Back to the Nest
Chapter Five:
Planet Coronis, distant past:
Princess Coronis, accompanied by the Knight Captain and escorted by two guards, made their way towards the courtyard.
"We are living out a historic moment," the military man said excitedly, "The Queen of the Silver Kingdom rarely leaves travels. And now she's paying us a visit!"
"Actually, she used to do so quite often, when she was only a princess," the pale ruler informed, "We just haven't had the chance to see each other since her coronation." She sighed longingly. "The burden of command." As they approached the large doors, they opened slowly and a slender figure appeared on the opposite side.
"Presenting the ruler of the Silver Moon Kingdom," the usher called, "Queen Serenity." Both women went up to each other and held hands.
"Coronis, it's been far too long," the white-haired one greeted.
"I agree, my dear friend. Oh! And congratulations for the birth of your daughter. I hear she is growing healthy and happily." The opaque-eyed woman glimpsed yonder and saw a little girl in a senshi uniform. "And who is this precious child?"
"She is the one the twins will serve," Serenity answered. "Please come forward and greet Princess Coronis." The young senshi did so, smiling and walking graciously, as she'd been taught. Then she stopped suddenly, with absolute fright in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, she's a—!"
"Mars!" The odango-headed woman had guessed what she was about to say. "Do mind your manners and introduce yourself."
"But…" Serenity silenced her with a severe stare. "Umm, salutations, Princess Coronis. I am the senshi of fire, Sailor Mars."
"She could use a few lessons in etiquette," the Knight Captain said disapprovingly, noticing the fire senshi's tone.
"Knight Captain, please leave me with my friend and young Mars," Coronis requested. Also in a scolding manner. Once the three of them were alone, she came down to the girl's eye level. "You are quite talented for your age, being able to identify my nature with just a glance."
"You are a creature from the dark," Mars accused, "Someone with your same aura attacked us the day Princess Serenity was born."
"True, darkness is my element but that doesn't necessarily make me evil; just as a being from the light cannot always be good." The opaque-eyed princess gave a sincere and calming smile. "Mars, my dear, if you can't trust my words, would you at least trust your queen's judgment?"
"Well I…" Sailor Mars looked into Coronis' eyes; it was like gazing into a dark, bottomless pit, yet there was kindness in them. She then turned to Serenity, who gave an approving glance. "Of course I trust you, your highness, Princess Coronis."
"Thank you, Sailor Mars, that means a lot to me."
As they headed towards the room where the twins awaited, the two female rulers talked amongst themselves.
"My apologies, Coronis. I wasn't expecting Mars' senses to be that acute, still, I should have told her about you being a…" She just could say it.
"An undead," the dark-haired princess said, "one whose body blatantly imitates life. My subjects believe that my powers come from my Blood Crystal, which is partly true; only a few know about my true nature." She took a deep, sad breath. "It is only when my secret is discovered by new people that I feel my existence as a burden."
"Coronis, I realize it's not the time," Serenity began, "but I would like to make my offer anew. While the energy of my Silver Crystal is normally lethal for you, my present level of experience should allow me to truly revive you."
"But the strain might cost you your own life," her pale friend reminded, "Serenity, I don't need to be alive in order to perform my duty, you do; and I'm no more important than you are." She placed her hands on her white-haired friend's shoulders. "It is my burden, I will not run away from it, no matter how much it pains me. Now hurry, the little ones are waiting."
Soon they were at the room where the twins and their parents awaited. No sooner they entered, a gray-haired man approached and bowed.
"Queen Serenity, we are extremely honored by your visit!" His greeting carried a bit too much courtesy. As a matter of fact, something in him rubbed Mars the wrong way. "Allow me to introduce my sons. Huginn, Muninn." Two silver-haired boys approached upon hearing their names called. The way they stood up straight and bright expressions made them seem older than their one year of age. "Brought up and educated to be the best since the day they hatched. Boys."
"Hello, you'll majesty," they said with almost perfect diction.
"I'm impressed," the ruler of the Silver Moon admitted. "I understand your wife passed away while laying their eggs, my condolences to you, Sir."
"Sadly yes, but I know she felt proud upon knowing who she'd brought to the world."
Mars wasn't paying much attention to the adults' conversation, she was too amazed by her first encounter with twin brothers. She never thought to persons could look so alike, the only difference between them was the color of their eyes, red and blue.
"Purdy," the latter said all of a sudden, pointing at her.
"Why, thank you!" the fire senshi replied with a grin, "You two are very handsome as well." At that moment she heard a faint gurgle; then turned and saw a crib with a young couple standing beside it.
"Otha babies," Muninn said, "Look, look!" The silver-haired twins ran over to the crib and everyone followed (the boys' father had a slight scowl). Mars peered inside and found two baby girls with dark hair, just like her own. Their bright eyes stared straight into hers.
"These are Phobos and Deimos, right?" Everyone was surprised at what they'd heard.
"Well, they are our children," Coronis' cousin answered, "but we haven't named them yet."
"Mars, how did you come up with those names?" Serenity inquired.
"I, umm, I just saw the babies and they popped into my head."
"Phobos and Deimos," the archduke repeated, "There's a certain ring to them. Why look, the girls even like the way their new names sound!" Everyone came to take a closer look. Indeed, the twin babies were giggling merrily.
"Quite auspicious for them to be named in this way," the gray-haired man said as he picked up his sons; his initial cheerfulness was gone now. "Add this to the fact that they hatched out of a single egg instead of two."
"That is a surprise," Queen Serenity replied. And it must've been awfully crowded in there, she thought to herself. "Let's move on to other business, shall we?" The made their way out of the room, leaving the four infants in the care of nurses.
"So, two of them to come with us to the Moon Kingdom and live there," Young Mars said, "Sort of like Luna and Artemis?"
"That's right," the odango-headed woman answered, "and it will be up to you to choose which pair, though not for quite a while. They must first go through a period of training, very much like yours."
"Their progress will be reported to you as they grow," Coronis added, "even though they will know nothing of their destiny. And this is very important," she remarked to their subjects, "You are free to raise and educate your children ass you see fit, but let them know nothing of the prophecy."
"I would rather the prophecy didn't exist at all," the girl's mother confessed sadly. "We will do as you say, Cousin, Phobos and Deimos will not be told a thing."
"Neither will Huginn and Muninn," their father promised, "No matter what." Though it is my family who will be victorious.
Ice spiders, one of the most venomous species on this dark, cold world. Five inches long and fangs that can pierce through thick leather. Usually harmless, they only become dangerous when hungry, for they attack any animal, no matter how large, in order to get sustenance. One of these spiders detected the heat emanating from a sleeping body and slid down using its web, landing on the dark-haired girl's arm. She opened her eyes at its touch, yet had no time to react.
"Got it!" Deimos claimed.
"Hey! I saw it first, baka!" her ruby-eyed sister protested.
"Snooze you lose," the cerulean one chuckled as she bit off the head. "Now, let's wake the others so we can have breakfast and get a move on, we've still got a long way to go before reaching the city." She headed over to their thieving ally. "Mac-san? Mac-san, wake up."
"Give me one more minute," the bald man groaned groggily, "Must you girls do everything at the crack of dawn?"
"Military life," Red Crow responded as she stretched, "makes you pick up plenty of habits." She sat up and sighed. "I had the strangest dream. I was lying in a nest, in human form, and there was a sweet smell in the air. Subtles." The former animate took out the cloth where she'd wrapped the small brown flowers and sniffed. "Why is this aroma in my memory?"
"You're not the only one with questions," the stocky man said as he walked towards the fire, "My mind is in quite a jumble; magical beings from another world, women that turn into birds…"
"There are many beautiful and amazing things in every world, you just have to take the time to stop and look," the longhaired woman replied. "A bit of advice that I should've followed."
"There is a lot in our heads as well," Phobos called, "While Onee-chan and I are over the initial shock of meeting Huginn and Muninn, we are still mad at you for keeping what you knew from us, Red Crow-san."
"I wasn't sure of my suspicions," Red Crow snorted, "And I didn't tell you for to reasons: one, Queen Coronis' stupid rules; and two, I didn't consider you to be ready for such news."
"You do have a point," Deimos accepted as she passed out the bowls, "But what matters now is to figure out why. I keep searching my memories, as few as they may be, and all I can see is the five of us as friends. Huginn and Muninn would come to visit often, both before and after our parents' death." The sapphire-eyed girl gave a sad sigh. "When I saw into Muninn's eyes, all I could see was loathing. Why?" She couldn't hold back her tears any longer. "We grew up together! Why do they want to kill us!"
"Onee-chan, calm down!" Phobos held her sister. "Red Crow-san, please, you must help us remember. What caused this change in our friends?"
"I can't tell you, scatter-brain. You're supposed to remember everything on your own."
"Chikuso, how are we supposed to remember every single detail! Look, if this does anger our aunt Coronis, I'll take full responsibility."
"Don't vouch for me, I've got my pride!" the copper-skinned woman protested with visible anger. "Besides, if you can't remember, then it means it wasn't that important in the first place, was it?"
"Red Crow-san, what are you…?" Phobos raised an eyebrow, "Is there something you want us to remember?" Her former teacher didn't respond, she just looked down and concentrated on finishing her meal.
"Why don't we try this?" Mac started suggesting after a while, "There's no rule against telling me these lovely ladies' tale, which I am truly anxious to hear, and should they overhear, it won't be your fault." The three females were quite surprised at the thief's ingenuity.
"Auntie Coronis did bend the law in order to send us here," Deimos added with a wink.
"That much is true," the former animate chuckled. Old hag, always talking about rules and responsibility. "Alright then. Which would be a good anecdote?"
Planet Coronis, distant past:
"Guess who!" A startled Deimos pushed the hands away from her face and turned her head.
"Muninn!" The nine-year-old gave the boy in blue a tight hug. "It's been two weeks! Where have you two been?"
"As usual, taking lessons," the red-clad Huginn answered, "Dad keeps taking us on these business of trips of his, along with every teacher he can think of." He laid down on the grass and huffed. "You guys are lucky, living in the castle with nothing to do but play all day."
"Hey! We get schooling as well," Phobos protested, "We take history, theology, charting, social behavior, math, poetry, even fencing."
"And I've mastered every move," Deimos boasted.
"Little sister…"
"Have you now?" Huginn got up and went over to a nearby tree, snapped off two straight branches and tossed one towards the dark-haired girl. "Let's see if you can fly as well as you can flap."
"(sigh) You might as well bring two more, Huginn," the scarlet-eyed one requested. "Why do you keep dragging me into these messes?" she growled to her twin.
"Relax, Phobos, we'll have them running to their daddy in five seconds."
High above, Red Crow was taking a nap on one of the castle's roofs when the sound of fighting roused her. Instinctively, she got up and investigated.
"Urrgh, it's just those kids. Couldn't they just play tag or have a tea party?" Since it always took her too long to fall asleep again after being rudely awakened, she decided to watch the twins go about their game. The boys were winning each round thanks to rigorous instruction, but the girls were holding up quite well, despite having very little training. Those two are pretty good. They'll make excellent soldiers once they grow up, she thought. The copper-skinned girl picked up her whip and was about to make her way down when she heard voices. Curious, she got closer to the edge and listened.
"Fools, wasting their lessons on petty games." Huginn's and Muninn's father, wealthiest man in Coronis after the queen, as well as the bitterest. "They aren't even performing correctly. Have they learnt nothing!"
"If I may, Sire," his steward spoke up, "I believe you might be investing too much effort on your sons? They can already achieve far more than other children their age, even more than many adults. Why push them so hard?" His master's stare became furious.
"My sons will be second to none, not as long as I can guarantee it. Now leave! I'll summon you again when needed."
"Umm, yes Sire." The silver-haired twins' father leaned on the guardrail and huffed. It would all be so much easier if he were able to reveal the true reason.
"Easier still if everything had gone according to plan that night," he muttered, "No matter, I shall win, I always do." He gave the children one more glance, spat in disgust and left. Red Crow waited a while before leaning over.
"Weird guy, no wonder nobody likes him. And if he keeps pushing Huginn and Muninn so hard, they won't think much of him either." The red-eyed girl slid down the column and glanced towards her friends. "Better hurry if I want to play winners." She started climbing down the wall.
"Red Crow!"
"YAAHH!" Startled, the young soldier lost her grip, and would've fallen if she hadn't used her whip. "Knight Captain?"
"Red Crow, I am glad that you exercise continuously, but it wouldn't hurt to behave properly once in a while. Now, act like a lady and use the stairs."
"Yes sir," the girl grumbled. The Knight Captain watched as she made her way inside.
"We should search for the most troublesome family in Coronis, it'll surely be the one she belongs to."
"All or nothing, little sister, let's go!"
"I'm with you, Phobos!" Deimos gripped her weapon with her left hand, Phobos with her right, and they both made a forward lunge. The silver-haired boys easily avoided this attack with a spin, then counterattacked by striking the girls' behinds. "Ack!"
"Eep!"
"Had enough?" Huginn taunted, "Or do we have to beat you for the fifteenth time in a row?"
"Let them be, bro," the blue-eyed one said, "The swelling in going to make their butts look bigger and fatter than they already are."
"Ooh, now you're going to get it," Deimos threatened. The matter didn't go beyond words though.
"Children." The four young ones turned and saw Princess Coronis approaching. She was holding her hand against her cheek, but they didn't think much of it. "I'd say you've had enough roughhousing for one day. Now go inside and spruce yourselves up, we're going to the theater today."
"Eh, couldn't we stay here and do something else?" Muninn groaned.
"Come on, a little culture won't kill you," the ruby-eyed girl scolded.
"She says that," Deimos whispered, "but falls asleep every time we go."
"I heard that."
The undead princess watched the children leave with a smile on her face. Once they were far enough, she looked at the dried up blood on her fingers. The wound on her cheek was gone now, but the cut had been deep. What happened was: the female twins' attack had actually moved through the air and struck at a distance, specifically, Princess Coronis' face. Huginn and Muninn would've been seriously hurt hadn't they avoided the blow.
"And they did this when they barely know the basics," the pale ruler realized, "I must see to it that they receive proper instruction, and I know just who their trainer should be."
The silver-haired boys weren't too eager about an afternoon at the theater, but they knew better than to keep her highness waiting, so they headed straight to their room to change.
"Dad!" Muninn was quite surprised to see him there. "What are you doing here? We thought you had business to take care of."
"And isn't the upbringing of my heirs my business?" The man's tone had no trace of concern though, it was closer to anger. "I saw your match with those orphans. Tell me, what was the meaning of that pathetic display?"
"Well, uh…" Huginn wasn't sure about the purpose of this conversation. "It was a game, you know, we were having fun."
"And does fun mean acting like buffoons?" the gray-haired man questioned, "Using only a fraction of what you've been taught?"
"Of course not!" the blue-eyed boy protested, "Seriously, Dad, if we had fought without holding back, Phobos and Deimos would've been badly hurt."
"That doesn't matter! All confrontations are dealt with in the same manner, with all of your strength and resources. You do not only defeat your enemies, you vanquish them!" The man gave an threatening gaze. "Next time those orphans, or anybody else challenges you, give them a lesson they'll remember."
"Yes, Father," the shorthaired twins responded.
The now grownup Muninn stared at the scarred face reflecting off his sword.
"Had we known what you knew, Father, those witches would've received a final lesson." His brother walked into the tent. "So, Huginn, how are the troops doing?"
"Quite well actually," the red-armored man responded. "A fair number of our injured soldiers have recovered enough to walk, maybe even fight; and we've been advancing at a decent pace. Furthermore, our original itinerary covers this eventuality; lesser manpower won't be a problem for long."
"I know of one man we could do without. That idiot Kriegstern!" His brother hollered as he pounded the table furiously. "We should have him lynched and stake that thick head on his own spear."
"Calm down," Huginn ordered. "He is the strongest fighter in this sub-world and knows the terrain like the back of his hand, we need his help and power."
"Power? Ha! We could make his chest explode with a mere thought."
"True, but we'd best keep him close. The way he went berserk upon seeing the Knight Captain, a behavior which might be advantageous to us. Turning her into his target takes her out of our hands. Remember, she is the best soldier in Coronis' army."
"A valid point," the blue armored villain accepted, "As long as you ignore the fact that you're placing your faith on an insane man." He grabbed a bottle of wine and took a big gulp. "Phobos and Deimos should be no problem either. They may be senshi, but you saw them fight. Now that they've reincarnated they are weak and unskilled. No doubt there's nepotism behind this, just like dad said." Muninn took a deep breath and slumped down on the table. "Still, they have an advantage over us. That man who was accompanying was obviously the one who searched through our tent; and although nothing is missing, they surely know about our plans."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," his red-eyed brother replied smugly, "The one vital item that was out in the open was the map, so they do know where we're going, but little else."
The following day, city gate:
"State your business," the guard commanded as the three girls and stocky man approached.
"We're just travelers looking for work," Mac answered, "Lots more opportunities in a city as large as this one you know." The guard just shook his head in disgust. He'd seen more than enough people moving in from the country, only to end up as beggars on the streets. He gave the quartet a lazy glance instead of the thorough search he was supposed to perform, although he did give the longhaired females a bit of extra attention.
"Head towards the plaza then turn south," he suggested, "You're certain to find the sort of work you're capable of there."
"Arigato. Have a nice day," Deimos replied politely as she pulled her friend and sister by the arm. However, her smile vanished once they were a fair distance away. "Baka, he probably gave us directions to some rich neighborhood where the households need maids. Did we also travel back in time?"
"Not all worlds are equally advanced, Onee-chan" her sister replied, "Still, that jerk did deserve a good knock on the head."
"I don't mean to upset you further," Mac said, "but I've been to this city before, and that alley the guard mentioned, well, the jobs there are more of the public sort." His traveling companions stopped short. "You know, one where you would provide, shall we say, physical entertainment." All he got were blank stares. "Men pay you, then you give—"
"We know what you're talking about!" the former animate snapped, "Let's just go back to the mission, okay? Huginn and Muninn, they're on their way here, why?"
"Well, they're obviously after something ancient and valuable, it's what I would be after," the bald thief answered. "There are three places where they may find such an item: the auction house, where things become too expensive for their actual worth; the abbey, which I would never rob from, I do have my morals; and the governor's state, whose grandfather, now that I think about it, collected antiquities."
"The abbey is the most likely place for a magical artifact," Phobos deduced. "But we should see the governor as well, warn him about the approaching raiders."
"You two take care of that," Red Crow told the dark-haired twins, "Mac and I will check out the abbey and find out how good their security is."
"Hai," the cerulean one replied, "We'll meet at the plaza in one hour." Mac gave directions, they wished each other good luck and went separate ways.
"So what do you think?" Deimos asked after they'd walked a fair distance.
"About what?"
"Huginn and Muninn, of course. I'm still trying to figure out what happened to them." The sapphire-eyed girl looked into the dark sky. "I blame their father, he was always pushing them to be the best, demanding more than humanly possible."
"I remember him alright, grouchy old bastard. Never once did he treat us nicely, simply because we were born second. To him, we were nothing but an obstacle in his sons' path towards being chosen by Princess Mars."
"It had occurred to me that us being the ones chosen might be the reason, but they were commissioned to serve Lord Odin, a very desirable position."
"Hai, they have no reason to envy us," the scarlet-clad twin agreed, "In fact, I was always a teensy bit jealous of them. Huginn and Muninn had always been better fighters, obtained higher test scores and excelled in crafts. Even when we were only playing games, they would beat us every time."
"Well, I'm not so sure about that," Deimos replied, "But I do know how competitive you are. Really, Phobos-chan, you should try to ease up a little."
"I am not competitive! Besides, you're the one who's always taking challenges." The longhaired twins kept on chatting and walking until they reached their destination. "Well, here we are. Now what do we do? We can't just waltz in and announce that a bunch of barbarians are about to storm the city."
"We could knock and ask politely for an audience," the cerulean-clad girl said, "there's no harm in trying. And if that doesn't work, we can try sneaking in. Princess Mars used to do that a lot."
"Hai, with questionable results," the scarlet one recalled. "Let's go with the first option."
This idea worked surprisingly well. The man who met them at the door let the pair inside and escorted them to a waiting room.
"You see? Nothing to it," Deimos chuckled as she stretched on her chair, "It's wonderful how far good manners will take you, ne?"
"Quite! And if we get the city's army to help us, this mission will be over much sooner than expected." The door opened and two guards entered, then a third, followed by a fourth, until there were to many for comfort.
"Umm…Isn't this too big an escort?" Deimos asked nervously. "Hey!" Two guards grabbed her forcefully by the arms and hoisted her up.
"Let go of her!" Phobos couldn't do much though since she too was submitted. "Why are you doing this? What's going on!"
"Silence!" one of the large men commanded, "Thought you could get away with murder, huh? Well we got word that you were coming."
"Murder?" The ruby-eyed girl was muddled by fright and realization. "Ie, you've got it all wrong! We're not the ones who—"
"Oh yes you are," someone said as he came into view, "The governor was told so by a very close friend."
"Muninn!" The black-haired girl pulled her hand free. "Deimos soul power—Ungh!" A blow to the head left her out cold.
"Onee-chan! Guh!" She was also knocked out. The silver-haired man kept a subtle grin as his enemies were carried away.
"Self-centered as always. Just because it's your first time here, it doesn't mean it is ours." Muninn's one good eye shone with anger. "Now, your vanity will be your undoing."