And on it goes, … ;)
Usual disclaimers.
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"The Fiction We Live" Chapter Three
by Greta
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Two women were walking down one of the grand corridors of the Moon Palace, seeming to know their way easily around. Though they were chattering with ease, there was a certain strain to their conversation.
"Does the Queen know that we've already come?"
"I hate to say it, but I'm not so sure," the shorter woman replied, her silken, turquoise, hair swaying slightly with her steps. She was dressed exquisitely in silken robes, a splendid necklace gracing her milky-white neck. Her companion on the other side seemed to want to leave all womanly charm to her companion, with whom she was locking arms.
Tousling her short dirty-blonde hair, Haruka sighed. She hated this. Leaving her post, the post the Queen had assigned to her, without notice. She knew that she had no other choice, but her sense of duty still made her feel squeamish.
Both sighing, they stopped in front of craftfully carved gull-wing doors guarded by two heavily armoured Lunarian Guardians. Upon recognizing the two Princesses they bowed, before opening the doors slowly while announcing their arrival.
"The Princess of Neptune and the Princess of Uranus have arrived, Queen Serenity."
The Queen looked up in surprise upon hearing the doors to her vast Office of Affairs opening. She had not been expecting visitors. Standing up to greet the Guardians of the Outer Planets, she smiled.
"What a pleasant surprise, my dears," she said warmly.
Uranus and Neptune exchanged guilty looks, as it was not to be the most pleasant of surprises.
"Oh, don't look like that, you two. I can guess that your news is not bound to be the best. But, it is a nice coincidence; I have needed to speak to you two on important matters anyway," the Queen said seriously, motioning for them to sit down. "So, please tell me, what has brought you so far."
Michiru sighed, twisting her hands in her lap. "Two strange things have happened in the past few days. The more serious being, that an unidentified source has crossed the border of the galaxy." Lowering her deep blue eyes to her lap, the Princess of Neptune felt the disappointment she had felt in herself ever since she had found out about this intruder rise once more. Oh, how she hated this! She and Uranus were the Guardians of the Outer Planets, and with that the Guardians of the borders to the Solar System. For this task, they had received powers the Inner Senshi had not – and still! They had not been able to do a single thing to stop happening what had happened.
She felt unworthy, why, even dirty. She had not done what she felt was her duty to do with all her heart. Therefore it surprised her tremendously, when the Queen did not seem to be shocked, or even surprised in the slightest.
"I'm sad to disappoint you, but that news is not new to anymore," the Queen mumbled, resting her chin upon her folded hands. "Pluto has already informed me."
Uranus sat up abruptly. "What? Pluto? What has happened?"
"The intruder attacked Pluto on the Grounds of Time."
"But, but they couldn't have …" Michiru mumbled under her breath, the shock of this news making her close her eyes. Her fingers closed around the pendant on her neck, the runes carved on the jewel's setting under her fingers giving her reassurance. "The Gate and Grounds are so heavily protected by ancient Lunarian magic." And indeed they were. There was barely another place in the whole galaxy, which was under heavier protection. Countless invisible borders, made the Grounds for all non-magical and uninvited people inaccessible; they would not be able to feel the presence of the Gates if they stood right in front of it. Ancient Lunarian magic, from back when time had only begun, had sealed it, not only to protect anyone who came to close to it, but also to protect people from the way time might react to an intruder.
And most of all, there was the Guardian of Time herself.
"I know … I know. If this goes any farther, I might have to take up drastic measures."
"Drastic measures?" the fair-haired senshi asked carefully. Whatever drastic measures meant, it definitely did not sound good at all.
"Until the day comes, I will not talk of it," the Queen replied with force, leaving no room for questions. She did not like thinking of it at all, but she knew if the time came, she had to do what must be done.
"Yes, my Queen," they mumbled in unison. They knew when it was the time to not ask any further.
"Now," the Queen began speaking softly again. Folding her hands beneath her chin once more, the Queen thoughtfully chose her words. "We do not have time to spare in times like these. I want you to return to your posts immediately, and report anything out of the ordinary, anything at all, just as fast." The addressed women nodded.
"But, what might even be more important now is, that I need you to guard Saturn." The two young women gasped.
"Saturn? But there hasn't been any commotion on Saturn in years and years, my Queen …"
"It's not the public rebels I'm talking about. It's Saturn herself," the Queen had lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. The wind outside the tall windows was whipping trees harshly about, adding to the anxious atmosphere growing in the room between the three people in it.
"But … but Queen," Haruka said, while grasping Michiru's hand. "Saturn's star seed is sealed in the tomb of her Ancestors and it is under the heaviest protection magic can bring."
"And yet, I am not taking any risks whatsoever! If she awakes … Oh I cannot bear to think of it! I will not allow her to awake, I just will not!" The Queen's voice had risen, becoming more and more animated. Taking a deep breath, the Queen tried to relax. "I just cannot …"
Lowering her eyes to her hands resting on her imposing desk, she felt slight shame rise in her body for losing her composure so easily. Twisting her arms, she studied her hands and fingers. They were becoming older, she thought. She was becoming older. Finest streaks of grey had started lacing her fair hair, and the lines in her face were becoming deeper. She could care less about her appearance, but during the last few days, she had felt old. And she had realized that feeling old, was a thousand times worse than looking it. Oh, where had the days of happily ruling her kingdom gone? Now, she dreaded entering her office, dreaded reading the news each new day brought.
She did not know how much longer she could keep the bad news from seeking into her kingdom at broad, how much longer she could hoard it all and keep it to herself. Oh, how she hated this situation.
Lifting her eyes at the two beautiful women seated across from her, she let out a little sigh, silently apologizing for her rise of temper. "So, now your mission is not only to oversee that the borders are being guarded to their fullest extent, but also to keep Saturn from awakening."
Haruka was still clasping Michiru's hand tightly, the feeling of the other girls' pulse beneath her fingers soothing her. She could feel the Queen's tiredness, anxiousness and the strain underneath it all. "Of course we will, my Queen. We will do all that we can, stopping at nothing to do as you command." Her voice was serious, her head held proudly, making the Queen think of an ancient statue of the Goddess of War. For indeed Uranus would stop at nothing.
"Not even at our lives," Michiru added calmly, but with dead earnest.
Hearing those calm words made sadness overcome the Queen. So, these women would give their lives, not once complaining about what they were leaving behind for that sacrifice? "I am so sorry, so sorry, to put this weight upon your shoulders, Michiru, Haruka. So sorry …" the Queen whispered hopelessly.
The two Outer Senshi smiled slightly at the Queen. They knew their duty. They were senshi with all their heart, and loved their kingdom and Queen. And they most definitely would do anything, anything at all, to protect it until the bitter end.
"My Queen," Haruka stated softly, "we have one more thing to tell you."
The Queen sighed. "Oh, yes, you said so at the beginning," the Queen said, remembering. "Please, do go ahead." Well, she knew that the news could not get much worse.
The Princess of Uranus sighed, tousling her short hair with one hand once more. "Two people who were not of age were in the Room of Transportation yesterday," she began slowly. "And, well, used it, to travel to Earth." The Queen shook her head at the thought of the irresponsible youths.
But Haruka was not done yet. "As – as we traced Lunarian magic, we have reason to believe that it was the young Princess." Haruka did not like telling on her Princess like this. No, not at all as she felt guiltier than ever. But she knew that it was her duty to do so.
But the guilt remained, especially when she saw the Queen's shocked and angry eyes.
--
"Usa, you are a lazy toad!" Rei yelled at her friend, before firing a pencil in her direction. The Princess easily ducked the flying object, and stuck out her tongue.
"Am not!" she whined.
"And a baby!"
"Rei … Stop it!"
"Will you two stop arguing?" Ami sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose while turning a page in the book in front of her. "You are both babies – yes you and you –" she continued, pointing at the respective person, as they both protested loudly, " and – even though I won't go as far as calling you two toads – you're both lazy as well. So stop it. We're here to learn!"
Rei and Usagi both looked at Ami in surprise, but the blue haired Princess had already turned back to her book, now ignoring them both.
"Well, Ami has spoken, ladies, and I don't see the need of adding any more to what she said." Artemis, their teacher smiled at the girls, who were now also turning back to their books, after their small argument, as Usagi had been late for their lessons.
As soon as Artemis had wanted to pick up their subject of the day once more, a knock on the door echoed through the room, before Luna appeared in the doorway, smiling.
"I'm very sorry to disturb you all, but the Queen has asked me to go fetch the Princess Serenity, and wants her to come immediately."
"Of course. Well, I expect you to go over all that you have missed and will miss in today's lesson in the evening. Have a good day," he dismissed her with a wave of his hand, his typically silver Lunarian hair swinging around his face as he turned back to the other Princesses.
--
Arriving in the Queen's private corridors, she waited for her mother's guards to open the doors and announce her, before entering her mother's chambers.
Usually comfortably lit, the rooms were very dim today, the rainstorm which now raged outside the palace only adding to the darkness. She cautiously walked through the waiting room, passing the silken sofas and large armchairs in the sitting room and the library, crammed with books of ancient languages and stories long forgotten to the last corner, and walked on to her mother's smaller office, in which she often sat late into the dark hours of the night.
As suspected, her mother sat behind her desk, but today, she was not bent over a book or a letter of some sort. No, she was leaning back in her chair, watching Usagi as she entered her room expectantly. The chair was very large and high, and the Princess often joked, that it made her mother look tiny. But she had never known this chair to emit such power, as it did today. The air seemed to crackle around her mother, and the elaborate chair seemed to emanate more power than the Queen's throne.
And suddenly, she felt intimidated. Something she hadn't felt because of her mother in many years now. She gulped. "You, you called for me, Mother?"
"Yes, Princess, I did indeed. Sit down."
So she sat.
"Do you have any idea, why I have called you today, Serenity?"
Usagi shook her head, sensing that the use of her formal name meant trouble. Lots of trouble.
"Well I'll tell you. It has come to my attention that you were rather bored last night."
Usagi's eyes widened in horror. Oh God, oh God. She knew that she had absolutely no way of getting out of this.
"Mama, oh I, I'm so sorry, but, but you see-" she started trying to apologize.
"I do not want to hear it, Serenity. I really do not! How by the Nine Ancient Ones could you do this? There is absolutely no excuse for your actions! Do you know this?" the queen's voice was enraged.
Usagi reconciled, trying to shrink into the chair she was sitting in as far as she could. Why couldn't the ground just open up and swallow her as whole? She knew that she deserved this scolding, she knew it. But it didn't stop her from feeling miserable and wanting to just fade away, now, please,
Her mother had now pushed herself out of her chair, hands placed firmly on her desk. The tilted window behind her desk let a cool breeze enter the room, playing with their long hair. Sadly, it did nothing to cool the queen's temper. "Oh, Serenity, I cannot tell you just how disappointed I am, I honestly cannot put it into words! How could you use the Room of Transportation? You know how dangerous it is for someone not of age like you to use it, I have told you so often, I can't believe this sheer stupidity! You could have hurt yourself, and could have ended up absolutely anywhere! You could have ended up in Styx for all I know!"
Usagi had honestly never seen her mother quite as enraged as she was in that very moment.
"Serenity, how many things have I forbidden you in your life? You could count them on one hand! And each and every one of these things was for your very own good, nothing more and nothing, nothing less! You have such a privileged life … I never thought you would disobey me like this. I never thought you would disappoint me like this," her mother finished, staring long and hard at her, before sitting back down.
Usagi took a deep breath. Her mother's calmer voice almost scared her more than her enraged one had moments ago. And what was worst of all, her disappointment hurt like nothing else. The queen had now stopped talking to her daughter, instead only shaking her head, her disappointment obvious in every movement. Dark shadows fell on her pale face in the dim room, giving her a strange and ghastly appearance.
Queen and Princess, mother and daughter, looked at each other in silence. Only now did Usagi notice that the howling of the wind matched the tense atmosphere perfectly. Lowering her eyes to the clasped hands in her lap, she felt the shame rise in her rapidly.
"I am very sorry, Mother," she said quietly, meaning it with every syllable.
The queen sighed, lowering herself slowly back into her chair. Oh, she felt so old again right now, so old. In this moment, she had realized that her baby was one no longer. She had realized, that soon she would be of age, and that she could not protect her daughter from harm forever. The world awaited her. Soon the young girl would be in its grasp, experiencing things her mother would and could have no influence on anymore. But while these thought crossed her mind, she most of all just she felt sadness for her child. Thinking back to the days when she was her age, the queen sighed once more. It had been such a carefree time, every day wonderful with all the surprises it could bring. They had been wonderful times. Especially once she had met him, Usagi's father. But the queen closed her eyes to those memories quickly, as they never ceased being painful, even after so many years.
"It is the least that I expect of you," she said, acknowledging the apology. "But this cannot stop at that. You will not leave the guarded grounds of the Moon Palace before I allow you to do so again," she continued, lowering her hands to her lap. She knew that she was exploiting this situation somewhat to her advantage, but she really could not care less right now. Startled eyes met her's as she spoke those words. "Don't look at me like that. You have acted wrongly, and you will have to deal with the consequences."
Usagi bit her lip as she lowered her eyes. Be that as it may, but somehow this seemed a bit too much, a bit too unfair. And what use was it to her mother anyways? Locking her inside the palace, inside this golden cage, wouldn't really make a difference. She did not leave the palace on such a regular basis anyways, and this would put no distance between her and that wretched Room of Transportation. But she knew that there was no point in arguing at all. "So, that means I'm allowed in the palace and on the grounds outside?" she asked feebly.
"Exactly. You are not allowed beyond the gates. "
"Yes, mother," Usagi mumbled finally, her eyes still fixed on her hands clasped in her lap.
"I have something else to talk you about as well."
Usagi nodded, showing that she had heard, still not raising her eyes.
"We will be receiving visitors. They shall be arriving shortly, presumably tomorrow afternoon. They are of royal blood as well and I trust you will receive them with respect. You are to tend to them, show them around, make them feel comfortable."
Usagi finally looked up at her mother, who in turn was now not looking at her, pulling out large sheaths of paper from desk's drawers, before starting to address a letter. "Who are they?" she asked timidly.
"The daughter of a very dear friend of mine and her companions. She is the Princess of Kinmkou. I'm not sure how they will be arriving, as I gather things have been rather stressful there for the time being, so I will have a welcoming committee stationed by the Grand Entrance and by the Room of Transportation." Only now did the queen look up at her daughter. "I trust you will be on your best behaviour?"
"Of course, mother. You can count on me", Usagi replied.
"Good. You are dismissed then."
--
Sighing softly, Rei leant back on her chaise-longue, hugging a pillow to her side. Her eyes were focused on the raging storm going on outside the safety of her room, watching it intently through the large double-wing windows at the end of her large chambers. It was one of the worst storms that had been on the moon in quite some time now. Most of the year, the weather on the Moon was not the most exciting, sunshine the whole day long and only mild rain from time to time. Placid, as she liked to call it.
Maybe that was one of reason why she liked Earth. The weather there could surprise you within hours, why even minutes. She savoured the feeling of the powerful and unpredictable wind, tossing her around at its will, the deep grumbling sound of thunder, and most of all, the wonderful smell of rain dampening the earth and woods, making everything fresh and clean. But on the small, white orb circling the blue planet, the weather only raged in the early months of the year. During that time of the year, the days were far shorter than normally, that left the Moon cool and dark.
Oh so what if she came from the planet of fire? The searing hot and blinding light fire brought with it, its overwhelming power and beauty made her who she was, influenced her every move and thought, defined her being in every sense. Yet the rain held some strange power over her that fascinated her just as much.
Sighing, Rei turned her eyes from the tilted windows, and snuggled closer to her pillow. She couldn't get to sleep, no. She had been trying for hours now. And she knew she needed her sleep, as tomorrow held exhausting senshi training for her. But her mind wouldn't let her relax, wouldn't allow her to lose herself in dreams.
She was once again left do dwell and ponder silently. On the feeling in the pit of her stomach that left her broken in two. On being ripped in two by the mere thought, of what she was missing and what was her duty. Oh, she hated herself for thinking it, but she couldn't help herself. At times like these she just wanted to run away as far as she could, leave every one of her goddamn duties behind. Do what she felt was right, and not what others told her was.
She sniffed. Oh, how she wished to go back, so far away, to a happier time. Back to a time where she had still felt carefree. Where she had been able to enjoy every day just the way it was.
She fingered the necklace that graced her smooth throat. The necklace every Princess owned. Made out of the most exquisite gold, it held a crystal from their respectable planet, carved to look like a teardrop. She always found the teardrop rather fitting.
She had shed enough tears over her destiny. But, as she felt the salty drops make their way down her face, she thought, there were always more. And so she wept. For all that was lost, and for all the she had.
--
"Oh, this is just ridiculous. Really …" A male's voice rang out through the high corridors of the palace, echoing loudly.
"Will you shut up?"
"What if I don't want to?"
"You are such a baby!"
"Of, go and fu-"
"Stop it! Both of you." The tallest of the three stared sternly at the two arguing young men, trying to keep his voice as low as possible while still sounding imposing. "Do you have to argue around the clock? It could be anytime whatsoever right, what a grand first impression we'll make, with our luck right in the middle of the night!"
"Could be, it is dark here," the silver-haired young man drawled, very obviously not giving a damn about what impression he might be making.
"We're in a windowless corridor right now, stupid, of course it's dark."
"Don't call me stupid, you idiot" he hissed back at the man he'd already been fighting with before.
Sighing, the brown-haired youth rubbed his temples. "Please, do tell me what exactly I have done to deserve this," he muttered under his breath, as a fight broke out anew. Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped between them, continuing where he had left off before being interrupted. "Do you honestly want to make our first appearance as sleep-disturbing, loud, arguing and unfriendly idiots?" he hissed at them, trying to shut them both up.
"Oh, come on, Taiki. Who's unfriendly here? I don't see anyone around here waiting for us or welcoming us, these people here seem to be the ones that have no manners," the shortest of the three sighed, flipping his silvery hair, which was being held back in a ponytail, over his shoulder.
"Maybe, once again, because we arrived at some unearthly hour?"
"Well, it's not like that was our fault," the third one of the group, a handsome, black-haired young mumbled, his hands buried deep in his pockets as he looked around sullenly. "I wonder what Kayoku-sama's hurry was all about," he continued worriedly. "Oh and come on Yaten, you simply took forever to get ready as well."
"Oh, shut it, Seiya. Don't act all mighty, okay? I recall remembering that it was you who totally messed up our destination! I mean, it looks like we ended up in the basement."
"Well I'm very sorry my skills at handling borrowed magic are not up to your satisfaction! You should have just done it yourself!" Seiya snapped back. The two men glowered at each other, obviously ready to tear each other apart, their hands hovering near their swords out of instinct.
"Well, Yaten, it really could be worse, we're just a bit off destination, it's not like we ended up in Styx," Taiki sighed, rubbing his forehead, closing his lilac eyes in frustration. "And will you two just please stop it! You are getting on my nerves! Travelling with you was bad enough, but getting lost is even worse, I have to say that much. "
Seiya rolled his blue eyes at his companion. "Oh, come on, Taiki, as if you're so much better than us." Sighing, he unbuttoned the upper button of his black shirt. Looking around, he marvelled at the extremely high ceiling, and the doors which reached far above their heads. "Well, I hope at least the girls made it safely to their target destination," he said, ignoring Yaten's mumbling of "Well, it should have been our target destination as well" smoothly.
"We would have felt it, had anything happened," Taiki said softly. The three paused for a moment. They knew their special bond to their beloved princess was still intact.
"Well, now to us. We're not in this Room of Transportation Kakyoku-sama told us about," Taiki summed up. The other two nodded their heads, sighing. "Which means," he continued, "we could be practically anywhere in the Moon Palace."
"Well, like you said, that's not exactly bad or anything," Yaten mumbled, crossing his arms across his chest, leaning against the cool stone wall behind him.
Taiki narrowed his eyes. "Well … no," he began. "Somehow I still doubt that we'll find our way around the largest Palace in the whole Solar System simply by instinct though."
"Well no use in talking about it I'd say," Seiya said with a small sigh, running a hand through his unruly hair. "Let's get going." Choosing a direction, he set off, his companions following along.
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Yeah! Our trio makes an entrance! Aren't you glad?
Oh, and before I forget, the three are 100 percent male. Why? There's a reason behind it. What reason, you may ask? Read on, to find out. ;-)
Cheers, Greta