Evening Star
With the Coming of the Dawn
Chapter Eight
***
"I just don't feel she can be trusted," Rei spoke in quiet consternation. Stopping the intense examination of her hands, Rei look up at the three other girls seated on the floor of her temple, around a low standing table. "I kept getting such strange vibes from her." The quiet, blue haired Amy seemed about ready to argue the point when Lita spoke up.
"I agree with Rei. There was just something about her that didn't set right with me," Lita said, her brow furrowed, "She just seemed a little too eager to help protect Serena." With that, Mina's head popped up.
"Honestly, I don't believe we've got anything to worry about. I think we need to just lay off and give her a chance," Mina spoke simply, shrugging her shoulders. Blushing a bit in embarrassment after realizing each of the girls was staring at her, Mina hesitantly continued.
"Well guys, I mean think about it. You're doing to her exactly whatever one else has done to you: you're judging her, making assumptions about her, before you know the whole story. The bad vibes you picked up from her Rei could be chalked up to her just having a bad day. Gods know there have been plenty of days when the bad vibes must have just poured out of me – that doesn't make me evil," Mina finished, her tone very matter of fact.
Rei shifted her position on the floor to better see her blond haired friend, carefully minding her arm and shoulder, which were both done up in a sling.
"No Mina, what I felt was not caused by a bad day," Rei said quietly, her usual quick fire temper subdued. As rare as it was for the temple Priestess not to over react whenever her word was questioned, the other girls hardly noticed the change of character, given that their own thoughts were so preoccupied.This quietness, however, was a means of defense, to hide what Rei, out of pride, could not tell her friends - that what she had sensed from the new Sailor had frightened her. Rei knew such internals battles as she had sensed in the sailor were treacherous things, and Rei did not want her, or her friends, around the day this Sailor Star lost the war she was waging against herself.
"Be that as it may, who's to say what kind of life Sailor Star has lived?" Mina began to get a bit defensive, remembering all too well what it was like being the 'New Sailor'. "It may all have a very good explanation," Mina gestured with her hands, "We at least should give her a chance."
"I agree with Mina," Amy spoke in her gentle voice, her soft blue eyes looking to each of her friends, alight with a sudden passion that did nothing to obscure the great intelligence that shone from their depths.
Lita's emerald green eyes widened in surprise, her voice incredulous, "You, Amy? Of all of us, I was sure you'd be the first warning us of the risks of letting some unknown soldier in our lives!"
"On the contrary, Lita," Amy said, the sophistication in her voice losing its edge to her undeniable excitement, "I can't imagine letting this chance pass us by!" Turning wide blue eyes to Rei, Amy pleaded her case.
"Canada, Rei! She said she was from Canada! Rei, that's an ocean away. Just think for a moment, how many more could there be? For the first time in our lives we know we're not alone. We're not the only ones, do you understand?" Amy, her eyes ablaze with passion and desire to make her friends understand, looked to each of the girls sitting round the table, "We're not alone, and Sailor Star may only be the beginning. There are well over 100 countries on Earth, who's to say there aren't Sailor Scouts defending every one of them?"
Spreading her arms wide, Amy gestured around her, "Sailor Star spoke of an enemy, an extremely powerful enemy, that we didn't even know of! How many times a day is our world threaten by invading forces that we don't even know about? Battles that are fought by Sailor Soldiers much like ourselves. Think of all we stand to learn from her! Sailor Star may very well know of other sailors- given her power signatures, I wouldn't doubt it if she told us she were their leader. Imagine the new worlds that could be opened up to us through her."
Amy's tone turned exasperated as she continued, "She knew so much about the Moon Kingdom. Who's to say she wasn't on the Moon the day it was destroyed? She may have been a Guardian of some great Monarchy that we have yet to remember, or one that we never even knew of."
Defeat sounding in her voice, Amy finished, "The benefits of what we can learn from her, greatly outweigh the risks of getting close to her to learn it. We simply can't let this chance pass us by."
Lita, Mina, Rei… to say the least, were flabbergasted. Never had their quiet, demure little Amy ever made such a powerful speech. Silence filled the room as the girls absorbed and realized the validity of Amy's words, and despite any inner conflict they might have had, the girls were about to respond affirmatively when another soft voice interrupted them.
"I wish we had Darien to go to on this," Serena spoke softly, sadly. Four heads of Blue, Ebony, Chestnut Brown, and Golden Blonde turned in surprise at the sound of her voice. Serena hadn't so much as uttered a word since her arrival at the temple. She'd quietly sat down on a low bed situated just below an open window over looking the temple's gardens, and had been promptly forgotten by the other girl's in the room; caught up in their discussion as they were, they simply assumed she hadn't been listening.
"Darien would know what to do," Serena stared out the window, lost in her memories. "He always had an answer for everything. He's such a good judge of character too – he'd be able to tell us if Sailor Star could be trusted. We wouldn't have to argue about it." Tears welled up in her kind blue eyes; her voice cracked ever so slightly, "He knows so many people here in Tokyo, important people – he'd be able to find out who Sailor Star really is I'm sure…" Serena sniffed, losing her voice completely as she stared off into oblivion.
Her beloved friends and Guardians looked upon their Princess re-born with great love and sympathy. An all-consuming sadness, dense and oppressive, blanketed the room. Looking forlornly at each other, Lita, Mina, Rei and Amy knew they could do nothing to ease Serena's pain. Sitting in silence, the girls felt powerless to protect their Princess from what had recently become her greatest enemy – her heart and its all-encompassing ability to love. Since Luna restored their memories after the defeat of Beryl, they'd all become quite accustomed to the sensation, unpleasant as it was. For Darien had not yet regained his memories of the Moon Kingdom, of Serenity, and the love they'd shared. That fact ate away at Serena, reducing the usually endlessly happy young girl to a state of deep introspectiveness and sorrow.
"It's not fair, you know. Since this all began, I've done nothing but win him back only to lose him again. Zoicite and Malachite took him from me just after we'd both regained our memories of the past," a tear slowly made it down Serena's cheek, "Then Beryl turned him against me, again and again. Even when I did turn him back to our side, she stole him away before I could even get to him." She sniffed, and wiped the tear away, "In Beryl's palace, my love for him healed him and he promised he would find a way back to me.So I left to face Beryl, and with all of you, I defeated her, hoping at least we could all live in peace," more tears caught in her lashes and streamed down her face, "but it was all in vain! He looks at me now with disgust in his eyes, he mocks me – it's like everything we had means nothing, even though he can't remember." Looking down, two tears fell upon her hands. Serena stared at the two droplets, watching them as they shimmered, catching the light of the sun from the window.
"I feel like I'd might as well give up now," Serena whispered in a strangled voice, softly crying now as she was. Mina got up immediately, and sat in front of her weeping princess.
"No Serena, never give up!" Mina spoke forcefully, "Darien may not remember his past with you, but in a part him, deep down inside, there is his love for you - and he'll only be able to ignore that for so long. I know, that if you give up on him now, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Serena looked up, the trails of tears already shed catching the light of the afternoon sun. Mina, her heart wrenching at the look of heart ache in Serena's eyes, continued.
"You and Darien are still friends – enough at least. Why don't you ask him to help you find out who Sailor Star really is? You don't have to tell him the whole story, just ask him if he knows if any really important family has moved here to Tokyo recently." With a look of questioning from Serena, Mina explained.
"She had that 'rich girl' air about her. I know it well enough from the girls back during my days as Sailor V. She wasn't snobby about it though. She's probably pretty decent that way," Mina said in hopes of giving Serena something good to go on. "So, I'm sure if she's some member of an elite family, or academy even, Darien would be able to find that out," Mina nudged Serena with her arm playfully, "I mean hey, at least this will give you an excuse to talk with him!" Mina laughed at the slight blush that colored her friend's cheek.
The blush faded, and as it did, Serena asked seriously, "Do you really think so Mina? Do you really think a part of him remembers loving me? That I'd regret giving up on him now, after so long?" Serena was desperate. She needed some justification for the pain she had endured, would continue to endure until Darien regained his memories. Clinging to her friend's hands, Serena stared into Mina's eyes, almost as if all the answers to her questions and the fulfillment of her greatest wish could be found in those light blue depths.
"Yes Serena, I really do."
It seemed, if for but a minute, all the girls in the room held their breaths, waiting to see what Serena's decision would be. They did not wait long, for almost as quickly as Mina had responded, Serena threw her arms around her friend, engulfing Mina in one of Serena's infamous hugs.
"Okay Mina," Serena said, her tone a little more determined now. Letting Mina go from her hug, Serena looked around at everyone in the room.
"Okay," she nodded, "I'll try."
