Earth Bound
Cleaning Part One
Chapter four
"Where are you heading to Miss Serena? Isn't it a little late for you to be heading out?"
The young woman turned, "Yes I know it is. But I have to get these to a dear friend of mine."
The man, a royal guard, looked the young woman over.
She was the newest maid to the castle, arrived yesterday if he remembered correctly. She was also the youngest, by far from the rest of the other maids he knew. Serena was also one of the most beautiful women in the village. With her golden blonde hair pulled into an odd-looking bun, and blue eyes that put the beauty of the ocean to shame. She was small, and slim, with pale skin that glowed in the moon that filled the sky above them.
"Be extra careful ma'am. There have been reports of several people disappearing. Some say that the people of the moon come and take them to their world, and kill them."
Serena, a young woman, in her early teens, and not looking a day older than fourteen years old, scowled. Her pink lips thinned into a line, "Oh please. That is preposterous. They are just as nice as you- I mean we are."
"How would you know ma'am. The only person who has been there and come back is the King, Queen and their boy from the other kingdom."
Serena nodded, "And I'm sure they say wonderful things about it."
The guard snorted, "Pardon me, but that don't mean shit ma'am. We are against them anyway. They want to have our land so they can build a castle for their son and his bride to be. So all we know is that they are a teaming up against us."
Serena gasped, "That's horrible. They don't want a war, and I certainly don't want to- I mean- I better go, before it gets too dark. I'll borrow one of the horses."
The guard nodded, "Alright ma'am. I'll let you go, but only this time. Next time try leaving when its still day light." She nodded, "Yes I will, I promise." She bowed to him, before climbing onto the horse, swinging her leg over it to sit on the bare back of the horse.
"Ma'am, that ain't proper…" Serena smiled at him, "Yes I know, but if I ride lady like, I'll be out all night. Plus no one will see me, I swear on my grave they wont."
The guard nodded again, and opened the gate for her with his key. "I'll leave you a spare ma'am. It'll be under this rock, alright."
"Yes, thank you." She gripped the reins tightly in her hands.
"Now you take care, you hear. I don't want to come here in the morning to find our horse still gone, and you found dead somewhere."
Glancing at him from over her shoulder she replied, "I'll be careful I promise. I will also take the horse to the stable when I get back. Don't need anyone to think the horse was stolen."
The guard nodded, but then added, "Hey ma'am. I'd feel better if you took this with yea."
Serena craned her head around once more to look at him. She frowned, when the guard produced a blade. It was some kind of knife she assumed.
Shaking her head, Serena replied, "I don't think…"
The guard shook his head fiercely, "I won't be able to sleep tonight if I know you're out alone and unarmed."
She hesitated slightly, as she eyed the thing, "I never used one…"
The guard grinned, "It's as simple as cutting a roast. You just stab this end of the dagger into the guy and pull up or down if you like."
The guard turned the blade around, holding the handle out towards her. Serena grabbed it, and tucked it inside her pocket of her apron. "Thank you, I really appreciate all that you have done."
The guard blushed, "Shucks ma'am it was nothing. Just want you to be safe."
Nodding gratefully, she turned back around, before she whipped the reins on the horse's rear. Kicking with her heels, she yelled, "Heya!" The horse neighed, and started off in a full gallop down the dirt road, leading away from the castle.
It was a long ride to town from the castle. By the time she reached the buildings it was midnight, and the moon overhead was trying to burn through the thick clouds. She felt it, before she saw it, when the clouds parted, and the rays touched her.
Serena briefly shut her eyes, when she felt the light burning sensation, as her insignia formed on her forehead. In its fullest glory, the crescent moon pulsed with energy. Her body warmed, making her feel comfortable riding through the empty town. She reached the other side of the village, and neared the forest. The one from her childhood. The one with the young boy.
She slowed the horse down, by pulling at the reins. "Whoa…boy. Whoa…" The horse came to a stop. The rushing river could be heard just beyond the trees that lined the dirt road she was on. Nearly there.
Serena ripped the hem of her skirt, and tied the piece of fabric around her forehead to hide the glowing symbol that would either send her back home, or have her killed.
Whipping the reins again, she forced the horse to galloped down the road; dust and dirt picked up and were sent flying behind them. She used the reins, forcing the horse to turn down the fork in the road. The river grew louder, as she grew closer.
Serena stopped the horse before the water, and jumped down. She pulled the reins over her head, and tied it to a nearby tree.
Glancing around, she found herself alone at the tiny clearing that opened to the rushing water. From the saddle, she took the bag she had tied there, and walked to the river. Kneeling down and she set the clothes next to her.
Then one by one, she plunged a garment into the river, and used her soap, and scrubbed it, then plunged it under once more. She scrubbed again. After several times of doing this she checked it in the light of the moon.
Finding it clean, she then draped it on the horse, and went to the next item she had.
By the time she was finished, it was already reached 3 o'clock. Serena sighed, and folded each garment nice and neat, setting them down on the bag, she had carried them in. She had laid the bag near the river, so that man, one of the royal guards, would see it clearly.
She then turned back to the horse; she untied the reins, and fed him some of the bread she had brought with her. "Good boy." Grasping the horn on the saddle, she heaved herself up and onto the horse's back. "Lets go home boy. Heya!" She whipped the reins, and the horse neighed. It started off towards the main dirt road, which would then lead her back to the village, and then to the castle.
By the time Serena had reached the castle, it was already daylight. Children ran through the streets, while women, and men shopped at the markets. Guards were already going on duty. Serena had been lucky, that when she had entered through the gate, that the guard from last night wasn't on duty yet.
Jumping off, when she reached the castle, she looked about her for prying eyes. She held the horse by the reins, and gave him no leverage. Directing him to the stables, she was startled to hear someone curse, "God dammit Cherry!"
Serena frowned, as she pushed open the doors, and peaked inside.
A man, not much older than herself was trying to ease a bronze colored horse down. "Cherry, no treats, if you don't get in your stable now!"
She smiled, and tried to hide her laughter, that bubbled up inside her. Pulling off the wrap from her head, she covered her mouth with it. But still a squeak escaped from her throat.
The man turned around, "What…Hey that's my horse."
Smirking, she teased, "Yours, I thought they belonged to the King."
The boy scowled at her, his lips forming a serious line. His eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion. But there was still a small amount of amusement in their cobalt blue depths.
She noticed, when he turned back around, that his hair was long, reaching down to his butt, in a chestnut braid. How unusual. Men back on the Moon usually kept their hair short, but it appeared on Earth it was a slight fashion for some.
Serena led the horse inside, and shut the doors behind her. "It's alright. I brought him back right?" The man looked a little weary, as she walked towards him and led the horse into a stall. Serena pulled out an alph alpha sprout from her pocket, and fed it to him. The horse neighed, "Good boy."
She then stepped out, and shut the door. The horse walked towards her again, and neighed begging for more. "I'm sorry, I'm all out." Turning around, she felt the horse nudged her with his snout. Serena giggled, "Bye Soldier." The horse neighed at the mention of his name.
Focusing her attention at the young man, she curtsied, "I'm new here, sorry. I didn't think no one would mind. I had to go to the village."
"Why?" He was looking her over, thoroughly. Serena searched her mind for an answer. "I- I had to visit someone."
"Who?"
She frowned at him, "I went to see a friend of mine, who is sick." Pushing passed him, she made up her mind to leave. He reached out, and touched her shoulder, "Hey, I'm sorry ma'am. It's just, you can't trust so many people these days."
Serena glanced at him, "Alright, I forgive you." She turned to face him, and held out her hand, "I'm Serena."
The man grinned, "Duo's the name, entertainment is my game." He took her hand and gave it a hard shake while laughing. "Nice to meet you miss."
He winked at her, and Serena chuckled, "I should go." Duo pouted, "So soon?" Dramatically rolling her eyes at him, she replied, "Yes, now. I don't need to get fired when I just started working."
Duo let her hand go, but not after he gave it a suave kiss, treating her much like a princess.
Serena blushed to the roots of her blonde hair, "Duo sir…" She looked around, wondering if anyone saw. The stable boy raised an eyebrow, and looked back and forth, only seeing the horses. "What's wrong? It was just a polite kiss."
She flushed even more, "only royalty deserve such appreciation. And I'm no royalty."
Duo laughed out loud, and had to hold his stomach, for fearing that it would burst. "Where are you from, the Moon? All women deserve a kiss on their hands, its how we say hello to lovely women, haven't you ever received a kiss on the hand before?"
Serena furrowed her brows together in thought. Yes, too many times to count. From all those suitors, men seeking my hand in marriage.
Playing it safe, she replied, "No, never- I was told- I never deserved such- um, kindness."
Duo looked at her oddly, as if he wasn't sure he believed her completely. Shrugging his shoulders and he replied, "then, I'll have to make up for all the years you missed out."
The blonde flushed once more, when he took her hand in his and kissed it. He curled her fingers over his, and looked up through his lashes, staring at her through his long dark bangs. Already she felt the rush, even before his lips touched her knuckles. She felt the heat soar throughout her body lighting her senses on fire. He dropped her hand, and pulled away. The horse behind him, the one he still held by the reins, watched the pair, before it neighed.
Duo turned around, and went to work on getting the horse ready to be ridden. Serena hurried out of the barn, before Duo got another chance to kiss her hand again. She looked at it, and bit her bottom lip nervously. He still paid attention to her, even without knowing she was royalty, or did he know? No, he would have turned her in, told the guards. It was forbidden to be a slave when you were royalty, and vice-versa.
Serena hurried back to the castle, and snuck inside through the kitchen door. "There you are! I have been looking all over for you."
Whirling around, she was startled to see that someone had been in the room, but was quickly relieved to see that it was only one of the head maids standing there. A few seconds passed, and Serena sort of wished it were one of her guards scolding her.
Bowing her head, Serena whispered, "I'm sorry Mrs. Kin. I went out to the village- I had to see a dear friend of mine-"
"You don't have to lie to me dear. I saw you, with the stable boy- well I saw that look on your face when you came out- You were only a day old here, and already you have the cute ones flocking over you."
Serena paled. "Oh don't get ghostly on me dear. I wont tell a soul- I just wish you would have waited-"
Shaking her head, she tried to explain to the woman, "No, nothing happened. I borrowed one of the horses last night. I had to go the river for a friend, just outside of town. I was there all night, even though I wasn't supposed to, I washed the clothes. I left them there so that he would find them, and I just got back this morning."
The older maid flushed with embarrassment, "Oh dear. That was very generous of you to do such a thing for another. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions like that. Here lets get you ready for the day, before Princess Relena sees you."
Mrs. Kin wrapped an arm around the blonde haired maid, and pulled her close, "You are cold to the touch dear. You could have caught your death out there. What were you thinking, not even wearing a robe to cover your arms from the night's wind?"
Serena blushed; she hadn't felt the cold, not until Mrs. Kin pointed it out. She visibly shuddered, and her teeth clattered together. Mrs. Kin frowned, "Here, I'll cover for you while you bathe and dress for the day. When you're done, I will have a bowl of hot soup for you in the kitchen."
She smiled softly, "That's very kind of you Mrs. Kin. But I don't deserve such appreciation." "And why may I ask, not?"
Startled by the question, the girl struggled with her answer, "I'm a servant ma'am, lower than yourself. I should get you the bowl of soup, and tell you to be bathing, and I should be covering for you."
Mrs. Kin gasped, "Am I that horrible? I would never beg a thing like you to do such an awful job. I'm not royalty. But you dear, do need to bathe, to get that grime out of your hair, and clean- No shoes! How on Earth did you survive? Get in that bath at once missy, our you'll be cleaning the floors with your fingernails."
Serena bit her bottom lip, and stumbled towards the stairs. Mrs. Kin waved her hands at her, "Shoo, shoo, now go."
Nodding vigorously, she hurried up the stairs, and realized how numb her feet were. Her shoes had fallen off, when she had accidentally slipped into the river, nearly falling completely in it. Her feet had been stuck in the mud, and she had to take the shoes off just to get out of the water.
She had lost her friend's shoes.
Serena shut the door to the servant's bathing room. She shed her dress, as she walked to the tub. She could feel all the knots, all the sores, and all of her aches surface, as she turned on the warm tap.
The tub filled nearly to the rim, before she shut the water off, and stripped out of her undergarments. She tossed those too, where her dress lay near the closed door. Stepping into the hot water, she sighed in satisfaction. All ready the hot water was working with her strained muscles.
Placing the other foot into the water, she twiddled her toes; before she eased herself down to lay in the tub.
She moaned with pleasure, as the water massaged her aches, and eased her blisters. Who knew you could get sores so fast, in the little of time she had been walking on bare feet. It had been a long time since she hadn't worn shoes on rough ground. When she was young, she loved it so much, feeling the grass between her toes, the cold floor against the pads of her feet.
She missed her childhood; she had been able to get away much efficiently then. The thought of it made her smile.
Serena shut her eyes, and let her mind wander to the past. Those had been the best times of her life. She sighed, and thought about all the times she had escaped to Earth, after that first time. The first time, she had met someone on Earth. A little boy her age, she'd never forget him.
Serena tilted her head, I wonder if I'll ever see him again. What would he say about me now, now that I have grown into a woman, and act more like a Princess, well when I want to? She giggled, as she opened her eyes.
Reaching out for the cloth she sighed heavily. She dipped it into the water, before she started to scrub at the grime on her skin. She missed her home terribly.
Without a reason or not understanding what made her do so, Serena glanced up. She blinked several times, and wasn't sure what she should do. She was in the tub, now motionless, and she could feel the breath from the opened door hit her. The water felt cold to the touch. She blinked again, glancing at the open door, then at the man standing inside the bathing room.
The man was the soldier from yesterday, the same soldier that had stopped her in the street, when she was escaping from her guardians. He was the same soldier, who had asked her to take his clothes to the river. He now stood there in front of her, holding his clothes in his hands.
He grunted, not the least bit sorry to walk in on her like this, and her only cover, the dirty water surrounding her. All at once, her eyes widen in shock, her mouth opened, and she screamed in surprise, as her hands flung into action.
Five seconds later, the man near the door, was glaring at her for her stupidity. He glanced down at the water she had flung and splashed at him. He had been lucky to dodge it, before he was hit.
Serena stared out from behind the tub cautiously watching him. While the water had distracted him, she had flew out of the tub, and ducked behind it to hide her body from him. She wasn't ready to marry a man, let alone a peeping tom!
At that thought she shouted, "You pervert!"
The guard glared at her, and held up the clothes. In a cold voice, he hissed, "I told you to leave them for me to clean."
Serena's mouth open, but then shut, only to open again. "I wanted to help!" He replied angrily, "I don't need help, especially from a brat, such as you." His eyes were hard, his brows furrowed together. Serena paled, "Alright, I'm sorry, I wont do it again."
He nodded curtly, "You better not." He turned, and walked out, leaving the maid all alone and naked as a J-bird.
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Well there you have another chapter. A little longer, not much, but something right? As you can see, in my story the Moon is very old fashion, unlike the Earth, which will make this story funny. Since the Earth men don't understand Serena all that well…
Anywho, I introduced the stable boy. I believe the next chapter adds another G boy, plus the Princess, and her brother. That is all I will tell you.
I do have a question before I go into my thank you mode; tell me does this sound (as a summery for a story I just thought of, like an hour ago) good? Its called Falsely Accused. And here's a the summery…… "Heero Yuy?" "Hn?" "You are under arrest for the murder of Relena Peacecraft…"
Well? Any thoughts on that? I'm still thinking on the plot, but I just want to know, does it sound, from that 'little bit', interesting?
Now for my thanks to all my fabulous reviewers:
Damia- Queen of the Gypsi's: I love both. Damia is a very pretty name. I've always wanted a name hardly ever used…instead I get Haley… I know like fifty of them at school…I envy you… and your cool name
Elemental Angel Number 4: You like short chapter…well I think this is the shortest chapter here on out. All the others get pretty long…the prince…umm, I think the only prince is Miliardo… which you'll meet soon.
Kia Minokoe: Hey again! You like it that much?!?! Wow I feel special. Thanks for reviewing again. As for action, well… to some extent. I will say in one later chapter, its all action… J there is a bit; I'll give that much away…
Perfect Soldier Babe: ty for reviewing, and I'm glad you like it so much.
Mimi: hey, glad I can be of some help. Exams are a pain in the ass… I get them next week. Woohoo, I can just jump out a window with joy…hehe
Moongirl: thanks for reviewing
FireMoomba: I hope you thought this one was funny. I hope I can keep up with the good work; I'd hate to bore all of you. Hehe
Lizzy Black: Yes, very nice naked Heero. And I do plan to make longer chapters, and many more complications on Serena's part. Hehe poor girl…
Adrelliehs: thanks for the review. Yes I like writing short chapters; I make better cliffhangers that way. But longer ones aren't so bad.
Twiggirl06: hey again. :D I'm a May 29 girl. Wow I know so many May babies. Oh, and for the record, I plan to add more. Hehe… lots and lots more.
Kylarchan: yep, and the next chapter should even be longer than this one. Everyone lets all give a cheer, LP is capable of doing the impossible…. Hehe
Hikari: Of course Heero has a cute butt. How could he not, the guys a hunk machine. Hehe… my wonderful prereader, how could I ever forget you…
Yen_Nguyen: thanks for the review.
Well there ya go, thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Tty in the next chapter.
LP
