As usual, I disavow any rights to the characters from Pretty Guardian SailorMoon. They all belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai.

Wow! Two reviews this time. I'm rakin' 'em in! (grin) aserene: One day, you're going to make me blush... But not yet. Ara? There's a new rule coming about not thanking reviewers? As long as I can keep it short, I thought it was all right. If I ever get so many that I need more than a quick paragraph or two, the only ones who will see their names up here will be the ones who actually make a critical or constructive comment. Everyone else will be thanked by private e-mail. Hopefully, that will make the rulers happy. (smile)

And a brand new reviewer! Greetings ToaR! Haha, don't worry, the whole story is written. It's just a matter of pacing the uploads so I don't overwhelm people who want to read it, but don't access every day. Hope you enjoy this one, too!

- Raya

Lonely Harp

Faithful Remembrance

(Six months later)

Wrapped in a plush white bathrobe, Minako hummed "C'est la vie…" to herself as she dried her hair. On a nearby table, the little cat plush Usagi had given to her sat and watched blankly.

"You know, Artemis," she said suddenly. "I think that was one of my best songs. There's just something about it... I wonder if I will ever write another tune that will last so long." She smiled as she remembered her trip to the mall earlier and the three little kids she had heard singing her old single in the food court.

She sighed a little as she let the towel drop into her lap. She stared at herself in the mirror for a long moment, noticing that she had lost even more weight. While most women would have been thrilled at the idea, Minako could see that her bones were beginning to stand out a little too sharply for the camera. Soon, her makeup manager would start coating her face heavily to hide it again. She grimaced at the thought.

"I guess it's about time for me to take another break," she said softly. "A retreat up to the mountains or something." She watched her lips twist into a wry smile at the thought of herself trapped up in a lodge in the mountains with nothing to do but rest.

"Okay, so maybe not," she said as she reached for her comb and began to work the tangles out of her long, thin hair. "Hmm... Shanghai maybe? London is always nice. Maybe I can go to America and see Ami-chan. What do you think, Artemis?"

She turned to look at the plush toy, and then laughed at herself. She was always expecting it to answer her for some reason. "Still no opinion, huh. Well, I guess I'll sleep on it a bit and decide in the morning. Hmm, and I'd better figure out how to tell the boss, too, right?" She smiled again. "La Petit is becoming a little too obvious. Maybe we should go to that new Chinese restaurant in Juuban instead. Makoto said the food there was really good."

She finished combing her hair, then rose and dressed for bed. She slipped between the sheets and pulled two blankets up to cover herself. She studied them with a frown and a sigh as she recognized it as another sign she was getting overstressed. Shaking her head, she turned to the nightstand and turned off the light.

"Goodnight, Artemis," she called softly as she settled onto the pillow. Within minutes, she had drifted off to sleep.

"Goodnight, Minako," Artemis called softly into the darkened room. With a soft grunt, he jumped off of the table and walked across the room to her desk. With a mighty leap, he made it to the top of the desk where he opened her laptop. Quickly, he accessed the internet and began to surf the travel websites.

"It's about time you decided to take a break," he grumbled softly as he searched. "You haven't taken any time to yourself in over a year. Everyone needs a break now and then, and you don't have access to Venus' power any more to boost yourself with. Shanghai? No... Too many distractions. Hong Kong, too. London? Not enough distraction. You've seen just about everything there already, and you were just there a few months ago. Besides, you'd probably feel obligated to visit old school mates this time and really stress yourself out. Hmm... Paris? You haven't been there in a while. You could go shopping... Eat a lot of good food... Watch people drawing and painting... Visit a few nightclubs... Yeah, that might work." He tapped at the computer for a while longer, saving website links and creating a proposed itinerary from the travel agency he had "founded" a few years before.

In her dreams, Minako stood outside of a music store and listened to "C'est la vie..." play over the loudspeakers. All around her, people were wearing "C'est la vie..." shirts, carrying "C'est la vie..." posters, and singing along with the song. She quickly grew overwhelmed by it, and reached up to cover her ears.

She stopped with her hands halfway up, however, when she heard a strange, out of place sound. It was very faint, but the thread of melody was still there. She closed her eyes so she could concentrate and hear it better, then turned to her right and walked down the street.

Slowly, the scenery and noise around her faded and she was finally able to make out the thread of sound. She blinked her eyes open in surprise as she realized that it was the sound of a harp. She looked around curiously at the roiling silver mists which surrounded her. She reached up and scooped some of her dark hair behind her ear then moved to step forward again.

"No," she heard a voice say softly. She looked around in surprise and saw a familiar looking woman standing a few feet away. The woman wore a white bodysuit with an orange miniskirt, dark indigo bow, and orange dance shoes. Her dark golden hair was held back from her face by a red bow, and cascaded down her back like a golden waterfall until it came to rest just below her tail bone. Around her waist was a golden chain made out of jeweled circles, and on her arms were long white gloves.

Minako stared at the woman for a few more minutes, and then began to walk towards the sound again.

"No," the woman said again, moving to block her path. "Go back."

Minako frowned. "Why?" she asked forthrightly. "I just want to see who is making that beautiful music. I won't disturb them."

Sailor Venus shook her head. "She does not wish to be disturbed. If you go near her, she will probably try to hurt you. Let her be for now."

Minako looked past the guardian, and shifted uncertainly. "The music sounds... lonely. Are you sure she doesn't want to be disturbed?"

Sailor Venus smiled a little. "I'm sure. Go back to your dreams and think of a new song. Maybe she will hear it and decide to come out."

"Why is she here? Why is she so lonely and sad?" Minako asked curiously, still staring off into the mist behind the guardian.

"She is here because she chooses to be," Sailor Venus answered. "Why is she sad? She has done some things she would rather not remember; made mistakes she would like to take back. She would like to be ordinary for just a little while, but she was born to high position, power, and greatness. She fears herself because of what she can do." For a moment, Sailor Venus looked sad and a little guilty. "She has always been isolated, and so she isolates herself."

Minako's gaze returned to the guardian. "Somehow... I know how that feels," she said softly. "To isolate yourself from others, even your friends… To long to be an ordinary girl for just a little while rather than someone larger than life..."

Sailor Venus nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. That's why I say: go back. Even if I let you go forward, that feeling of isolation will only get worse."

"But..." Minako said taking another step forward.

"No," Sailor Venus said. She lifted her hands, curled her fingers so that the middle and ring fingers were captured by the thumb and the first finger and pinky stood straight up, then brought them to her face and blew gently into them.

Minako stepped back uncertainly at this strange gesture. "Wait! If you won't let me go see her, why don't you go? You sound as if you know her pretty well. Even if she says she doesn't want you around, she is probably longing for a break in the loneliness."

Sailor Venus shook her golden head. "No, not yet. She has to come out by herself. She wouldn't believe me if I said I wanted to be friends now. Maybe one day, but not now." She brought her hands forward and pointed them at Minako. Little streams of light flew out of the holes she had formed and surrounded the surprised singer.

Suddenly, Minako found herself in a busy square somewhere cold and dark. All around her, people were counting down in English and staring at the roof of a nearby tall building.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Minako forgot about the strange woman as the night sky above her was lit with fireworks and she got caught up in the party atmosphere of New Years at Times Square.