Legacy
- Chapter Two
By: Moments of Insanity
Summery:
none
Disclaimer: Nope, Sailor Moon wasn't, wouldn't, and will
not be mine. Thanks to Ice for cleaning my grammar mess up -;.
Author's note: nope, this is not an all-powerful senshi
story, nor is it the sappy romantic type of story. It's about
working, starting from the bottom and reaching to the top. If you're
into the all-powerful senshi type of story, and romantic tales
between senshi and general, I have two excellent
recommendations:
Draken by Ravyn
Dark Night by
Waterlilly.
This is for Yoshi...who kinda kicked me into
writing this chapter
:P
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Ami
woke up light-headedly, eyes taking in the unfamiliar surrounding.
She stretched her arms above her head until she heard the popping
sound. Reaching over to the window, she swept the curtain to the
side. Her light blue eyes squinted slightly in the endless haze of
grays as the sunray slowly trickled into the silent city except for
the soft songs from the early birds. Her room was on top of the
towers, sparse of all furniture except two beds, a basin for basic
hygiene, a simple cabinet, a plain table and two chairs. However
despite of this simplicity, she loved it. Even more so now as she
realized the window faces east and overlooking the city. It held the
most magnificently beautiful view of the city.
Far away the
sounds of powerful flapping wings broke the morning silence, as a
beautiful falcon spiral down to the courtyard, settling down at the
outstretch arm of a boy with long curly wheat colored hair tied
behind the nap of his neck. The boy stroked the head of the falcon as
he took the bird of prey back into the building.
Soon
afterward the sounds of gongs broke the silence of the courtyard,
signaling the start of the day.
Scrambling out of bed, she
moved over, her bare feet moved quietly over the stone floor, to
shake Makoto awake.
'What time is it?' Makoto mumbled, her
hands flailing weakly to ward off Ami's hand.
'Early enough to
get my breakfast.' Ami replied softly, pulling Makoto up. Grabbing a
teal green tunic, she pulled it over her head, over her chest band
'hurry, we want to keep a low profile remember?' she said as she
fastened the wide belt over the tunic to hold the breech. She slipped
her soft leather boot on, before moving across to the cabinet to get
Makoto's brown tunic and breeches.
Grumbling softly, Makoto
pulled her brown tunic over her hair, wincing slightly as her hair
got tangle in the buttons. 'Gaw.. bad hair day,' Makoto mumbled as
she struggled with her brown tresses. In reply, a brush smacked
straight on her face.
'Sorry, bad throw,' Ami apologized,
while Makoto roughly pulled the brush through her hair, growling and
wincing at the same time. 'See, if you had short hair, it will be so
easy to comb your mess.' Ami pointed out, earning Makoto's glare.
'You're definitely not a morning person are you?'
'I am not
going to cut my hair. And that's final.'
'Aye aye, I hear you.
Here's your boot.'
Finally when Makoto was presentable, both
made a mad dash toward the kitchen, for breakfast, both feeling
anxious and yet exciting at the new beginning.
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The
kitchen was of course much bigger than the one they were used to. The
roaring fire in the fireplace gave the room a golden glow, the smell
of freshly baked bread and the chatters of people filled their air.
Makoto felt her fingers itched as she looked enviously at all the
utensils lined up on the wall. Cooking have been her favorite hobby,
and it was her pride to create something delicious, even with the
barest and simplest ingredients; she was the queen of the kitchen and
the menu writer back at home. Another titled that she cherished was
the creator of recipes, which made Michiru's bakery well loved in the
town. Ami shot a glanced at her, pulling Makoto's sleeves to show the
direction of the table. There was another boy there, with mousy brown
hair that curled outward. Shyly, Ami sat across him with Makoto next
to her. Without a moment of hesitation, their hands made the way
towards the basket of bread.
'Hungry?' the boy asked, his
brown eyes shone with excitement, his plate already emptied.
'Definitely.' Makoto replied, munching the bread. 'Your name
is Devin isn't it?' The boy nodded enthusiastically. 'Makoto from
Sarrinum here. I'ma as well.' She pointed to Ami, who responded by
inclining her head.
'Devin from here,' he replied with a
friendly smile. 'Sarrinum? Never heard of it.'
Ami
looked shocked while Makoto growled softly. The speaker was the boy
short-cropped strawberry blond hair whom Ami recognized as a son of
the nobles. He sniffed rather disdainfully as if offended at the
chaotic scene in the kitchen. 'Maxin Mainair, from the Mainair
Family.' He revealed in a pompous voice, as he continued to
scrutinize the kitchen with growing discontentment.
'Don't
know why, but I like to introduce my fist to his cheek,' Makoto
whispered softly to Ami, as Maxin flopped on the benches next to Ami.
Devin paled and head bowed, as if to hide inconspicuously from him.
'So Devin the loser, what brings you here? You have no place
in here,' Maxin sneered, 'You're just a son of a fur trader, why is
the descendent of greed fouling the place of royalty?' He grabbed the
bread basket, and another plate of food, 'Tell me, is your father
still laying those primitive traps in those ancient forests?' Devin's
face flushed an angry red, though he remained tightlipped. Maxin
continued while munching his bread, bits and pieces of bread fall out
of his mouth as he speak 'And you uncivilized people from the
backyard have no business here,' he sniffed contemptuously, 'Gaeria
is the center of civilization, you fouled this place just with your
presence. Tell me, do you know how to differentiate your left from
your right?' Ami felt Makoto tensed up, quickly she reached and put a
restraining hand on her friend's arm. She could smell the agitation
in the air, and tension is so thick that one could slice through it.
And she prayed hard for a diversion.
Her prayer was answered,
as two newcomers seat next Maxin. One she recognized as the boy she
spied in the morning. Now the second one was one that reminded Ami of
dear Usagi back at home. He had sun-kissed hair, though unlike
Usagi's long hair, his hair was short and unruly. He had the same
blue eyes as Usagi, except they were several shades lighter. The
characteristic that draw the connection was the fact that his bleary
sapphire eyes blinked many times, as if to blink away the tiredness,
the back of his right hand rubbing his eyes, while left arm stretched
high above his head. Habits that the late riser
Usagi had as
well.
'Morning,' the boy with short hair mumbled.
'Morning,
Lord Jadeite,' Maxin chirruped in a high, sugar coated tone, his face
broke into a greasy smile. 'I've heard so much from my father, you do
know Lord Mairner right? He is one of the most influential councilor
in His Majesty's court, His Majesty trusts my father a lot,' Maxin
babbled on, 'anyway, he told me that you are one of the youngest
squires in this chapter. You must be real talented, and who is the
one next to you? You must be Lord Zoisite?' His voice soon dwindled
to a halt, as the objects of his attention seemed to be more
interested in their breakfast. Next to him Ami and Devin tried very
hard to stifled a laugh, while Makoto was outright laughing. Maxin's
face turned to an ugly red color as that smile slipped of his face,
he hissed, ' I tried to be nice, and get you on my side. Don't think
so highly of yourself Lord Jadeite and Lord Zoisite. I know your
background. You're only the sons of a worker and a farmer. You have
no place in this aristocracy circle. If it weren't for my father,
Lord Mairner, I wouldn't associate myself with lowly scums as you.'
In a even
more malicious tone, he whispered, 'rumors said you're
promoted because you were such good bootlickers, tell me, how much
boot polish did you eat?'
'Shut up, Maxin,' was his replied,
'by the way, do you know you talk like a sissy?' Jadeite drawled.
This extracted even more reaction from Makoto who was pounding the
table with her fist, helpless from laughing.
'Shut up,' Maxin
snapped at Makoto who slowly descend back to snickering, her hand
swipping the tears at the corner of her eyes. 'Just you wait, I'll
tell my father how this chapter descend to this lowly level, and lets
see how your lord Kunzite handle himself.'
'You'll do better
if you'll stop hiding behind the back of your father,' Zoisite
replied, leaf green eyes sparkled with anger. 'I bored of all the 'my
father, Lord Mairner,' when you have the guts to back up your own
threat, call us.'
This silenced Maxin who looked about to
explode, though he knew he stepped over the lines. He narrowed his
eyes and ate his breakfast sullenly.
Blessed silence descended
on the table. That lasted shortly as Maxin switched his attention
elsewhere.
'Hey you. Pass the salt.' He motioned to Ami. Ami
raised one eyebrow.
'My name is I'ma, not hey,' she corrected
him softly, as she handed the salt shaker.
'I'll call you what
I like.' His hand shook the salt shaker lightly, waiting for the salt
to sprinkle from the holes. When it didn't, he shook even harder, his
arms seemed to detach from his elbow as he put more force swinging
the whole container up and down. It went on for some time, until the
lid of the salt sprinkled gave a small 'pop' and its content all
poured onto his breakfast, making a nice, small salt mountain on his
plate. He stared with a dumbfounded expression at that small
mountain, missing the self-congratulating handshake Zoisite and
Jadeite exchanged. He narrowed his eyes, cheek blushed with a fiery
red. He hissed in a low voice, ' so you think it's funny to make fun
of me right? Scum.'
'Pardon?'
'I said you think it's
funny to make fun of me! Do you know who I am!'
'Aye we all
heard you. Maxin. Son of the great Lord Manure,' drawl Makoto,
elicited snickers from Devin and Zoisite, outright laughter from
Jadeite. Even Ami hid her smile with her hand.
'The name is
Mairner, rats,' he hissed between clenched teeth. In a lightning
action, he shoved Ami off the seat. 'And rats have no place in this
hall,' immediately a rain of punches fall on Ami, who rolled onto her
feet and instinctually moved to the side, while blocking a few
punches.
'Hey!' Makoto cried, rushing to help Ami, who only
shook her head. Seeing Ami able to take care of herself, she
relaxed.
'Don't worry Makoto, these punches can't even make a
dent in clothes.' She said calmly, eyes narrow as she form a strategy
while still blocking Maxin's punches. Laughters were heard, as
Jadeite called ' Man, he even fight like a sissy!' That only served
to fuel Maxin's fury.
And with fury came mistake. He threw
all he got at Ami, who calmly stood aside, grabbed his arms and
pulled down. As he was felling she lifted her knee and slammed it
straight into his stomach, causing him to stumble back into the
table, plates crashed onto the floor. The hall was silent, except for
the heavy breathing from both Ami and Maxin. Maxin, in anger, grabbed
the mountain of salt and flung the small particles into her face.
Salt stinged her eyes, as tears soon poured out. A sharp
tackled caused Ami to fall on the floor. Air whooped out of her lung
as Maxin kicked her in the stomach. Choking and hurt, however still
sticking to her defense, her upper arm blocked the next kick, though
it did not block the kick aimed for her head. The hall suddenly erupt
into chaos, benches scrapping the floor, people running, she heard
Makoto screaming, she blinked, shaking her head to disperse the haze
that cover her vision.
'Silence!' A powerful deep voice
shattered through the hall. Ami felt she was hauled back on her feet.
Squinting, she saw the very tall man with long brown hair from
yesterday holding Maxin back.
Looking up, she saw a man with
authority, his icy gray eyes framed with long silvery hair stared at
the surrounding. 'Any one care to tell me what happened?' he asked in
a soft, dangerous voice.
As if his voice broke the spell, the
hall erupted into voices, each throwing in their accounts of the
story. Maxin throwing the arms that held him pronounced in a loud
clear voiced, ' that scum attacked me first, My lord Kunzite,' his
finger pointing accusingly at Ami. 'Lord Kunzite, it was an
unprovoked attack. I, as the representative from the House of Mairner
demand you remove this scum from here.'
'Unprovoked?' Makoto
exclaimed incredulously, ' Maxin, you're not only a bootlicker, but
also a lying guttersnipe!' The crowd murmured in agreement. The giant
man with long brown hair threw a look at the crowd, which promptly
silenced the uneasy mass.
'We do not have class difference
here, Mister Maxin. Everyone is treated equal. Therefore this lad
here will not be removed, and apparently there are some conflicts on
your creditability on your account,' Said Kunzite in a calm voice,
his eyes narrowed as he looked at Jadeite and Zoisite, who were
trying to look innocent. 'I'll take this little adventure as a show
of your enthusiasm, but it will not go unpunished, Maxin, you clean
up the mess Zoisite help him and Nephrite will overlook both of you,'
he added in a threatening way as the man with long brown hair nodded.
'Jadeite, you take this lad to the healers quarter. Every one now go
and attend your task. Now.' As the grumbling crowd began to disperse.
Jadeite moved over to Ami, who was rubbing her eyes as tears
continued to pour out. Makoto was already by her side, concern
reflected in her forest green eyes. Her eyes narrowed at Jadeite, as
if to send some hidden warning. 'Is your name I'ma? Are you alright?'
asked Jadeite uncomfortably under Makoto's unfriendly glare. Ami
nodded weakly, her hand gently touch on her throbbing head, feeling
the slight bump on her head. 'It must be a nasty shock, I mean, the
kick on your head,' he continued, 'better have it looked at with the
healers.' Amy nodded again, Jadeite feeling slightly more confident,
grinned weakly, 'I'll take you there then, the lady there is
frightening, but she can almost heal all maladies.'
'Stop
scaring the lad, Jadeite,' reproached Kunzite, eyes still showing his
disapproval.
'Will you be alright? Ames? I should have been
there helping you,' whispered Makoto, pale with anger and worry.
Ami
replied by pushing her gently towards the gate, she grimaced slightly
and mouthed, 'I am fine, get to class.' Jadeite gently took her
elbow, and bowed to Kunzite, leading her toward another door. It
opened to a colonnade that led to another part of the castle. In a
distance, the gentle sound of running water filled the space. Trees
flanked at the slide, it's shadow danced on the stone wall, as the
breeze rustled through the leaves. Streams of sunlight punctured the
canopy and showered the wall with dancing bright light, waltzing to
an unheard song.
'Nice day, except it didn't started quite
right, did it?' Jadeite said quietly. Ami nodded, the tears were
gone, but the pain still stayed. 'That cheating bastard should be
kicked out of here, aristocrats or not,' he continued, blue eyes
unhappy.
Ami didn't replied, she didn't trust her voice, yet
felt compelled to speak, in a gruff voice, 'Why are you upset?
Sir.'
He shrugged, 'I don't like the way he fight, it's dirty
fighting. You fight well, except you tend to be defensive more than
offensive,' he paused, 'there's nothing wrong with defensives,' he
quickly amended, 'except...' He opened the door at the end of the
colonnade and led her up
a stair.
'Attack is the best
defense?' Ami finished the sentence.
Jadeite laughed
sheepishly, 'That's what the instructor keep telling us.'
'My
teacher told me the same, except I'm not strong enough,' Ami said
guiltily,
remembering the way Haruka drilled her. 'Makoto fights
better than I.'
'He is taller than you, which accounts for his
strength,' he said smoothly, turning left on the first floor. The
decoration of this part was different. A red thick carpet covered the
floor, so soft that Ami thought she was sinking into a cushion with
every step she made. Delicate ornaments decorated the corridor at
intervals. Large windows overlook the courtyard and garden, it was
vastly different from where Ami stayed. 'Your voice didn't sound that
gruff before, have your voice broke yet?' He continued to ask, Ami
shook her head, 'then don't need to pretend to be older then, your
voice sounds really nice,' said he in a non-nonsense way. 'Also don't
worry about being stronger, you'll catch up one day. By the way are
you two brothers? He seemed mighty protective of you.' He asked,
remember the death stare he got from the taller boy.
'Not
really brothers, but we are best of friends, Lord Jadeite' replied
Ami. Jadeite stared at her for a moment before bursting into
laughter. Ami blushed, not understanding the source of his mirth.
'Sorry, my lord?'
'That jackass was trying to get on my good
side, don't believe what he said; I'm not knighted yet. I'ma, and if
I'm not knighted, I'm no lord. So you can keep the 'my lord' off my
name; I'm just a squire,' Jadeite smiled. 'In fact, I'm Lord
Kunzite's squire,' he said proudly. Meeting Ami's puzzled gaze, he
explained, 'the man with white silvery hair who stopped the fight. He
is currently the acting preceptor of this chapter, also he is the
champion of the royal family.'
'So should I call you sir?' Ami
asked politely.
Jadeite smiled, he like this lad, 'nah, for
you, just call me Jadeite, 'sir' sounds a bit too old for me.' He
stopped in front of a door, 'well, here we are.' He pushed open the
door, 'well get in, I'ma,' his hand ruffled Ami's hair.
'Jadeite,
I hear you, what sort of trouble did you get in this time?' a female
voice called out behind the curtain in the middle of the room. There
was a bed in the room, next to it was a small cabinet. Two shelves
lined the wall, it was filled with books and small objects.
'Not
me, Madame. There was a fight in the kitchen this morning,' he
replied. 'I only showing the injured how to get here.'
'Well,
let him in. I don't have all the time in the day.' She
snapped.
Jadeite whispered into Ami's ear, 'don't worry, she
may sound mean, but she know her trade. I'll leave you here then,' he
then turned, pausing slightly he said, 'and I'm sorry I'ma.' Then he
left, the door closing with a soft click, leaving the slightly
confused Ami standing at the door.
Ami took uncertain steps
toward the voice, her head crane as if to see over the curtain.
Hesitantly, she brushed the curtain aside.
A lady with long,
thick hair reading a book was seated at the table, Ami noted that it
might be a trick of light that her hair seemed to be highlighted with
streaks of dark green, strangely causing a nostalgic feeling in her
chest. 'Well what are you waiting, sit here.' The lady said,
strangely familiar garnet eyes peered over the book while her hand
patted at the chair next to hers. 'So what happened?' Dutifully, Ami
reiterated the morning's event. The lady's hand gently probed the
small bump on Ami's head, shaking her head while she listened about
the fight. 'People these days,' she muttered darkly. 'Well take off
your tunic and shirt.'
Ami squeaked, 'pardon?' her hands
flying to her tunic. She panicked, knowing if she take off her shirt,
her secret would be out. She would be send back before she gets to do
what she wanted to do. She head went into high gear, as she
desperately thought of a lie, a reason why she shouldn't take of her
clothing.
'I need to see the other injuries. Girl.'
Girl?
How did she know the secret?
The lady sigh, 'Little Ami, I'm
hurt you've forgotten me.' At that nickname, a sea of
memories
rushed out.
'Setsuna?' squeaked Ami.
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Please
Read and Review. - please please leave some constructive comments.
I know the dialogue sounds forced, if you can suggest anyway of
improvements, please tell me. If you feel that you need to email me,
here's the address