Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or any of the characters in it. I do own the plot and the original characters featured in this fanfic.
Blind
"Oh my, Kami! Just look at her. Look how much blood she lost! Surely, she will die just like her father!" The queen held on to Haruka's white blood-stained shirt that she was wearing under her uniform jacket. "The story it's repeating its self! She is going to die! Look!" She said once again as she showed Setsuna the shirt. Setsuna just sighed and gave the queen a hug trying to comfort her. "I don't want her to die, Setsuna. She is all I got left…"
"She will not die, Queen. Your daughter is stronger than that." Setsuna sighed and looked over to the now shirtless Haruka. She was laying on her bed and the only thing that was covering her chest, was new and clean gauze and her white bed sheets. Her eyes were also covered by softer gauze that took in every drop of new blood that her eyes poured. Luckily, the blood had stopped flowing a long time ago. She looked like she was sleeping but her skin had a weird pale color. "Well?" Setsuna raised her eyes up and stared at the Princess of Mercury.
"She needs to rest a lot. She has lost so much blood. When she wakes up, do not let her do any kind of exercise. She needs to rest for two weeks or so. You were lucky to have me around. Thanks to all the health books and medicinal books I've read back at my planet, I was able to stop the bleeding. Her eyes looked awfully strange to me. It is not common to see someone's eye color change like hers did. Maybe she lost her sight, therefore, she will need someone to help her around until she gets used to being blind." Ami stated as she pushed her small glasses to her nose. She then looked at Haruka and placed the back of her hand on the pale princess's neck. "She doesn't have a fever. That's good news."
"Yes, of course! Nana will help her with anything she needs right, Nana?" The queen asked as she looked over at the small old woman.
Setsuna twitched slight and scratched her neck. The old woman wasn't going to help much. She was old and barely had strength to walk, let alone help such a tall and heavy woman like Haruka. "I don't think Nana will help much." Setsuna whispered and then smiled widely. "How about the new girl that started to work here days ago?"
The Queen looked up at Setsuna and nodded. "Yes of course! She is young and strong!" She then looked down at the old woman and smiled sweetly at her. "I think you have helped a lot in this family. How about I give you a nice big home where you and you family can live with nothing to pay for?" The old woman's face light up with joy. Finally after more than half a century of service she was going to be able to rest. "I guess that's a yes! Bring the new girl in."
Setsuna nodded and bowed before she left Haruka's chamber. She knew that all the maids and guards were in the ballroom cleaning the place up. When she walked in she looked around and found who she was looking. Michiru was struggling with a pile of plates. "Michiru! Come over here!" Michiru jumped slightly as she heard the princess from Pluto call out to her. She groaned softly and looked around as she tried to make some eye contact with someone that might be generous enough to help her out. Still no one even noticed her. "Hurry up!"
"I'm coming!" She yelled as she walked over to one of the tables and set the mountains of plates on top before she ran over to Setsuna. She bowed and looked up at the princess. "What is it, princess?"
"I got a new job for you."
"Why do my eyes hurt so damn much?"
"Hush! You better rest! If I find out that you've been walking around the palace and working out I…I will find some way to make you understand it is not healthy!"
"That didn't make any sense at all, mother"
"Hush, I said!" She growled as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at her daughter who still lay on her bed like before. "Go to sleep already!" After that all she got as a reply was a snore. "Hmm, that was fast."
"Here she is, my lady!" Setsuna said as she walked inside Haruka's chamber with one hand over Michiru's shoulder. Michiru quickly bowed down when she saw the queen.
"Ah! Michiru, was it? How are you doing?" The queen asked as she moved to the girl and smiled.
Michiru smiled back and was about to answer when her blue eyes caught a glimpse at the resting Haruka. "Oh my goodness, is she okay?"
The queen blinked and looked back at her daughter as she heard her snore. "Oh, yes, she is totally fine, well, not totally. My dear girl, I called for you so you can be my daughter's personal maid. Right now, thanks to her accident, if you can call it like that, she might've gone blind. She lost a lot of blood and she needs someone to help her out until she regains her strength and after that just help her with her daily things. Will you be able to do all of this?"
Michiru stared at the queen for some seconds until she heard Haruka's moan. She looked at her then nodded. "Of course! I will do anything to help her highness."
"Good then! I have some business to attend in some stars away from this planet. I will be back in a couple of weeks."
Setsuna arched her eyebrow and looked at the queen. "Uh sure. It's getting late also I have to head back to Pluto Take good care of her, Michiru." Setsuna said before she gave her a wink.
When both the queen and Setsuna left, Michiru stood in the middle of Haruka's chamber and felt nervous. She looked back at Haruka and scratched her arm as she saw how she slept so peacefully. She walked over to her and moved the chair from her vanity over to her bed and sat down close to her. "Princess?" She spoke softly but decided to shut up and let her rest. Her eyes roamed around the large room and rubbed her hands together as she let her mind rest for a moment. When was the last time she even rested at all?
"What's your name, girl?" Haruka suddenly spoke and made poor Michiru jump in her seat. Her gaze turned to Haruka and blinked as she thought that she maybe was talking in her sleep. "I know you are sitting beside me, girl. What is your name?"
She tilted her head to the side and frowned. If she was supposed to be blind plus her eyes were covered up, how did she know she was sitting beside her? "Michiru Kaiou, Princess."
"Hmm, Michiru, help me sit up." Michiru nodded and stood up as she took Haruka's hand in hers and placed her other one under her back as she lifted her up to a sitting position. Haruka groaned loudly. Her body hurt and she felt weak all over. Not to mention her eyes were killing her. The sheets fell to her waist and gave Michiru a full view of Haruka's covered chest and exposed stomach. Michiru could see all the years in training Haruka had on her and of course the battles. She had a couple of scars upon her shoulders, chest and a small one at her side that resembled the letter C. She stared at her arms. They were strong and you could see the muscles. She wasn't buff though yet she was well built. Then her eyes looked at her chest of course she couldn't see anything but the gauze holding on to her breasts and covering them. Her stomach was a work of art. She had every single ab outlined as it showed off feminine strength. Indeed every story she heard about this warrior princess was true. She was indeed strong and beautiful at the same time.
"Take this gauze off my eyes, please," Haruka spoke yet her voice sounded strong and at the same time gentle. Michiru once again nodded and moved her hand to Haruka's head. She undid the gauze and pulled it off her head and threw it to the ground. She made a mental note to put it in the garbage after all this since it had some small bloodstains on it. Then she saw something that made her squint a bit. It looked like someone had punched Haruka on her eyes. It wasn't swollen but the skin was black and blue. Haruka was frowning slightly when she felt the gauze leave her face. Her eyes were closed at that moment and she heard how Michiru gasped. "That bad, huh?"
"Oh no, my lady. I didn't mean it like that."
"It's okay. Do not worry." Haruka sighed and little by little opened her eyes and started to move her eyes as she searched for something, anything but everything was the same when she had her eyes closed. She couldn't see a thing but darkness. "What time is it?"
Michiru blinked and tilted her head to the side as she stared at the weird yellow orbs that were Haruka's eyes. "It's almost midnight."
Haruka felt like her world came crashing down on her. "The lights are on?"
"Hai." Michiru answered as she felt the need to touch the princess's hand but she quickly decided not to.
Haruka's eyes looked around some more. Her hands griped the bed sheet under her. "I can't see a thing…" She managed to say as she raised her head as she tried to at least manage to see some kind of shadow, anything at all. "I'm blind." She whispered finally as she stared into her own darkness. She closed her eyes again and tried to hold on to her raising anger. "Why? How did this happen?"
"Please, my lady, your mother said that you needed to rest!"
Then Haruka chuckled. "Right, rest…" She opened her eyes once again and moved her head in the direction where she thought Michiru was. "I guess there is no use in crying over something that maybe I cannot fix, right? Tell me, Michiru. What color are my eyes now?"
She blinked and stared at her eyes for some seconds before she answered. "They are kind of yellow."
"Yellow." Haruka licked her lips as a flashback hit her at full force. Her father's death. His yellow eyes stained with blood. She started to lean back to go to rest and quickly Michiru moved to help her. That made Haruka smile. "I hope you are not a temporary maid."
"No, my lady. I'm your new personal maid."
"Lovely" She chuckled and made Michiru smile. "Make yourself at home." Haruka whispered as she lay on her bed again. "Mother's gone?"
"Yes, princess. She said she had to go over and take care of some business."
"What business?"
"I wasn't in the position to ask her, my lady." Michiru answered as she rubbed her hands together as she studied the blonde.
Haruka frowned and sighed, as she got comfortable on her bed. "I see. That's all right. Now that you are my maid I will have to make sure the chamber next to this one is clean so you can move in beside me. I will need your assistance now that I am blind, Michiru. I will get used to this but I will need someone to help me out moving me in places I am not familiar with."
"I will do anything to help you."
"Good. For now, please forgive that I do not have a bedroom for you. Will you please stay the night?"
Michiru smiled and nodded as she forgot that Haruka couldn't actually see her.
"Well?"
"Oh! Yes ma'am!"
Haruka chuckled softly and settled to sleep as she struggled not to think about the pain in her body especially in her eyes.
Michiru watched her until she finally settled down and heard some soft snores. She exhaled loudly before she began to move around in her chair until she got comfortable enough to sleep. Even though she knew that tomorrow her body would ache all over.
For Michiru the night somehow felt like the longest one in her entire life. Maybe it was the chair or maybe it was that she was sleeping beside one of the most beautiful woman in the entire solar system. She kept on waking up to check if Haruka had a fever or maybe stopped breathing or just see if she needed something.
A hard knock on the door made both Michiru and Haruka wake up. Haruka let out a painful moan when she tried to sit up. Michiru looked at her and stood up to attend to her. The door was knocked at her now even harder. Michiru let out a low annoyed growl. She looked at the door and then at Haruka. The blonde asked her to get the door and to leave her on the bed. Michiru complied and went to answer the door. She opened it just a bit to look who was on the other side.
"Breakfast." A maid spoke. Michiru nodded and opened the door completely as she let the maid walk in. She looked at Michiru over and wrinkled her forehead a bit confused. "Where is Nana?"
"She is no longer the princess's personal maid. I am." Michiru spoke as she watched the maid turn her back to her and walked over to the princess's bed while she pushed a vast tray of food.
"Oh well, there is enough food in here for you too so… I guess it's okay if you eat from the queen's tray. Nana always ate in he castle's kitchen but I guess since you are now taking care of the princess, you may eat here with her." The maid said and vowed to Michiru and left the room.
"Help me sit up." Haruka spoke. Michiru ran to her side and helped her sit up the same way she did yesterday. Haruka groaned and sat up with her eyes closed. What was the used to keeping them open if she couldn't see a thing? She patted her lap and Michiru nodded as she placed one tray of food on her lap. Haruka already knew what was in the plates so she ate rather freely. Michiru stared at her as she thought that she would've needed her help but, somehow Haruka didn't need her. "Tell the servants to prepare my bath I need to take the smell of perfume and blood off me." She spoke as she moved her hand t search for her glass of exported orange juice that came from planet Earth.
"Yes ma'am." Saying this, she turned to walk out.
"What are you doing?" Haruka's strong voice filled the room. Michiru froze and turned to her. Haruka's eyes were open now. They made her look like she was looking straight at Michiru. Her yellow eyes gave her this aura of pure evil but Michiru knew better. She wasn't going to harm her. Was she? "Please! Sit and have breakfast with me. I heard when the maid said there was enough food for two. You can do that after you finish eating."
"Right!" Michiru nodded rapidly and sat on her chair and took one tray of food and placed it on her lap. She looked over at Haruka and saw her eat. Slowly but she was eating at least. "My lady you look tired." Michiru spoke as she saw her princess. Her appearance was one of a sick person. She looked so pale and tired yet her body structure, something that Michiru couldn't quite take her eyes off, made her look strong. She knew that even at her state she could conquer a planet if she could.
"I lost a lot of blood yesterday. My body needs to regain the lost blood but I will be okay." She moved her hand over the plates like she was searching or feeling for something. She felt her hand get warm and that's when she knew that her hand was over the warm coffee. She drank from the small white cup. "Ah! I needed that." She smiled and placed the cup back on the tray. Michiru didn't eat much like Haruka. She quickly placed the tray where it belong and took Haruka's doing the same.
"I'll be right back I'm going to get your bath ready…" Saying this, she stood up and left Haruka on her bed.
Haruka took a deep breath and smile. She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the darkness in front of her. "She smells like the ocean." She chuckled and moved the sheets off of her body. She wrinkled her forehead and touched her chest. "I've been half naked all the damn time?" She growled and rubbed her left eye as she moved her legs to the side of her bed. She groaned loudly and stood up from her bed. Suddenly she felt dizzy and fell back on her bed. "Damn it." She shook her head and tried it again. Her hand searched for the headboard of the bed so she could lean on it. She was on her black slacks still, the gauze only covered her chest and her hair was just a complete mess. "One… two… three!" She let go of the headboard and took a couple of steps. Her hands were in front of her the entire time as she made sure not to bump into something. She took a hesitating step forward. Her eyes were wide open as she tried to make out the surrounding of her bedroom to no avail. "Okay, this isn't so hard" She whispered as she took another step. She heard the door open and by the smell that invaded the room, she knew it was Michiru. "Stay right where you are! I'm going to try and make my way towards you so don't move and don't talk at all!" Michiru blinked various time. Her cheeks turned to a soft shade of pink as she saw the shirtless princess. "I was trained to fight under the toughest situations. So, I can easily walk over to you" She said as she stood up straight and took a deep breath. Her body was aching clearly from sleeping a lot and the blood loss. She started off with a few hesitating steps but after a while she walked firmly and confident of where she was going. Michiru stared at her as she made her way over to her. She was amazed at her will power since it was something that she didn't have. Haruka took one last step and moved her hand in front of her. Michiru took one of Haruka's hands in hers as she gave it a soft squeeze.
"You made it. And that means you are ready to take your bath"
"Do I smell that bad?" Haruka smiled and Michiru blushed.
"No, you smell nice." Michiru whispered as she looked at the floor as she took Haruka's hand in hers and lead her to the bathroom chamber. That's when it hit her. She was going to help the handsome princess take a bath…
"So your daughter didn't choose any of the outer or inner princesses? I thought that her 21st birthday was clearly an opportunity for her to choose one already!"
The Queen of Uranus rubbed her forehead annoyed as she heard all the queens from different stars and planets argue over the alliance. The only princesses there were Pluto and Saturn. Their parents were way to busy to come over to the alliance discussion and since both of them were considered mature enough to talk about such of thing the queens and kings around them treated them equally. She was going to have a long chat with her daughter as soon as she got home.
"My daughter has gone blind! Her birthday turned into chaos when her eyes explode and turn to a weird color!" She said as she slammed her hand over the long table. "I can't believe you are thinking about who are you gonna hand your daughters to! My daughter is out of the question! She is blind and weak and I don't think she will be choosing a bride anytime soon!"
"We need protection! We need someone to take care of us! I'm sorry but our daughters are young an inexperienced!"
"Excuse me but your daughters have been trained just like mine was! And she didn't have a father to teach her anything!" The queen let out a long sighed and sat back on her chair.
"How did she become blind?" One of the queens asked as she looked now at the Queen of the wind.
"I have no idea. I do know that her father died from that. Maybe must have gotten it from him? I don't know a genetic thing?"
The queen of Mercury stood up and shook her head. "I don't know any type of sickness like this one. I don't think it was genetic."
"It can be a curse." Pluto said as she made everyone in the room look at her. "I mean think about it. The king went to planet Neptune to get the princess to safety. After he was informed of the storm over there he had the duty to go over there and rescue your daughter's fiancé. He came back blind and the princess was no where to be found. Maybe it was a curse that permitted your daughter not to find her fiancé the moment she put her eyes on her."
"Then, why would someone do that? I mean, what harm could come if my daughter got marry or not?"
Setsuna sighed and shut up not. She didn't want to talk anymore. They need to find that by themselves.
"Maybe someone wanted to marry her and couldn't?"
"She was a mere two year old when her father died! I mean if that person wanted to marry her she could've been older than Haruka…much older!"
"Or a witch." Setsuna spoke once again.
The queen stared at Setsuna and sighed. "A witch? Now we are just making up children stories!" The queen gathered her stuff and looked over at the king and queens and bowed. "I must leave. My daughter might need me." Saying this, she walked out of the chamber and ignored everything that was discussed in that room. "No way would someone harm her. She hasn't done anything at all."
"So, she is blind? I guess I can finally work out my plan in making an alliance with Uranus, to have the power of the wind to control at my command. She is the strongest! Her army is the most powerful in the whole solar system. I've watched her closely as she grew up. She looks just like her dear father, the king." She sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes. "I bet her arms are just as strong as his. She has his same personality." After a while she opened her blue eyes. "Haruka Teno'u of Uranus. I just can't wait to have her."
"Ma'am? Are you sure?" A tall man asked as he looked down at the young looking woman.
"She is the only one getting in my way. She is the one that stole him from me, and she won't steal my Haruka from me. No, she won't."
End of Chapter Three
