I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed my writing. So far it's all been positive and
that's been very gratifying for me. It is certainly more motivating to write for an audience.
It's been a while since I updated, and I don't have an excuse except that I have a tendency
not be satisfied with my own writing and I always read and rewrite everything I have written
over and over again. I'll stop babbling on here and just let you read it.
Chapter 2 - Flight
In her dream, Usagi was home again, standing in her own bedroom. She could hear the clang
of pots, as her mother cooked and the low tone of her father's voice. She heard her brother's
footsteps as he scurried down the stairs then his own soprano voice blend into the familiar
sounds.
She was safe. Surely danger could never reach her here. The yellow curtains fluttered
slightly and she could practically smell the beautiful spring day outside. She walked to her
door to open it and join her family but the door was sealed fast. Panicked, she tried the
doorknob again. When that failed she beat her fists against the hard, unyielding wood, crying
out.
She turned around, but the scene had shifted to that horrible white room she could never
escape. The walls were shrinking, coming together to crush her. Frozen in horror, Usagi
watched the walls move relentless towards her. It was then that he decided to make his
appearance.
Casually, he put his hands against one of the walls stopping the motion. Everything in the
room seemed to shift, and when she blinked the walls were back in place. Usagi wanted to
hurl herself at him, in an effort to seek security, but another emotion began to rage within
her, anger.
She was angry with him for not saving her, for leaving her in this room. She was angry
because he seemed so nonchalant and unruffled. And most of all, she was angry because she
should have been able to save herself.
Usagi was practically quaking with rage, as he approached. He tried to embrace her, but she
shoved him away, hard. He reached for her again, and Usagi prepared smack him on the side
of his cocky head. Instead of hugging her though, his hand went into her sleeve, pulling out
the hidden knife. He placed it in her hand, closing her fingers around it. Then he grabbed her
hand, leading her towards the door.
He guided her hand, holding the knife into the lock. She bit her lip in frustration. She'd
already tried this method and it hadn't worked. This wasn't going to help. She realized he
was trying to tell her something, but the dead silence of the dream seemed to stop him. She
watched his lips move soundlessly.
Giving up on speech, he instead guided her through the process of picking the lock. She
heard it click, satisfactorily and the door swung open. She was filled with jubilation, and she
swung her arms around him. He hugged her back, but now he was looking concerned. She
wondered why, but she didn't have enough to time to contemplate it. His form blurred before
her eyes.
*****
Usagi woke with that feeling of joy still pounding through her. Energetically, she bounded up
from her sleeping position at the foot of the bed. She knew how she was going to escape
now. All she had to do was remember exactly how.
When she got to the door she was immersed with an overwhelming sense of deja vu. She
placed her ear against the door, listening. Everything was silent.
She didn't give it a second thought. As if in a trance, Usagi slid the knife into the lock.
Several minutes later her work was rewarded as she felt the lock release. Cracking the door
open, Usagi stuck her head into the hallway peering into the darkness.
It was a long, dark hallway dotted with doors. These were doors that could open at any
moment. She felt fear twist her stomach in a knot. She hesitated. What other dark secrets
did Diamond hide behind these doors?
She wanted to creep along the wall, melding against as she'd seen in spy movies, but she
doubted the action would make her any less visible to a passerby. She was after all, dressed
in white. It probably made her stand out like a beacon in the dark hallway.
Instead she sucked in her breath and shut the door as quietly as possible. Her own light
footsteps fell softly on the tiled floor. Her feet moved at an increasing rate as she accelerated
down the hall, until she finally broke out into a run. Reaching the end she abruptly realized
that no emergency exit sign graced the end of the hallway. She was being foolish. Of course
Diamond wouldn't visibly mark his exits. She was in the evil lair of a madman, she told
herself.
That left her with the option of choosing a door, and hoping there wasn't something or
someone she didn't want to meet on the other side. She didn't want to think to hard about it.
She randomly decided on a door directly in front of her and swung it open recklessly. The
room revealed was empty, but it did contain one thing of interest, a balcony.
Usagi opened the door to the balcony, walked up to the edge and peered over. The ground
was far away, but not that far away. She estimated that she could probably jump down with
relatively no injuries.
She was anticipating the plunge when she felt strong arms wrap around her. She started to
struggle but a hand clamped over her mouth. She made a muffled sound as she was
unceremoniously tossed over a hard shoulder.
Her legs kicked and she beat her hands against a muscular back. She was jolted as he
jumped off the balcony landing hard on the ground. She grimaced in pain as her jaw hit the
solid muscles of his back.
"Sweetheart, don't struggle."
"Huh?" Usagi was frightened, until she received her first good look at her attacker as he
swung her off his shoulder. When she saw him she felt like fainting in shock. As it was, she
gaped at him and was struck speechless.
The stormy blues eyes that met her own were familiar because she had looked in them before,
in her vivid dreams. He was her dangerous apparition, come to life.
His dark hair fell slightly into slightly into his eyes. He was tall, so tall that Usagi's head barely
reached his shoulder. She had to bend her head backwards at an uncomfortable angle to
meet his gaze.
"You... are the one in my dreams." She stuttered, confused at the strange turn of events.
He shrugged brushing the black hair away from his eyes. "I've always been." He seemed to
take that part for granted, but his face expressed concern that she'd asked such an obvious
question.
"You know you're acting really weird, Serenity. Don't you recognize me?" He looked puzzled
and a little hurt. He wrapped his arms around her possessively.
"Should I recognize you?" Usagi cocked her head slightly, her puzzlement apparent.
"I should hope so." He touched her face, starting into her eyes in a questioning manner.
"What has Diamond done to you? Damn, I knew I should have gotten here sooner." His jaw
clenched and she felt his muscles tighten.
"I'm not Serenity." Usagi blurted out. "My name is Usagi and I'm from Tokyo, Japan." She
was almost afraid to say it, but he had to know the truth.
He shook his head. "No you are Serenity," he said stubbornly.
"I'm not!" Usagi exclaimed. "I think I know who I am!" She stomped her foot down in a flash
of anger.
"No you have to be Serenity. No one else could ever duplicate that same shade of blond hair,
or the crystalline blue eye color ..." He trailed off, shaking his head in denial. In that instant
Usagi decided that he too, like Diamond was in need of some serious psychological help.
"Leave me alone! I need to get home and away from here." She tried to pull away, but his grip
on her arms tightened.
"Home?" He frowned. "Your home is with me." Usagi managed to break away from his grasp
and she took several steps back.
"What are you talking about? Who is Serenity to you anyway?" Usagi's confused anger made
her careless and she almost tripped as she stepped backwards. He stalked towards her
retreating figure and hauled her towards him. His next words were clipped in frustration.
"Serenity is my wife."
***
that's been very gratifying for me. It is certainly more motivating to write for an audience.
It's been a while since I updated, and I don't have an excuse except that I have a tendency
not be satisfied with my own writing and I always read and rewrite everything I have written
over and over again. I'll stop babbling on here and just let you read it.
Chapter 2 - Flight
In her dream, Usagi was home again, standing in her own bedroom. She could hear the clang
of pots, as her mother cooked and the low tone of her father's voice. She heard her brother's
footsteps as he scurried down the stairs then his own soprano voice blend into the familiar
sounds.
She was safe. Surely danger could never reach her here. The yellow curtains fluttered
slightly and she could practically smell the beautiful spring day outside. She walked to her
door to open it and join her family but the door was sealed fast. Panicked, she tried the
doorknob again. When that failed she beat her fists against the hard, unyielding wood, crying
out.
She turned around, but the scene had shifted to that horrible white room she could never
escape. The walls were shrinking, coming together to crush her. Frozen in horror, Usagi
watched the walls move relentless towards her. It was then that he decided to make his
appearance.
Casually, he put his hands against one of the walls stopping the motion. Everything in the
room seemed to shift, and when she blinked the walls were back in place. Usagi wanted to
hurl herself at him, in an effort to seek security, but another emotion began to rage within
her, anger.
She was angry with him for not saving her, for leaving her in this room. She was angry
because he seemed so nonchalant and unruffled. And most of all, she was angry because she
should have been able to save herself.
Usagi was practically quaking with rage, as he approached. He tried to embrace her, but she
shoved him away, hard. He reached for her again, and Usagi prepared smack him on the side
of his cocky head. Instead of hugging her though, his hand went into her sleeve, pulling out
the hidden knife. He placed it in her hand, closing her fingers around it. Then he grabbed her
hand, leading her towards the door.
He guided her hand, holding the knife into the lock. She bit her lip in frustration. She'd
already tried this method and it hadn't worked. This wasn't going to help. She realized he
was trying to tell her something, but the dead silence of the dream seemed to stop him. She
watched his lips move soundlessly.
Giving up on speech, he instead guided her through the process of picking the lock. She
heard it click, satisfactorily and the door swung open. She was filled with jubilation, and she
swung her arms around him. He hugged her back, but now he was looking concerned. She
wondered why, but she didn't have enough to time to contemplate it. His form blurred before
her eyes.
*****
Usagi woke with that feeling of joy still pounding through her. Energetically, she bounded up
from her sleeping position at the foot of the bed. She knew how she was going to escape
now. All she had to do was remember exactly how.
When she got to the door she was immersed with an overwhelming sense of deja vu. She
placed her ear against the door, listening. Everything was silent.
She didn't give it a second thought. As if in a trance, Usagi slid the knife into the lock.
Several minutes later her work was rewarded as she felt the lock release. Cracking the door
open, Usagi stuck her head into the hallway peering into the darkness.
It was a long, dark hallway dotted with doors. These were doors that could open at any
moment. She felt fear twist her stomach in a knot. She hesitated. What other dark secrets
did Diamond hide behind these doors?
She wanted to creep along the wall, melding against as she'd seen in spy movies, but she
doubted the action would make her any less visible to a passerby. She was after all, dressed
in white. It probably made her stand out like a beacon in the dark hallway.
Instead she sucked in her breath and shut the door as quietly as possible. Her own light
footsteps fell softly on the tiled floor. Her feet moved at an increasing rate as she accelerated
down the hall, until she finally broke out into a run. Reaching the end she abruptly realized
that no emergency exit sign graced the end of the hallway. She was being foolish. Of course
Diamond wouldn't visibly mark his exits. She was in the evil lair of a madman, she told
herself.
That left her with the option of choosing a door, and hoping there wasn't something or
someone she didn't want to meet on the other side. She didn't want to think to hard about it.
She randomly decided on a door directly in front of her and swung it open recklessly. The
room revealed was empty, but it did contain one thing of interest, a balcony.
Usagi opened the door to the balcony, walked up to the edge and peered over. The ground
was far away, but not that far away. She estimated that she could probably jump down with
relatively no injuries.
She was anticipating the plunge when she felt strong arms wrap around her. She started to
struggle but a hand clamped over her mouth. She made a muffled sound as she was
unceremoniously tossed over a hard shoulder.
Her legs kicked and she beat her hands against a muscular back. She was jolted as he
jumped off the balcony landing hard on the ground. She grimaced in pain as her jaw hit the
solid muscles of his back.
"Sweetheart, don't struggle."
"Huh?" Usagi was frightened, until she received her first good look at her attacker as he
swung her off his shoulder. When she saw him she felt like fainting in shock. As it was, she
gaped at him and was struck speechless.
The stormy blues eyes that met her own were familiar because she had looked in them before,
in her vivid dreams. He was her dangerous apparition, come to life.
His dark hair fell slightly into slightly into his eyes. He was tall, so tall that Usagi's head barely
reached his shoulder. She had to bend her head backwards at an uncomfortable angle to
meet his gaze.
"You... are the one in my dreams." She stuttered, confused at the strange turn of events.
He shrugged brushing the black hair away from his eyes. "I've always been." He seemed to
take that part for granted, but his face expressed concern that she'd asked such an obvious
question.
"You know you're acting really weird, Serenity. Don't you recognize me?" He looked puzzled
and a little hurt. He wrapped his arms around her possessively.
"Should I recognize you?" Usagi cocked her head slightly, her puzzlement apparent.
"I should hope so." He touched her face, starting into her eyes in a questioning manner.
"What has Diamond done to you? Damn, I knew I should have gotten here sooner." His jaw
clenched and she felt his muscles tighten.
"I'm not Serenity." Usagi blurted out. "My name is Usagi and I'm from Tokyo, Japan." She
was almost afraid to say it, but he had to know the truth.
He shook his head. "No you are Serenity," he said stubbornly.
"I'm not!" Usagi exclaimed. "I think I know who I am!" She stomped her foot down in a flash
of anger.
"No you have to be Serenity. No one else could ever duplicate that same shade of blond hair,
or the crystalline blue eye color ..." He trailed off, shaking his head in denial. In that instant
Usagi decided that he too, like Diamond was in need of some serious psychological help.
"Leave me alone! I need to get home and away from here." She tried to pull away, but his grip
on her arms tightened.
"Home?" He frowned. "Your home is with me." Usagi managed to break away from his grasp
and she took several steps back.
"What are you talking about? Who is Serenity to you anyway?" Usagi's confused anger made
her careless and she almost tripped as she stepped backwards. He stalked towards her
retreating figure and hauled her towards him. His next words were clipped in frustration.
"Serenity is my wife."
***