by Jewel (Knowsall5hotmail.com)
A Sailor Moon fanfiction.
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Disclaimer and other important information in the prol.
Important Author's Notes are at the bottom.
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Prol
The Spindle and the Apple
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Queen Beryl awoke with a headache. The kind of headache she got when her generals failed her and the hated Senshi had escaped once more with their lives. She pressed the heel of a hand against her forehead and squinted, trying to discern where she was. It didn't feel like the Dark Kingdom.
Upon seeing the flagstone and torch on the wall beside her, Beryl thought for a fleeting moment that she was home again. The daughter of a courtier during the Silver Millennium, Beryl had spent most of her human life in the Palace on Earth. But she didn't recognize this corridor.
Suddenly realizing that she was no in her typical form-fitting, blue dress, Beryl sighed when she saw she was instead wearing a heavy white dress. Made of silk, it the bodice clung to her upper body and the skirt flared into a bell shape. The sleeves where small and rounded, more for decoration than anything else. Beryl was glad for that much. She really did despise any thing clinging to her arms, or limiting her movement.
Raising her skirts, Beryl took note of the fact she also no longer wore her favorite blood red, stiletto heels. In their place where white shoes with gold buckles across the toes, and the heels were only an inch. Dropping her skirts, Beryl silently cursed whichever yoma had laid out this dress. She did so much like her blue dress.
Grabbing the torch from its resting-place on the wall, Beryl strode quickly through the corridor, anxious to learn where she was, how she'd gotten there and why she wasn't wearing her favorite outfit. White was such an atrocious color. It made her hair look too orange. And besides, it was the choice color that bratty Moon Princess.
Whereever Usagi was, it was too damn bright. The sun glared, the grass glared and the giant trees glared. Usagi had tried glaring back, but it was too bright, and all the light simply hurt her eyes. So, squinting at scene before her, Usagi tried to desperately remember where in Japan had so much green grass and beyond the clearing, so many redwoods, birch and oaks. Did those trees even grow together?
Usagi pulled at her uncomfortable dress. It really was too hot for her to wear heavy velvet. And her hair was beginning to annoy her. "Hello?" she called, for what had to be the umpteenth time. "Is anyone here?"
A small rabbit scurried across the field, chasing a butterfly. I guess that direction is a good as any, Usagi thought, gathering her skirt and following the rabbit.
"Where the Hell are we?!" Makoto demanded, turning in a full circle before facing the other Senshi again.
"I haven't the slightest clue," Ami replied, frowning. "I sincerely wish that I had my computer."
"I'd settle for a map, or a villager. Or even jeans and a T-shirt," Rei muttered. "These dresses are impractical. Who gets lost in the woods in ball-room gowns?"
"I kind of like the dress, actually," Minako replied. Twirling around, Minako giggled. Her dress was fashioned of yellow silk, and except for the color, was identical to the dresses the other girls wore.
"They are rather pretty," Makoto agreed, looking down at her own dark green dress. The bodices were all fitted and the skirts full.
"Forget about the dresses," Rei snapped. "We have to find Usagi and Luna."
"And why and how we got here," Ami added. "I don't like this shade of blue, however. I'm more partial to a dark blue, than this icy one."
"More than likely this has something to do with Kunzite and that man who was chanting. Judging by the dresses, maybe we've been transported to the past?"
"But we're not in Japan, Mina, these dresses are much more appropriate to England, or France's past." Ami said, gesturing at her own dress.
"First we find Usagi and Luna, and then we worry about getting home." Rei glanced around. "It looks like early morning, or late evening, judging by the sun. We don't have our transformation pens, though. If we have to fight, that'll be hard to do with these dresses on."
"Normally I would suggest splitting up to find Usagi, but I don't think that would be wise now. So why don't we pick a direction and start walking?"
At Makoto's suggestion, the Senshi began looking around them, trying to choose the best direction to go in. Peering through the trees, Mina finally spotted what seemed to be a clearing.
Ami sighted it at the same time. "There's a clearing over there."
"Where?" Makoto asked, still seeing nothing but trees, trees and even more trees. "This place is Smoky the Bear's dream home."
"It's rather far away, but if you look straight ahead at where I'm pointing, you'll see a lot of grass," Minako said.
"It doesn't look like a lot. But I suppose we are far away."
Rei sighed, picking up the skirt of her dress as to avoid stepping on it. "We'd best start walking then."
The chamber was empty but for the large spindle that sat in the center of the room. I'm trapped in the Land of Fairy Tales, Beryl thought. That idiot wizard blotched the damn spell!
The evil queen resisted the sudden urge to bang her head against the wall. Why, oh why was it so hard to find good help these days? I will not touch the needle, she said to herself, repeating the mantra over and over again. I will not touch the needle.
But the thread at the needle was golden, and shimmered brightly in the sunlight that fell upon the spindle through the open window. Damnit, I'm going to have to touch the stupid needle. Resigning herself over to the will of the Fairy Tale, Beryl floated over to the spindle. If there's a spindle then there's a prince, she rationalized. If I'm lucky, it'll be Endymion.
And so the evil queen, having taken on the role of the innocent Princess, waltzed over to the spindle, touched the needle, and proceeded to faint into the sleep of the dead.
Zoisite was not amused. One minute he had been taunting the Sailor Brats, and the next he was lying on the forest floor. Dressed as an old crone, no less. His prized blonde hair was gray, and ratty, clumps of his missing. His back was bent, and in lieu of his General's uniform, he wore a tattered brown robe. Beside him was a basket covered with a white napkin. The basket's only content was a perfect, red apple.
Thinking back to the days when he had been human, and the stories he had been told, Zoisite eventually realized who he was. The Fairy Tale had made him the old witch! Grumbling beneath his breath, Zoisite began walking straight ahead. This was a fairy tale; sooner or later he had to cross paths with a princess. He was in the mood to kill something.
Kunzite had finished calling the bumbling wizard every bad name he knew, and was about to start the litany over again. He was dressed in black tights, a black tunic, a white shirt and a short red cape. With the red feather sticking out of his floppy hat, he looked like a complete idiot! And all because Beryl's precious wizard was as incompetent as the rest of her minions. Kunzite excluded, of course.
Waking up on a cold, stone floor had not helped him. Walking down the dark corridor, feeling his way along the walls, Kunzite had finally come across a chamber bathed in sunlight. A spindle sat in the center of the room. Beyond it was a woman in a white dress. She laid on the floor on her side, an arm flung wide, and a mass of orange hair covering her face. She looked oddly familiar.
Kunzite hesitated over helping the woman. But when he remembered that none of the Senshi had orange hair, he knelt beside the slumbering figure. Turning her over gently, Kunzite was mildly surprised to find his queen. But didn't it just figure that the idiot sorcerer would also pull her into the spell?
Kunzite tried to remember the protocol for finding a sleeping Princess in a fairy tale. One either had to kill something, or kiss the Princess awake. However, as it was Beryl snoring, Kunzite was rather loath to set his lips to hers. Even with the white dress, the orange hair and the unseemly snoring, Beryl was Beryl and one did not kiss an evil queen, even if she was the bespelled princess.
However, there appeared to be no dark sorceress, or dragon around to defeat to break the spell. Shuddering in disgust, Kunzite screwed up what courage he had and pressed a cold, stiff and quick kiss to Beryl's lips.
As soon as it was over, and it finished rather quickly thanks to Kunzite's more than human reflexes, Kunzite stood and brushed his hand over his lips. He tried desperately not to think of the grotesque monsters Beryl usually consorted with or of the slimy feeling that always rose goose bumps on his skin when he saw the queen.
Soap, Kunzite thought, I need soap and a cleansing bath and a bush to vomit in!
As Kunzite fled the room, Beryl came awake for the third time that day.
"An apple, for me?" Usagi asked, touched that the old woman would share her food. It was only after she'd stumbled across the old woman eating some berries that Usagi had realized how hungry she was.
Laughing maliciously on the inside, Zoisite held out the polished apple to the girl in the red dress. She looked like a princess, so Zoisite decided she must be the one the apple was meant for. He watched in delight as the fool took the apple, thanked him, and brought it to her lips.
Taking a bite, Usagi closed her eyes and savored the taste of food. She really hadn't eaten since that morning. And the apple tasted so good. Suddenly piece lodged in her throat. Dropping the rest of the apple to the ground, Usagi wrapped her hands around her throat.
"C'mon, my pretty," Zoisite muttered impatiently. "Die, already!"
Usagi's eye lids closed again, and she dropped back onto the grass. The minute Usagi's lifeless body sank into the clearing Zoisite changed back into his General's uniform. Humming to himself, Zoisite threw the basket beside the blonde and turned to the trees. He whistled merrily as he set off in search for Kunzite.
Mamoru hated the Dark Kingdom. It had to be their fault he was dressed like a ninny. Not that the tuxedo in bright daylight wasn't a brave fashion statement on its own, but this outfit was infinitely worse. The black hose, black shirt, black, velvet, knee-length tunic, and ankle-length leather boots made him feel like he'd run away from some Shakespearean play. The long, black cape and floppy hat with its red feather didn't help. He did, however, like the sword strapped to his waist. That was somewhat of an improvement over the cane he usually had to fight with.
He'd woken up on a set of spiraling stairs, and had been climbing them for what seemed to be hours. At long last he came to a door at bottom. It exited into a room filled with light, a spindle and a woman. She rather looked like the woman who'd been floating over the battle scene, back in Tokyo.
"My Prince!" She exclaimed, rising to her feet. "You came for me!"
Mamoru looked behind him, checking to make sure it was him she addressed. The woman threw her self at him. He caught her before she could knock him over. But when he moved to kiss him, he set her aside and made a dash for the door on the opposite wall.
Ami turned away from the scene, sobbing silently as she clung to Rei, who wrapped her arms comfortingly around the other girl. Rei continued to stare at Usagi's limp body, her own tears running freely. Makoto's fists were clenched, and her tears tricked out the corners of her eyes, even as she threatened some unseen enemy. Minako had knelt beside Usagi to check for a pulse. Now she just held the blonde girl, crying as though she'd known Usagi for longer than a month.
A commotion in the forest interrupted the Senshi's grief. A man dressed in all black broke through the trees, and came to a sudden stop when he saw the girls.
"I need help!" he exclaimed, walking to them slowly as he tried to catch his breath.
Taking note of the girls' hair and dress colors, Mamoru suddenly thought of something. "Are you the Senshi?"
"Who are you?" the one who looked like Sailor Jupiter asked; though her hair was down around her shoulders instead of its usual ponytail.
"I'm Tuxedo Kamen. Except that I no longer seem to have a tuxedo."
"We can't help you," Sailor Venus said quietly, looking up from the velvet-clad body she held on to. "Sailor Moon is dead."
Mamoru stopped in his tracks. "Dead?"
"As in she no longer lives," Sailor Jupiter snapped angrily, out of patience with any and every thing.
"How can she be dead?" He asked stupidly, still not believing what the Senshi said.
"Why don't you kiss her awake and ask her?" Sailor Mars suggested sarcastically before Sailor Jupiter could.
Suddenly Sailor Venus dropped Sailor Moon, scrambling to the other side of the dead girl to retrieve something. Holding up a half-eaten apple, Sailor Venus let out a rather colorful curse. "This entire place is too unreal, this is fake too. It's some kind of spell, some kind of fairy tale place. Here's the apple, and the seemingly dead maiden."
"You think this is Snow White?" Ami asked angrily, pulling away from Rei.
"I don't know," Mina replied honestly. She turned to Tuxedo Kamen, "I think you should kiss her."
Mamoru moved numbly towards them and knelt beside Sailor Moon. He gently lifted her head and lowered his lips to hers. For a dead girl, her lips were still surprisingly warm and soft.
Usagi came awake to the loveliest kiss in the world. She was about to return the kiss and at least get some tongue action, but she suddenly became awake of the apple stuck in her throat. Coughing, she pulled away from whoever was kissing her, and turned to the other side, hacking up a piece of apple.
Then four hysterical girls, all trying to hug her at once surrounded her.
end of part one
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
- So in case I'm such a bad writer, you couldn't
recognize the fairy tales I used in this part. they were "Snow White" and
"Sleeping Beauty."
- For your clue on the next part, it's titled "The
Cottage and the Tower."
- I live on reviews, so review, review, review! It
helps my muse. (grin)
Jewel
Knowsall5hotmail.com
[May 29th,