Author's Note: I've had this idea for quite awhile now. I was writing and writing and I noticed that this was getting kinda long so I decided to split it into two prologues. Bear with me here. If there are any errors in this, forgive me. I hate spelling/punctuation errors, but it's late. What can I say?
The Knights of M'holyn
Prologue: Part One
She glared down at him, eyes boring into the top of his head, crying, "Oh, do not begin to treat me like royalty! Arise!"
He arose from his kneeling position. "Princess, I—"
She turned her back on him, but he continued to speak. "Princess, I cannot help but think that you are angry with me." He tried to hide a smirk.
"Evander!" she said, severely. "This is no time for jokes. How could you even think of it?"
Her bottom lip trembled and Evander knew she was holding back tears. He also knew that she would never let him see them without a struggle. "I'm sorry, Princess," he muttered, silently.
"Call me Raye, Evander, Raye!" She was swiftly losing the battle and a tear could be seen slowly making its way down her face. "You know that. You know that!" She ran to him, feeling his arms encircle her.
"Shh, Raye," he soothed. "Calm down." He could feel Raye push her way out of his arms.
"Calm down? You want me to calm down?" Raye stared at him in wonder. "It still remains a mystery to me how you can stay so calm," she spat. The skirts of her dress twirled about her as she went to her balcony railing, not really seeing the view. She was too absorbed by the entire situation.
Evander began to follow her to the railing, but then thought better of it. "Raye, I have to remain calm," he said. "If I am to keep my head, I must remain calm. You know I must keep my head for tomorrow."
"Evander…" she started, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Raye knew what she must say. It would truly be difficult, but she must say it. For her own sake and sanity. "I do not want to see you tomorrow."
"What? But tomorrow is my induction! You promised me that you would be my witness, Raye…"
He was confused. Tomorrow was going to be the most important day of his life and his Raye did not want to be there for him? At seventeen, he was to be inducted into the Imperial Knights, the youngest ever to become an Imperial Knight on his planet. The Imperial Knights were going to M'holyn as ambassadors to make peace, for M'holyn was on the brink of war with Mars. What reason more for Raye to see him tomorrow?
"My father can be your witness," said Raye, stubbornly.
"This is what I have always wanted! You know that. You, more than anybody else, should know that. I will finally be an Imperial Knight. I have worked so hard for this—"
She turned around, sharply. "For what? To forget about me?"
"Princess…love…I could never forget about you. You are too beautiful."
"Oh? Beautiful? That's it? And if I were ugly? What then? Would you not give me a second glance? Would we even be speaking now?"
"You know what I meant."
"Do I?" asked Raye, haughtily. She turned around and resumed her task of looking over the balcony.
Evander sighed heavily. Raye could be so difficult. He hated when she got like this. It could be unbearable to deal with and these situations always ended with a messy argument. He smiled to himself after a moment. They always ended with something else too…
"What are you smiling at?" demanded Raye.
Evander snapped out of his pleasurable thoughts. He had not even noticed that Raye had turned around. Walking to her, he wrapped his arms about her, ignoring her protests. "I was just thinking about how we normally end an argument." She opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when Evander nuzzled her nose with his. "Let me make love to you," he whispered, kissing each corner of her mouth.
"Evander…" Raye was annoyed. He could not just make her forget everything by making love to her. She wanted him to stop the embrace, stop the kisses, but at the same time, she did not want him to stop. It felt so good to just be held by him. "Evander," mumbled Raye, trying to obtain eye contact. "Stop."
Overcome by great emotion, he said, "I love you, Princess."
Raye looked up at him, startled. Her violet eyes grew wide. Evander had never said that to her before. Sometimes, she thought that she alone felt that way in their relationship, so she had always been to afraid to tell him. But now… "You love me?" she asked in a small voice.
He nodded. "You do not have to say it back," he assured her when she had made no indication of responding. He was trying to prepare himself for rejection.
"No," Raye began shakily. "It is just…I have always thought that I was the only one in love between the two of us. I love you too, Evander."
A smile ignited on Evander's face as he held her a little tighter. "Then I hope that you will still feel the same when I come back," he whispered. "And I trust that you will be at my induction tomorrow as my witness." He kissed her full on the mouth and quickly pulled back, waiting for her response.
There was no doubt about it. Raye would be there. "I will be there," she told him. There. It was set in stone.
The sharp sound of trumpets told Raye that the ceremony was beginning. From her throne beside her father, she heard the crowd quiet down until there was only a soft murmur and then finally, nothing. Everyone was waiting in anticipation to see the boy who was about to take one of the greatest honors of the Mars Kingdom.
As the crowd watched on either side, Evander walked the red carpet leading to the throne. The walk seemed to take forever. In front of him was the commander of the Imperial Knights and behind him were the other Knights. They walked, one by one.
Evander could feel the butterflies in his stomach fluttering around more fiercely with every step towards the throne. They had been so small earlier that morning. As he followed tradition and bathed in the Imperial Temple, he had been excited. But now, the excitement was accompanied with a serious case of nervousness. He was afraid that he would be sick in front of all these people.
What if he was not ready for this honor? It would be a large weight on his shoulders. What if he messed up? What if he was too young and immature for the duty? All these thoughts coursed through his head.
Finally, he came to the bottom red-carpeted stair leading to the thrown. He went through the actions, kneeling at the bottom step and head down, waiting for his soon to be commander to kiss the queen's hand. Then, he stood and walked up the short set of stairs to the thrown and knelt on his left knee, head down. On one side of him was the commander and on the other side was Raye.
It was tradition that in addition to the queen, there should be two witnesses. One of them had to be the commander. The other was the choice of the Knight to be.
The queen stood before him, lifting his chin. She looked into his green eyes and spoke loudly. "Have you come here on your own accord?"
"Yes," replied Evander.
"Are you ready for the duty?"
Evander had had previous doubts. But now, the moment had come. Now, the moment told him the answer. His heart told him the answer. "Yes."
"Are you prepared to die for the crown?"
"Yes."
"Let me have your left hand." The queen took his left hand in hers. "Put your right hand over your heart," she instructed. She did the same. "Repeat after me. I solemnly swear, promise, and commit myself to my duty, my planet, and the crown."
After Evander had repeated her, she signaled for him to stand up and step forward. From a small pouch she produced white dust and sprinkled it around him, forming a complete circle. As she circled him, he turned in a circle the opposite way while she chanted, "In the arms of the gods you shall be, you have promised and sworn, they invoke thee."
Finally, they met where they had begun, Evander's back to the crowd once again. He knelt, this time on his right knee. The queen then bent down to kiss him on the forehead. Raye smiled as the red, glowing sign of Mars emerged on his forehead and the white dust around him glowed red as well. The queen nodded again. "You may arise, Imperial Knight," she said, smiling.
He stood and bowed to the queen, then turned as the crowd erupted. He looked as his fellow Imperial Knights clapped for him. Evander turned to Raye, who was smiling brightly, clapping for him.
He was now an Imperial Knight.
two.weeks.later
Princess Raye was worried. It had been a week since she had received word from Evander. The negotiations had taken longer than she had expected; than anyone had expected. Including her father. That is what she was on her way to do as of right then: discuss it with her father.
Raye pulled the large wooden door open and peeked into the Meeting Room, suspecting that she would find her father there. Her suspicions had served her correctly. Her father and a few of his advisors were sitting at the long table. She frowned at the thought of having to wait until he was done with his meeting; he hated to be interrupted. She would have to do the second best thing.
Talk to her mother.
And so, she went to find her mother, anxiousness in her every stride. "Mother!" she exclaimed, bursting into her mother's quarters. "Mother!" she called again upon seeing her across the large room, playing her harp.
Her mother was truly beautiful, with long chestnut hair and brandy colored eyes. She looked like her mother before her and so on. Only Raye had raven locks and violet eyes, which she had never figured out where she had acquired these traits, for her father did not look like her either.
She walked across the span of the room and faced her mother. "Mother, I wish to speak with you," she said.
"What about?" asked the queen, not stopping her harp playing.
"The Imperial Knights." It was specifically Evander she wanted to talk about, but she thought against it. "How are they faring in M'holyn?"
"Well," the queen replied, simply.
"Well. I see…"
The queen looked up at her daughter curiously and stopped playing the harp. "Is there something else you wish to know?"
"No…" Raye supposed that if the Knights were faring well in M'holyn, then Evander must be fine. But, why hadn't he contacted her?
"This is about Evander," guessed Raye's mother.
Raye averted her eyes and nodded.
"I take it that you miss him."
She nodded again. "Very much so."
"Do you love him?"
Startled, Raye looked at her mother. Why was she asking? The two of them never discussed things like this.
Her mother stood and brought a brush, asking Raye to sit in the chair that she had just been sitting in. Brushing her long mane, she said, "Why do you love him, Raye? You could have anyone else in the Kingdom. Anyone. You are beautiful, you are intelligent. You are a little difficult at times, but that can be overlooked."
"And why not?" fired Raye, offended. It hurt her to know that her mother thought Evander to not be good enough for her. "What would you know about it, anyway? You and Father are not even in love."
The queen stopped brushing her daughter's hair for a moment and resumed again. It was true. They weren't in love.
Raye sighed heavily at her mother's silence. She felt guilty. "Mother, I'm sorry. I should not have said that."
"No, no. You are right," said the queen. "The King and I are not in love…" She hesitated; it was not going to be easy for her to get out, but she would say it anyway. "But your father and I were."
Uncertainly, the princess said, "What?"
"I said…your father and I were in love."
"What are you saying?" demanded Raye, turning around and standing to face her mother. "What are you saying?"
"Your father was an Imperial Knight," the queen began, slowly. "He was killed in service. He was killed protecting the king you now see today."
Raye's eyes widened. "How…can this be?" she whispered.
The queen continued. "I was pregnant. We were to be married and I was pregnant. There was an assassination attempt and…" she paused, trying not to shed a tear at the memory. She was remembering as if it had happened a few days ago. "…Grayden protected Verlil."
Grayden…thought Raye. That was her real father's name. Grayden. Although it was a common name, it seemed new to her. "My…father…died for..." Raye did not know what to call him. King Verlil was still her father, correct? Perhaps not biologically, but he was still her father, right? She was shocked.
Her mother nodded. "He thought himself responsible for Grayden's death, since they were great friends. He knew that Grayden and I were to be married and when I told him that I was pregnant, he married me. I did not think any harm of it, since we too were friends."
"But you did not love him," said Raye.
"No, I did not. I have grown to love him, but not the way I loved Grayden. I am not in love with Verlil, but he means so much to me. Do you understand?"
"No," said Raye, honestly.
"Then perhaps you will understand this. Find someone else. Forget about Evander."
"Mother! I love him! How can I just forget about him?"
"Because," said the queen. "Your pain will be too great. I know how it feels to lose someone that I love, Raye. There is a chance that something may happen to him and when the time comes, you may not be able to handle it—"
"Is there something that you are not telling me?" Raye interrupted. Conclusions bounced around in her head. There was something wrong; she knew by the way her mother fidgeted that something had happened to Evander.
"We are going to war," the queen murmured.
"What?"
"The Knights have been there desperately trying to make peace, but Prince Hunnris will not have it. He is set on conquering Mars and making it a colony of M'holyn."
"C-colony?" stuttered Raye.
"As of now, we are negotiating with Mercury to help us. The M'holyn army is extremely powerful. Long ago, they took Jupiter and Venus alone…"
Raye sank down on a lounging couch, not listening to the queen's story. War? They were going to war? How could that be? War was not supposed to happen. War did not factor into the equation. And now, war meant that Evander was not safe.
"Mother, I have not heard from Evander since last week," said Raye, more worried than before.
"Do not worry, child," replied her mother. "The fighting has not begun yet. The Knights are very busy."
Raye's heart fluttered with happiness. Busy. That's all. He was just busy. That was much better than any of the other things that she had thought him to be. She stood and started off towards her room. She wanted to be ready if he did find time to send her a telegram. Then, she remembered what her mother had told her.
"Mother," she said, looking back at her. "I do not know what to say to you. My entire life has been a lie. I am not of royal blood." Her mother came from a noble family, but was not of royalty. "There are so many things that do not make sense. If I have no royal blood in me, then how is it that things are the way that they are for me?" she asked, referring to her Sailor Mars identity, among other things.
"There will come a time when I will answer all of your questions," her mother replied. "But as of now, you have other things to think of. Remember what I said. Forget him."
"Mother, you are wrong in telling me that. I will not be like you and disregard love." Not wanting to talk to her mother anymore, Raye turned away and stormed off to her room, her step a little lighter but a little heavier at the same time.
End Note: All constructive criticism/comments are welcome. Thanks for reading.
April 13, 2003
Copyright, theMuse