Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Seleine P.O.V.
*Past Moon Kingdom*
I looked back out onto the moon palace gardens. The planet that we guarded was slowly spinning. It was quiet. It was just my thoughts and me. I had just had another fight with mother. She refuses to let me leave the Moon. It's not like I want to cause any trouble. I just want something different.
"Seleine?"
I turned around and saw Serenity approach me. I turned back to the beautiful blue and green planet. I stared at it in awe. I don't know how long I looked at it. I don't know if Serenity even said anything to me.
"Seleine? Please talk to me. I hate seeing you like this," Serenity pleaded with me.
I sighed and turned back to her. "What do you want me to say? That I hate it here? That I hate being under Mother's thumb all the time? That I hate feeling like an outsider here even though I am a Moon Princess?" I cried with clenched teeth. Tears burned my eyes. "Because I do. I hate it all. I want to leave. I've never been given a chance to leave. Mother hates me and wishes I wasn't here, yet she won't let me leave."
"Oh, Seleine."
"Don't 'Oh, Seleine' me. I can't stay here, Serenity. I fear I will turn dark just by being stuck here," I sobbed. I turned away from her as I dropped my head into my hands. The hatred I feel is too much. Any day I feel like I could die from being hated too much. Is this the life that I was supposed to have?
"So leave."
I froze. I slowly turned toward Serenity. It couldn't be that easy. No way. My eyes fell on her. Her eyes were serious. She was standing so still and expressed understanding.
"I know you hate it here. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this is the last place that you would like to be. I want you to stay, but your happiness means more to me than my own," she said. She looked down at her feet as she pondered another thought.
I heaved a sigh and looked back over my shoulder. "It's not that easy, Serenity. Mother would find out and demand that I return. Then she would lock me in that dreadful tower and I would never leave."
"Let me deal with Mother," she pleaded. She stepped toward me and grasped my hand. Tears threatened to fall down her eyes. This was killing her. She really didn't want me to go, but she knew it was what's best for me. "I know you won't be gone forever. Maybe, when you come back, you'll have many stories to tell me."
"Are you sure?" I asked her. She nodded her head.
I smiled brightly. "What should I take with me? Where should I go first?" I asked her. Her smile grew on her face just thinking of it.
*Many Days Later*
I woke up in a bed that wasn't mine. Or at least, it wasn't really mine. I ended up leaving the galaxy in hopes to find other people that may be like me. It was a very poor planet that I traveled to, but I heard the people were significantly diverse. Elisande was the planet's name. Serenity read a book about it a while back and told me to read it. It sounded amazing in the book, so I thought that this should be the first place I go to. I didn't expect the planet to be so poor.
I got out of my temporary bed and left the cottage in search of the village. It was about three miles away from the cottage. I walked through the streets to see many starving people. There were a few rich nobles who treated the poor like cattle.
As I was walking through the streets, I saw a small child reach for a red fruit that I didn't recognize. The merchant caught the child's hand. He was screaming at the child in a language I didn't comprehend. The merchant raised his hand to strike the girl. The girl turned away and prepared herself for the pain to come. He struck her and nearly struck her again when I caught his hand.
"You should be ashamed of yourself. The poor starving girl is hungry and merely reached for one of your items," I seethed.
"You little wretch," he spat at me. I turned to the girl to see if she was okay when the merchant pushed me down. He kicked me really hard in the ribs and nearly did it again when a man's voice boomed over the gathered crowd. I was disappointed in the civilian's here. No one stood up to the merchant. They were all too scared.
The merchant apologized and apologized. I clenched my side and forced myself up. My mouth was bleeding, and I wiped the blood away with my sleeve. I turned to the man that was of importance on this planet.
The man was crouched close to me and offered me his hand. I looked at it for a second and decided I should get up on my own. I heard a gasp in the crowd and saw a young woman throw a hand over her mouth.
"I apologize for the man's temper. Stealing here is strictly prohibited since the kingdom is so poor," he said. He was a tall man with olive skin, dark hair and icy blue eyes. He was extremely handsome. He was clearly high-born judging by the way he spoke and the way he was dressed.
"You call a starving child reaching for food stealing? I would think starving the youth of your kingdom is depriving them of a fruitful life," I said.
A hint of a smile curved on the corner of his mouth. He chuckled slightly. "I do believe you are right, miss?"
I contemplated giving him a false name. I was in a different kingdom. I didn't know what these people thought of my kingdom. "My name is Seleine. I'm Princess Seleine. I'm traveling from the Moon Kingdom in another galaxy," I said standing tall.
Hiding behind the man, the merchant's eyes grew wide. He continued to cower behind his cart and tried to leave. I turned away from the man and turned toward the merchant. "Since your so stingy about getting your damned money, here, for the red fruit the child reached for," I said throwing the coin at him. He caught the coin and nodded his head three times. I grabbed the fruit and turned to the child.
"Here you go," I said smiling. I held out the red fruit to the child. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. She took the fruit. She stared at it for a moment before launching toward me and embracing me. I chuckled and held the girl for a moment. When she let go, I shooed her away and made sure she got away from the merchant safely.
"Princess of the Moon Kingdom huh?" the man said behind me.
I turned toward him as he spoke. "Yes, and you are?"
"Kylian. I am Prince Kylian of Elisande."
*Present Time*
"Seleine?!"
I shook my head and looked back up. The senshi and I were beginning training again. Ever since I saw Kylian last night, my memories of him kept rushing back. It was difficult to focus ever since he showed back up. I can't believe the way I acted last night. The ball ended early due to my break down.
"Right. My apologies," I said recovering from my moment of turmoil. "Before the ball last night, Pluto and I conducted an experiment."
Pluto came up to my side and lightly rubbed my back. "An experiment?" Mercury asked me with bright eyes.
"Yes, I managed to give Pluto her full powers," I revealed. The senshi grew still. They looked up at us in disbelief.
"That's not possible," Neptune said stepping forward.
"Perhaps they need to be convinced. Pluto. Would you mind demonstrating a little something for them?" I asked Pluto. She grinned and nodded her head.
She stepped toward the senshi. She tilted her head down a moment and then rose her head. The atmosphere grew cold and dark. Goosebumps protruded from my skin. The senshi slowly grouped together and looked around them.
Pluto slowly began to lift her arms up and the black tendrils snaked around on the ground. Neptune gasped as a tendril snapped at her. "Pluto!" she screamed. Pluto put her arms back down and the atmosphere turned back to normal.
"What the hell was that?" Jupiter screeched. They were all scared.
I stepped forward. "That was Pluto's power. Pluto's powers specifically deal with time, space, the underworld, and darkness. That was an example of the underworld and darkness part of her powers. You've seen time and space before, but darkness you have never seen before. I can help you all get your powers if you let me," I concluded.
The inner senshi looked at each other. Neptune looked to Uranus, but Uranus looked down at the ground. I was afraid none of them would want to try.
"I would like to become stronger," Saturn said stepping forward.
A smile grew on my face. "Excellent. You and Pluto will duel-"
"Duel? Why does there have to be a duel?" Mars asked me.
I sighed. I knew this was going to be the problem. "When Serenity gave you your powers, it was because you needed them. She couldn't just give you your powers; your life had to be at risk in order for you to get them," I informed them.
"That's too dangerous. This isn't a game. Someone could actually die!" Neptune exclaimed. "You're evil anyway so why would we want your-"
"I want to fight you. Not Pluto."
Saturn's revelation shut Neptune up. She shut everyone up actually. Saturn was so still. I didn't expect that to come from her. I looked at her just a little harder and saw her aura was a dark red. She was angry. She was angry with me.
"Saturn, Seleine did this with me first so she could concentrate on giving the senshi their powers," Pluto reasoned with her.
"I will fight Seleine and no one else," she was so calm. Her aura said that she should be fuming but she wasn't.
"Saturn-"
"It's fine, Pluto. I did it with you and I can do it with her," I said stepping to the side. Saturn, in turn, followed me.
"Seleine." Pluto said under her breath.
This wasn't going to be easy. This was going to break one of us, if not both of us. I closed my eyes and called upon my sais. I transformed out of my dress and into my fuku. With my eyes still closed, I turned away from Saturn.
I felt her aura behind me before I actually felt her. I turned my arm back and caught her glaive before it could touch my back. I turned toward her and felt the atmosphere turn dark. Pluto wasn't using her powers. The sky no longer shined.
Saturn jumped back away from me. She started walking toward me again. The atmosphere turned tense. She attacked again. This time faster than last. Our blades struck each other over and over again. We kept pushing each other back.
I felt a wetness covering my arms. I risked a glance at my arms to see where she struck me. I didn't feel her blade cross my skin. I saw no blood. It was raining. The gods knew this was no time for happiness, only sadness.
I looked back up a second too late. She struck me with the end of her glaive. She attacked me in the stomach and threw me back. She turned to the side and lunged her leg back and collided with my stomach.
I staggered back and sucked in a quick breath. She lunged for me again. I needed to make this fast. I had to start using my powers. I felt my skin start to turn to fire. Steam rolled off of my arms as I approached her.
My energy was back up to where I wanted it to be. This time, I lunged for her. I was in front of her and then in a flash, I was behind her. I kicked her back and flew her across the field. Seconds later, I was back in front of her. I grabbed her arm and threw her into a tree. She crashed to the ground.
I dropped my sais and they disappeared. I held my hands out. The roots from the trees sprouted out. They latched onto her body. Saturn snapped her head back and forth. The roots grabbed a hold of her arms and legs. I walked toward her as I tightened the roots on her skin. Blood started seeping out of her appendages. I was right in front of her as the tree started to pull her in. I was getting lost in the darkness. Lightning struck the ground behind me.
I felt the senshi threatening to come up and I commanded more lightning to strike. Fire broke through the lightning, and the area around the tree was circled in fire. Saturn's waist was almost completely inside the tree now. Saturn began screaming as the tree started closing around her head.
I cocked my head to the side. "What's wrong darling?" I asked. I could feel my body starting to change. I wanted more. I wanted more death. I wanted more pain. I was suffocating in my wrath.
Saturn screamed again as a white light came through her mouth. It shined brighter as it came from every inch of her body. I suddenly felt my body start to drain. Then all there was, was light. There wasn't anything left in the world.
A few moments later, I found myself on the ground. I got back up. It was still raining. No more lighting. No more fire. No more tree. In the place where the tree was, Saturn now kneeled on the ground. Her glaive was struck in the ground holding her up.
Saturn's fuku was a lot like Pluto's. She no longer had a skirt or bow. She merely wore a purple fitted shirt with a crystal in the center of her chest. Her gloves were like Pluto's and so were her tight-fitting pants. The only thing that was different was Saturn's earrings. Saturn's earrings were skulls.
Slowly, she looked up at me. Purple chains came into my mind. I knew they weren't there, but she was in my mind. Saturn pushed her hand in the ground. She fanned her fingers out. Her eyes were glowing purple and a wind came up from the ground blowing her hair up.
She slowly stood back up. Her eyes no longer glowed. She looked at me. Her hollow eyes looked at me. Then there was a sound. I looked around me and saw the senshi on the ground. They were not standing, but their heads were up and watching us.
I heard something breaking. I looked around me and saw nothing. It was too late for me to prepare myself for what was coming. A hand jumped out of the ground and grabbed onto my leg. It was dry yet was decaying at the same time. Then another hand grabbed my arm and held it down. Then another hand came and another hand came. There were no chains. My powers were trying to tell me that something else was going to pin me down.
Saturn's powers were starting to bloom. She brought the dead back to life temporarily. The dead that she commanded was now holding me down. Saturn stalked toward me. I didn't know how I was going to survive this. Serenity wasn't here to save me this time.
She stood in front of me. She kneeled down in front of me. She pushed herself between my legs until she was on top of me. She dropped her glaive. That's when I saw it. Her aura was no longer a dark red, but a pale blue. She was no longer angry. She was now feeling grief.
My heart broke. I caused this. I caused the grief she was feeling. I no longer fought the arms that were holding me down.
She punched me. Then she did it again and again. My face felt raw. I could feel my face starting to swell. I slowly managed to turn my head back to her. Tears were streaming down her face.
"You did this," she whispered. She was out of breath. The grief and rage had taken everything out of her. "You did this! You killed me!" She began punching me again. One right after the other. She started pounding her fists on either side of my head.
Soon the arms disappeared and were no longer holding me down. Her fists kept coming down on either side of my head. I let her do it. She needed this. I needed this. "You were supposed to protect me! I loved you! You said you loved me!" She sobbed. She stopped slamming her fists on either side of my head. She sat up and screamed into the rain. "How could you do this to me, Momma?" She asked the question so quietly that I barely heard her.
I couldn't contain the tears any longer. She screamed into the rain again. She just kept screaming. I couldn't take it any longer. I darted up and grabbed her. I held her close to my heart. I squeezed her hard because I feared she was going to leave me.
She pushed against me and started beating her fists into my chest. "No! I hate you! Let me go!" She screamed. She was breaking my ribs, but I would never let her go ever again. After a few minutes, she stopped beating her fists into my chest. Our hearts were too broken to do anything but sit there in each other's arms.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I repeatedly sobbed. It didn't matter what I said. Nothing I could ever say would repair the damage that I had done.
*A Few Hours Later*
Saturn fell asleep in my arms after she bared her soul to me. I'd caused all that pain. I deserved her hatred for me. I was in Saturn's room. I have stayed here since the duel. I couldn't bring myself to leave. I had to watch over her. I took her life before, now I will give her my life.
I was beginning to doze off when there was a knock on the door. I crept to the door and opened it. Small Lady was in the doorway. She attempted to smile. She was watching from the balcony when the duel was happening. She saw everything that happened and wasn't necessarily impressed with me.
"How is she doing?" She whispered as I let her in.
"She's sleeping. She hasn't moved since I brought her in here," I reported.
"I see," she sighed. She looked at Saturn so fondly. My eyes drifted over to my daughter. She looked so tired. Her mind and body needed this break. "I'm trying to understand how I feel about you."
I snapped my head towards her. "Ever since you came here, we haven't had the chance to talk. I know that you're my aunt, but I went through my whole life without ever knowing about you and then all of a sudden, my mother tells me you have come to visit us.
"Mother told me about what happened in the past. Part of me loves you because I feel like I know you from Mother's memories, but then I also hate you because of what happened to the senshi."
I nodded my head. How could I blame her? She doesn't know a thing about me. Well, aside from what Serenity has told her. I turned my head toward her once again. "It's not a surprise. I don't know you either. But I'm hoping to change that. I don't have much time left here, but with what little time I have left, I would like to get to know my niece."
She averted her attention to me. I couldn't decipher what she was feeling. She was just as good at concealing her feelings as her mother was. "Mother wanted to speak with you. She's in the war room."
Disappointed, I nodded my head and exited. I walked through the halls with nothing but my thoughts. Did I say something wrong? Did I do something to her already to make her hate me? Ugh, this was exhausting.
I walked down the hall and held my head. My daughter can really throw a punch. My head was throbbing and my entire face was swollen.
I opened the door to the war room and saw Uranus, Pluto, Kunzite, and my sister. This couldn't be good.
"It's about time you got here sister," Serenity said. She wasn't in her usual good mood.
"Yes, well, I've been attempting to take care of my daughter," I said.
"We need to talk," Serenity said turning towards Pluto. "Pluto and Kunzite told me about the commotion that happened last night. It seems Pluto will say nothing, and Kunzite knows nothing."
Serenity turned towards me. I had been dreading this day for a while. I turned toward Pluto. She couldn't look me in the eye. This wasn't good. I wasn't ready to tell them anything.
"What happened last night when Prince Kylian approached you?" Serenity asked me. Straight to the point. So that's how this is going to be.
"I don't have time for this," I scoffed and turned towards the door.
"Don't you dare leave this room, Seleine," Serenity boomed. I'd never heard her talk to me like that before. Slowly, I turned back toward her. Her face was red. Oh she was pissed.
"Or what? You'll banish me? You'll lock me in a tower? Or will you do what Mother should have done all along? Will you kill me, sister?" I seethed. This was nonsense. I was not going to deal with this. I couldn't handle this right now.
"Don't make me do what mother never could," Serenity threatened. She had to be joking. She was completely still. The anger in her eyes told me she wasn't joking.
"You're more like Mother than I thought," I said and turned on my heel.
"Don't walk away from me!" She screamed. I strode to the door. I wasn't going to deal with this.
"Seleine, please. We just want to talk to you," Uranus pleaded with me.
My hand was on the doorknob. I stopped when Uranus spoke. I quickly turned towards them. "You just want to talk to me? By ambushing me? What is this? And then you threaten me? How dare you ask anything of me?" I yell from Uranus to Serenity. "And you two! You should be defending me. You're supposed to be my best friend and my council." I couldn't handle my anger. I was fuming, and I knew I should be calm, but I couldn't believe this.
"Is this because you and Kylian didn't work out? What, because he finally slept with you and you got what you wanted? You really think I would destroy our alliance with Elisande because you were done screwing their prince?" Serenity said.
"Is that what you think happened?" I asked her.
"That is what happened. One day you two were happy and engaged and the next you two broke up. What am I supposed to think?" Serenity said.
"Seleine, you need to tell her," Pluto pleaded with me.
"Enough! I have heard enough from all of you!" I screamed. I turned the doorknob and opened the door.
"So, it must be true. I didn't want to believe it but maybe you are a whore," she said defeated.
I froze. I never expected to hear that from my sister. Never. She was the last person I had expected to hear this from.
Before I knew what I was doing, I strode to my sister and smacked her. I smacked her hard. Her hand was holding her face. She turned her head to me. Surprise was written all over her face. My hand stung but I was so full of rage that I didn't care.
"You really want to know what happened?" I asked her. My voice was hollow. I didn't know how I was going to do this. "Very few people knew this, but it included you. When I was born, I had the chance to remain pure. I didn't have to be the heart of darkness, but that meant one thing. I could never lose my purity.
"You knew how much that meant to me. I always wanted to be seen as good in Mother's eyes. I wanted to be seen as good in everyone's eyes. Kylian grew tired. He and I were engaged. He couldn't wait any longer. He wanted me, and he wanted me now.
"I became the heart of darkness because Kylian stole my purity from me. He knew what would happen, but he didn't care. He didn't care if I became the heart of darkness as long as he got to screw the most powerful princess in the world. I became the heart of darkness because Prince Kylian, one of your precious council members, raped me."
Wow. Hi guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. My laptop died and my cat chewed up my charger so I had to buy a new one :\ Anyway, this chapter has been one that I've both been excited and dreading to write. This was a chapter that really needed to happen. The heartache with Saturn took me forever to write and then the revelation about Kylian, it was just so hard to write. I had to repeatedly take breaks so I didn't overwhelm myself. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I look forward to hearing from you. -J
