Treason
8
(Sneakers)
I used to have such freedom in this palace, to be able to come and go as I pleased. Never once had I ever imagined myself being its prisoner. The halls were empty. There usually wasn't much activity in the sleeping quarters of the palace during the day and I silently thanked my stars for that. I could make it down and back before anyone ever knew what had happened. I needed to talk with her.
The adrenaline pumping in my veins created a ringing sound in my ears. This single loss of sense had handicapped me more than I could have guessed. Though it seemed as though everything was working against me at the moment, not a single doubt had entered my mind as to whether or not I was going to make it. It wasn't an option to fail, I would see my Odango.
The guest wing wasn't far from the senshi's quarters and I had made it this far almost effortlessly. Occasionally I would need to conceal myself behind a pillar to avoid a servant or two but for the most part my coast was clear. In rounding the final corner to bring me to the hallway, that I knew Odango's room must be in, I spotted my pitfall. There, outside the door that I could only assume was Odango's, stood Haruka, Michiru and Makoto. My hopes faded, it seemed impossible, as their guard was impervious.
I knew I should head back to my room, there was no sense in pushing my luck any further today, but something inside of me told me to stay, or rather wouldn't let me leave. I stood with my eyes fixed on the tall senshi of Uranus weighing my options.
A- Walk up to the three Sol Senshi and greet them. Then once that was out of the way simply ask for access to Odango's room. (This didn't seem too promising and the only thing I would probably gain from that would be a black eye and a few broken bones ala Haruka!)
B- Charge the door and take all three of them on as opponents. (I can't believe I even thought of that one, if the repercussions of that one aren't obvious I think I'm getting slow.)
Either way I looked at it, I was facing a Haruka beating and that didn't weigh too well on my mind. The door to Odango's room opened and drew my attention towards it. Haruka, Michiru and Makoto all straightened up and faced the open door where Rei emerged with her head down. "We should just leave them alone for a while." She said as she closed the door behind her.
Michiru nodded in agreement to Rei's statement and turned to Haruka. "Is he mad?" The tall blonde woman asked curiously. Her tone had a hidden meaning to it though, and the protective nature of the statement didn't go unnoticed.
"I don't know. His face was like stone and his eyes were just as placid as they've always been. I've never been able to get a good sense of Mamoru's mood before, and this time is no exception." Rei spoke glancing back at the closed door behind her as though she could see through the material blocking her view.
"I'm not leaving here if he is mad at her. I'm not leaving my Koneko alone in there if he decides to act on his anger." Haruka warned clenching her fist in front of her. This statement earned a curious look from Makoto while Michiru shook her head.
"Haruka, Mamoru isn't like that." Makoto offered up trying to get her back in the right mindset. "He would never do anything to hurt Usagi."
Haruka nodded reluctantly and closed her eyes briefly. "I know." She picked her head up and smiled, though it seemed forced, the others responded to it nonetheless. "Well let's leave them to what they need to do." Haruka spoke up again before slinging her arm around Michiru's waist.
"Seiya?!" My heart went into my throat, had I been caught? I quickly turned around full face to see just who had spotted me. The same servant girl that had always brought me my meals, the one that Kintra flirted with, was standing behind me with wide eyes. In a moment's hesitation I grabbed hold of her and pulled her into the sanctity of my hiding spot. My head peeked just slightly around the corner to see if the others had become suspicious from the sound, but they appeared oblivious to it.
"Gomen." I released her when our threat of getting caught had passed. I looked into her eyes trying to figure out what was on her mind. She did have the ability to turn me in right now, to call for anyone to witness me out of my room, but she remained silent.
Her eyes were in turn studying me. "What are you doing here?" She asked in disbelief, her head turned quickly every now and again keeping an eye out for more spectators. "You're not supposed to be here." She informed me as if I hadn't already known that.
"I know. Please don't turn me in yet." I pleaded with her hoping to play on a bit of her sympathy.
"Yet? Seiya, I couldn't turn you in." Her words had stunned me for a minute. Though I was relieved that she wasn't going to turn me in I was still amazed at the fact. "You and Kintra are two of the only people here that treat me as a person and not a 'maid'. I owe you at least this as a thank you."
My eyes blinked in surprise. This deed was WAY more than a mere thank you of sorts but I was thankful for it anyway. "I just wanted to talk to her."
Her eyes stayed on me unwaveringly and she only nodded in response. I was beginning to think she had a plan in mind and my hopes lit more brightly. Waving her hand in an effort to get me to follow her, she brought me towards the servant's station. There were at least ten carts in a row with long white draperies hung over them. I recognized them immediately as our bath carts. There were towels, soap, shampoo and other bath accessories. One cart caught my eye however because it had a red rubber ducky on it. I laughed lightly because I knew this was my princess' cart.
"Get under this one." She ordered and I didn't question her judgment. Taking one last look around and feeling satisfied that I hadn't been spotted, I crawled beneath the covering of the cart. It smelt absolutely delicious and all thoughts of this being an unpleasant experience were gone from my mind.
"Saori!" A stern voice halted all movement of the cart, though we had only begun to move moments before. "Where are you going with that cart?"
There was hesitation in the maid's tone, who I now assumed was Saori. "I was bringing Princess Serenity her bath cart early sir." Clearly this was her superior, I couldn't see the man but his authoritative voice and the way Saori had addressed him couldn't lead to many other possibilities.
"And why exactly are you doing that? Who gave you such an order?" He was not pleased and I could see the hope in our plan deflating quickly. With any luck I'd be stuck hiding under this cart all day long until Saori could finally come back and save me… or worse, until I was discovered by someone else.
"Sir… I was merely thinking of her well-being. Uh… she had… um such a trying day today that I figured she'd want to unwind… and me uh… being a girl and what-not, I like to take baths… and I just thought that uh… maybe she would too?" She was questioning herself with her words though they did sound like a semi-feasible excuse.
I heard the contact of a hand cracking against a person's body and felt the urge to jump from beneath the cart to come to Saori's defense. "Good thinking girl!" His tone had changed and was now lighter. "We don't want to appear rude and unthoughtful, ne?" He was congratulating her on her spur of the moment idea and the sound I heard must have been him patting her on the back.
Saori started giggling lightly. "N-no of course not Sir."
"Well? On with you now!" He cheered and I heard his footsteps in retreat. My heart slowed a bit as the feeling of dread passed me by. We were in the clear again and I could only imagine the insecurity that Saori had felt in that situation. If we did get caught, I would insist that I forced her to do this and that she had no choice but to comply. After all, I'm already going down, why take someone else with me?
We traveled in silence, the rhythmic pattern of the cartwheels tracing over the groves in the tiles was all that could be heard. I didn't dare try to speak with Saori, that was just asking for someone to find us out. Though I was sure that it was only a few short minutes, it still seemed like an eternity before we arrived at Odango's door. I heard Saori exhale a breath that no doubt she had been holding for a while now. "Ready?" She whispered before knocking at the door, not waiting for my response. It had taken me a minute to realize she was preparing herself for this, not me.
The door opened but there was no sound. "I've brought Princess Serenity's bath cart in case the lady would care to relax."
"Thank you." A voice answered her, but this was not my Odango's voice, this was Mamoru's voice, cold and deadpanned. "Just leave it in the bathroom please." He spoke, his words quick.
"Good luck." Saori whispered to me to let me know she was leaving me. I made a mental note to spoil that girl beyond belief if I ever got out of this alive. The sounds of her shoes on the hard floor echoed through the deafening silence of the room. Mamoru spoke a quick thank you once more before the door of the bedroom shot her out.
"Mamo-chan?" Odango's voice sliced through the silence but wasn't answered immediately. This was clearly a conversation that was not intended for my ears, but what choice did I have at the moment? None, I had to remain quiet and listen.
Some time passed before I heard the click of shoes on the floor. "Usako, I just don't understand." There were gentle sobs filling the room and I knew my Odango was crying. "If you felt this way, why didn't you tell me?"
"Mamo-chan, I don't know why I said that!" She sobbed recklessly and caused my heart to wince at her statement. "I love you Mamo-chan." At that moment I wished I hadn't come, it took a great deal of strength in me to sit there and listen to her words when all I wanted to do was get up and walk out the door. I didn't care if I got caught. Those brief moments when I was allowed to believe that my Odango cared for me the same way I did for her, had teased my mind so badly that these words stung my heart more deeply than they ever did before.
"But you love him too." Once again Mamoru's voice was curt, but it was very plain to see that they were filled with hurt as well. Odango's voice didn't counter him and somehow that single fact eased a bit of the pain in my heart, at least she didn't deny it completely. "Why didn't you tell me that you thought we were growing apart? Why didn't you tell me it was fading away?"
"Because it's not!" All of her words came out as more of pleas than statements and my heart went out to her and the pain in her words.
"Usako, don't do this to yourself, don't lie. I've seen how you've grown and matured while I've been gone. I knew I couldn't be around you all the time, but I never dreamed that this could happen to us." His voice was coming from somewhere beside the door to the room while Usagi's emanated from near the bed. "I just want the both of us to be happy."
"Then we should be together!" Odango demanded. Each time she reinstated her relationship or belief in her relationship with Mamoru it tore me down a bit more.
"Could you truly be happy with me?" Mamoru asked giving away nothing to sense of what he wanted to hear for an answer. "Could you live with your what-ifs if you just walked away from him now?" Odango was silent and she had stopped crying by now. "I don't want to be with you if there is someone else in your heart, that's not fair to either one of us."
The clapping of bare feet on the marble floor resounded through the room and I knew it was Odango running towards Mamoru. "No, don't." He spoke when her footsteps stopped. "Usako, just take time to think about what you want. Remember, we have all of eternity to figure this out, and that's how long I will wait for you." There was another clap of bare skin on the floor and I could only assume that it was Odango's body dropping to the cold floor. Moments later the door to her room opened and closed quietly and I knew Mamoru was gone.
Odango's gentle sobs filled the room and pained my heart. Cautiously I peeked my head out from under the sheet to catch a glimpse of my surroundings. I had half a mind to stay under this sheet until Saori came back to retrieve me again, I couldn't talk to her now, could I? "What's wrong with me?" Her voice broke through the sobs, but I knew she wasn't asking this of me.
I felt the moisture in my own eyes just from listening to her go through her torment. "Seiya…" She spoke my name, though she had no idea I was there. "I need to see you…" Her sobs took over her words and I could see that she hadn't gotten up from her position on the floor. It was strange to hear her speaking the same words about me now that she had to me so long ago concerning Mamoru. I had to stop my body from reacting to this sight. I couldn't go to her now. Her hair falling in cascading waves over her shoulders only to mix with the skirts of her dress and the lonely tears on the ground below. "I'm leaving tomorrow and I may never be able to see him again…" Her sob broke up her sentence and I watched as it crumbled some more. "I do love you Seiya… I do…"
"Odango?" I stood in the doorway of her bathroom afraid to step any closer to her. I couldn't let her go on that way, it wasn't right for her to not know that I was here. Her head picked up and her tear-streaked face was immediately turned to me.
"Seiya!" Here eyes lit up while she rested on her hands and knees looking up at me.
"I came to apologize." I stated bluntly as I slowly walked to her, knowing full well that I shouldn't, but I couldn't resist her much longer. The longing and desire filled me as did her vision and I knew all my sense and judgment would be lost soon. "I didn't mean to ruin your life. I'm sorry that you have to go through this right now, what you had to go through today. It's all my fault, and I just wanted you to know that I would NEVER do anything that intentionally causes you pain."
By now I had come up right before her and knelt down to eye level with her. Her eyes were beautiful before but seemed even more so now that she had been crying. The still pooling tears in her eyes reflected even more light in the room and the red hue that encircled them only brought about a contrast in the bright blue. Before I knew what had happened Odango had thrown herself in my arms and I did all I could to comfort her with my embrace. "It just seems like a twisted dream, that it couldn't be reality, yet it is. I've always wished for this, to hear you say that you loved me, but to obtain that by these means… Even though I know now that you didn't mean it when you said it…"
"Seiya… I did mean it."
"Odango, I've been here ever since Saori brought your cart in. I heard every word you spoke to Mamoru." I looked at her seriously, she wasn't going to try and turn this around on me. I took it as pity but it hurt that she had planned to lie to me.
"I'm supposed to be with Mamoru in the future, I have to do what I can to preserve that." She sat up a little straighter, regaining some of the composure she had lost only moments ago. "It was never supposed to come to light, we were never supposed to see you again. I never planned to tell anyone of my feelings for you. I even denied them to myself for a time."
"You're lying to Mamoru?" I asked trying to get this situation straight in my mind.
Odango nodded her head signaling a sad 'yes'. "But now that I've seen you again… I don't think I can leave you again. I know Mamoru loves me so deeply and it's hard to do this to him."
I felt my face hardening at her words. I don't think she realized what she just said; I don't think she thought through how much those words would affect me. It's hard for Mamoru because he loves her so deeply? What about me? Did she think that this was easy on me at all? "Odango you don't have a choice…" I stated firmly gripping onto her shoulders, more to brace myself for what I was about to say. "You have to stay with Mamoru."
"I used to think that, but I think I can change my own destiny… with you." She took my hand into her own and I felt a warm sensation pass through my body at just her touch, it did wonders to cloud my mind.
I pulled my hand back suddenly, remembering fully what was going on. "Odango we can never be together." Was I really telling her this right now? "I came to terms with that excruciatingly painful truth long ago. You belong with Mamoru, I'm sure that what you think you're feeling for me right now is just a phase… you'll forget about me, I'm sure. After all, as Mamoru said, you have all of eternity."
She stared at me stunned before whispering. "I could never forget about you Seiya." There was hurt in her face and she seemed a bit appalled by my nature, though it was beyond me why. "Are you presuming to tell me that my what I'm feeling is a joke?" Her tone was a bordering on anger. "What I THINK I'm feeling? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Odango I'm sorry, I just know that you belong with Mamoru." I hadn't meant to make her mad, how could I ever dream of doing anything of the sort?
"I don't belong with anyone, I want you." Odango approached me once again, stroking my face with her delicate hand.
"As much as I'd love to grant your wish, we can never be." All of that time that I lied to myself telling myself that I had a chance with her, and that if she would just love me back then we could spend the rest of our lives needing nothing more than each other to make one another truly happy. The irony of the situation, that I would have to face the facts of truth when that dream actually seemed within my reach.
Her head dropped down, as I saw the crowning of her golden hair. "I know." She uttered softly with her eyes still focused on the floor below.
I couldn't resist touching her. My hands sought out to raise her head once more, to the place where it rightfully belonged. I looked into her eyes and saw the confusion of her emotions as I felt the weight of my own. It was so hard to do the right thing when such a distraction was placed before you. "Odango," I was being drawn into her and her scent had long ago filled my senses making me long for her even more. Her tears had dried up from her soft features and her red-rimmed eyes stared back at me curiously. My face was but a breath away from hers. "… we still have right now though…" My eyes closed and I felt the subtle fire ignite in my soul as her lips brushed against mine.
Enticingly her lips danced against mine as our bodies closed the distance that was left between us. I enveloped her in a warm embrace, drawing her into my being as much as I could. Her hand perched on the back of my neck, putting more passion in our light sensuous kisses. Though I had dreamed of this moment many, many times, those dreams did not do it justice. To have my Odango in my arms finally, even if it was just for this moment, this memory would last me a lifetime. "Odango… I love you…"
"I know Seiya." She spoke lightly against my lips as her hands traveled up my shirt to caress my back. I didn't know how much of this forbidden fruit I could claim as my own, but she was making it so hard for me to distinguish that uncrossable line. As she parted from our kiss, I felt my shirt being tugged up and over my head leaving me exposed to the cool air of her room.
Her hands traveled down and caressed my stomach before wrapping around my mid-section. Before I could capture her lips once more in possession they had already made their way to my bare skin. Even the lightest kiss that she placed on my chest sent my mind mad. All reality was lost and only this moment mattered right now. She came back up licking my lips gently as she pressed her body up against me firmly. Did she have any idea of what she was doing to me?
My hands smoothed out the lines of her dress as they memorized every inch of her body that they came in contact with. Perhaps unconscious of what I was doing, only knowing that I needed more, my hands moved down the gentle slope of her back and over round mound of her bottom. I hoisted her up and sat her on my lap, spreading her legs to surround me in the process.
She moaned with delight into our kiss and began to nip at my bottom lip, driving me insane. The heat radiating from our bodies was enough to warm that room on this winter's day, and the cool contrast of the floor below me put it into perspective. No longer wondering where this was going to end, only enjoying all of her that I could, her hands directed my own to the zipper in the back of her dress. I knew instantly what she wanted and allowed my fingers to skillfully work the zipper down as my lips cascaded down her neck planting wet kisses along the way and breathing her scent in deeply.
"Odango, do you want me to stop?" I broke away from her breathlessly for a moment. I didn't want to force her into doing anything that she didn't want to do, she had already given me more than I could have ever hoped to receive.
"I don't ever want to stop." She spoke as she looked lustfully into my eyes before regaining my lips. My hands traveled up to feel the soft mounds of her breasts beneath her dress. Soft caresses of ecstasy brought about a subtle purr from her as she ran her kisses along my ear. I knew now that I wasn't going to be able to stop myself; I needed to have her all. As though she had read my mind, her hand began to work my belt free of its hold on my pants. All the while she continued to allure me with her sweet kisses.
"I see that Princess Serenity has already been taken care of." Zankou's voice broke the moment and caused my heart to stop at the same time. I moved quickly to hide Odango so she could make herself more presentable. There in the doorway of Odango's room stood Zankou, Kakyuu and Minako. I was dead…