanged for a mint green nightgown, and her jewel no where in sight. With a sigh, Daemon closed the door behind himself and entered into his nightly routine.
The point of view here switches between my two favorite characters, Sailor Pluto and Daemon. Please note that this is my first crossover, and my first story with Pluto, so it may turn out a little odd. I just had this great idea and I had to try it, so bear with me. I don't think you will be too disappointed. It's set during Crystal Tokyo before Wiseman and all of the Black Moon stuff. I'm using Japanese names on a whim here, so I'll provide a list for those of you who watch the dub.
Sailor Moon Usagi/ Neo Queen Serenity
Sailor Jupiter Makoto
Sailor Mars Rei
Sailor Mercury Ami
Sailor Venus Minako
Sailor Pluto Setsuna
A Tangled Web
Daemon Sadi sat in the coach, watching the light shine off of his long buffed fingernails. His golden eyes smiles cruelly as he glanced over at the two officials in charge of bringing him to his new court. The air stank of their fear and they pushed back in their seats away from his eyes. He recalled her name again, Queen Serenity of the little known realm of Earth. It was a small area that had not yet been polluted by Hayll's touch. Dorothea hoped to keep him there for a while, hoped that the stay there would calm him down and dispose of another troublesome queen.
The coach stopped at the landing web closest to Crystal Tokyo, the capital of Earth. Clear jewels gleamed around as Daemon and the two ambassadors disembarked. The coach disappeared again on the yellow web, and Daemon took his first look at Crystal Tokyo. One thing that had not been taken from him was his appreciation of beautiful things, and Crystal Tokyo was definitely a beautiful city. Tall crystalline spires reached up towards the sky, and delicate buildings graced the skyline. It reminded Daemon of Hayll before the corruption of Dorothea and her quest for power.
The palace in Crystal Tokyo was made of the same crystal as the rest of the city, and showcased all of its beauty. A slender golden-haired queen waited for Daemon in the front gardens, her raven haired consort by her side. Four women stood to one side, their warrior like uniforms identifying them as the queen's guards and nobles. They were dressed oddly for soldiers in short miniskirts with an almost sailor type collar on their fukus. Daemon bowed as was expected of him, setting the chips of red- jewels in his shirt cuffs to auditory retention so he could listen later. The ambassadors babbled on and on Daemon took the time to examine his new master.
The queen herself was still young looking, her jewel resting against her breast in a heart shaped setting. Daemon frowned upon viewing it, a clear diamond like jewel. He had always thought that clear jewels were useless except for light. How could this queen be expected to rebel against Dorethea if she only wore the clear? He turned to observe the other nobles there. They were quite, but watched him very carefully, their muscles tight and ready to spring to action should he attempt any violence. Daemon allowed a slow smile to turn up the corners of his mouth. It seemed that his reputation had preceded him. Which was just as well, since fear was a very motivating factor.
"Hmm?" asked Daemon, realizing that Queen Serenity had just spoken something to him and was waiting for an answer. He turned back towards her, his eyes focusing back in on the present. The queen looked at him very oddly before repeating her statement.
"I said, while you are here you will mainly service my court," she gestured towards the warriors to her right. "Therefore, one of them will show you to your room. Rei."
The dark, almost purple, haired warrior stepped up, her red jewel flaming on her bow. She examined Daemon with fiery lavender eyes, pausing and then continuing her examination. Rei didn't speak to him, her haughty demeanor signaling that she thought she was above pleasure slaves. Fine, thought Daemon, they all change in the end. He allowed himself a brief glimmer of satisfaction, before recomposing his face into the perfect beautiful mask.
His room was nicer than the previous places he had stayed in, true testimony to the beauty of Crystal Tokyo. It overlooked the large rose gardens that spread out like a maze across the grounds. It was rumored the queen liked roses. Well, she would soon find that this rose had thorns. A bell rang deep within the hollows of the castle signaling it was almost time for the evening meal. Daemon called in his trunks and began sorting through the outfits.
Setsuna awoke a long while later, no longer transformed as Sailor Pluto. She stretched, relaxing cramped muscles. She remembered vaguely the events of the past hour, being sucked through the opening time gate. Looking around, she tried to pinpoint exactly where she was. It looked like the Crystal Tokyo of the future. She was lying on a bench somewhere near the palace. Rubbing her aching head, Setsuna looked everywhere for her transformation pen. She had to get back to the time gate and make sure everything was okay.
"Pluto Crystal Planet Makeup!" shouted Setsuna, finding the pen safely in one pocket. She felt the familiar rush as her transformation sequence embraced her. Back into the familiar fuku, Sailor Pluto called up her time staff and garnet orb. The garnet orb appeared in her hand, then fused into a necklace sort of thing around her neck. Confused, Pluto wondered if she had discovered a new transformation. Trying again to call up the time staff, she decided that she would have to make due with just the Garnet Orb. Closing her eyes, she tried to teleport back to the time gate.
Sailor Pluto opened her eyes, disappointed to find herself still in Crystal Tokyo. She untransformed from Sailor Pluto back to regular Setsuna. Without her time travel abilities, there was no point in being Sailor Pluto. But something was amiss and it was her job to find out what. The most helpful thing would be to contact her queen at the palace and find out exactly what time it was. Setsuna tried to remember if there was ever a time in the time stream where she knew she would lose her powers, but she couldn't recall one.
Daemon glided into the large ballroom, recognizing his seat near the end of the table, next to the lesser guards. He stood behind his chair, watching through lowered eyelids as the queen swept down the grand staircases and took her seat. There was the customary applause which Daemon took no part in. As he seated himself, he took note of who he was next too. To his left sat a tall green haired woman. She was turned away from him so he couldn't see her face. To his right were a rather large merchant and his overly suggestive wife. Daemon looked away disgustedly, his attention momentarily captured by studying his other dinner companion.
She turned to look at him, garnet eyes meeting golden ones. There was a flash of confusion in the garnet eyes, but Daemon didn't notice it. He was too busy trying to think of which race might have garnet eyes. He couldn't think of any. She had the dark skin of any of Terreille's three long-lived races, but her eyes didn't match anything Daemon had ever seen. He dismissed it as crossbreeding in this far out part of the Realm.
The confusion flickered again, and this time Daemon caught it and was confused by it himself. He kept his cold mask on, pretending to be mildly amused with the woman and nothing else. He was feeling like a troublemaker tonight, bored from the hours spent traveling in a coach with two old men. Spinning his seduction tendrils like a spider cornering its fly, he began to reel her in.
Setsuna looked at the man across from her strangely. There were many variations of colors among the Sailor Team, but she had never seen a person with golden eyes before. She was overcome with a need to get back to the Time Corridor and set everything to rights. Looking around the room, everything seemed normal enough. But this man sitting next to her was plain proof that something was amiss. She rubbed her temples. Lately she had been getting the worst headaches. Maybe it was a sign she had spent way too much time watching the time gate. So now that she was away from it, why did she feel so strongly that she had to get back? Duty was a strange thing. Setsuna moved her mind from those matters and thought back to the events of that afternoon.
Neo Queen Serenity had obviously recognized her, but some vital part of her memory was gone. When Setsuna had told her about the time gate, Serenity had looked at her blankly without comprehension. Something was definitely fishy. None of the Sailor Soldiers that she had talked to so far remembered about their lives in the Silver Millennium, or even on Earth before they went into the cataclysmic sleep. It was as if the entire past had disappeared to be replaced by something else. There was also something subtly different about Crystal Tokyo, though she could not put her finger on it. The sky was some how different, stranger and less comforting. Shaking her head to clear it, Setsuna turned back to her dinner partner.
She needed to stimulate some kind of conversation, or she would go crazy with the disconcerting way he watched her. It was almost like a hungry predator surrounding his prey and toying with it. Setsuna stiffened herself into the stone mask she had worn most of her life. Three thousand years was a long time to practice and perfect. Trying to think of something neutral, she was instead bothered by the question that had been plaguing her all meal. "Why are you here in Crystal Tokyo?"
It slipped out without her noticing and Setsuna could not take it back. She bit her lip, hoping that the powerful looking stranger would not be offended. She felt vulnerable without the powers of the garnet orb backing her up. Besides, she could not risk losing what was obviously an important link in the puzzle. She held herself very still and waited for the response.
Daemon stopped weaving his seduction tendrils, puzzled as to why the woman is showing no response. She must be made of stone, he thought to himself. It didn't matter though. In time she would break with the rest of them. In a way, Daemon relished a little bit of a challenge. Lately his job had been all wait and no effort. Daemon reflected on the question. It seemed genuinely asked, not one of those who wished to emphasize his purpose in being at the court. Still, it was better safe than sorry.
"As if you didn't know," he replied bitterly. She looked genuinely surprised at this answer, and didn't press it. Daemon allowed himself some time to pause and eat the dish in front of him before turning back to their conversation. She was still looking at him in that strange kind of way, like someone trying to remember something just out of reach. Her food was still untouched, but she had the air of someone who had gone long without and no longer needed earthly sustenance.
"I'm sorry, that got started on a bad note," said the woman, pushing a strand of her dark green hair behind her ear. She tilted her head sideways to study him for a second before saying, "My name is Meioh Setsuna, or just Setsuna. Who are you?"
Daemon looked at her as if she was crazy. There was something seriously wrong here. Setsuna had the air of one of the palace guards even though she had not been present at the earlier meeting. If they had heard about his reputation, how could she not know? He was so used to everyone already knowing who he was and avoiding him, that this naiveté caught him off guard. Daemon decided that since she was so under informed, saying his name would have no ill effects. It would be fun to educate her, he could already tell. "I'm Daemon Sadi, better known as the Sadist."
Setsuna showed no comprehension of his nickname, and the usual fear did not flicker across her face. Mildly disappointed, Daemon ignored her for a few minutes and finished off the meal on his plate. He was getting a little tired and bored of this game. Looking up, he saw several ladies sending coquettish looks across the table in his direction. Instantly his opinion changed. He would rather be talking for hours with the infinitely boring Meioh Setsuna than entertaining the nobles of the court.
Setsuna looked up and followed his gaze across the room to the noble ladies. Something was happening here, but she couldn't piece it together. She sighed, tired of "the Sadist's" negative attitude. Why had she been assigned as his dinner partner tonight. She thought back to that nickname- the Sadist. It was obviously supposed to mean something by the way she said it, but the English word held no place in Setsuna's vocabulary. She tried to remember if they had ever fought an enemy by the name of the Sadist, but none came to mind. The only way to solve this puzzle would be to get more information.
Setsuna allowed the servers to take her plate, smiling at the man in a crisply ironed uniform even though she had not eaten a bite. One of the side effects of being immortal was no need for food or drink. It was handy, but sometimes she missed the taste of real food. Folding her napkin into a design on the table in front of her, Setsuna allowed her thoughts to wander. Almost unconsciously she borrowed Daemon's napkin as well to complete the design.
Daemon was about to snap at Meioh Setsuna for taking his napkin when he saw what she was twisting from the cloth. The sight almost chilled him to the bone. It was unfinished, but the resemblance was clear. Setsuna was creating a tangled web with the dinner napkins! He looked at her face, but she was in some far off vision. Daemon was reminded of Tersa. He looked closer into the tangled web to read its secrets, but all he couldn't sense anything. Reaching out on hand, he touched the twisted cloth, his skin brushing Setsuna's.
Suddenly, images of fear, pain, and destruction filled his mind with Dorothea sitting at its head, whipping it onwards. Flashes of red, garnet, and black light danced around the outlines, and Daemon could smell the pungent smell of burning blackened flesh. He almost lost himself in this vision of the war to come, the vivid images swirling around his head and battering against his inner barriers.
There was a loud crackling sound and then the tangled web burst into flames. Daemon pulled back, surprised, his eyes meeting Setsuna's for a second. Who is she? he wondered for the first time. Even Tersa's webs have never shown him images like that. And more importantly, what messages has she brought? Suddenly it became important that he tell her why he was in Crystal Tokyo. But there was no time and this was not the place.
Queen Serenity stood up in her chair to announce that the dinner guests would now be moving to the ball room for dancing. Daemon pushed back his chair and followed the flow of bodies, ignoring those who purposely pushed up against him. He kept track of Setsuna, her dark green hair easily recognizable among the blondes and brunettes. She was only a little ways behind him, in conversation with one of the palace warriors, the other woman's hair a short bobbed blue.
Someone bumped into him, pushing him into the other people. Daemon turned, snarling angrily. His face hardened into a stone mask as he saw who it was. One of Dorothea's little followers, they seemed to lurk at every court he ended up at. Pushing her roughly aside, he was tempted to unveil his poison. But he didn't want to call attention to Crystal Tokyo just yet. He still had unfinished business and questions that needed to be answered.
Maybe they sensed the cold fog surrounding him, but nobody else approached Daemon that night. Deep inside he felt an almost sadness, for ballroom dancing was one of the few court things he really enjoyed. Several times, Daemon got up to ask Setsuna to dance, only to be surrounded by giggling females. Of all the people here, she was the only person he could really ask because she knew nothing of who he really was.
The Queen's consort came over to speak to Daemon once during the ball. He was a tall handsome man, but no rival for Daemon, and he knew it. Still, Daemon didn't mind him that much. King Endymion was a good man for his only wearing the rose jewel. He didn't view Daemon with the same barely controlled jealousy that the others had, but rather with polite courtesy. Daemon knew that game and could play it well, plucking all the right strings and coming in on the proper cues.
When Daemon finally retired to his rooms, it was past midnight. Angrily viewing the bell hanging in a small corner of the room, he willed it to be silent. But as expected, the small tinkling sound filled the room after a few seconds. Changing into proper attire, Daemon let the door bang behind him as he walked down the hallways to Lady Makoto's room. She was one of the palace guards, her strange fuku exchanged for a mint green nightgown, and her jewel no where in sight. With a sigh, Daemon closed the door behind himself and entered into his nightly routine.