An- Hello everyone. I know you have probably waited a very long time for
this chapter and I'm sorry. If I told you to read this story and you're now
checking up on it, I'm SO happy. You have no idea. *smiles* If you are a
normal reader who I don't force to visit my archives and are here just to
read my rather elaborate tale of trust, love, faith, hope, sorrow, pain,
desperation and the depths of the soul, here is chapter four of it! Now,
everyone out there frowning or scowling at my joyous manner of speaking,
start grinning or this story will not have the desired effect and will
leave you either blank faced or scowling/frowning again. This is one of
those stories you have to start out smiling to end up grinning. I hope you
like it!
***************************************************************************
"Unjust Seduction :: Runaways"
By: Kon Gyousano
****************************************************************************
Amber idly fiddled with her fingers. These parties could be so very annoying! She waved a hand about nonchalantly at the newest suitor trying to make her dance. What was with these people and dancing? Didn't they know she would most likely trip on them? Or were they just destined to persistently annoy princesses about parading around the room.
Unknown to her, most of those men were not thinking her just a princess. Her tawny strapless gown and long flowing embroideries made her look like a reincarnate of the beautiful goddess her grandmother once was. Perhaps it was just chance she was born at the exact moment her grandmother went on, or perhaps it was fate. Maybe she had her grandmother's soul, no one would ever know before the end came.
Also unknown to anyone, a solitary figure sat in the corner, blanketed in shadows. The figure sighed wearily, reaching out weak to pat the head of a small girl sitting beside him. The girl looked to be no more then six, but in reality, she had lived longer than anyone in the room other than the man sitting beside her.
"Why did you bring me here papa?" the small child asked in a stern voice which would have made you laugh, but the simple understanding in her eyes told you snickering at her would not be a good idea, for she knew even more then you did.
"Tonight, the princess' and the court are running away to earth. I'm sure you know the story." He wasn't asking it, but his deep raspy voice covered in age hid most of the emotions he poured into it.
The child nodded exuberantly swinging her legs back and forth. A frown crossed her face and she stopped moving sitting perfectly still staring at Princess Amber and Serenity from across the room. Her focus moved to the queen sitting on her high thrown, and the small girl sniffled and hiccupped. Her father leaned over, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "It's okay, you know what's coming. You can't do anything to stop it. I tried once remember? That made quite a mess it did." He patted the girl's head, smiling warmly down at her.
"I remember, and then you had to go back and tell your past self that you shouldn't tell the queen what was coming because if you did the queen would tell her daughter that she knew she was running away, and that if she ran away she would die. And, in the end they both were present and both died at the end of this millennium, thus leaving nobody powerful enough to send the senshi to earth!" The girl reached for the tall man's hand and squeezed it. "No matter how many times I come back to this time, I always feel the pain. Over again and again. I can't control it." She stifled a sob; people were starting to notice the shadow covered figures.
"We have to go, the guards are coming, and they will mistake your hair for the hair of Terrian. Let us take our leave." A portal of swirling white flames opened behind them. The man stood, taking his daughters hand and pulling her into the vortex of blinding fire with him. Amazingly, no one had noticed even their existence, due to the darkness hiding them, and the elegant ball going on in front of them.
***************************************************************************
Mercury sighed, trying to help Jupiter come up with a name to use wherever they were leaving to. Why had their princess agreed to go ANYWHRE with the prince of earth? He could masquerade them as someone else yes, but where would he be taking them anyway? Mercury had chosen the name Ami Mizuno for its simplicity and representation. Now Jupiter needed a name.
"Um…" Mercury looked sideways at the floor, thinking of any name to use for her friend. "Something to do with wood and trees…maybe lightning? And fighting, you love fighting. Perhaps something to show your love of cooking?" Jupiter grinned openly at this. "Or maybe just something totally new to help hide us." Mercury turned to her partner anticipating her answer.
"Kino, I like that one. It makes me sound tough." Jupiter grinned wolfishly and continued. "And Merc…I'm torn. What about Midori or Makoto?" She looked down at the shy girl expectantly.
"What about Makoto Kino. It has a ring to it, does it not?" Mercury cocked her head to the side as she thought. "Or Midori Kino, it doesn't have that sort of chime to it though. Stick with Makoto Kino, okay?" The blue-eyed guardian looked up at her companion.
"Yeah, I like that. What did you pick for your name again?" Makoto's voice had a hint of laughter in it.
"Ami Mizuno. But please be subtle about it, or we will be discovered." Mercury abruptly looked up, her sweet voice breaking off. A certain general had just appeared and was politely asking for the hand of a certain mercurien princess. Mercury was too excited to notice that another general was right behind, but Jupiter wasn't. Her sharp eyes caught sight of him and her whole face light up.
"Nephie!" She exclaimed, jumping up and hugging him forcefully. She smiled into his soft shirt. He rested his head in her hair before breaking their embrace.
"Nephie? Okay…would my fair lady like to dance? I'm afraid some important meetings came up tonight and we will have to change our previous engagement to a different time. Perhaps a dance would make you forgive me?" He held out his hand gingerly as she got to her feet, taking the extended hand.
"I'd forgive you anyway. By the way, by new name is Makoto Kino." She started moving around in slow circles, turning to the music.
"Mako, I like it. Of course where we're going it will be Mako-chan, but that will wait until later." Jupiter gave him a curious glance, before shrugging it off and continuing dancing. She never noticed how the dips got more frequent and how the lights seemed to dim as the moved around the room, it was just he…
***************************************************************************
Rei, we shall call her Rei now for that is what she is. She was not the graceful Martian princess who had grown up following rules and respecting those with higher classes, she was Rei, the firebird who had a mission; get revenge. She spotted her victim in the corner of the room, sulking as usual. She slowly moved towards him, making sure her very short fiery dress rode up just enough for him to see her thighs as she walked. She neared him and flipped her raven hair over her shoulder, sitting down next to Jadeite and crossing her legs. He was staring at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her every move. She pouted her lips making sure that her burgundy lipstick showed it's full extent. She looked at him trying to make herself seem seductive.
She asked in a low purr "Come my dear general, I have a closet saved for us." She gave him her most coy smirk and rose, waiting to see if heart or hormones would win in this battle. He abruptly stood; grinning while a dangerous fire flickered in his eyes. Knowing he would follow her, she stepped out to the side of the ballroom where the guest's coats were kept. She stepped into the walk in closet like room and waited for him to follow. She slowly closed the door after her entered, and started to undress him. After she had thrown his shirt off, revealing muscular arms, she ripped his pants off, leaving two halves on the floor. She started coughing abruptly and excused herself to go get water.
She knew he couldn't see her, so she put her plan into action. She picked up his shirt and the remnants of the pants. She opened and closed the closet door, making sure that he couldn't see what she was holding. This left a very anxious general to wait in the dark for a very sneaky mars princess in his socks, shoes, and underpants; while the conniving princess rushed off to throw his cloths away.
After several minutes of waiting the general got impatient. He pulled out pen and sheet of paper from his sub space pocket and pulled on the light. The first thing he saw was that his cloths had vanished. The second thing he saw was that he was in the royalty's closet. The first thought that ran through his head was a simple way of summing up what his firebird had done to him. His conniving little firebird had left him in the royalties coat- closet…
The second thought was not a very pleasant one. He knew that she would not be returning or she would have left his garments. That meant only one thing; he had to go through the ballroom in his undergarments to get dressed again. He was a general, not a senshi, and did not possess the power to teleport. While Malachite was the only general with teleportation abilities, he was the only general with illusion attributes. He wished he could switch with that other general at the moment. Then a thought struck him, he could make an illusion that he had cloths on. But, the senshi, queen and any other royalty would see through it with their natural talent of magic, along with the generals. He could stand their laughs, he thought rebelliously, closing his eyes and concentrating on an illusion of himself in his now shredded cloths.
Seconds later he again had a shirt and pants on. He was losing power fast by holding up this illusion and rushed out the closet on a whim. The first thing he saw was Rei laughing at him and pointing her finger towards him while soon Jupiter joined in her giggles. Mercury tried to get back to her dancing, but the fact that a half-naked Jadeite was running towards the door was just too funny. She burst out laughing, alerting Zoisite that something was happening behind him. He whirled around to see Jadeite stalking the door and made a mental note to get that poor guy some cloths.
Now, every royalty in the room was looking in the direction Jadeite had gone, snickering. Jadeite however was running full speed down the hallways to his room. He supposed it was half his fault for falling for Mars' tricks, but he still couldn't believe his firebird would do that to him. It then hit him what she had looked like at the marketplace earlier that day and as a sudden revelation figured out how embarrassed she must have been.
He looked down ashamed to have thrown her into the fountain now that he knew the punishment and continued sprinting to his room. He threw the door open and rushed to his closet. He threw the closest cloths on and continued debating with himself whether he should have thrown her into the water or not.
After a few hours of berating himself, his conclusion was no. He would not have wanted to miss seeing an angry firebird soaked in a white shirt, even if it meant that he had to run in front of a ton of royalty semi-naked.
Rei sat on the benches in the crowd, hidden from his view, enjoying the show she had created for herself.
She smiled; revenge was seriously sweet.
***************************************************************************
Queen Serenity watched in devastation as Jadeite ran in his boxers towards the ball door. She sighed. She watched Rei grinning sadistically and put two and two together. Children…
A king of England approached her and she didn't have to do much to make herself look completely expressionless. The man was a tall one with short blond hair and beady dark brown eyes that could easily be mistaken for black. He reached the queen and bowed before her, while she nodded curtly wanting to watch the ball some more. She was only in her thirties; she deserved to be able to dance with someone. She let out another tired sigh. She watched her daughter out of the corner of her eye as Prince Endymion appeared out of nowhere and she propped herself up on one arm. She knew about their love for each other, but Phillip was the crown prince of earth. If something happened to him Endymion would be, but she didn't want to think about something happening to him. He was a real charmer, but not for her. She always valued marrying for love, but it had gotten her nowhere and she didn't want to see her daughter make the same mistake.
Having your heart broken was very hard to live with. She had lost her father recently, and him being her only remaining parent she had been rather devastated by his death. Saturn had tried to reassure her that death always came with rebirth unless the soul was separated from the body at the time of death. She hoped that her mother and father were somewhere happy away from her own sorrows.
Her husband, Eric was his name, had married her in a small little white church in a secluded area. One thing led to another, and she found herself being crowned queen and he king. While she ruled as fairly as possible, he just wanted 'an eye for an eye' as he put it. She at first found this to be a quite effective at first, and she occasionally used it in petty matters like arguments between siblings and such, but when her husband started using it for theft and murder, she became worried. Her people were dying, and off her husband's accord. Thieves she would make give back all they had stolen, apologize to who they had stolen it form, and if they had stolen five or more items, spend a month in her dungeons. Her husband on the other hand used continuous violence to make their people pay penance, and eventually he had to be killed for his poor judgment.
Her people had gone on a rally, thirsting to see the man who had killed their friends and families exiled. In the end she had but one choice, and that meant to banish him from the moon kingdom. She had given the time guardian a message of her horrible situation and the father of time himself had come before her. He had told her that he could take the soul of her husband and put it in the future in another body where it held no mystical or political power. She had agreed, but it had cost her lover his life in the end. He had been forced to perform a sacred sacrifice, one only senshi and royalties used for its purposes. It removed the soul out of whoever was being sacrificed and then left their body without a dream mirror, heart crystal or starseed, much less power crystal. These were extracted and sent to the future to be placed in another body. Years later the skeleton of her former husband had appeared in her own prison mysteriously overnight.
She never did like those dungeons and she didn't think anyone did. They were dark and cold and in the corner of them there was his skeleton. It always freaked the usually stoic queen out when she saw that skull. It had a symbol on its forehead, and she never even remembered someone having a mark like that. The planetary symbols were different, this one was… there was no other way of wording it. Eerie.
It looked at first like a simple upside down moon which was darker then a regular mark. But, upon closer examination, the moon would be more then just upside down. It's edges almost touched in a sickly arch, and the color of it was far more then just dark. The color was jet black and it seemed to be radiating the power of evil even if it's carrier was gone. Every time you would step even close to that corpse you would feel yourself get weak like something was taking the energy right out of you…
She dropped that train of thought and continued to gaze at the mass of swirling dancers. Her sharp eye picked out all of the senshi except for amber and Venus. The younger prince of earth had her other daughter clinging to his arm, smiling from ear to ear. It wasn't that she wanted her eldest daughter to be unhappy; it was just that Phillip was more important since by birthright he would assume the thrown. If Serenity married Phillip, there would be total planetary peace, but if she did not, the moon and earth would continue to be on bad terms. She let out a final exasperated sigh as she clapped her hands together drawing attention to herself as the room was silenced by an invisible wave of respect for their queen.
She stood, facing her people with a small smile on her face. "I hope everyone had a lovely time at tonight's celebration. Tomorrow we will have another represented our recent alliance with the final opposing city on Jupiter." There was a dull jeer from the crowd of approval. "May everyone have a wonderful evening and sleep well." She let her smile widen a bit, signaling that the ball was over.
The doors were thrown wide open as everyone in the room crammed themselves through like children running to the playground. She let a half grin play across her features as she watched the guests file out of the room. After everyone had left, she stood, briefly glancing around the room to see if anyone was still there. She almost didn't notice the elaborate design of the beautiful room. But, the elegant style and tasteful colors scattered around the room always caught her eye if even for just a moment.
The regular room design was anything but normal. A high arched ceiling with different colored pillars connecting to each other in the middle of the ceiling. The room was dome-like in shape, with benches and chairs lining the walls for guests to rest in. During parties it was the ballroom, during conferences it was the meeting room, and every other time it was the place people came to lounge in. The walls were originally painted white, along with the floor, but tonight they were covered with shining pictures and carpets only adding to their loveliness. Nothing in the room seemed marred.
There were round windows higher up in the room, with stained glass forming pictures of birds and angels somewhat crudely plastered together with bland colors and pastel tints. But, the thin glass rims were uneven, which is what was crudely mentioned before, but they were so thin that most likely no one could make them that unnoticeable without them a little bumped. Brilliantly colored curtains hung taught away from the lower windows, which were paned with clear glass. Smiling genuinely, Queen Serenity closed her eyes a moment and let the whole world fade.
Her father's death, her daughters' love square, her obligations as a queen, her immense responsibility as the only person with total mastery over the silver crystal at that time, and her very being. She let them fade for just a second into the air. She had to take a deep steadying breath before opening her eyes again and trying not to fully glare at her surroundings. It wasn't that she blamed anyone for her life, but still…it was quite a harsh life.
She turned from the room, preparing to teleport to the Neptunian Empire for as mercury had so gingerly put it 'reunion between old friends.' She liked Poseidon very much as her protector, king and as a friend. As a friend he was protective and fierce, but always understanding. His wife queen Eris was a compassionate friend but with a stubborn head. Pride before love was both of their policies. Their daughter was one of princess serenity's secret protectors. For several reasons. The crown princess hated being protected by so many people, and adding to that list would only make her more rebellious on the matter, she wanted to defend herself. The outer senshi were also forbidden to be spoken of unless they had let an outside intruder penetrate their careful eyes and enter the inner solar system. Another reason not to talk to her first daughter about them was because of fear for her reaction.
She could explode and have a temper tantrum, but the queen doubted that. She could also sulk for weeks, which she also didn't want. She could accept the fact with a fake smile and secretly be disappointed in her mother for lying to her for so long about the inners being her only guardians. The only other option is that she would want to meet them and that was taboo.
The inner senshi knew about the outer planetary senshi, mercury the most, but were forbidden to speak of them to serenity. Everyone had their secrets, and the queen thought these were petite compared to some of the inner senshi's secrets, and she only knew a few of their secrets.
Poseidon had been her protector when she was younger and still training, and watched over her from Triton castle on Neptune. Named after the planet she was born on, Princess Neptune should be a mere child the queen presumed as she felt the familiar heat in her chest that meant the silver crystal was appearing. She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating on getting the mystic crystal to materialize. Soon, a blinding light penetrating her eyelids made her open them to see a slightly spinning crystal. She closed her eyes momentarily, and in a burst of dim white light, she vanished from the ballroom, and appeared in the Neptunian castle Triton. It was an entirely teal castle, with not one square inch without windows. Half of the windows showed swirling blue and green gases and water, while the other half gave you a clear view of the fathomless voids of space.
She opened her eyes to see King Poseidon standing in front of her a huge grin plastered on his elderly face. She smiled back at him, each exchanging greeting as they started walking down the hall; queen gaining back her energy from the trip, and king enjoying being in her company once again.
It really was a reunion between old friends.
**************************************************************************** *****
Serenity stood by her balcony, in a small circle with the inner planetary senshi, Endymion and Amber. They spoke in hushed voices under the soft glow of the bluish ball hanging in the sky above them.
"We have to leave, now! The guards check my room every fifteen minutes, and we've already spend ten getting everyone here." The blond princess looked around worried that she had been overheard for a moment then continued in her bell-like tone. She shot a half meaningful glance at Princess Venus and Amber. "Come, let us hold hands." Everyone in the circle grabbed hands with whomever happened to be standing next to them. "Now Endymion, you have to teleport us, the inner senshi will use their powers to channel into you and you just concentrate on our destination spot. Amber, you stand in the middle of the circle, and I will as well. We have to powers, so they will have to teleport us and our belongings along with theirs." She looked back at her room fondly, and then her eyes hardened as she stepped out of the circle of people and into the middle. "Okay, when I say commence, say 'sailor teleport' and focus your powers into Endymion."
Everyone around her nodded as she clasped hands with Amber. "Sailor Teleport!" The almost silent night was now rent of peace as they shouted to the heavens. Mercury stood adjacent to Mars and Endymion as a faint blue glow enveloped her. Mars stood next to Jupiter and Mercury as a fiery red covered her, and a lime green for Jupiter. Venus, who was on the other side of Jupiter, was encased in a soft orange glow, and the prince of earth held a strong golden glow.
Simultaneously, Amber and Serenity looked upwards closing their eyes as the lights shot up into the dark sky, and making a white shine trap both of them in the middle. It was not a cold stiff white light though, it was a soft warm light and neither of them struggled against it as they felt their bodies start to shiver from the power.
One moment standing on the moon, the next, they were at a forest full of full-blossomed trees. The second they arrived, and the power faded, Princess Serenity felt an invisible but very mighty hand pushing her towards the ground. She have a surprised yelp she heard a sharp intake of breath around her while her friends each managed a startled 'princess!' She felt her knees buckle under the pressure that was now being applied to them, and she almost hit the ground, and if not for a fast and protective earth prince she would have. She looked up into his stormy eyes and smiled. How could he hold that pressure so easily like it was nothing? She struggled for a moment, and then managed to stand up straight for moment, before again starting to collapse under the invisible force.
This time she flailed her arms out desperately fearing hitting the ground, and caught onto the someone's shoulder. The tall powerful Juperian senshi looked down in bemusement and then sighed, helping the princess to stand by leaning on her.
"Where are we?" came a muffled sound from the ground. It was Amber, who everyone had forgotten in Serenity's rather loud shriek in falling. Six pairs of eyes looked down to see Amber standing up and grumbling about gravity as she stood up steadily. Unlike her sister this was her second visit to a planet of stronger gravitational pull than the moon. She glanced around and spotted Venus shaking slightly under the now amplified pressure, but shrugged her shoulders knowing that Venus had also visited earth before with her.
The only reason Serenity had not gone was because she had gotten a rather nasty illness, but she would have gone even then if it had not been for her mother's keen eyes and care for her children.
"We're in the groove of the water fairy's. Do you hear the stream nearby? They live there, and usually they would attack intruders as they do not like Terrian's much, but, we have our own water fairy to comfort them and tell them we don't mean to harm them." Endymion said as the circle shifted to Mercury, who was listening to an unknown voice on the air as she turned to her left and gave new meaning to an opera singer's high notes. She was saying something, but everyone near her was covering his or her ears from the piercing squeaks.
Mercury started walking again and everyone removed their hands. "The water fairy's said they will give us refuge as long was we don't dry up their water spout or alert any nymphs of their whereabouts." She smiled knowingly. "They also said they wouldn't tell anyone we were there." A patch of tall weeds was just up ahead, and everyone watched as Mercury parted them to reveal a beautiful waterfall and shimmering river with exquisite trees and flowers everywhere. Serenity and Amber rushed forth, smelling every flower they reached and touching everything they could get their hands on, being careful not to break even the smallest leaf. This was a place that did not need words; the soft hum of wings was enough to make the place seem homely.
The plant life was so much fuller here! Jupiter plucked a single blade of grass and sniffed it. Even the grasses scent was richer than it was on the moon. She looked around, the entire place lit with a new light in her eyes. She would have to find out how everything was so fertile here. She rushed off to see if it was the water or soil.
Mars glanced around and picked several faults out immediately. One, no cleaning facilities. Two, no civilization, they would be all on their own. Three, those fairy's and their little beady blue eyes were starting to frighten her, not by their aura, but those little eyes made of seemingly water…
Mercury took one look and proclaimed it paradise. Soft aqua glows signaled the water fairy's wings fluttering to keep them flying, and that reflected off the glistening water made the place even more radiant. Water every way you looked, and calming trees to relax near or in the shade of. Air thick with fresh flowers and little creatures of water greeting you and complimenting you everywhere. It was her heaven.
Some others were more reluctant to accept all this though. Venus spotted several ways that intruders could easily sneak into their safe haven while they were resting and attack them while they slept unknowing. She rushed to a tree and snatched a leaf off throwing it into the air. When it blew south she went over to Endymion and consulted with him about where civilization was. He pointed north and she sighed in relief. They could easily stay here a few days, and they head up to the city and start their new lives.
"Sere, what are we supposed to call you?" Endymion patted his beloved's head as she sucked in the fragrance of a lily. She was just so adorable when she did that! But he smashed that thought waiting for an answer.
"Whatever you want, Endy." She looked up at him smiling radiantly.
"Hmm…what about Usagi? That means bunny here." He smirked while she grinned not gaining the second meaning behind the name. Almost instantaneously she accepted the new name.
"Okay! Hey guy's, my new names Usagi!" She called to her friends who were all separated around the small groove of trees. There were affirmative snickers and nods as she turned back to the white lily floating harmlessly in the stream.
"Come along Usako, I to show you where I planned for you to stay. We should be there in a few days. He reached for her hand which she swiftly supplied as he led her up to the top of the waterfall, leaving their possessions behind them and being very cautious not to slip on the slick rock. When they reached the top, Serenity saw something that took Serenity's breath away.
"T-th-thank you Endy!" Was all she could manage at the sight before her as she latched herself around his middle in an appreciative hug.
**************************************************************************** *
Next – What Serenity see that made her so happy? The girls set up their new lives and assume the position of occasionally rebellious villagers who happen to have mysterious connections with the generals and prince of earth and live quite mysterious lives.
***************************************************************************
"Unjust Seduction :: Runaways"
By: Kon Gyousano
****************************************************************************
Amber idly fiddled with her fingers. These parties could be so very annoying! She waved a hand about nonchalantly at the newest suitor trying to make her dance. What was with these people and dancing? Didn't they know she would most likely trip on them? Or were they just destined to persistently annoy princesses about parading around the room.
Unknown to her, most of those men were not thinking her just a princess. Her tawny strapless gown and long flowing embroideries made her look like a reincarnate of the beautiful goddess her grandmother once was. Perhaps it was just chance she was born at the exact moment her grandmother went on, or perhaps it was fate. Maybe she had her grandmother's soul, no one would ever know before the end came.
Also unknown to anyone, a solitary figure sat in the corner, blanketed in shadows. The figure sighed wearily, reaching out weak to pat the head of a small girl sitting beside him. The girl looked to be no more then six, but in reality, she had lived longer than anyone in the room other than the man sitting beside her.
"Why did you bring me here papa?" the small child asked in a stern voice which would have made you laugh, but the simple understanding in her eyes told you snickering at her would not be a good idea, for she knew even more then you did.
"Tonight, the princess' and the court are running away to earth. I'm sure you know the story." He wasn't asking it, but his deep raspy voice covered in age hid most of the emotions he poured into it.
The child nodded exuberantly swinging her legs back and forth. A frown crossed her face and she stopped moving sitting perfectly still staring at Princess Amber and Serenity from across the room. Her focus moved to the queen sitting on her high thrown, and the small girl sniffled and hiccupped. Her father leaned over, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "It's okay, you know what's coming. You can't do anything to stop it. I tried once remember? That made quite a mess it did." He patted the girl's head, smiling warmly down at her.
"I remember, and then you had to go back and tell your past self that you shouldn't tell the queen what was coming because if you did the queen would tell her daughter that she knew she was running away, and that if she ran away she would die. And, in the end they both were present and both died at the end of this millennium, thus leaving nobody powerful enough to send the senshi to earth!" The girl reached for the tall man's hand and squeezed it. "No matter how many times I come back to this time, I always feel the pain. Over again and again. I can't control it." She stifled a sob; people were starting to notice the shadow covered figures.
"We have to go, the guards are coming, and they will mistake your hair for the hair of Terrian. Let us take our leave." A portal of swirling white flames opened behind them. The man stood, taking his daughters hand and pulling her into the vortex of blinding fire with him. Amazingly, no one had noticed even their existence, due to the darkness hiding them, and the elegant ball going on in front of them.
***************************************************************************
Mercury sighed, trying to help Jupiter come up with a name to use wherever they were leaving to. Why had their princess agreed to go ANYWHRE with the prince of earth? He could masquerade them as someone else yes, but where would he be taking them anyway? Mercury had chosen the name Ami Mizuno for its simplicity and representation. Now Jupiter needed a name.
"Um…" Mercury looked sideways at the floor, thinking of any name to use for her friend. "Something to do with wood and trees…maybe lightning? And fighting, you love fighting. Perhaps something to show your love of cooking?" Jupiter grinned openly at this. "Or maybe just something totally new to help hide us." Mercury turned to her partner anticipating her answer.
"Kino, I like that one. It makes me sound tough." Jupiter grinned wolfishly and continued. "And Merc…I'm torn. What about Midori or Makoto?" She looked down at the shy girl expectantly.
"What about Makoto Kino. It has a ring to it, does it not?" Mercury cocked her head to the side as she thought. "Or Midori Kino, it doesn't have that sort of chime to it though. Stick with Makoto Kino, okay?" The blue-eyed guardian looked up at her companion.
"Yeah, I like that. What did you pick for your name again?" Makoto's voice had a hint of laughter in it.
"Ami Mizuno. But please be subtle about it, or we will be discovered." Mercury abruptly looked up, her sweet voice breaking off. A certain general had just appeared and was politely asking for the hand of a certain mercurien princess. Mercury was too excited to notice that another general was right behind, but Jupiter wasn't. Her sharp eyes caught sight of him and her whole face light up.
"Nephie!" She exclaimed, jumping up and hugging him forcefully. She smiled into his soft shirt. He rested his head in her hair before breaking their embrace.
"Nephie? Okay…would my fair lady like to dance? I'm afraid some important meetings came up tonight and we will have to change our previous engagement to a different time. Perhaps a dance would make you forgive me?" He held out his hand gingerly as she got to her feet, taking the extended hand.
"I'd forgive you anyway. By the way, by new name is Makoto Kino." She started moving around in slow circles, turning to the music.
"Mako, I like it. Of course where we're going it will be Mako-chan, but that will wait until later." Jupiter gave him a curious glance, before shrugging it off and continuing dancing. She never noticed how the dips got more frequent and how the lights seemed to dim as the moved around the room, it was just he…
***************************************************************************
Rei, we shall call her Rei now for that is what she is. She was not the graceful Martian princess who had grown up following rules and respecting those with higher classes, she was Rei, the firebird who had a mission; get revenge. She spotted her victim in the corner of the room, sulking as usual. She slowly moved towards him, making sure her very short fiery dress rode up just enough for him to see her thighs as she walked. She neared him and flipped her raven hair over her shoulder, sitting down next to Jadeite and crossing her legs. He was staring at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her every move. She pouted her lips making sure that her burgundy lipstick showed it's full extent. She looked at him trying to make herself seem seductive.
She asked in a low purr "Come my dear general, I have a closet saved for us." She gave him her most coy smirk and rose, waiting to see if heart or hormones would win in this battle. He abruptly stood; grinning while a dangerous fire flickered in his eyes. Knowing he would follow her, she stepped out to the side of the ballroom where the guest's coats were kept. She stepped into the walk in closet like room and waited for him to follow. She slowly closed the door after her entered, and started to undress him. After she had thrown his shirt off, revealing muscular arms, she ripped his pants off, leaving two halves on the floor. She started coughing abruptly and excused herself to go get water.
She knew he couldn't see her, so she put her plan into action. She picked up his shirt and the remnants of the pants. She opened and closed the closet door, making sure that he couldn't see what she was holding. This left a very anxious general to wait in the dark for a very sneaky mars princess in his socks, shoes, and underpants; while the conniving princess rushed off to throw his cloths away.
After several minutes of waiting the general got impatient. He pulled out pen and sheet of paper from his sub space pocket and pulled on the light. The first thing he saw was that his cloths had vanished. The second thing he saw was that he was in the royalty's closet. The first thought that ran through his head was a simple way of summing up what his firebird had done to him. His conniving little firebird had left him in the royalties coat- closet…
The second thought was not a very pleasant one. He knew that she would not be returning or she would have left his garments. That meant only one thing; he had to go through the ballroom in his undergarments to get dressed again. He was a general, not a senshi, and did not possess the power to teleport. While Malachite was the only general with teleportation abilities, he was the only general with illusion attributes. He wished he could switch with that other general at the moment. Then a thought struck him, he could make an illusion that he had cloths on. But, the senshi, queen and any other royalty would see through it with their natural talent of magic, along with the generals. He could stand their laughs, he thought rebelliously, closing his eyes and concentrating on an illusion of himself in his now shredded cloths.
Seconds later he again had a shirt and pants on. He was losing power fast by holding up this illusion and rushed out the closet on a whim. The first thing he saw was Rei laughing at him and pointing her finger towards him while soon Jupiter joined in her giggles. Mercury tried to get back to her dancing, but the fact that a half-naked Jadeite was running towards the door was just too funny. She burst out laughing, alerting Zoisite that something was happening behind him. He whirled around to see Jadeite stalking the door and made a mental note to get that poor guy some cloths.
Now, every royalty in the room was looking in the direction Jadeite had gone, snickering. Jadeite however was running full speed down the hallways to his room. He supposed it was half his fault for falling for Mars' tricks, but he still couldn't believe his firebird would do that to him. It then hit him what she had looked like at the marketplace earlier that day and as a sudden revelation figured out how embarrassed she must have been.
He looked down ashamed to have thrown her into the fountain now that he knew the punishment and continued sprinting to his room. He threw the door open and rushed to his closet. He threw the closest cloths on and continued debating with himself whether he should have thrown her into the water or not.
After a few hours of berating himself, his conclusion was no. He would not have wanted to miss seeing an angry firebird soaked in a white shirt, even if it meant that he had to run in front of a ton of royalty semi-naked.
Rei sat on the benches in the crowd, hidden from his view, enjoying the show she had created for herself.
She smiled; revenge was seriously sweet.
***************************************************************************
Queen Serenity watched in devastation as Jadeite ran in his boxers towards the ball door. She sighed. She watched Rei grinning sadistically and put two and two together. Children…
A king of England approached her and she didn't have to do much to make herself look completely expressionless. The man was a tall one with short blond hair and beady dark brown eyes that could easily be mistaken for black. He reached the queen and bowed before her, while she nodded curtly wanting to watch the ball some more. She was only in her thirties; she deserved to be able to dance with someone. She let out another tired sigh. She watched her daughter out of the corner of her eye as Prince Endymion appeared out of nowhere and she propped herself up on one arm. She knew about their love for each other, but Phillip was the crown prince of earth. If something happened to him Endymion would be, but she didn't want to think about something happening to him. He was a real charmer, but not for her. She always valued marrying for love, but it had gotten her nowhere and she didn't want to see her daughter make the same mistake.
Having your heart broken was very hard to live with. She had lost her father recently, and him being her only remaining parent she had been rather devastated by his death. Saturn had tried to reassure her that death always came with rebirth unless the soul was separated from the body at the time of death. She hoped that her mother and father were somewhere happy away from her own sorrows.
Her husband, Eric was his name, had married her in a small little white church in a secluded area. One thing led to another, and she found herself being crowned queen and he king. While she ruled as fairly as possible, he just wanted 'an eye for an eye' as he put it. She at first found this to be a quite effective at first, and she occasionally used it in petty matters like arguments between siblings and such, but when her husband started using it for theft and murder, she became worried. Her people were dying, and off her husband's accord. Thieves she would make give back all they had stolen, apologize to who they had stolen it form, and if they had stolen five or more items, spend a month in her dungeons. Her husband on the other hand used continuous violence to make their people pay penance, and eventually he had to be killed for his poor judgment.
Her people had gone on a rally, thirsting to see the man who had killed their friends and families exiled. In the end she had but one choice, and that meant to banish him from the moon kingdom. She had given the time guardian a message of her horrible situation and the father of time himself had come before her. He had told her that he could take the soul of her husband and put it in the future in another body where it held no mystical or political power. She had agreed, but it had cost her lover his life in the end. He had been forced to perform a sacred sacrifice, one only senshi and royalties used for its purposes. It removed the soul out of whoever was being sacrificed and then left their body without a dream mirror, heart crystal or starseed, much less power crystal. These were extracted and sent to the future to be placed in another body. Years later the skeleton of her former husband had appeared in her own prison mysteriously overnight.
She never did like those dungeons and she didn't think anyone did. They were dark and cold and in the corner of them there was his skeleton. It always freaked the usually stoic queen out when she saw that skull. It had a symbol on its forehead, and she never even remembered someone having a mark like that. The planetary symbols were different, this one was… there was no other way of wording it. Eerie.
It looked at first like a simple upside down moon which was darker then a regular mark. But, upon closer examination, the moon would be more then just upside down. It's edges almost touched in a sickly arch, and the color of it was far more then just dark. The color was jet black and it seemed to be radiating the power of evil even if it's carrier was gone. Every time you would step even close to that corpse you would feel yourself get weak like something was taking the energy right out of you…
She dropped that train of thought and continued to gaze at the mass of swirling dancers. Her sharp eye picked out all of the senshi except for amber and Venus. The younger prince of earth had her other daughter clinging to his arm, smiling from ear to ear. It wasn't that she wanted her eldest daughter to be unhappy; it was just that Phillip was more important since by birthright he would assume the thrown. If Serenity married Phillip, there would be total planetary peace, but if she did not, the moon and earth would continue to be on bad terms. She let out a final exasperated sigh as she clapped her hands together drawing attention to herself as the room was silenced by an invisible wave of respect for their queen.
She stood, facing her people with a small smile on her face. "I hope everyone had a lovely time at tonight's celebration. Tomorrow we will have another represented our recent alliance with the final opposing city on Jupiter." There was a dull jeer from the crowd of approval. "May everyone have a wonderful evening and sleep well." She let her smile widen a bit, signaling that the ball was over.
The doors were thrown wide open as everyone in the room crammed themselves through like children running to the playground. She let a half grin play across her features as she watched the guests file out of the room. After everyone had left, she stood, briefly glancing around the room to see if anyone was still there. She almost didn't notice the elaborate design of the beautiful room. But, the elegant style and tasteful colors scattered around the room always caught her eye if even for just a moment.
The regular room design was anything but normal. A high arched ceiling with different colored pillars connecting to each other in the middle of the ceiling. The room was dome-like in shape, with benches and chairs lining the walls for guests to rest in. During parties it was the ballroom, during conferences it was the meeting room, and every other time it was the place people came to lounge in. The walls were originally painted white, along with the floor, but tonight they were covered with shining pictures and carpets only adding to their loveliness. Nothing in the room seemed marred.
There were round windows higher up in the room, with stained glass forming pictures of birds and angels somewhat crudely plastered together with bland colors and pastel tints. But, the thin glass rims were uneven, which is what was crudely mentioned before, but they were so thin that most likely no one could make them that unnoticeable without them a little bumped. Brilliantly colored curtains hung taught away from the lower windows, which were paned with clear glass. Smiling genuinely, Queen Serenity closed her eyes a moment and let the whole world fade.
Her father's death, her daughters' love square, her obligations as a queen, her immense responsibility as the only person with total mastery over the silver crystal at that time, and her very being. She let them fade for just a second into the air. She had to take a deep steadying breath before opening her eyes again and trying not to fully glare at her surroundings. It wasn't that she blamed anyone for her life, but still…it was quite a harsh life.
She turned from the room, preparing to teleport to the Neptunian Empire for as mercury had so gingerly put it 'reunion between old friends.' She liked Poseidon very much as her protector, king and as a friend. As a friend he was protective and fierce, but always understanding. His wife queen Eris was a compassionate friend but with a stubborn head. Pride before love was both of their policies. Their daughter was one of princess serenity's secret protectors. For several reasons. The crown princess hated being protected by so many people, and adding to that list would only make her more rebellious on the matter, she wanted to defend herself. The outer senshi were also forbidden to be spoken of unless they had let an outside intruder penetrate their careful eyes and enter the inner solar system. Another reason not to talk to her first daughter about them was because of fear for her reaction.
She could explode and have a temper tantrum, but the queen doubted that. She could also sulk for weeks, which she also didn't want. She could accept the fact with a fake smile and secretly be disappointed in her mother for lying to her for so long about the inners being her only guardians. The only other option is that she would want to meet them and that was taboo.
The inner senshi knew about the outer planetary senshi, mercury the most, but were forbidden to speak of them to serenity. Everyone had their secrets, and the queen thought these were petite compared to some of the inner senshi's secrets, and she only knew a few of their secrets.
Poseidon had been her protector when she was younger and still training, and watched over her from Triton castle on Neptune. Named after the planet she was born on, Princess Neptune should be a mere child the queen presumed as she felt the familiar heat in her chest that meant the silver crystal was appearing. She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating on getting the mystic crystal to materialize. Soon, a blinding light penetrating her eyelids made her open them to see a slightly spinning crystal. She closed her eyes momentarily, and in a burst of dim white light, she vanished from the ballroom, and appeared in the Neptunian castle Triton. It was an entirely teal castle, with not one square inch without windows. Half of the windows showed swirling blue and green gases and water, while the other half gave you a clear view of the fathomless voids of space.
She opened her eyes to see King Poseidon standing in front of her a huge grin plastered on his elderly face. She smiled back at him, each exchanging greeting as they started walking down the hall; queen gaining back her energy from the trip, and king enjoying being in her company once again.
It really was a reunion between old friends.
**************************************************************************** *****
Serenity stood by her balcony, in a small circle with the inner planetary senshi, Endymion and Amber. They spoke in hushed voices under the soft glow of the bluish ball hanging in the sky above them.
"We have to leave, now! The guards check my room every fifteen minutes, and we've already spend ten getting everyone here." The blond princess looked around worried that she had been overheard for a moment then continued in her bell-like tone. She shot a half meaningful glance at Princess Venus and Amber. "Come, let us hold hands." Everyone in the circle grabbed hands with whomever happened to be standing next to them. "Now Endymion, you have to teleport us, the inner senshi will use their powers to channel into you and you just concentrate on our destination spot. Amber, you stand in the middle of the circle, and I will as well. We have to powers, so they will have to teleport us and our belongings along with theirs." She looked back at her room fondly, and then her eyes hardened as she stepped out of the circle of people and into the middle. "Okay, when I say commence, say 'sailor teleport' and focus your powers into Endymion."
Everyone around her nodded as she clasped hands with Amber. "Sailor Teleport!" The almost silent night was now rent of peace as they shouted to the heavens. Mercury stood adjacent to Mars and Endymion as a faint blue glow enveloped her. Mars stood next to Jupiter and Mercury as a fiery red covered her, and a lime green for Jupiter. Venus, who was on the other side of Jupiter, was encased in a soft orange glow, and the prince of earth held a strong golden glow.
Simultaneously, Amber and Serenity looked upwards closing their eyes as the lights shot up into the dark sky, and making a white shine trap both of them in the middle. It was not a cold stiff white light though, it was a soft warm light and neither of them struggled against it as they felt their bodies start to shiver from the power.
One moment standing on the moon, the next, they were at a forest full of full-blossomed trees. The second they arrived, and the power faded, Princess Serenity felt an invisible but very mighty hand pushing her towards the ground. She have a surprised yelp she heard a sharp intake of breath around her while her friends each managed a startled 'princess!' She felt her knees buckle under the pressure that was now being applied to them, and she almost hit the ground, and if not for a fast and protective earth prince she would have. She looked up into his stormy eyes and smiled. How could he hold that pressure so easily like it was nothing? She struggled for a moment, and then managed to stand up straight for moment, before again starting to collapse under the invisible force.
This time she flailed her arms out desperately fearing hitting the ground, and caught onto the someone's shoulder. The tall powerful Juperian senshi looked down in bemusement and then sighed, helping the princess to stand by leaning on her.
"Where are we?" came a muffled sound from the ground. It was Amber, who everyone had forgotten in Serenity's rather loud shriek in falling. Six pairs of eyes looked down to see Amber standing up and grumbling about gravity as she stood up steadily. Unlike her sister this was her second visit to a planet of stronger gravitational pull than the moon. She glanced around and spotted Venus shaking slightly under the now amplified pressure, but shrugged her shoulders knowing that Venus had also visited earth before with her.
The only reason Serenity had not gone was because she had gotten a rather nasty illness, but she would have gone even then if it had not been for her mother's keen eyes and care for her children.
"We're in the groove of the water fairy's. Do you hear the stream nearby? They live there, and usually they would attack intruders as they do not like Terrian's much, but, we have our own water fairy to comfort them and tell them we don't mean to harm them." Endymion said as the circle shifted to Mercury, who was listening to an unknown voice on the air as she turned to her left and gave new meaning to an opera singer's high notes. She was saying something, but everyone near her was covering his or her ears from the piercing squeaks.
Mercury started walking again and everyone removed their hands. "The water fairy's said they will give us refuge as long was we don't dry up their water spout or alert any nymphs of their whereabouts." She smiled knowingly. "They also said they wouldn't tell anyone we were there." A patch of tall weeds was just up ahead, and everyone watched as Mercury parted them to reveal a beautiful waterfall and shimmering river with exquisite trees and flowers everywhere. Serenity and Amber rushed forth, smelling every flower they reached and touching everything they could get their hands on, being careful not to break even the smallest leaf. This was a place that did not need words; the soft hum of wings was enough to make the place seem homely.
The plant life was so much fuller here! Jupiter plucked a single blade of grass and sniffed it. Even the grasses scent was richer than it was on the moon. She looked around, the entire place lit with a new light in her eyes. She would have to find out how everything was so fertile here. She rushed off to see if it was the water or soil.
Mars glanced around and picked several faults out immediately. One, no cleaning facilities. Two, no civilization, they would be all on their own. Three, those fairy's and their little beady blue eyes were starting to frighten her, not by their aura, but those little eyes made of seemingly water…
Mercury took one look and proclaimed it paradise. Soft aqua glows signaled the water fairy's wings fluttering to keep them flying, and that reflected off the glistening water made the place even more radiant. Water every way you looked, and calming trees to relax near or in the shade of. Air thick with fresh flowers and little creatures of water greeting you and complimenting you everywhere. It was her heaven.
Some others were more reluctant to accept all this though. Venus spotted several ways that intruders could easily sneak into their safe haven while they were resting and attack them while they slept unknowing. She rushed to a tree and snatched a leaf off throwing it into the air. When it blew south she went over to Endymion and consulted with him about where civilization was. He pointed north and she sighed in relief. They could easily stay here a few days, and they head up to the city and start their new lives.
"Sere, what are we supposed to call you?" Endymion patted his beloved's head as she sucked in the fragrance of a lily. She was just so adorable when she did that! But he smashed that thought waiting for an answer.
"Whatever you want, Endy." She looked up at him smiling radiantly.
"Hmm…what about Usagi? That means bunny here." He smirked while she grinned not gaining the second meaning behind the name. Almost instantaneously she accepted the new name.
"Okay! Hey guy's, my new names Usagi!" She called to her friends who were all separated around the small groove of trees. There were affirmative snickers and nods as she turned back to the white lily floating harmlessly in the stream.
"Come along Usako, I to show you where I planned for you to stay. We should be there in a few days. He reached for her hand which she swiftly supplied as he led her up to the top of the waterfall, leaving their possessions behind them and being very cautious not to slip on the slick rock. When they reached the top, Serenity saw something that took Serenity's breath away.
"T-th-thank you Endy!" Was all she could manage at the sight before her as she latched herself around his middle in an appreciative hug.
**************************************************************************** *
Next – What Serenity see that made her so happy? The girls set up their new lives and assume the position of occasionally rebellious villagers who happen to have mysterious connections with the generals and prince of earth and live quite mysterious lives.