by Sailor Earth
*Author's Notes*
*Chapter Fourteen - Flight of the Thieves*
"I believe in you
I'll give up everything just to find you
I have to be with you to live to breathe
You're taking over me
I look in the mirror and see your face
If I look deep enough
So many things inside that are just like you are taking over"
Taking Over Me by Evanescence
"Usa-ko, are you ready to go?" he asked. I nodded. "You know, we don't have to come if you don't want to," he told me.
"But we can't stay here, Mamo-chan! Dimando will find you and kill you, and I'll have to go back and marry him!"
"We could run away to somewhere safe; forget about the quest."
"The others would never have it! They'd never give up something that they've fought so hard for."
"So? We could leave now, without telling them. We could give this all up, go somewhere safe, and no one would ever find us."
"Why?! Why have you changed your mind now?"
"Because I love you so much - you're more important to me than this. And if keeping you safe means giving up the fight, so be it."
"No. We have to fight. We can't give up now! And besides, I want to find my father. If I had to, I'd give up everything just to have him back."
"Well then, if this is what you really want, we will go."
"It is."
Everyone assembled outside with their luggage. Luna spoke.
"Right everyone. By now you should all know why we are here. But I'm going to say it again, anyway. Our aim has always been to promote fairness and equality, and to resist those that oppose us. But Dimando is on to us, and the way things are at the moment, we do not have the strength to fight back. So we are leaving. But we are not abandoning our mission. No, we are infact going to find Usagi-chan's father, and Dimando's older brother, King Sol. And then we shall bring him home and restore him to the throne!"
"Any questions?" added Artemis.
"Yes, I have one," said Ami quietly, "How will we know when we've found Sol? I mean, we don't even know what he looks like..." Everyone look at me, hopefully.
"I...uh..." I mumbled. Then I remembered the picture. I dug it out of my bag and passed it around. "Obviously he may well not look much like this when we find him, but it's the best I can do." Artemis was last to look at the picture.
"You're father is brave man," he told me, "I can see it in his eyes - just like I can in yours." I blushed a little. "No, really," Artemis continued, "There is a lot of your father inside you - I can just tell." Then he addressed everyone, "I'm sure you will recognise King Sol, because you can already see him - inside Usagi-chan." I didn't feel at all brave right then, but ever since I was a tiny girl, I'd looked up to my father, anmiring his bravery and courage. I thought to myself, if I could be just half of what my father was, I'd be doing pretty damn well.
"Artemis is right," Luna agreed, "Now then, before we leave, I'm going to say this: if you have reservations about this quest, leave now. we need everyone to be in this whole-heartedly, or it cannot work. Stay or go: it's your choice, and neither I, nor anyone else can force you one way or another." Everyone glanced at everyone else nervously. No one spoke until Rei stepped forward.
"I'm in," she stated firmly, "Usagi-chan I will do all I can to help you find your father."
"Me too!" added someone else.
"And us!" came another voice. In a matter of seconds, everyone had agreed to help, so we joined hands, each calling out our indivdual transformations that would discuise our true identities, and allow us to use our powers. Then we all set off towards the palace. When we got near, everyone stayed hidden on the edge of the woods apart from me and Tuxedo Kamen. Together we crept towards the gateway into the stables. As I unlocked the gate, I willed it with all my strength not to creak. Thankfully the cold metal let out nothing more than a low groan. I paused anyway, half expecting to have woken someone, but no one came. Tuxedo Kamen waited at the gate as I retreived the first horse. I led the horse to him, and then he took it into the woods, whilst I went to get the next horse. This went on for about half an hour, until all but one horse was left. It was my horse, Sahara. Sahara means "the moon" in Arabic, and I think that name suits her well, because she is silver-white like the moon. I slipped into her stall and stood next to her, burying my face in her warm neck.
"Sahara, did you miss me? I'm sorry I had to leave, but I'm here now, and you're coming with me." I reached for her saddle and bridle, quickly dressing her with them. Dawn was breaking. It was time to go. I led her to the others, who were already mounted on the horses I'd chosen for them. We let the other horses loose to slow down Dimando and his soldiers when they discovered that we'd gone. As we left, we rode past the castle, and I glanced up to my Mama's bedroom. She was sitting in the window, and she smiled down at me in a hopeless attempt to discuise her sadness.
"I'll be fine, and next time you see me I'll have Papa with me," I mouthed to her. The I heard a shout from inside the castle. It was Dimando, and he did not sound happy.
"Selene! The horses have gone! He's robbed me again! God damn the Masked One!" Dimando cursed. We bolted. Dimando surely heard our hoof beats, but there was not one single thing he could do. Without any horses, he was stuck. We travelled swiftly until mid-morning, we came to rest by a river. I did not know where we were going, but Mamo-chan told me that we were going to follow the river all the way to the coast.
For an hour we ate, drank and rested, and then it was time to carry on on our journey. There was no time to rest. That could wait until we were safely out of the country. But how we were going to leave, I had no idea. We couldn't afford to buy a ship, and no one in their right mind would lend us one.
"Well what about the ship you travelled from Japan in?" I asked.
"We sold it," Haruka told me, "And then we gave away the money to a bunch of peasants that we met. But don't worry, we won't need to buy a ship."
"Oh," I said sounding puzzled, "I guess I'l just have to take your word for it." I guess it was a good job that at the time I didn't know what they had planned, because if I had, I probably would have turn around and gone home there and then!
We arrived at the coast around midnight.
"Perfect timing!" exclaimed Mamo-chan.
"For what?" I asked.
"For leaving the country unnoticed," he explained.
"But we don't have a ship," I pointed out.
"Yes we do - it's over there!" He waved his hand towards the biggest ship in the harbour. The HMS Crystal.
"We can't take that! Some one will surely notice us stealing a ship!" I shrieked.
"Ssh!" hissed Mamo-chan, "Trust me, they won't notice until it's too late, and besides it's not stealing exactly. Really, that ship belongs to your father, and in his absence it should be your responsibility. Obviously, Dimando won't see it that way, but because you're with us, tecnically we're just borrowing it." I din't feel very reassured, but Mamo-chan did have a point. Besides, it was Dimando we were running from in the first place, so who cared if we were stealing his ship?