Disclaimer: I own nothing and never will.
Warnings: AU, bad language (not much:), Shounen-Ai, YAOI, YURI, Violence.
Pairings: Kun/Zoi, Endimion/Serenity, Neptune/Uranus and others…
A/N: Heh, I've told I'm evil:) Special thanks to Jjinks for reviewing! No, I think you won't be able to understand anything till 7th or 8th chapter. Thankfully I made notes for myself, I'm feeling like I'm going to write Santa-Barbara, though:) Arghh, damn me… And please, review )
Chapter 3
Nephryte impatiently growled. His pace seemed to increase with every minute. He continued moving until his forehead met the trunk of a tree. Unprepared to such an obstacle he jumped back and pulled his sword out.
Seeing his "enemy" the thief cursed himself, his future employer and whatever Gods existed. For a second he even thought over his options. He could stay or he could leave the place. The last variant was more close to his heart. But then he shrugged his fears off, persuading himself in his own bravery, and stopped right in the center of a clearing. Immediately he noticed the sign he was searching for. A dagger was stuck in the ground, almost inconspicuous to the eyes of any alive creature. It was not a problem for Nephryte to find it, though, for he was a good magician.
Could have been the best in my lands…
Sighing, Nephryte took the dagger and examined the blade. Under the moonlight a silver dragon could be easily seen. The man nodded to himself. It was a right place.
But where is that damn man? Gods, what if this is a trap? And I came alone… Shirt… Shirtshirtshirt…
Nephryte clenched his fists.
Stop it. You pretty well know that he is the man of honour. And besides… if he wanted he could have killed you earlier…
The thief pulled his sword out again and leaned onto it. His chestnut-colored hair hid his star-blue tired eyes.
Why was he here? Hunting for the money, proving himself as the man of unmercy and rage, dirty assassin. Why did he leave his mother, his home and his fortune?
He could have… He could have hid himself back in the castle, with many servants running around him, asking him if he needed something, guards watching over him, teachers praising him for his success in classes, mother smiling to him during meals… That was his childhood. He could have still been a child.
Why didn't he return home when reality crashed his childish view about the world? When he saw all the dirt simple people lived in? When the same people had killed a man in front of his eyes, an innocent one? When the same people began stealing? Why?
But he stayed. And more to add… now he was a respected leader of the same people. People who, nevertheless, made a man out of him.
Deep inside he knew the answer, though. He stayed… because these people, despite all of their crimes… were far more merciful and honest then… then their relatives sitting behind castles' walls…
The task he was waiting for now could be more than just hard. The reward - much higher than usually.
But in truth… he was really tired.
Suddenly a rustle reached his ears. Nephryte immediately turned around and tossed his sword up, but the attack he was waiting for came from the other side, and he was knocked off his feet in a second by a simple hit to his legs. What had struck him was that when he tried to summon his magic and make a shield, someone's stronger power blocked his attempt. He looked up to see his killer. He had no doubt he would be dead within one minute.
In a moonlight his attacker's long hair falling on the wide shoulders glistened with silver. The tall man standing over him with hands on his hips was smirking, no less. He had no other weapon but his magic which so far he used only to block Nephryte's.
The man chuckled and offered his hand to the thief, helping Nephryte to stand up. The last did so, rubbing his ass and pretending that he surrended, but in the next moment pulling the man closer so that he could kick him with his knee in the opponent's abdomen. His knee met only the mist. And he was sent on the grass again, this time his enemy's leg gave him a push in his coccyx.
Nephryte rolled on his back staring in the night sky full of stars. His opponent crouched near him, still smirking. The thief casted a glance at the man, irritated.
- I'm beginning to hate meetings with you. Your play's not fair.
His opponent sat on the ground and chewing a blade of grass turned to him.
- Is it? I had nothing but magic, you had everything but magic.
Nephryte snorted.
- Magic is definitely more helpful for I'm lying defeated. As you can see.
The man laughed. Nephryte's eyes locked at him in shock.
- Don't look at me like you've been struck by lightning. I. Am. A simple human. Can I be in a good mood sometimes?
Nephryte seriously doubted that which could be seen written on his face. The man shook his head.
- Back to your task, then. Have you heard that both heirs of the Moonlight Kingdom disappeared?
The thief carefully nodded. There were many gossips about the matter. Nephryte, himself, didn't believe any word. To begin with he always relied only on checked information and, besides, those lunar people, he thought, liked to make a tradegy out of nothing. More likely, the children ran away and now are enjoying themselves somewhere near parents' castle.
The man sitting near younger mage squinted his eyes.
- Nephryte, I want you to be a hound.
The thief looked at him in disbelief.
- What? You pretty well know that is not the work…
- The reward is yours to ask for.
Nephryte shut up his objections immediately.
- Anything I want?
The man nodded, though, frowning.
- Anything you want.
They sat in silence for a minute.
- But why me?
A slight smile flashed on his employer's lips.
- You're perfect for the task. As far as you can sneak everywhere, even in the royal palace.
Nephryte chuckled.
- Why not do that yourself? In this case you won't have to worry about the reward.
The man shook his head.
- You perfectly well know that there hardly exists a place where I can be accepted. Sure, I can find many ways, for example, to enter the royal palace. But the risk of being caught is something I can't allow myself at the moment.
Nephryte got up.
Anything I want… Anything…
IIII
- Eat that, stinking spy!
Gods, no…Not again…
The young man in chains, hanging from the dungeon ceiling, gritted his teeth. His bare body covered with bruises and scratches, marks from whip, trembled. His guard was a real sadist.
Before he managed to think about something else, he felt sharp pain in his abdomen. The man had hit him with full force. Feeling like all of his insides had been just smashed the boy coughed with blood.
A week in this hell was enough for him to surrender. Not that he knew much, but still… He was ready to tell his tormentor all he knew about his master. Except that his guards didn't need any information. Tears began falling down boy's cheeks, he somehow managed to hold them until this moment. The moment when he finally understood that nobody is going to save him.
His guard triumphaticaly laughed, took his favourite toy - a whip and lashed boy hard on his back. The thin body winced from pain. But the guard didn't stop, he went on lashing until the boy started to plead the man to stop.
The boy was mortified to do so, he felt himself like a traitor. Since his childhood he wished to be a hero, looked up to strong people around him. And now he thought that even his own mother would have been ashamed of his behaviour if she was alive, of course.
She must be crying, looking at me from the sky…
He was only eighteen. And his life was ahead of him. He could have waited, studied more. But no, he decided to seek for the glory, take a noble role of spy. In reality… he knew nothing about the world that time.
Being sent straight in the snake's pit showed him the different side of life. No heroism were there, no hopes. And the information he managed to get while still being unrevealed weighed heavily on his heart.
This information he should have delivered to his master a week ago. But then he remembered the words which had been said to him before he was thrown into the dungeon of the castle.
You think everything is quite simple, don't you? But, no, my dear little spy, you are mistaken. For your master, and I know who he is… Is not so simple himself… In his irresistible wish to capture the throne…
And looking in HER eyes he knew that it was truth. His world was shaken and the dark cold dungeon and everyday beating became his new world.
Even if by a miracle he gets out of here where will he go? His family dead, his master a traitor.
Who will listen to him? Who will believe him?
He hadn't any answers.
And the name he was carrying in his mind… weighed heavily on his shoulders…
A traitor of the Moonlight Kingdom…
IIII
Pluto standing behind a high marble column watched as Queen Serena paced around the hall, whispering from time to time something in the air.
Any other person would have thought that the woman went mad. Pluto wasn't one of that "any other". Wisdom of a Time Keeper simply wouldn't let her be. She squinted her eyes and quitely left the hall.
The darkness of Moonlight Palace hid her. She stopped in one of the galleries and put her forehead against a cold wall, closed her eyes. Gritting her teeth Pluto hit the wall. Once. Twice.
What the hell is going on in this damn kingdom?
She was an outer. She mustn't worry about kingdom's problems. Mustn't worry about the fate of Serena's children. Add to that - mustn't worry about Earth Kingdom.
The problem was that she did. Not only because she loved the children, but also… because of her instincts. As a Time Keeper she knew much more than anyone else about the world which precious time she kept. But still… What was going now, why the children had been taken and who did this was something… she couldn't find out, no matter how hard she tried.
That was the thing which irritated her great. She wasn't used to suffer from the lack of information. But now every her attempt of looking in the future was impossible. It was like a thick black wall appeared in front of her when she tried. Wall without beginning and end, without any top or bottom. She couldn't quite explain it. What was pissing her off was that Queen Serena knew something important. And only she did.
Neptune was sent on the Earth. Whatever for? To look for the children? Pluto seriously doubted that. Although the connection between the two women was understandable with Serena helping Neptune when the one was still a child. But again… Neptune was an outer. And she could make her own decisions not depending on the Queen's orders.
Pluto was on the verge, her instincts telling her to be careful and watchful. But how could she be without any facts? And the earlier talk with Serena was so… strange…
- Queen Serena, you know how much I love your children! Please, tell me what is going on and I'll try to help you.
- Stay the hell out of these. You don't know anything…
Pluto remembered how she changed her tactics, turning at once in a bad girl. She was a Time Keeper and knew pretty well many secrets of the royal family.
- You'll regret not telling me! I swear if you don't inform me about everything I'll reveal the secret of your son's birth to the whole kingdom!
She was sure Serena would surrender. It was a quite painful topic for the Queen. To her surprise, Serena just hysterically laughed. Laughed until she fell on her throne and smiled.
- Do what you wish. I don't care. There is nothing I can care about now. I'm trapped, my darling. Nothing. Nothing matters from now on.
Pluto slid down the wall. She was a Time Keeper. A powerful, respectable magician.
A helpless one.