"The Slumber"
Chapter 11
~Pheonix~
By: Willow Mae
He was used to the darkness by now, though it still disturbed him. He had lost
track of time, and had stopped caring. Serenity was good company, in her own way, but casual conversation was a
weak point in his personality, and everything she spoke of enticed fear or sorrow or loneliness, and he wanted
to focus on getting out of this prison of sorts.
"I'm going to see if there's another way out of here." Endymion stood, but was stopped by Serenity's
delicate hand gripping his arm firmly.
"Don't." she half pleaded, half demanded. "You're the only source of light I've had in years, if
I lose you…" The fear in her eyes was like nothing Endymion had ever seen before. It pulled at him. He took
her hand and pulled her to her feet.
"Then come with me." He coaxed gently. "It's impossible to get lost if you don't know where you
are anyway." Hesitantly she nodded, and wrapped her thin arms tightly around his. She clung to him like a
lost child, fighting back her fear as bravely as she could but hardly succeeding. Endymion felt a rush of sympathetic
tenderness towards to girl, and waited patiently until her grip had loosened from around his arm. A quick glance
down at the top of Serenity's head and a deep breath later, the pair stepped forward into the blackness.
As if notified to their attempts, the darkness pressed in closely against the pair, pushing insistently at the
feeble light they emitted. Dark tendrils seemed to hiss past their ears, pulsing with unseen anger at being blocked
from its prey. Serenity clung close to him, the tightness of her grip the only thing betraying her terror as they
slowly submerged themselves completely in the inky shadows. They walked without direction, the pale luminescence
their bodies gave off the only thing keeping the darkness from swallowing them completely. The oppressing silence
was nearly as frightening as the shadows. Occasionally a shadow would brush a cheek, grab an arm, flood over a
foot, and their small screams and gasps of shock were immediately swallowed, as if no sound had ever been made.
But the imposing silence was soon broken, into noise that was more frightening than the quiet had been. Endymion
stopped cold.
"What is that?" He demanded, looking behind him, then down at Serenity. Her face had paled even further,
to the point where he feared perhaps she would disappear completely. Her lips moved, but no sound came out as she
spiraled into fear. The rumbling noise grew louder, sounding terrible as it drew nearer. Sound assailed them, screeching
and bellowing and thundering and scraping, a cacophony that nearly drowned the princess's answer.
"Dreams…oh god, we have to go!" she tugged wildly on his arm and lunged into the darkness. It was all
he could do to keep hold of her and not be separated. He grabbed her hand tightly and dragged her behind him, the
only thought to get away quickly. They ran, the horrid noise closing in quickly upon them. Now they could see the
vibrations in the darkness, deep ripples of purple in the blackness shaking and bouncing out of control.
Serenity fell.
Endymion turned to help her stand and caught a glimpse of what followed them. It oozed and thundered closer, a
wall of static that groaned and shrieked as it spilled grotesque light around it. He grabbed Serenity under the
arms and hauled her to her feet, not risking anything for formality.
"Come on!" he yelled, before the dream was upon them and his words were swallowed in the noise.
***
The morning was clear, crisp and beautiful, though there were no birds in the gardens to sing of its beauty. Jadeite
had been up since dawn, mulling over the hundreds of thoughts that crowded his mind. He had been up most of the
night, trying to figure out his plan of action for the day. He wanted to kick himself; he knew when he had been
an ass. Hence, he knew that there was no way that he could honestly go to breakfast again this morning, not after
the evening he had spent with the Lady Mars. He didn't want to cause a scene. He hadn't seen Kunzite yet, but knew
that the older general would be very displeased if he refused to join the group. Jadeite didn't want to risk his
wrath either, and was consequently put into a dangerous situation. He wasn't even sure why he needed Kunzite's
approval so desperately at the moment, but perhaps it was stemmed from the fact that they needed to stick together
in such a strange environment. He didn't want to rock their loyalty to one another, though he knew himself how
prone he was to making waves. So he was stuck here, staring out into the silent gardens, contemplating on how to
get out of this mess. When Nephrite
emerged from his own room, Jadeite's revere was instantly shattered.
"Jade! What a surprise, I didn't know you were capable of getting up before noon when you weren't required to. What's the occasion?"
"Ha ha, funny. No occasion, just wanted to watch the gardens for a while." Jadeite covered the falsity
of his statement smoothly. The last thing he needed at the moment was his friends worrying about him. He could
handle things on his own. Nephrite cocked an eyebrow at him, but said nothing more and sat down. It was only a
few more minutes before everyone was awake and gathered in the room.
"Yo." He greeted them with a smile and a wave. Two more sets of eyebrows cocked and a look was exchanged.
"You're awfully chipper this morning." Zoisite said as he sank into one of the chairs. It was quite comfortable,
and the thought crossed his mind that perhaps they needed to have such a cozy atmosphere to meet in back on Earth,
it certainly made discussion flow easier. "Especially for being out so late last night."
"Since when have I had a bedtime?" Jadeite retorted, though he shifted uncomfortably. If Zoi had noticed
his troubles, there was hardly any question that Kunzite would as well.
"I was only speculating." Zoisite replied amiably.
"Oh. Right. Well. Nothing happened."
Kunzite smiled at the early morning banter and relaxed comfortably in his seat. "If we weren't so pressed
for time, I think I'd really enjoy my time here if we knew more about it."
"Well, enjoy yourself anyway." Zoisite said sullenly. "It does seem that we'll be spending quite
a bit of time here. Endymion is not looking well. I spoke with the lady Mercury last night, and nothing she had
to say was highly promising. She's taking me to the library today to help diagnose him,"
"Zoi's got a date…" Jadeite teased. Zoi glared at him and continued.
"In any case, I'm afraid the ladies were quite right when they said it would probably be a while before we
could return."
"Speaking of the ladies," Kunzite sent a glance towards the door. "Are we to wait for them on every
meal, or do we dare try to find our way ourselves?"
"Who knows." Nephrite shrugged. "Though I wouldn't be opposed to doing a little searching. I'm hungry,
and if last night's meal was any suggestion of the food here then I'm in heaven. It was delicious."
"Agreed." Kunzite sighed in reminiscence. "It's been a long time since we've had a proper meal.
Well, shall we go to breakfast then?"
Everyone but Jadeite stood to leave, but looked to him when he did not follow suit. He looked sheepishly out the
window.
"Aren't you coming?"
"Um, no. I don't think so. Not very hungry." He lied.
"Jadeite." Kunzite's easy manner faded in his tension. "I think it would be rather…impolite to keep
the ladies waiting. We don't want to seem rude. We had this discussion last night."
"I know!" Jadeite snapped. "I just don't want to go to breakfast. I can't explain it, so just give
my regards and I'll eat later, okay?"
"Why must you always be so childish?" Kunzite muttered, before they left. Jadeite threw up his hands
and gave an exasperated sigh. He had tried. It was too hard to keep a secret among his friends, but this was something
he had to keep to himself. He sighed and covered his face with his hands as he sunk down deeper into the chair.
He could never do anything right, could he? And the worst part was; he wasn't even sure of how things got out of
hand in the first place. Well, he knew about Kunzite, but only because they had known each other for so long. With
Lady Mars, however, things had spiraled away from him on the turn of a pin.
After leaving the infirmary the previous night, he had followed the footsteps of the lady until he had caught up
with her. She hadn't looked too pleased to see him.
"Milady, might I accompany you further?" he asked suavely, pushing the image of Endymion from his mind.
Rei groaned inwardly and continued walking, thinking doggedly to herself for the princess… for the princess…
Jadeite frowned at the lack of response and tried again. "Milady?"
"Frankly, I would rather you not, but as you have thus far anyway, do as you will." She threw over her
shoulder. She turned to the doors and walked into the dark aviary. Jadeite followed her into the dark room and
took in everything he saw. The room was an expansive dome decorated to the high ceiling with well-trimmed trees
for the birds to perch on. Even in the dark, Jadeite could see the hundreds of varieties of colors and plumage
the sleeping birds flaunted. The ceiling itself was clear glass, though at the moment a great shell covered it,
much like a giant birdcage coverlet. It made the aviary quite dark, and blocked out all view of the stars and Earth.
It was a strange relief not to see the Earth from here, for the experience was disconcerting enough without having
to be constantly reminded of the fact that he was far from home. So when the cover began to open with a faint hiss,
he turned his head from the skies and instead to where Lady Mars stood, her hand placed over a small metal plat
that he could only assume operated the ceiling cover. With the starlight pouring in and glowing softly on the clean
marble floor, the aviary was truly glorious. The soft cooing of sleeping birds gave an ambiance to the setting
that was delightfully eerie.
"They're sleeping." Jadeite said, with no apparent forethought.
"They're always sleeping." Mars replied quietly, cupping a crow in her hands with loving delicacy. Realizing
what she had said, she quickly amended herself. "Of course, it's night."
Jadeite walked toward her and eyed the bird in her hands, how she gently stroked it's feathers with her elegant
fingers and placed butterfly kisses on its sleeping head. It was oddly seductive. "I was only trying to make
conversation." He protested.
"Must you defile this silence?" she sighed caustically. His eye twitched. It was ironic, how sweetly
she cooed over the crow while her words bit so venomously. He pressed on.
"I used to keep birds when I was younger." Jadeite commented again, ignoring the lady's displeasure.
This time, it was Rei's turn to be surprised. She looked at him quizzically. It was obvious how he appreciated
the aviary, she need only look at the way the starlight twinkled in his gloriously blue eyes to see his admiration
of the place. She stopped herself cold. His eyes really weren't that great. It was probably just the poor lighting
that made it seem that he truly had any interest in the place other than to annoy her.
"Really. You strike me as more of the type to hunt birds rather than tend to them."
"My lady, despite whatever speculations you might have about me, I am not a barbarian. I have taste, and would
never harm anything of such beauty."
"Well I never would have guessed." She purred, swaying through the branches away from him. Jadeite mentally
shook himself. There is something profoundly wrong about finding her so attractive right now. He told
himself as he watched her, almost hungrily, tend to the birds.
"I always thought of birds almost like women." He mused, casting a glance at her to gauge her reaction.
In the moonlight, he was drawn to the paleness of her skin and the dark contrast of her hair and eyes. He stepped
closer, unable to think clearly enough to realize his own actions. "They're so free and lovely, entrancing,
almost." Lightly he laid his hand on her smooth shoulder. Good God, am I trying to flirt with her? he asked himself, horrified but unable to back away.
Good God, is he trying to flirt
with me? she seethed to herself, but was too frozen to move from his touch.
"Yes, birds are the greatest gift to mankind." Jadeite murmured, leaning closer. "When you're master
of a bird, you're the happiest person alive. You know she'll always be there to sing to you and sooth her master,
to be tender and sweet, beautiful to watch and a prize to catch and care for. Any man would be jealous of such
a bird." The moment was broken when he felt her go rigid beneath his fingers, and knew instantly that he had
overstepped his bounds. He backed away hastily, and she turned to face him.
"Is that so?" she asked sweetly, hostility dripping from every word.
"Yes. No…in a way. I only meant…" Jadeite couldn't believe how easily she made him trip, stumbling over
his words like an adolescent.
"You have an interesting idea about women." Her manner suddenly changed to thoughtful. "But I agree
with your comparison."
"You do." He responded flatly, clearly disbelieving.
"Well, yes. I've always thought of birds like women too. Ready to scratch, peck or destroy any outsider who
threatens her territory, protective of her own and bound with her kind against common enemies." Her tone became
mocking. "I'd hate to get
on the wrong side of a bird, wouldn't
you?" as she said these last words, she leaned close into him, holding his gaze as she drew closer to his
face. He could feel her warm breath feathering across his lips as she lowered her voice.
"I don't know who you think you are, but let me make this clear. I don't care." He was held rigid by
her dangerous, sultry tones and the closeness of her face to his. "I don't particularly like you. Your attitude
is infuriating. I respect your concern for your wounded companion, but there is very little that is keeping me
from killing you if you ever step
out of line while you're a…guest…
here. Good evening." She gave him a sickeningly sweet smile and stormed past him. Jadeite stood a moment in
stunned silence.
She had just threatened to kill him. Great. Just what he needed. Not that he believed she actually could, but the point was that public relations
were going to the pits. That was not a good thing, and it was evident that clearly Lady Mars grouped the companions
as an entity, as opposed to individuals. His actions would be reflected upon all of his friends. Real smooth,
Jade. he berated himself. You've ruined a whole lot with your hot head. While he stood there, cursing
himself, another thought hit him. He didn't know how to get back to the rooms. With another silent curse, he forced
himself to chase after the lady once more.
"Lady Mars!" he looked down the dark hallways, but saw no sign of her. He jogged in one direction, but
changed his mind and took a different hallway. She was nowhere. Muttering irritably to himself, he tried to remember
the way they had come and started walking.
Rei listened to the general's angry cursing through the decoratively carved wood on one of the many doors that
lined the hallways. She waited until his footsteps died away before releasing her breath slowly. How had she let
herself get so worked up? It was a stupid conversation, a trivial argument. A part of her was tempted to go after
the man, if only to show him back to his rooms and confuse his mind about her further. She restrained herself.
Let him get lost, it would serve him right. How dare he make her show her temper? 300 years had done much to level
her head. She had become a master at ignoring those who irritated her, until he had to come along and wear her
down to the point of snapping. Frustrated, she returned to her rooms, not pausing to chat with Minako, who was
lounging in the common room when she arrived.
When, the following morning, only three generals showed up for breakfast, no comment was made. The meal was uneventful,
but Rei felt inwardly that the fourth general was certainly missing his meal on her behalf. Now he was the one confusing her mind. Irritated with
herself, after the meal she asked Makoto for the extra servings and took the tray to the East Wing. She entered
the common room without a knock, to see the back of his head as he stared out the window into the gardens. His
blonde hair curled around his fingers as his head leaned into his hand. God, was he brooding? How pathetic. She set the tray down behind him loudly, and smiled sadistically to see
him jump.
"I brought you breakfast." She told him coldly. "It's good, though I think you'd rather deserve
the bread and water rations you suggested last night." She turned on her heels to storm out.
"Thank you." He surprised her with his politeness.
"It wasn't my idea." She lied, back still turned to him so she couldn't see his smirk. Perhaps public
relations weren't quite as bad as he thought. Plus, he was still getting fed, instead of having to wander around
trying to find the kitchens. After how late he had been wandering the halls last night trying to find his room,
he wasn't looking forward to too much more walking today. He was positive she had done it to him on purpose, instead
of being civil and helping him find his way. Not that he blamed her completely…
"Still, I'm glad it was you that brought it to me." He gave her a sweet smile, but was disappointed to
she her scowl.
"Just eat it already. Good day." She left in a huff, never once letting on how his smile had shaken her.
She needed to vent, and now. In
a hurry, she went to find Makoto for another spar. Surely the Jovian would be up to it, even though they had practiced
the other day.
"The Slumber"
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