Title: Chronicles of the Moon: Life of the Late Queen Serenity
By: AJ Martinez Email: Goodnight_Spoon@hotmail.com Rated: TV PG Started: 4:07 PM; May 11th 2002 Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is copyrighted as follows.Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, Kodansha Ltd., DiC, CWI, Pioneer, Mixx, and quite a few other people. Any characters that you do not recognize are my inventions, and I would prefer that you not use them, except in and under special conditions.
Can you believe it: chapter 10! The fic is winding to a close; I hope to have it finished in another four or five chapters. Thanks so much to my wonderful editors, Lady Elanial and SmokyBlackDragon, and to my mom, who proof-reads everything for me (and she thought that all her writing classes in college were being wasted...). This fic is dedicated to my Aunt Margie, who just found out that she's pregnant with number five. O.o
~~
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. - - - Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator, 1890
~~~
Mea was watching Serenity, and Beryl was watching Mea. He's fascinated by her, the Crystal said to Beryl. Beryl was silent. The Crystal had began speaking to her first on the day of Serenity's marriage to Raphael, when the young princess had bartered the Crystal as a means to getting her foot in the door. That night, Mea had sat in the third floor spare room, the one he had spoken to Serenity in, and stared into space. The Crystal had sat in his hand, dangling by his side, and Beryl wouldn't have even noticed it if it weren't for the voice in her head. My...I haven't seen a mind like yours in quite a while. One-track; all the clutter of emotions and reason pushed to the back. Nothing but warm, white, liquid hate. Beryl had heard voices in her head since childhood, although they were of her own construction and she knew it. Had she been born in another time she would have been diagnosed a schizophrenic or something similar, but having been born in the early Middle Ages on the Moon, and a bastard, at that, she had never been discouraged of the potential dangers of imaginary friends. But this voice had been different. It did not talk to her in words, but relayed to her images, feelings, smells. When it addressed her, Beryl was accosted with the scent of lilacs, and it was the same when the Crystal had mentioned Serenity. She gave me to him, soft, creamy lilacs. Thin as a babe's eyelids and fragrant. But she'll be back. She wouldn't leave me here for good; not after all I've done for her. white with just a hint of purple, then, suddenly, pregnant with lavender pigment and blowing in the breeze. "Who?" Beryl had whispered. You know who. When Beryl was silent, the Crystal added, Your nemesis. "Serenity?" "What?" Mea was looking at Beryl strangely, his thoughts forgotten. "Did you say something?" Beryl shook her head to signify "no", but Mea continued to stare at her. Finally she returned his gaze, nodding to his hand. "What do you have there?" Mea took a moment to respond, his gaze flickering to spot in the room that, an hour or so ago, Serenity had been standing in. Still not meeting her eyes, Mea uncurled his fist and let the Crystal drop, catching the chain with his finger. The Crystal dangled, twisted and gleamed. Beryl's breath came out in a short little puff when she saw the crystal, so big and round and valuable, twisting from Mea palm. "She," Beryl cleared her throat, "she gave that to you?" Mea looked up sharply. "Who told you that she was here?" Nicolas had told her, but Beryl knew better than to rat him out. The man had been fascinated with her since the first time he had laid eyes on her titian-red hair, and knew from past experience that she wouldn't give him two seconds of her life unless he had something to tell her that was of any use. It had been a gamble for him, telling Beryl about the intruder, but it had paid off because she had listened with rapt attention while he described his encounter with a white-haired woman, and, in turn, the effect that she seemed to have had on Mea. But it had all worked out in the end for Nicolas; Beryl had done him a sexual favor in return for the information and then hurried off to see Mea without a backward glance. "No one told me anything," Beryl responded quietly. "I overheard talk, though, that there may have been an intruder, and a female one, at that. So I sought you out and found out through the grapevine that you were in here speaking with a young girl." Mea stared at her for a few long moments, and then looked away until his eyes found their way to the Crystal, and he wound the chain around his finger until the Crystal was in his palm. "Not to keep," he answered finally, and it took Beryl a moment to remember what it was that he referred to. "I'll be returning it to her in a day or two, when we meet again at the Festival." "You're meeting her again?" Beryl asked, incredulous. She had been working for the Cause for years, had helped Mea raise it from the ground when he had first arrived on the Moon, battered and bruised. And now he was willing to throw it all away, and for what--? Money? Sexual favors? "Yes," Mea replied. "At the Festival, in a few days." Beryl stared at him, disgusted. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him the identity of his new "friend", but the Crystal spoke first. Don't tell him what you know, girl. Keep any and all information to yourself. What has he ever done for you that you could not have easily done for yourself? Beryl could think of several things, but was silent because the Crystal had a point: Mea obviously didn't know who he was dealing with, and that she did could just be her ticket to revenge.
~~
The silence, for Nicolas and David, had long grown uncomfortable before Mea snapped back to reality. He seemed embarrassed when he noticed them staring at him, and cleared his throat, glancing back down at the blueprints once as if to reorient himself. "This is a very simple mission, in concept," Mea began. "However, what makes it challenging is that we've had problems with raiding the arena before. In cases like these we normally have someone on the inside, but not this time. With the exception of these blueprints, we are almost entirely in the dark. "Because we don't know anything for certain, we'll only take a few people on this job. Those people would be myself, Serenity, Beryl, Nicolas, David, and five other people. They are not in attendance today because they might have some objections to this mission if they knew that the Crown-Princess of the Moon was in on it, and we don't need their heads addled, what with so much at stake. So from now on, when in the presence of others, Serenity will be referred to as her alias, 'Luna'." Mea took a deep breath, then continued. "The gladiators are held in the back, here," he jabbed a finger at the back of the oval-shaped coliseum. "We cannot, however, enter there because the door is situated at least thirty yards to the right, closer to the river, fountain and aqua-ducts. "It'll be a forty-minute walk to the coliseum if we move quickly, and we'll be on foot because we cannot chance horses. Another twenty or so between the time we get in and the time we reach the cages--" "Cages?" Serenity asked. Everyone was silent for a moment, then Mea turned his head to look her in the eye. "For the slaves." "Oh." Serenity was suitably silenced. "Once we reach the cages," Mea went on, "we may or may not have tripped an alarm of some sort." He paused, then turned to Serenity, "Are there alarms yet on the Moon, would you know?" Eager to redeem herself, Serenity shook her head happily. "Not in the arena, that I know of. They've only just arrived from Mercury and are still being tested throughout the palace and barracks." "Hear that?" Mea asked loudly. "The barracks are testing out alarm systems. The arena is only about thirty yards from the barracks. We do not need to be tripping any alarms, although it is unlikely that we'll be escaping through that route, not when we entered through the side against the river." Nicolas and David were nodding, but when Serenity glanced at Beryl, she noticed that the other woman was staring at her blank-faced. Serenity looked away, still burning from her "cages" remark. "The raid will take place in exactly three weeks time," Mea went on. "Which, unfortunately, does not give us very much time for the meticulous type of planning that I usually employ. It is the most promising date, however, because it is the last night of the carnival, and due to overzealous revelers, most guards will be needed away from the barracks." "But Lordship," Nicolas spoke up. "If it's the last day of the carnival, won't the arena be open?" Mea shook his head. "That's the beauty of it. Last year, if you recall, there was a massive riot outside the arena, due in part to the high tension and drunkenness of the crowds. Three men were killed and a stable boy was trampled to death in the confusion, and so this year Minister of Local Affairs Gabriel has decreed that the arena shall not be allowed to operate the last night of the carnival." Serenity was silent, absorbing this information. A knot of grief and nausea was forming in her stomach. She had heard nothing of the deaths last year; indeed, until this year she was all but in the dark as to the carnival coming to the High City of the Moon. Mea was talking again, Serenity realized with a start; indeed he had not stopped his lecture throughout her reverie. "...will be briefing the other five participants as to the details of the raid." "Yes, Lordship," Nicolas answered. "Beryl, you shall assist me in narrowing certain aspects of our mission into a finely-honed point." Beryl nodded, not bothering to give a verbal affirmative. "David, you shall run all odd tasks for me concerning the mission and look over the spies." "Yes, Lordship." "Now, we'll be..." "What shall I be doing, Mea?" Serenity interrupted. Surely he does not intend me sit about all day embroidering while the work is done by others, she thought dubiously. "You," Mea said, "Shall be staying out of trouble and keeping your ear to the earth." "What?" Serenity was shocked. "I'm sure I could be of more use than that!" Mea, although his hunched back made him appear shorter than everyone in the room, somehow managed to look down his nose at Serenity. "It is only with a tremendous amount of thought, trust, and caution that I have allowed you to even partake of the goings on in the Cause, and now you sneer at your duties?" Serenity was trying not to break out into song. Trust! her mind screamed. He said trust! Probably just a slip of the tongue, the Crystal warned, but then sent her a warm feeling. Although perhaps you have scratched his surface, after all. Mea began to go back to his lecture, but Serenity hadn't finished her plea yet. "Oh, but Mea," she began. "I could be of great use. I could make copies of the blueprints. I know that you haven't any paper because it is so rare, and think how much easier this mission would be for everyone involved if they had personal copies of the blueprints." Mea thought on it for a moment, then nodded. "Do that, then." Serenity was slightly disappointed by the manner in which he replied. She had been expecting praise. Silly princess, the Crystal chimed in. Haven't you learned anything in your time with him? Serenity ignored the Crystal. "...So," Mea was going on, "We shall meet again in exactly one week to discuss the mission. I expect progress reports from you all, except Serenity, of course. Serenity," now he turned to face her, "you may drop off the blueprint copies whenever you like, so long as they are done by the next meeting." Serenity nodded curtly; the meeting was adjourned; and Mea remained in the empty room, staring at Serenity's empty seat.
~~
Serenity sat on her bed. She was alone in her chambers but for Luna and Artemis. She had sent Annie out on an errand, bidding the woman to bring back many large, blank rolls of paper, scroll casing to bind them in, and ink. Supper was not for another ninety minutes, and she would not be summoned to the wedding chambers until nightfall. This was the perfect opportunity to start copying the blueprints for Mea. Earlier in the day, when she had volunteered to do the copying, it had not occurred to Serenity that it would be she, herself, doing the copying, and not a servant. But when she had bid Annie fetch her a scribe, Annie had shook her head and explained the danger in that. No, Serenity could not arouse suspicion; true that no mere servant would dare accuse her, their Crown-Princess, nor were they likely to go to the king or Raphael with their information. But they would talk, and everyone knew that talk could ruin a kingdom as surely as war. At that moment the door flung open and Annie scurried in, arms loaded with scrolls of paper, scroll cases, and a large bottle of ink. She peered furtively down the hallway before closing the door with a fleshy hip. Setting the ink-jug on Serenity's desk with one hand, she waddled to the bed and spread her arms, dumping the paper and scroll casings across Serenity's white sateen and lace bedspread. "I had to wait until the scribe wasn't looking," she said, as an explanation for her drawn-out absence. Serenity fluttered a hand, bending over the paper to inspect it. Annie frowned slightly. Over the past two months Serenity had practically dropped all formality between them, although Annie still ran errands and waited on Serenity. This was what bothered Annie: although she was honored to be so singled out from Serenity's other fourteen or so personal maids, governesses and instructors, it was also somewhat unsettling to have the Crown-Princess of the Moon, who had all but ignored Annie for the last fourteen years, suddenly ask her opinion and speak to her so informally. And there was also the gestures. Every once in a while Serenity would slip and wave, or make some other slave-gesture. Annie knew that there would be the Devil to pay if the princess's royal parents ever learned of Serenity's involvement with the Cause; and Annie, in turn, would be fired--if not imprisoned or hanged--for not coming forth with the information. Annie had come to love Serenity as a daughter throughout the years, but she, herself, was a widow with no children or living relations that she knew of; to be out of a job and out of the king's favor would not bode well for her well being. "Would you select a gown for me to wear for supper, please?" Serenity asked, not looking up from her desk, where she had moved with her task. "Yes, princess," Annie replied, striding across the well-lit chamber to Serenity's large wardrobe. "Anything will do," Serenity added, her voice preoccupied. "Yes, princess," Annie said, forcing herself into a formality that Serenity had begun to discourage. "How does this look, so far?" Serenity asked, as Annie laid a lacy white gown on her bed and started back to the wardrobe to choose sandals. Annie craned her neck to look at Serenity's copy of the blueprint. Only the main outline and a few rooms had been drawn so far, but she could tell that Serenity was on the right track: the drawing was neat, crisp, precise, and far from unintelligible. "That's lovely, highness," Annie answered. "I'm sure they will be very pleased." Serenity beamed, and went back to her copying.
~~
The king sat in his office, reading and rereading the letter that had just arrived from Mercury. His mind slid back to the events of the last few days: his refusal to work with Mercury, pending an explanation of the nature of their relationship with the slave-liberator. There had been a chilly few days of silence, then all at once an ambassador had arrived from Mercury with a letter and the instruction to wait for his reply before returning. After recovering from his initial anger at their presumptuousness and gall--to send an ambassador without any notice, and with the order to wait for a reply? The arrogance!--the king had retreated to his office, where, after reading the letter, he had stayed the entire the day and on through supper. It was late now: the night patrol was coming out; he could hear them marching down the hallways. But he couldn't go to bed; not after reading the letter. You wanted the truth, he reminded himself. You forced them into the truth and now you cannot handle it. They had it right the first time, not elaborating or giving away details. Would that I had listened to them. He glanced back down at the letter; it was several pages thick and the ink was blotchy on some parts, as though it had been folded and sealed before the ink could finish drying. When he held it close to his face, as he now had to do-compliments of his failing eyesight--the smell of the paper wafted to him: dry, woodsy, slightly perfumed, as though the writer had slathered it just a bit too liberally on their hands. Then his eyes caught on a certain paragraph--one that he had read dozens upon dozens of times--and a creaking sound escaped his throat, like a strangled moan. "You've created a monster," he said aloud, voice dry and croaking from lack of use. "And now that monster has become a menace to the planets, a hero to his followers, and the only thing killing him will accomplish is to make him into a martyr."
~~
Raphael lay next to Serenity in their wedding bed, pretending to sleep and listening to her rhythmic breathing. She was awake, he knew that much. He also knew that she slipped from the room on their nights together and brewed tea, thinking him ignorant to her comings and goings. This did not bother Raphael, though. He was fairly experienced (although in no way a womanizer) and had noted that several women, after certain...activities, fancied a bite to eat or something cool to drink. That she would drink tea meant little to him, indeed, but what did mean something to him was that she would slink from their wedding chambers like a sneak-thief, as though she expected to be rebuked for her actions. So, wanting to save her the hassle and put her mind at ease, Raphael had secretly brought a bag of tea-mix into the wedding chambers. He had placed it in the top drawer of the dresser, which was across from the bed and which Serenity stored her teacup and kettle, supposedly unbeknownst to him. The truth of the matter was, Raphael had come to care for his wife in an odd, off-kilter way. Not love her, no; but then, rarely did a man love his wife in any romantic fashion, and vise versa. But he had come to look forward to their nights together for more than carnal reasons; her closeness and humanity was pleasant, although she never offered anything other than what was required of her. He had come to admire her, despite the formalities and rules. Ever since she had begun sneaking off to the city Raphael had kept close tabs on her, although he had learned very little. This had frustrated him initially, but he comforted himself with the thought that she couldn't get herself into too much trouble.
~~
Oh yeeeah? ^______^ Okay, you know the drill!: email (Goodnight_Spoon@hotmail.com) AIM (AJluvs2Bannoying) critique/review me! And please take part in the ASMR RCFA (Reader's Choice Fanfiction Awards). Nominate or vote for a fic at . And if you know how to make polls, EMAIL ME! I know nothing of scripts (?) or HTML or whatever; I need all the help I can get. Well, that's all I can think of...
Ciao, AJ
By: AJ Martinez Email: Goodnight_Spoon@hotmail.com Rated: TV PG Started: 4:07 PM; May 11th 2002 Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is copyrighted as follows.Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, Kodansha Ltd., DiC, CWI, Pioneer, Mixx, and quite a few other people. Any characters that you do not recognize are my inventions, and I would prefer that you not use them, except in and under special conditions.
Can you believe it: chapter 10! The fic is winding to a close; I hope to have it finished in another four or five chapters. Thanks so much to my wonderful editors, Lady Elanial and SmokyBlackDragon, and to my mom, who proof-reads everything for me (and she thought that all her writing classes in college were being wasted...). This fic is dedicated to my Aunt Margie, who just found out that she's pregnant with number five. O.o
~~
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. - - - Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator, 1890
~~~
Mea was watching Serenity, and Beryl was watching Mea. He's fascinated by her, the Crystal said to Beryl. Beryl was silent. The Crystal had began speaking to her first on the day of Serenity's marriage to Raphael, when the young princess had bartered the Crystal as a means to getting her foot in the door. That night, Mea had sat in the third floor spare room, the one he had spoken to Serenity in, and stared into space. The Crystal had sat in his hand, dangling by his side, and Beryl wouldn't have even noticed it if it weren't for the voice in her head. My...I haven't seen a mind like yours in quite a while. One-track; all the clutter of emotions and reason pushed to the back. Nothing but warm, white, liquid hate. Beryl had heard voices in her head since childhood, although they were of her own construction and she knew it. Had she been born in another time she would have been diagnosed a schizophrenic or something similar, but having been born in the early Middle Ages on the Moon, and a bastard, at that, she had never been discouraged of the potential dangers of imaginary friends. But this voice had been different. It did not talk to her in words, but relayed to her images, feelings, smells. When it addressed her, Beryl was accosted with the scent of lilacs, and it was the same when the Crystal had mentioned Serenity. She gave me to him, soft, creamy lilacs. Thin as a babe's eyelids and fragrant. But she'll be back. She wouldn't leave me here for good; not after all I've done for her. white with just a hint of purple, then, suddenly, pregnant with lavender pigment and blowing in the breeze. "Who?" Beryl had whispered. You know who. When Beryl was silent, the Crystal added, Your nemesis. "Serenity?" "What?" Mea was looking at Beryl strangely, his thoughts forgotten. "Did you say something?" Beryl shook her head to signify "no", but Mea continued to stare at her. Finally she returned his gaze, nodding to his hand. "What do you have there?" Mea took a moment to respond, his gaze flickering to spot in the room that, an hour or so ago, Serenity had been standing in. Still not meeting her eyes, Mea uncurled his fist and let the Crystal drop, catching the chain with his finger. The Crystal dangled, twisted and gleamed. Beryl's breath came out in a short little puff when she saw the crystal, so big and round and valuable, twisting from Mea palm. "She," Beryl cleared her throat, "she gave that to you?" Mea looked up sharply. "Who told you that she was here?" Nicolas had told her, but Beryl knew better than to rat him out. The man had been fascinated with her since the first time he had laid eyes on her titian-red hair, and knew from past experience that she wouldn't give him two seconds of her life unless he had something to tell her that was of any use. It had been a gamble for him, telling Beryl about the intruder, but it had paid off because she had listened with rapt attention while he described his encounter with a white-haired woman, and, in turn, the effect that she seemed to have had on Mea. But it had all worked out in the end for Nicolas; Beryl had done him a sexual favor in return for the information and then hurried off to see Mea without a backward glance. "No one told me anything," Beryl responded quietly. "I overheard talk, though, that there may have been an intruder, and a female one, at that. So I sought you out and found out through the grapevine that you were in here speaking with a young girl." Mea stared at her for a few long moments, and then looked away until his eyes found their way to the Crystal, and he wound the chain around his finger until the Crystal was in his palm. "Not to keep," he answered finally, and it took Beryl a moment to remember what it was that he referred to. "I'll be returning it to her in a day or two, when we meet again at the Festival." "You're meeting her again?" Beryl asked, incredulous. She had been working for the Cause for years, had helped Mea raise it from the ground when he had first arrived on the Moon, battered and bruised. And now he was willing to throw it all away, and for what--? Money? Sexual favors? "Yes," Mea replied. "At the Festival, in a few days." Beryl stared at him, disgusted. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him the identity of his new "friend", but the Crystal spoke first. Don't tell him what you know, girl. Keep any and all information to yourself. What has he ever done for you that you could not have easily done for yourself? Beryl could think of several things, but was silent because the Crystal had a point: Mea obviously didn't know who he was dealing with, and that she did could just be her ticket to revenge.
~~
The silence, for Nicolas and David, had long grown uncomfortable before Mea snapped back to reality. He seemed embarrassed when he noticed them staring at him, and cleared his throat, glancing back down at the blueprints once as if to reorient himself. "This is a very simple mission, in concept," Mea began. "However, what makes it challenging is that we've had problems with raiding the arena before. In cases like these we normally have someone on the inside, but not this time. With the exception of these blueprints, we are almost entirely in the dark. "Because we don't know anything for certain, we'll only take a few people on this job. Those people would be myself, Serenity, Beryl, Nicolas, David, and five other people. They are not in attendance today because they might have some objections to this mission if they knew that the Crown-Princess of the Moon was in on it, and we don't need their heads addled, what with so much at stake. So from now on, when in the presence of others, Serenity will be referred to as her alias, 'Luna'." Mea took a deep breath, then continued. "The gladiators are held in the back, here," he jabbed a finger at the back of the oval-shaped coliseum. "We cannot, however, enter there because the door is situated at least thirty yards to the right, closer to the river, fountain and aqua-ducts. "It'll be a forty-minute walk to the coliseum if we move quickly, and we'll be on foot because we cannot chance horses. Another twenty or so between the time we get in and the time we reach the cages--" "Cages?" Serenity asked. Everyone was silent for a moment, then Mea turned his head to look her in the eye. "For the slaves." "Oh." Serenity was suitably silenced. "Once we reach the cages," Mea went on, "we may or may not have tripped an alarm of some sort." He paused, then turned to Serenity, "Are there alarms yet on the Moon, would you know?" Eager to redeem herself, Serenity shook her head happily. "Not in the arena, that I know of. They've only just arrived from Mercury and are still being tested throughout the palace and barracks." "Hear that?" Mea asked loudly. "The barracks are testing out alarm systems. The arena is only about thirty yards from the barracks. We do not need to be tripping any alarms, although it is unlikely that we'll be escaping through that route, not when we entered through the side against the river." Nicolas and David were nodding, but when Serenity glanced at Beryl, she noticed that the other woman was staring at her blank-faced. Serenity looked away, still burning from her "cages" remark. "The raid will take place in exactly three weeks time," Mea went on. "Which, unfortunately, does not give us very much time for the meticulous type of planning that I usually employ. It is the most promising date, however, because it is the last night of the carnival, and due to overzealous revelers, most guards will be needed away from the barracks." "But Lordship," Nicolas spoke up. "If it's the last day of the carnival, won't the arena be open?" Mea shook his head. "That's the beauty of it. Last year, if you recall, there was a massive riot outside the arena, due in part to the high tension and drunkenness of the crowds. Three men were killed and a stable boy was trampled to death in the confusion, and so this year Minister of Local Affairs Gabriel has decreed that the arena shall not be allowed to operate the last night of the carnival." Serenity was silent, absorbing this information. A knot of grief and nausea was forming in her stomach. She had heard nothing of the deaths last year; indeed, until this year she was all but in the dark as to the carnival coming to the High City of the Moon. Mea was talking again, Serenity realized with a start; indeed he had not stopped his lecture throughout her reverie. "...will be briefing the other five participants as to the details of the raid." "Yes, Lordship," Nicolas answered. "Beryl, you shall assist me in narrowing certain aspects of our mission into a finely-honed point." Beryl nodded, not bothering to give a verbal affirmative. "David, you shall run all odd tasks for me concerning the mission and look over the spies." "Yes, Lordship." "Now, we'll be..." "What shall I be doing, Mea?" Serenity interrupted. Surely he does not intend me sit about all day embroidering while the work is done by others, she thought dubiously. "You," Mea said, "Shall be staying out of trouble and keeping your ear to the earth." "What?" Serenity was shocked. "I'm sure I could be of more use than that!" Mea, although his hunched back made him appear shorter than everyone in the room, somehow managed to look down his nose at Serenity. "It is only with a tremendous amount of thought, trust, and caution that I have allowed you to even partake of the goings on in the Cause, and now you sneer at your duties?" Serenity was trying not to break out into song. Trust! her mind screamed. He said trust! Probably just a slip of the tongue, the Crystal warned, but then sent her a warm feeling. Although perhaps you have scratched his surface, after all. Mea began to go back to his lecture, but Serenity hadn't finished her plea yet. "Oh, but Mea," she began. "I could be of great use. I could make copies of the blueprints. I know that you haven't any paper because it is so rare, and think how much easier this mission would be for everyone involved if they had personal copies of the blueprints." Mea thought on it for a moment, then nodded. "Do that, then." Serenity was slightly disappointed by the manner in which he replied. She had been expecting praise. Silly princess, the Crystal chimed in. Haven't you learned anything in your time with him? Serenity ignored the Crystal. "...So," Mea was going on, "We shall meet again in exactly one week to discuss the mission. I expect progress reports from you all, except Serenity, of course. Serenity," now he turned to face her, "you may drop off the blueprint copies whenever you like, so long as they are done by the next meeting." Serenity nodded curtly; the meeting was adjourned; and Mea remained in the empty room, staring at Serenity's empty seat.
~~
Serenity sat on her bed. She was alone in her chambers but for Luna and Artemis. She had sent Annie out on an errand, bidding the woman to bring back many large, blank rolls of paper, scroll casing to bind them in, and ink. Supper was not for another ninety minutes, and she would not be summoned to the wedding chambers until nightfall. This was the perfect opportunity to start copying the blueprints for Mea. Earlier in the day, when she had volunteered to do the copying, it had not occurred to Serenity that it would be she, herself, doing the copying, and not a servant. But when she had bid Annie fetch her a scribe, Annie had shook her head and explained the danger in that. No, Serenity could not arouse suspicion; true that no mere servant would dare accuse her, their Crown-Princess, nor were they likely to go to the king or Raphael with their information. But they would talk, and everyone knew that talk could ruin a kingdom as surely as war. At that moment the door flung open and Annie scurried in, arms loaded with scrolls of paper, scroll cases, and a large bottle of ink. She peered furtively down the hallway before closing the door with a fleshy hip. Setting the ink-jug on Serenity's desk with one hand, she waddled to the bed and spread her arms, dumping the paper and scroll casings across Serenity's white sateen and lace bedspread. "I had to wait until the scribe wasn't looking," she said, as an explanation for her drawn-out absence. Serenity fluttered a hand, bending over the paper to inspect it. Annie frowned slightly. Over the past two months Serenity had practically dropped all formality between them, although Annie still ran errands and waited on Serenity. This was what bothered Annie: although she was honored to be so singled out from Serenity's other fourteen or so personal maids, governesses and instructors, it was also somewhat unsettling to have the Crown-Princess of the Moon, who had all but ignored Annie for the last fourteen years, suddenly ask her opinion and speak to her so informally. And there was also the gestures. Every once in a while Serenity would slip and wave, or make some other slave-gesture. Annie knew that there would be the Devil to pay if the princess's royal parents ever learned of Serenity's involvement with the Cause; and Annie, in turn, would be fired--if not imprisoned or hanged--for not coming forth with the information. Annie had come to love Serenity as a daughter throughout the years, but she, herself, was a widow with no children or living relations that she knew of; to be out of a job and out of the king's favor would not bode well for her well being. "Would you select a gown for me to wear for supper, please?" Serenity asked, not looking up from her desk, where she had moved with her task. "Yes, princess," Annie replied, striding across the well-lit chamber to Serenity's large wardrobe. "Anything will do," Serenity added, her voice preoccupied. "Yes, princess," Annie said, forcing herself into a formality that Serenity had begun to discourage. "How does this look, so far?" Serenity asked, as Annie laid a lacy white gown on her bed and started back to the wardrobe to choose sandals. Annie craned her neck to look at Serenity's copy of the blueprint. Only the main outline and a few rooms had been drawn so far, but she could tell that Serenity was on the right track: the drawing was neat, crisp, precise, and far from unintelligible. "That's lovely, highness," Annie answered. "I'm sure they will be very pleased." Serenity beamed, and went back to her copying.
~~
The king sat in his office, reading and rereading the letter that had just arrived from Mercury. His mind slid back to the events of the last few days: his refusal to work with Mercury, pending an explanation of the nature of their relationship with the slave-liberator. There had been a chilly few days of silence, then all at once an ambassador had arrived from Mercury with a letter and the instruction to wait for his reply before returning. After recovering from his initial anger at their presumptuousness and gall--to send an ambassador without any notice, and with the order to wait for a reply? The arrogance!--the king had retreated to his office, where, after reading the letter, he had stayed the entire the day and on through supper. It was late now: the night patrol was coming out; he could hear them marching down the hallways. But he couldn't go to bed; not after reading the letter. You wanted the truth, he reminded himself. You forced them into the truth and now you cannot handle it. They had it right the first time, not elaborating or giving away details. Would that I had listened to them. He glanced back down at the letter; it was several pages thick and the ink was blotchy on some parts, as though it had been folded and sealed before the ink could finish drying. When he held it close to his face, as he now had to do-compliments of his failing eyesight--the smell of the paper wafted to him: dry, woodsy, slightly perfumed, as though the writer had slathered it just a bit too liberally on their hands. Then his eyes caught on a certain paragraph--one that he had read dozens upon dozens of times--and a creaking sound escaped his throat, like a strangled moan. "You've created a monster," he said aloud, voice dry and croaking from lack of use. "And now that monster has become a menace to the planets, a hero to his followers, and the only thing killing him will accomplish is to make him into a martyr."
~~
Raphael lay next to Serenity in their wedding bed, pretending to sleep and listening to her rhythmic breathing. She was awake, he knew that much. He also knew that she slipped from the room on their nights together and brewed tea, thinking him ignorant to her comings and goings. This did not bother Raphael, though. He was fairly experienced (although in no way a womanizer) and had noted that several women, after certain...activities, fancied a bite to eat or something cool to drink. That she would drink tea meant little to him, indeed, but what did mean something to him was that she would slink from their wedding chambers like a sneak-thief, as though she expected to be rebuked for her actions. So, wanting to save her the hassle and put her mind at ease, Raphael had secretly brought a bag of tea-mix into the wedding chambers. He had placed it in the top drawer of the dresser, which was across from the bed and which Serenity stored her teacup and kettle, supposedly unbeknownst to him. The truth of the matter was, Raphael had come to care for his wife in an odd, off-kilter way. Not love her, no; but then, rarely did a man love his wife in any romantic fashion, and vise versa. But he had come to look forward to their nights together for more than carnal reasons; her closeness and humanity was pleasant, although she never offered anything other than what was required of her. He had come to admire her, despite the formalities and rules. Ever since she had begun sneaking off to the city Raphael had kept close tabs on her, although he had learned very little. This had frustrated him initially, but he comforted himself with the thought that she couldn't get herself into too much trouble.
~~
Oh yeeeah? ^______^ Okay, you know the drill!: email (Goodnight_Spoon@hotmail.com) AIM (AJluvs2Bannoying) critique/review me! And please take part in the ASMR RCFA (Reader's Choice Fanfiction Awards). Nominate or vote for a fic at . And if you know how to make polls, EMAIL ME! I know nothing of scripts (?) or HTML or whatever; I need all the help I can get. Well, that's all I can think of...
Ciao, AJ