When Michiru woke up, she found herself alone in the room. The sun was shining high on the sky and she asked herself when she last had slept so well. She dressed and left for her room, stroking the walls with her fingers. Every detail got imprinted on her skin and she smiled. She felt again. Michiru entered her room taking time to feel the wood of the furniture, the silk of her sheets until a maid interrupted her.
"Milady, I have brought you breakfast and new clothes. Orders from the captain she says your clothes are a little…outdated" the woman said.
Michiru looked down at the dress she had been wearing since she had been sent in her dungeon by Nixie.
"Well, it has some years for sure".
"The captain awaits you outside once you finish eating" the maid said as she left.
Michiru ate quickly, cleaned herself up (which took her a little bit long as she still felt Uranus' caresses on her skin) and put a one of the dresses on. It was a deep blue, with ornaments on the chest, sleeves and margins. She brushed her hair and left the room, walking outside where she found Uranus taking care of her horse.
"Morning" Michiru said.
"I hope it's a good morning" Uranus turned to her.
"One of the best I ever had. You gave me back my life. Thank you".
"It was my pleasure, truly" the blonde stroked a strand from the woman's face. "You are very beautiful, Michiru. How can someone with such beauty in her end up being considered a black witch by history?"
"Considered by history…are you starting to doubt history?"
"It's a hard thing to doubt history. It's very dangerous".
"I know…" she whispered.
"Can we get this over with?" Pluto appeared with Mercury.
Michiru looked at the woman.
"I don't know if you are this angry because you hate me or because you can't hate me" she said.
"Do babble someone else's head with your skilled words" Pluto said stretching her hands. "If you please…"
They took each other hands and soon Pluto teleported them directly into Neptune's castle. But, to their surprise the building looked pretty bad.
"What in…" Uranus asked. "Are you sure we are in the right place?"
"Yes, these are the stables of the castle…" Michiru whispered looking around. She walked out and walked to the castle that looked like a normal building on the outside. The guards stared at her, but she passed and none had the guts to say anything. They walked through the corridors of the outer castle meeting a few maids on the way. The women looked much to thin, their eyes staring scared at the strange guests.
"No, no, no" Michiru said in a desperate tone, walking like a storm.
"Michiru wait!" Mercury called after her.
But the woman didn't listen to her. She opened two big wooden doors, lending them all on a terrace facing the town. They froze at the image of the grey, dirty roads, the thin people, the smell and overall bad state.
"This is supposed to be the rich planet of Neptune?" Uranus whispered in shock.
"No! She destroyed it!" Michiru cried out falling down to her knees covering her face. Uranus caught her and she started shivering in the captains arms. "No…" she gasped through her tears.
The air started moving, rain falling down from the skies in showers as a reaction to Michiru's pain.
"You need to take her out of here!" Uranus demanded to Pluto. "Her torment is only triggering her power. Michiru, look at me" she pushed the woman's hands away from her face. "I'll make it better, I promise. I will bring back the wealth in your people" she said wiping the woman's tears with the back of her palm. "Take her to the moon, I'll meet you there" she said again to Pluto.
"But the mirror…" Mercury said.
"I'll handle it, trust me. Teleport me in half an hour" Uranus stood up.
"Princess?" a voice whispered from behind.
They all turned to face a thin, scared maid.
"It's really you! You have returned to us!" the maid rushed to Michiru, kneeling in front of her taking the woman's hands into hers. "You finally returned, we will be what we were once. Please, tell me you came to be our ruler again and save us!"
"I…" Michiru's tears rolled even faster.
"Now!" Uranus demanded and Pluto vanished with Michiru and Mercury.
"What?" the maid asked confused. "Why did you…"
"Listen to me" Uranus said picking her up. "I am Uranus, I need to see princess Nixie. But before that I think you should tell me what's going on here"
"Nothing, I have to return to my chores".
"Please" Uranus held her from leaving. "I need to know the truth in order to be able to restore your planet".
The woman sighted long.
"Follow me" she said.
The two walked into a dark room, where the maid pulled the curtains away.
"These are pictures of Neptune once. Before princess Michiru and in her time of ruling. Some are even painted by her" she said pointing at some frames.
"She paints? These are very beautiful".
"Yes and real. This is how our land looked like, before princess Nixie".
"Michiru is said to be black witch…" Uranus stared at pictures of a wealthy planet.
"I don't know anything about that and frankly, I don't care. Ask anyone you want, nobody cares. We had good lives under her ruling, no one starved, no one rotted in their own filth. This was a rich planet, people lived here happily. I told you enough, I will get in trouble. The princess is in her room, sleeping".
Uranus followed the maid down the corridor. She pointed to a door and disappeared leaving Uranus alone. She knocked and entered, not giving a damn about Nixie's beauty sleep.
"Time to wake up, lazy" Uranus called out, making light in the room.
"What the…Uranus?" Nixie looked up sleepy from the bed. "What are you doing here and in my room? Why didn't you tell me you are coming?"
"So you could have time and prepare your kingdom?"
"What are you talking about?" the woman rubbed her eyes.
"Get dressed and take me to where you are holding the mirror. And afterwards we are leaving for the Moon".
"Uranus, what are you talking about?"
"I awoke Michiru and have gotten my sword back. Now we need the mirror".
"I already told Mercury I cannot use it, not even lift it. My sister probably put a spell on it".
"Then let's break the spell" Uranus smiled cold.
"Give me a moment, will you?" Nixie said pulling a robe over her.
"Come on, it wouldn't be the first time I saw you naked".
Nixie looked at Uranus from under her long lashes.
"Well, I expected you to say that in a more charming way" she climbed out of bed.
Nixie approached Uranus in an attempt to kiss her, but the woman remained cold.
"Fine, duty first" she rolled her eyes, leaving her room together with Uranus.
"After this, I want her locked up back in the tower" Nixie said as she opened the doors of a beautiful engraved closet. She took the glass casket off and revealed the mirror.
Uranus touched it and the mirror glowed lightly. She picked it up without a problem.
"How did you…" Nixie widened her light blue eyes.
"Pluto will teleport me back and I will have her teleport you to the moon on half an hour. Be ready" Uranus said vanishing.
She landed directly in the gather room in the castle of the moon. Michiru was sitting on a chair, her hands bound, being guarded by Mars and Jupiter. Serena was staring outside the window, all others sat around the table. Even Saturn was there, arms crossed. The room was in total silence.
"Did you get it?" Pluto asked.
"Yes, be ready to teleport Neptune in half an hour".
Michiru looked up, but then recalled she was no longer called Neptune. She stared back at her hands.
"How did you manage to pick it up?" Serena turned.
"Just like this. I picked it up".
"The mirror is in direct connection with the sword and Uranus, this is why it is responding to her" Michiru explained.
"Be silent" Mars demanded, but her tone wasn't harsh.
"Why? Are you afraid I will speak a spell?" Michiru whispered.
"Please" Mars demanded again.
"The threat is here. Inside of the solar system. I cannot understand where it is, or how it got here and I cannot localize it" Pluto explained.
"And what will you do? Leave for war with a broken planet?" Michiru asked.
"Michiru…"Mars sighted.
"No, I will not be silent. None of you have ever visited Neptune since I was banned in my prison. It is rotting, dying! Mercury saw it, Pluto saw it…Uranus!"
"It's in a worse state I could ever imagine one of our planets could be. How did it end up like this? Why didn't she ask for help?" Uranus spoke.
"This can't be happening" Serena rubbed her forehead.
"It's time" Pluto said, rising her scepter and Nixie appeared in front of everyone. She had changed into a silver dress, placing her crown over her head.
"Good to see all of you" she said with a formal smile.
Michiru stood up, the chains on her hands falling apart. She jumped at Nixie and slapped her face so hard that the woman lost her equilibrium.
"What did you do to them? How could you let our planet become this?" she shouted at the woman as Mars and Jupiter grabbed her arms.
"Get yourself together" Jupiter demanded.
"Let me go, no chains can hold me!" Michiru tossed.
Nixie rubbed her cheek and looked, for a second, maliciously at Michiru. She pointed her hand at the woman, hitting Michiru with her power, so hard that Mars and Jupiter had to jump aside.
"Stop it!" Mars shouted, as Michiru flew meters away.
Nixie lowered her hand for a second, just to prepare for another hit. But Uranus grabbed Michiru by her waist, pulling her away, using her sword to protect themselves from the hit.
"How can you protect her?" Nixie yelled with an insane voice. "She is the trigger of all the poverty on my planet! I am just trying to make it better, but nothing blooms there anymore!"
Uranus looked long at the woman, her doubts taking over her again. Both princesses of Neptune, but she couldn't tell which was saying the truth. All she knew was, that her body desperately grieved to protect the woman in her arms. Still, her mind tossed. She let Michiru go, standing between the two.
"All of you have to end this right now!" Serena demanded.
Saturn stood up. She approached silently and placed her palm on Michiru's shoulder.
"I am offering Michiru political asylum on my planet" she said in a cold tone that made the blood of all present freeze. "And I am taking this with me" she grabbed the mirror from the table, where Uranus had placed it.
They stared shocked at the grave woman, with no emotion on her face.
"You will meet me there tonight. The Moon doesn't seem the right place for you to see truth from lies anymore".
And with the words spoken, Saturn vanished with Michiru into thin air.
So, we still have a rather confused Haruka here, but the passionate night with Michiru seemed to have a big impact on her. Thank you for reading!