A/N: I apologize for the late uploading, but my life has taken a turn for the confusing as of late with voice acting and work. I have no idea what will be going on with my fanfic account from this day on, mostly because I am going to be seeing England next month with my partners and planning things with them. This story will be updated as one of them is a huge fan of it, but all others are for now on an indefinite hiatus.
Warning: This contains possible triggers of violence and death. And lots of sadness.
With love,
Korrupted.
DISCLAIMER: Do I REALLY need to say I don't own Sailor Moon still? I do? Damn. Well, I still don't own it. The song Makoto sings is Om Namo Bhgavate by Deva Premal.
"The slave who, having struck his master, his mistress, or the husband of his mistress, or their children, shall have produced a bruise, or the shedding of blood in the face, shall suffer capital punishment."
-Louisiana Slave Codes 1724
Minako couldn't help but stare at the destroyed village as they skirted it, her wide blue orbs taking in every heart-breaking detail they fell upon. The charred wood, the overgrown fauna, the broken clay dishes that were filthy from years of exposure to mud and animals. The one detail that was confusing to her was the lack of skeletal remains of any kind, but her gaze always returned to the back of her charge, watching as the silently crying woman halted just at the edge of the stone riddled area and dismounted before following suit.
It was strange to watch as the taller woman stooped down to touch each stone she passed, a ghost of a smile sadly haunting her lips with each one. Minako's stomach dropped when she noticed that a few of the stones that were just outside of the plain they were on were marked in a language she didn't know, the dawning realization hitting her hard. This was a graveyard; one that her charge knew very well, it seemed. Just what had happened here? Still, the slave brushed away dead leaves from stones kindly, murmuring softly in what Minako could only assume was Katu to them.
Makoto halted at two stones, slowly lowering herself to her knees as Minako joined her, tears coursing down her cheeks with small sniffles. The brunette reached out a hand to touch the one on her left, speaking in a rough whisper to no one in particular. "Maitym." Then the one on her right. "Faru."
Minako's eyes widened slightly as the words sank in. She knew 'maitym' was mother, so 'faru' must be father; these had to be Makoto's parents.
For several long minutes they knelt in silence before the graves, Minako patiently looking at the grass in front of her as her charge cried as quietly as possible. When the silence was broken by speech, it caused the madam to jump slightly in shock, turning to look at Makoto quickly. "What was that?" She questioned in a soft voice, having missed whatever had been said.
"I s-said thank you. For taking me out here."
"It's no trouble, but..." Blue orbs looked around the graveyard and then the decimated village. "What happened here?"
The slave stiffened at the question, then rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, taking a deep, shuddering breath in before she began. "W-when I was about seven, there had been a warning of a Raji raid on th-the village. Faru took m-me to the root cellar next to the house and hid me th-there." Her green hues were distant, clearly recalling that day. "It's all dirt, and I used to play there with Sanjay when I was very small. He told me to stay there until he came back for me, then covered it with a thatched grass door."
Minako could almost imagine a young Makoto being ushered into a root cellar by a frantic man, the child watching him snuff out her only source of light as she stared at him in fear. It must have been a desperate kind of courage for him to hide his only remaining child in the hopes that they would only be separated for a short while. The woman's heart hurt for her charge already, but there had to be more to this tale than what had been said.
"I remember... screaming. And fighting. Lots of screaming and yelling." Makoto's gaze slowly shifted around as memories played on in her mind, her voice soft as she recounted them. "Then... I could hear Maitym and Faru fighting and screaming with someone. And then..." Her voice broke, a soft gulp of her throat wetting the too dry surface. "Then... There was just... Horses snorting, the smell of fire, and... Some distant fighting. Nothing else. It was s-so quiet after another bell I could hear my own heart."
Makoto was trembling, the sight so alien to her master that Minako felt nearly ill with worry. Her mind was flooded with images of that child Makoto crying in that cellar, hands covering her mouth to muffle the noise, staring at her only way out in fear and dispair. How on earth had she survived that trauma? The loss of her family, friends, and all she had ever known? Once again, it was a mystery of the world just how she could be so strong; and the heavy tears running down those sun-kissed cheeks were proof that she had been strong on her own for far too long. And yet, the horrible tale continued on.
"I waited, and waited fo-for Faru to come back for me like he said he would, but after another two or three bells had passed, I just... knew he wasn't coming. S-so, I worked up the co-courage to leave the cellar and... I s-saw th-e v-v-village..." Choked sobs wracked the powerful frame. "It w-was dest-troyed... Razed... E-everyo-one was... Dead..."
"F-fires were st-still going, but it was so qu-uiet here..." Emerald orbs held a haunted gaze as they moved back and forth, reliving every detail of that day. "Maitym a-and Faru... Everyone... Was dead. I r-remember th-the air tas-sted like death... But I had to bury them... Bec-cause otherwise their spirits couldn't rest."
Minako felt her throat tighten, her mind cruel enough to fill her head with images of the girl staring wide-eyed at the carnage around her, tears cascading down her cheeks non-stop. A child stumbling about in a haze, taking in her utterly destroyed village, every so often whimpering a name as she passed their body. The images continued until the young child took a deep breath and started to dredge up her courage to begin her morbid task. A voice halted her thoughts, the words adding to the flow of the blonde's mind.
"It took so l-long to dig all the graves. Almost two days. I just kept digging, and digging un-ntil my hands bled from th-the shovel. Then... I had to move the bodies... Into the graves." Distant eyes continued to spill tears with no end in sight, her expression torn between pain and hazy detachment. "I buried everyone in three days... All of my friends. My parents. My entire life... Dead and buried in the ground by a seven year old child."
She could imagine a sobbing Makoto struggling to haul bodies into graves, hands bloody and torn from the wooden shaft of her shovel, weak, tired, afraid, and alone. Every body treated with as much respect her tiny, shaking frame could muster as the endless cycle of burials continued until each and every person was laid to rest, a lot full of stone marked mounds all that now lay before the exhausted child. Minako was shaking with soft sobs as her charge began to sing, the sound both beautiful and eerie to her shaken mind.
"Om namo bhgavate. Vasudevaya. Om namo bhgavate. Vasudevaya."
The soft words were sang over and over again, and the madam could almost hear the broken voice of that orphaned child singing in that mournful sound. It was beautiful, it was haunting, and it was painful to hear to any human with a heart. The song stretched on as Minako wept quietly beside her, leg throbbing from the healing bite wound there, looking at all of the graves again before back Makoto with a new respect. She tried to remain as silent as possible while the other woman sang on, closing her eyes as she sent up a silent prayer of her own to the long dead parents of her charge.
'I swear I will do all I can to protect her. Makoto has suffered enough, and I will do everything I can to free her.'
It was almost anti-climatic that there was no harsh gust of wind following the prayer, no spirits appearing to thank her, nothing at all but soft singing and tears. Obviously such magics were fool's folly and did not exist outside of tomes and tales whispered around fires by bards at night, but it still would have been nice. Minako shifted quietly as she waited longer for the mourning to end so that she could speak with Makoto.
At long last, the song ended and shakily the brunette slave stood in front of the graves before silently walking out, leaving Minako to scramble in an effort to follow her with a stiff leg. Another few moments passed before the madam finally spoke. "Why didn't you tell me that they were dead?"
A watery, bitter huff of a chuckle escaped her companion. "If I had, would you have let me come back?"
That question silenced Minako instantly. To be honest she probably wouldn't have suggested that they come out at all, depriving Makoto of the chance to visit her desceased relatives and friends, as well as all of the progress the both of them had made to grow closer. It was a great blessing that they had taken this trip, even with the viper, thugs, and this startling truth. Minako would never give up a single moment of this journey for anything. "So, what now then? Shall we head back?"
Makoto shook her head. "Not just yet. We can leave tomorrow, but..." Her emerald hues turned up to the sky. "I would really like to stay the night. I can use the stars to guess my rough age and date of birth."
Minako nodded in agreement; how could she begrudge her charge of such a simple request? "Of course, Mako." She gently assured. "Where do you want to set up the camp?"
Tapping her chin with thought Makoto glanced around at the desolate area, picking through the somewhat visible features for a suitable location. "I think by the old healer's house. His has the least rotten of structures, and it has a decent view of the sky."
A solemn nod met her words, and the duo lead their horses to the chosen location to set up the camp as the sun began it's slow descent in the sky. Though the tent was set up, Makoto placed her bed roll outside on the less over-grown roads, her furs piled up around her as green orbs scanned the area with a haunted gaze. Clearly she was recalling memories of her life before the raid, and Minako chose to abandon her original plan of sleeping in shelter for keeping her friend company. With a soft flop, the madam sat next to the slave, furs already wrapped tightly around her body as the sun set lower still. "What are you thinking about?" She asked in a playful tone, nudging the taller woman's elbow with her own.
"Just... How grateful I am that you let me come home. After I was enslaved, I never thought I would see this place again. Even if it's just a husk."
Ocean eyes turned to take it all in slowly. "Well, maybe one day you can bring it back to life once I free you. I know be stupid, and obviously your people are getting rarer, but I just want you to be happy." Minako shuffled about uncomfortably. "And I can't expect you to be happy when you have to wear my emblem on shackles."
After a moment, Minako felt a strong arm wrap around her shoulders mere seconds before lips were tenderly pressed to her hair. "Shackles aside, I'm happy that I met you and your girls." The brunette sat back up, the arm remaining draped across slender shoulders. "You've all helped me remember that there are still good people in this world. Besides, I like teasing you, Master Blondie."
The broad yet wicked grin set Minako laughing loudly, the sound filling the desolate area like rain on a desert. Months ago, she never would have imagined that she would be sitting next to Makoto laughing like close friends, let alone be granted such a friendly kiss of gentle assurance. But now she beamed brightly at her friend, trying not to shiver as the sky began to darken into the golden orange tones of the setting sun. The cold was even more biting up here, and once again she was reminded about her foolish choice to only bring two sleeping furs on this trip.
"C'mon, Mina. Let's bed down for the night." Makoto urged in a casual tone, moving to lay back and look at the sky.
However, Minako simply blinked down at her in awe, the nickname spoken by Makoto's voice for the first time repeating over and over in her head before finally processing. "Uhhh, yeah. Sure. But..." She glanced around. "Where should I drag my roll to?"
It was Makoto's turn to laugh, shifting over and patting the now clear area next to her as she peeled back her furs. "Just get in, you idiot. You don't have enough furs to keep warm up here by yourself."
Obediently, the whip wielder obeyed, crawling in and laying beside the other woman to watch the night sky slowly come to life as the minutes marched on. The hustle of living in the city and being an informant to the King was a huge part of her life, and so the quiet stillness of the mountain brought with it an unfamiliar peace and tranquility to her. If she ever left the brothel, it was clear that she would want to live in a place like this. Hopefully with someone she loved to spend the lazy, clear nights with.
As more stars began dotting the velvet sky, Makoto began pointing at a few constellations with an easy smile, her breath visible above rose lips. "Orion, the hunter. He only appears in the cold seasons." She stated as her finger motioned over the stars, tracing lines to connect them. "He was in the sky when my birthday was celebrated, so there's something."
Minako stared in wonder at the constellation, reveling at the sight. It was one she had never seen in Landenholt, and the fact that it helped them get one step closer to Makoto's day of birth was even more wonderful. Another few peeked out, the Kishu woman talking of them casually with the ghost of a smile on her lips until she spotted something she had been hunting for to the left of an ancient pine. "Mina... Mina, what month is it again?" She questioned in a hushed whisper, as if too much sound would frighten the stars away take the secrets they held with them.
"September. It's the seventeenth of September."
Happy tears slowly broke from the corners of verdant orbs. "Three months. I was born in Hunt Moon; your December. Early December. I was born in early December..."
Minako listened to her charge whisper again in joy, glad that Makoto now had even this tiny comfort to cling to, and no one could ever steal it away from her again. They lay under the stars in comfortable silence as the sounds of night softly played around them, the lull of it all finally drawing them into sleep.
Minako woke slowly, finding her face buried against Makoto's shoulder, a strong arm casually under her neck as the brunette snored gently. It was strange but pleasant to wake up once again in the protective hold of her charge, the several sleeping furs ensuring the warmth didn't leave them to be lost in the morning air. Ocean hues glanced up at her friend's face, taking in the relaxed expression there, the soft exhales of breath, the messy disarray of auburn hair, the soft edges of her face that had once been sharp with suspicion and hate. It was astonishing to recall how much Makoto had changed towards not only her but the girls in general since she had first arrived at the brothel; though she had eased around the workers long before herself, it still had been some time before the brunette trusted the guards without constant worry.
A slight groan accompanied by sigh alerted her of her guardian rousing at last, verdant eyes blinking slowly open in the early morning light. "Mornin'." Minako half-croaked out with a slight stretch of her body.
She was met by a disgruntled grumble that was as friendly as she was going to get at this hour of day before they had eaten. After their now regular custom of eating and breaking down camp, the two women mounted their horses before speaking, looking at each other. "So, shall we return to Landenholt?" The Kishu woman inquired.
Minako tapped her lower lip before pulling out a map. "Where are we on here?" Was the simple question.
A tan finger tapped one side of a mountain range, the blonde marking it off before looking over the rest of it. A grin broke out on her lips and she replaced the map happily before looking at her companion once more. "Yeah, but we're going to stop by one of the outer cities in the kingdom." Blue eyes looked to the morning skies a they brightened. "I want to see some old friends on the way home."
