AN: Hi! Let's get this chapter started!
Where Do We Land
"Are you friends of Lord Winter?" Heero opened his eyes to find himself staring into the face of an alien, yet strangely beautiful, woman. She had placed his head in her lap and was stroking his brow with her three fingered hand. "He so rarely sends anyone to see us besides the servants." Several female voices murmured in agreement. Heero slowly pushed himself up and was glad that nothing felt broken. He remembered a moment after the disastrous teleport when he had the sickening feeling of free fall and after that nothing.
"Over here, Heero." Trowa was propped against several plump satin pillows with three other exotic women tending to various cuts upon his face. "I hit the chandelier before landing," he said by way of explanation. "They took Rei outside a moment ago. She told me to wait for you to wake up."
"Any idea where we are exactly?" Heero felt a twinge of unease as he realized that his connection to Makoto was blurred. After finally coming to terms with being a telepathic mate, he was not willing to return to being alone in his mind. His thoughts were distracted when he realized that Trowa was blushing.
"Rei seemed to know immediately where we landed." He drew Heero's attention to the plush surroundings and all of the erotic wall art. "We're in this 'Lord Winter's' harem." The two men locked gazes for a moment torn between laughter and horror. Together they spoke.
"Don't tell Duo..." Images of a gleeful braid-wearing American teasing them until the day they died about their 'happy accident' were enough to ensure their silence. He would never let them live it down. Just then, doors to the side of the room opened and in stepped five more slave girls along with Rei. She still wore her Senshi fuku, but the slaves had done amazing things to her hair with rubies and golden wire. She still resembled the same Fire Priestess, just a much sexier version.
"Don't tell Minako..." Both men swore themselves to secrecy. "The slaves insisted that I be well groomed for their Lord Winter," she grimaced. "Apparently, if one girl looks less than perfect, they all get punished." The woman who had cradled Heero's head upon her lap turned out to be the number one concubine and spoke for the rest of the harem. She guided them to the center of the quarters to stand beside a bubbling fountain.
"This will mask our conversation for the moment. You are not guests, so to be caught here means death." She told them of the ventilation ducts that connected the bathing room with the engine room of the ship. "In my younger days in the harem, I was adventurous and dreamed of escape. Now, I take care of the younger girls and keep them from giving up hope."
"How do you know that we can help?" Heero's natural suspicion of easy help couldn't be suppressed, but Nina, the head concubine, smiled.
"Even in my galaxy, we know the mark of the Star seed carriers. May the light of the Silver Crystal guide your actions."
* * * *
Ami tensed as she heard voices approaching. Upon waking, she'd darted from room to room in the icy hallway, hoping to find her friends. So far, she'd only found that she was in the storage area with tons of spare parts for machines whose uses Ami could only guess at. She strained her ears to pick up the conversation from her hiding spot behind a massive tire.
"Maybe . . .should press . . .against . . .wall. Ice. . .stop . . .swelling." There was a pause and then a slow moan. That sound of pure relief was so familiar, Ami knew exactly who was in the room now. She moved into the light.
"Someone's there!" There stood Makoto and Duo, the latter pressing a massive black eye onto the healing cold of the room's ice wall.
"I'd hate to see the other guy."
"Ami!" The blue haired girl found herself being swept up into a classic Makoto style bear hug. It felt good to not be alone.
AN: Another day, another chapter. I'm going to try to finish this fic before Friday. My computer time is swiftly running out. I want to thank all of those who've reviewed and I want to apologize for my common flaw of smallish chapters. Short chapters are easier for me to focus on. Thank you again!