A Sailor Moon Story

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the other scouts, or the show...

However, I do consider myself the owner of my original character, Tay Lorien.

Winter's Guardian: Reflections of Youth

Chapter Three: The Escort

Ura had just returned to the palace, and was standing at the main gate, when the sky was lit up with beams of light emanating from the windows of Tay's room. After jumping the gate, Ura rushed into the palace, toward the source of the light and power, which he could now feel. A few curious guards followed Ura as he ran by.

Arriving at the door, the general burst in. The special light was beginning to fade, yet Ura was in time to see the outline of a person, floating in the center of the room. It was his apprentice, Tay. "Wake up!" Ura had shouted to his friend, afraid that he might not be in control of that power which seemed to engulf him. But Tay had opened his eyes, and then gave Ura a chilling reply, which confirmed that he had indeed obtained the mysterious power of their planet. "I have awakened."

Tay had then floated with perfect control to land on the floor. But as Ura rushed to his student's side, the newly born knight fell to his knees in exhaustion. The armor vanished as Tay gasped for breath. "I can't maintain it... yet."

Ura nodded, not sure what to say. At last, he replied, "Now, you must train harder, until it feels natural to you. But do not attempt it again today. You have truly earned your day off." The young soldier could barely nod in reply as he passed out entirely.

The Queen of Mercury was quickly informed of this magnificent event. Ura told her of all he had seen, and she could only nod with understanding. Her prediction had been correct. Tay was her true knight. And he would be able to protect her most beloved daughter, when the time came.

"Help him master the armor, General Vilya, but not indiscreetly. Continue his normal routines. Word of this must not go far. Not until he has perfected this new power. Protect him with your life until his training is complete."

Ura was shocked at these requests. The Queen was rarely so blunt and cunning. But he began to realize that Tay could be attacked while he was still weak, if their enemies learned of him. "He will be ready by the Age of Departure." The Age of Departure would be in under a year, an event where the Queen's daughter would be summoned to the Moon Kingdom in the year of her fourteenth birthday, and trained as a member of the Inner Circle of the Moon Princess. Ura knew that both himself and Tay would have to be prepared to escort her to the Moon Kingdom when that day arrived.

The Queen continued her instructions. "Inform Tay of the upcoming mission. He must know how important it is to get her there safely. Although I can imagine how he will react to her departure, his sense of duty will guide him. Convince him yourself, General, if all else fails." The Queen rose, and Ura saluted. "I am counting on you to help him master his abilities," she said as she left.

"I have faith in him," Ura whispered as he also turned to leave. "I sense his motives; he will never let her be harmed. And yet, he can't protect everyone he loves..."

After a few days rest, Tay was informed of his next mission. Yes, it was still almost a year away, but to Tay it felt so much closer. Time seemed to pass quickly in training, after all. And now, with his regimen harder than ever, it would pass too quickly for his liking. Also, there was the mixed reaction he was feeling about the upcoming departure of his beloved princess. It was necessary, to be sure; she was a princess of the Inner Circle, and must be given training in order to protect the high princess of the Moon Kingdom. And yet, he might have to remain on this planet for the rest of his life. His motivation to protect the planet might decrease in the absence of his princess. If that occurred, he would no longer be fit to be a knight. He must stay focused, Tay told himself, for he was convinced that destiny would be on his side when needed.

Thus, his new training progressed. Tay practiced the summoning of the armor until it felt natural, as an extension of his body and imagination. Of course, he would have to call for the armor verbally ("Mercury Planet Power," it came to be called), but the process itself was quick and refreshing. While wearing the armor, his emotions were calmed, and he did not worry about the future; it made him feel as if he could control his destiny. But his dreams were sometimes afflicted with dark premonitions, which he could not yet make out. As all Mercurians did, Tay had some talent of prophecy. However, he was still too young to know a lot about these shadows of the future.

Ura watched Tay master the armor with satisfaction. Even so, he would not tell Tay about his own terrible visions directly. One day, he told Tay, "Someday, when all training and war is over, let us meet again; as friends, not soldiers." At the time, Tay could only reply, "Aren't we already friends? I don't understand." Ura laughed, and explained that he wished to have a life where he wouldn't be a soldier, and could live as a normal person. This left Tay even more perplexed. By the time that he would realize what Ura had meant, it would be too late.

The transportation from Mercury to the Moon Kingdom was simple enough. Large devices existed which could teleport groups of people from one planet to another, in this silver age. The reason an escort was needed was in case they might have problems on the moon itself, in the length of road between the device and the palace.

As expected, Tay and General Vilya led the escort, with carefully designed helms which concealed their faces. The Queen of Mercury and her daughter would both be escorted; the Queen was expected to attend Princess Ami's acceptance into the Inner Circle; however, the other three princesses would each be accepted on different days. Having four separate events made them safer, because an attack could have been made easier if all four had arrived at once. Princess Ami was first, being from the first planet. If the attack came now and was stopped, it could be a devastating blow to the enemy.

The procession of guards and royalty walked through the gate that led to the Moon Palace. Tay snuck a look back at the princess. Ami had grown a little taller in the four years that had passed since he last saw her. Her hair was cut short, which gave her a look of wisdom beyond her fourteen years of existence. He knew that her appearance matched her intelligence anyways. Tay himself was a good student, but she was a true genius. The fact made him love her even more.

At the doors to the palace, the Queen bid the two members of the escort to wait outside, and guard the doors. She would return after the ceremony, but in the meantime no intrusions could be allowed. Tay blurted out, "Go with Mercury's blessing, mother and child." Ura stood in awe, and both the mother and daughter looked shocked. Either this guard was foolish, or was compelled by some powerful force to utter such a strange verse. Tay himself did not know why he had said it. But it was proper, and the Queen's reply was, "Stand fast, royal knight, with mother's blessing and daughter's light." She winked at Tay, who had to ponder the riddle. Both Ura and the princess were too confused to say anything. Tay finally figured out the reply, which he whispered to the Queen. "Destiny will unite the two blues, dark and light. But first, plight before the blessings and light." He then saluted the Queen. A flicker of light blue shined off his ringed finger, which caught Princess Ami's acute detection. But with the wait finished, the royalty went inside, and the doors were shut.

An attack began shortly thereafter. A small regiment of minions led by a strange creature with sharp weapons as hands came through the palace gates, and began to surround the front doors. The leader did not speak, but pointed at the doors and the two soldiers protecting them. His army charged forward, believing they had an advantage over the two men. They didn't consider skill or speed.

Both guards summoned their swords, Tay's Ice Cutter and Ura's Silver Gale, a weapon of cold wind. The only possible delay tactic would be to cut a path through the enemy group. Ura led the way, blasting through the front lines while Tay cleaved through enemies on each side. The enemy leader laughed and motioned for his group to close the gap. But this maneuver underestimated them. Ura simply took a large leap out of the circle, and Tay followed. This "split retreat" action confused the enemy for a moment, but they wouldn't let it occur again. The leader then stood out in front of his followers, and barraged the guards with sharp projectiles that came from his hands. The attacks hit Tay's and Ura's invisible barriers, which shined indigo on contact. The leader, seeing this, stopped the attack, and took a moment to regroup. He was not looking happy.

The vicious creature then set his minions up as two phalanx lines, to be sent up against the double doors. Then he focused his own attacks on Ura, who again set up a barrier. Tay knew what Ura would expect him to do: get through the gauntlet of enemies and take out their leader.

Tay sprinted forward between the two lines, slashing left and right as he had done before. Yet the line didn't seem to end, and the leader was no where to be seen. Tay jumped out of the gap to look for the main enemy. He wasn't at the end of the line! Then where? Tay turned around in mid-jump, to see a stream of razors coming at him. He watched in horror as he couldn't stop the incoming attack in time. But a barrier did stop the attack. Ura's barrier was now around him instead. Tay nodded a thank you to Ura before he landed at the opposite end of the phalanx. Yet when he had seen Ura, his mentor had looked a little slouched. Tay took a third leap to return to Ura's side. The sight he could only watch as he glided forward was of a javelin, thrown by a minion, piercing that fading aura barrier and Ura's basic armor, below the right arm. He quickly landed and went to his teacher's aid, who had been knocked to the ground from the impact.

"Are you alright?!" Tay asked the general. Ura barked, "There is no time to help me. Don't turn your back on them!" Tay turned to the evil army, who was now advancing upon the doors. The leader ran at Tay, who could barely block with his short sword at such close range.

As Tay struggled for a last parry, a gust of air broke their duel. The enemy leader fell back, and Tay glanced a quick look at Ura. His mentor had struggled to his feet, and was emanating a cold wind. A light engulfed Ura, and when Tay could see him again, Ura had attained his own armor. Tay could not tell if it was an armor of Mercury, though. It appeared white with grey clothing, and seemed more related to air than to ice. But he was happy for his mentor.

The enemy leader was not happy on the other hand, and charged at the already injured general, though by now Ura was nigh invulnerable. "Crystal Twister!" Ura put one hand forth, and sent a gust of crystal shards at the surprised leader, who was pierced by the attack and fell. Ura also fell a moment later, his armor fading away as his strength gave out. Tay again returned to his side. Ura spoke quietly, "The rest of the minions I leave to you. I am sorry I have to leave so soon. But I foresee that we shall meet again someday. I will be reborn, never to be a soldier again. That was my prophecy. We will meet again as friends, not soldiers. Even if you stay as one. I am glad...to have felt the power of a knight, if even for a minute." Ura began to cough a little blood up, but continued talking. "I wish my knight power had been Mercury's, though. Now I'll never know where my power came from, even with my visions. Watch your back, I see them advancing now. They are enraged and have no leader. I pray for your safety in this."

Tay repeated what he had said earlier, though sadly this time. "Go with Mercury's blessing. I will find you, master. Or you will find me."

Ura nodded. "Goodbye, Tay, knight of ice." And Ura closed his eyes, on the brink of death.

Tay turned with anger and anguish to the approaching army. A few tears stained his cheek, and with a deep voiced scream, he summoned his armor. The enemies' approach was halted for a moment, which was all he needed. He stretched out his right arm, hand clenched as if holding a weapon. He concentrated his feelings of loneliness and sadness into a weapon which he would summon. The energy that formed in his grasp grew large and tall, into the shape of a giant, crystal axe. Although heavy, Tay's rage allowed him to heft the Glacial Axe with a single hand. He lifted it straight over his head, and slammed it into the ground with a quick swing. A small fissure line cracked across the ground, under the entire enemy and past. Quickly, giant pieces of glacial ice came from underground, and pierced every minion, one by one, also crystallizing them. As the pieces of glacier vanished and only the frozen minions remained, Tay picked up the axe and swung it horizontally, again with a single hand. A blast of air flew out from the axe, across the path of enemies, and slashing through the now statuesque minions, shattering them. "I call that the Glacial Axe and Icebreaker combination; rest in pieces," Tay muttered.

His anger satisfied, Tay returned to his normal form, and rushed back to help Ura, if it wasn't too late. But Ura was beyond help, mortally wounded. Tay picked him up, and carried him to the front doors, which opened to Tay's surprise.

A beautiful, violet haired woman looked at the two from inside the doors, and spoke softly. "You both have done well. It is unfortunate that your friend is too injured to recover, but I can preserve his soul. I know that was his wish." Tay realized that this woman was none other than the Queen of the Moon. She held out a wand with a large white crystal, and placed it over Ura's body, which Tay had placed before her. The crystal shined for a moment, and drew a silver light from Ura's body into it. "Someday, he will be reborn, as he prophesied." This acknowledgement by the Queen made Tay grateful, but still sad. It seemed as if her comment was made only to herself, not to him.

Then she did turn to him. "Fair knight, your deeds have not gone unnoticed. Yet still you must toil, until your day of reunion comes. Return to your duty, and protect your Queen. Through service, you will prove your worthiness to claim your heart's desire. You will have my blessing when that day comes."

Tay bowed, and replied. "I can sense I will return here sooner than you think, though for a reason I cannot see. I will have information, and will protect your family in addition to my princess. Be prepared for my return, which must be less revealing of my gift than today."

The Moon Queen smiled and nodded. "You are wiser than you give yourself credit. Remember that. Intelligence and wisdom go hand in hand, and so shall you." She turned around as the Queen of Mercury came out. Queen Serenity whispered to her, "He is more than worthy of anything you could give him. He will serve you well, though he still needs a little more training. He turns his back on the enemy, when someone is hurt. Maybe he can be taught to fight, heal, and protect all at once."

The two queens talked a little more, and then parted gracefully. The doors closed behind the Queen of the Moon as she went inside the palace. Mercury's Queen turned to Tay. "I know you still grieve for your friend and mentor, but you must return with me and protect the planet, for now. You will assume his role as General of the Royal Guard, Tay Lorien. As long as you live, regardless of any mission you should encounter in the future, you will be my general, and our knight." Tay tried to nod and smile, but he was sad as he ponder his future. 'My service will not hasten Ura's return. And there is only one title I would wish to have: Prince of Mercury, so I could be at her side forever.'

Preview of "Chapter Four: Visions"- This chapter is short, and divided between Tay's visions, and the actions of a new enemy.

[an: End of chapter three; I hope to post the rest soon. I always have five chapters.]