Total Eclipse: Minako's story
Disclaimer: I don't own sailor Moon or any of the Sailor Moon characters.
"Once upon a time I was falling in love, Now I'm only falling apart."
Total Eclipse of the Heart, by Bonnie Tyler
He was born of Venusian and Lunarian blood. She was full Venusian. The fate of their happiness rested in the hands of the gods. Each was destined to lead two separate groups of protectors. Once they were playmates. Then they were separated by circumstances that could split them apart forever. Will they find each other when they need the other the most, or will they be trapped in solitary lives? There's always a bend in the road.
******************************************************************"Mommy! Guess what?!" I had been running circles around my mother for the past hour and a half now, trying to get her to pay attention to me. She was preparing dinner and didn't want to listen. "Mommy!" I tugged at her skirt and clung for all I was worth until she looked down at me in an effort to get me off. She laughed as I looked up at her and grinned. I might have pulled her skirt off completely a couple times, I don't quite remember, but still those days in my early childhood are some of my most favorite memories.
My mother looked down and tried to wedge a wooden spoon between me and her skirt, but this only provoked me to cling farther. Finally, she sat down on a chair in the kitchen and pulled me up on to her lap. To this day, I still don't understand why she was cooking that day, maybe it was for a banquet or something and we were short in the kitchen, but anyways, I can still feel the warmth and the smile she had on her face when she held me that one time.
"What is it darling? You've been hanging off of me for so long now, I thought you were part of me!" She smiled warmly, again and brushed a few strands of my hair out of my face and tucked them behind me ear, seeing as they had fallen out of the clip that held them back. She laughed again as I scrunched up my face at having to look proper- and I was a mess. I had been playing with some of my friends in the fields for most of the day. My dress, which was a play dress, was torn and muddy. I also had mud on my face and, most likely, in my hair as well. There was supposed to be some big gala that night and I was not looking forward to it. They bored me silly. All the people dancing made me incredibly dizzy, and as you might imagine, it was no fun just to watch.
"There was this new kid that was playing with us today, Mommy! He was so funny! He was putting on airs like you would not believe, down right arrogant he was! I couldn't stop laughing and he said I was stuck up! Boy, did I show him! But I couldn't help it he was funny-looking...all tall and muscular and stuff. 'Said he was going to be Prince Endymion's head guard, he did. Some tough guy like that didn't deserve to play with the Princess of Venus! So I told him off!" I had been very proud of myself after that. I don't know why, I could have whipped any boy, still can. Kunzite had made me so angry, though. He told my friends that they were all a bunch of peasants and that he didn't socialize with peasants. Well, no one messes with my friends like that. Even if they were. What I still find funny to this day was that he thought I was one of them. I must have looked the part though, with my hair a mess and my dress torn. What I didn't know was that he was a Venusian nobleman as well. My mother's eyes were shining. Here I was, a little girl of eight or so facing off to an eleven year old boy, and I beat him.
"Minako! You shouldn't have beat him up, dear!" Her laughter filled the room. The kitchen maids turned to watch us. My mother, the queen of Venus, the leader of the then sailor senshi, and I the princess and soon to be leader, giggling in the middle of the kitchen while preparations were being made for what might have been the biggest gala we ever held. It must have been quite a sight to see us there. We sat there laughing for quite a while, until my father walked into the room in search of my mother. The room fell silent and I looked up to see him standing in the doorway, looking very angry. My father always was frightening when he was angry, and I don't think he was ever too happy with me. I clung to my mother until she put me on the ground and stood up. Then I hid behind her fearing he would come after me again for playing in the garden. "Caleb, dear, what ever is the matter?" My mother pushed her shoulders back, and stood tall, not afraid to show him that she was his better.
"Matter? What's the matter? I told you to meet me over an hour ago! Why didn't you show up?" He held up his hand, threateningly. "Wait, don't answer that. Let me guess. Minako did something cute and you had to spend time with her, right? Minako did something that was good and you had to applaud her, right? Minako...where is she by the way?" Daddy advanced on us and I scurried under the table. I didn't want him to find me then. Not with the tone in his voice. It seemed like he hated me and I never knew why. "Jace, don't you see what's happened to us? You don't spend time with me anymore. You're always to busy with that child. I want...I-" His look had softened but changed when he saw me. I backed under a little farther so that it would be harder for him to grab me. The look in his eyes scared me so. My mother noticed that he had seen me and stepped in between us. "Move out of the way." He commanded. "I want to get a good look at my child." My mother looked at him fiercely. She stood her ground and refused to move.
"You've been there again, haven't you?" She asked him coldly. His face went white and he slapped my mother across the face. She paused, stunned. Slowly, she put a hand to her face, against the place where he had struck her. I heard one of the kitchen maids cry out softly, while another gasped. The air held an intense feeling.
"You are not to refer to that again, Jaceline." He seethed. "It is none of your business." He slowly grabbed a chair and started to withdraw it. I edged farther towards the other side.
"Caleb, you are out of line." She grasped his arm tightly. She tried to pry his arm off the chair.
"It's all about that child isn't it?" He cried. "Wait until I get my hands on her, I'll teach her a lesson for meddling in my affairs!" My mother steeled herself between him and the table. I looked up at the two struggling, my eyes wide. *Fat chance,* I thought. After that I ran. I think I tipped over a chair in my hurry. He was going to kill me! I was sure of it! I ran all the way to my room. I closed the door behind me as fast as I could and locked it, just in case he was behind me, which was very unlikely.
My room was dark and the floor was hard as I slid down to it. I was breathing heavily, my nerves shot. It wasn't fair. All the other girls had fathers that cared about them, that loved them, and I didn't. Well, if he did love me he never knew how to show it very well. I took a deep breath and walked over to my bed. My teddy bear lay on its side under the covers, tucked in, so that he could get a good rest. I always thought that my teddy bear protected me at night. He protected me from that of which I was afraid at night, and therefore slept during the day. It was very tempting to just grab him then, and curl up on the floor and cry, but it wasn't the time to cry. Not when I could be doing other things. I had to be strong. So instead I turned on the light and rummaged through my closet in search of the perfect dress to wear that night. I wanted nothing orange. I hated the color orange. It was so cliché, just because I was Venusian and the Venusian color was orange, didn't mean I had to like it, and I didn't.
Meanwhile my mother was fighting my father off, in the middle of the kitchen, where everyone could hear them. I couldn't stand it when my parents fought. They always sounded so hateful toward each other. That's not the way people who were in love should sound. "Caleb, I don't understand. Why is it that you are so jealous of her? Jealous of your own daughter. It's ludicrous! Why do you feel it fit to torment her like that?" My mother's eyes flashed when she was angry. This was one of those times. How could he be asking her to feel like she had to take sides with either her husband or her daughter? That was like asking a man in the desert to choose between water or shade.
"I don't intend to torment her! I just want the best for you! And If you keep babying her like you do she'll never grow up to be independent from you." He stood there fuming. I don't think that Daddy truly hated me then but years later I swear he did. He loved my mother so much that it killed him inside to see her show affection to anyone else, even if it was his own daughter.
"I don't baby her! Whatever she does, she does on her own freewill! I hardly do a thing for her. But if you really want the best for her why don't you try being a father to her once in a while? All she needs is a little support from you! Whenever she does something commendable, you simply don't care! And pity for the person you come across first when she does do something wrong. Why is it that whatever she does is never good enough for you? She's just a child, she's not a woman yet." I could hear my mother screaming from my room, which was an entire floor above them and also on a completely different end. The entire palace was silent at her rage. It wasn't often my mother was this angry. While the war raged beneath me a heard a quiet knock on my door.
"Yes," I said with an exasperated tone. The door was rattled as if the handle had been turned and the door was attempted to be opened. I had forgotten the door was locked. I walked over to it and unlocked it then went back to my closet. The door opened quietly and slowly and in walked one of my best friends, Rei. She stood on the doorway with a sympathetic look. Then she walked over and gave me a hug. "Rei! How'd you get here? Wait...never mind! I just didn't think anyone had gotten here yet." Then, I pulled back and pulled farther her into the room, shutting the door and locking it behind her. It was no time to feel sorry for myself now, I just wanted to feel a little bit more safe.
"Minako, I haven't seen you in so long!" She finally smiled and her normal self again. "I can't believe that you're finally turning 9 today! You're the baby alright!" She playfully punched me in the arm. "Didja hear about what happened to the prince?" I shook my head. Her eyes sparkled with hidden knowledge. "Well, it turns out he has the worst balance in the galaxy! He was walking on this fallen tree and slipped and fell into a river and broke his arm. I could have done that in heels and he can't even do it barefoot!" Rei then fell on my bed in a giggling spree, which caused me to laugh a little in turn. Rei had always thought that girls were better than boys, and this was down right hilarious to her. I felt bad for him but it was funny.
"Serves him right for always making fun of us, huh Rei?" I said, smiling. It was then that she noticed that I was filthy.
"Minako! What happened to you? You're so...so dirty!" She picked up a section of my hair that was caked in mud. It was funny to see us in contrast to each other at that moment. With her dark hair and violet eyes in a stunning red gown lined with deep purple accents, I in a torn dress, with washed out blue eyes and caked with mud. My eyes were only that shade at the moment. They reflected my mood, which was hidden under the happiness of seeing Rei again. "You smell too!" She joked. I took a hint and headed off to my bathroom where I proceeded to run some hot water for a bath. I needed it.
"So how have you been recently?" I asked as I let the tub fill with water. "Oh yeah, do you have to get back to your parents soon?" The tub was almost filled.
"No, that's why we got here early. They wanted to chat, and knew that I wanted to talk to you. Hey...Who's that kid out there?" She leaned against my window. I had a bay window in my room and Rei was currently nestled deeply in the seat of it, with a few of my books. I popped my head out of the doorway to the bathroom. The garden was all decorated for the night with brightly colored lights. But no one was out there except that boy who I had fought with earlier. She looked at me and shrugged.
"He's a real brat, Rei. Stay away from him. I'm telling you, bad news!" I whipped my hands on my skirt and walked over to the window and opened it. "Hey you! Think you're still all that?" I stuck my tongue out at him and shut the window. Rei stared at me, then blinked.
"Minako? Are you feeling alright?" I nodded and she giggled. "Don't ever change on me, okay?"
"Promise. Now I have to take a bath. I'm sorry I'm not that great of a hostess." She waved her hand and I shut the door to the bathroom and washed up as quickly as I could. I needed to get ready fast now. When I was done with my bath, I looked healthier. I grabbed the first dress that was in my closet. Luckily it was a light blue that shimmered in any type of light. I slipped it on and grabbed a hairbrush. Then I walked back out into my room brushing my hair as I went. "What do you think?" Rei looked up, a bit dazed then snapped out of it. I smiled at her reaction.
"You look great! But what are you going to do with your hair?" As it was still wet I figured I could do something interesting with it. But what? That was the question.
"I think I'll put it up some how." A couple twists and yanks later, we had worked out the perfect style. It was done up neatly with my tiara in place and the back was twisted in a look that had almost the same effect of a cobbled road. "Ready, Rei?" She nodded and we walked out of the room together and down to the garden where the party was to begin. If only I had a few dolls with me! We stopped at the edge of the garden. I glanced around worriedly. My mother was chatting with Rei's parents. My father was sitting at a table brooding. I wanted to avoid him as much as possible. I frowned. Rei glanced at me then scanned the crowd for a sign of any of our other friends. At long last we spotted Mamoru with a group of boys consisting of him and my little friend, as wells as a few others. I grabbed Rei's arm and stalked over to where the group was. "Just what do you think you're doing to my friends?" I questioned the boy. He spun around and glared at me. Then bowed, which threw me off.
"I'm sorry, Princess. I thought you were some over-placed peasant." He backed up a little bit. and Mamoru looked at him in a strange way. "I didn't mean to glare at you." I shrugged. "It's just that...your voice...Hey! You are that girl from this afternoon!" Now was my time to shine.
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" I grinned. "Please, let me introduce myself and my friend." I said as he blinked at me with disbelief. "I am Princess Aino Minako. This is Princess Hino Rei of Mars," I said pointing to Rei. "Now, I'd like to know, Mr. I'm going to be Endymion's head guard...just what is your name?" The boy, still recovering from shock barely managed to get his name out.
"Kunzite...." And that was all he had said to me for the rest of the night.
~ Notes from Zellie~
Wow! Revamped version. I think it's a lot better than it was originally. Welcome to my Fanfiction.net audience. What better way to enter my world than with my first major fan fiction work? Unless you've already started Violet Flame, that is. But anyways, this piece is a few years in the works, and will be continued to the end. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please tell me your thoughts either by reviewing, or e-mailing me at Lil_venus@hotmail.com Ja ne!