THE PRICE OF FREEDOM,
Part Four: "The Castle in The Sky"
By Bill K.
"For striking an Imperial Guard," the squadron leader announced, "you are all under arrest in the name of the Queen! Surrender immediately!"
The guards drew menacing-looking weapons from their belts to back up their demand. Sailor Moon and the Asteroid Senshi tensed, ready to bring their abilities to bear. Then they and the elder senshi heard a voice in their heads.
"Venus," Serenity thought-cast to everyone, "follow up down here. Go with Sailor Saturn and try to locate Michiru. Take Mercury and Jupiter with you."
"What are you going to do?" Venus thought and Serenity heard her.
"I'm going to meet with the ruler of this place. Perhaps I can talk him or her into a peaceful solution to all of this. I'll take Mars with me. You know she'd insist, so I thought I'd save her the trouble." Mars scowled at Serenity and got an impish grin in return. Then she narrowed the thought-cast so only the elder senshi could receive it. "I'll take Usa and Ceres with me. Why don't you take Juno and Pallas - - it'll be a good experience for them. I'd like you to take Vesta, too. However I can take her if you prefer."
Venus glanced at Vesta. The girl saw her and looked down. Then Venus noticed Mercury silently prodding her. Once more it made her feel like an ogre.
"I'll take her," Venus thought back. "It'd probably be better if we keep her away from the princess." Then she stuck her tongue out at Mercury.
"One problem with your plan," Jupiter interjected, speaking because she still wasn't used to all this telepathy stuff. "How do we get past these guards without taking losses?"
"I'll handle that," Serenity said with quiet confidence. Without fear, she walked up to the squad leader, to everyone's surprise.
Venus, though, recovered quickly. "OK, Serenity's about to make a play. Saturn, Juno, Pallas, Vesta, you're with Jupiter, Mercury and me. The rest - -" and she stopped when she noticed Saturn was nowhere to be found.
"Halt!" the squad leader ordered, pulling her shock stick. "That's far enough!"
"There's no need to be frightened," Serenity smiled kindly. "There's only the four of us and we mean you no harm." Mars eased in behind Serenity, pulling Sailor Moon with her. She motioned for Sailor Ceres to follow.
"There's only the four of you," the squad leader repeated blankly, completely ignoring everyone except Serenity, Mars, Ceres and Sailor Moon. "You mean us no harm."
"I am Queen Serenity of Earth. There's clearly been a misunderstanding," Serenity said.
"Clearly there's been a misunderstanding," the squad leader repeated.
"Perhaps if you take us to your ruler, we can clear it up," Serenity suggested.
"We'd better take them to the queen," the squad leader told her troops. "She'll clear this up. Move out!"
The squad moved out, surrounding Serenity, Mars, Ceres and Sailor Moon and completely ignoring the others. As they walked, Mars leaned in to Serenity.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Mars murmured.
"If I don't, I'm depending upon you to tell me," Serenity murmured back.
"Are the others going to be all right?"
"We just have to depend on Venus and her leadership skills."
"Venus?" Mars replied skeptically.
"Mom, how'd you do that?" asked Sailor Moon.
"Oh, it's just a little trick I picked up," Serenity smirked. "I saw it in a movie once when I was your age."
"How come I've never seen you do it before?"
"Because I don't like doing it," Serenity replied tersely. "Influencing the thoughts of others is an invasion of someone's most private and personal area. It's demeaning to that person and I only use it in times when the good is far greater than the harm."
"So why are we going to see this ruler?"
"To see if he or she knows what happened to Michiru and to see why there is slavery on this world. Perhaps I can convince her to change things."
"So why am I along? Shouldn't I be with the others?"
"I'd rather you were with me."
"But they're my senshi. I'm responsible for them. You told me that yourself!"
"Don't argue with your mother!" Mars told her crossly. Sailor Moon folded her arms over her chest and blew at her bangs in frustration. Ceres followed along uncomfortably.
"Anybody seen Saturn or Pallas?" Venus asked. She scanned the area with her eyes. "And for that matter, has anybody seen that slave girl?" Jupiter and Juno whirled around to find Veda had disappeared in the confusion.
"Find bunch we are," muttered Jupiter.
"Pallas?" Vesta thought, trying to use their telepathic link. "Pallas, where are you? Answer me!"
Venus noticed her concentrating, noticed the first genuine emotion the girl had shown in over a month. It was a good sign, a sign of the old Vesta who lived life and didn't shy away from a challenge. But how easily could she slip into a rage if something bad had happened to Sailor Pallas?
"She's not responding!" Vesta cried and only Juno truly knew what she meant. "I've got to go look for her!"
"Oh no," Venus shook her head. "We stay together."
"Sensei Venus-sama, please!" Vesta begged.
"If we all go running off in our own direction, we'll be easier targets and we won't get the mission accomplished. We'll look for Pallas when we can. Right now our priority is finding Saturn, because I've got a feeling she's headed straight for where she thinks Michiru is." Vesta was about to protest further, but Mercury interceded.
"Venus is right," she told Vesta. "Our first priority is the mission. I know it's difficult, but we must stay focused."
Vesta struggled with this. Clearly the girl wanted to go looking for Pallas - - at the same time, she didn't want to incur the wrath of her mentors. She wore the conflict openly on her face.
"OK," Vesta replied finally, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Come on, Vesta," Juno said, her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Pallas will be all right."
"Are you kidding?" Vesta almost sobbed. "She can't even cross the street on her own! How's she going to do on her own in this place?"
"We just have to hope she's with Saturn," Juno told her. Jupiter and Mercury exchanged worried looks with Venus. Finally Venus motioned them forward.
The troop escorted Serenity and her party to one of the metal pillars extending into the heavens. Pressing a stud on her belt, the squad leader signaled a door recessed in the pillar to open. Inside the pillar was an elevator. Serenity calmly walked inside, flanked by her daughter, Ceres and Mars, with four guards and the squad leader bracketing them. The car began to ascend at a high rate of speed.
"Where do you think we're going?" Ceres asked Serenity.
"To see the ruler," Serenity responded. She turned to Mars. "When we meet her, I'd like you to try to read as much as you can."
"You realize these are aliens and I might not be able to read them as accurately as someone from Earth?" Mars reminded her.
"Just do your best," Serenity replied.
The car opened and everyone stepped out. Serenity, Sailor Moon, Sailor Ceres and Sailor Mars all looked around in wonder. They stood on the edge of an ornate city of sleek elongated structures pointing up into the sky and gleaming in the light of the world's sun. Each structure was pristine and richly apportioned. It was a city that whispered of prosperity and plenty. Walking from the elevator, the group passed by a metal railing atop a transparent barrier that ran in both directions along the perimeter of the city. Peering over the railing, Ceres looked down and her eyes popped.
"Wow!" she gasped, turning back to the adults. "We've got to be thousands of kilometers in the sky!"
"A city in the clouds," Mars commented, "that sits on top of four giant metal legs - - and the backs of slave labor."
"Please don't judge them until we've met them," Serenity told her. "They may not be evil. They may just not know a better way." Mars gave her a cynical scowl.
The four senshi were escorted to a gleaming metal palace inside the city. As they passed, people in the street would stop and look at them, pointing in wonder. Sailor Moon would look them over as they passed, studying them as they studied her.
"Mom," she whispered. "Have you noticed anything about the people? They all have black hair."
"Oh?" Serenity looked. "So they do."
"Well, most people in Japan had black hair at one time," Mars told her, "before evolution and interbreeding with the west changed that. Maybe it's just a racial characteristic."
"So why don't I see any men?" Sailor Moon asked.
Serenity and Mars exchanged perplexed looks.
The procession was stopped at the door while the squad leader explained why they were here. When the Captain of the guards didn't buy the squad leader's 'logic', Serenity interceded and 'explained' things to her. Soon the four were escorted into the palace throne room.
"If it please Her Highness," the Captain, a sturdy woman with a severe beauty, said, "I present the Queen Serenity of Earth and her entourage."
As Serenity and the others walked down a narrow path to the throne blocked out in red floor tile against the yellow of the rest of the floor, they looked at the woman sitting on this world's equivalent to a throne. She was a woman of average height, but with striking features. She had large eyes with delicate brown coloring and a piercing look. Her cheekbones were high and her nose was prominent, giving her an air of regalness, while her small mouth was playful and sweet. Her black hair was pulled back from her face and fell down her back to her waist. She wore a violet gown that was fastened behind her neck and which nicely draped a slim, sleek figure, and a violet cape. Jewelry adorned her everywhere, from the ornate earrings on her lobes, the fancy ringlets on her upper arms and the clattering wristlets below to the ostentatious necklace around her throat and several gaudy rings on her fingers. The queen observed them as they approached, casually superior but generous. She seemed to be in her early twenties.
On either side of the queen were two menacing female guards. This was expected. To the surprise and unease of the visitors, there were also four women kneeling beside the throne. They were dressed in revealing harem-like costumes of diaphanous colored silk with their brown hair done up and styled and their bodies adorned with simple yet attractive jewelry. Each one wore a metal collar around her throat and wrist and ankle manacles connected by lighter, thinner silver chains. They looked at the approaching party with a mixture of shame and resignation.
Serenity reached a point about ten feet away from her and bowed. Mars and the others followed suit.
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Queen Serenity," the monarch said directly to Sailor Mars. "What a unique ensemble you wear. And your concubines are quite exotic and beautiful."
"Um," Mars began.
"It is a uniform of her rank and status," Serenity said without showing any offense. "And I thank you for the compliment on our beauty, though we're not Sailor Mars' concubines." The monarch stared at her in confusion, then looked back at Mars. "I'm grateful you chose to see us, Your Highness. I'm sure you did so out of your generous nature and not any connotations my name might bring."
"You are Queen Serenity?" the woman asked, surprised. "But your hair? You have such a simple gown for a queen and you wear no adornments?"
"A personal choice," Serenity replied, again without offense.
"Please forgive my mistake. I am Queen Desiree of Ravenheim," the queen smiled charitably. "What did you wish of me?"
"I am searching for someone who may be on your planet," Serenity explained. "A dear and long-lost friend - - her name is Michiru Kaioh, though you may also know her as Sailor Neptune. She was traveling with another friend of mine who may be here as well. Her name is Haruka Tenou, though she is also known as Sailor Uranus."
"These names are not known to me," Desiree replied. She was very composed and seemed to be indulging someone without really caring. "How come you by this supposition that they are here?"
"We received a call from Michiru on my planet," Serenity replied. "The message was short, but it said she was in great distress on this planet. Is it possible that her spaceship crashed here?"
"Spaceship?" queried Desiree. "Is such a thing possible? Clearly your race is more advanced than mine to be capable of such things. But such an event as someone falling from the sky would become known very quickly. Alas, I fear I am again unable to help you." She smiled innocently at Serenity. "Was there anything else?"
"Yes," Serenity said, bowing her head as if anticipating conflict. "You strike me as a very kind and enlightened ruler." Desiree smiled at the compliment. "Which makes me wonder why such a kind and enlightened sovereign would tolerate enslaving her fellow being?"
Desiree's smile dimmed.
"I have done no such thing," Desiree replied calmly, though the storm behind the smile was there in her eyes to see. "All the people of the Cloud City of Ravenheim are treated as my peers. They want for nothing. They live in a society that encourages exploration of the sciences and pursuit of the arts. They are free to do and say as they choose, for they are one with their queen and I would have it no other way."
Serenity merely gestured to the fettered women at the queen's feet.
"Them?" Desiree gaped, nearly laughing with incredulity. "They are not my 'fellow beings'! They are unique and exotic works of art that adorn my palace and give me solace." She grasped the brown hair of the nearest one. "Can you not tell the difference between us?"
"Your Majesty," Serenity replied patiently, "all who possess life are our fellows. We all feel. We all love. Outward appearance doesn't distinguish us and set one above or below another. Please, I would hope you were wise enough to see that. To chain someone and take them as a slave simply because they possess different hair color is beneath someone of your great station."
Desiree's eyes narrowed.
"You speak your mind bluntly, though your words are couched in the honey of diplomacy," Desiree said. "Since you are a sovereign and no doubt used to doing so, I will excuse it. Perhaps it is the way of your world to mix with those beneath you. I do not judge. But it is not our way and I would thank you to not judge me, good queen. And now I am desirous of an end to this audience. I wish you good fortune in the search for your friends."
Desiree turned her head, signaling the audience was over. The guards leaned forward in case their queen's wishes needed to be enforced. However, Serenity bowed with a grave expression on her face, turned and left. Mars, Ceres and Sailor Moon followed.
"That's it?" Sailor Moon demanded outside the room. "That's all you're going to do?"
"I wish I knew where you got this low opinion of me," Serenity sighed. Turning to Mars, she asked, "What were your impressions?"
"Well," Mars began, her brow furrowed, "she wasn't lying when she said the names Haruka and Michiru meant nothing to her. And she really believes that whole 'separate caste' stuff. It's almost like we're in feudal times in that respect. And those guards believe it, too, strongly enough for it to be their religion." Mars searched her impressions. "But it just seems to me like she was hiding something, too. I didn't like the vibes I got when you mentioned Michiru's spaceship."
"Then they are here?" Sailor Ceres concluded.
"Haruka's here," Serenity said, casting a worried look around. "Somewhere in this palace. I can feel it."
"So since the direct approach didn't work, we get sneaky?" Sailor Moon asked. Mars shot her a conspiratory grin.
"You're learning," she nodded.
Four guards walked down one of the halls of the palace, their black boots clicking on the tiled floor and chanting out their brisk pace. Black uniforms crisply hugged generous figures, while fine black hair was pulled back and tied at the base of the skull in precise military fashion. To anyone they passed, they were just four more guards in a palace full of them. No one could hope to guess that the four were Queen Serenity, Sailor Mars, Sailor Ceres and Sailor Moon.
When she had been Sailor Moon, once upon a time, she would have used the power of the Disguise Pen to alter her appearance into a Cloud City guard. That was long ago; now Serenity had the power not only to alter her own appearance, but to do so for her companions as well.
What she hadn't yet mastered in a thousand years was precision cadence.
"You're out of step," Mars whispered to her.
"Well I'm the one leading this procession, so technically you're out of step," Serenity whispered back.
"Well if you'd manage to keep a consistent cadence, I'd follow it," Mars growled.
"If you two are going to get into an argument, could you tell me now so Ceres and I can hide," Sailor Moon hissed. "I don't want all FOUR of us to get caught." That managed to calm them down. "Do either of you know where we're going?"
"I'm homing in on Haruka's aura," Serenity explained.
"And I'm trying to feel for any premonitions of danger," Mars added. "And try to keep in step with someone who has two left feet."
Serenity turned around and stuck her tongue out at Mars.
They marched up to a connector hall and turned left. That took them straight into a guard checkpoint.
"What's your business here?" the sentry asked, stopping them.
"We're on a priority mission for Queen Desiree herself," Serenity replied calmly.
"What mission?"
"We're under orders not to tell anyone," Mars spoke up.
The sentry eyed them suspiciously.
"Wait there," she said, reaching for a communicator.
"You don't need to do that," Serenity told her.
"I - - don't?" the sentry asked.
"No. You already called and confirmed it, remember?"
"Oh, yes," the sentry frowned. "I must be having a bad day."
"It'll be our secret," Serenity smiled generously and they passed through the checkpoint.
"For someone who doesn't like to use that, you sure use it a lot," Sailor Moon commented.
"There's just something telling me that I need to hurry," Serenity replied. "If I have to cut a few corners to get there - - I'll have to live with that."
The quartet came up to a double door. It was trimmed in precious metal with ornate door handles.
"This is it?" Mars asked.
"Yes," Serenity nodded. "She seems to be in here." Serenity tugged at the door handle. "Locked."
"Allow me," Mars said. She placed her fingertip on the line where the two doors met. "Precise Inferno," she whispered.
At once her index finger grew super-hot, turning first blistering red and then white hot. Then a beam of intense fire came out of the finger; but it was a narrow beam, precisely controlled and concentrated. She moved her finger down, tracing the seam between the doors until she cut the bolts, then doused her finger. Serenity moved to enter, but Mars kept her back and entered first. Once they were inside the room, Serenity dropped their disguises.
"Oh my," she heard Serenity gasp behind her as Mars surveyed the room.
The room was a dormitory to about thirty women. They were all dressed in the same diaphanous harem costumes as the slaves who knelt next to Desiree's throne. There were women of nearly every size, shape and hair color. Some had white hair, some had yellow and some had brown. There was even one whose hair was a deep violet. Yet there were traits that tied them together with an eerie sameness. Besides their garb, they all were stunningly beautiful. Yet they all wore the same mask of resignation and defeat.
That and their collars and chains.
"What is this, a harem?" Sailor Moon gasped.
"I think you hit the nail on the head," Mars commented. Sailor Moon looked at her and saw she was serious.
Heedless of their conversation, Serenity moved into the room. As she walked, the captive women looked away, as if fearing reprisal. Mars quickly moved to catch up while the younger senshi guarded the door. Mars saw how upset Serenity was by all of this.
"This is so sad," Serenity whispered. "How can someone justify doing this to another living being?"
"Because not everybody's as pure as you are," Mars said softly, with a hint of sympathy. "After all these years, I'd have thought you'd have grasped that by now."
"I keep hoping," Serenity replied.
They saw it together. In the corner of the room, wearing the chains and costume of a harem slave, was a lanky frame and a shock of short blonde hair. Mars heard Serenity gasp in alarm even as she realized the truth.
"Haruka!" Serenity cried out. Instantly she was at the woman's side, kneeling next to her.
But Haruka turned away and hid her face.
"D-Don't look at me," the woman whispered in shame. And at that moment Serenity wished she had no eyes.
Continued in chapter 5
Part Four: "The Castle in The Sky"
By Bill K.
"For striking an Imperial Guard," the squadron leader announced, "you are all under arrest in the name of the Queen! Surrender immediately!"
The guards drew menacing-looking weapons from their belts to back up their demand. Sailor Moon and the Asteroid Senshi tensed, ready to bring their abilities to bear. Then they and the elder senshi heard a voice in their heads.
"Venus," Serenity thought-cast to everyone, "follow up down here. Go with Sailor Saturn and try to locate Michiru. Take Mercury and Jupiter with you."
"What are you going to do?" Venus thought and Serenity heard her.
"I'm going to meet with the ruler of this place. Perhaps I can talk him or her into a peaceful solution to all of this. I'll take Mars with me. You know she'd insist, so I thought I'd save her the trouble." Mars scowled at Serenity and got an impish grin in return. Then she narrowed the thought-cast so only the elder senshi could receive it. "I'll take Usa and Ceres with me. Why don't you take Juno and Pallas - - it'll be a good experience for them. I'd like you to take Vesta, too. However I can take her if you prefer."
Venus glanced at Vesta. The girl saw her and looked down. Then Venus noticed Mercury silently prodding her. Once more it made her feel like an ogre.
"I'll take her," Venus thought back. "It'd probably be better if we keep her away from the princess." Then she stuck her tongue out at Mercury.
"One problem with your plan," Jupiter interjected, speaking because she still wasn't used to all this telepathy stuff. "How do we get past these guards without taking losses?"
"I'll handle that," Serenity said with quiet confidence. Without fear, she walked up to the squad leader, to everyone's surprise.
Venus, though, recovered quickly. "OK, Serenity's about to make a play. Saturn, Juno, Pallas, Vesta, you're with Jupiter, Mercury and me. The rest - -" and she stopped when she noticed Saturn was nowhere to be found.
"Halt!" the squad leader ordered, pulling her shock stick. "That's far enough!"
"There's no need to be frightened," Serenity smiled kindly. "There's only the four of us and we mean you no harm." Mars eased in behind Serenity, pulling Sailor Moon with her. She motioned for Sailor Ceres to follow.
"There's only the four of you," the squad leader repeated blankly, completely ignoring everyone except Serenity, Mars, Ceres and Sailor Moon. "You mean us no harm."
"I am Queen Serenity of Earth. There's clearly been a misunderstanding," Serenity said.
"Clearly there's been a misunderstanding," the squad leader repeated.
"Perhaps if you take us to your ruler, we can clear it up," Serenity suggested.
"We'd better take them to the queen," the squad leader told her troops. "She'll clear this up. Move out!"
The squad moved out, surrounding Serenity, Mars, Ceres and Sailor Moon and completely ignoring the others. As they walked, Mars leaned in to Serenity.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Mars murmured.
"If I don't, I'm depending upon you to tell me," Serenity murmured back.
"Are the others going to be all right?"
"We just have to depend on Venus and her leadership skills."
"Venus?" Mars replied skeptically.
"Mom, how'd you do that?" asked Sailor Moon.
"Oh, it's just a little trick I picked up," Serenity smirked. "I saw it in a movie once when I was your age."
"How come I've never seen you do it before?"
"Because I don't like doing it," Serenity replied tersely. "Influencing the thoughts of others is an invasion of someone's most private and personal area. It's demeaning to that person and I only use it in times when the good is far greater than the harm."
"So why are we going to see this ruler?"
"To see if he or she knows what happened to Michiru and to see why there is slavery on this world. Perhaps I can convince her to change things."
"So why am I along? Shouldn't I be with the others?"
"I'd rather you were with me."
"But they're my senshi. I'm responsible for them. You told me that yourself!"
"Don't argue with your mother!" Mars told her crossly. Sailor Moon folded her arms over her chest and blew at her bangs in frustration. Ceres followed along uncomfortably.
"Anybody seen Saturn or Pallas?" Venus asked. She scanned the area with her eyes. "And for that matter, has anybody seen that slave girl?" Jupiter and Juno whirled around to find Veda had disappeared in the confusion.
"Find bunch we are," muttered Jupiter.
"Pallas?" Vesta thought, trying to use their telepathic link. "Pallas, where are you? Answer me!"
Venus noticed her concentrating, noticed the first genuine emotion the girl had shown in over a month. It was a good sign, a sign of the old Vesta who lived life and didn't shy away from a challenge. But how easily could she slip into a rage if something bad had happened to Sailor Pallas?
"She's not responding!" Vesta cried and only Juno truly knew what she meant. "I've got to go look for her!"
"Oh no," Venus shook her head. "We stay together."
"Sensei Venus-sama, please!" Vesta begged.
"If we all go running off in our own direction, we'll be easier targets and we won't get the mission accomplished. We'll look for Pallas when we can. Right now our priority is finding Saturn, because I've got a feeling she's headed straight for where she thinks Michiru is." Vesta was about to protest further, but Mercury interceded.
"Venus is right," she told Vesta. "Our first priority is the mission. I know it's difficult, but we must stay focused."
Vesta struggled with this. Clearly the girl wanted to go looking for Pallas - - at the same time, she didn't want to incur the wrath of her mentors. She wore the conflict openly on her face.
"OK," Vesta replied finally, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Come on, Vesta," Juno said, her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Pallas will be all right."
"Are you kidding?" Vesta almost sobbed. "She can't even cross the street on her own! How's she going to do on her own in this place?"
"We just have to hope she's with Saturn," Juno told her. Jupiter and Mercury exchanged worried looks with Venus. Finally Venus motioned them forward.
The troop escorted Serenity and her party to one of the metal pillars extending into the heavens. Pressing a stud on her belt, the squad leader signaled a door recessed in the pillar to open. Inside the pillar was an elevator. Serenity calmly walked inside, flanked by her daughter, Ceres and Mars, with four guards and the squad leader bracketing them. The car began to ascend at a high rate of speed.
"Where do you think we're going?" Ceres asked Serenity.
"To see the ruler," Serenity responded. She turned to Mars. "When we meet her, I'd like you to try to read as much as you can."
"You realize these are aliens and I might not be able to read them as accurately as someone from Earth?" Mars reminded her.
"Just do your best," Serenity replied.
The car opened and everyone stepped out. Serenity, Sailor Moon, Sailor Ceres and Sailor Mars all looked around in wonder. They stood on the edge of an ornate city of sleek elongated structures pointing up into the sky and gleaming in the light of the world's sun. Each structure was pristine and richly apportioned. It was a city that whispered of prosperity and plenty. Walking from the elevator, the group passed by a metal railing atop a transparent barrier that ran in both directions along the perimeter of the city. Peering over the railing, Ceres looked down and her eyes popped.
"Wow!" she gasped, turning back to the adults. "We've got to be thousands of kilometers in the sky!"
"A city in the clouds," Mars commented, "that sits on top of four giant metal legs - - and the backs of slave labor."
"Please don't judge them until we've met them," Serenity told her. "They may not be evil. They may just not know a better way." Mars gave her a cynical scowl.
The four senshi were escorted to a gleaming metal palace inside the city. As they passed, people in the street would stop and look at them, pointing in wonder. Sailor Moon would look them over as they passed, studying them as they studied her.
"Mom," she whispered. "Have you noticed anything about the people? They all have black hair."
"Oh?" Serenity looked. "So they do."
"Well, most people in Japan had black hair at one time," Mars told her, "before evolution and interbreeding with the west changed that. Maybe it's just a racial characteristic."
"So why don't I see any men?" Sailor Moon asked.
Serenity and Mars exchanged perplexed looks.
The procession was stopped at the door while the squad leader explained why they were here. When the Captain of the guards didn't buy the squad leader's 'logic', Serenity interceded and 'explained' things to her. Soon the four were escorted into the palace throne room.
"If it please Her Highness," the Captain, a sturdy woman with a severe beauty, said, "I present the Queen Serenity of Earth and her entourage."
As Serenity and the others walked down a narrow path to the throne blocked out in red floor tile against the yellow of the rest of the floor, they looked at the woman sitting on this world's equivalent to a throne. She was a woman of average height, but with striking features. She had large eyes with delicate brown coloring and a piercing look. Her cheekbones were high and her nose was prominent, giving her an air of regalness, while her small mouth was playful and sweet. Her black hair was pulled back from her face and fell down her back to her waist. She wore a violet gown that was fastened behind her neck and which nicely draped a slim, sleek figure, and a violet cape. Jewelry adorned her everywhere, from the ornate earrings on her lobes, the fancy ringlets on her upper arms and the clattering wristlets below to the ostentatious necklace around her throat and several gaudy rings on her fingers. The queen observed them as they approached, casually superior but generous. She seemed to be in her early twenties.
On either side of the queen were two menacing female guards. This was expected. To the surprise and unease of the visitors, there were also four women kneeling beside the throne. They were dressed in revealing harem-like costumes of diaphanous colored silk with their brown hair done up and styled and their bodies adorned with simple yet attractive jewelry. Each one wore a metal collar around her throat and wrist and ankle manacles connected by lighter, thinner silver chains. They looked at the approaching party with a mixture of shame and resignation.
Serenity reached a point about ten feet away from her and bowed. Mars and the others followed suit.
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Queen Serenity," the monarch said directly to Sailor Mars. "What a unique ensemble you wear. And your concubines are quite exotic and beautiful."
"Um," Mars began.
"It is a uniform of her rank and status," Serenity said without showing any offense. "And I thank you for the compliment on our beauty, though we're not Sailor Mars' concubines." The monarch stared at her in confusion, then looked back at Mars. "I'm grateful you chose to see us, Your Highness. I'm sure you did so out of your generous nature and not any connotations my name might bring."
"You are Queen Serenity?" the woman asked, surprised. "But your hair? You have such a simple gown for a queen and you wear no adornments?"
"A personal choice," Serenity replied, again without offense.
"Please forgive my mistake. I am Queen Desiree of Ravenheim," the queen smiled charitably. "What did you wish of me?"
"I am searching for someone who may be on your planet," Serenity explained. "A dear and long-lost friend - - her name is Michiru Kaioh, though you may also know her as Sailor Neptune. She was traveling with another friend of mine who may be here as well. Her name is Haruka Tenou, though she is also known as Sailor Uranus."
"These names are not known to me," Desiree replied. She was very composed and seemed to be indulging someone without really caring. "How come you by this supposition that they are here?"
"We received a call from Michiru on my planet," Serenity replied. "The message was short, but it said she was in great distress on this planet. Is it possible that her spaceship crashed here?"
"Spaceship?" queried Desiree. "Is such a thing possible? Clearly your race is more advanced than mine to be capable of such things. But such an event as someone falling from the sky would become known very quickly. Alas, I fear I am again unable to help you." She smiled innocently at Serenity. "Was there anything else?"
"Yes," Serenity said, bowing her head as if anticipating conflict. "You strike me as a very kind and enlightened ruler." Desiree smiled at the compliment. "Which makes me wonder why such a kind and enlightened sovereign would tolerate enslaving her fellow being?"
Desiree's smile dimmed.
"I have done no such thing," Desiree replied calmly, though the storm behind the smile was there in her eyes to see. "All the people of the Cloud City of Ravenheim are treated as my peers. They want for nothing. They live in a society that encourages exploration of the sciences and pursuit of the arts. They are free to do and say as they choose, for they are one with their queen and I would have it no other way."
Serenity merely gestured to the fettered women at the queen's feet.
"Them?" Desiree gaped, nearly laughing with incredulity. "They are not my 'fellow beings'! They are unique and exotic works of art that adorn my palace and give me solace." She grasped the brown hair of the nearest one. "Can you not tell the difference between us?"
"Your Majesty," Serenity replied patiently, "all who possess life are our fellows. We all feel. We all love. Outward appearance doesn't distinguish us and set one above or below another. Please, I would hope you were wise enough to see that. To chain someone and take them as a slave simply because they possess different hair color is beneath someone of your great station."
Desiree's eyes narrowed.
"You speak your mind bluntly, though your words are couched in the honey of diplomacy," Desiree said. "Since you are a sovereign and no doubt used to doing so, I will excuse it. Perhaps it is the way of your world to mix with those beneath you. I do not judge. But it is not our way and I would thank you to not judge me, good queen. And now I am desirous of an end to this audience. I wish you good fortune in the search for your friends."
Desiree turned her head, signaling the audience was over. The guards leaned forward in case their queen's wishes needed to be enforced. However, Serenity bowed with a grave expression on her face, turned and left. Mars, Ceres and Sailor Moon followed.
"That's it?" Sailor Moon demanded outside the room. "That's all you're going to do?"
"I wish I knew where you got this low opinion of me," Serenity sighed. Turning to Mars, she asked, "What were your impressions?"
"Well," Mars began, her brow furrowed, "she wasn't lying when she said the names Haruka and Michiru meant nothing to her. And she really believes that whole 'separate caste' stuff. It's almost like we're in feudal times in that respect. And those guards believe it, too, strongly enough for it to be their religion." Mars searched her impressions. "But it just seems to me like she was hiding something, too. I didn't like the vibes I got when you mentioned Michiru's spaceship."
"Then they are here?" Sailor Ceres concluded.
"Haruka's here," Serenity said, casting a worried look around. "Somewhere in this palace. I can feel it."
"So since the direct approach didn't work, we get sneaky?" Sailor Moon asked. Mars shot her a conspiratory grin.
"You're learning," she nodded.
Four guards walked down one of the halls of the palace, their black boots clicking on the tiled floor and chanting out their brisk pace. Black uniforms crisply hugged generous figures, while fine black hair was pulled back and tied at the base of the skull in precise military fashion. To anyone they passed, they were just four more guards in a palace full of them. No one could hope to guess that the four were Queen Serenity, Sailor Mars, Sailor Ceres and Sailor Moon.
When she had been Sailor Moon, once upon a time, she would have used the power of the Disguise Pen to alter her appearance into a Cloud City guard. That was long ago; now Serenity had the power not only to alter her own appearance, but to do so for her companions as well.
What she hadn't yet mastered in a thousand years was precision cadence.
"You're out of step," Mars whispered to her.
"Well I'm the one leading this procession, so technically you're out of step," Serenity whispered back.
"Well if you'd manage to keep a consistent cadence, I'd follow it," Mars growled.
"If you two are going to get into an argument, could you tell me now so Ceres and I can hide," Sailor Moon hissed. "I don't want all FOUR of us to get caught." That managed to calm them down. "Do either of you know where we're going?"
"I'm homing in on Haruka's aura," Serenity explained.
"And I'm trying to feel for any premonitions of danger," Mars added. "And try to keep in step with someone who has two left feet."
Serenity turned around and stuck her tongue out at Mars.
They marched up to a connector hall and turned left. That took them straight into a guard checkpoint.
"What's your business here?" the sentry asked, stopping them.
"We're on a priority mission for Queen Desiree herself," Serenity replied calmly.
"What mission?"
"We're under orders not to tell anyone," Mars spoke up.
The sentry eyed them suspiciously.
"Wait there," she said, reaching for a communicator.
"You don't need to do that," Serenity told her.
"I - - don't?" the sentry asked.
"No. You already called and confirmed it, remember?"
"Oh, yes," the sentry frowned. "I must be having a bad day."
"It'll be our secret," Serenity smiled generously and they passed through the checkpoint.
"For someone who doesn't like to use that, you sure use it a lot," Sailor Moon commented.
"There's just something telling me that I need to hurry," Serenity replied. "If I have to cut a few corners to get there - - I'll have to live with that."
The quartet came up to a double door. It was trimmed in precious metal with ornate door handles.
"This is it?" Mars asked.
"Yes," Serenity nodded. "She seems to be in here." Serenity tugged at the door handle. "Locked."
"Allow me," Mars said. She placed her fingertip on the line where the two doors met. "Precise Inferno," she whispered.
At once her index finger grew super-hot, turning first blistering red and then white hot. Then a beam of intense fire came out of the finger; but it was a narrow beam, precisely controlled and concentrated. She moved her finger down, tracing the seam between the doors until she cut the bolts, then doused her finger. Serenity moved to enter, but Mars kept her back and entered first. Once they were inside the room, Serenity dropped their disguises.
"Oh my," she heard Serenity gasp behind her as Mars surveyed the room.
The room was a dormitory to about thirty women. They were all dressed in the same diaphanous harem costumes as the slaves who knelt next to Desiree's throne. There were women of nearly every size, shape and hair color. Some had white hair, some had yellow and some had brown. There was even one whose hair was a deep violet. Yet there were traits that tied them together with an eerie sameness. Besides their garb, they all were stunningly beautiful. Yet they all wore the same mask of resignation and defeat.
That and their collars and chains.
"What is this, a harem?" Sailor Moon gasped.
"I think you hit the nail on the head," Mars commented. Sailor Moon looked at her and saw she was serious.
Heedless of their conversation, Serenity moved into the room. As she walked, the captive women looked away, as if fearing reprisal. Mars quickly moved to catch up while the younger senshi guarded the door. Mars saw how upset Serenity was by all of this.
"This is so sad," Serenity whispered. "How can someone justify doing this to another living being?"
"Because not everybody's as pure as you are," Mars said softly, with a hint of sympathy. "After all these years, I'd have thought you'd have grasped that by now."
"I keep hoping," Serenity replied.
They saw it together. In the corner of the room, wearing the chains and costume of a harem slave, was a lanky frame and a shock of short blonde hair. Mars heard Serenity gasp in alarm even as she realized the truth.
"Haruka!" Serenity cried out. Instantly she was at the woman's side, kneeling next to her.
But Haruka turned away and hid her face.
"D-Don't look at me," the woman whispered in shame. And at that moment Serenity wished she had no eyes.
Continued in chapter 5