Title: By the river
Author: Ree
Theme: Setsuna (velvet)
Genre: General/Angst-ish
Version: Anime or Manga/ Mythology - long before the silver Millennium
Rating: G

Setsuna and her friends all belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I just asked them very nicely if they wanted to play. They agreed, and quietly snuck out without Takeuchi-sensei's knowledge.

A/N: Aeona is the name I made up for Setsuna for this time period. It is based on the alternate name for Chronos, Aeon, which mean eternal time.

Quietly Aeona stood by the River Acheron. Today was the day her mother, Perséphonê, was finally returning to the Underworld. It should have been a joyful day since she had not seen her mother in eight months, but all it brought her was longing. She really wanted to be able to leave with her Mother, and visit her grandmother, Demeter. But she was not allowed to go anywhere outside of the Underworld. The farthest she could travel was to the River Acheron. King Pluto would not let his only daughter leave. Smoothing her hand down the velvet dress she was wearing, she thought of the light, cottony dress her mother would be wearing on the boat. Hanging on the post near the dock was the velvet cloak for her. Perséphonê would put it as soon as Charon stopped the boat.

'Velvet is all that is in my wardrobe. The hangings on my bed are made of velvet. I wish to go to a warmer place and have clothes made of a cooler material. Like Mother's dress.'

Aeona knew why the material of choice was velvet. It was cold in the Underworld. Apollo's light did not penetrate this deep.

'Cold and dark. Those could be the description of Father while Mother is away. And all the members of Father's court are just as cold to me, just because my Mother prefers to be with Demeter instead of with them.'

The sigh that was forming was stifled out of habit. She would never show them how much it hurt to be ignored or taunted by them. Of course they never would do it where Pluto could see. Aeona wished she had the courage to take a drink from the River Lethe. Then she could forget the desire to escape to the surface, but she doubted that she would have the courage to do it. Slowly she let her eyes drift over the river, and she finally found what she was looking for: Charon's boat. 'Mother is almost here.'

It had take her two attempts to find it, but Aeona finally stood on the shore of the River Lethe. She remembered the first time she had looked for it. She had become so lost that she had ended up in the marsh at the center of Hades before she had realized it. Four of the five rivers of Hades, Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegethon, and Styx, all merged together to form the marsh. It tested her both physically and mentally, but she had escape. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to quell the memories that were trying to push their way out. Carefully, she pulled out the goblet she had been carrying with her. Opening her eyes, she knelt on the river bank, and filled the cup. Sitting back on her heels, she contemplated the goblet of water.

"If I drink this I will forget everything. All the horribleness of the court. The problems with Mother and Father. All the memories of what happened in the marsh. The longing to be more than I am. All will be forgotten. I will know as little as a newborn babe. Is this what I really want?"

Out of the woods stepped an old man. Before Aeona noticed him, he dashed the cup from her hands, and all of the water spilled onto the ground. She reached out for the cup, but he step between her and it.

Struggling to keep her anger from showing, Aeona confronted him. "Who are you?"

With an ageless smile, the man answered. "I am Chronos."

Keeping her voice level, she continued to question him. "Why did you interfere?"

"You will need all you have learned to fulfill your destiny." Flicking his fingers toward the water seeping into the ground, he continued. "That would have caused us a major problem."

"My destiny?" Aeona was caught by the beginning of his statement. No-one had ever mentioned her destiny.

Chronos nodded. "It is time to leave your Father's realm, and pick up your staff. Your duty is calling."

Something in his words rang true in her heart. "Where is my staff? What is my duty? How can I leave the underworld?"

He held out to her a small metal wand. She looked at it for a long moment before accepting it. Then he gave her another one of his smiles. "Now hold it up and say 'Pluto Planet Power Make Up!' in a strong voice."

The words sounded strange, but they felt right. As she held up the metal wand and said the words, she knew that this was what she had been unknowingly longing for. The power rushed over her, and it changed her velvets into a softer, lighter material. Looking down at the clothes she was wearing, she thought of how right the colors were. 'Black for the darkness of the Underworld, and white for the light upon the Earth.' She slowly hefted the long key shaped staff in her hand. 'This must be the staff he was talking about.'

Brushing the long dark green strands of hair off her shoulder, she looked up at Chronos. "What is my duty?"

"Sailor Pluto, your duty is to protect all three areas of the world from invaders, but most importantly you are to guard the Doors of Time. You are to make sure that no-one is traveling across time. Most importantly, you are to watch for invaders. It is a very lonely duty. You will not get to see many of your friends."

Sailor Pluto let his words sink in for a moment. It sounded like she would be as lonely as she was right now, but she was drawn to it. It was lonely with a purpose. "How do I get there? And who is going to inform my Father. Pluto will not like this, and neither will Perséphonê. Mother has only been back for three weeks. She will not let me leave easily."

Chronos waved his hand along the shore of the River Lethe, and out of his fingers cherry blossoms flew creating a path that seemed to cut through the very fabric of the Underworld. At the end of the path was a large set of double doors. Sailor Pluto felt herself being drawn by the doors. She felt like she had to be there, and once she was there, everything would be fine. Without meaning to she stepped onto the cherry path. She stopped and looked back at Chronos.

Waving her down the path with a kind smile, he said. "I'll tell your parents. Off to your duty."

Nodding her head, she turned and walked down the path to her destiny.