Part 18: To Be Sick

Three girls were sitting in the practice room. Mercury sat facing and playing the piano. A light frilly tune with quick steps as though the tune were skipping around a secret of love. Venus sat beside her facing the other direction and Jupiter was facing the two of them leaning on a table.

"I wouldn't know." Princess Jupiter concluded.

"I see. Well then there's nothing I can do about it." Ginning, Venus continued, "You seem so happy these days Princess Jupiter." The brunet smiled weakly and blushed. "And Mercury Hime that song is so nice! I haven't heard it in a long time." The had to call one another by their formal names because the door was open a few yards from where they sat. They were all dressed in a black gowns as the invitation requested.

"Yes it's one of my favorites." Mercury sighed.

"Who will be coming tonight?" Venus laid her head on Mercury's shoulder as is bounced from playing the tune.

Her tall friend responded so as not to interrupt the piano anymore than she had to.

"Oh the usual. Royals and country people." Her brown head of hair pulled up into a standard tail, bobbed to the music. "The Queen has such a good heart."

"No one from outside the Moon?"

"Um- a few visitors from beyond our borders, Neptune representatives Mau people, and others."

"Others?" Mercury asked.

"I don't know the entire list. But the Neko Dance should be fun." Venus answered.

"I always love these black balls." Jupiter played with a part of her dress with her long fingers.

"Why?"

"I don't know. You know- " She picked at a flower set on her shoulder.

"It almost-" Mercury's tune picked up pace as Jupiter spoke.

"Reminds me-" I came crashing down in a series of leaps and bounds.

"Of my home." There was a sickly crash at the piano as Mercury's hands fell limply on the piano making a horrible sound obviously not part of any melody. It made her friends jump and turn to look at her.

"Mercury-" Jupiter quickly added with a glance out the door, "-Princess?"

The blue head of hair had jutted downward and her arms lay dumb in front of her. Although her now rest atop the keys, her foot still lay on the pedal so that that gross ominous sound still rang across the white laced drawing room.

When she did not respond right away Venus immediately rushed to the door and closed it as quietly as she could. Jupiter knelt at her friend's side and took her hands from the stiff keys.

"Are you alright Ami-Chan? You're cold!"

As if waking from a dream she blinked and let her foot of the pedal. Her hands reached her temples and she turned to face her best friend who knelt beside her.

"Yes, I'm fine! It's just a headache all of a sudden. I'm sure it will pass…just it came on so quickly." She gave a reassuring smile to Venus who was now leaning against the door with her hands holding the knob.

"Really I'm fine. It's subsiding almost even now. Look, we had better go or they will be here for us."

Just as though she had called them, there was a knock behind Venus's head. The door came open and Venus stood back.

"Your Lady-ships? You are being summoned." A Moon maid proudly said curtsying.

"Thank you Ellen. We will be right there." Mercury stood and walked out motioning for the other two to come. They did so exchanging worried glances at one another behind her back.

This would not be the last time that evening they would fear a headache- they were sure.

The dance room was a sea of black. Actually Venus felt a little suffocated. But she entered in with a smile as the man with a tall stick announced her presence. All the people turn and began to clap wildly as each of her friends were introduced behind her.

Venus had made this kind of entrance hundreds of time before and knew the drill when it came to common guests of the planet. Even though her heart swelled with a natural love for these people sometimes she wished she could just be one of them.

A crowd of people surrounded and admired her. Many bowed and some thanked her on the work she had been doing these past few months. She obliged them all and smiled sweetly.

A young couple beamed at her and bowed. Venus grinned but she couldn't figure out what was so different about them.

"You majesty, we were just married. We fell in love and through the many words you have spoken on the matter; we decided to be together forever. It's because of you and we wanted to let you know of our great esteem for you." The beautiful young woman who looked a few years older than herself, bowed again and tugged at her new husband's arm.

"Oh yes! Princess Venus we would also like to let you know we have sent a gift to you to show you our gratitude."

"Your gift greatly honors me and my goddess." Venus took their hands and blessed them. "May your house be protected by my power."

"Thank you your highness!" And the two ran off with stars in their eyes.

Minako smiled after them.

Soon the crowed had died down and the ball began. Venus danced with a few people and met a few more. She always searched for Mercury to check on how she was but Venus supposed that her friend was being careful to stay out of sight. Mars had checked up with her but other than that she barely saw any of her friends that night. It was difficult to find anything in this ebony swarm of swaying bodies.

"Your Grace?" Venus heard a raspy voice from behind. She turned. It was an old farmer and a young girl with a small but determined face.

"Your grace this is Charlotte. Today is her thirteenth birthday."

"So this is your first ball?" No wonder at the faux-ladylike stance, she was turning into a woman. The teen nodded and then spoke in pre-conceived words.

"I've always wanted to be just like you your grace. You've been my idol since I was a kid. And I've always wanted to tell you…um…" her face flushed as she realized what she was saying.

Venus smiled kindly and asked her father to leave them. He did so.

Minako took her to the side speaking gently into her ear, "Charlotte? Where is your mother?"

"Oh, mam, she died when I was born." The girl became suddenly aware that she was left alone with her idol and this was not part of her plan.

"I see. You know you look just like her."

"I do?" The embarrassment was being replaced by wonder. "How do you know?"

"Because you look so little likes your father." They laughed together. Venus began to feel warm from the room around her.

"Are you in love with someone Charlotte?"

She whispered. "Yes your grace…" Venus could see the memories of a sixteen year-old boy.

"I promise you will find you true love. And if you ever need to talk to me about it instead of your father, come to the palace and I will entertain you. Alright?"

The young girls eye went very wide. "Just tell them the princess Venus sent for you."

"Hai…"

"Now go and come back safely."

The young girl quickly glanced around and when no one was looking, threw her arms around her princess.

"Arigato Hime-sama!"

Venus watched her go. But the sick warm feeling wasn't leaving her. Perhaps she should check on Ami…

The crowd parted as the orchestra began a classic tune with a pre-choreographed dance. Venus remembered it from her earliest years and it had become second nature to her over time. She liked it because it was a classic but fun but also because she could think at the same time as performing it.

"Princess Venus? Would you dance with me?"

Venus turned with a smile on her face to greet Artimis.

"Why sir, you say that as though it were a question." He took her hand and led her onto the now, almost completely bare dance floor. They, and seven or eight other couples stood facing one another while her audience looked in admiringly. Artimis in his human form looked as cunning as he did when he was a cat.

The music began and without thought, she approached him and he took her into his arms at dance position. They then began the circular motion around the space made for them. After the first few bars people began to clap and a few more couples joined in.

After glancing up and grinning at Artimis she saw that the young married couple had joined in the dance. Another few twirls around and she searched to see if she could find them again.

Instead, she saw the back of a silver head of hair. Her breath was caught up in her chest as she tried to focus her stare. But automatically her body moved her in time to the music. It almost seemed to be growing louder and more violent. She shook away the feeling as the spin stopped and she once again began the search for that familiar hair color. Every now and then as Artimis's hair would get in the way Venus would dip her head around to see. If she had been really paying attention to what she was doing, she would have been surprised that Artimis had not paid any attention to her strange movements.

He dipped her backwards as more people joined in. They were getting crowded now, as the music grew louder in her head. The heat she felt earlier was growing.

More and more people began to swarm around her as she thought she spotted it again. It looked as though it were moving to get away from her stare. But he couldn't be here. He just couldn't have been here without her noticing. But it has to be him right?

As the heat steadily made her grow sicker, she felt as though she were on an insane merry-go-round, as though she were being whipped from side to side, the faces around her blurred together and the pounding sound coming from the orchestra went bad as she tried to get her way over to that side of the room. Her body would have continued to dance; she started to take drunken control to walk away. But her partner kept her on the ride.

The urge to puke intensified so she bent over to try to keep her head up. But then the swarm of people only seemed to grow in a sea of black. She kept dancing as all sound and sight meshed into dizzy nightmare.

The silver head was getting further away when a voice broke the craze.

"Are you alright?"

Kunzites voice was one Venus recognized every time.

He was holding her in dance position where Artimis's had stood. She never felt a connection of their hands. When had he come in? She was so surprised by his sudden appearance that she stood staring at him dumb founded and stupid. His face was strong and wise with his broad shoulder he kept her up. He didn't seem to mind the long stare.

After a moment she found she could eek out the word, "Kunzite-" before she heard a new sound.

In contrast to the familiarity of Kunzite's voice, she had never heard this sound before. It came from across the room by one of the tables on the far side from the main doors. Even though she had never heard this sound before, she knew where it had come from.

Mercury's acute cry stopped everything in the room. Venus turned her lovely head in one movement to see the cause of it. It was a horrible blast but it took Venus only a moment to remember that Kunzite was holding her. As though he would have an answer, she turned to look at him but he wasn't there anymore. Her hands closed around where his figure just was. She felt numb to know when someone was there and when not.

But in this moment of crisis, her hesitation lasted only that moment and she sprang into action. Where was Mercury? What was wrong with her? Not a headache for sure. She began pushing people out of the way to get there but Makoto had gotten there first.

Mercury lay in a twisted position squirming in a slow seizure on the floor. Her eyes were shut tight but she was crying. Her mouth made little sound of agony as though the pain came from her insides. Her beautiful black dressed helped her skin to look pale and withered but it added the effect of a deathly omen.

Disgusted at the squirming, Makoto swooped to pick her flailing body from off the ground. She was a powerful girl and it took no effort to plow through the alarmed people and jog out the door with the helpless girl.

Venus wasted no time in spotting Artimis.

She hurriedly whispered, "Get a doctor for Mercury and call the Queen. Jupiter would have taken her to her own room so tell them to meet us there ASAP." Before he could replay or ask if he had heard right, she turned and faced the people. They had begun to mutter worried sounds and it slowly grew throughout the room. The concern in their faces was not to be tolerated on the Moon Palace's grounds. They must not follow the sick girl or worry that something may be wrong, not right now.

If only Mercury had gone to bed maybe…

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please don't be alarmed. The Princess of Mercury had a simple headache earlier in the evening. Please, don't worry about her too much. Our Beloved Queen Serenity has asked you here to enjoy yourselves and not think on the harsh things of the universe."

Venus pulled out an old trick she learned as a child to help her not into too much trouble. She would fill the room with an air of calm and almost dizzy happiness. It was like a comfort serum. By the time she finished speaking, the people should be satisfied with whatever explanation she gave.

"We have a peaceful solar system and thanks to you, the people of the Moon, we can always be at peace. Remember, continue to have fun- the Great Queen of the Moon wishes it." As she lowered her hands she smiled and the crowd hazily smiled back. After discussing to themselves for a short time they convinced themselves that it was nothing if Queen Serenity had said so. So the party slowly continued. Within a few minutes the event had been completely forgotten.

Venus passed out of the great white doors tightly closing them behind her.

Her footsteps clopped as she rushed down the hallway strait to Makoto's room.

As she went, her mind tried to think of what to do next. It all seemed to buzz by her and she determined that she couldn't know what to do next until she heard what everyone else had taken care of.

And what had happened to Mercury? She knew she shouldn't have lied to the Moon people like that but she didn't have much of an option. Nothing as simple as a headache could make her friend scream so horribly. It made Venus tremble to remember it. It was like she was dieing.

Venus was thinking about tearing off her shoes so she could break into a full sprint until she remembered that the door wasn't too far away.

For a moment her mind drifted to the face of her recent lover.

"I'm going crazy to think about that right now." Her mind was bouncing everywhere as door after door passed. Almost there, her last thought before reaching the destined hallway, was Kunzite's face staring at her, almost cold as she held her in dance position. Something was definitely different about him and it scared her worse than the vicious scream that, unknown to Venus as the time, had started everything.

Hey yall!

Yeah----it's been like 4 million years since I wrote but…I'm sure you'll forgive me. The part you probably will hate me for is the fact that. This chapter sucks. I just feels...well I won't say. But it's all going down hill from here folks. V.v; I suck. But- I'm also a moonie and a moonies never gives up!

"If at first you don't succeed- losing may be your style." I'm a loser I know.

But here- to make it up I'll post this OTHER chapter and see if that's better AT THE SAME TIME! W00t!

So.

Reviews: Btw- I know I can just reply through the and I will but this has been a tradition since I started this so long ago so I'm gonna keep it… short.

Azar the Kinslayer: heh- don't we all. Thankies for taking a little time to review.

Eressie: You like it so far? I still feel like an idiot. ; and I'm sorry this chapter sucks…I hope you'll still be meh friend! Thankies for the sweet words!

Angry Girl: My poor dear! Don't worry this is a love story right? Everything will turn out alright. Right? RighT? RIGHT? As for Jedite and the others- I'm writing subsequent stories on all of them at the same time as this one where it will explain a little more in depth. Safe to say right now- he and we don't know if they were illusions or not but he has made his choice. Well poor Beryl has got a lot going on…wench…

It makes me smile when I'm all-alone to know you still like this. I always feel inadequate to be posting anything but you brighten me. Thank you my Sarah.

mysterious advisor: I'm sure you don't know how much you're review meant to me. It's nice to know people still read this crap from time to time. Thanks for sticking with me. You really made my whole days…yeah. :snuggle snuggle:

Not much support guys. Where are you all? Please please please- if you read this garbage let me know you're still there..:echo:echo:

Big question: How do you feel it's coming?

I love you guys so much. Really- it's touching when I see something from in my box. It makes me feel loved and I need that from time to time. I've loved to write this- it's just hard you know? What If I get it wrong?

:sigh: all my lovelovelove-

Vbabe