A young dark-haired man hefted a saddle onto a horse, clipping the straps together.
Beside him, an older man heaved a weary sigh. "Is this truly necessary, my lord?"
"You heard the acolytes, no one even knew the crystal could disappear, much less where it went. Its like that vessel gave it us a last curse with her dying breath."
"There is no guarantee you'll find it." The gray-eyed general let his gaze bore down on the younger man. His desire to protect his liege was strong, but right now stubbornness was propelling the King more than reason.
The other man used the stirrup to hoist himself atop the steed, picking up the reins. "Kunzite, you know I trust in my generals. But Jadeite has made a mess of things. Unless we can locate the light crystal, then I don't see any other option."
"I could go in your stead," Kunzite volunteered. "You can't leave the kingdom undefended, Endymion."
"Which is why you'll be staying to guard it. My best commander, you'll be worth more to the kingdom right now than even I." He gave the taller man a rakish smile, "Just make sure its still in one piece when I return."
"You have my word," Kunzite said, crossing his arm across his chest.
Endymion gave one last look over his shoulder at the palace gates behind him. This would not be his first journey away from home, but every time he left the homesickness became more tangible. Right now, with the war and the reported disappearances, it felt almost as if he were running away from his responsibilities as King.
He was jolted out of his thoughts by a hand on his arm. Looking down, he saw Kunzite staring up at him. "I don't need to tell you, but discretion is imperative."
Endymion raised an eyebrow, "Then why are you telling me?"
Kunzite's eyes narrowed, "Because I know you."
Endymion tried not to let his lips quirk, before giving up and letting himself smile. Seeing the fiercely protective glare directed at him, his smile softened. "If all goes well, I'll be back within the month," he said.
Kunzite's expression didn't change, "Chances this goes well are slim."
Endymion sighed, acknowledging the truth in his general's words. Unless they could relocate the light crystal and its new vessel, and secure the other crystal vessels more successfully than they had the light vessel, and somehow coerce that thick-headed fire vessel to help them, their odds of winning this war were nonexistent. They'd been pushed back from several outlying villages, and with each loss, the rebels came closer and closer to the capital. It was only a matter of time before they were under siege.
And then there were the disappearances...
"I'll find the crystal, and the new light vessel," Endymion said, putting conviction behind the words. Whether it was to convince Kunzite or himself, even he didn't know.
"I leave you in charge of locating and securing the remaining vessels," he added.
"Nephrite and Zoisite are already in route to the temples of storm and water," Kunzite affirmed.
"It will be at least one month before Nephrite reaches the temple of storm, I don't envy him that trip. I should have returned by then. If I have not, I leave you in command."
Kunzite just watched him silently, but Endymion recognized the expression.
"And I won't take any 'careless risks', happy?"
The ghost of a smile flitted over Kunzite's face before he released Endymion's arm. "Take the calculated ones," he advised, tipping his chin a mock bow. "Journey well, majesty."
Endymion nodded back, looking forward again and kicking his horse into a light gallop. Every step it took he could feel like a cord between himself and his kingdom being pulled tighter by the separation. Pushing the feeling down, he squared his jaw and watched the road ahead.
Ami's curiosity was not easily sated, and the pitiful answers Serenity could give her were doing nothing to help her understand what exactly had happened earlier at the temple of water.
"Tell me again where you're from?" Ami said, searching for some flaw in this stranger's story. Any clue to indicate that this girl was an imposter or somehow explain the impossible.
"West, a small village called Castien. Its on the outer edge of the kingdom, so we don't get many visitors." Serenity took a moment to catch her breath, readjusting her bag. "Should we take a break? We've been walking for hours."
Ami glanced at the sky, running a quick calculation in her head to estimate the amount of daylight left based on the angle of the sun and shadows it was casting. "Yes, we should also take the opportunity to eat."
Serenity's eyes lit up at the mention of food, and Naru elbowed her in the ribs. "You'll have to share, there are three of us."
Serenity pouted, then smiled again. "As long as I get to take this pack off, I'll be happy." Setting it down on the ground, she opened it up and pulled out a few pieces of fruit.
Ami also set her bag down, retrieving a loaf of bread from inside it. Glancing at the contents of Naru and Serenity's bags, she broke off a piece of the loaf. "We only have enough food between us to last another day at most. There is a village less than a day away, if we continue in this direction. If we're lucky we'll reach it by nightfall."
Serenity helped herself to a piece of the bread Ami had, while Naru swatted her hand. Serenity had the decency to blush before taking a bite anyways.
Watching the small girl eat so ravenously, Ami said quietly. "I take that back, we have enough food to last us until the end of today."
Clapping her hands, she sent a prayer to the water crystal, thanking it for the ability to do what she was about to and everything else it provided to the world.
Serenity mirrored her motions, sending her own prayers to the fire and water crystals.
Holding out her hands, Ami let water pool into them. Tipping her cupped hands back, she drank until the water was gone.
Naru and Serenity were watching, and without pause Serenity held out her hands, giving Ami an expectant look. Ami let out a small laugh, charmed by the girl's earnest behavior. Putting her hand above Serenity's she let water form and fill the girl's hands to the brim.
"Would you mind?" Naru asked, holding out her hands too. Ami shook her head, repeating the motions for Naru as well.
As Serenity gulped down the water, Ami drew a small map in the dirt with her fingers. "You'll be able to summon water yourself now, you know," she said, marking off a few sections of the map as she drew.
"Really?" Serenity leaned forward, eager. "Can you show me how?"
Ami examined her work while she spoke, trying to determine the best path to reach the storm temple quickly. "I'd assume its similar to how you summon fire," she said, beginning to draw a line across the map to mark the route they would need to take.
Pouting, Serenity leaned back, muttering something under her breath.
Ami glanced up, then back to her map, saying nothing.
After a moment of sulking, Serenity admitted, "I can't create fire yet."
"Really?" Ami forgot her map as she re-evaluted the girl. It was unlikely she was lying, but from what she'd told her earlier, Serenity had been a vessel for years now. Based on the records she'd read about previous vessels, most could summon their crystal's blessings after the first year.
"Yes, really," she huffed, crossing her arms.
"Let me see if you can at least control it," Ami summoned a small globe of water, holding it out to Serenity. She had a strange sense of familiarity with this girl, even though they'd only just met. Chalking it up to the fact they had both been chosen as vessels of water, Ami filed it away in the back of her mind.
Tentatively, Serenity reached out towards the water. A tiny tendril of water lurched towards her fingers as she did, beginning to spin in a slow circle above her palm. Delighted, Serenity closed her eyes in concentration. The water began to grow in size until it was about as large as a coin.
Ami studied her as she did, trying to sense as best she could Serenity's control on the water. The girl was panting and clearly straining to control even the tiny amount of liquid in her hands. Her control was weak at best, almost like even though the water wanted to bond with her, something was holding it back.
Before she could study it further, Naru interrupted her thoughts. "I wonder if you could control the ocean too."
"Well, I've stopped the rain for the time being, so its possible," Ami said.
Both of her companion's eyes went wide as saucers. "You...stopped the rain," Naru said, Serenity was stunned to silence.
"Of course. The storm vessel can still call forth the winds and lightning, but without it, no crops will grow and we'll be at an advantage should we be captured by the king's army."
Serenity's brows drew together in confusion.
"Its like a bargaining chip, without the rain, they'll be more amenable to listen to us," Ami explained.
"That's some impressive control," Naru said, seeing Ami in a new light.
"And smart! I'd have never thought of that," Serenity admitted. "I was so focused on letting the other vessels know what has happened that I didn't even think about what would happen if we got caught."
"Intelligence is my-our crystal's blessing, I'm sure you'll notice it start to effect you as well soon enough." Ami pointed to the dirt map she'd drawn. "The safest and fastest path to the temple from here will take us at least two weeks, that should be enough time to help you learn to control water a bit better. We'll have to go through a rebel camp, but if we continue at this pace we should still be able to get there before the king's army."
Serenity had a far-away look, before she blinked and returned to the present. "Sorry I didn't catch that," she admitted.
Naru gave the girl a playful shove. "Space brain here? I doubt she'll ever see the benefits of the water crystal."
Serenity glowered, before leaning forward and worrying her lower lip. "I was just thinking...I don't remember the price of the water crystal..." she trailed off.
A blanket of tension fell over the group, so thick it was palpable. Ami and Naru exchanged sympathetic glances while Serenity stared at the ground.
Naru wrapped her arm around Serenity's waist while Ami moved to kneel in front of her and take her hands in her own. Lowering her voice, she tried to soften the blow as much as she could. For someone to be chosen as a vessel for two crystals, and have to pay two prices at the same time...when the cost for just one crystal was already so high, this would be a terrible burden. "Don't fret so...the price is similar to that of the fire crystal, for you the two might as well be one and the same."
Serenity swallowed a lump in her throat, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "You mean..."
"Because you are bound to chastity by the fire crystal already, it shouldn't be an issue," Ami said.
Shaking her head, Serenity sniffled, looking up at Ami with eyes full of dread. "What exactly-"
Nearby shouting interrupted her. Immediately hushing, all the girls glanced around for the source of the sound. Lowering her voice to a whisper, Ami said, "Get your things, we need to leave."
Gathering up their packs, they moved like spies through the forest. When they were a few yards away, Naru dared to speak what they were all thinking.
"Was it just me...or did that sound like soldiers?"
Ami nodded agreement, glancing back to make sure they hadn't been noticed. "We left just in time."
Serenity shook her head, worry lines creasing her forehead. "No, we left too late. By now they will already be ahead of us on their way to the temple of storm, and they have horses."
Ami let a pleased smile spread across her face. "Not if we follow to the path I drew."
Rei knew it was a dream, but that didn't give her any more control over it.
The ground was an ugly red-brown, and felt spongy like it was soaked with blood. The horizon seemed so far away, and the sky was an angry red-orange. The area felt familiar, although she didn't recognize it. It was as if she had been here before, in another time or another dream.
Rei felt herself take a few steps forward, something slippery and nauseating stirring in her stomach as she did. Feeling it she realized that this entire area gave her a sense of deep unease, unsettling in both mind in body.
Something very dangerous was nearby.
The area was unfamiliar, framed in dark trees with rocky terrain. The trees were barren, and there was no other plant life within her sight. The entrance to a cave was barely visible at the base of the rocks that framed the horizon.
Against her will, Rei's dream self took a few more steps forward towards the cave.
The wind had died, and the air was stale in her lungs.
The feeling of disquiet was multiplied with every step she took. By the time she stood in front of the cave, she felt like she might vomit from the force of it.
It pressed on her, all around her, like an oily coating to the air. Something perverse and wrong, pushing the thoughts from her mind and filling her with a screaming desire to run.
That's when she heard it, a growling moan coming from within the cave.
It started so low she barely noticed it, but it grew in volume until the ground trembled from the force of it. The vibrations knocked her to her knees, and Rei watched in horror as something came out of the mouth of the cave.
Waking with a cry, Rei stared into the darkness of her new quarters with fear. Without even thinking it, she held a ball of flame out, slowing her heaving breaths as the light from the fire drove the shadows back. Her heart continued to hammer in her chest.
Tipping the flame onto a candle by her nightstand, she stood, leaving the small burst of flame in her hand lit.
It was a prophecy, it had to be. Rei closed her eyes and breathed a silent prayer of gratitude to the fire crystal for it.
Because now she knew that she was not safe here.
Looking around, she spent a fair amount of time studying the window. It looked large enough to fit through, and after glancing out she knew this room to be only a handful of flights off the ground.
Examining the fabric of the comforter on the cot she'd been given, Rei made a decision. Ripping the cloth into strips, she tied them together. Looking at the rope she'd created, Rei went to the closet and pulled out a few of the sturdier looking gowns. Adding them onto the makeshift rope, she tied one end onto the foot of the bed.
Thinking better of it, she moved the wardrobe closet sideways until it weighed down the bed. Just in case, she mused to herself.
Taking another look out the window, she saw the patrol guard moving down the hall facing away from her. Throwing the ruined comforter out the window, she squeezed out the opening and took a steadying breath as she stood on the windowsill.
Tugging on the fabric, she put a little of her weight behind it just to make sure it would hold. The bed groaned under the strain, but held fast.
Slowly, she began to climb down the wall. The fabric was thick and durable, and didn't snap under her weight.
It was too hot out though, even at night, and she could feel perspiration wetting her hands and making it more difficult to keep her grip. As she came to the end of the comforter where it tied with the gowns, she realized too late that the thinner fabric of the gowns was unknotting where she'd tied it.
With a shocked cry, she grabbed the bottom of the comforter even as the gowns began to blow down to the ground. Letting out a relieved sigh, she glanced down to see how much further it was to the ground.
There were at least two flights between her and the ground.
With a curse of frustration, Rei weighed her options. She could climb back up and face the consequence of this botched escape, but before she had even finished that thought she was decided.
Her prophecy could not come to pass, and this palace was somehow linked to that cave. She could feel it in her gut, the familiarity she'd felt in the dream was from this place.
Taking a shaky breath, she steeled her resolve, and let go of her grip on the fabric.
For a nanosecond she felt more free than she ever had, weightlessly suspended in the air. All too soon, that freedom became a rush as wind from her fall rushed past her.
It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. She tried to maneuver herself so that she would land on her feet but she knew it was a losing fight with less than a second until she hit the ground.
A desperate tangle of hair and limbs, she bloodied her hands against the wall trying to slow her descent.
The ground rushed up to meet her, and she landed hard against it. Blinking back tears of pain as she tried to move, realizing she had landed in the pile of gowns.
It had cushioned her fall.
Rising to stand she went back down to her knees with a small yelp as her ankle gave out. Sprained, she thought, wincing as she tried to move it. It was possibly broken.
Using the wall to support herself, she stood on her other leg and began to hobble forward. It was slow progress, and she had to bite down whimpers multiple times, but soon she was near the edge of the hallway.
Glancing around the edges, she saw no guards in sight. Choosing a direction at random, she began to make her way down the hall.
Before she had even made it past the first hallway though, she heard armored footsteps approaching.
Nothing was going as planned. Zoisite bit down a growl of frustration as he ducked in time to avoid having his head cleaved off.
It had taken three full days on horseback to get from the temple of fire to the capital and then to the temple of water because of all the breaks the fire vessel had demanded.
Upon arriving at the temple of water, the rebels had ambushed them. The second battle on holy ground in over three thousand years was writing its bloody history all around him. The proximity to the water crystal and the possibility that the water vessel or acolytes might become casualties of this battle was very real as it had spread from the open area outside the temple to the interior foyer.
The air stank of gore, and something much more putrid.
It was the stench of defiled ground, Zoisite mused as he dodged a broad swing from a rebel. This is what blasphemy smelt like.
Slashing out, he caught a rebel in the back, turning to block another blow before the dead soldier's body even hit the ground.
Before he could even return to a defensive stance the soldier, no general, based on the markings on his uniform, bore down on him again.
His opponent was ferocious, attacking with a fervor he had never seen. His hair as bright as his bloodlust as he pushed Zoisite back. Even deflecting and defending against the blows, Zoisite knew he was slowly being pushed back.
It was only a matter of time before he was cut down.
In contrast to him, Rubeus poured his aggression into his blade, letting it fuel his advance. Every swing was an extension of his rage at the world, primal and wild like an animal as he continued to use the adrenaline to further his attacks.
Making a desperate decision, Zoisite risked allowing his opponent an opening to use a pillar as a shield. He hissed was a wound opened in his side, Rubeus having caught him before he could fully get around it for cover.
Pressing a hand to his new injury, he glanced down to see his hand dripping in blood. As a field medic, he knew he'd have less than two hours to live unless he tied it off at the rate he was bleeding out.
A crazed smile of pleasure spread across Rubeus' face at seeing the seeping wound. He raised his blade above his head to deal a death blow to Zoisite.
Before he could bring his blade down, a loud crack rang out over the cries of the dead and dying, every head turning towards it in universal trepidation.
The air froze.
The battle had fanned out through the entire foyer of the interior of the temple, including the raised dias that held the towering water crystal.
Atop the top platform, a handful of royal soldiers and rebel fighters were scattered, locked in combat.
One of those infantry soldiers had been attacking a rebel soldier when the opponent rolled out of the way, the momentum from his swing carrying him forward. Too late to divert the trajectory, he had seen what his blade was about to connect with.
Now that same blade was lodged completely in the water crystal.
A vicious crack had split it around the blow, hairline fractures running along the sides from the point where the blade was still stuck.
Panicking when he saw what he had done, the soldier yanked the blade free, even as Zoisite tried to call out loud enough for him to stop.
But his shout was too late.
In slow motion, he watched the largest of the cracks continued to travel all the way to the top of the crystal. When it reached its apex, the crystal's structure could no longer contain the strain of the fracture.
With a sickening crunch, the water crystal shattered into thousands of shards that fell like rubble to the ground.
It was almost sunset and it would only be another hour or two before they reached their intended destination for the night if Ami's estimations were right.
As Ami began to step over a log, her entire body froze. There was a loud ringing in her ears, and without warning it turned into a roar.
Her vision went black.
Eyes still wide in shock, she collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her head hit the log she'd been trying to cross with a loud thud on her way down.
Laying prone on the ground, she began to convulse, eyes rolling into the back of her head.
"Ami!" Naru rushed forward from where she'd been following behind the two vessels, dropping her trunk and bending down to help the other girl. Alerted by the shout, Serenity turned around to see what had happened. Her hands went automatically to her mouth as she watched Ami seize on the ground, disbelief and panic blurring her thoughts into a screaming jumble. It took her a full three seconds before she snapped into action.
"Ami! AMI!" All thoughts of not drawing attention to them were forgotten.
Collapsing down beside the others, she gave a terrified look to Naru as the younger girl began to cry. "Whatdowedowhatdowedo?" Naru was beginning to hyperventilate on her own fear.
Pushing down on Ami's shoulders Serenity tried to keep the girl from injuring herself further. Clear fluid was beginning to froth out of her mouth. Ami gurgled and choked as her body thrashed and tried not to drown on the liquid.
"Help me!" Serenity half lay across Ami's body in the effort to keep her still with her smaller weight. Naru was still openly crying as she moved to try and help, holding down Ami's legs.
The sun sank below the horizon before Ami stopped convulsing. By then both Naru and Serenity were exhausted physically and emotionally from trying to keep her still.
"Is she alive?" Naru asked, scrubbing at her eyes.
Ami laid splayed on the ground, unmoving. In the lack of sunlight, it was impossible to tell if her chest was even rising and falling.
Serenity hesitated a moment before answering, fighting back tears of frustration and fear. "I don't know," she said, leaning back against the log.
Naru moved to sit beside Serenity, leaning her head against the older girl's shoulder. They both watched Ami in silence for several minutes. In a voice as small as she felt, Naru finally asked, "What do we do now?" The darkness she most feared was out in full force now, and even with the moon shining down it still felt to Naru as if imminent peril was all around.
Serenity shook her head, sniffling. "Tomorrow," she said, wrapping her arms around Naru, bottom lip quivering. "We'll figure it out tomorrow."
Naru hugged herself, trying to pull herself closer to Serenity.
It wasn't long before the pair fell into a fitful sleep.
AN: Ya this story is what I'm doing for nanowrimo, don't you love November? I'll be rewriting it with more scenes/characters and new names when its all over and getting it published. I think I'll put up a copy from the beginning until Serenity and Endymion meet for the first time on FFN unless the story turns really awful and I realize its better suited for fanfiction than publication. Geography is something I'm also probably going to have to change if I publish it, right now its kind of all over the place since I'm writing it off the seat of my pants.