Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Seleine P.O.V.
My head ached and I was extremely thirsty. I touched my hand to the side of my head in an attempt to lessen the pain. I sighed when the pain persisted. I continued to lay down and relax for a few more moments till I realized I was in a bed. I opened my eyes and recognized my room. I scanned the room till a face sitting in a chair beside my bed registered I was awake.
"You were watching," I said. I didn't ask, I already knew.
"I'm always watching you," Nephrite said.
"You always were the best shadow of all the shittenou," I stated. I leaned back into the pillows. Nephrite got up and handed me a glass of water that was sitting on my night stand beside my bed. I downed the glass in seconds. He smirked and went into the washroom to grab another glass. He returned with a full glass of ice-cold water.
"Why didn't you interfere?" I asked in between gulps.
He sat down and collected his thoughts. "I knew you were in no immediate danger. Plus, you would have given me quite the lashing if I interfered in a vital moment of realization," he stated casually. I choked on my water at his honesty.
He chuckled at my moment of very un-princess-like behavior. His eyes drifted down to my wrist, a bruise in the shape of a hand wrapped around my wrist like a tight bracelet. His eyes came back up to look into mine. "Did you achieve what you wanted?"
I tilted my head back and looked at the ceiling. I recollected everything that happened last night. The argument with my closest loved ones, the fight with Neptune, and my weak moment outside the palace walls.
"Aside from Neptune getting her full powers, not a damn thing was solved," I answered. I didn't look down from the ceiling. I didn't want to see his understanding eyes. I didn't want him to acknowledge how I felt. I didn't want to be sympathized with.
"Very well, we have plenty of time to get things done that we need to," he said standing up. He crossed over to my window.
"We have to leave tomorrow Nephrite. We don't have time to doddle," I said aggravated.
He turned back to me. He thought about his next move for a moment. "Then let's get something settled. Now that you have a fairly level head, how about you tell me everything."
I started. "Everything?"
"Everything."
He sat back down in his chair and watched me expectantly. I scoffed and shook my head.
"From what I know, you've only had extreme emotional situations to get whatever you have bottled up inside of you out. Now that both of us are calm and have rested fairly well, tell me everything. Get it all off of your shoulders," he said. I turned my head back to him. His eyes were soft but serious. "Let me carry some of your burdens." With that small phrase, I opened up to him.
It felt like it took hours to tell him everything that happened. I told him about my mother and the short eye-opening moment I had with her. I told him about meeting Kylian and everything that happened. I told him about what happened at the ball the other night. He knew everything now. I felt incredibly naked. I've been holding onto what happened with Kylian in the past for so long, that it felt like it happened yesterday. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't wake up from a nightmare about that horrible night.
"She told you that she loved you?" He asked me.
I nodded my head. A tear threatened to fall, but I managed to push it back. I've been crying so much in these last few days it's amazing I have any tears left to cry. Reading my thoughts, Nephrite handed me my glass of water. I drank half of the glass before I set it back down.
"I just wish she told me, so many things could have been easier for us if I knew how she actually felt," I added.
"There isn't much of anything you or I can do about your mother. If she's able to come to you, she will. At least now you know the truth. Now you know that she loved you this entire time," he said softly.
A smile crossed my face. He was right. She did love me. I was so consumed in the shock of all the information she gave me at that moment that I couldn't fully understand that she really loved me.
"As for Kylian, he will be dealt with. Serenity is the only one that can do anything lasting. I will do what I always do and stick to the shadows. I will ensure he won't come anywhere near you. If you want to acknowledge his presence, I will be there making sure you're safe mentally and physically. I will send one of my shadows to follow him to ensure he harms no one," he reasoned.
Life feels so much easier after hearing that. To know that I was safe would make life so much easier. I can deal with Kylian when I know my mind is strong enough to speak to him.
"Take the day to rest. You've been through enough. I will speak with Pluto and Kunzite. They will take care of the training for the day. I will sit Jadeite outside your door while I see Serenity and figure out where she is in all of this," he planned. I opened my mouth to decline when he said, "Seleine. We need you at full strength if we wish to take care of your father and sister. We can't have you losing energy on the battlefield and risking everyone's lives."
He was right. He was always right. "Will you be able to give the senshi their powers during training?" He asked me.
I wasn't entirely sure actually. "I suppose I don't really need to be there. If they're in danger, my soul will know and give them their powers. It drains my energy so if I'm sleeping it shouldn't be too much of a problem," I reasoned.
"Very well. Rest. I will be back to take the next shift in a few hours," he said. He bowed and walked to the door.
"Nephrite," I called after him. He stopped at the door and turned to me. "Thank you."
He nodded his head and walked out the door.
Michiru P.O.V.
I woke up aching. My entire body wanted to stay in bed. I took a bath and tried to massage the aches into the warm water. It helped some, but not enough. I dressed and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. I grabbed some fruit and decided a stroll in the courtyard might do me some good.
I ate the fruit and walked through the gardens. Somehow, I got lost along the way. I found myself stopped at a fountain. I sat by the fountain and looked into the water. It was surprisingly deep. In fact, I couldn't find a bottom.
I looked around me to see if there was a gardener or someone to ask about the fountain but found no one around. I looked back into the fountain and saw a silver fish with a few aquamarine scales.
I smiled as I admired the beautiful fish. I felt something pull at my mind's eye. I pushed my third eye toward it and found to my surprise it was a memory.
Seleine and I were sitting in our spot on the fountain. We were talking about her most recent escapades. She'd traveled to a galaxy that had a planet entirely made of water.
"I wanted to go there more than anywhere else in that galaxy because I knew that was the place, you'd find your utmost happiness. I had to stop at a nearby planet to figure out how I was going to breathe there. Turns out there is a plant in that galaxy that allows you to breathe underwater for twenty-four hours.
"It cost me a pretty penny, but it's nothing compared to the beauty that that planet was. I'm definitely going to take you there on your three hundredth birthday. Before you even ask, yes, there are mer-people there. Not all of them have tails or fins or anything, most of them have legs as we do, but they have fins instead of feet. Of course, they have gills, because how else were they going to survive?"
"Oh, goodness Seleine. Calm down. Your mother won't let me see you any more if she thinks you're a bad influence on me," I giggled. We both knew her mother already didn't like that I preferred her company over Serenity's. I love Serenity, but Seleine is so much more adventurous and adult than Serenity is.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, I brought you back a gift," she said. She held out a baby blue box and handed it to me. I looked up into her eyes in surprise. I didn't know what to say. "What are you waiting for? Open it!"
She was shaking with giddiness. I giggled and untied the dark blue bow holding the box together. I opened the box and gasped. Inside was a silver chained necklace with a silver mermaid's shaped tail charm with lavender and teal streams flowing in it. I looked up at her.
"The merchant I bought it from said it's made from a very rare silver pearl. In his store, I couldn't find anything suitable to bring back to you. I asked him if he had anything else that I could look at for a gift and he whispered that he had a very rare necklace in the back. When I saw it, I knew it was perfect for you," she said. I looked back down at the necklace and threw my arms around her. I squeezed her in an embrace.
I squeezed her too hard, though. I instantly dropped the necklace into the fountain. Before either of us could reach into the fountain to grab it, a lavender fish swam up to it and swallowed it. When the fish swallowed it, the fish changed colors. It changed from lavender to silver with aquamarine scales.
I looked at that fish now. A tear fell down my cheek as I remembered it. I held onto the necklace for only a few moments. After we had lost my necklace, she named the fish Loki and gave the fountain to me. It was in her garden, so we just kept it a secret. She had told the gardener to take extra special care of Loki.
Deciding to test my powers, I brought my face close to the fish. I forced my third eye to send a message to the fish. Nothing happened. I tried again. Still, nothing happened. Frustrated with the lack of flair from my powers, I turned back around and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Of course, the god of mischief had to steal that precious gift from my princess," I said. A few seconds later, I heard a plop. I turned back around and saw the necklace sitting on the concrete ledge. I quickly snatched the necklace up before the fish decided he wanted it back.
I opened my hand to gaze at the necklace. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it. The silver wasn't rusted, and the colors from the necklace hadn't faded. I looked back for the fish to thank him for taking such good care of it when I saw he was gone.
"Neptune!" I heard an unfortunately familiar voice calling for me.
I turned around and saw Uranus strolling toward me. "Hello, Uranus."
"Have you seen Seleine?" She asked me.
"Hello, Neptune. My you're looking radiant today. Did you sleep well? How have you been since I practically left you without a word?" I sneered. I hadn't exactly forgiven her for what she's done to me quite yet. To forgive someone, they have to explain and apologize for what they did.
"Neptune I'm really sorry for what I did. We can talk about it later, but this is really important. Have you seen Seleine?" She asked me again.
"Not since last night. We sparred and I got my powers," I explained. I looked back at my necklace and waited for her to leave.
"You got your powers? How- Never mind. We can talk about that later," she said turning on her heel. I looked at the waves in my necklace and remembered Seleine and I's talk last night.
"Uranus, wait. What's going on?" I called after her.
She turned back to me. "Why do you care? You hate Seleine," she said.
"Let's just say I'm having a good day."
She sighed. "Last night Serenity, Pluto, Kunzite, Seleine, and I had an argument. We demanded to know what happened at the ball the other night. She didn't want to say anything. Serenity said some awful things and we found out that Kylian is the reason why Seleine became the heart of darkness."
I was surprised at the information I was just given. I thought Seleine was the heart of darkness since birth. "Tell me everything," I demanded.
She told me everything that happened last night. I felt terrible. I pushed Seleine and called her dramatic. How could I do that to her? I knew she was having a rough go of it last night, but I didn't care. I wanted to hurt her.
"I didn't know. I'm such a terrible person," I said dropping my head into my hands.
"What do you mean?" She asked me alarmed.
"Well if it isn't my little traitors," a familiar voice said.
I slowly rose my head and looked at Uranus. Her eyes were wide. We slowly turned our heads in unison and dreaded what we saw. Sitting on the palace ledge, was the evil Serenity from our time.
