Title: PEACE AND WAR
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon.
Authors Note: Thank you so much for everyone who's reviewed and or added my story to their story alert/favorite story list. I promise everyone that this story will get finished. It will not become one of those stories that gets a few chapters and then sits dormant for the rest of its life.
Reminder to visit the forum I've set up. THE WORLD OF SAILOR MOON FAN FICTION.
I have a ton of ideas for this story and I'm excited about getting through it, so I'll try to update as often as I can. But work is getting hectic this week so bare with me. I'll definitely get another chapter up in a day or two, but after that it might be postponed until the weekend. I can only type so fast! Enjoy the story!
Serenity looked out the window watching the rain come down in waves. She didn't remember it ever raining this much at home.
She wondered about the Kings army. What were they doing right now? Where they fighting in this horrible rain? Were men dying while the rain washed away their blood? She couldn't picture a person dying. She couldn't see what a person would look like as they died. She had never even been to a funeral in her life. When a person died, they were remembered. She had put flowers on graves, but she had never gone to watch them be buried.
Why hadn't she? She had known a few people who had died. She had known what it was like to give them flowers in their memorial, but why hadn't she seen them put in the ground?
Serenity thought about some of the things the King had said to her. He thought she was sheltered. Was he right? Had her mother deliberately kept her from seeing anything remotely resembling death?
She wondered just how innocent she was in this world. She had always thought herself to be strong, but she wasn't sure anymore. Yes she was stubborn, but could she handle what was happening in the world. Could she handle what was happening in her country?
"Your highness, a letter has arrived for you."
Serenity took the letter from the maid and quickly recognized her mothers curling writing. Amy and Mina looked up as she opened it with sudden haste.
My Dearest Serenity,
I hope that you are finding the country you are in to be not as dark as we imagined. I miss you more than words can express, but I fear you will not be allowed to return in the foreseeable future.
I have attached with this letter an outline of what we have accomplished in this war and our strategies in achieving victory. At first you may not understand it, but I am convinced you will be able to decipher it. When you do I hope you will understand more about this war. I only wish I had not hidden it from you for so long. I thought we might always live in peace. I thought you would never have to be apart of so brutal a show of strength. When you return to me, I will not make that mistake again. Try to learn as much as you can Serenity. The King you are with is one of the most intelligent men alive when it comes to war. He can answer any question you might have.
But be careful. We have been unable to find out who our attacker is and why they have chosen this moment to attack us. I only hope they do not see you as a target. Stay close to the castle. It is the most secure place in our whole world. Try not to despair, I feel that things will work out for the better when this is all over.
Love you always, Mother
Serenity pulled the handful of papers that had come with the letter into the windowsill and looked at them. They were a mass of diagrams and blurbs, and she could not ever tell where it started.
"Is it bad news?" Mina asked after a moment.
"I have no idea," Serenity said in despair. "Mother has sent me war documents to show how the war is progressing and I don't know how to read them."
"Shall I look at them for you?" Amy asked.
Serenity shook her head. "Mother asked me to decipher them on my own, and I will do that for her. She says that I have the knowledge, it may just take me awhile."
"I suppose it's a good sign that she was able to send the letter at all," Mina said.
Amy nodded. "It means that they are holding firmly enough to be able to send things to and from the country. It means the attacking army has not taken over completely."
Serenity looked back out the window where the rain seemed to come down ever harder. She sighed at how dark it was. She craved the sun. She craved it as if its strength powered her and without it she grew weak.
Her thoughts strayed back to the King.
Darien walked back into his tent with his guards following quickly behind. His armor, once shiny and clean, was now covered in mud and blood. He pulled off his helmet to shake out his wet hair that had plastered itself to his head. Mud streaked his face.
"We must attack again quickly if this battle is to be ours," he said hardly giving himself enough time to rest before pulling documents covered in diagrams and strategies. Other men crowded the tent, all eager to hear his plan. He pointed.
"We will take out cavalry and come in from the east. They are on our land so they see a steep cliff and think we cannot come at them from that side. But we know how to move across our lands in a way they cannot conceive. We will use it against them and crush them while they're wounded."
There was a cheer of agreement, and everyone aside from Darien and his guards filed from the tent.
"You must see that your injury is not fatal before you go into battle again," Zoicite said to him.
"I am fine," Darien said pulling his helmet back on and walking abruptly out of the tent.
The rain pelted down on him, washing away some of the mud and blood coating his armor. His horse was standing there, waiting for him. He pulled himself on. Nobody saw the pain cross his features. His helmet covered that. He pulled his horse around and it lept into action.
It sounded like thunder in the camp as the gang of horses hurdled into the bush and prepared to fight.
Darien led the pack, his large black stead breathing hard beneath him. They ran fast and hard over the ground. Black clouds rolled in, shadowing the day with darkness. It was if they were nearing night. The rain soaked through him. It soaked through everything. But all he could see in front of him was the war.
They stopped briefly when they were in position and Darien signaled for a man to send up an arrow. It was seconds later that he heard his men attack. The battle cry was muffled by the rain, but it was loud enough to work. He road his horse to the side of the steep hill and looked down. His men were doing well. The attackers seemed to be stalled, fighting as if they thought they might win but not sure.
He pulled his sword from its sheath, already covered with blood. He heard the sound of every man behind him doing the same thing.
All at once he let out a loud and thunderous cry and his horse lept down the hill. Everyone followed him within seconds, and the attackers all looked up suddenly to see a heard of horses darkening the side of the steepest hill in the land. The place they thought they were safe.
Darien could see it in their eyes, the signs of defeat.
It was like slow motion, as it always was. That moment between being feet from the opponent and skillfully swinging your sword down to hear the clang of the first kill. It was a silence before a thunder storm.
The first sword swung down, clanging against a shield and knocking over the enemy.
And then all at once all there were was the sounds of a fierce battle.
Darien fought with everything he had. His sword swung expertly through the air, slicing through his enemy always in a deadly way. His horse pummeled through the crowd, tramping whatever it could.
He heard his men around him, defeating the enemy.
Swords clanged together, ringing out through the falling water.
Everywhere men fell over with a cry of agony. Dead.
Darien felt a heavy weight hit him from behind, and despite his best efforts he was thrown from his horse.
He landed in the thick mud with a sickening sound, momentarily stunned
He looked up at the war around him, pushing himself back to his feet just in time to block an attack. He spun around, slicing the man through the belly with his sword. The mud clung to him, making him feel heavy. He was attacked again, but again he gave the finishing blow. Everything around him moved in a haze, to fast to see and to slow to focus on. He pushed past another man to stop an attack hitting Nephrites' back. The clang of his sword jolted through his arm and into his chest. He gritted his teeth against it. Nephrite lunged out, killing the man while he was focused on Darien. The two men looked at each other, and Nephrite smiled.
There was a breath as Darien looked around him. His chest heaved with the effort of the fight, but all around him he could see his men. His countries colors devoured his vision.
It happened slowly. The first person realized that they had won sent up a cheer. Soon, the whole battlefield was cheering and they all turned towards him and he could see victory written on their features. Through the mud and grime Darien felt the pride of his men. This moment. This moment amidst the mud and blood was the only time he felt a swell of happiness go through him.
Kunzite slapped the back of his armor hard in triumph, and Darien looked at his four guards still alive and felt relief. They were still standing. He was still standing. Today, they had moved one step forward towards peace.
Serenity sat with Raye and Lita quietly in the library, pouring over a book about war strategies and formations. None of it made sense to her. It was like learning gibberish. She sighed in frustration.
Raye looked at her and smiled.
"Are you really taking an interest in war?"
"Not by choice," Serena said. "I just want to understand it so that when people talk to me I'll have clue what they're saying."
Lita looked up from her book and glanced that the documents.
"You know nothing about war?" She asked.
Serenity shook her head.
"Apparently I've been sheltered from it, or so the King says."
"You know, he doesn't like being called the King," Raye said surprising her.
Serenity looked at her. "Why not?"
"Because it's what we all called our father. Darien doesn't want to be anything like our father. The man was a tyrant. He just wants to rule firmly but kindly, and stop the war. Once that's accomplished, he'll finally be able to rest."
Serenity cringed. "He doesn't want to be a tyrant?"
Raye just looked at her confused.
"What should I call him?"
"You could call him Darien in private," Raye suggested.
"I could never do that," Serenity said. "And besides, he and I don't usually spend private time together."
Raye just laughed.
"I'll find something else to call him that's appropriate."
"You would change what you do to make him more comfortable?" Lita asked.
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
"You said you don't really like him," Lita said.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to be mean to him," Serenity said. "And I didn't say I don't like him. I said he doesn't seem to like me."
"You have the most peculiar way of looking at things," Raye said.
"So I've been told." She looked back at her book, but sighed when she got no further in figuring it out.
"You could ask one of the generals for help," Raye suggested.
"They're not here. They're fighting a war. A war that I know nothing about."
"Our neighboring country attacked us in order to gain command of our trade with your country," Lita said easily.
Serenity looked at her confused.
"Why not just negotiate with my mother to make trade for themselves?"
"That is not the way things are done," she replied
"My mother would not turn them away if they were serious."
"Your mother is a good Queen, but she has a different way of doing things," Raye said.
Serenity shook her head.
"What was the last war about?"
"The army came from a great distance to challenge Darien for this country."
"Why?"
"Greed," Raye answered.
"You would fight a war for nothing?"
"No, we would fight a war for honor. How will we prove our greatness without winning each battle that has come our way?"
"So you attack other countries for honor?"
"No," Raye shook her head. "Darien is not in the habit of attacking other countries. He fights those who attack us, not the other way around. Our father used to attack to expand our borders. We are nearly five times the size we used to be because of him."
"Why would you want more land?"
Raye couldn't help but laugh.
"Serenity, you will never understand the reason for war if you don't understand war itself. In your eyes it is not the answer, but in ours it's the only answer. Negotiations sometimes work, but sometimes you need to use force."
Serenity sighed. "Does it ever stop raining?"
"We usually get a lot of rain during this season. I would think Darien will come back in time for the sun again."
"He's only been gone a week."
"The last report named us the victors of the battle. He will be already on his way home."
"That didn't take long. I thought wars took longer."
"He did not win the war, he won a battle."
"What's the difference?"
"You really have a lot to learn." Lita sighed. "Why were you not there to say goodbye when they all left?"
"Why should I have been there? I don't know any of them."
"It is simply the polite thing to do," Raye said. "I thought you always did what was polite and right."
Serenity realized that for the first time, she had refused to do something that would have maybe helped those around her. She had refused to simply say goodbye and wish luck to the men fighting and perhaps not coming back.
She suddenly felt awful, like she had disappointed everyone she had ever met. Her heart ached and her mind was uneasy. She was not used to feeling this way.
"Can I do something to make up for it?"
Raye laughed out loud at her distress.
"Serenity, it is already forgotten. The smallest thing you do wrong plagues you for days. I am sure you will loose sleep over this small incident."
"But I wish to do my part," she argued.
"You have no part in war Serenity. You have no part in our country at all. Concern yourself with your country. Find out what your mother sent you and that shall be your task."
Serenity nodded, but her mind was not at ease. She did care about her country, but she also cared about what she could do in her present surroundings. She could help the people here more then she could help the people in her country.
"Are there any books here about your past wars?" She asked.
Raye nodded. She led her to a section of the library that was filled with volumes of books labeled with different wars. They were organized by year. Serenity went right to the beginning and pulled out the first book. She sat back down with Raye and Lita, her mind quickly jumping to the tall beautiful girl she had just recently become acquainted with.
She liked her. Lita seemed sure of what she wanted. She walked as if her mind was always made up and she was prepared for anything that might come her way.
"Is it hard waiting for you husband to come home from war?" She asked slowly.
Lita shook her head and smile. "My husband is a great warrior and has always come home to me. This will be his thirtieth battle. We have been married a year already. You come to get used to the men going to and from war all the time."
Serenity listened to her words, but she could see that her eyes said something different. She was scared. Serenity was scared as well.
The battle had taken place over two days, and now Darien and his men trudged home. The rain never stopped, not even long enough dry. At least it washed away all the blood.
Darien shifted himself on his horse as it walked. His muscles down his back hurt and he was uncomfortable at this slow walk. But he would not leave his men. They had fought hard to win this battle and he would make sure they got home alright.
As the castle came into view, Darien couldn't help but picture Serenity standing on the hill. She had look so……..he couldn't even describe it. The image had stayed with him through the whole battle. Would she be there to great him? Somehow he doubted she would.
He dismounted in the courtyard with the rest of his men. It was customary to have a feast for every man who had fought in the battle the night of their homecoming. They servants would be preparing it now.
The large wooden doors creaked as they were slowly opened.
Darien led his people into the castle.
The guests who had stayed behind watched them come in with joy in their eyes. It was another victory and they had not lost to many men. But one man he knew they had lost.
He walked up to Lady Lita first, his features darkened in sadness. Her husband had been a good fighter and a good leader. He lifted the sword he carried to her.
Her green eyes looked at him, full of tears as she realized what was coming. She stood tall and proud, but he could see how pained she was right now. She had always been a beautiful woman with a free spirit, but this blow would dampen that. He wished there was some way he could help her. She had been a companion to Raye and he had grown fond of her because of that. Delivering the news made his heart ache.
"He fought bravely and died a hero's death," Darien said. Everyone was quiet. "His name will be honored."
Lita nodded her acceptance, but she looked ready to cry. She took her husbands sword and held it to her.
He wished he could do something to comfort her, but he didn't know what.
He bowed to her, which was their custom.
"I offer you my protection my lady. You are welcome to stay in the castle as long as you may need."
Then he stepped back to give her the space she needed. It was custom.
Darien looked around the room for Raye, but the room was so full that he could barely see the people around him.
Then he saw her.
Serenity stood there, quiet and unmoving. Her beautiful blue eyes looked at him and they were filled with hurt, pity and confusion. Her light pink gown stood out with strong contrast among the dark colors of his country. He felt breathless.
Slowly she walked up to him, looking both nervous and afraid. She stood in front of him, moving as quiet as anyone could. Her pale delicate skin seemed to glow in the darkness.
"Welcome back my Lord," she said gently.
He stood there, looking at her while she tried her hardest to be brave. He didn't know what to say to her.
"I was wondering if there was a custom used to comfort those who have lost people in battle," she said softly. "I wish to lend my support to a friend I have just made but I do not wish to offend her."
Darien knew she talked about Lita and he couldn't help but be warmed by her effort.
"I am afraid we have no custom for a situation like this. I know that is strange for it happens more often then not, but you might follow your own customs in this instant. I am sure she will be glad of it."
Serenity just nodded her head. She looked at him for another brief moment, and then walked towards Lita.
Darien watched her move, her motions changing to show nothing but caring and concer. Out of all the poeple who might be able to comfort Lita in this time of hurt, he could think of nobody better then Serenity. He could not deny that maybe her ways were superior to his in this instant.
Raye came up and held his hand firmly, watching his gaze.
"I believe she is trying," she said softly.
Darien just nodded.
"I cannot help but wish she could just live in her own world forever and not be tainted by us," she said.
"As do I," he said calmly. "But wishes are not always based on reality."
Raye just sighed. She could see the small spark of life in Darien wither away after another battle. If he didn't find a way to stop the war soon, she was sure he would lose all the humanity left in him and become like their father.
End of Chapter Five
It was a heavey chapter I know, but you can't have something called Peace and War without showing both sides. Reviews please!
