A/N: Finally, we're getting rid of some of these OCs. Bwahahaha. Guess what? Another younger!canon character shows up! Also, we get our first glimpse of the Shitennou's parents. (And after that I think you'll understand why they're all so screwed up later.)
Oh and baby!Inner Senshi next chapter for sure.
Chapter Seven: The Return of Mr. Snuffles
The strongman looked from Endymion to the ringleader and back again, unsure of what to do. He clearly wasn't used to making decisions any more difficult than deciding whether to snap someone's neck or slit his throat.
"It's all right!" said the ringleader, "I'm willing to die for my cause!"
Well, good for you, but I'm not. I blanched. The strongman looked to the ringleader, and then to Sailor Pluto, and back again. It became evident that they'd reached a stalemate. You could've cut the tension in the room with the nail of your little finger.
I sighed. We'd been in here for hours without so much as a bathroom break. Lunch had come and gone. It felt like today would never end, and all of us would spend the remainder of eternity in this room, frozen in our respective positions.
Suddenly, the strongman started shaking and jiving. He dropped Endymion, who landed with an undignified thud, got up, kicked the strongman in the right shin, and ran across the room to take refuge beneath the table and make faces at his guardians.
The strongman ignored this for reasons beyond my understanding. He seemed to be very preoccupied with his left leg.
Seeing her chance, Sailor Pluto clocked him over the head with her staff. It wasn't exactly the display of Awesome Senshi Powers I had been expecting, but still, it got the job done. The strongman's legs buckled beneath him and he fell into a crumpled yet gigantic heap.
A small green creature wriggled out from his pant-leg.
"Mr. Snuffles!" exclaimed Endymion. He picked up the snake, which wound itself around his hand in what I assumed to be a gesture of affection. (That or it was just hungry. Who can tell with snakes, anyway?)
Nonetheless, I was glad to see that my old nemesis Mr. Snuffles had found a way to make himself useful after he defected from the camp.
As Pluto stood triumphantly over the fallen bodies of our attackers, rescue forces rappelled down from the hole in the ceiling and lifted us out of the room. Once we set foot on the roof, Gaia hugged Endymion so hard that his eyes bugged out. She held him, jumping with glee. For a moment, I worried that she was going to fall off the edge and send the both of them to their deaths.
Meanwhile, the dignitaries filed away from the hole and down the ladder onto the ground, shaking King Phaeton's hand as they went.
"Excellent show," boomed Jarl. "It started slow, but was by far the best hostage situation I've ever been in." He pumped Phaeton's hand up and down so fast that it began to turn an interesting shade of purple.
"The same goes for me," said Marielle.
"It was the only hostage situation I've ever been in," put in the lunar dignitary.
The king handled all this with suitable grace. He stood by to make sure everyone got out safely and kept an encouraging face, even when Set tried to tell him, in detail, about every hostage situation he'd survived in the past.
When this was taken care of, he turned to me. "Thank goodness that's over with. I think the children's parents would like to see them," he said. "Also, your cousin is waiting for you," he nodded to a figure a few feet away, bundled in blankets. I nodded gratefully and started to walk towards my cousin. "Oh, and Amalthea?" the king said.
I looked back.
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, your Majesty," I said, surprised. I didn't really think I had done anything worth being thanked over. Basically, I'd just run for my life, which seemed to be the most logical course of action at the time.
Still, it was nice to be appreciated.
My legs shook with relief as I hugged my cousin. "Oh, Phoebe," I said, "You wouldn't believe the day I've had."
"I know, I know," she said, patting my back. "I just felt awful. I had to come because, you see, I realized that if I hadn't been sick, it would've been me in there instead of you…and I just couldn't have lived with myself if anything had happened…I'm so glad you're alive!"
"Yeah. Me too," I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "You should be in bed, you know. You're never going to get better if you don't get some rest."
"Yes, mom," said Phoebe, rolling her eyes. I felt as though maybe everything was going to go back to normal.
Everyone congregated in the courtyard for an unofficial party, or basically what amounted to a giant gossip fest, over the day's unusual events. People jammed into the courtyard, some standing elbow to elbow; it felt like everyone in a ten mile radius showed up.
Phoebe, despite my protestations, decided to hang around for a while longer, pointing out various people to me. One great thing about my cousin was that she was a gossip magnet; if somebody was squirreling away palace funds, or sleeping with someone unsuitable, or had a deep dark secret that they'd shrivel up and die if anyone discovered, Phoebe would be the first one to know.
"See that man over there?" she jerked her chin across the way. "That's Lord Tanzanite. His niece, Lady Jade, supposedly ran off with this guy from—"
"Excuse me," said a woman, approaching swiftly. "Are you Amalthea?" The only appropriate word for her voice was 'lilting', and she seemed very familiar with her corona of red-gold hair.
"Um, yes," I said.
"I am Lady Celestite, Zoisite's mother." He peered out from around her legs. That explains it, I thought. I should've known from the hair. Now that I looked at her, I realized that Zoisite was the spitting image of his mother, right down to the bright green eyes.
"Oh!" I said, and there was an awkward moment where I wondered if I should be curtsying. She didn't seem to be expecting me to; instead she stood with her dainty hands clasped at her waist, smiling slightly.
"I just wanted to thank you for watching over my son. It was a horrible situation for everyone, and thanks to you, he doesn't seem too traumatized from it."
"Um… you're welcome. Happy to do it," I said.
"Well, it was very much appreciated." She bowed her head ever so slightly so that her eyes caught the lasts rays of the afternoon sun, shining with reflected light. Then, giving a demure nod in parting, she strolled away. Her long braid swung down her back in time with her steps.
"She seems nice," I said, wonderingly. It was hard to reconcile that sweet voiced woman with the two year old who'd kicked me in the shins yesterday.
"Yes," said Phoebe, with a funny expression on her face, "she can be."
"Can be?"
"Well, you know, I've heard…" Phoebe averted her eyes, putting a finger to her lips, "well, it doesn't really matter what I've heard. It's just… I always had the feeling that…oh never mind! I'll let you draw your own conclusions."
Now, that wasn't like Phoebe at all. Drawing conclusions was practically Phoebe's job; she lived for it. I frowned slightly and made a mental note to ask her about it again later. Maybe she would be more willing to talk in private.
"So," said Phoebe, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. (Hmm, I thought.) "You haven't met any of their parents yet? Other than her, I mean." Phoebe said 'her' in the same way someone else might've said 'slimy mutant slug-beast'.
"No, none other than Endymion's. I mean, I haven't been here all that long." In truth, I hadn't even thought about the boys' parents, what with everything going on. They all must've had one hell of a day today.
"Hmm, well, it wouldn't be proper for me to introduce you, but I'll point them out to you so that you'll be prepared when you see them coming."
"Okay," I said. I didn't want to be caught off guard again, like I had been with Zoisite's mother. It was disconcerting to talk to someone who knew all about me when I didn't have any idea who she was.
Phoebe took a quick look around. I didn't think she'd be able to find any of the boys' parents in that jungle of people, but I was wrong.
"Okay, so that couple over there by the reflecting pond? The woman in the pink dress and the dark haired man? Those are Jadeite's parents."
I decided that Jadeite must've been found in the cabbage patch, because his father and mother, Kyanite and Fluorite, looked nothing like him at all. Fluorite had red hair in a short bob and Kyanite's nose seemed to be devouring his face.
Nephrite on the other hand, bore a striking resemblance to his mother and father. Rhodanite and Pyrite looked suave, sophisticated, and also very much alike themselves. They both had thick, auburn hair, they both had blue eyes, and they both had identical glasses of red wine, half filled, though nobody else seemed to be drinking. (Actually, neither of them was drinking, either. They were just swilling the liquid around in their glasses as they talked, almost rhythmically.) In short, they could've been brother and sister. I rather hoped that they weren't.
"That's Jadeite, Zoisite, and Nephrite covered," Phoebe said. "Who have we missed? Oh, Kunzite's father." She gave a quick glance around the courtyard. "Hmm… now where could he be? I don't see him…oh! There he is."
"Where?" I said.
"Oh, the shrubbery's in the way." She grabbed my wrist and pulled me back a few feet. "See? That's Lord Azurite."
A scowling man with long iron colored hair stood in a half circle with a few other people. He didn't look particularly interested in what they were saying. I stared for a few seconds trying to place him in my memory. And then it hit me. I gasped.
"It's him!" I sputtered, jaw dropping.
"Him? Have you met before?" Phoebe asked, confused.
"Oh, we've met," I said. "We've definitely met." I grimaced.
Phoebe laughed, "Yep, that's how people usually look when they've met Lord Azurite."
It wasn't funny, though. With any luck, I would never have to interact with him.
Who knew that Kunzite's father would turn out to be the same jerk Mrs. Pease had rescued me from on my first day?
After getting over the shock of the first and second day, the next five days were easy. I settled into a comfortable routine with the boys, and Phoebe finally got to have a rest.
At that point, I thought everything was going smoothly. I'd had my little bit of excitement, which was what I came for, and now my life was settling down into a series of more or less orderly days.
But on my seventh day at Latmus…well. Let's just say that I soon realized that those fairly peaceful five days must've been sent to lull me into a false sense of security.
It all started when a red-robed advisor came to talk to me as I was feeding the boys their breakfast.
"Amalthea?" he asked as he entered the room. I jumped and did a double take, hoping that either a) he wasn't one of the advisors I'd met previously or b) if he was, then my lack of recognition wouldn't show on my face. It was still hard to tell them apart. It didn't help that none of them introduced themselves properly.
"Yes?" I responded, wondering what all this was about. At least it probably isn't assassins, I thought.
"You'll be looking after a few extra charges for the next few days." He wrung his hands apologetically. Perhaps he thought I'd be upset.
"Oh," I said. "How many?" After assassins, it takes a bit more than one or two extra kids to look after to faze you.
"Um…let me see…five."
"Five," I repeated, slowly. I blinked. I wasn't exactly panicking, but I was wondering exactly who was put in charge of the delegation of duties. If I had a name, then perhaps I could find this person and knock some sense into him.
What kind of idiot decides to put one nursemaid in charge of nine children?
The advisor must've seen the enraged look upon my face. "But it's okay," he said, clearly used to dealing with nursemaids flouncing off in a huff, "It's not as much as it sounds. Four of them are babies." Spoken like someone who has no idea of the basics of childcare.
"But that makes it worse! Babies require lots of time and energy—"
"Oh, please don't quit!" The advisor broke down, his eyes tearing up. "I'll lose my job if you do! They always quit after a few weeks, and then the one time we could hang onto one, she gets sick…and they sent me to tell you about the extras, but if you quit I'll—"
"Whoa, slow down! It's okay. I'm not going to quit. It's really not so bad. Besides, Phoebe's my cousin and she won't be able to heal if somebody doesn't cover for her."
"Oh. Well then," the advisor composed himself, relieved, but obviously feeling a bit foolish, "That's okay."
"Yes," I said, trying to sound soothing. "It's all okay. Do you know when they're coming?"
"The first of them will arrive in a few hours—that's the older one." The advisor sat down. He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. "You wouldn't happen to have a glass of water?"
"Sure," I said, fetching one.
"And maybe a sandwich?" he asked hopefully, when I returned.
I gave him a warning look. He paled and started to look very preoccupied with his glass of water. This one seemed to be a bit younger than the other advisors, a far as I could tell. Maybe that's why they sent him to do this.
"What about the children?" I asked.
"Hmm… the older one, a girl—her name is—um, oh dear, well—she's the daughter of one of His Majesty's oldest friends, a Lord Morganite. I can't remember that name—hold on, it'll come to me…anyway, she's four."
"Four," I said. "A girl." I glanced at the boys, who were currently chewing up their food and showing it to one another, and wondered how a girl would fare in this sea of testosterone I was living in. Then I felt the need to sit down. "And what about the babies?"
"They'll be arriving this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow. They're very important…the heirs to the thrones of the inner planets. Their parents are all staying for a pre-Interplanetary Games party."
"And how long will they be here for?" I brightened considerably. If they were only here for a party, then perhaps it would mean only a day's extra work for me.
"I—I'm not sure. Maybe until after the Games are over."
My heart sunk.
"Well," the advisor stood up hastily, looking at me as though I was an explosive. "Lord Morganite and his daughter should be here in a few hours, so I'm sure there's a lot you have to do—" he made his exit. "Oh wait!" he started, poking his head around the doorframe.
"Yes?" I asked. Please don't let there be twenty more kids he forgot to mention.
"Her name! Just had it—it was, it was…" he tapped his forehead, "Beryl! That was it. Her name is Beryl."
He stood silent for a second. His words hovered in the air, strangely ominous.
"Oh," I said, trying to make the best of things. "Well, that's a pretty name, isn't it?"
The adviser left shortly after that, and I was left to figure out how to clean the boys up as fast as possible. I had managed to curb their food fights, but occasional handfuls of porridge still ended up smeared across somebody's shirt.
I knew that the king would want them to look nice for his old friend. Therefore, I spent the next few hours carefully scrubbing, changing, wiping and brushing them until they gleamed like perfectly polished gemstones.
By the time Lord Morganite and his daughter arrived, I was in high spirits. Now, I decided, would probably be a great time to practice looking after girls. I should look upon the extra children, especially the infants, as a blessing in disguise. After all, I would soon be looking after the moon princess full time and what could be better preparation for the job than looking after other little princesses?
And anyway, I reasoned, in Beryl there would be another girl to even the odds up between me and the boys. Also, I had always preferred dress up to being whacked with wooden swords.
So, really, once Lord Morganite and his daughter had entered the play room, I was feeling quite calm. This won't be so bad after all. I thought. It'll work out just beautifully.
Beryl, as it turned out, was a chubby little girl with freckles and a mop of frizzy red hair. She wore a dark blue dress of crushed velvet.
"Now, Beryl, you be good," said her father as he dropped her off.
"Yes, Daddy," she said. She stood with her hands folded, watching as he left. I gauged her reaction. I hoped she wasn't going to be the type of child that cried when her parents left; I hated crying and found that it tended to be contagious.
To my relief, Beryl did not cry. Instead, she stood quietly and bit her lip as if contemplating a matter of great importance.
Beryl and the boys regarded each other.
This is it, I thought, if they'll only get along, everything will be smooth sailing.
Very seriously, Beryl looked each of the boys in the eye in turn, sizing them up.
The boys, for their parts, were actually being fairly well behaved. I didn't think that they knew what to do with a girl any more than a fish knew how to bake bread, but they didn't seem to be openly shunning her. That had to be a good sign.
But then Beryl winded towards the end of her appraisal. Having looked over, in turn, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite, she paused and smiled.
I didn't like that smile one bit. It was the smile of a cat that'd just caught the canary.
I had hoped that they could be friends. I had hoped that they could simply play together for a day or so, without any major incidents.
But all those hopes flew out the window when Beryl took one look at Endymion, opened her mouth, and said: "You're my boyfriend!"