Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't written anything in a while. As some of you may know there is a good reason for this being that I have been in Ghana on a voluntary trip for three weeks. You would also like to know that I still remained dedicated to my duties as a writer and planned the next fews chapters not just for this story but to all the others that I'm presently working on. I also want to thank everyone for their reviews while I was away.

The Burden Women Bare

For Ketsuko Kyo

A week later...

Selina and Cassandra became instant friends for life over the course of the next week however due to having a similar timetable made it easier for them to become closer. Unlike Diana and Sophia, Selina took up archery as her exercise and was able to help Cassandra with her technique and boasted that evening that by weeks end she was able to turn Cassandra into such a great archer that even Artemis would envy her talent. The two would walk out through the corridors with their arms linked through one anothers some people would have thought they had known one another since they were children. Diana and Sophia had taken up the gentler sport of Badminton and always expressed concern over their choice of sport in their timetable. Selina and Cassandra would always make jokes while in classes wondering whether Diana or Sophia would be approving how close they were to the target or the sort of stance they took before firing. During these lessons she always felt a painful stab in her chest as the closer she became to Selina the further away she felt from Helen. She had sent her letters still but she still missed that physical presence that would bring her comfort.

None of the other girls took up Piano practice and she didn't blame them either. She loved playing the piano as she discovered but she didn't agree with the tutor who had been assigned to her. Unlike her Archery instructor, Miss Price who was laid-back and friendly, Mr Williams was moody and strict. He had a cane to whip her fingers with it she went off note or wasn't sitting up straight. She also noticed that his eyes would occasionally wonder down the front of her dress which made her wonder whether he was there for some income or for something else. She had made a little improvement over the week but she knew that improvement would be greater if she had a more patient teacher. Her languages teacher, Madam Rochford absolutely adored her since she picked up on the new languages very easily except for Celesti which she found to be too flowery and prissy. However her gift for the other languages overtook that somewhat. Sewing, dancing and elocution was lead by the same teacher, Mrs Kingston who was widowed just a few months after being married and now poured all her energies into improving her girl's chances at a better marriage than her own. Her literature, Miss Smith was a different matter. She talked with such passion Cassandra could've fallen in love with her.

She had never seen such a passionate woman in the institution and she made her care for the characters or hate them. She made her appreciate the power words could have over the character, setting and most importantly, the reader. She walked down the corridor in her nightdress after bidding Selina and Sophia goodnight knowing the consequences of staying in other girls dorms for too long. She knew that if Aurelia had the chance she would try to get her into trouble by any means possible. She had heard enough rumours which warned her not to bend the rules too much. She had heard that one girl stayed too long in another's all night and the next day they were both dismissed to different schools upon the grounds that their relationship may have been much more intimate that society would've desired. Cassandra shook her head at hearing such a rumour finding it amazing now that women were allowed the choices they were permitted to make and there were still these rules and principles at institutions such as this. When she heard about this it didn't make her shiver with disgust or fear. It didn't make her feel anything at all. This made her even more determined to pursue her ambitions and in turn to prevent her sister from coming here. She slid into her dorm and hurried to her bed, candlestick in hand. She placed it carefully on her bedside and slipped into bed. She turned to Diana who looked more withdrawn than usual. Cassandra frowned and leaned over.

"Diana?" No response and raised her voice slightly but not loud enough for the house mistress to come in and box her ears for being too loud. "Diana."

Diana jumped in her bed and gave her a startled look. "Yes?"

Cassandra gave her an amused and worried smile. "Are you alright? You seem light years away at the moment."

Diana nodded with an uncertain, brief smile on her face and turned back to what was in her hand. Cassandra tilted her head slightly to see what it was, which in fact turned out to be a letter. She glanced at her friend wondering whether there had been news of a death in the family, after all her brother was in the Space force as well as her brothers.

"Diana." She began. Diana looked up with a distracted look on her face. "You do know you can tell me anything can't you? That I'll be here for you if you need to talk about anything or need a shoulder to cry on."

Diana nodded hurriedly and turned back to the letter again. Cassandra smirked knowing that this was falling upon deaf ears. She wanted her to know that she wanted to help her through anything like that but she knew deep down she was too afraid to make a promise like that. She could see it in her eyes. After a while of reading the letter Cassandra had read two chapters of the book she had been given for Literature where she came to the conclusion considering the length of the chapters themselves that Diana who was still reading the letter which wasn't that long that she must've read the letter a thousand times over. She knew something was wrong and she was going to do something only Selina would do. She would find out by any means possible. She was always the one who would rush up to the group with some new, scandalous rumour which was spreading across the school. Sophia and Diana would pay attention but Cassandra would always be more engrossed by something she was reading or a new assignment she had to do for one of her classes, which would earn her a disapproving look from Selina. Soon after losing her patience Cassandra slammed the book shut and walked over to Diana's bed.

"Diana." She began, her voice was grave. "What's the matter?"

Her reaction was slow. First she stared into space for what seemed like hours to Cassandra. She crawled over her bed and went to hers. She was afraid of getting too close to her in case she startled her, she wasn't exactly as liberal minded as Cassandra and Selina and she might take it the wrong way. Then her eyes seemed to go dead for a moment, Cassandra was afraid that she was going to fall out the bed and suddenly appear dead. She looked so pale and lifeless. Her shoulders began to quiver as if shivering at a bitter cold wind in the coldest corners of the galaxy. A sob escaped from the back of her throat which soon turned into a howl and tears began to spill out of her eyes. Cassandra automatically wrapped her arms around her, not just to comfort her but also to smother the abominable sounds Diana was making. She didn't want the house mistress coming in here interfering it want was evidently a delicate situation. She stroked her hair gently and shushed her, whispering comforting words into her ear. She rocked her from side to side as if a mother was calming down her newborn.

"It's alright." She whispered. "Whatever it is, it's going to be alright."

"N-n-no its n-not." Diana sobbed. "It isn't. There's no way to resolve this unless I do as she tells me."

Cassandra held her by the shoulders and stared intently at Diana. "Who?"

"My grandmother." She answered. "She's just written to me to tell me." Sob. "That." Sob. "I'm betrothed."

Cassandra blinked. "To who?"

Diana threw out her arms. "I only know him by name! He's a Duke from some other galaxy and I've never met him in my life! I don't want to marry someone without meeting them before the wedding."

"Well of course." Cassandra agreed. "That's reasonable. You should tell her that."

Diana shook her head. "I can't. She threatened my father that unless I didn't marry the man of her choosing she would cut off the household income."

Cassandra closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't understand. Your father is a prominent figure in parliament. Surely money isn't an issue here."

She shook her head. "No. We live in such a grand place thanks to her income. He gives most of the money to..."

"Who? Who does he give the money to?"

Diana looked up, her eyes were red and soaked with tears. "If I tell you, do you promise not to tell another soul."

Cassandra took her hand and gripped it tightly. "Of course. Of course. I would never tell another soul."

"My aunt married a man of small fortune much to my grandmother's dismay. She and her husband

had very little to live on and were always travelling but still my father gave them money on a monthly basis so that they could survive. It is not much but still and of course there is our education to worry about as well. My grandmother knew how he was spending the money but she didn't care. She knew that if she had something to threaten him with now she could have her way with at least of her children."

"But Diana you would be marrying a man you hardly know. Surely your father wouldn't want that." Cassandra reasoned.

Diana shook her head. "No. He must never know of this sacrifice I am making and I must make you take another oath. You must swear to tell no one of this."

"Not even Selina or Sophia?"

"I will tell them on my own accord I assure you. Anyway, we will not be married for many years to come. I can at least have some comfort in that."

Cassandra tilted her head and gave her friend a sympathetic smile. "Maybe this Duke is old and will die before you reach the alter."

Diana burst into fits of laughter at this joke. "No. I shouldn't laugh at that. You shouldn't wish people dead." She wiped her tears away and looked up at Cassandra with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Anyway, I am not the only woman carrying this burden. There have been many others before me who have had to go through the same predicament as I have."

"You shouldn't have to though." Cassandra saw from the expression on her friends face that her words were wasted. "Anyway, you should get some sleep."

Diana nodded in agreement and began to lay down but before closing her eyes she looked up at Cassandra intently.

"Cassandra, you will marry one day? It's not such a bad thing."

Cassandra thought about this for a moment and then a faint smile appeared on her lips when she thought of a particular man who still seemed to have a place in her heart.

"Perhaps." She answered and wondered back to her own bed.

As she laid in her bed she stared up at the ceiling thinking how she and Diana seem to have more in common than she thought. She would never had thought so nor would she had thought that she would ever arrive at this conclusion when she first met her. Not this was intended as an insult. She just knew that they were so different in personalities, opinions and temperaments. She was submitting to her grandmother's demands in order to protect her family. She was doing this so that she could not only protect her future but also her sisters. She was going to do everything in her power to make sure that she never had the face the only choice rather than having a world filled with them. They deserved that. She was willing to condemn herself to a life of solitude and imprisonment in order to protect her family's interests. She was wondering whether they deserved such devotion from something like Diana. She was someone who could be easily manipulated into submitting to anyone's will. She just didn't know how to protect herself from the world. Cassandra was sacrificing her freedom so that Helen would be free to have her own. She began to wonder whether when you are willing to sacrifice yourself for another being that you may be able to achieve true grace.

~ (***) ~

Nell got a sudden start when she heard someone banging at the door. She thought that it was a flash of lightening followed by a rolling thunder which echoed throughout the open, empty hills which surrounded the Academy. She had been here for thirty years and this place still frightened her. There were things which told her that more things had happened between these walls which cared to see the light of day. Some dark secrets which the teachers here were determined to remain secrets which they would take with them to their graves...After a moment to collect herself the banging became more insistent and went from being startled to being annoyed. She swung her legs out of bed and stomped down the stairs. She began muttering things, curses and threats she was going to make to the girls who were probably tormenting her, to herself as she made her way to the door. It was probably one of the girls pulling a prank on her. Although there was something which was telling her that it was the contrary. She would be able to hear them giggling by now...

She got to the door and was tempted to call out to see who it was and whether they would answer. She knew that if there was no answer or something which sounded like a young girl trying to impersonate a ghost she knew there would be no point in opening the door. She took a deep breath and found someone on her doorstep. She was dripping wet but she didn't seem at all concerned by this. She had a trench coat on which would be pulling down on a weaker and frailer woman but she had such an imposing presence that she didn't seem to notice the added weight made by the drops of falling rapidly from the sky. Nell gave her look and considered whether she should actually let her in.

"Can I help you?" She asked nervously.

"I hope so." She replied surly. She handed her a piece of paper. "There is a student here, her name is Cassandra Richardson are you familiar with her?"

Nell nodded nervously. "Yes."

The faceless woman nodded. "Good. I would like you to write to this address about her welfare. Whether there is anything that I should be...informed of and to never tell her about this communication between the both of us. Am I clear?"

"Yes, but before I even consider doing this I want to know who you are and why you're so concerned with that poor girl." She demanded in a shaky voice.

"Because like you I worry about her. She is someone who means more to me than I can admit."

"And why is that?"

The other woman was quiet for a moment. Nell thought for a moment that she had seen her face but it must have only been for a moment or just her imagination but she looked a lot like Cassandra Richardson herself. Was she a relative?

"Because I made a promise to someone that I would never let my existence be made known to her and considering that this certain person is dead...It makes the contract all the more binding."

Nell took another forward and narrowed her eyes. "Do I know you?"

The woman chuckled. "Maybe. Maybe not." And on that note she turned around and ran off back into the night before Nell could stop her...