This chapter is Rated G.
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The Legend of Serenity
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by: Spatula Gurl
-- Chapter Six; PART 2
"Gomenne, Artemis!"
Artemis tried to glare at Minako. But the effect was ruined
with all the choking and coughing sounds he was making. So Minako
bended down and started pounding on his back to help, but what she
got in return for her effort was a snarl from the ungrateful
recepient--"You may want to stop now before I completely throw-up my
breakfast with your inhuman pounding."
Minako did stop the action that was bothering him so much,
and frowned as she gave him a long-suffering look. "You should be
flattered that I was excited to have found you."
Artemis snorted at that. "You were probably just impatient
to have your hands on the money--ow!!" He rubbed the back of his
head where she just whacked him. "That hurts!" he complained.
"Serves you right."
"What did you do with the money you had earlier, anyway?"
She flushed crimson as she snapped at him, "Not important!
It wasn't much to begin with, anyway." And before the damned man
could come up with a reply, she turned her back on him, her eyes
searching the crowd. They finally lit up on the tall, silver-haired
general who have just found her as well. And not quite looking
very happy as he walked in long, purposeful strides to reach her.
Wincing, she turned her back again to face Artemis, and told him,
"General Kunzite's coming. Save the scoldings for later, okay?"
The silver-haired general finally came, undoubtedly frowning
darkly. Artemis' mouth snapped shut, and found himself reddening
before the general's commanding presence. He could not help but
wonder if he had seen the spectacle of his choking due to Minako's
exuberant greeting. But the thought was completely forgotten as
he saw the expression on the general's face--he followed the dark
look which lead to Minako and realized it looked like the general
had other things in mind...
She did it again, running off like that. Kunzite was
beginning to think she was doing it apurpose just to spite him. But
now was not the time nor place to make a 'discussion' of it. He
gave her a look nonetheless, unmistakable in its meaning, and it made
her widen her eyes at him innocently as if to say "What did I do?".
He turned his attention to the man beside her.
Artemis straightened up and gathered his wits as he made a
slight, formal bow. "I am quite sorry that we haven't the chance to
meet under better circumstances, General Kunzite. Nevertheless, it
is very much an honor to have made your acquaintance." He gestured
to himself with his hand, as he then continued, "Imperial Court
A--"
"Ah yes, he is quite eager to be presented at Silverwood's
royal court," Minako interrupted loudly, forcing a smile on her lips.
She then tilted her head to the side, looking at Artemis, raising
her eyebrows and widening her eyes ever so slightly, conveying a
hidden message.
Both men returned her look with a puzzled one, not quite
understanding. When Artemis started to speak again, "But--"
To hell with subtlety. The smile was gone, her irritation
quite evident as she interrupted him through gritted teeth, "I
thought perhaps that you would rather have this matter settled in a
less public place. Surely, the CROWDS in this streets are making
you uncomfortable. Too many people, everybody knowing everybody
else's business...doesn't sound good, does it?"
Artemis still looked confused, but fortunately, Kunzite was
much quicker in catching on. A few people were already staring at
them curiously, seeing two lords and a lady talking on the town
sidewalk. He cleared his throat, and spoke for the first time since
he caught up with Minako. "Pleased to meet you as well," he said,
nodding once in acknowledgment. "It is best we hurry then. We have
much to discuss about this important visit of yours."
Artemis, who was the recipient of Minako's glares as she
dragged him along, decided it was best to keep his mouth shut.
For now.
"What were you thinking, dimwit?!" Kunzite heard Minako snarl
to her companion, Artemis.
"I've already said I'm sorry, I completely forgot!"
"You can't keep a secret to save your soul!"
Kunzite decided he had enough of their squabbling. In a low,
no-nonsense voice, he told them, "If you're not careful, both of you
will be slipping something out sooner or later. You wouldn't like
the castlefolk gossiping about our affairs."
At that, the two effectively silenced. Kunzite continued to
lead the way to the drawing room. When they finally reached it, all
three stepped inside and found that the rest of the generals, as well
as Ami, Rei and Makoto were already there. And the room, Minako
observed, looked quite busy. Everyone was talking at the same time,
and most of them--Mako-chan, Nephrite, Jadeite, Zoicite--were talking
in very loud voices, determined on overpowering each other's volumes.
Moving in with a sheepish smile, and cringing at the
deafening noises, Minako asked, "A-no, are we late?"
Everyone stopped in mid-action as they realized who just
came in. Kunzite stepped in place beside the blonde-girl, took one
look, and said in a deceptively mild voice, "I trust you all had
some work done ahead of us, since we came in later than expected."
The three men could only look at him with blank expressions.
The Lady Ami was blushing profusely, a telltale sign of what they
had accomplished so far. The Lady Makoto was stammering something
incoherrent, an explanation of some sort. And Lady Rei, just stood
there, staring at them, her mouth hanging slightly open when she was
about to say something to her companions inside the room, before the
newcomers stepped inside.
"We, ah..." Zoicite cleared his throat before he continued,
"We were getting to that," he finished, shoving his hands in his
pockets.
One brow shot upward. Kunzite said nothing, as he walked
away from his position on the doorway, with Minako, revealing one
more man behind him. Makoto's eyes widened as she they fell upon the
dearly familiar form of Artemis. She ran forward to meet him, as the
rest of the women behind her cried delightedly in chrous, "Artemis!"
After much explanation and introductions that followed,
the group went back to working, along with Artemis, who was helping
with the research. He was there to deliver money as well as helpful
information (which he and Luna acquired) the women would need, but he
was also to stay awhile to help them sort out arrangements and help
them out with everything else until his return to the Lunarian
Kindgdom. His stay, if short, would have at least been truly useful.
Much of these reasons were related to their companions, the generals,
but not all. They still had to be cautious, after all, and now was
not the right time to discern whether they were involved in the
situation as much as they are, but the women already suspected as
much. Then again, it could just be plain coincidence, something much
more believable under the circumstances.
So, the group which now consisted of nine persons, including
the platinum-haired newcomer, was now working inside the drawing
room. Work, meaning planning on the next destination as well as
sorting out related information about the nijizuishou, branching out
to more than a couple of topics and issues. Put two and two
together, and they just might find a clue to solving the mysterious
disappearance of Endymion; and for the ladies, Serenity. This was no
easy task; the women, who were apparently working alongside the
generals, had much information to keep to themselves. Most of their
knowledge couldn't be shared without having to explain the rest, which
was supposed to be kept secret. Some of these involved the generals
themselves, and of course, this too, had to be kept from them...
"This is boring," Minako whispered to Artemis. "Do I have to
get stuck with the research, too? I'd rather be working on something
else."
"Stop your whining," Artemis admonished in a voice not higher
than a whisper. "Tonight--"
"Yes, yes, I know. Come to our room by ten o'clock this eve."
"Our?"
"Yes, well, Mako-chan's and mine. We figured this sleeping
arrangements would be better under the circumstances. We would've
opted for a single room, if that were possible. But they gave us
two rooms; one for me and Mako-chan, then another for Ami-chan and
Rei-chan. It was the best we could do, otherwise they would've
given us each separate rooms."
Artemis pondered on this thoughtfully for a moment, before
saying, "Well, where is it? You have to show me where it is, so I
can sneak up there by myself. Otherwise, the maids will be having
something new to gossip about." At the latter, he rolled his eyes
heavenward, as if exasperated.
"I'll show you after lunch. Make sure no one sees you,
alright? I get enough suspicion from General Kunzite as it is."
"Really?" Artemis asked, genuinely surprised. No one had
mentioned anything about suspicions from their party, but the women
hadn't had time to explain their current situation with him in
private, either. But now, acutely aware that the person in
discussion was in the same room, he dismissed further thoughts about
it, deciding to reserve it for later. "What about the nijizuishou?"
"It's with Rei-chan. Don't worry, we'll all be there."
An hour past lunch, Makoto decided to take a leisurely stroll
once again in the rose garden where she had been earlier. She wanted
to have a clear mind before going back to work. A few of them
decided to take a short break themselves, promising to return to the
drawing room a half hour later. Minako and Artemis headed to the
library, followed by Zoicite and Ami moments later.
She wandered listlessly in the rose garden, the beautiful
scenery doing little to lighten her somber mood. All that note
taking, map tracing and sketching must've gotten into the wrong side
of her system.
She drew a deep breath. So maybe today was just not her day.
She's certainly had worse. But that didn't explain her mood. For
some reason, she was feeling rather irritable, and for a while now,
she'd given up on having any other thoughts as to what brought it
about. She was feeling fine, until later that morning, when she was
strolling about in this very garden.
Perhaps that was it. Being here had brought memories of her
Lunarian home. And she didn't like feeling even a tinge of
homesickness, because it was all too depressing.
She frowned at that. It made little sense that her irritable
mood was brought forth by depression. Well whatever it was, Makoto
decided for the last time to avoid dwelling on it. It was adding up
to her irritation, almost like her verbal skirmishes with Nephrite.
She frowned again as the particular general entered her
thoughts. He was a confusing man, and now she didn't quite know what
to think of him. Most of the time, he was plain frustrating. But
there were other times that...she shook her head. Once, and only
once, in the garden. He pricked off her anger easily enough, but
then even she was aware that that wasn't much of a task. She had a
quick temper, and perhaps that was why he was purposely singling her
out for his barbs. It was infuriating that he would find anything
amusing at her expense, so who could blame her when she stalked off?
Besides, she wasn't much good at exchanging epithets.
And of course, when she thought she had had enough, she
decided to stomp off instead of letting her temper fully fly off the
handle--she wasn't that annoyed yet. She thought she handled that
quite nicely--until she fell flat on her face. Just the memory of it
was heating her face up again. And the untimely appearance of that
girl, Glynis, only made matters worse.
Who did she think she was, anyway? An obnoxious young girl,
to be sure, and she was...clinging, for crying out loud. She should
have had fun, seeing her with him like that, and for once, she had
seen not a trace of that smug look the general was so fond of
wearing. But the girl had gotten on her nerves. And she was angry
enough to be of the opinion that both deserved each other's company.
When Makoto reached the end of the clearing and found herself
in the area of the beautiful marbled fountain she had been to earlier
in the morning, she was surprised to see that she was not alone.
A little girl, with a lovely head of pale blonde curls, was
sitting by the side of the fountain. On her head was a wreath of
beautiful lilies, and she had one of the same flower in her hand.
She was playing with it, dipping and tracing it along the surface of
the water.
Makoto recognized the little girl as Akira, the younger
sister of Prince Saitou. When she stepped out of the clearing, the
little girl heard her footsteps and turned around to see who it was.
A look of surprise was apparent in her features as she took in the
form of the tall, chestnut-haired woman who was approaching her.
She straightened up quickly, slightly jarring the wreath of lilies on
her hair as she did so.
Makoto smiled at the little girl. Having reached her in a
couple of steps, she kneeled down beside her. "I didn't know you
were in here. Earlier, I was looking all over the place for you."
The little girl, wide-eyed by now, was still silent. Makoto
sighed. Then smiling again, she asked her, "You're Princess
Akira, aren't you?"
The child nodded. "Well, I am Lady Kino, but you can just
call me Makoto. I was hoping we'd get to know each other better."
She turned her face towards the foutain, as she remarked, "Everything
here is so beautiful. It's a place anyone would want to live in
forever."
Akira was now looking at the lady with much interest and less
unease. But still she remained silent. When Makoto turned to her,
she looked at the wreath of lilies in her hair and gave her another
warm smile. Reaching out, she fixed the wreath from its lopsided
state, and remarked, "These are very beautiful, too. Where did you
get them?"
"From the garden below the Silver Tower," Akira blurted out
shyly. She looked up to the woman, and hesitantly returned the
smile.
"Do you think you can show me where it is, and maybe help me
make a wreath of my own?" When the little girl nodded, Makoto's
smile brightened. "I was looking for you because I thought maybe
you could give me a small tour around the castle grounds. Then,
shall we go? I still have time before I return back to the others."
She held out her hand as she stood up. When Akira shyly took hold
of it Makoto knew she just made herself a new friend. She had
already forgotten her earlier state of irritation, and was already
feeling quite wonderful indeed.
"Elements!"
The word came out whispered from the blue-haired genius, as
the idea suddenly struck her. She immediately sat up, her mind
whirling with questions and answers, oblivious that she now had
the attention of her three companions. It took her awhile to notice
that all of them were staring at her with odd expressions on their
faces. She blushed as she explained hastily, "It might have
something to do with elements."
"Interesting concept," Zoicite finally said slowly after a
moment of silence, and turned to look at her thoughtfully. "How did
you come up with that idea?"
"Ancient sorcery involved fusion of pure ether with the most
basic of elements to seal a certain amount of energy, retaining that
energy in its balanced state, and can therefore be solidified in
jeweled form. This is a common enough process, but only few can be
counted on to create an effective sealant, such as high level
magic-users."
Puzzled, Minako cut in. "I don't get it. How does this help
us know where the rest of the nijizuishou are located?"
"Perhaps knowing the nijizuishou's consistency can help us
know where to look for them," Zoicite said. "Did I guess right?"
Ami nodded. "The fusion can usually be accomplished with
basic elements as its primary medium. They exist on a certain
elemental field, and react as naturally as the element they are
infused with. By pinpointing the existing elemental fields, our
search would be narrowed down." Ami paused only for a moment to
draw breath, then continued, "But the best part is, an elemental
medium can even be used to draw out another medium. I'm not sure if
it draws out an opposite or like substance, as I am not familiar with
the particulars, and I've never done it before. But it's not really
a problem, because that can easily be found out." She smiled
brightly as she finished her explanation, but was surprised as she
met Artemis' slightly blank look. "Uh, Artemis? You haven't spoken
at all."
At Ami's questioning look, Artemis laughed sheepishly. "You,
ah, lost me somewhere after the fusion part. But never mind," he
said, with an apologetic smile. "You said something about narrowing
down the search?"
"Yes, well, if the rest of the nijizuishou were undisturbed
from their original locations, we can narrow down on the places to
look for them because they must be in an elemental field."
"So, you're saying this 'mission' is as good as done?"
Artemis asked hopefully.
The blue-haired genius' lips curled into a rueful smile as
she shook her head slowly. "This is only assuming that the
nijizuishous were created through elemental fusion. And remember,
we've never done it ourselves before. This is just one of the many
possible ways to look for the rest of the crystals."
"Yes," Zoicite agreed. "It's a long shot, but it's worth a
try. You did say this elemental fusion process was commonly used
among wielders of high-level magic, didn't you?"
"Pretty much, whenever the needs arise."
"There's only one thing that bothers me. If the nijizuishous
are seven in number, as you all say, then they don't match the number
of basic elements, which is four. That being fire, water, wind and
earth. You don't suppose the elemental fusion could produce double
crystals on the same element, do you?"
A noticeable silence fell upon the three persons before him.
When Ami finally spoke up, it was to reply vaguely with, "It is...uh,
possible, but unlikely." She wasn't even looking at him when she
said that, but was looking at Minako with an odd expression, an
undiscernable mixture of knowing calm and secretive alarm. She then
said, "There may be a couple of books in here that might be of some
help. Minako-chan, can you please help me look?"
The two females stood up and made their way to the shelves
at the back. When they were alone and hidden from view as well as
hearing, Minako murmured, "Seven in all. Maybe you're right."
Ami nodded. "Perhaps."
"Basic Gaian elements only counts four. It annoys me that
they leave off my favorite element."
"They don't consider 'love' an element. Only Lunarian
magic-users consider it one."
"Do you think 'light' and 'dark' were used as well? They're
the only ones left of the seven elements."
"It's highly possible," Ami said with a little nod.
"But isn't that quite difficult to pull off?"
"If there's one person in this universe who can do it, Queen
Serenity can."
Minako smiled. "There was never any doubt," she said. Then,
"How did you know all about those fusion stuff, anyway?"
Ami's expression turned sheepish. "It's not the usual lesson
we take as the senshi, but it was mentioned in the last introductory
Zefirian Arts class. Don't you remember?"
Minako grinned in reply. "No, I don't." Her tone implied a
hanging "of course".
The other laughed, and then sighed. "It wasn't a very
significant bit, so I don't blame you for not recalling. But I had
an interesting discussion with Saioh-sensei about it, and had done
some reading that--"
Minako groaned as she brought up a hand to stop Ami. "Don't
tell me, I already know."
Ami gave a little laugh before shaking her head and then
saying, "These are ancient Science scrolls. What about over there?"
"These are fiction stuff," Minako answered. "Mostly books."
"I'll go ahead and look at the shelves on the west wing,
and if I don't see anything, I just might look through these stuff,"
Ami said, pointing to the shelf before her.
"Go ahead. I'll just browse through this side."
"Just call me if you find something, alright?"
"Alright," Minako replied, as she watched Ami head towards
the west wing.
Now turning to the shelves of books that towered over her,
she gave a little sigh. How was she going to find anything in here?
Thick and uniformed volumes of books filled each shelf, neatly
arranged and looked as if they haven't been touched for a long time.
'As if anyone would really bother,' Minako thought to herself,
'Unless of course, they had someone like Ami-chan in the castle.'
She slid her index finger across the rows of books, and grimaced at
the amount of dust that was collected underneath the tip. 'Yuck,'
she thought, rubbing the dirt away with her thumb.
Her eyes quickly scanned through the book titles as she went
past the base shelves. How many books could there be in one
category? Eyes of sky blue followed the full length of the shelves.
Obviously about a thousand. With a dejected sigh, she slowed down
her pace so she could scan through the titles more clearly. She
should be looking through a more specific title. What should it be?
Under Supernatural perhaps? Sorcery Arts? There shouldn't be too
many books of those kinds. People of Earth really didn't venture
much into the arts of magic until a couple of decades ago. At least
not blatantly so; back then the concept was too unfathomable for the
most of them to accept. Perhaps circumstances had forced them into
believing. But still they knew so little. Anything beyond the
knowledge of supernatural existence was undoubtedly unbreached by
most of their simple minds. Which is the way it should be. Of
course, it would have been better if they knew nothing at all; the
Lunarians and Gaians going on their own merry ways. The Lunarians
keeping faithful watch of the beautiful blue planet, and the Gaians
blissfully unaware of the effects of evil sorcery and other life
forms on the universe. Of course, the latter part only applied to
Endymion's court, since they should be the only ones who knew of
their existence, the only ones who ever made contact with any of
them...
Minako stifled a yawn. She didn't like the idea of sucking
up all the dust in the shelves. She tried rubbing the exhaustion in
her eyes and willed herself to finish her task. As her eyes went
past through another shelf, something caught her eye. She did a
double take. Something shiny was stacked behind the the loose line
of books. She took a closer look and saw that it was something
golden. She reached for it behind the books and dusted it as she
held it between both of her hands.
It was a book, thinner than most, but seemed to be just
average among the fiction ones. It was hardbound, the edges wrapped
in golden paper. A small, yellow ribbon hung from its spine, and was
tied to a beautiful gold pendant which, despite its thinness, had
such intricate designs. It looked liked it was to be used as a page
marker. The title, embossed from its original brown covering, was
written in silver ink.
"The Falling of a Goddess," Minako read, the alluring title
piquing her curiousity.
Unlike the thick and seemingly virginal books that occupied
the other shelves, it was less dusty. The only clue that gave away
the book's standing of time was its faint musty scent, which she got
a whiff of as she opened it slowly to the very first leaf. Something
was scribbled in black ink, but Minako could not make anything out
except for a few characters here and there and the date which was
inscribed on the upper right corner of the page: December 23, XA0000.
"Almost 30 years ago...?" Minako murmured. The book was
older than herself. She couldn't help but wonder who its original
owner was.
She read the third leaf (which was preceeded by a blank one),
containing descriptions of each main character. The book was
apparently a historical romance story about a geiko who fell in love
with the son of a rich family, and got herself caught in a feud
between clans.
"Minako?"
At the sound of Ami's voice, Minako's thoughts were pulled
back to reality. She quickly closed the book that she was holding,
and stacked it between the other ones in the shelf. Meanwhile, a
sneeze echoed throughout the hall.
"Have you found anything?" Ami asked as she appeared into
view, rubbing her nose. Apparently, she had sniffed up some dust.
Minako laughed, before giving a negative shake of the head.
"I haven't had any luck. How about you?"
"Maybe," Ami answered. She sneezed again before saying,
"I'm going to go back and scan through them more thoroughly. Unless
you want me to help you find something or wait for you?"
"It's okay, you go on ahead."
"Alright." Ami turned to leave, but not before asking, "What
about that other book you were reading a while ago?"
"Book? Oh, that one. It was just a fiction book that caught
my eye."
"Oh, okay." The blue-haired genius gave a little smile and
waved as she went on her way.
Minako was about to do the same, but then, she caught herself
looking at the book one more time...
She never was the romance-novel type. She wasn't the book
reader, period. With a sigh, she shrugged and reached for it anyway,
then tucked it under her arm as she headed towards the shelves she
hadn't looked through yet.
She was still a romantic, after all.
* * *
"Is there something wrong, Nephrite-sama?"
The person, whom the question was asked of, turned his gaze
fully at the beautiful young girl sitting across him. He sighed
inaudibly, before answering her question with just the slightest
tinge of exasperation. "No, nothing is wrong. I'm just a bit...
drained out."
Glynis lowered her cup, and frowned worriedly. "You do look
a bit tired. Perhaps it's too stuffy in here for you. Would you
like to come with me for a walk in the gardens?"
"Thank you, but I'd rather not," he replied with a stiff
smile. "I've had enough garden-strolling to last me a lifetime."
She stopped abruptly and turned to look at him. Conciously
brushing away her bangs, she told him casually, "As I recall, you
were in one of the gardens yourself this morning. Weren't you?"
"Yes."
She cleared her throat, then lowered her gaze before
continuing carefully. "You were with...what was her name again?"
"You mean Lady Kino?"
"Yes, that's right." She brought up her eyes again to meet
directly with his. "I have never met her before." A short pause.
"Who is she, by the way?"
Just then, one of the servants came in and made her presence
known. After bowing respectfully before the two of them, she turned
again to Lady Glynis, saying, "M'lady, His Majesty, Prince Saitou
wishes to speak with you in his study."
Glynis frowned at the interloper, not appreciating the
interruption. "Right now?"
"Yes, m'lady."
Still frowning, and wondering what it was the Prince wanted
to speak to her with, she gathered her skirts and stood up. "Will
you excuse me for a moment, Nephrite-sama? I--"
"Don't worry about it," Nephrite cut in. "I was about to
return to the others, anyway. There is still much work to do."
Silence. Then, she nodded numbly in reply. Just before
exiting through the door, she paused briefly, and turned imploring
eyes hesitantly towards him. She looked as if she wanted to ask
him something, but she turned away again, sighing softly.
Nephrite's gaze followed Glynis until the door closed behind
her. He stared at the closed door for awhile, not saying anything,
not leaving the room to join the others as he said he would.
Then, he finally stood up, and walked towards the window.
His face did not show any outward reaction, but he was thinking
deeply to himself...
Zoicite was whistling to himself, the merry sound filling the
narrow expanse of the hallway. Work in the library was starting to
give him neck and back strains, and he was only too glad to have
switched with Jadeite as he and Ami took their break. To his dismay,
though, the lady excused herself to her chamber, deciding to sleep
the afternoon away.
As he strolled further along, he saw Glynis on her way out.
He paused momentarily, smiling good-naturedly at the girl as he asked
her, "Have you seen Nephrite?"
The girl looked up, appearing a bit startled by his presence.
Then, returning with a smile half-faltering, she answered, "He's
inside." With a nod, she excused herself and exited swiftly just as
Zoicite opened the door from which she came out of.
He entered the room and found the said general, with his back
to him, staring quietly outside the elegantly framed glass.
It didn't matter much to him back then. He had always
dismissed Glynis' undivided attentions as childish infatuation, a
major case of hero worship. But hell, the girl was already turning
sixteen...hasn't she outgrown her old feelings?
Obviously not.
The door creaked open. Nephrite quickly turned around to see
who it was, only to find Zoicite stolling across the room towards
him.
"So this is where you've been all afternoon?" Zoicite asked,
frowning.
When Nephrite did not reply, Zoicite remarked dryly, "If
there's anything worse than a whining woman, it's a sulking male."
Barely had he finished when Nephrite glowered at him and
snapped, "I am not sulking."
"Then what are you, giving me the silent treatment?"
"Spare me the humor, Zoicite. I'm not really in the mood
right now."
Zoicite merely shrugged, used to his friend's blunt way with
words and mercuric moods. And if there was anyone who was the
least affected with his friend's sharp tongue, it was he (which
was quite an accomplishment, to say in the least). Seating himself
as Nephrite turned his back on him, he replied "Well, aren't we the
jovial fellow! What's wrong this time?"
Nephrite did not answer, but the blonde already had a good
guess. Smirking, he said, "Well, you've got to admit she has
gotten older this time. Prettier, too. So why don't you
reconsider?"
"You like that idea so much, then why don't you go on and
have her?" Nephrite exploded.
The blonde cocked a single brow at that outburst, realizing
for once, that his friend was really not up for some ribbing ("--of
course, we'll conveniently forget his own sardonic self"). If
he wasn't in such a good mood himself...
Trying hard not to smile, he remarked lightly, "Well, why
don't you tell her about what you...err, feel?" Then frowning
slightly, he added, "But at least TRY do it gently, for Kami-sama's
sake. Glynis is such a gentle girl, you'll probably break--no,
POUND her little heart into pieces and then some."
Nephrite growled angrily. "What the hell do you think?!"
"Well, since you asked for it, I think you'll have her in
tears in no time at all, if you do insist on doing it your way."
Another glower. "Do you mean to say--"
"Let me put it this way, my friend," Zoicite interrupted
with a wide grin, his light green eyes sparkling with humour.
"'Beat it' is probably the most compassionate phrase you can
think of." Shaking his head as he chuckled, he added, "Face it,
Nephrite. You've got the amazing sensitivity of a rock."
Nephrite scowled darkly.
* * *
Dinner that night was as eventful as a turtle race. With an
exeption to the wild, disarrayed entrance of Prince Yokio, the
younger brother of Saitou who came barging in the dining hall,
looking like the messy seven-year old boy that he was, the evening
was quite dull. Prince Saitou was unable to join them during that
time, and the rest of the party was exhausted from whatever activity
they have done that day. Artemis found himself sitting between
the stoical creatures Nephrite and Kunzite, much to his unease.
And, Lady Glynis Rydelle was of course, present at the table beside
Nephrite--all in all topping the dull, silent evening with an air
of awkwardness. She seemed particularly interested in knowing about
the four women--Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako--but could not get any
better answers than their politely evasive ones. When at last,
Minako decided to excuse herself, with the promise to call it a
night, everyone else seemed to follow suit and left the dining
hall.
The clock continued to tick by.
Nine thirty.
Kunzite sipped absently from his wine glass, allowing the
sweet, liquid taste to warm his mouth for a few moments before
gulping it down. He was tired, yes, but for some reason, he wasn't
feeling drowsy at all. So he decided to go out in the balcony and
have a few drinks to soothe his worn-out nerves. The night breeze
was calming, and so was gazing up at the velvety sky.
"Brooding, Kunzite?"
Jadeite was walking towards the silver-haired general,
another bottle of champagne in one hand and a wine glass in the
other. He stopped beside him, his eyes looking heavenward as if to
share the view.
They shared a few more moments of companionable silence,
drinking. Jadeite was lost in his own thoughts. He had been
so all throughout dinner that eve, especially when Glynis started
asking questions about the women. He couldn't help but ponder on
the many other questions that Glynis' wonderings brought...
Kunzite was thinking of no particular thing, until his gaze
incidentally drifted upward to one of the many windows in the
chambers of the palace. He could see that there was a faint yellow
light aglow from inside the room, illuminating in stark contrast a
lone sillhouette. He stared, having recognized almost instantly
who it was. Even from the outside, there was no mistaking whom
that slender and petite form belonged to, especially that long mane
being freed from what was apprently a ribbon. He knew
instinctively that it could be no one else but her, having known
exactly where her room was.
Jadeite followed his gaze. Vaguely noticing that his
companion's eyes stopped intently on something, he trailed his look
to that of the northeast window. He took another sip of champagne.
"You're wondering about her," Jadeite said quietly, breaking
the silence.
Kunzite turned his head slightly to glance at him. "What?"
"I know," he replied. "I've been thinking, too. Don't you
feel strange that we're working with women we barely even know?"
Kunzite, not dropping his gaze from upward, said, "Yes, I know
what you mean. And sometimes, I ask myself if I had acted
impulsively in agreeing with this arrangement."
Jadeite nodded. "They do seem harmless enough. But I feel
that they're hiding something. What do you think about dinner?"
"Souffle was good."
Jadeite blinked, sidetracked by the sudden uncharacteristic
shot of his friend at humour. He smiled, before continuing, "No,
I meant when Glynis started asking questions. It's understandable
that we keep it to ourselves, where they are from, but don't you
ever wonder who they really are?"
"Of course I do," came the reply. "There are a lot of things
we don't know or understand about them."
"Like how they appear to be mysteriously knowledgeable of
what's going on. Or the way they act. You know they're not like
the regular court ladies we're used to."
"Or why they agreed to work with us in the first place. We
find Mamoru in return, but what does this mission gain them?"
Jadeite's expression turned thoughtful. "And who was that
Artemis guy? He looks like he came out of nowhere. Why didn't
they tell us about him before?"
"I believe Lady Aino mentioned him before in passing. But
it was tossed so casually, I barely remembered it..."
Right at that moment, a white-clad figure from inside the
hall caught Kunzite's attention, and his words trailed off in
wonder. "Who was that?"
Jadeite turned around to see what his friend was looking at.
The person swept past the hall and climbed up the eastern stairway,
but not before he got a look at who it was.
"Well, speak of the devil. That was Artemis."
Kunzite frowned. "What is he doing at this hour? I thought
he had already retired to his quarters."
Jadeite sighed. "See what I mean? These people are
creeping us out night and day. But don't worry about him, Kunzite,"
he said. "He's probably just returning to his right room now.
Which reminds me. What time is it, anyway?"
Both men turned to look at the grandfather clock standing
inside the hall. "Ten o'clock," Kunzite answered, as he finished
off his fifth glass. "I guess we should be calling it a night, too.
Much more work to do tomorrow..."
At that exact moment, a silver-haired Mau, dressed in white,
came creeping quietly inside one of the guest chambers in the east
wing.
Both generals left before they could see the northeastern
window they had just been looking at earlier alight fully.
=====================================================================
This story was written by Spatula Gurl. All comments and suggestions
should be sent to author@chocobuckle.com. Naoko Takeuchi owns
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its characters. I am not making any
profit from this fanfic.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
---------------
WARNING: THIS IS STILL A VERY ROUGH DRAFT.
Finally! You're probably wondering what took so long? Well, I had
no internet connection for the whole month of June. Seriously. ^^;
I know, I'm always so late with the chapters; I'm not always in a
writing mood. Gomme! Also, Gurlmail had updated its service--and as
it is with updating email services, old mails get lost, practically
never to return. ;_; So, anyone who e-mailed me between the dates
May 30 to June 30, I'm really very sorry, but I never read your
letters! I'm still hoping that Gurlmail didn't lose it after all,
but I sincerely doubt it. A big "HI" to Mn, Meg, Polgara and Lacey!
Sorry for the long wait...Chapter 6A & 6B are for all of you!
My favorite is actually Chapter 6a, but I don't like this second part
much at all. ;_; I'm trying to revv up with the character development
(while slowing down at the plot development), but it didn't turn out
well on this part (actually, I'm focusing more on Mako-Neph and
Minako-Kunz for now. I have a separate schedule for Rei-Jed. ^_-
I'm still not definite about Ami-Zoi, though). I had to insert a lot
of background information and plot details on this chapter to give out
a clue on what the senshi and generals are doing, and why. But we're
still a long way from the middle of the story. @_@
As for the people who've given me their comments, thank you so much!
I'm sorry, I just can't help my tardiness! ;_; But while you're
waiting for the next parts to come out, I'm recommending three of my
most favorite fanfictions for you to read:
1.) The Beast [by Ninx] -- SM fic
You can find this at A Sailormoon Romance and at Generals' Love.
http://www.moonromance.com
http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/GeneralsLove
2.) Of Love and Honor [by Tin Mandigma ]-- Rurouni Kenshin fic
DEFINITELY MY FAVE OF ALL TIME. A Misao-Aoshi fic you can find
at: http://members.dencity.com/Tin/fanfics/rk/olh.html
3.) Masquerade [by Shawny Wong] -- Yuu Yuu Hakusho fic
One of my new favorites. A cute Kurama and Botan story you can
find at: http://geocities.com/yyh_k_b/
Btw, for those who were asking, I've now opened up my newest site.
It's located at http://www.chocobuckle.com. But I haven't been
updating it yet, and it may take a while. I'm waiting for a good
break to finish it up.
======================
The Legend of Serenity
======================
by: Spatula Gurl
-- Chapter Six; PART 2
"Gomenne, Artemis!"
Artemis tried to glare at Minako. But the effect was ruined
with all the choking and coughing sounds he was making. So Minako
bended down and started pounding on his back to help, but what she
got in return for her effort was a snarl from the ungrateful
recepient--"You may want to stop now before I completely throw-up my
breakfast with your inhuman pounding."
Minako did stop the action that was bothering him so much,
and frowned as she gave him a long-suffering look. "You should be
flattered that I was excited to have found you."
Artemis snorted at that. "You were probably just impatient
to have your hands on the money--ow!!" He rubbed the back of his
head where she just whacked him. "That hurts!" he complained.
"Serves you right."
"What did you do with the money you had earlier, anyway?"
She flushed crimson as she snapped at him, "Not important!
It wasn't much to begin with, anyway." And before the damned man
could come up with a reply, she turned her back on him, her eyes
searching the crowd. They finally lit up on the tall, silver-haired
general who have just found her as well. And not quite looking
very happy as he walked in long, purposeful strides to reach her.
Wincing, she turned her back again to face Artemis, and told him,
"General Kunzite's coming. Save the scoldings for later, okay?"
The silver-haired general finally came, undoubtedly frowning
darkly. Artemis' mouth snapped shut, and found himself reddening
before the general's commanding presence. He could not help but
wonder if he had seen the spectacle of his choking due to Minako's
exuberant greeting. But the thought was completely forgotten as
he saw the expression on the general's face--he followed the dark
look which lead to Minako and realized it looked like the general
had other things in mind...
She did it again, running off like that. Kunzite was
beginning to think she was doing it apurpose just to spite him. But
now was not the time nor place to make a 'discussion' of it. He
gave her a look nonetheless, unmistakable in its meaning, and it made
her widen her eyes at him innocently as if to say "What did I do?".
He turned his attention to the man beside her.
Artemis straightened up and gathered his wits as he made a
slight, formal bow. "I am quite sorry that we haven't the chance to
meet under better circumstances, General Kunzite. Nevertheless, it
is very much an honor to have made your acquaintance." He gestured
to himself with his hand, as he then continued, "Imperial Court
A--"
"Ah yes, he is quite eager to be presented at Silverwood's
royal court," Minako interrupted loudly, forcing a smile on her lips.
She then tilted her head to the side, looking at Artemis, raising
her eyebrows and widening her eyes ever so slightly, conveying a
hidden message.
Both men returned her look with a puzzled one, not quite
understanding. When Artemis started to speak again, "But--"
To hell with subtlety. The smile was gone, her irritation
quite evident as she interrupted him through gritted teeth, "I
thought perhaps that you would rather have this matter settled in a
less public place. Surely, the CROWDS in this streets are making
you uncomfortable. Too many people, everybody knowing everybody
else's business...doesn't sound good, does it?"
Artemis still looked confused, but fortunately, Kunzite was
much quicker in catching on. A few people were already staring at
them curiously, seeing two lords and a lady talking on the town
sidewalk. He cleared his throat, and spoke for the first time since
he caught up with Minako. "Pleased to meet you as well," he said,
nodding once in acknowledgment. "It is best we hurry then. We have
much to discuss about this important visit of yours."
Artemis, who was the recipient of Minako's glares as she
dragged him along, decided it was best to keep his mouth shut.
For now.
"What were you thinking, dimwit?!" Kunzite heard Minako snarl
to her companion, Artemis.
"I've already said I'm sorry, I completely forgot!"
"You can't keep a secret to save your soul!"
Kunzite decided he had enough of their squabbling. In a low,
no-nonsense voice, he told them, "If you're not careful, both of you
will be slipping something out sooner or later. You wouldn't like
the castlefolk gossiping about our affairs."
At that, the two effectively silenced. Kunzite continued to
lead the way to the drawing room. When they finally reached it, all
three stepped inside and found that the rest of the generals, as well
as Ami, Rei and Makoto were already there. And the room, Minako
observed, looked quite busy. Everyone was talking at the same time,
and most of them--Mako-chan, Nephrite, Jadeite, Zoicite--were talking
in very loud voices, determined on overpowering each other's volumes.
Moving in with a sheepish smile, and cringing at the
deafening noises, Minako asked, "A-no, are we late?"
Everyone stopped in mid-action as they realized who just
came in. Kunzite stepped in place beside the blonde-girl, took one
look, and said in a deceptively mild voice, "I trust you all had
some work done ahead of us, since we came in later than expected."
The three men could only look at him with blank expressions.
The Lady Ami was blushing profusely, a telltale sign of what they
had accomplished so far. The Lady Makoto was stammering something
incoherrent, an explanation of some sort. And Lady Rei, just stood
there, staring at them, her mouth hanging slightly open when she was
about to say something to her companions inside the room, before the
newcomers stepped inside.
"We, ah..." Zoicite cleared his throat before he continued,
"We were getting to that," he finished, shoving his hands in his
pockets.
One brow shot upward. Kunzite said nothing, as he walked
away from his position on the doorway, with Minako, revealing one
more man behind him. Makoto's eyes widened as she they fell upon the
dearly familiar form of Artemis. She ran forward to meet him, as the
rest of the women behind her cried delightedly in chrous, "Artemis!"
After much explanation and introductions that followed,
the group went back to working, along with Artemis, who was helping
with the research. He was there to deliver money as well as helpful
information (which he and Luna acquired) the women would need, but he
was also to stay awhile to help them sort out arrangements and help
them out with everything else until his return to the Lunarian
Kindgdom. His stay, if short, would have at least been truly useful.
Much of these reasons were related to their companions, the generals,
but not all. They still had to be cautious, after all, and now was
not the right time to discern whether they were involved in the
situation as much as they are, but the women already suspected as
much. Then again, it could just be plain coincidence, something much
more believable under the circumstances.
So, the group which now consisted of nine persons, including
the platinum-haired newcomer, was now working inside the drawing
room. Work, meaning planning on the next destination as well as
sorting out related information about the nijizuishou, branching out
to more than a couple of topics and issues. Put two and two
together, and they just might find a clue to solving the mysterious
disappearance of Endymion; and for the ladies, Serenity. This was no
easy task; the women, who were apparently working alongside the
generals, had much information to keep to themselves. Most of their
knowledge couldn't be shared without having to explain the rest, which
was supposed to be kept secret. Some of these involved the generals
themselves, and of course, this too, had to be kept from them...
"This is boring," Minako whispered to Artemis. "Do I have to
get stuck with the research, too? I'd rather be working on something
else."
"Stop your whining," Artemis admonished in a voice not higher
than a whisper. "Tonight--"
"Yes, yes, I know. Come to our room by ten o'clock this eve."
"Our?"
"Yes, well, Mako-chan's and mine. We figured this sleeping
arrangements would be better under the circumstances. We would've
opted for a single room, if that were possible. But they gave us
two rooms; one for me and Mako-chan, then another for Ami-chan and
Rei-chan. It was the best we could do, otherwise they would've
given us each separate rooms."
Artemis pondered on this thoughtfully for a moment, before
saying, "Well, where is it? You have to show me where it is, so I
can sneak up there by myself. Otherwise, the maids will be having
something new to gossip about." At the latter, he rolled his eyes
heavenward, as if exasperated.
"I'll show you after lunch. Make sure no one sees you,
alright? I get enough suspicion from General Kunzite as it is."
"Really?" Artemis asked, genuinely surprised. No one had
mentioned anything about suspicions from their party, but the women
hadn't had time to explain their current situation with him in
private, either. But now, acutely aware that the person in
discussion was in the same room, he dismissed further thoughts about
it, deciding to reserve it for later. "What about the nijizuishou?"
"It's with Rei-chan. Don't worry, we'll all be there."
An hour past lunch, Makoto decided to take a leisurely stroll
once again in the rose garden where she had been earlier. She wanted
to have a clear mind before going back to work. A few of them
decided to take a short break themselves, promising to return to the
drawing room a half hour later. Minako and Artemis headed to the
library, followed by Zoicite and Ami moments later.
She wandered listlessly in the rose garden, the beautiful
scenery doing little to lighten her somber mood. All that note
taking, map tracing and sketching must've gotten into the wrong side
of her system.
She drew a deep breath. So maybe today was just not her day.
She's certainly had worse. But that didn't explain her mood. For
some reason, she was feeling rather irritable, and for a while now,
she'd given up on having any other thoughts as to what brought it
about. She was feeling fine, until later that morning, when she was
strolling about in this very garden.
Perhaps that was it. Being here had brought memories of her
Lunarian home. And she didn't like feeling even a tinge of
homesickness, because it was all too depressing.
She frowned at that. It made little sense that her irritable
mood was brought forth by depression. Well whatever it was, Makoto
decided for the last time to avoid dwelling on it. It was adding up
to her irritation, almost like her verbal skirmishes with Nephrite.
She frowned again as the particular general entered her
thoughts. He was a confusing man, and now she didn't quite know what
to think of him. Most of the time, he was plain frustrating. But
there were other times that...she shook her head. Once, and only
once, in the garden. He pricked off her anger easily enough, but
then even she was aware that that wasn't much of a task. She had a
quick temper, and perhaps that was why he was purposely singling her
out for his barbs. It was infuriating that he would find anything
amusing at her expense, so who could blame her when she stalked off?
Besides, she wasn't much good at exchanging epithets.
And of course, when she thought she had had enough, she
decided to stomp off instead of letting her temper fully fly off the
handle--she wasn't that annoyed yet. She thought she handled that
quite nicely--until she fell flat on her face. Just the memory of it
was heating her face up again. And the untimely appearance of that
girl, Glynis, only made matters worse.
Who did she think she was, anyway? An obnoxious young girl,
to be sure, and she was...clinging, for crying out loud. She should
have had fun, seeing her with him like that, and for once, she had
seen not a trace of that smug look the general was so fond of
wearing. But the girl had gotten on her nerves. And she was angry
enough to be of the opinion that both deserved each other's company.
When Makoto reached the end of the clearing and found herself
in the area of the beautiful marbled fountain she had been to earlier
in the morning, she was surprised to see that she was not alone.
A little girl, with a lovely head of pale blonde curls, was
sitting by the side of the fountain. On her head was a wreath of
beautiful lilies, and she had one of the same flower in her hand.
She was playing with it, dipping and tracing it along the surface of
the water.
Makoto recognized the little girl as Akira, the younger
sister of Prince Saitou. When she stepped out of the clearing, the
little girl heard her footsteps and turned around to see who it was.
A look of surprise was apparent in her features as she took in the
form of the tall, chestnut-haired woman who was approaching her.
She straightened up quickly, slightly jarring the wreath of lilies on
her hair as she did so.
Makoto smiled at the little girl. Having reached her in a
couple of steps, she kneeled down beside her. "I didn't know you
were in here. Earlier, I was looking all over the place for you."
The little girl, wide-eyed by now, was still silent. Makoto
sighed. Then smiling again, she asked her, "You're Princess
Akira, aren't you?"
The child nodded. "Well, I am Lady Kino, but you can just
call me Makoto. I was hoping we'd get to know each other better."
She turned her face towards the foutain, as she remarked, "Everything
here is so beautiful. It's a place anyone would want to live in
forever."
Akira was now looking at the lady with much interest and less
unease. But still she remained silent. When Makoto turned to her,
she looked at the wreath of lilies in her hair and gave her another
warm smile. Reaching out, she fixed the wreath from its lopsided
state, and remarked, "These are very beautiful, too. Where did you
get them?"
"From the garden below the Silver Tower," Akira blurted out
shyly. She looked up to the woman, and hesitantly returned the
smile.
"Do you think you can show me where it is, and maybe help me
make a wreath of my own?" When the little girl nodded, Makoto's
smile brightened. "I was looking for you because I thought maybe
you could give me a small tour around the castle grounds. Then,
shall we go? I still have time before I return back to the others."
She held out her hand as she stood up. When Akira shyly took hold
of it Makoto knew she just made herself a new friend. She had
already forgotten her earlier state of irritation, and was already
feeling quite wonderful indeed.
"Elements!"
The word came out whispered from the blue-haired genius, as
the idea suddenly struck her. She immediately sat up, her mind
whirling with questions and answers, oblivious that she now had
the attention of her three companions. It took her awhile to notice
that all of them were staring at her with odd expressions on their
faces. She blushed as she explained hastily, "It might have
something to do with elements."
"Interesting concept," Zoicite finally said slowly after a
moment of silence, and turned to look at her thoughtfully. "How did
you come up with that idea?"
"Ancient sorcery involved fusion of pure ether with the most
basic of elements to seal a certain amount of energy, retaining that
energy in its balanced state, and can therefore be solidified in
jeweled form. This is a common enough process, but only few can be
counted on to create an effective sealant, such as high level
magic-users."
Puzzled, Minako cut in. "I don't get it. How does this help
us know where the rest of the nijizuishou are located?"
"Perhaps knowing the nijizuishou's consistency can help us
know where to look for them," Zoicite said. "Did I guess right?"
Ami nodded. "The fusion can usually be accomplished with
basic elements as its primary medium. They exist on a certain
elemental field, and react as naturally as the element they are
infused with. By pinpointing the existing elemental fields, our
search would be narrowed down." Ami paused only for a moment to
draw breath, then continued, "But the best part is, an elemental
medium can even be used to draw out another medium. I'm not sure if
it draws out an opposite or like substance, as I am not familiar with
the particulars, and I've never done it before. But it's not really
a problem, because that can easily be found out." She smiled
brightly as she finished her explanation, but was surprised as she
met Artemis' slightly blank look. "Uh, Artemis? You haven't spoken
at all."
At Ami's questioning look, Artemis laughed sheepishly. "You,
ah, lost me somewhere after the fusion part. But never mind," he
said, with an apologetic smile. "You said something about narrowing
down the search?"
"Yes, well, if the rest of the nijizuishou were undisturbed
from their original locations, we can narrow down on the places to
look for them because they must be in an elemental field."
"So, you're saying this 'mission' is as good as done?"
Artemis asked hopefully.
The blue-haired genius' lips curled into a rueful smile as
she shook her head slowly. "This is only assuming that the
nijizuishous were created through elemental fusion. And remember,
we've never done it ourselves before. This is just one of the many
possible ways to look for the rest of the crystals."
"Yes," Zoicite agreed. "It's a long shot, but it's worth a
try. You did say this elemental fusion process was commonly used
among wielders of high-level magic, didn't you?"
"Pretty much, whenever the needs arise."
"There's only one thing that bothers me. If the nijizuishous
are seven in number, as you all say, then they don't match the number
of basic elements, which is four. That being fire, water, wind and
earth. You don't suppose the elemental fusion could produce double
crystals on the same element, do you?"
A noticeable silence fell upon the three persons before him.
When Ami finally spoke up, it was to reply vaguely with, "It is...uh,
possible, but unlikely." She wasn't even looking at him when she
said that, but was looking at Minako with an odd expression, an
undiscernable mixture of knowing calm and secretive alarm. She then
said, "There may be a couple of books in here that might be of some
help. Minako-chan, can you please help me look?"
The two females stood up and made their way to the shelves
at the back. When they were alone and hidden from view as well as
hearing, Minako murmured, "Seven in all. Maybe you're right."
Ami nodded. "Perhaps."
"Basic Gaian elements only counts four. It annoys me that
they leave off my favorite element."
"They don't consider 'love' an element. Only Lunarian
magic-users consider it one."
"Do you think 'light' and 'dark' were used as well? They're
the only ones left of the seven elements."
"It's highly possible," Ami said with a little nod.
"But isn't that quite difficult to pull off?"
"If there's one person in this universe who can do it, Queen
Serenity can."
Minako smiled. "There was never any doubt," she said. Then,
"How did you know all about those fusion stuff, anyway?"
Ami's expression turned sheepish. "It's not the usual lesson
we take as the senshi, but it was mentioned in the last introductory
Zefirian Arts class. Don't you remember?"
Minako grinned in reply. "No, I don't." Her tone implied a
hanging "of course".
The other laughed, and then sighed. "It wasn't a very
significant bit, so I don't blame you for not recalling. But I had
an interesting discussion with Saioh-sensei about it, and had done
some reading that--"
Minako groaned as she brought up a hand to stop Ami. "Don't
tell me, I already know."
Ami gave a little laugh before shaking her head and then
saying, "These are ancient Science scrolls. What about over there?"
"These are fiction stuff," Minako answered. "Mostly books."
"I'll go ahead and look at the shelves on the west wing,
and if I don't see anything, I just might look through these stuff,"
Ami said, pointing to the shelf before her.
"Go ahead. I'll just browse through this side."
"Just call me if you find something, alright?"
"Alright," Minako replied, as she watched Ami head towards
the west wing.
Now turning to the shelves of books that towered over her,
she gave a little sigh. How was she going to find anything in here?
Thick and uniformed volumes of books filled each shelf, neatly
arranged and looked as if they haven't been touched for a long time.
'As if anyone would really bother,' Minako thought to herself,
'Unless of course, they had someone like Ami-chan in the castle.'
She slid her index finger across the rows of books, and grimaced at
the amount of dust that was collected underneath the tip. 'Yuck,'
she thought, rubbing the dirt away with her thumb.
Her eyes quickly scanned through the book titles as she went
past the base shelves. How many books could there be in one
category? Eyes of sky blue followed the full length of the shelves.
Obviously about a thousand. With a dejected sigh, she slowed down
her pace so she could scan through the titles more clearly. She
should be looking through a more specific title. What should it be?
Under Supernatural perhaps? Sorcery Arts? There shouldn't be too
many books of those kinds. People of Earth really didn't venture
much into the arts of magic until a couple of decades ago. At least
not blatantly so; back then the concept was too unfathomable for the
most of them to accept. Perhaps circumstances had forced them into
believing. But still they knew so little. Anything beyond the
knowledge of supernatural existence was undoubtedly unbreached by
most of their simple minds. Which is the way it should be. Of
course, it would have been better if they knew nothing at all; the
Lunarians and Gaians going on their own merry ways. The Lunarians
keeping faithful watch of the beautiful blue planet, and the Gaians
blissfully unaware of the effects of evil sorcery and other life
forms on the universe. Of course, the latter part only applied to
Endymion's court, since they should be the only ones who knew of
their existence, the only ones who ever made contact with any of
them...
Minako stifled a yawn. She didn't like the idea of sucking
up all the dust in the shelves. She tried rubbing the exhaustion in
her eyes and willed herself to finish her task. As her eyes went
past through another shelf, something caught her eye. She did a
double take. Something shiny was stacked behind the the loose line
of books. She took a closer look and saw that it was something
golden. She reached for it behind the books and dusted it as she
held it between both of her hands.
It was a book, thinner than most, but seemed to be just
average among the fiction ones. It was hardbound, the edges wrapped
in golden paper. A small, yellow ribbon hung from its spine, and was
tied to a beautiful gold pendant which, despite its thinness, had
such intricate designs. It looked liked it was to be used as a page
marker. The title, embossed from its original brown covering, was
written in silver ink.
"The Falling of a Goddess," Minako read, the alluring title
piquing her curiousity.
Unlike the thick and seemingly virginal books that occupied
the other shelves, it was less dusty. The only clue that gave away
the book's standing of time was its faint musty scent, which she got
a whiff of as she opened it slowly to the very first leaf. Something
was scribbled in black ink, but Minako could not make anything out
except for a few characters here and there and the date which was
inscribed on the upper right corner of the page: December 23, XA0000.
"Almost 30 years ago...?" Minako murmured. The book was
older than herself. She couldn't help but wonder who its original
owner was.
She read the third leaf (which was preceeded by a blank one),
containing descriptions of each main character. The book was
apparently a historical romance story about a geiko who fell in love
with the son of a rich family, and got herself caught in a feud
between clans.
"Minako?"
At the sound of Ami's voice, Minako's thoughts were pulled
back to reality. She quickly closed the book that she was holding,
and stacked it between the other ones in the shelf. Meanwhile, a
sneeze echoed throughout the hall.
"Have you found anything?" Ami asked as she appeared into
view, rubbing her nose. Apparently, she had sniffed up some dust.
Minako laughed, before giving a negative shake of the head.
"I haven't had any luck. How about you?"
"Maybe," Ami answered. She sneezed again before saying,
"I'm going to go back and scan through them more thoroughly. Unless
you want me to help you find something or wait for you?"
"It's okay, you go on ahead."
"Alright." Ami turned to leave, but not before asking, "What
about that other book you were reading a while ago?"
"Book? Oh, that one. It was just a fiction book that caught
my eye."
"Oh, okay." The blue-haired genius gave a little smile and
waved as she went on her way.
Minako was about to do the same, but then, she caught herself
looking at the book one more time...
She never was the romance-novel type. She wasn't the book
reader, period. With a sigh, she shrugged and reached for it anyway,
then tucked it under her arm as she headed towards the shelves she
hadn't looked through yet.
She was still a romantic, after all.
* * *
"Is there something wrong, Nephrite-sama?"
The person, whom the question was asked of, turned his gaze
fully at the beautiful young girl sitting across him. He sighed
inaudibly, before answering her question with just the slightest
tinge of exasperation. "No, nothing is wrong. I'm just a bit...
drained out."
Glynis lowered her cup, and frowned worriedly. "You do look
a bit tired. Perhaps it's too stuffy in here for you. Would you
like to come with me for a walk in the gardens?"
"Thank you, but I'd rather not," he replied with a stiff
smile. "I've had enough garden-strolling to last me a lifetime."
She stopped abruptly and turned to look at him. Conciously
brushing away her bangs, she told him casually, "As I recall, you
were in one of the gardens yourself this morning. Weren't you?"
"Yes."
She cleared her throat, then lowered her gaze before
continuing carefully. "You were with...what was her name again?"
"You mean Lady Kino?"
"Yes, that's right." She brought up her eyes again to meet
directly with his. "I have never met her before." A short pause.
"Who is she, by the way?"
Just then, one of the servants came in and made her presence
known. After bowing respectfully before the two of them, she turned
again to Lady Glynis, saying, "M'lady, His Majesty, Prince Saitou
wishes to speak with you in his study."
Glynis frowned at the interloper, not appreciating the
interruption. "Right now?"
"Yes, m'lady."
Still frowning, and wondering what it was the Prince wanted
to speak to her with, she gathered her skirts and stood up. "Will
you excuse me for a moment, Nephrite-sama? I--"
"Don't worry about it," Nephrite cut in. "I was about to
return to the others, anyway. There is still much work to do."
Silence. Then, she nodded numbly in reply. Just before
exiting through the door, she paused briefly, and turned imploring
eyes hesitantly towards him. She looked as if she wanted to ask
him something, but she turned away again, sighing softly.
Nephrite's gaze followed Glynis until the door closed behind
her. He stared at the closed door for awhile, not saying anything,
not leaving the room to join the others as he said he would.
Then, he finally stood up, and walked towards the window.
His face did not show any outward reaction, but he was thinking
deeply to himself...
Zoicite was whistling to himself, the merry sound filling the
narrow expanse of the hallway. Work in the library was starting to
give him neck and back strains, and he was only too glad to have
switched with Jadeite as he and Ami took their break. To his dismay,
though, the lady excused herself to her chamber, deciding to sleep
the afternoon away.
As he strolled further along, he saw Glynis on her way out.
He paused momentarily, smiling good-naturedly at the girl as he asked
her, "Have you seen Nephrite?"
The girl looked up, appearing a bit startled by his presence.
Then, returning with a smile half-faltering, she answered, "He's
inside." With a nod, she excused herself and exited swiftly just as
Zoicite opened the door from which she came out of.
He entered the room and found the said general, with his back
to him, staring quietly outside the elegantly framed glass.
It didn't matter much to him back then. He had always
dismissed Glynis' undivided attentions as childish infatuation, a
major case of hero worship. But hell, the girl was already turning
sixteen...hasn't she outgrown her old feelings?
Obviously not.
The door creaked open. Nephrite quickly turned around to see
who it was, only to find Zoicite stolling across the room towards
him.
"So this is where you've been all afternoon?" Zoicite asked,
frowning.
When Nephrite did not reply, Zoicite remarked dryly, "If
there's anything worse than a whining woman, it's a sulking male."
Barely had he finished when Nephrite glowered at him and
snapped, "I am not sulking."
"Then what are you, giving me the silent treatment?"
"Spare me the humor, Zoicite. I'm not really in the mood
right now."
Zoicite merely shrugged, used to his friend's blunt way with
words and mercuric moods. And if there was anyone who was the
least affected with his friend's sharp tongue, it was he (which
was quite an accomplishment, to say in the least). Seating himself
as Nephrite turned his back on him, he replied "Well, aren't we the
jovial fellow! What's wrong this time?"
Nephrite did not answer, but the blonde already had a good
guess. Smirking, he said, "Well, you've got to admit she has
gotten older this time. Prettier, too. So why don't you
reconsider?"
"You like that idea so much, then why don't you go on and
have her?" Nephrite exploded.
The blonde cocked a single brow at that outburst, realizing
for once, that his friend was really not up for some ribbing ("--of
course, we'll conveniently forget his own sardonic self"). If
he wasn't in such a good mood himself...
Trying hard not to smile, he remarked lightly, "Well, why
don't you tell her about what you...err, feel?" Then frowning
slightly, he added, "But at least TRY do it gently, for Kami-sama's
sake. Glynis is such a gentle girl, you'll probably break--no,
POUND her little heart into pieces and then some."
Nephrite growled angrily. "What the hell do you think?!"
"Well, since you asked for it, I think you'll have her in
tears in no time at all, if you do insist on doing it your way."
Another glower. "Do you mean to say--"
"Let me put it this way, my friend," Zoicite interrupted
with a wide grin, his light green eyes sparkling with humour.
"'Beat it' is probably the most compassionate phrase you can
think of." Shaking his head as he chuckled, he added, "Face it,
Nephrite. You've got the amazing sensitivity of a rock."
Nephrite scowled darkly.
* * *
Dinner that night was as eventful as a turtle race. With an
exeption to the wild, disarrayed entrance of Prince Yokio, the
younger brother of Saitou who came barging in the dining hall,
looking like the messy seven-year old boy that he was, the evening
was quite dull. Prince Saitou was unable to join them during that
time, and the rest of the party was exhausted from whatever activity
they have done that day. Artemis found himself sitting between
the stoical creatures Nephrite and Kunzite, much to his unease.
And, Lady Glynis Rydelle was of course, present at the table beside
Nephrite--all in all topping the dull, silent evening with an air
of awkwardness. She seemed particularly interested in knowing about
the four women--Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako--but could not get any
better answers than their politely evasive ones. When at last,
Minako decided to excuse herself, with the promise to call it a
night, everyone else seemed to follow suit and left the dining
hall.
The clock continued to tick by.
Nine thirty.
Kunzite sipped absently from his wine glass, allowing the
sweet, liquid taste to warm his mouth for a few moments before
gulping it down. He was tired, yes, but for some reason, he wasn't
feeling drowsy at all. So he decided to go out in the balcony and
have a few drinks to soothe his worn-out nerves. The night breeze
was calming, and so was gazing up at the velvety sky.
"Brooding, Kunzite?"
Jadeite was walking towards the silver-haired general,
another bottle of champagne in one hand and a wine glass in the
other. He stopped beside him, his eyes looking heavenward as if to
share the view.
They shared a few more moments of companionable silence,
drinking. Jadeite was lost in his own thoughts. He had been
so all throughout dinner that eve, especially when Glynis started
asking questions about the women. He couldn't help but ponder on
the many other questions that Glynis' wonderings brought...
Kunzite was thinking of no particular thing, until his gaze
incidentally drifted upward to one of the many windows in the
chambers of the palace. He could see that there was a faint yellow
light aglow from inside the room, illuminating in stark contrast a
lone sillhouette. He stared, having recognized almost instantly
who it was. Even from the outside, there was no mistaking whom
that slender and petite form belonged to, especially that long mane
being freed from what was apprently a ribbon. He knew
instinctively that it could be no one else but her, having known
exactly where her room was.
Jadeite followed his gaze. Vaguely noticing that his
companion's eyes stopped intently on something, he trailed his look
to that of the northeast window. He took another sip of champagne.
"You're wondering about her," Jadeite said quietly, breaking
the silence.
Kunzite turned his head slightly to glance at him. "What?"
"I know," he replied. "I've been thinking, too. Don't you
feel strange that we're working with women we barely even know?"
Kunzite, not dropping his gaze from upward, said, "Yes, I know
what you mean. And sometimes, I ask myself if I had acted
impulsively in agreeing with this arrangement."
Jadeite nodded. "They do seem harmless enough. But I feel
that they're hiding something. What do you think about dinner?"
"Souffle was good."
Jadeite blinked, sidetracked by the sudden uncharacteristic
shot of his friend at humour. He smiled, before continuing, "No,
I meant when Glynis started asking questions. It's understandable
that we keep it to ourselves, where they are from, but don't you
ever wonder who they really are?"
"Of course I do," came the reply. "There are a lot of things
we don't know or understand about them."
"Like how they appear to be mysteriously knowledgeable of
what's going on. Or the way they act. You know they're not like
the regular court ladies we're used to."
"Or why they agreed to work with us in the first place. We
find Mamoru in return, but what does this mission gain them?"
Jadeite's expression turned thoughtful. "And who was that
Artemis guy? He looks like he came out of nowhere. Why didn't
they tell us about him before?"
"I believe Lady Aino mentioned him before in passing. But
it was tossed so casually, I barely remembered it..."
Right at that moment, a white-clad figure from inside the
hall caught Kunzite's attention, and his words trailed off in
wonder. "Who was that?"
Jadeite turned around to see what his friend was looking at.
The person swept past the hall and climbed up the eastern stairway,
but not before he got a look at who it was.
"Well, speak of the devil. That was Artemis."
Kunzite frowned. "What is he doing at this hour? I thought
he had already retired to his quarters."
Jadeite sighed. "See what I mean? These people are
creeping us out night and day. But don't worry about him, Kunzite,"
he said. "He's probably just returning to his right room now.
Which reminds me. What time is it, anyway?"
Both men turned to look at the grandfather clock standing
inside the hall. "Ten o'clock," Kunzite answered, as he finished
off his fifth glass. "I guess we should be calling it a night, too.
Much more work to do tomorrow..."
At that exact moment, a silver-haired Mau, dressed in white,
came creeping quietly inside one of the guest chambers in the east
wing.
Both generals left before they could see the northeastern
window they had just been looking at earlier alight fully.
=====================================================================
This story was written by Spatula Gurl. All comments and suggestions
should be sent to author@chocobuckle.com. Naoko Takeuchi owns
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its characters. I am not making any
profit from this fanfic.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
---------------
WARNING: THIS IS STILL A VERY ROUGH DRAFT.
Finally! You're probably wondering what took so long? Well, I had
no internet connection for the whole month of June. Seriously. ^^;
I know, I'm always so late with the chapters; I'm not always in a
writing mood. Gomme! Also, Gurlmail had updated its service--and as
it is with updating email services, old mails get lost, practically
never to return. ;_; So, anyone who e-mailed me between the dates
May 30 to June 30, I'm really very sorry, but I never read your
letters! I'm still hoping that Gurlmail didn't lose it after all,
but I sincerely doubt it. A big "HI" to Mn, Meg, Polgara and Lacey!
Sorry for the long wait...Chapter 6A & 6B are for all of you!
My favorite is actually Chapter 6a, but I don't like this second part
much at all. ;_; I'm trying to revv up with the character development
(while slowing down at the plot development), but it didn't turn out
well on this part (actually, I'm focusing more on Mako-Neph and
Minako-Kunz for now. I have a separate schedule for Rei-Jed. ^_-
I'm still not definite about Ami-Zoi, though). I had to insert a lot
of background information and plot details on this chapter to give out
a clue on what the senshi and generals are doing, and why. But we're
still a long way from the middle of the story. @_@
As for the people who've given me their comments, thank you so much!
I'm sorry, I just can't help my tardiness! ;_; But while you're
waiting for the next parts to come out, I'm recommending three of my
most favorite fanfictions for you to read:
1.) The Beast [by Ninx] -- SM fic
You can find this at A Sailormoon Romance and at Generals' Love.
http://www.moonromance.com
http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/GeneralsLove
2.) Of Love and Honor [by Tin Mandigma ]-- Rurouni Kenshin fic
DEFINITELY MY FAVE OF ALL TIME. A Misao-Aoshi fic you can find
at: http://members.dencity.com/Tin/fanfics/rk/olh.html
3.) Masquerade [by Shawny Wong] -- Yuu Yuu Hakusho fic
One of my new favorites. A cute Kurama and Botan story you can
find at: http://geocities.com/yyh_k_b/
Btw, for those who were asking, I've now opened up my newest site.
It's located at http://www.chocobuckle.com. But I haven't been
updating it yet, and it may take a while. I'm waiting for a good
break to finish it up.