No, this isn't a mirage. ::frowns:: At least, I hope it's not a mirage, because if it is, than I just spent five days banging my head against the wall for nothing. ^^; Seriously, minna, I'm SO happy I finished this... words can not express! I wrote the first chapter around then end of May, hit a black and didn't touch the thing for four months. @_@ Now it's done... ::sighs in bliss:: ~Meredith Much graditude and chocolate Mamo-chans go to: Kawaii- the best imouto around. The SMRFF Ladies- great bunch of gals, with about as much sense as I have. ^_~ Millennium Guard- for the... ::ahem:: encouragement. Yeah, that's it. GreekMaiden- who has emailed me so many times with encouragement. I'm afraid she may have given up on me, though. ^_~ Suzume- for the incredibly sweet letter. This is for you, hun. All the people that emailed me asking what the heck I was going to get the next part of this out (yes, that means *you* Mizu) ~Japanese Words Used~ (aside from the obligatory 'hai', 'iie', 'onegai'...) Hitoshirezu- hidden Gekidoku- deadly poison Kurai- dark Kyuuketsuki- vampire (but I want it to convey something *worse* than the usual concept of a vampire, which is why I chose the Japanese word). Legal Disclaimer: Even the chorus line of purple wombats (who sing show tunes in my shower) tell me SM isn't mine... Okay, that was just bizarre. Let's put it this way. I am not Naoko Takeuchi Personal Disclaimer: [Demando:] *ahem* The 'lady' who wrote this story keeps some 36 cows, golf clubs, and Larva (from VPM) in her closet. Does that make you feel like she's incredibly sane? ::shudders:: Me neither. Did I mention she keeps ME in that closet, too? Who could forget me? I'm much better than baka Tuxedo... ACK! *dodges Lelu* (Gomen ne, minna, for the above strangeness. It's 5 am and I had two hours of sleep last night. O.o) Finally, the fic.... The Will of Heaven 9/? by Meredith Bronwen Mallory mallorys-girl@cinci.rr.com ------------------------------------------- Susa, the Moon (Colony of the Mineral Kingdom) Two Weeks After Events in Part 8 2 am Earth time ------------------------------------------- Her hands seemed old, withered with age, though sure in their movements as the caressed the simple wooden dishes her family had just finished eating off of. Once, her fingers might have danced across the surface, her vocal chords might have pinched together as she hummed a familiar, nameless tune. But she no longer hummed, or danced, just stood at the water basin, methodically washing dishes as she stared off into the blue/green light that was Earth. "Hotaru, hand me another dish please," Luna asked quietly. The younger girl nodded, smooth, youthful hands lifting another wooden dish from the dirty pile. For a moment, their fingers touched, as Hotaru passed it to the older woman, and Luna smiled down at her in understanding, before returning to work once more. That little girl, and her friend Naru, had brought a beacon of hope into the old nanny's life. It was the least she could do to let them stay. Who could have known that two badly scraped and scared servants, having landed on Artemis doorstep after escaping the holocaust of Ulexite's death, could bring with them such joyful news! For their youthful lips, upon hearing the names of their host, whispered of Serenity, a young girl who'd been their charge. They talked of her love of life, and how she spoke daily of the family she left behind, as though afraid she might forget them. And those lips told also of her escape before Ulexite's death, and that her destination had been Earth. It brought tears to Luna's eyes just thinking about it. As far as anyone knew, Serenity was alive, and living on Earth, that same blue/green planet Luna stared at now. And though the royal guards and soldiers tried to stop it, rumor spread through the silent streets of the town that something big was going down on Earth. Something BIG. No one walked the streets of Susa anymore. Just a week ago, a young woman from the neighborhood had been on her way home from the market, when a trigger happy guard decided that she looked like she might make for great target practice. Her body had been found after dark, laying face down in the alley. Just another chilling reminder of the changing times. And so the streets were deserted, with dust gathering along once-crowded lanes, the shadows grew long and frightfully large, and no one knew what they could conceal. No guard ever paid for the death and pain they caused, so they went on causing it, like children with a loaded gun, while the young, selfish Beryl sat in her palace, safe and comfortable , while her people starved and died. "Oh, you would weep so to see it like this," Luna said softly. She spoke not to Hotaru, nor to her 'daughter' on far away Earth, but to Serenity, her Queen. Somehow, the nanny had always harbored the hope that someday, she would be able to reveal Serenity's true heritage, without fear for either of their lives. Then, she imagined, with the rightful heir to the Lunar Throne in plain sight, the Alliance of Planets would have no choice but to force the Mineral Kingdom back into their own territory. But with Beryl on the throne and the Mineral Kingdom edging closer and closer to a war that would cost them hundreds of lives, any hope of Serenity ascending the throne hardly seemed likely. With her long arms elbow deep in soapy basin water, aging skin stretched over aging bones, like silk, that only grew softer with age, what could Luna do but pray? And so pray she did, with Hotaru by her side, hoping that some way, some how, by some miracle of fate, Serenity still might have the chance to save them all. From deep within the shadows of the now-deserted streets, a scream arose. A woman's voice, frightened, pleading, yet already having given up hope. And now, here, came the voices of men; joking, laughing, slurred in drunken tones. And from within the modest houses all around, the people shuddered and turned away, while the woman continued to scream. The future seemed very dark indeed. ---------------- Deep beneath the framework of the Mineral Palace, the inhuman Beryl knelt before the altar of Metalia. The room was richly decorated, paneled with gold and glistening opals, not at all what one would think of as a dark goddess shrine. Originally it had belonged to Selene, mother of the Lunarians, heart of the moon. But then Beryl had come, drunk on her newly gained power and only hungry for more. With savage hands the new Queen had ripped the delicately woven images of Selene from the walls, with eerie precision Beryl had killed her priestesses. The elaborate mutli layered fountain at the center of the room had once run with clear, enchanting blue. But now that Metalia's image was enthroned upon it, the water had turned to a sticky, sickening black. It smelled like sulfur and looked like death. "Oh, goddess," Beryl hissed. The dim light in her cat-like eyes had gone out, all traces of humanity wiped from her features. There was no saving her now. Into the ominous depths of the fountain, the young Queen shoved a body. It was the young woman from Luna's neighborhood, the one who had been shot. There was an underlying tone of nervousness as Beryl chanted Metalia's sacrificial prayer. She was anxious to find an assassin, someone to do away with the Earth Prince. If she waited much longer, she feared the Earthlings might catch wind of her activities. Metalia's voice came from everywhere and no where. It came from the dark, lapping waves of the fountain, and the beating of Beryl's own rotted heart. The water near Beryl began to bubble, just a little at first, but growing faster by the minute until the tempo resembled that of a human heart-beat. The young queen drew away in fear, casting a glance up towards the stature of Metalia with it's cold, unseeing eyes. the goddess repeated. Now something was rising from the waters, a poisoned Aphrodite given birth by sulfuric waves. The creature stood still, knee deep in the liquid, it's skin glistening with a terrible darkness Then, the ebony began to peal away revealing the pale peach of a woman's skin. Something inside Beryl, perhaps the smallest shred of her soul, lurched with nausea. She recognized the face Metalia had stolen to give this creature form. It was Quartz, her half sister, the first she had killed in Metalia's name. But this was not the Quartz of Beryl's childhood, with puppy fat cheeks, rich brown eyes and gray hair pulled back in a pony tail. Oh no, this was Quartz, matured to an age of horrific beauty, gray hair pulled up into the Royal Lunar style, two buns on either side of her head. She wore a crimson dress which hugged her impossibly slim figure, her hands resembling the delicate talons of a bird. But all these things, as disturbing as they were, as *wrong* as they were, couldn't even begin to compare with the most terrifying thing of all. Her eyes... pure black... a void nothing could possibly fill. "Who..." Beryl croaked, "Who are you?" The un-Quartz smiled charmingly. "I am Hitoshirezu Quartz," she said, her voice light and airy, not at all the voice Beryl remembered. "What is the meaning of this?" she asked Metalia. "You have heard, of course, about Queen Cassiopeia's search for the Moon Princess?" Metalia spoke through Quartz. "She'll never find her!" Beryl spat savagely, "The Moon Princess is DEAD!" "Of course, of course," Quartz said, as though reassuring a small child, "But the delusional Queen searches still. Do you know what the prize is, for being this Moon Princess? The hand of the Prince of Earth, in holy," Quartz shuddered at the word, "matrimony. What better way to carry out our plan? I am everything Cassiopeia believes the Moon Princess should be. I am everything she *wants* to see. And when I am chosen, I will have access to the Prince..." in Quartz's bird like hand, a flower appeared. Beryl recognized it immediately. Gekidoku, a night blooming flower from Nemesis. Tasteless, colorless and odorless, it dissolved in almost any liquid substance. It was silent, deadly, and completely undetectable. "I see," dark joy rose within Beryl. If she could not have the Prince, then no one could. "Indeed Metalia, I see." "Once the Endymion is dead," added Quartz with a sugary smile, "You will make war on Earth. There will be no way of stopping you." Beryl reached out her hand and helped the soulless woman from the water. Together they left the throne room of Metalia, consumed by their plans. In one dark, isolated corner, the shadows melted and moved. Within their depths, a pair of crimson eyes narrowed dangerously. ------------ It was truly amazing how quickly things can change over night. Literally. The sky bled as the sun attempted to shine what little light it could of the Lunarian's home. It was against that sky that a black shadow was imposed; the framework of a gigantic ship. Fear pounded in the heart of every man, woman and child. They'd never seen a battle cruiser so big, not even when the Mineral Kingdom had first attacked the moon. Wives closed the shutters and locked them tight, they didn't want to have to look at it. Children put their games on hold and stood in the street, staring in horrified fascination at the beast's large skeleton. In every home, and every shop, words were whispered in quiet fear. "What do you suppose this means?" "Why build a warship if there isn't a war?" the occupants of the room always shuddered at this. They knew what could happen. "But there's no one to make war on!" some one would protest. "Unless..." A hush would fall, hands would be placed over other hands, as if to offer comfort. "Unless..." Out in the early morning street, Hotaru and her friends were arranged in a circle. They were only children, after all, and though the metal beast had been fascinating at first, they had soon lost interest. It didn't cause them nearly as much worry as their parents. "Catch!" Farah cried, and thrust the ball towards Momoko. Hotaru watched them quietly, hands outstretched as she waited from the ball to come her away. She felt Luna's eyes on her, but didn't turn around. She knew if she did, she would see the older woman keeping and eye on them from the kitchen window. Indeed Luna was watching the children, feeling the little prangs of fear in her heart increase with each passing hour. There hadn't been any patrols this morning; the ever present guards had vanished with the night. It was almost as if the past few months had been one long nightmare. But Luna knew better. With worried eyes she glanced down at little Hotaru, playing ball with her friends. Yaten, Seiya and Taiki were among them, mostly because they didn't have anything better to do. Their chores were done, and it was no longer safe for any woman to venture far from her house, let alone the triplet's usual haunts. "Catch!" someone cried. The ball made a high arch in the air, momentarily eclipsing the shadowy outline of Beryl's warship. Luna turned away, back towards her knitting and fretting. From down the street, Hotaru heard the echoes of footsteps sounding from down the street, but she paid them no mind. Instead her eyes were transfixed upon her own reflection, shimmering in a street-side puddle. As she watched, the image changed. It was as if she was staring into a curved mirror, the ones that stretched your image, made you look taller, older. In the puddle, Hotaru saw an older version of herself. Her unfamiliar clothing ruffled by the breeze as she stood on a cliff, over looking an equally unfamiliar horizon. There were great mountains as far as the eye could see, ribbions of color suspended in the heavens. As the young girl watched, she saw the other-her raise her staff, until it looked as if it grazed the planetary rings that hung in the sky. The staff came down, hard and heavy, and set the landscape on fire. Everything, everything burned, even the young woman, who stood so impassively as the flames consumed her. "Hotaru!" something hard it her in the side, and the young girl looked up. The ball Taiki had tossed to her rolled down the street. "Spacing out on us, eh?" Seiya teased, frowning when Hotaru didn't smile and join in laughing. Instead, the pale child shivered, and looked down the street. There were guards approaching, quickly, prodding a crowd of commoners along with their spears. "Inside, children, hurry!" Luna cried. But it was already too late. A strong hand reached out to capture Seiya's arm, whirling her around. Everyone froze. "How old are you, girl?" the head guard asked. Seiya cast her light blue eyes up towards Luna desperately, but there was nothing she could do. "I.. I'm fifteen, sir," Seiya said, her voice breaking just a little. "And those two?" the guard gestured towards Yaten and Taiki. "They're.. they're fifteen too," the young woman muttered, flinching as the guard put more pressure on her arm. "Then you're to come with me." "Why!?" Luna shouted from the window. The head guard sneered. "Anyone over fifteen and of good physical constitution is being drafted to help with the war effort." "W-war effort?" Yaten choked. "But we're not *at* war!" protested Taiki. A ripple of obnoxious laughter rolled through the assembly of soldiers, like a giant wave. "No yet, we aren't!" someone shouted. There was dark promise in their voice... the lust for battle, Luna noted dully. "IIE!" Seiya screamed, kicking as she tried to evade the guards. Yaten ducked around the angry mob, Taiki following her lead. That is, until she felt a spear piece the delicate flesh of her side. "Come with us," the head guard said again. This time, they offered no refusal, walking with their heads bent low as the herd of lost ones moved on. Hotaru watched them go, tears wavering in her violet eyes, but for some strange reason, she could not bring herself to weep. She dimly noted that Luna was crying, and that her other playmates had scattered, leaving her alone in the middle of the street. Almost in a trance she gazed down that the puddle again, it's clear surface reflecting not her face but the strange, lone woman. She was waiting at the top of the mountain. Who was she waiting for? Hotaru shivered. ----------------------------------------- Takuitsu, the Moon 319 miles from Susa ----------------------------------------- With another strong shove, Demando managed to wade his way through the stifling crowds. Scowling, he cursed his luck. Of all the places for his prey to hide, why here, in the middle of Takuitsu, possibly the most crowded city on the moon? Of course, Demando know perfectly well why, logically at least. The hunted man knew that with thousands of people to act as a shield, the chances of a mercenary catching him became considerably smaller. No, the white haired man shook his head as he rounded the corner, the bar down the road looking like an oasis to his tried eyes. Lately, he'd been questioning the direction his life had taken. It had been two weeks since his encounter with *her*; the green haired, crimson eyed demonic angel. If he'd expected something to happen directly after their meeting, he was disappointed. Not so much as a hint, or a stray word that might help him to save Serenity. 'You will know when the time comes,' Demando mocked internally as he pushed open the bar doors. "Vodka, if you don't mind," he said, taking a seat at the counter. He noted the surprise in the bartender's eyes. Vodka was made on Earth, thus incredibly expensive to import. "It'll cost 'ya," the other man reminded him. "I can pay." Indeed he could. Buying Serenity back was no longer an option, even if he *was* beginning to doubt his strange encounter, not to mention his sanity. He would save Serenity, even if it meant being without her. However... he always stopped that thought before he could finish it, just in case the Kurai Tenshi (dark angel) could somehow 'hear' him. Finally, the bartender returned with his drink. Glass in hand, Demando turned towards the other occupants of the room. It was habit now to scan the crowd, just in case there was some one who had known him from his days as Captain and might turn him in. His rich violet gaze swept the room, once, twice, then a third time. In all honesty, he shouldn't have noticed her. She extruded a type of dull normality that almost *forced* you not to pay her any mind. Perhaps it was the very fact she didn't want to be noticed that attracted Demando's attention. Upon closer inspection, he knew she was hiding something. That false impression of mousiness was just a mask, below it that girl was actually quite stunning. Silvery gray hair, and dark hypnotic eyes... she seemed almost unreal. Deliberately casual, Demando strolled over towards the other end of the counter, where the strange young woman sat surrounded by attentive young men. "Where you headed?" one of them asked. The woman-child laughed. On the surface it sounded enchanting, but Demando saw beneath the glitter, and found that the laugh grated his soul. "Earth," she replied. This confession almost earned her an elbow from her female companion, but from some reason the other woman drew back. Demando turned his gaze on her. This one, with her bright red hair and stern expression, looked somewhat familiar. Kalonite. Of course... He'd known her in training camp, or had at least heard of her. She was Beryl's new Captain. What was she doing here then, so far from Susa? Acting as an escort? Demando mentally shook his head, that didn't seem like an assignment for the Captain of the Queen's guard. Unless... "How you gonna get to Earth, babe?" one of the other men asked, "Didn't you hear? Beryl's brewing somethin' big, any day now commercial routes to Earth are gonna be shut down." "We have our ways..." the young siren replied, "We have our ways," She smiled enchantingly. "Come on outside, boys. There's something I want to show you." The men didn't hesitate, but followed her as she lead them out towards the back alley. Demando watched with dismay, fighting his curiosity, and the instinctive impression that he was onto something. A movement from one of the side tables caught his eye, and to his surprise he saw the Kurai Tenshi. She was leaning on one elbow, with her dark wings folded at her back, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. She smiled at the young man, and her voice, like smoke, filtered into his mind. Demando blinked, and she was gone, a small shot glass and some change the only evidence that she had been there. The mercenary turned away, somewhat shaken. Not by her words, but by what had happened just before she disappeared. He could have sworn she *winked* at him. -------- Demando couldn't have been delayed more than a minute or two, and yet when he reached the small back alley, there was no sign of Kalonite or her strange charge. Or the men that had followed them... The hairs on the back of Demando's neck stood up, on the some base level he instinctively knew something was wrong. The air around him had a dead taste to it, the sounds from the bustling city were muted. With careful steps, he neared the corner, pressed against it and peered around... Demando, former Captain of Ulexite's guard could have sworn he'd seen everything. He'd seen war, death and destruction to a point where it no longer bothered him. During his time as administrator of the harem, he'd seen every strange thing a woman could be or do. But nothing, *nothing* could have prepared him for what he saw now. The young, silver haired siren holding up a full grown man by the neck of his shirt, and sucking the soul out of his body. Words could not express the horror of that violation, and for the first time since he was six, his stomach lurched. Seemingly satisfied, the girl-thing let the limp body drop, where it landed amongst the bodies. All of them drained, all of them *quite* dead. "Quartz," Kalonite spoke softly, desperately, as if she simply had to break the deadly silence that had fallen. So that was the girl's name, "We should go, the last shuttle leaves in fifteen minutes." Without a word, Quartz nodded, and the two disappeared down towards the crowded main road. Demando watched them go, his first instinct to follow warring with a sudden explosion of guilt. He really should call Esmerude. Parsa was three or four days travel from Takuitsu, and he'd left her all alone there. Rubeus had disappeared some time ago, Saffir and Petz had moved away. He imagined she must be terribly lonely... One hand clenched around the pouch of silver coins tied to his belt, and he turned, intent on finding the nearest communications center. his traitorous mind remarked, Demando stopped in his tracks, a million terrifying possibilities playing themselves out in his head. He saw Quartz, holding Serenity over her, black eyes insanely joyous as she drained the life from his angel. In one swift movement, Demando rounded the corner and headed towards Takuitsu spaceport. After all, Esmerude could take care of herself. ----------------------------------------- Olympus, Earth, Capital of the Terrain Empire ----------------------------------------- People think of time as running in a straight line, onward, onward, onward towards infinity, never looking back. Yesterday was the past, today is the present, and tomorrow the future. But, even in mathematics, lines can not go on forever. They stretch, bend and fold, fall over on themselves, finding that the end is only the place where they begin again. So, time is a circle. It matters not that between Chiba Mamoru and Prince Endymion stood an abyss of a few thousand years, that really, in the scope of time, was nothing more than a creek of sorts. One languished in 20th Century Tokyo, sitting on his balcony, trying in vain to stuff more information into his brain. To forget, to turn off all emotion, even while his traitorous lips murmured 'Usako', over and over again. The other, paced the length of his room, the roar of thunder in the distance, trying desperately to sort through every bewildering emotion that assaulted his poor aching heart. And he dreamed, seemingly beautiful dreams, but they were nightmares in disguise. He dreamt of approaching the sacred altar of Terra, where his bride stood facing away from him, clothed in the customary rich violet of royalty. It was Serenity, trapped in the logic of the dream he was certain of it, and he willed himself to hurry towards her. The dream, however, would make him wait. At last, after what seemed like eons, he stood beside her, and his best-friend-turned-bride moved to face him. Hands trembling with anticipation, he slowly lifted the veil, thinking only that at last he could be with her, that nothing stood in their way, except... Except that the woman behind the bridal veil was not Serenity. Black eyes, red tides of evil slithering through them, stared up at the Prince. Endymion screamed. How clever the Neo-King of Tokyo was, to take the nightmares that haunted his past incarnation, twist them, add a slightly different flavor, and turn them on the one called Chiba Mamoru. The violet haired monarch created a paradox, if he suffered (and he did, daily pressing against the cool glass of his Queen's coffin, desperate just to touch her) then so would they. Of course, the King was deliberately torturing Mamoru, angry with himself... punishing himself. And though he was not directly responsible for Prince Endymion's predicament, he only served to make it worse. For in order to steal the young Prince's nightmares, he had to enter the other man's mind. No one, not even Sailor Mars, the most powerful psychic of all time, could enter a psyche and *not* leave a trail. A psychic scent, if you will, as individual as a finger print. Within Endymion's mind, the King left traces of his own incurable depression. Somewhere in the Crystal Palace of 30th Century Tokyo, Demando's Kurai Tenshi was shaking her head. No matter what life he lived, Endymion was *always* self destructive. ---------------- At 10:49 pm Earth Standard time, the last ship from the moon landed safely at Olympus spaceport. Of the 89 passengers that boarded, only 83 got off, the other six mysteriously unaccounted for. From beneath her hood, Quartz surveyed the lush green Earth, ripe for the picking. What a world to fill with darkness, to consume and suck at until it's very spirit was gone. As if sensing her thoughts, Kalonite shifted beside her. The red-haired Captain looked nervous. Perhaps she was afraid they would be intercepted before they even set foot on Earth, they were still standing on the exit ramp waiting to have their identities checked. Earth law enforcement did not take six missing persons lightly, after all, and for the umpteenth time that day, Kalonite wished her charge would not feed so often. But there was more too it, her instincts were going haywire... she felt as though they were being watched. Behind Kalonite's back, Demando observed the pair silently, safely concealed within the crowd. "Identification, Ma'am?" a painfully young officer asked, hand thrust towards Quartz. The creature smiled and thrust her card forward, while Kalonite valiantly fought to keep from holding her breath. Further down the line, Demando's interest peeked. Surely they hadn't gone to all that trouble just to get caught at some measly checkpoint? But the young guard just smiled and bid Quartz a good day, before ushering her towards the exit. Thus, the gray haired girl and her companion stepped off the metal platform. Funny how the Earth shuddered beneath her feet. ------------- Pulled from the depths of his restless slumber, Endymion tossed fitfully. Though his body was terribly warm, he shivered with cold. He could barely focus on any one thing, his chambers swirled around him violently, as though he was at the focal point of a centrifuge Weakened by the absence of his soul-mate, and the hideous effects of the Neo-King's depression, the Prince's body was incredibly vulnerable. Connected to it's avatar in every way, Terra weakened as well. All it took was Quartz, who carried Metalia's taint, to tip the scales, and Endymion slipped into a feverish state of half consciousness. "Serenity..." he murmured softly, reaching out in vain. In the morning, the Generals came to find him pale, teeth chattering, although his body burned with fever. Almost immediately, the palace healer was summoned. He entered the Prince's chamber was a somber expression and exited in the same fashion. And yet somehow, before the day was out the whole palace knew that Prince Endymion had Kihaku Shikkan. Soul Sickness. ------------- "General Zoicite?" a soft voice roused the blond soldier from his half slumber. Glancing around, he saw the pale form of Serenity standing before him nervously, basket clutched in her hands. Of course, he'd heard the rumors concerning the prince's relationship with the golden haired beauty. But as vicious a gossip as Zoicite was, he didn't feel it was his place to speculate on anything concerning his friend. "Hai, Serenity-san?" he half yawned, raking a gloved hand through his hair. The young girl just stood there for a moment, studying him. She was so pale, her body thin and wavering, and the moonlight cast such a silver glow to her that Zoicite almost thought she was a phantom. It was her voice, soft and layered with emotion, that assured him she was human. "Can you tell me... that is.. do you know.... how is Prince Endymion?" The young man nodded in sudden understanding, and answered truthfully; "Worse, I'm afraid. His body burns with fever, but none of the healers can bring it down. We don't know what to do. If he carries on like this much longer..." Serenity nodded somberly, tears forming in her bright blue eyes. She hurt. Through her soul still bled from Endymion's rejection, try as she might, she could not stop herself from loving him. It was so hard to reconcile the image of *her* Endy, the one who had talked with her by the fire so many nights, gently touching her hand, with one who would break her heart. The more she thought about it, the less she was able to believe it, though she knew full well that she might only be setting herself up for more pain. And even if he didn't love her, or never had loved her at all, she loved him with ever fiber of her being. There was no way in heaven or hell she would let him suffer. With a sudden movement, she thrust the basket towards Zoicite, who barely managed to grab it in time. Reaching inside, Serenity pulled forth a handful of pale lavender leaves. "Give him these," she said, "in his tea. Only three leaves at a time, once or twice a day." The general shook his head. "Serenity-san, you know I'm not permitted..." "Please," he looked down to see tears falling from her eyes. Zoicite would never know why he listened to her, perhaps it was the pleading note in her voice, perhaps it was her earnest tears. Or perhaps it was the look in her eyes, reflecting the same emotions he'd been experiencing lately, as Kunzite drew further and further away. Longing and confusion; Zoicite understood them well, and obviously so did Serenity. "Alright," he said with a sigh, "alright. But if anyone asks... Serenity, I'll say I never saw you." "I understand. Arigato," she mouthed, too thankful to speak. Then she turned and walked away, vanishing as all phantoms do into the consuming night. She walked with her head down, hands clasped in prayer. she pleaded, A week passed, then two. Zoicite dutifully added the herbs to his Prince's meals, puzzled when he saw no immediate change. He had expected Serenity's gift to work wonders, and was angered when she did not 'move mountains'. The moon waned, disappeared, and was born again, a small sliver in the sky. It was then, as if triggered by the very moon, Endymion's health began to return. Three weeks after he had first fallen ill, his fever broke, and the healers called it a miracle. Surely some divine power had sustained him, they whispered to their wives, to fellow servants. No one could have survived a burning that long without succumbing to the siren song of death. But it was no miracle, Zoicite thought as he helped prop Endymion up for meal time. It was Serenity. He found himself reluctantly giving her a little more respect. Though still hardly well enough to leave his chambers, the Prince had healed remarkably in such a short amount of time. Gone was the distressed, wild look in his eyes, gone was the harsh red tone that had colored his skin. The Prince no longer cried out violently in his sleep, but sometimes, the Generals could have sworn they heard him whispering some one's name. ---------------------- Drawn had sprung from her egg bellow the horizon. She leapt out into the world and blossomed like a sunflower. Rei walked with one hand shielding her eyes, red robes of priestesshood moving around her. Even the little light from the now rising sun hurt her eyes, she'd been down in the catacombs so long. What had it been, two weeks since the blackout? That seemed about right, though things were fuzzy around that time, as though someone had taken an eraser to the chalkboard of her mind, leaving only smudges were clear writing had once been. Two weeks of little to no sleep while she meditated by the fire as much as she could, between meals and interviews with potential Moon Princesses. Two weeks of trying to recapture that which had been stolen from her mind, and still no luck. Serenity had come down to see her three times yesterday, trying to drawn her away from Aries' flame. Of course, it was no use, once the fiery priestess wanted something, it would take an act of God to stop her from pursuing her quest. "Good morning, Rei," Cassiopeia remarked softly as the raven haired woman-child swept into the room. It seemed to the Priestess that her Queen had grown older over night, shrinking in on herself. One could hardly blame her, the weight of her son's recent illness was only added to by the increasing tensions between the Earth and moon. Not to mention, of course, the futile search for the heir to the Lunarian throne. "Your Highness..." Rei hesitated. She felt the need to tell the Queen something of the utmost importance, but she couldn't remember what it was. "Is something the matter, Rei-san?" The young woman didn't answer, still trying to unearth the secret. Stolen, it had been stolen from her. But by whom? For a moment, a pair of garnet eyes, as intense as the sun, flashed before her, then it too was gone. Frustrated, Rei mentally beat against the walls of her mind, but it only served to give her a headache. "No, my Queen," she said automatically, "I'm fine." Moving behind the black ivory screen that acted as her shield, Rei waited for the familiar sound of Cassiopeia's bell, summoning the first interview of the day. It was from behind the delicate embroidered satin that she observed the ladies 'trying out'. She 'scanned' their aura's psychically, tested to see whether they were lying or not. So far, every one of the 1,340 odd girls had been a fraud. The plan which had once seemed so easy, had turned into a nightmare. "Announcing Hideko Marie," Haruna droned dutifully Rei leaned back, her mind seeking out the other woman's almost lazily, her finger's toying with the delicate silver cord. If ever she was to pull that cord, the bells rigged to the ceiling would chime, and it would be a sound of rejoicing. It would mean that they had found their Princess. ---------- "Announcing Hitoshirezu Quartz." From her place at the desk, Cassiopeia didn't even bother to look up. She kept her eyes on the dark inky letters as she penned yet another note of failure. The last five girls had been frauds as well, and she hardly expected this, the sixth and last appointment of the day to be any different. "Please take a seat," she fairly grunted. "Hai, Cassiopeia-sama," a light, airy voice spoke. Startled, the Queen looked up, and in a single instant, time swung backwards. It could have been Queen Serenity standing there, gray cloak gathered around her as she shivered in nervousness and fear. Staring helplessly into the young woman's blue, blue eyes, Cassiopeia was *sure* she had found the princess. From behind her silken screen, Rei felt an unspeakable evil slam into her mind. Clutching at her temples, she fought down a gasp. She gathered her strength, worried for her Queen's safety, and peered around the screen. The girl sitting across from Cassiopeia shimmered as she talked, like a mirage in the desert or heart rising off a fire. The 'scent' of death tortured Rei's nostrils as she tried desperately to focus. The shimmering was the give-away; the girl was an illusion. She was showing Cassiopeia what she wanted to see, but Rei, who was not the focus of the creature's attention, could delve in to see the truth. It took a great deal of effort, more effort than the young priestess would have expected, but eventually the scales fell away from her eyes. Rei's stomach heaved. A Kyuuketsuki; a corpse, an animated corpse. She had, of course, heard about the entities that could do such things but she had never expected to see one. There were divinities in the universe who preferred the dark to the light, the cold to the warmth. They felt that the human race had gone all wrong, and they wanted to plunge the world back into the silence from which it had come. They took joy in absence, killed and stole human bodies so that they could inhabit them and use them for their own purposes. And this THING was one of them. "Tell..." the Queen began, then faltered a little, "tell me why I should believe you to be the real Serenity." Sadness seemed to swept over the young woman's eyes, and something else too. For a moment, just for a moment, the Queen could have sworn she saw something black slither through the other woman's eyes. Then it was gone, and Cassiopeia's mind closed over, unable to handle the reality. Quartz smiled shyly. "When I was younger," she said quietly, "the man who raised me would tell me a bed time story. It was about a princess, who lived and worked among the common people, and did not know she was a princess. He would never tell me the ending, maybe that's why it stuck out in my mind. But last year, he died. On his death bed he told me the truth, about my mother,,,, about who I am." Cassiopeia nodded slowly. It was far more convincing than anything else she had heard, and as much as she wanted to believe this girl, it wasn't enough. Quartz opened her mouth to say something more, then pitched forward suddenly, headed for the floor. "Are you alright!?" the Queen mother asked frantically, eyes wide with worry as she caught the young girl just before she hit the ground. "Fine... I just felt a little faint," standing behind Quartz, Cassiopeia didn't see her eyes narrow dangerously, suddenly and painfully aware of the presence behind the screen. "Aku ryo tai san!" Rei chanted softly, moving her hands in the prescribed ritual to banish evil spirits. She finished the movement and started again, "Aku ryo tai san!" A gasp reached her ears, and then the voice of a distressed Cassiopeia Filled with relief, Rei allowed herself a triumphant smile before repeating the ritual. It came out of no where, cold as ice and twice as painful as it cut against her mind. Caught off guard, Rei fell backwards, her head painfully connecting with the marble floor. Once again, she had underestimated the enemy, and was paying for it. She'd never felt an evil so powerful, or so intense. It tore at her psyche relentlessly, bent on crawling inside of her. She tried to cry out, but the entity shoved it back down her throat. The sleepless nights and trying days had left their mark on the young priestess, and she was not nearly as powerful as she would have been had she taken better care of herself. All the entity needed was a small crack in Rei's mental shield, and finding it, slipped inside. Rei felt it taking control, closing her windpipe. Slowly, slowly, she starved for breath, chest heaving as she attempted to get up. All the while, the words exchanged between Quartz and the Queen floated past her, but she couldn't bring herself to try and understand them, so desperate was she for air. It wasn't until darkness began to swim before her eyes that Rei felt her hand move, as though a puppet on string. She watched in abject horror as the smooth, white fingers tangled around the cord in front of her. The cord attached to the bells... the bells that would declare Quartz to be the Moon Princess, and Prince Endymion's bride. She looked at her hand as though it was a snake. 'What are you doing!?' she cried inwardly. It was too late. Her hand gave a sharp yank, and the sound of metallic tinkling filled the air. "What was that?" Quartz asked, as if she didn't know. 'Bitch...' Rei seethed, 'You know...' For the second time in a month, Rei collapsed. "Oh my dear, I'm so happy!" Cassiopeia cried, throwing her arms around Quartz impulsively. The young woman stood stiff and cold as iron, but the Queen didn't notice. Cassiopeia had long ago formed the nasty habit of seeing only what she wanted to see, and now was no exception. She knew only joy; at last she'd found her best friend's legacy, and at last she could be reconciled with her son. The past few weeks had been filled with worry for the Mother/Queen, sitting by her son's bedside ever moment that could be spared. The fear of his passing became deeply rooted, until she was convinced that if she could only find the Moon Princess, her son's soul mate, then his health would instantly return. Of course, she conveniently forgot about Endymion's Serenity, the one he claimed to care for so deeply. "What.. what's going on?" Quartz asked, drawing away and looking around fearfully. She was a very good actress. "I believe you!" Cassiopeia enthused, ready to embrace the young girl all over again, "At last, we've found you. Our search is over." "You believe me?" "Of course, my dear," the Queen plowed through Quartz's 'objections', "You must meet my son immediately, and I *know* he'll want to see you. You will marry him, won't you, my dear? It was your mother's greatest wish!" Now the ebony haired woman passed, looking Quartz straight in her false blue eyes. "Of course I will," the gray woman-child replied breathlessly, "Mother.. may I can you that?" "You may! Oh, but you may!" Cassiopeia turned, calling for Haruna. "Let their be rejoicing in the Kingdom!" she declared, "Serenity IV and Endymion are to be wed!" ------------ Fighting down a bought of coughing, Prince Endymion leaned against the wall, muttering a few choice words between breaths. He despised feeling so weak and helpless, as Prince of Earth he prided himself on his strength as well as his intellect. Which was why, he supposed, he had refused to let the Generals accompany him to his mother's audience chamber. He hadn't been out of bed in weeks, and was making a remarkable recovery, he'd reasoned, he didn't need their help. Endymion rolled his eyes, trying to rest a little before he continued on his way. If his mother found out about this, he'd never leave his bedchamber again, he thought. A frown pulled down the corners of his mouth as bitterness washed over him in a wave. Lately, the reaction had become typical to thoughts of his mother, whether or not it was justified. He openly admitted the fact he was still incredibly angry with her. What right did she had to take away... take away... Serenity. His heart beat painfully; she'd been almost the only thing he could focus on, all through his illness. Heck, she occupied a great deal of his thoughts anyway! Closing his eyes, Endymion tried to chase the image of her from his mind, at least until after his audience with Mother. "What in the world could she want," he muttered to himself, before moving on to finish his walk. Serenity walked with her head down, counting the seams in the tiled marble flooring as she carried the empty tray back towards the kitchens. She'd never seen Cassiopeia in such a state, she mused, so excited and full of life. Lately she could help but be a little worried about her mistress, who wilted a little more each day. Granted the Queen was indifferent towards her servant girl at best, downright cruel to her at worst, but Serenity was never one to hold a grudge. Endymion for instance... The young girl's heart fell and she shook her head. She'd been so desperately twisted up about him, fearing for his life and aching for his companionship even as her friends cautioned her that he might have purposely broken her heart. "I can't believe that of him," she whispered, unsure as to whether she was trying to convince the world of that, or herself. As they would do oh-so many times in the life to follow, the Earth Prince and the golden servant/concubine crashed right into one another. Jarred by the impact, Serenity let go of the tray and watched helplessly as it smashed on the floor, tossing china and cutlery every which way. Endymion acted on instinct, no quite sure what he had rammed into while absorbed in his thoughts, but reaching out to steady both it and himself. Imagine his surprise when he was met not with a cold, inanimate object, but something soft and possessing warmth. A very, very familiar warmth, who's steady burning shot straight to his soul. The instant contact was made, both man and woman recognized one another, and their heads shot up. They gazed at each other at first in shock, and then in hooded wonder as their gazes refused to unlock. She was so warm, Endymion realized as he pulled her to him, eliminating what little space was between them. One hand rested at the small of her back, the other a little higher from where he'd reached out to steady her. Greedily he soaked up as much of her as he could, the light blush that graced her pale cheeks, the gold of her hair, the look in her eyes... He was captivated by those eyes, which had transformed in an instant from their usual aquamarine to the most fascinating transparent indigo. In their depths he swore he could see her soul, pulsing bright and steady with it's incomparable light. For all his midnight visits, stolen glances and dreams of her, the real thing made pale ghosts of them all. It was deceptive, almost, how safe and innocent it seemed to touch her. It was like a solar eclipse, supposedly less bright, but still dangerously blinding. Every inch of his body clamored for exposure to her, and yet he simply stood there, staring into her eyes. Spellbound. Reaching up, Serenity placed her delicate hand against his cheek, trying to assure herself that this was real, that *he* was real. She felt him pull her closer, braced herself against his tall, solid form, still gazing up into his amazing blue eyes. Much to her dismay, she realized that she had been thinking of him as dead. She had been mourning as one mourns a lover swallowed up by the uncaring Earth. Unlike her Prince, she hadn't been sneaking little glances, stealing through the night. And yet here he was alive, albeit a little pale, his cheek warm against her hand. His hand came up to caress the slope of her neck, and Serenity's mouth formed a little 'o', leaning towards him for some reason her dazed mind could no discern Somehow, the intimate cocoon that had formed around them began to shatter and break. Reality seeped in through to the little imperfections in the framework, and Endymion began to realize, disapointment sliding down his throat, that he was endangering Serenity's very life. Ruthlessly, his mind tortured him with visions; his beautiful Serenity dangling limply from the hangman's noose while his mother pointed, smiling in triumph. 'I warned him,' the not-mother of the vision shouted, 'I told him not to touch her, but he refused to listen. I didn't kill her, Prince Endymion did!' With a groan of absolute defeat he fairly shoved her away from him, wondering absently how they had managed to become so entangled in such a short amount of time. Oh, but he wanted to gather her back to him, wrap around her in such a way that the heavens couldn't tell them apart. "Endy..." it was a little sound, one of hurt and betrayal as it escaped Serenity's lips. She stood just out of his reach now, gazing at him sadly. Endymion shook his head violently, rushing past her heedless of his own condition. "Gomen ne," he murmured as he moved by, unable to resist the temptation to touch her hair, just once, "Oh, kami, I'm so sorry!" Then he was gone, disappearing down the hallway, with a pair of blue eyes staring after him. Though painfully confused, somewhere inside Serenity's heart a little flame leapt to life and began to burn. Hope. ------- "You're late," Cassiopeia remarked sourly, gazing at her son in slight disapproval as he entered. "Gomen ne, Mother," he said quietly, gazing at her with an equal amount of disappointment. Inwardly, the Queen shuddered. This was his silent form of protest, his way of never letter her forget the hurt she had inflicted on him. 'This will make it better,' she assured herself, thinking of Quartz, who hid behind one of the long violet curtains, 'This will make things right again.' She smiled warmly, despite her son's cool gaze. "What was it you wanted to see me about, Mother?" "Oh my dear, dear boy," she clasped her hands together, unable to contain her excitement, "I have the most wonderful news!" She didn't notice that Endymion's eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, "You can come out now!" she fairly sang. The curtains to her right shifted, before pulling apart to reveal a terribly thin young woman, gray hair bound up much the same way Serenity did hers. The girl smiled, a gesture Endymion supposed was meant to be warm, but all it did was send chills down his spine. A knot of dread formed in his stomach as he looked into her eyes... so, very, very cold. "Endymion," his mother was saying, and it took him a minute to register the words, "This is Quartz. Or should I say, Princess Serenity IV." Endymion's world shattered into a million tiny, irretrievable pieces. The threat of the Moon Princess had hung over his head for so long that it had almost become unreal. This.. this... was she? 'Serenity' extended her hand to touch his, and Endymion found that her skin burned with cold. It made him almost physically ill. "Hello, my Prince," she said softly, with a distinct note of threat only Endymion seemed to hear. "I'm so *very* pleased to meet you." ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ::demonic grin:: Email, ne? Maybe if you email me, I won't take four months to get the next chapter out... ^_~ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Meredith Bronwen Mallory Evil Mad Scientist -------------------------------- The Evil Mad Scientist's Lair- http://www.angelfire.com/ri2/ems/index.html ~*~ Horizon- http://www.angelfire.com/ri2/horizon/index.html --------------------------------- High my heart or bowed my head, All my days but lead to bed, Up and out and on; and then, Ever back to bed again. Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall, I'm a fool to rise at all! -"Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom" by Dorothy Parker. ---------------------------------