I'm sorry guys...I know I haven't updated in awhile but you know...it's the same old school work
Anyway, I'm not going to stall any longer
Here's the next chapter and tell me what you think!
Thank you!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Sailor Moon
Who knew silence could be so loud.
It was as though everyone in the grand hall was frozen in a tableau.
Everyone was staring at the shattered Silver Crystal on the floor, bewildered by the atrocious sight until they heard a sharp gasp escape Mars' lips.
"What did you do?" Endymion had his hand coiled tightly around her wrist and her hand was evidently changing into a ghastly blue, the blood draining from it.
"Let go."
His grip tightened and Mars whimpered in pain. "What is wrong with you?"
Mars' cry of pain mixed in with another wail—a wail much more high pitched and ear-piercing.
"Sierra, what's wrong?" Seiya asked.
Sierra shook her head and swayed backwards, falling into Seiya's ready and protective arms. Her hands were on her chest and she was heaving.
Endymion dropped Mars' handover and quickly went over to Sierra but Seiya didn't release his hold on her. That was when Rini pushed her way through the throng of people until she reached the ailing girl.
"Sierra, please, what's wrong?"
That was when the scream broke free from her mouth. Seiya hastily scoped her up and dashed toward the double doors, all the while yelling, "Get a doctor!"
Sunlight. It was sunny outside.
Sierra had to rub her eyes to chase away the grogginess that overwhelmed her. The first thing she noticed was the radiant, warm sunlight that gushed through the balcony doors. She noticed it was windy too.
The lace curtains draping the French balcony doors were blowing. Gracefully. Delicately.
That was when her mind completely pulled out of its groggy state and she sprang up into a sitting position.
She stared wide eyed around the room she was in.
It was no doubt the grand chamber. She dropped her eyes down to the bed sheets and gingerly ran her fingers over the smooth, silky fabric. It was a while before she realized what she was doing and threw off the sheets before hoping off the bed.
Sierra was wearing a night gown and she didn't dare think about how she came to wear it. She could barely remember how she got here in the first place. But as she walked around the room, trying to remember what happened, she noted something—someone from the corner of her eye.
She spun around and saw Endymion, arms crossed on the desk, cushioning his sleeping head with his midnight hair tumbling into his closed eyes. She couldn't help but smile and tentatively tip-toed to the desk and kneeled in front of it, placing her head on her arms, crossed in the table—just as he did—and watched him sleep.
She could only remember the quarrel in the grand chamber and her being rushed out of there. She remembered how oddly Endymion acted with Mars and then the sudden, intent way he kept his eyes on her.
Sierra had a surge of fear wash over her. She wondered whether Endymion truly cared about her. Whether or not he was interested in her because she was Sierra, the palace maid or whether he was interested in her because she was the possible reincarnation of Serenity.
She didn't even know herself how she felt about him. Was it love or just a stupid crush? She just knew that it ached her to be away from him.
She reached out and began stroking his black hair. It felt as though time stood still with just the tender glow of the sun falling into the room and just them two. But paradise didn't last for long when sharp knocks began rapping on the door.
Sierra quickly got up and scrambled to crawl back into bed. She pulled the covers over her just in time as Endymion began to stir awake.
"Come in," he said, yawning.
"Your majesty," the maid began, "the sailor scouts are conferring in the grand hall and they request your presence."
"Tell them I'll be on my way."
"Very well, sir."
Sierra heard the door creak close and the fading footsteps of the maid. Then, she heard shuffling as Endymion pulled on his cape and the sound of his footsteps nearing her.
With every step closer, her pulse pounded harder. Faster.
She felt him looming over her and the next thing she knew, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving the room.
Sierra opened her eyes and laid a hand over her forehead. Her head was throbbing from what just happened and her cheeks were warm. Why would he do that? Why?
But more importantly, she realized, what would Mars think? Where was Mars and what happened to her?
Nothing made sense and the hazy glow of the sun made everything feel too warm and fuzzy and…perfect.
There was no way she could be sleeping in the grand chamber. There was no way Endymion could have kissed her and there was no way she could be fine after the surge of pain that bloomed in her heart in the grand hall.
Thoroughly convinced that everything was a dream, Sierra swung her legs over the edge and tip-toed with her bare feet across the marble floor until she reached the door, and slipped out of the room.
A successful journey was what Sierra concluded when she reached the double doors outside of the grand hall. No one was strolling through the palace halls and there were no guards at the door, which was odd.
More and more, Sierra's fear that this was all a dream was confirmed.
She stepped closer to the door and pressed her ear against it to listen to the conversation inside.
"How's Sierra?" It was Sailor Jupiter.
"The same. She still hasn't woken up," Endymion said.
"It's been three days. The doctors have said she's fine. I don't understand."
"Seiya, you can rush these things, you know that." Sierra knew that the calming voice could be none other than Sailor Neptune.
"No, Seiya's right. My tracker had confirmed that the crystal Mars shattered was only a small portion of the real Silver Crystal. It's odd that she's asleep for this long."
Sierra heard the cringing sound of glass hitting the floor. "Mars has to know where the rest of the Crystal is."
"Endymion, she won't talk," Pluto remarked. "She seems perfectly comfortable in her cell and the guards won't dare do anything to provoke her."
"Besides," Venus cut in, "Mercury says that Giopiana has already arrived on Crystal Tokyo. We should be more worried about where she's hiding and prepare for whatever it is she's going to do."
The room fell silent as the realization of the imminent danger sunk in. Sierra counted the seconds as they ticked by.
Suddenly, Sierra heard several footsteps clicking down the hall from both directions. Panicking, Sierra ducked behind one of the towering columns outside the double doors and kept to the shadows.
Sierra saw a maid rushing into the court from the opposite side of the hall Sierra came from and Sierra waited eagerly for what urgent news the maid had to say.
"What's wrong?" asked Seiya.
The maid stalled a few moments to catch her breath before answering. "Mars, she—"
"Mars what?" spat Uranus.
"She… she slit her wrists!"
"She what?" Endymion's voice boomed across the court and Sierra couldn't help but wince at the concern that hinted in his voice.
Guess this wasn't a dream after all.
Sierra saw another maid dart into grand hall but Sierra didn't stay to listen because she was rushing to see Mars herself. She didn't know why she was going though—maybe it was guilt, maybe it was concern. But all she knew was that she had to see Mars.
Maybe, just maybe, it was to get things straightened out.
To get the truth straightened out.
But as Sierra turned to leave, she was just close enough to hear the maid tell the scouts she'd gone missing from her chamber.
Sierra had taken the shortcut to the prison cells through the employee quarters and had arrived to the dark dungeon before any of the sailor scouts.
She quickly walked down the narrow passage way between the cells, trying to avoid eye contact with the prisoners. Some stretch their arms between through the space between the bars to reach out to her. Some whistled. Others spat out insults. Many others pleaded innocence. And disturbingly out of the corner of her eye, Sierra caught a few of the men winking at her. The wretchedness in the dungeons just sped up her pace.
She had always thought Crystal Tokyo was one of the most peaceful place in the universe—the police of the galaxy and beyond. Who knew the planet housed so many criminals?
Then again, perhaps some of these criminals weren't from Crystal Tokyo at all…
Either way, Sierra kept her eyes focused in front her. But as she neared the end of the passage, she saw a glowing reddish-orange light emanating from a room at the end of the dark, suffocating hall.
Tentatively, Sierra stepped into the room and the first thing she saw was fire. Blazing, ghastly fire.
The bars of the cell were up in flames and the guards were trying desperately to put them out. But every time they tried to get near the cell, the flames pulsed even stronger, roaring even louder.
But amidst all the chaos, Sierra spotted Mars' silhouette in the centre of the cell, in a meditating pose. But despite the flames blurring her silhouette, Sierra could still make out the bright slashes on her wrist, dripping blood.
She then felt a hand touch her arm. "Miss, I'm afraid this sector is off-limits. It's dangerous here, you must leave. Immediately."
"No, I can't! You have to let me talk to her!"
That was when the flames died and the eyes fell on Mars through the bars.
"Everyone, leave," Mars said. "I only wish to talk to Sierra."
The guards hesitated.
"I said leave."
The guards nodded and quickly filed out the door, shutting it behind them, locking the two ladies inside. Alone.
"May I come in?" Sierra asked.
"By all means."
Sierra gingerly opened the creaking door and stepped in. Just as she did, the door swung shut behind her and the entire cell was engulfed in flames once again, trapping Sierra inside to face Mars.
"You're bleeding," Sierra remarked.
No answer.
Sierra tried starting over. "I—"
"I'm sorry," said Mars
"What?"
Mars opened her eyes and got up and went over to Sierra, desperately holding on to Sierra's arms. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, I shouldn't have stolen your locket, I—"
"Lady Mars, please, it's alright, I forgive you."
"I'm no longer a lady, Sierra." Mars was sobbing now. "I have nothing."
"Don't say that. Here, you'll get an infection if that wound isn't treated." Sierra sat Mars down and ripped a piece of her nigh gown to temporary cover the wound.
That was when Mars seized Sierra's arm and began begging. "Please, Sierra, I'll be nothing without Endymion. They'll keep me in this jail for life!" Mars buried her face in her hands and found retreat there. "Sierra, you can have everything! The throne, the kingdom, the palace but please don't take him away from me…I—I love him." The last part came out as barely a whisper.
"Who am I kidding?" she continued. "How am I ever going to compete with Serenity!"
Sierra's eyebrows knit together, slightly angered by Mars' exclamation. "I'm not Serenity, nor want to be. My name is Sierra. Besides, the locket you dropped only had a piece of the actually crystal—it doesn't prove I'm Serenity at all."
"Sierra, I know you don't want to be queen, I know you don't want that responsibility. Please, do this for me, just one favour, tell them you don't want this—that you want to leave."
At this, Sierra started chewing on her bottom lip and an image of Endymion formed in her mind.
"I know what you're thinking about. Sierra, you're young and beautiful—you'll have plenty of opportunities at love. But I only have Endymion…you—you just met him for less than a couple of months. Sierra, I'm begging you, I'll do anything you want!"
Sierra looked at Mars with pitiful eyes. Frozen in a forever youthful body, Mars really looked not much older than Sierra.
Glancing at Mars' wrist, Sierra realized that Mars would give anything—even surrender her life for Endymion. What would Sierra give? She still wasn't sure how she felt about Endymion and she was even more unsure about how he felt about her.
Maybe she was just enchanted by a charismatic man.
Mars by now was literally thrashing about, drenched in tears and the fames that fenced them grew hungrier.
A million memories swirled in her mind as Sierra watched Mars. Endymion's nasty behaviour toward her, his sudden infatuation when her hair was let loose, his deep concern for Mars…
And then there was Seiya…sweet, kind, understanding…
Sierra felt dizzy; she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to deal with Endymion's unpredictable attitude, she didn't want false hope and she was tired of mindlessly dreaming. But yet there he was with his bottomless eyes and his soft lips…
Sierra had to clench her fists and bite down on her lips until she could taste blood.
She wanted no more of this nonsense. She'd made up her mind.
"Mars, I promise you that'll I'll leave but you must help me in this—they'll never listen to me."
Mars wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and shakily stood. "Don't worry," she hiccupped, "I have a plan. Just play along when the time comes."
"But—"
That was when the door of the cell room burst open and Endymion rushed in.
The licking flames died down immediately and the door to the cell itself swung open. Endymion rushed in and pulled Sierra to his side, holding her in an embrace.
She had to resist the urge to hug him back.
"Where have you been?" he whispered into her hair. "You've worried me sick."
"I wanted to leave that room. I wanted to talk to Lady Mars."
Endymion released his hold on Sierra and turned to Mars. "What did you say to her?"
"Nothing," Sierra responded flatly. "She said nothing. Stop pestering her. Can't you see she's bleeding?"
Sailor Mercury stepped into the cell and took hold of Mars' wrists. "Oh dear, she is bleeding. We need to get a doctor."
Endymion glanced down at Mars' cut wrists and looked up, locking eyes with her.
"I need to speak to Mars…alone."
Sierra was the first to dart out the exit, swerving through the flock of spectators that have come to see the big commotion.
Seiya was the next to follow and the remaining associates were next to trail out after.
At last, the husband and wife had the cell to themselves.
That evening, Sierra stood out on the balcony of the grand chamber and gazed down at Serenity's garden.
The vast garden radiated a different beauty during the night…a beauty more mystical and enchanting. The cool wind was teasing and Sierra had to cross her arm over her night robe to shield herself against the biting breeze. There was a full moon out as well and it made her feel more at ease.
There was a rasp at the door and Sierra heard the clicking of footsteps advance across the Grand Chamber. Sierra turned and saw Kiki hovering at the French doors to the large balcony.
"Hey," Kiki began.
"Hey."
"Look," Kiki said hesitatingly, "I'm sorry for taking your locket. I shouldn't have done that. It's just that Mars—"
"It's ok. I've forgotten all about it."
"Sierra, you don't have to lie and be nice to make me feel better. Because truth is—it doesn't. I feel horrible."
Sierra went over and hugged Kiki. "No, I understand. Besides, you didn't mean to."
Then, there was another knock at the door and a few moments later. Seiya poked his head in.
"Good evening, ladies."
"I need to go," Kiki said. "I'm working a night shift now."
"Come back tomorrow."
"I'll have to see." With that, Kiki rushed out of the room without another word.
Seiya smiled and did a once over.
"You seem to be adjusting to the royal life pretty well."
"I'm not royalty. There's no proof. I could have been given the Silver Crystal by mistake."
"Then how do you explain the uncanny resemblance?"
"A coincidence."
"The coma?"
"Trauma from incidence in the grand hall."
"When will you accept the truth?"
"When there's solid proof."
"Sure."
They fell into a comfortable silence, gazing down at Serenity's garden.
"Seiya, can you do me a favour tomorrow?"
"Of course."
"Take me to the city. I want to take Mimi back to the palace. She'll get better treatment here."
"Anything for you."
Sierra rolled her eyes and just then, there was a squeak at the doors.
"Sierra, can you read me a bedtime story?"
Sierra and Seiya exchanged looks and they both smiled.
"Of course, Rini. Of course I'll read you a bedtime story."