Shattered Tapestry
By Makura Koneko
Chapter Four
In the last installment of Shattered Tapestry…
"Time is up, ladies," Rubar said upon entering. "What is the verdict?" They all exchanged looks, then looked to Silvra, who grinned.
"We'll do it!" Silvra said, jumping up in a most unladylike way and not caring. "Look out, Elite, here we come!"
And now the Continuation…
Rodica tossed and turned. She wasn't used to sleeping on such a soft surface. At first it had been bliss, but then her body had started to complain. It had been so long since she'd slept on anything since her pallet. Her body knew the curves and creases and soft spots on it, and it was whining at the concept of her asking it to sleep on something foreign. Rodica sighed and stood up, brushed her long, still shimmering clean raven hair over her shoulder. She stuck her feet into the soft, red slippers –how long had it been since her feet had been warm at night in the spring? Let alone winter?
Rodica stood up and pulled one of the soft linen sheets out from under the thick quilt. The act made a messy tangle of the bedclothes, but she was too tired to give it much thought as she wrapped the sheet around her shoulders. She looked over her shoulder; the sheet trailed behind her a good six feet at least. She sighed and dismissed it as she grabbed a pillow and headed for the balcony, the doors to which were in the main room. She exited her bedchambers and pushed open the balcony doors, made of pure, shining glass. She took a moment to touch the glass. Glass, especially glass as fine and clear as this, was a prized possession in Alalia-below. Both as a luxury trinket and a weapon.
Rodica shook her head. That life was behind her now. She could feel it.
She found a spot between two large pots against the wall of the balcony, and dropped her pillow there. She moved the edges of the sheet out of her way so she wouldn't trip when she went to lay down, but a peculiar sound stopped her.
Someone crying.
Sobbing really, and desperately trying to stiffle the sound. Rodica frowned. Why did it sound familiar? She'd heard people crying all her life, and they'd all sounded the same to her. But this one…this one she knew…
An image of a golden haired girl with bright blue eyes and a cute, although pitifully tearful pout on her face flashed through her mind. She was sitting on the steps of…some place special. She was holding her knee. It was scrapped badly. Rodica felt bad, as if she had caused it…
Then the image was gone, as if it had never been. But one thing was the same. The girl in the vision had been sniffling the same pitiful tears that she was hearing now.
Rodica let her sheet fall away from her, and she walked, clad only in an almost sheer pink silk gown trimmed with red ribbon. She placed her hands on the smooth marble of the balcony banister railing, and leaned over it slightly, looking to her right then to her left at the other balconies. She looked above her, then below…
There. Directly below her, nestled in the arms of a man who's face was hidden by shadows, was a girl that was unmistakably familiar.
"Faesilvria…" Rodica murmured. She'd recognize that ridiculous hair style anywhere. What was she doing out of bed? Silvra had struck Rodica as a girl who loved her beauty sleep. Not only that, but a girl whom was hard to make sad, truly, genuinely sad, not the pouty tears nobly born ladies so often displayed in order to get attention. Rodica frowned. Had that man hurt her? Was he forced himself on her?
Rodica squinted through the darkness. No, the mutual tenderness with which they held each other was unmistakable. The couple below were soulmates. Rodica had seen enough of them in her dreams and visions to know them when she saw them.
As she watched, the man whispered something to her, and she gasped, pulling away slightly. Rodica could barely make out the expression of shocked delight on Silvra's sweetly innocent face. Rodica couldn't help but smile slightly. Somehow the thought of Silvra being happy made her happy. Enough other odd things had happened lately that Rodica didn't bother to question that fact, only absently pulled her amulet out from under her nightgown, fiddling with it absentmindedly as she watched the couple below.
The man, whose face was obscured by shadows, while Silvra's was illuminated by moonlight, said something else, and Silvra giggled, then sobered, her face sad once again. The man put his fingers under her chin and lifted her face to look at him. He pressed his forehead tenderly to hers, said something softly. Silvra's eyes widened slightly, filling with tears. She sobbed something that sounded faintly like 'I love you,' and threw herself deep into his arms, tears running down her face. The man lifted her face up to his once more, and bent his down to kiss her…
Rodica drew in a sharp breath as an even sharper pain lanced through her temples….
She walked through the corridors, wandering mindlessly. The ball she had planned was going on down below. Why wasn't she enjoying it? Even she didn't know for sure. She, along with all the other Senshi, were uneasy tonight. None of them wanted to admit what they all knew to the depths of their souls…
"Curse you, Beryl," She snarled as she glared up at the Earth, hovering in all its blue beauty above the Diana Palace. She sighed. She was tired. So very, very tired. Tired of fighting, tired of hating, tired of worrying…tired of missing the one she'd thought she'd loved…
The others assured her that Jedite hadn't gone over on his own accord. He must have been brainwashed.
She wasn't so sure. Perhaps that in itself was a sign that perhaps they hadn't meant to be. If she loved him, surely she should believe with all her heart that Jedite would never leave her willingly? The question of whether or not she'd ever truly loved him haunted her, because she knew she would never find out.
The sound of a familiar sobbing caught her ear. And she went to a large, arched window supported by two beams. She leaned out the window, listening… Down below, she looked, and saw a sight that made her heart twist.
Nestled in the arms of the Terran Prince, Prince Endymion, was her own princess, the one she, the warrior of Mars, was dedicated to protecting for the rest of her life. Princess Serenity.
They had just parted from a kiss, she knew. She also knew, just as they must have known, that it was probably their last kiss….
As abruptly as it had seized her, it released her.
Rodica, gasping, sweating, near panicking –for never before in her life had she had a vision so startlingly clear and detailed- glanced down again to see Silvra and the man part from a kiss….just like….just like she had seen the other couple…just like…
Rodica whirled, forgetting her pillow and sheet, and dashed back into her suite, headed for the shower. Then she would get some sleep after a cold dousing; she'd slept on more horrible things than a feather down bed.
"I don't understand why they can't just call an assembly, put us on thrones, give a light show, make the announcement, and then we kick out the bad boys," Rodica grumbled. "It would be so much simpler."
"Rodica's right," Jovia scowled. "On to of being simpler, it would be quicker, easier, and we wouldn't have to stand in line in this heat wearing these damned scratchy things!" To emphasis, Jovia yanked her stiff collar away from her throat and used her other hand to scratch at it with a vengeance.
"I second the 'damn these itchy things' part," Amenea said with a slight raise of her hand as she tugged at her own collar with the other hand.
"Oh, come on, guys!" Nenaphe said. "Look on the bright side; this is the most sunshine any of us a have ever seen!" At that, even Rodica had to grin.
"The sky is a lovely shade of blue," The raven-haired beauty admitted. Jovia took in a deep breath.
"And the air is so much fresher!" Jovia had to smile. Amenea grinned. "And you can even hear the birds singing!" She added.
"That would be coming from that courtyard we crossed yesterday," Nenaphe said, motioning to where the tops of trees could be seen over a tall high brick wall.
"When is that meatball brains gonna get here?" Rodica sighed in frustration. "Once we reach that guard dude, we can't hold her place in line. She should have been here an hour ago!"
"Relax, Rodica," Nenaphe said gently. "You have to remember, Lady Silvra was pampered and humored from the day she was born. It will take a lot of getting used to, these rules and times and regulations. Give her some slack."
"I am giving her some slack by deliberately not predicting a horrible and painful death for leaving us out in the heat like this!" The fiery seeress held her ponytail up away from her sweaty neck.
"Calm down, Roddie," Amenea laughed. "It's not like the line will go any faster if she's here!"
"And how come the lines are so long, anyway?" Jovia frowned. "I thought Rubar had said the Elite was going down in popularity, and there has to be at least a hundred people in front of us waiting to sign up, and who knows how many behind."
"Most of them are probably desperate, dillusional, were forced to sign up, or are just like the ones that have made the Elite unpopular in the first place; selfish and power hungry." Nenaphe pointed out.
"And we're the best thing they've come up with to remedy that?" Jovia snorted. "Seems to me they've gotten dumber as well as more evil."
"Are you saying you can't get the job done?" Rodica asked slyly. Jovia growled.
"I'm saying that they had no way of knowing that we can do anything. They might as well have picked prostitutes, and then they would have been in real trouble. They're lucky I'm the one that resembles their Sailor Jupiter, else I wouldn't be on the team and you guys would really be in trouble."
"Oh, really?" Rodica raised an eyebrow. Jovia smirked. "Yeah, really." They glared at each other for a moment, before laughing and hugging each other lightly around the shoulders. Amenea and Nenaphe blinked and looked at each other, wearing mirroring expressions that said 'did we miss something?'
They were unable to voice their question, however, as all four of them went toppling over as a golden, silver and gray -the color of their cadet uniforms- barreled into them, screeching something that sounded like 'so sorry I'm late!'
"Get off us, Meatball head!" Rodica yelled. It took a few minutes of eye-poking and foot stomping and elbow jarring, not to mention a few more half-laughing name callings, but eventually the five girls got themselves straightened out and on their feet. Ignoring the stares and smirks they were receiving, they dusted off their stiff, scratchy gray try out uniforms -which consisted of nicely fitted dress pants, with tight, spandex type capri pants underneath, white tank top and gray jacket that from half way up the chest was unbuttoned.
"Oh, gosh, guys, I'm really sorry!" Silvra said, apologizing over and over again, wringing her hands as she watched them all examine their bruises and brush off more dust and finger-comb mussed hair.
"I really am sorry..." Silvra bit her lip as she offered one last apology.
"It's all right, Serena," Nenaphe smiled, laughing softly in amusement; the girl really was quite amusing.
"Huh?" Silvra blinked along with the other three girls. Nenaphe blinked and blushed.
"D-Did I say something wrong?" She asked, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"You called Silvra 'Serena,' Neph," Jovia said with a puzzled look on her face.
"Yeah, Aims, what's up with that?" Rodica added. The stares now turned to her. "What?" She demeaned. Then her eyes widened. "Oh..." She said. Why had she called Nenaphe 'Aims?' What an odd name...
"Weird..." Jovia murmured.
"Double weird." Amenea agreed, and swallowed. So she wasn't the only one...
"This is totally freaky," Silvra said. "But Kana called me 'Serena' this morning, too. And she didn't even realized she'd said it, either."
"Hey, you know, this all started when I got caught," Jovia said.
"You mean it's been happening to you, too?" Nanephe blinked. Jovia nodded.
"I can't count the times I've mentally, and almost out loud called you 'Amy;' or 'Ami.'" Jovia said.
"But I've been accidentally calling Amenea 'Mina' or 'Minako' for almost a year," Rodica countered.
"Really?" Amenea asked. "I never noticed."
"I noticed when you called me Raye," Rodica told her. Amenea looked sheepish.
"Guys, this is starting to freak me out," Silvra said, swallowing. "This morning, after Kana called me Serena, she said that a few days ago I accidentally called her Hotaru."
"So it probably has nothing to do with the Elite," Amenea summed. "Three of us have had it happening since- Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed. Under curious and puzzled looks, she pulled out a golden ring on a thin silk cord out from under her uniform and held it up. Rodica, seeing what she meant, pulled out her own amulet. Following suit, Jovia and Nenaphe pulled out theirs.
"I see you got my gift," Amenea nodded towards the pen with the amulet mounted atop it. Nenaphe blushed and smiled.
"Yes," She said. "And it works wonderfully."
"Glad you like it," Amenea said. "But now I've got a question for-"
"Hey, there, wenches, get a move on!" A gruff voice barked. To their utter humiliation, there was a good twenty meters between them and the boys that had been ahead of them; while they had been talking, the line had moved quite a bit. Snickers echoed throughout the street as the girls blushed and ran to catch up, tucking their amulets under their shirts. But only Silvra saw each amulet simultaneously, for the briefest instant, glow faintly. When they had caught up, Silvra, hesitantly, reached up and touched the small lump under her shirt, between her breasts; she feared being without her Crystal now.
The moment her fingers brushed the orb through the thin material of her shirt, the amulets glowed once more. Silvra took her hand away. The glowing stopped.
The line moved again, and Silvra forced her hand to stay at her side as she swallowed.
What did all this mean?
Amenea surveyed the room with an expression that told people that looked at her that she clearly had no idea why she was here. Or any notion of how do work the assorted machines, or perform various acts trainers were requiring possible trainees to do to test their level of physical fitness and endurance.
At least, that was what Amenea intended for people to think when they looked at her. Outwardly, she was a clueless blonde. On the inside, however, her mental gears were working overtime.
"Man, some of these guys are buff…" Amenea thought. If she didn't already know for a fact that their getting into the Elite Cadet Academy was set by Rubar himself, regardless of how they did on the tests, she would have been worried. But only slightly. She and Jovia exchanged knowing, secretive, cat like grins. Rodica smirked, and while Nenaphe was nervous about the physical exams, she felt confident that her mind skills would earn her enough points on the mental exams to get her in, even without Rubar's help.
"Um, guys…." Silvra said.
"What, Meatball brains?" Rodica asked, eyes twinkling. Silvra paused long enough to glare at Rodica before stating her question.
"I hate to be the pessimist of the group for the moment," She said. "But…um….I've kind of…never….even done a…I've never even done a push up in my life…"
"You've got to be kidding…." Jovia said. "I don't mean to sound like a pervert, but it's not exactly discreet that you've got a great body, girl. How could you look so…so…well, so in shape if you never exercise."
"I have no idea," Silvra laughed nervously, clutching her Crystal through her shirt and raising her other hand to scratch the back of her head, giving her shaking hands something to do.
"You take dancing, though, right?" Amenea asked. "I mean, aren't ballet and balance and poise lessons all part of the nobleborn gig? That's gotta give you a bit of something to start with."
"Yeah…I guess…" Silvra blushed.
"Let me guess," Rodica rolled her eyes. "You stink at dancing."
"Well…I wouldn't say stink…." Silvra fidgeted. "But I'm…um…well, you guys saw…and felt for yourselves earlier… I'm not the most coordinated person…"
"We noticed." Jovia said dryly. Silvra flushed forced another nervous, embarrassed laugh.
"Hey, little girls, the Holo-video auditions are down the street in the Broadway building." Called a man who looked to me some sort of coach began walking towards them with a slight sneer on his face. Jovia growled deep in her throat, one fist clenched. She took a step forward, when Silvra latched onto her arm.
"Don't do anything stupid!" She pleaded. "We don't need any enemies!"
"He made one anyway," Jovia snapped, but she relaxed and Silvra let go. Nenaphe touched her shoulder in thanks for stopping the fiery brunette.
"Is he blind and can't see our uniforms and the sign up slips?" Rodica muttered. "We've all pinned them to our jackets in plain sight."
"I think it's more a case of a combo pervert and brain dead syndrome," Silvra muttered flatly.
"Well, you sure would know about the latter, wouldn't you?" Rodica smirked as Silvra glowered.
"Trainees number 506 and 507, to mat number eighteen." A man on a platform read from a chart in his hand, small crystal and machine device held in his hand near his face to magnify his voice.
"507, that's me," Amenea said, checking the signed slip of paper pinned to her right breast pocket, grinning brightly. "Wish me luck!" She flashed a 'v is for victory' sign and dashed off, a spring in her run, to a mat that was halfway across the massive gym like room that they had entered after signing in. She regretted, as she reached that mat, that the Trainees were not allowed to cross a red line that was four meters away from the wall unless called to a test or exam; she would have liked to be able to hear their cheering for her. But, luckily, they had a pretty clear view from where they were, so at least she knew they'd be watching.
Amenea stood at the edge of the match, watching the previous match take place. From watching, Amenea guessed that one person was a 'chaser' and the other person was the 'elusive.' The elusive had to keep out of the reach of the chaser for as long as possible. As soon as the chaser managed to touch the elusive, they switched.
The match finished; the bigger guy had won, for despite his size, he was quick. The smaller guy, thinking he would be quicker, had lost.
Another young man, no more than eighteen, stepped onto the mat, shirtless. Amenea's breath caught. She was known for her fickleness when it came to crushes and love, but something alien squeezed around her so called fickle heart…
Amenea mentally shook herself.
"Get ahold of yourself," she told herself harshly. "You've stayed alive this long by not trusting men!"
"Hey, girlie, wanna give us a kiss?" A bystander made a loud, wet, smacking kissing noise. Amenea ignored him easily as she slipped off her gray jacket, hard pressed to keep from sighing from the relief that came with the absence of the scratchy material against her throat and arms. She thought of taking off her pants and going down to the white tank top and spandex capris, but saw the number of men watching and decided not-
On second thought…
Making sure to show off her slender curves and supple muscles and grace, Amenea stepped out of the itchy pants as well and carefully placed them with her jacket. Catcalls immediately ensued, but to Amenea's disappointment, her opponent barely glanced at the areas that seemed to be like nectar to a bee for the other males present. The bees being the eyes.
Okay, so the womanly wiles wouldn't be much help with this guy… That was all right. She still had plenty of other types of ammunition.
"Hey, wench, I thought I told you to scram," The same coach type man that had sneered at them all earlier approached Amenea now. Amenea turned, hands on hips, having just finished tying her hair back.
"No, you informed us that there was an audition down the street," Amenea said. The man scowled.
"Idiot woman," He said scornfully. "How stupid can your gender get? It was a clear indication that you should leave."
"Number 507, let's go," Snapped a man with a clipboard that had been overseeing the previous match from across the mat. Amenea's opponent grinned, but, Amenea was intrigued to see, it was not an unkind smile, nor a lustful one.
"This is a joke, Ardis," The coach snapped to the man on the platform. "She was just leaving. Call another trainee," The coach gripped her arm and turned towards the door. Across the room, she saw Rodica and Jovia both being barely restrained by Nenaphe. Silvra only regarded her with an oddly knowing look in her eye. Amenea winked at them, and Jovia, suddenly grinning, yanked Rodica back and whispered in her ear. The Seeress scowled, but calmed herself.
Amenea dug in her heels, and the coach-dude found himself suddenly not making any progress towards his destination; Amenea was stronger than she looked.
"I said, you were just leaving," The man hissed. He suddenly became aware that everyone within a twenty-foot radius was watching them. Amenea only smiled sweetly.
"Yes, you did," She said. The smile turned wicked. "But I didn't." She flexed her bicep, forcing the man's fingers around her arm to be parted just enough for her to wrench her arm free and take a step back. He grabbed her again, by the wrist this time. Amenea frowned.
"Please release my wrist," She asked, keeping her tone even. "I have a test to take."
"Quite playing games, whore," He spat. A purple vein in his temple popped out slightly…
"What did you call me?" Amenea's eyes flashed. Her sudden change in expression and posture, bringing herself to her full height so suddenly that the coach-dude stumbled back, would have been comical had the anger radiating off her not been so…well, intimidating.
"Come on, we all say the way you had no qualms about displaying your goods for the world to see," The coach growled, regaining some of his composure, his hand still clasped like a vice over Amenea's wrist. Amenea pursed her lips. With a deft twist known only to those of the trade of thieves, Amenea freed her hand, looking like all she'd done was flick her wrist to do so.
"You use everything you have as a weapon, sir," Amenea told him. "If you haven't learned that, then the Elite are in desperate need of men with brains." She turned, and walked calmly back to the mat, very aware of every eye in the room on her. She looked up at the man on the platform, his mouth open slightly. She raised an eyebrow at him, and, stumbling over himself for a moment, re-announced the match once more.
"You may give your names," The platform-man told them. Amenea's opponent smiled slightly.
"I am William Primus," He said with a bow.
"My name's Amenea Harte," Amenea said with a flair, tossing her long, hastily done braid over her shoulder. "Shall we?" she asked. William smiled.
"We shall."
A buzzer was sounded, and the match began.
Amenea, for the first half of the round, was the elusive; she was to try and stay out of her opponent's reach for as long as possible. Sizing up her opponent, she reminded herself not to get cocky like the smaller participant in the last match had. They circled each other, watching, William waiting for an opening and Amenea tense, ready to leap aside.
William saw his opening; a tear in the mat. Amenea hadn't seen it. He lunged. She whirled to the side. Her toe caught in the tear and she fell back on her bum. He pranced forward, arm outstretched to tag her. Arching her back and using every muscle in her body, Amenea pushed herself up off the ground, got her hands under her, and hoisted her body into a handstand that she converted into a backflip.
"Impressive," William granted as he stood. Amenea was more wary, now; he was quick and he knew how to use his surroundings to his advantage.
"Returned," Amenea mutually granted the compliment. "If you ever visit Alalia-below, you might actually last more than a few minutes."
"I thank you for your kind assessment, fine lady," William smiled. Amenea smiled back.
Then William dived. Amenea leaped, forward-flipping up and over him.
Amenea gasped, grunted, then went tumbling through the air, landing harshly on the mat; he had grabbed her ankle. Cheers went up as Amenea, laughing, rolled over onto her back.
"Round one has been completed at one minute, 2 seconds!" The man on the platform announced. "Round two commences…" Amenea stood up, shook herself off, and William both backed up a few paces to stand on opposite sides of the mat once more.
"Now!"
They circled each other, both of them watching each other more closely than ever.
Amenea leaped.
William ducked under her.
Amenea landed, bending her knees to absorb the impact, graceful as a cat. She kicked out behind her. William jumped, tucking his legs under him as Amenea whirled around and shot out a hand, grabbing William's ankle, gave a yank, and set him sprawling. Amenea placed a foot heavily on his back, between his shoulder blades.
"Round two has been completed at 56 seconds!" The man announced. There were cheers. Amenea stepped back, expecting there to be a scowl of contempt on William's face. Except, as he dusted himself off, there was only an appreciating glint in his eyes, a complimentary smile on his lips.
William took her hand, kissed it lightly, and without a word, turned, and left.
Amenea touched a warm cheek.
She blinked.
She was blushing? She'd never blushed for real before…
"All in favor or retracting our agreement to go along with this, raise your hand…" Jovia grumbled wearily as she all but collapsed at the base of a tree in a lush, breathtakingly lovely courtyard.
The response was an assortment of groans.
"And we gotta do this again tomorrow?" Silvra whined.
"Oh, stuff it, Meatball head," Rodica reached over and ruffled Silvra's bangs, her movements stiff from soreness.
"It's not fair!" Silvra pouted. "You guys are at least somewhat used to all this, and you guys did really well- in the top ten on the scoreboards!"
"You did just fine, Silvra," Nenaphe told her.
"I was in the bottom ten!" Silvra cried. "That's not 'fine!"
"I was in the bottom ten, as well, Silvra," Nenaphe pointed out gently.
"Yeah, but you were number one, on a list of five hundred, in the brainiac stuff!" Silvra sniffed. "But I didn't even see my name on it!"
They were all silent for a moment.
Nenaphe glanced at the broken looking Silvra. She was so used to being told she was good at everything she did, being pampered and kissed up to as a high born lady. She was very well aware that she wasn't all that good at very many things, but this was the first time she'd ever actually had to face the music, the first time her faults had been up for the world to see…
And yet, Nenaphe refused to believe that the girl was actually as incompetent as she, and everyone else, seemed to think she was.
Nenaphe got an idea.
"I'll be right back," Nenaphe, with a wince borne from bone deep weariness, rose to her feet off a padded bench and limped back into the main building. The testing had just ended no more than ten minutes ago, Nenaphe and the girls having left as soon as they'd all found themselves and their scores on the large digital scoreboard taking up an entire wall.
But taking up much less space, only ten square feet, on another wall was another scoreboard. Nenaphe limped to it, and, starting at the bottom, began looking for a certain name. When she was nearing the top and still hadn't seen that particular name, she began to get worried…
But there was no need. Right there, at the very top, was the name Faesilvria Monstrahl.
With a satisfied smile, Nenaphe turned, and left.
Looks like the little blonde princess had a few hidden talents of her own after all….
To Be Continued…
Ta-da!
Sorry it took so long, peeps! Okay, now, voting time. Do you want a) Amenea/Trippar to be a couple, or b) Amenea/William to be a couple? I'm having a serious Mina(Amenea) pairing delimma here!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!
Oh, btw, everyone give a bit 'round of applause for my beta reader, Tuxedo Starr (I call him Byrd-chan! ^.^) and my editor, my lovely Raven, who is the best boyfriend on the planet.
Talk to ya later, everyone! And remember:
Review.
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Hope Makes the Universe Shine,
Makura Koneko
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