The Crystals
"We're flying close to the Styx now, dear queen," Helios said to Serenity. "Tell me if—"
"Shh," Minako said. Serenity's eyes were closed, and she was humming softly to herself. Helios slowed his flight and cocked an eyebrow at Minako.
"This is how she finds us."
Serenity's body begin to take on a faint greenish glow.
"Oh my—"
"She's close by," Serenity said, not opening her eyes. "She's still wandering. Searching."
Helios turned away from the queen and landed on the ground. The minute he did so, Serenity dismounted and began to wander away from him, eyes still closed.
"My queen! I don't think it's safe for you to wander around with your eyes closed so close to water..."
Serenity was ignoring him, walking straight for the Styx. Minako brought her fingers to her lips, worried.
However, before the young queen plunged off the side of the river into the water, a pair of hands caught her around the middle, stopping her stride.
She opened her eyes and stared into forest green eyes.
"We meet again, Queen Serenity," the taller girl said, smiling brightly.
"Li...ta?" Serenity said. Lita nodded. "Oh my goodness...it really worked!"
"What worked?" Lita cocked an eyebrow.
"Lita, I've got to tell you..." Serenity smiled at her old acquaintance, then gestured to Minako and Helios. "Remember what I told you, about the evil queen who kidnapped my husband and was making me do the task that I was required to do, that you helped me with?"
"Yes, I remember that."
"It was bigger than what I thought."
"Queen Serenity. So we finally meet."
Serenity whirled to the cold voice that addressed her from the doorway. Her crystalline blue eyes widened as she regarded the figure that darkened her door. She detected a metallic flash in the figure's right hand and deduced it was a dagger.
Meant for her.
Serenity forced her body to relax itself, and she turned a serene eye on her assassin. "And you. Queen Beryl."
Beryl looked startled – she had not expected the Moon Queen to know who she was. She recouped quickly, and threw Queen Serenity another cold, hard stare.
"Your husband is already dead."
A pang of hurt washed over Serenity's heart, but she fought it down and continued to look at Beryl. "I knew he would be."
"Endymion killed him." A smile curled across Beryl's lips. "He finally avenged his father's death.
"And oh," she continued, "but you should've seen the look of pure glee on his face when he drove his sword through the Moon King's cold heart. He had been waiting a long time to complete that." And I was the one who guided him to his duty, Beryl thought. He'll love me forever for that.
"It didn't have to be this way," Queen Serenity said, nervously. "None of it did."
"Yes, but that's not my fault, is it?"
"You don't even know what went on between Elysian and the Moon." Queen Serenity took a step closer to the younger queen, more resolute in her actions. "We were allies. You are simply an invader on a foreign treaty. Elysian and the Moon will become allies again. They are inherently linked. Serenity and Endymion are linked for eternity."
Beryl's grip on her dagger became tighter as she heard the queen's words, and she took a step closer to her. "Endymion belongs to me."
The Moon Queen smirked. "You allow yourself to believe that. But nothing belongs to a slave. Especially not a slave of darkness."
Beryl's eyes darkened and narrowed. Hatred burned in her heart for the queen and her words, and she advanced on her quickly, raising the dagger above her head.
For a moment she hovered in shock. The Moon Queen was standing, resolutely, not having flinched a bit at Beryl's advance upon her. She was merely staring, her blue eyes wide but cold, acceptance and resignation in them.
Beryl didn't want acceptance. She wanted anger. She wanted hatred. She wanted fear.
She wanted pain.
So she plunged the dagger into the Moon Queen's heart.
The queen's body jerked, and a bloom of red blood stained her pure white gown. She looked down at the dagger, stuck to the hilt in her heart, and then up at Beryl, whose hazel eyes were glittering in satisfaction.
But instead of the expression of choked pain Beryl expected, Queen Serenity lifted the corners of her lips in a serene smile.
"You will not win this war," she said in a choked voice, looking Beryl in the eye. "A mere slave does not triumph over a queen."
Beryl's eyes burned with fury, and even the dull thud of the dead queen's body hitting the floor could not satisfy her hatred.
"So, you see, we have come to gather the three of you so the five of us can be strong and triumph over Beryl's dark empire – and the darkness!"
Ami cocked her head to the side as she listened to Serenity's story, then remained silent a while as she spoke. "Yes...but do you really believe this all? It seems hard to believe...I am just a simple country girl..."
"As I am," Lita added. Rei nodded silently. Over much time, Serenity had managed to round up the other three young ladies, and told them each about their quest to find the crystals of power and defeat Beryl's evil empire.
"Yes..." Minako looked desperately towards Serenity.
"No! Ami, you are the Princess of Thessaly," Serenity said, causing the blue-haired girl to blush. "And Rei, you are the very creation of the goddess Venus! Lita...your family was one of the most powerful in Babylon. And Minako, you are the wife of a powerful Thracian general! Aren't you tired of Beryl's reign of terror against your home kingdoms?" Serenity asked pointedly, staring at each girl. "She has your kingdoms in fear, able to strike at any moment! And..." She smiled warmly, remembering the weakness in each girls' heart. "She is the servant of the god Hades, and wields his power. If we defeat her, we may be able to reclaim your loves' souls from Hades' realm!"
The girls all gasped, and exchanged glances.
"So, ladies...will you join our quest?"
The girls turned to regard Helios – who had resumed his human form – and one by one, they nodded and smiled.
"Great!" Serenity cried exuberantly. "Now, on to Golden Palace!"
"Golden Palace?" Helios asked, perturbed. "We can't go there! Beryl and her troops have overtaken the palace. It will be impossible to get inside. Our regular guards are not at the palace's doors – Beryl has replaced them with her own!"
"But we must go to the palace!" Serenity exclaimed. "That's where the crystals are!"
"The what?"
"The crystals that you will use to unlock your powers," said Serenity.
"But..." Minako scrunched her brow, trying to remember all Tereisias had said. "How do you know they are in the Golden Palace? Tereisias never said anything about where they were located..."
"Minako, silly," Serenity said. "Tereisias said they were 'sleeping' in a 'golden haven'."
"And how do you that he meant the Golden Palace?" Ami asked. She had heard about the prophet Teresias, and knew that his prophecies were often elaborate riddles.
"Sleeping in a golden haven?" Serenity smiled. "Elysian is the Land of Dreams, isn't it? One dreams while he sleeps. And the Golden Palace is the only golden haven in Elysian!"
Helios marveled.
"Her heart is pure," Rei said quietly. "That is why she is able to understand Tereisias' words. Her purity transcends them."
"Let us go," Helios said. "It will take much work to breach the guard at the palace, and to retrieve the crystals, especially since we don't know where they are. We must work quickly, otherwise, who knows what will happen."
The small entourage stared up at the huge Golden Palace. The four young ladies Serenity had recently met were wide-eyed, but Serenity only held a small, wistful smile on her face.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face Helios. He was smiling lovingly at her. "Do not berate yourself, my lov—er..." He blushed and shook his head. "But it is not your fault. It would've happened anyway...by decree of the gods. And of destiny."
Serenity nodded.
"It's so beautiful," Minako breathed, staring up at the huge palace.
"The stuff of dreams," Rei concurred.
"I've only heard stories of it," Ami said.
"Imagine...being queen of that!" Lita turned to Serenity with a friendly smile on her face. "You are certainly lucky, my queen!"
Serenity blushed and smiled, nodding to Lita. "You all must go inside," she said, "and find the palace servants. Surely, they must know something about the crystals! Quickly!"
"You can't come inside? We don't know the layout," Ami said.
Beryl's guards would kill Queen Serenity on sight, Helios said, his "voice" pained at the thought. I cannot allow that.
He nuzzled the queen's cheek, and she blushed, gently pushing him away. He looked hurt – if it were possible for a pegasus to look so – and flexed his wings. I will create a distraction. As soon as I do so, you ladies must hurry in the palace while the guard is distracted.
He rose above the grove they were hiding in, and the four young women rushed forward, Serenity gazing after them hopefully.
"Look! Up there!"
"Tis a pegasus!" The guard at the door smiled, admiring the pegausus beating his wings in the sunlight.
The other guard bonked him on the head with his bow. "Tis not just any pegasus, fool," he said, "tis the priest Helios in pegasus form!"
The first guard looked at his colleague with wide eyes. "Well, let's shoot him down!" he said.
The other guard nodded, and took aim with his arrow.
Helios fluttered away, and the guards took off after him.
When they were a sufficient distance away, the four young ladies rushed to the door of the palace. Minako opened her mouth, prepared to ask how they would enter, but Lita twirled a swift kick, and the doors opened before her.
The ladies rushed inside, and Ami had the good sense to close the doors behind them, so the guards would not suspect.
"Now what?" Minako said. She tried to whisper, but her voice echoed from the walls, causing the four ladies to wince. A flurry of footsteps was heard in the hall, and they froze.
The footsteps entered the foyer, but the young ladies could not see anything. Then, suddenly, the shapes of four other maidens took shape, girls a bit younger than the women themselves, dressed in yellow, red, green, and blue.
"Queen Serenity! You've returned!" the girl in blue shouted, advancing towards the blonde.
The one in red clamped a hand over her friend's mouth, silencing her. "Quiet, Pallas! Do you want to alert the entire palace!"
"I am not Serenity," Minako said, but she stepped in front of the other three ladies. "I am Minako, and these are...Rei, Ami, and Lita. We are here seeking the four sacred crystals of legend."
The four girls simultaneously whipped their heads towards each other, exchanging glances.
"I told you they would come!"
"Good thing, too! And just in time!"
"Quickly, girls, do you remember where we've hid them!"
"Of course, of course! We've been waiting forever!"
The one in yellow waved her hands to quiet her sisters, then turned to the young women before her. "Forgive us," she said, speaking quickly. "We have waited a very long time for someone to come hunting the crystals! It has been prophesied. When Queen Serenity came, we thought..." She shook her head.
"Serenity is with us," Rei offered.
"Well, that explains it!" Ceres said, clapping her hands. "Come, hurry! Minako, you come with me; and — Ami is it? — you go with Pallas. Rei, follow Vesta, and Lita, you go with Juno. Quickly girls, before Beryl's servants come!"
"So, would you explain to me how you came to be in possession of the crystals?" Ami asked, walking alongside Pallas. They were trekking through a dark corridor that seemed very unused.
"They were given to us a long, long time ago, by Psyche, the former queen of Elysian." Pallas said, bouncing ahead of Ami, occasionally darting out of the shadows to look for followers. "We were to safeguard them, protect them until someone came after them! We were each given one."
She smiled and turned to Ami. "Here!" And instead of continuing down the hallway, she pushed a door in the wall open, and entered the room, pulling Ami after her.
"What—" Ami entered the room and looked around. It appeared to be a child's playroom. There were several trunks of toys stored against the walls, with several larger toys – a rocking horse, chariot, the like – scattered around the room. "Where are we?"
"This is King Endymion's old playroom, from when he was a child," Pallas said, giggling. "I knew no one would look in here!" And she raced towards the toy box, rummaging around in it.
"What are you doing?"
"Finding it!" Pallas's head was completely submerged in the toy box; it stayed that way for a few minutes, and then she pulled it up. A blue light filled the dark room as she did, steadily growing brighter and brighter the farther she went, until finally she emerged, a small blue crystal hovering over her hand, emitting a bright blue light."
"Ami, servant of Mercury, I give you the Sapphire Crystal!"
"Oh, my!" Minako exclaimed, fingering the yellow silk dress that hung over her head. "How lovely."
"Aren't they beautiful? This is one of my favorite rooms in the house," Ceres said absently, throwing open the doors of a closet. "It was Queen Psyche's dressing chamber. I used to be her personal maidservant, dressing her and bathing her. It was so wonderful." Ceres sighed. "Queen Psyche-sama was a beautiful woman."
"What happened to her?"
Ceres looked down, into the closet space. "She was killed," she said sadly. "In an attack Erebus executed against Elysian."
Minako was sorry she had asked.
"That's why you must defeat Beryl," Ceres said, determination ringing in her voice. "Anyway, I used to come here all the time when Queen Psyche was alive. And so I hid the crystal in here." She bent over into the closet, and a few noises could be heard. "After all...who'd think to look in an old pair of shoes for a gem?"
Ceres pulled herself out of the closet, and hovering over her palm was a round crystal, emitting a bright yellow light. "The Topaz Crystal, servant of Venus."
"Uck, it smells horrible in here."
"It is a stable, m'lady," Juno said pointedly, and Lita had to admit that she was right.
"Why did you hide the crystal in here? Wouldn't you be afraid that someone would find it?"
"No," Juno answered. "The most obvious places make the best hiding places."
She opened a stall occupied by a mare, and gently nudged the beast out of the way. Then she dug in the hay like a madwoman.
Lita knew the moment she struck gold, for the entire stable was illuminated with a green light.
"Ah, here!" She picked it up and stood, emerging from the stall. "Servant of Jupiter, the Emerald Crystal!"
"No one is allowed in the inner sanctum but the priest Helios and his prince, Endymion," Vesta said in a low voice, leading Rei briskly down the hallways of the palace. "But I tried to get as close as possible."
"Your meaning?"
Vesta waved Rei into the temple area of the palace, carefully closing the door behind her.
"Well, I was always assigned to clean the only public area of the temple, not the sanctuary of course, but the area where we servants are allowed to worship," Vesta said. "And I figured it would be the perfect place to hide a crystal! Only devout servants of the gods attend here, and the dark-hearted are rarely so."
She knelt before the altar, and Rei raised an eyebrow. Was she about to offer a prayer at this dire moment?
But no – Vesta reached below the altar, into a golden urn. "I told everyone that the ashes of the first Elysian queen were stored in this urn," she giggled.
What she pulled out was not ashes, but a red stone, throwing its crimson light all around the room.
"The Ruby Crystal, servant of Mars."