Fade To Black
A Sailor Moon Fanfiction
By Jewel
(Thank you to my beta reader Syrinx!)
Chapter One:
The First Deaths
In the dim glow of night, a dark figure quietly stole across a large garden, taking cover behind trees and bushes. A short distance away stood two palace guards dressed in the dark and light blue livery of the Queen. The guards were insignificant, however, because they were just regular humans with only combat training. Once you'd fought one or more of them, you figured out that they were all pretty much the same. Useless and ineffective if the person they have to fight is determined to meet their goal.
The person who slunk across the Royal gardens could easily take down the men who stood guard on the perimeter of the palace. The real dangers were the Senshi, the personal, powerful guards of the Royals.
Leaves rustling from a large plant nearby caught the attention of one of the guards. He turned to the direction of the sound, peering curiously into the darkness.
"Leave it alone," the other, older, guard said. "It's just the wind."
Glancing one last time at the plant, the younger guard nodded.
A loud snap of a branch drew the guards' attention again. "Was that the wind too?" the younger guard asked.
Ignoring the comment, the older guard moved slowly over to the plant. "Wait here while I check it out."
He frowned as he walked all the way around a large tree. "There's no one here," he said loudly to the other guard.
The clang of a sword drew a curse from him as he ran back to where he'd left the younger guard. "Shit!" he exclaimed when he saw the slit throat of the young man. He spun around, aware that whoever had murdered his partner was still there. "Where the hell are you? Come out and fight like-"
"Obviously the fighting skills of a man have proved fruitless," said a laughing voice right next to his ear.
"What in Selene's name are you!" the man asked in a shrill, panicking tone.
"I'm the one who's going to bring this kingdom to its knees."
The guard didn't even have the time to raise an alarm or to yell for help before the stranger swooped down on him.
Looking around to see if anyone had been drawn to the scene by the noise, the figure pulled the guards' bodies over to some thick bushes and left them there.
Soft music drifted through the incredibly large and stunningly beautiful ballroom of the palace. Inside the ballroom, with its shining, gold colored walls, gleaming, lightly polished wood floors and high ceilings with impressive arches, many couples had taken to the dance floor. There they enjoyed a traditional dance that required the partners to dance rather closely. Laughter and talk rose up from the crowd, creating an excited buzz throughout the room. The buzz reached out to those who were not even participating in the conversations or dance. Outside of the palace, the happiness and momentary bliss carried even to the downcast princess who silently walked through the gardens that surrounded the ballroom.
There were a few trees and some benches scattered about the garden, though not as many as the large Royal gardens. A few couples had already trickled out of the ballroom and were sitting on the benches, whispering. Other couples leaned against the trees. Some people had come out by themselves and loitered among the flowers, either looking for someone to 'lean against a tree' with or wanting an escape from the overly warm and loud ballroom.
Of course, not everyone in the garden was looking for romance. Several old, balding men stood in a circle near one of the entrances, arguing loudly about the latest decisions of the Queen and her Council.
Princess Serenity, heir to the Lunar Throne and the future head of the Silver Alliance, positioned herself behind a tall tree furthest from any entrance. It had not been easy to sneak out of the ballroom, what with all those guards and courtiers and those nosy Senshi, but Serenity had managed to escape. She knew her absence would be noticed sometime soon, and that her mother would have a severe lecture ready. But Serenity didn't care at the moment. She could put up with the pestering and simpering courtiers and the suitors, and she could deal with the insistent Senshi and royal guards. But even so she needed some time to herself. She needed some time away from the forced conversations and fake flattery. In a few, quick minutes she'd return to the ballroom and continue to smile until her face went stiff, but until she returned or the Senshi forced her back in, Serenity would stand in the cool air and pretend that she was anywhere but where she was.
The dark figure, who'd previously been skulking about the Royal gardens, now stood in a dim hallway of the palace. The figure walked up and down the corridor, rattling doors until an unlocked pair was found. Ducking inside the room, the figure conjured a small ball of white light. Putting one palm high in the air, the fire shifted to the elevated hand. Easily finding a candle, the now not-so-dark figure transferred the light to the wick, revealing a room full of covered furniture.
Pulling back a black cloth that had been wrapped about its head, the figure revealed a mass of long, thick, curly red hair. Violet eyes glinted in the dim light. Removing the loose black garments, the now apparent woman further revealed a long, simply cut black dress. Unlike the big, flowing gowns most women wore to the balls, this dress was one piece with long sleeves and a high neckline.
Falling to her ankles, the dress didn't break in any place to allow curves to show. Underneath the outer layer was an equally simple black layer that added some puffiness. However, this was more for practicality than fashion. The inner layer of black cotton contributed to hiding the slight slits on either side of the dress. Through the slits the woman would be able to reach the knives strapped to either thigh.
Picking up her discarded clothes, the woman took from the shirt a foot long, thin weapon that tapered into a sharp point at the bottom. Ever so carefully, she used the stick to sweep her hair into a loose bun.
Passing her hand over the lit candle, the flame instantly died out and the room was plunged into complete darkness once more. With as much care as she had entered, the woman left the room. With surprising ease she blended in with the servants who were moving through that corridor to access the ballroom.
Her dress, while unlike the courtiers' gowns, matched the serving uniforms wonderfully. With hardly any effort the woman took a serving tray from a passing servant and continued on to the ballroom.
Three feet above the milling crowd, the Queen sat in an elaborate chair on a raised dais. In the tall chair made of black marble and decorated with shining rubies, the Queen's gown of white silk looked marvelous and gave her an immortal, god-like look. Smiling at a passing guest and smoothing the wide, layered skirt of her gown, the Queen gave the woman to her left an annoyed look.
The other woman was garbed in a soft blue gown with short sleeves and high slits. With a smile plastered on her face, the woman whispered to the Queen, "Serenity is not in the room."
"Find her then, Sky," the Queen replied softly, nodding to a courtier who smiled up at her.
Without another word Sky moved from the dais and walked swiftly to another woman in a peach gown. "Look in the garden, Adrian," she said.
Nodding, Adrian exited. Sky began moving around the room, looking bored and uninterested in what was going on around her.
Stupid child, she knows better than to leave the room, Sky thought in annoyance. This was not the first time Serenity had left a ball, but by the Goddess it would be the last. With Cassandra having visions left and right of the Queen and Heir dying Serenity could not just disregard what her mother told her! Until recent months, Sailor Mars' visions came rarely, and had never been wrong. At least, not technically, because they had always managed to avoid the disaster.
Sighing in frustration, Sky continued her search.
Uh-oh, thought Serenity as she saw Sailor Venus advancing towards her. Stifling a groan, Serenity moved away from the tree and walked to Adrian.
"You shouldn't have left," Adrian scolded as she and Serenity entered the ballroom.
"Don't waste your breath, Sailor Venus," Serenity replied, walking away from Adrian and towards the throne.
Sitting in the smaller, less elegant chair near her mother, Serenity said, "I was only gone for five minutes. I didn't think it'd be too much to ask for-"
"We'll talk about this later," the Queen interrupted, her irritation obvious.
You mean you'll talk and I'll be told what a naughty girl I am, Serenity thought angrily. Out loud she said, "Of course, mother."
The Queen and her Heir were easy to spot, sitting on a dais as they were. :Such easy targets: the red haired woman thought sneeringly.
Dressed as a servant, she moved easily through the crowd, no one really seeing her or noticing she was headed towards the throne. Of course that all changed when she looked behind her and saw several guards and a Senshi in red speaking together.
Damnit, she thought, they must've discovered the bodies by now.
She began to move faster, but it didn't help much because when she glanced over her shoulder again she saw several guards were moving through the crowd, straight at her.
Moving with a speed that a normal guard would not have been able to reach, the red haired woman slipped a hand into one of the slits in her dress and pulled out a plain, unremarkable dagger. In a rush she rooted the dagger deeply into the back of a woman dressed in peach who stood close to the dais.
With a wordless cry, the Senshi fell forward to the ground as the red haired woman vaulted onto the dais. Three screams rose from the room and suddenly all the music, dancing and talk ceased as the guards ran to the dais.
Completely startled by the sudden events, the Queen almost had the second dagger in her throat, but luckily Sky had reached the throne sooner than the guards and pulled the woman from the Queen. As she spun her away, Sky drove the heel of her palm into the red haired woman's nose.
By this time the Queen and the Heir were being hurried out of the room by a troop of guards while the guests ran for the closest exits. A new wave of guards ran into the room. Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury were fighting hand to hand with the would-be assassin. Her second knife had fallen in the struggle with Sailor Mercury, so the assassin was getting the worse end of the fight.
That is, until the guards grabbed at her and distracted the Senshi from the fight as they attempted to wrestle the woman to the floor. The woman was stronger than any of the guards though and in a fast movement the woman pulled the stiletto from her hair and stabbed the hand of a guard who held her other arm. Using the shock of the blundering guards, the woman used the tapered end of the stiletto to rip into the throat of another guard. Throwing the dead guard into Sailor Mars, the assassin spun to face Sailor Mercury and began to fight with her.
Sailor Mercury tried to stay focus and to knock the stiletto from the assassin's hand. However, the woman was up to other things and her lips moved in a silent chant. In the moment where Mercury was about to grab the stiletto away, her mind suddenly became very clouded and then exploded into pain. Mercury closed her eyes and shook her head to try to stop the pain, but to no avail. The woman easily slipped out of Sky's grip and plunged the stiletto into Sky's throat.
The guards managed to pull the woman off of Sky and pinned her to the ground, but behind them Sky fell backwards, the stiletto protruding from her neck . . . The woman had managed to get an arm up and was about to kick a guard away from her when Sailor Mars' eyes broke away from the sight of Mercury's body. "Mars Fire Soul!"
The small balls of fire hit the woman squarely on her chest and knocked her back onto the floor. After that the guards had a much easier time subduing her, as she was much too riddled with pain to try any magic on them.
Stumbling away from the scene, Cassandra felt a shrill sob tear from her throat. She fell forward onto her knees, and didn't even notice when Sailor Jupiter slid to the floor besides her. Holding on to each other, they sobbed, as six guards carried the woman off.
-
Miles and miles away, two young girls sat up in their beds, their cries mirroring that of the two remaining Senshi. And on each of their foreheads glowed a brilliant mark that sent pain rippling into their minds.
End of Chapter One
Author's Note:
The title was inspired by the Evanescence song "My Last Breath."
Jewel