Sweet Nocturne
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon
Chapter 6: You're Back
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"Did you see his face?" asked Zoisite.
"No. It was too dark. He was very sneaky; I could barely sense his presence at first." Rini responded.
"At first? You mean he was here earlier?"
She nodded. "I was in the bath when someone started knocking on my door. I answered it a few moments later when the knocking wouldn't stop after I asked who it was, to no reply. Then I felt it—a tingle. He only attacked when the lights went off."
"Speaking of which, it should be back on any moment now." Zoisite looked up and true to speak, the room was once again lit against the darkness outside.
Running footsteps were heard outside the hallway. The door slammed open with a very distraught-looking Mau confidante trying to catch her breath. "Rini!" Diana ran towards the princess and held her cold hands. "Are you alright? Oh gods, I was so worried when the lights went off and I heard you scream!" She gripped Rini's hands tighter.
Rini smiled. "I'm okay now, Di. Really. Thank you."
Diana sighed and relaxed. She turned to Sailor Jupiter. "I heard your lightning bolts, Lita. Did you catch him? Her? It?"
Jupiter's face scrunched in annoyance. "Nah. He was too quick. He fell five stories down and got up again! Only to run away and suddenly disappear!" She threw her hands up in frustration.
"F-Fell five stories? D-Disappeared?" Diana repeated.
Mercury nodded. "This is no human that tried to kidnap Rini. Actually, this is no ordinary being. He must've opened up a portal where he vanished into, because it left behind some dark energy." She began typing in her mini-computer. "It's unidentifiable as of now, but it matches those of the invaders."
"How did he get in?" asked Venus, who was crouched on the floor.
"I'm working on that. It shows here that none of the castle shields have been damaged at all."
"Could he have used that same portal?"
"He can't. The portal would have had to get through the shields. Getting in isn't as hard as getting out." Silence followed for a few moments as Mercury continued typing into her computer.
"What could they have wanted with me?" Rini asked in a small voice.
"Could've been ransom." Diana replied.
Rini scoffed. "Of course. It's always ransom."
"Better not to jump to any conclusions, kids." Jupiter said, receiving little glares from Rini and Diana.
"She's right," Venus stood up. "These guys are probably from another universe. We've never seen them before." Rini stared wide-eyed and listened intently. "They're really powerful too. They were able to break through the global and kingdom shields almost unnoticed. In addition to that, someone sabotaged some controls in the labs. One of them is in the palace. We need to be alert." She placed a hand on Rini's shoulder. "At least you're safe now, honey." Rini gave her a small smile.
"Rini," came Serenity's voice. She turned to face her mother. "The palace isn't safe for you at the moment. Until we're sure of what these people want, you must be under strict protection."
Rini understood and hated herself inside. If only she had looked up a few seconds earlier. If only she had her brooch. If only she weren't so helpless all the time. She hated being protected now. She wanted to be strong, to have no fear of anything anymore. She hated this. "Mom," she started. "I want to train again." When Serenity didn't say anything, she continued, "I want to be able to protect myself, so then I won't be such a burden."
Serenity shook her head. "You're not a burden, Rini."
"Yes I am!" Rini cried. All eyes were on her at her sudden outburst, unseen for the past ten years, and then she reddened. "I mean, I just want to help out. You know, I don't want to be helpless like this time, like all the time…"
"We were all at some vulnerability tonight, Rini."
Rini then realized her mother was trying to avoid the subject. She clenched her hands into fists underneath the cape which she was hugging to stop her shivering. Shivering from the cold or shivering from anger. Why won't she let her train? After all, she was once a warrior; the legendary Sailor Moon. Why can't she follow her footsteps and become stronger as well? Rini did not understand and was thoroughly frustrated. There hasn't been a kidnap attempt since she got back from the past. Hell, there hasn't even been any threat to Crystal Tokyo since then. This is serious. Rini was thoroughly frustrated.
She stood up. "I'm going to change now."
Serenity nodded. "Alright. Will you be fit for dinner?"
"Yes, Mother." She said monotonously. She turned to go to her bathroom.
As the door shut, the tension in the room between the two royals lifted. Jupiter turned to the queen. "Serena, I think training would be good for the kid. We could do it," she waved her arm at the rest of the senshi.
Serenity smiled at them. "Yes, well, I'll explain to you all later why I'd rather she stay put. First."
"OK," Diana said. "Let's head on to dinner then? I'll wait for Rini."
~*~
As it turned out, Rini didn't show up for dinner because she was feeling very tired, as Diana reported. In all truth, she knew how frustrated Rini was at the situation in front of her, and she (along with everybody else) would rather not have the mother-daughter tension in the room so she told Rini to sleep on it first. But Amy put up some extra-defensive shields around her room along with Raye's anti-evil spells first. Two guards were stationed outside her bedroom and outside her chamber areas just in case something else happened. So in short, Diana left a very agitated Rini sulking in her bedroom.
"Would you like me to bring some dinner up for you?" Diana asked.
"No, I'm fine. But can you bring me some more of Lita's cookies and some tea, please?"
"Sure."
"Thanks, Di." She slumped back on her silk covers and clutched her Pegasus-decorated wool blanket around her. Diana smiled and exited the room.
"Would Small Lady want something to eat?" asked the head chef as Diana appeared in the kitchen. "I'll tell one of the maids to bring it up for her."
"That's fine, Jean. I'll bring it up myself. She just wants some cookies and tea."
"Very well. With milk and sugar?"
"Of course." Diana smiled. She prepared the plate full of Lita's wonderful cookies and the tea. Diana looked into the cup and the corners of her mouth upturned at a thought. With a little gesture of her hand, she added some tiny sparkles which quickly disintegrated into the tea.
"Are you planning to knock her out, my little Diana?" a smooth, too-recognizable voice throughout the castle asked behind her.
"No, father. It's for a dreamless sleep." She turned around to give Artemis a little scowl.
"Hmm. I see. Just in case they try to catch her through the subconscious." He smiled and patted Diana's head. "Excellent, my little one." Diana scowled again. She was not little anymore, in fact, she was a full-grown woman of the same integrity as the loyal Moon advisors (her parents), with the same beauty as her mother's, and the same wits as her father's. But still Artemis towered a good head and a half above her, and still treated her as he did when she was twelve. She sighed. I guess I know how Rini feels. But not as seriously. She smiled at her father and didn't leave without giving him a subtle swat on the arm.
She made her way up Rini's room and didn't bother to knock; she walked straight inside and placed the tray by her side table. Rini walked in from her balcony.
"Isn't it weird? Just a while ago it was raining like hell and I was freezing my butt off. But now, it's as if it never rained. The summer night's back." She sat down on the bed and Diana sat next to her.
"Yeah, it's gonna get colder later on tonight though." She said. She noticed Rini's hair was still in that wet, messy bun. "Want me to fix your hair?"
"Sure." She replied.
Diana grabbed a brush nearby and started undoing Rini's hair, letting it fall down in its pink splendor. Even when it was damp from the rain, it shone prettily and was as soft as ever. Diana started brushing her hair downs its length, carefully undoing knots here and there. This was a favorite pastime between the two long-time friends.
"Aren't you going to eat, Di?" asked Rini after a measurable amount of comfortable silence passed.
"Nah. I'm not too hungry." A few more strokes and Rini's hair would outshine the dull lights the candles provided in the room; Rini loved to sleep by candlelight. Diana used to think she was just too stubborn to admit that she was afraid of the dark.
Rini stared outside her window. Her balcony doors which were usually kept open to let the breeze in were shut and locked tight with the curtains drawn, blocking out the night sky. The moon was dim tonight but it still shone through the window. Rini always thought the moon looked bigger in her room. If only it could give me enough strength to withstand my own troubles. She sighed.
Diana heard it and leaned over beside Rini. "What's the matter, Rini? You know, you've been really… you haven't been yourself lately." She said quietly.
Rini kept her gaze at the moon. She figured it was okay to tell Diana what was on her mind. But not all. "Di… I think I have a clue on what's been going on."
"You do? Then you must tell your mother! She'll know what to do." Diana said confidently.
Rini half-expected her to say that. "No, I'm not sure. It might be nothing, it's just… Hell, never mind."
"What is it?"
"Nothing." Rini turned to her and smiled. "Forget I said anything. It's nothing."
But Diana wasn't one to let things like these rest so easily, especially when Rini was concerned. She reached out and held Rini's hands. "Small Lady," she started. "You can tell me anything. You know that? We're like sisters. We grew up together. If you don't want me to say anything, I won't. That's all." She squeezed her hands. "Just… just let me know what's been bothering you. I don't like seeing you so… un-Rini-like."
Rini let out a small giggle and squeezed Diana's hands in turn. "Thanks, Di. I know, I can trust you with anything." She felt much better with Diana around. She reached out and placed the tray of cookies and tea in between them on her gigantic bed. She took a cookie and started eating it.
Maybe I will tell her. I said so myself, I can trust her with anything. She offered Diana some cookies, which she accepted happily. "Di," Rini began. Diana brought her attention all to Rini. "I'll tell you."
Diana smiled. "Okay. Do you want me to keep silent about it?"
Rini nodded. "Please."
"No need to say 'please', Rini." Diana assured her along with an eye-roll.
Rini giggled again. "Okay. Well… I guess… Umm…" Where do I start? "Well, I've been having these weird dreams lately. For the past month, to be exact. Every night." She stayed quiet.
"Uh huh… what kind of dreams?" Diana asked, stuffing a cookie in her mouth. They must be really weird dreams for her to be hesitating like this.
Rini's cheeks reddened. "I don't know… Uh… what's the word… kinky?"
Diana choked on her cookie. Rini swatted her back to help and handed her some tissue. After wiping her mouth, Diana asked quietly, "You mean erotic dreams? Like how guys have wet dreams?"
Rini's face glowed a bright pink. "NO!" she coughed. "No! No… we didn't do anything."
"Who's the guy?" Diana asked, a smile playing on her lips. She decided not to ask what they'd do in her dreams, seeing as how uncomfortable this was for her.
Rini stayed quiet, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Well… honestly, I don't know. But he seems so familiar." She laughed. "Actually, I don't really see his face in my dreams, because my eyes are always closed. I only catch on to the surroundings. I just, you know, feel—" Diana giggled. "—what's going on. He'd whisper sweet things to me. He'd…touch…me. Stop that!" Diana was shaking with held-back giggles. "Okay. And then he'd finally say, 'Open your eyes, darling' and when I would, everything would… spin away, blur away… everything would fade… the last thing I always saw were his eyes."
Diana was quiet for a while until she burst out, "That's so romantic! Rini, I wish I had dreams like yours!"
Rini looked dumbfounded.
She waited for Diana to regain her composure. "Ahem. Right. So, what do these dreams have to do with what's been going on?"
"Well, I went riding with Lita earlier today, right? She took me to this secluded area in the forest. It was so beautiful. It looked just like the place in my dreams. I fell asleep while Lita went to get some berries for me. Then, that guy came to me again. I…" Rini contemplated something. "I saw his face before my eyes shut again, but I totally forgot what it looked like." Darn. "So then, he came to me, and he… he started kissing me…" She waited for Diana's silly smile to wipe off her face. "And then, I finally asked him who he was. He told me to, once again, open my eyes and I'll see. The next thing I knew I was… I was falling." She looked up at Diana, whose face had turned serious. "I was falling. And it was the worst feeling." She shuddered, thinking of that horrible experience. "And then Lita woke me out of it. Then it started to rain." She clutched her blanket tighter. "Somehow my mom knew all about this. She was going to ask me about it. And then, this whole… broken shields, raids, kidnapping thing happened."
She took a sip of her tea, which she thought tasted a little different. Ah, needs more milk. She looked at Diana. "Don't you think it's all strange? Don't you think it's all linked in some way?"
"Well…" Diana started, and she scratched her head. "I don't know. I guess it's all linked in some… some weird way." She sat in deep thought as Rini added more milk and sugar to her tea. "So maybe this guy… your dream lover," she smiled as Rini blushed over her tea. "Is in some way behind all this? Maybe he wants to kidnap you?"
Rini hadn't thought about that. "Kidnap me? I was thinking more like… like he was trying to… Well I don't know." What was I thinking? He was trying to help me? When all he's been doing is making out with me? Stupid Rini! "You know how repetitive dreams, especially for a month, must mean something. I'm thinking this guy has something to do with it. Because until just a while ago… the dreams… they've been… you know…" what's a good word!? "…harmless…?"
"Harmless, eh?" Diana giggled once more.
Rini couldn't help but smile at her friend's girlish antics. Ah well, we're both still young anyway. She finished off the last of her tea. "I'm glad I talked to you, Di." And she was.
"Of course." She patted Rini's arm. "Oh, I almost forgot, I put some magic in your tea so that you'll have a dreamless sleep tonight."
Rini's calm face betrayed the thoughts in her head. Dreamless? What? I was looking forward to seeing him again! I was going to interrogate him! That is, before we start necking. No, wait! That's not right! How the hell could I be thinking of that at a time like this? I gotta ask him if he's involved in—
"It's for your own good, Small Lady," Diana's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Just in case the enemy tries to reach you through your subconscious while you sleep. We don't know what they're fully capable of, so this is just for some extra safety." She paused and grinned widely. "Sorry if I ruined any chance of you seeing your dream lover tonight." She winked.
Her face was smacked lightly by pillow. "I wasn't thinking that, you fool." Rini laughed. "Anyway, thanks. Thanks for listening and hexing my tea."
"No prob." Diana stood up and got the empty tray. "Get to bed, princess, you really must be pooped from today." She helped tuck Rini into bed and gave her a small kiss on her head before leaving. "Night, Small Lady."
"G'night, Di."
Rini smiled in the darkness. She was glad she had Diana. She didn't have too many friends her age. She was educated in the castle and barely went outside. Not that she didn't want to; she just didn't have to. She wished she knew more people her age, not just cocky courtiers from other planets and such, who only came to her in hopes of marriage. Hell, she had more friends back in the past during her mother's time, when she was in elementary school.
Yes… those were the funny days. She then felt bad; she had no right to feel old anyway. Twenty-one years is very young in these days of Crystal Tokyo. She looked to one side to watch the faint shadow dances the candle flames played against the wall. Its weak vanilla scent traveled to her senses and she inhaled the sweetness it contained.
She began to feel sleep take hold of her. Her eyes became heavier and her breathing slowed. She thought once more of the past. I remember… I remember Pegasus, she thought sleepily. Her mind dwelled on the enchanting winged horse and a young man she once knew back then, a very special young man, who fought alongside with her when she was a senshi. It seemed so long ago. Too long ago. She looked out her window to the moon again, taking comfort in its soothing, mellow light. Oh well. Maybe I'll remember tomorrow.
Her vision of the moon blurred and she felt her eyes droop to confine her in what she expected to be a dark, dreamless sleep.
But she was wrong.
In fact, it seemed as if this night gave her the most vivid dream of this stranger yet.
There she was again, in that familiar little haven in the middle of the forest, with the bubbling brook and the gigantic oak tree. Rini felt wide awake in this setting. Huh, it didn't work, Di. She looked up to see the moon looking very brilliant as ever. She closed her eyes and leaned against the trunk, folding her arms. This time…I won't go easy on you, boy.
A rush of air brushed by her form, touching her loose pink locks and delicate nightgown. And then she felt hot lips on her neck. He had appeared. Instinctively, she curved into the sensual touch. NO! Wait, I'm not supposed to be doing this. She placed her palms on his chest and was about to push him away until she felt his hands roam up and around her hips. Her head exploded once again in that hazy fog.
"Rini, my darling…" his deep voice reverberated as he whispered in her ear. He stroked her cheek and ran his hand down her silky hair. He pinned her tightly against the tree with his hard body. Rini's heart was pounding wildly in her chest that she was sure he could almost feel it. She noticed something. He wasn't holding her hands.
"Rini…" his voice came again. His voice sounded rather different too. Rini thought this may be an effect of Diana's tea hex. "…were you hurt?"
Rini's mind snapped back to focus, the hazy fog gone. How did he know? She opened her mouth but before any sound came out he put his lips to it and kissed her hard. Too hard. Rini felt like she was choking. He was hurting her. She then realized that he had her arms pinned against the tree and he kept her legs immobile as well. What the hell is he doing!?
He didn't stop kissing her and he crushed her body against the gigantic tree. Rini's air supply was being cut short. She inwardly panicked, but she couldn't do anything. Her crescent symbol flickered wildly. He was still hurting her, and she felt tears stinging her eyes. Just then, she heard the distinctive neigh of a horse. The man stopped kissing Rini and she used this distraction to bite his lips hard. He wailed and scooted away from the girl, who slumped to the soft grass, trying to catch her breath.
Her eyes opened and she looked up to see a majestic stallion, the color of the lightest ivory with incredibly large wings which spanned twice her size. It stood in front of her and got on its hind legs, neighing loudly to the man who hurt her. Rini couldn't see the man as the stallion blocked her way.
"I will get you for this, Princess," came his voice; not the same deep hedonic one which caressed her before, but a low canny, menacing one. "We shall meet again… soon." With that, he lifted his cape and disappeared in a blink of bright light.
Shit! I missed his face again! Rini buried her face in her hands and started to mentally berate herself. And then a feeling of sadness and loss swept over her. He wasn't the same man as before. He hurt me cruelly. She brought a trembling hand up to her lips. She felt abused and disgusted. What happened? He really must've been with those invaders. But it wasn't the same man. This one was so different. Where did he go? Her crescent symbol flashed and she felt a single tear run down her cheek. Why am I crying? I already cried too much today.
Then she felt something soft rubbing against her face. The horse was cuddling his large head against hers. Rini smiled softly. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered to it. She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took another look at the horse and did a double take.
"P-Pegasus!"
She recognized the single red teardrop jewel on its forehead. The golden, jewel-like pointed horn it had atop its head gleamed in the moonlight, and its eyes burned a fierce amber color, framed with long and thick black lashes. Its long, wavy mane sloped beautifully down its long, elegant neck and its wings were tucked against its huge body. It radiated of power and beauty. He seems so much bigger now. She looked into his eyes. And so much more beautiful.
Rini felt that familiar feeling she got whenever she saw anything pretty back when she was a kid. She wanted to hold it and squeeze it, keep it to herself. Memories of the past when she was with this special horse came flooding back in her head. She reached out and caressed its face affectionately.
"Pegasus," she whispered. "You're back…" she hugged the horse's neck, and then a few more memories came back to her, hitting her like a ton of bricks.
It seemed to play in fast-forward. A boy. With white hair. A peculiar white outfit. He held on to her hand. He kissed her. He saved her. Many times. He kissed her hand in goodbye. She hugged him and looked at him a last time. A horse with wings. Amber-colored eyes.
"E…" Her eyes were wide open in realization and shock. She looked into the horse's eyes again. "E…Elios!"
-*-*-
-and here's another one! Woohoo! Stay tuned for tha next chappie!-
