Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Unspoken ❯ Chapter 2

Unspoken:

Book I of the Lost Love Arc

Chapter Two

 

Fandom: Sailor Moon/Gundam Wing

Genre: Drama, Angst, Romance

Pairing: Hotaru/Duo

Rating: X/NC-17

 

Summary: Set during the Silver Millennium, Unspoken is a tale of duty, devotion, and loss—and, of course, unrequited love.

 

*

 

Morning found Hotaru stretched out on her bed face-down, her nude body exposed to the world without a care. Just then her maidservant flung open the door and came charging in the room like an ox. Maxine always was enthusiastic about mornings—Hotaru hated them.

 

“Come on, girl, get up! You've got a full day ahead of you!” The woman smacked Hotaru gently on her derriere, urging her to full wakefulness. Incredibly unhappy with this whole situation, the dark-haired princess rolled over in her sleep, groaning a bit as her draperies were pulled back to let daylight into the room. “Disgusting…” she moaned, flinging an arm over her eyes.

 

“Come on now, you've got to at least give Apollo the respect he deserves. Great Gods above, he works hard to get the sunlight this far out!” Maxine cheered, her voice echoing off the tiling as she walked into the bathroom, her heels clicking on the floor. “Damn Apollo,” Hotaru muttered to herself. She heard the sound of water being run in the bathroom, and was grateful—she direly needed a soak after last night.

 

“Maxine, put some of those oils in the bath! The Moonflower, and maybe just a touch of Jessamine!” Hotaru requested as she finally shoved herself out of bed, resigned to greeting the day. Maxine trotted back in the room and began picking up the princess' discarded clothing and items from the evening before. “I already did that, girl. Figured you'd like to spend some time just relaxing before you've got to rush down to the practice field.”

 

The dark-haired girl smiled sweetly then, strolling into the bathroom. “I don't know why I always tell you, Maxine. I know you know, but…I guess I'm neurotic or a bit of a control-freak.” The maidservant grinned, hanging up Hotaru's evening gown in her wardrobe. “Eh, a reminder hurts no one, princess.”

 

Closing the bathroom door, Hotaru found herself watching the mirror as it fogged up, and moved to turn off the water flowing into the over-large bathtub. As the princess swung first one leg over the edge, then the other, and found herself sinking into moist warmth smelling of night blooms.

 

Today she'd go down to the practice circle—Princess Makoto was waiting there to spar with her. Afterwards, she'd have to come back to her chamber and let herself be primped by Maxine. Then she and her father were off to the Temple of Death to find out who the gods thought their future king should be.

 

Shinimegami, help us all. Choose our mate wisely, Hotaru prayed as she dunked her head underneath the surface.

 

It was shaping up to be a busy day. Then there would be another feast tonight at which they were to announce the result of the reading. Personally, the princess thought her father was rushing the entire proceeding far too fast—but he was insistent on seeing her married before he took his last breath. The entire thing was ridiculous—he was so focused on dying that it was as if he'd already stopped living. Men, they were just plain silly.

 

*

 

Hotaru emerged from the bath later feeling rejuvenated and ready to face Makoto on the practice fields. It was rather convenient that Jupiter was the neighboring planet in the alliance and allowed them to get together frequently to keep their skills honed. Unlike Haruka, who already was preoccupied with most of her mother's duties, Makoto had the time to spare. Of course, Hotaru was sure that Haruka spent whatever free time she did have with Michiru of Neptune.

 

As soon as Maxine had brushed the princess' hair to sleek perfection and tied it in a tight braid, the Saturnian heiress slipped into a knee-length tunic of fine white cotton and form-hugging black pants fit to exercise in. Practicality was key here, because Hotaru knew she couldn't afford distractions such as having hair in her face with Makoto as her opponent.

 

 

Making her way down to the practice field, Hotaru wasn't surprised when she found it filled nearly to capacity. The princes from the provinces on the planet had begun congregating more regularly at the Saturnian Castle. They found more and more excuses to come to the capitol city these days. The princes of the moons had also begun to come for visits—either staying with distant relatives in nearby provinces or at the Castle itself.

 

The princess found it a bit disconcerting, having all that male attention focused solely on the attainment of her throne. Therefore, she'd begun to use the shadows of the Castle to her own advantage, slipping among them unnoticed. She saw Makoto on the far end of the practice field, leaning against the fence. Who was that she was speaking to?

 

As she sidled closer, Hotaru finally realized that the speaker was Prince Duo, and she inwardly cringed. Damn it, Makoto, couldn't you be anti-social, just for once? It appeared that they were watching a group of young men go at each other with swords, trying to simulate the environment of a real battle. Little did they know that in a real battle, enemies weren't kind enough to wait for you to get off the ground before they attacked.

 

Approaching Makoto and the prince from behind, Hotaru let a mischievous smile play over her lips as an idea formed. Silent as a mouse; for silence was her namesake; she came to stand behind them. “Boo,” she said, her voice louder than normal, carrying a hint of foreboding in it. Her efforts were rewarded when Makoto jumped off the railing and spun around, looking for a threat.

 

“Hotaru,” she said in relief once she spotted the dark-haired girl, “You scared the crap out of me.” Hotaru smiled, and put one hand on the fence railing, leaping over to be on the same side as the other two. “I know. I apologize, Makoto, but the temptation was irresistible,” she murmured, her face the picture of contriteness. “Prince Duo, a good morning to you. How goes the practicing?”

 

Duo was smiling, not having been startled by Hotaru's approach, or at least not showing it. “Amusing, I'd say. Watch for a minute.” It was then the princess noticed that Prince Dennin was in that crowd of young men. From the circle, she heard called, “You're not worthy of the princess, Carrig, you cad!”

 

“They're fighting over me…?” Hotaru asked, looking from first Makoto to Duo. “Yep,” Makoto volunteered cheerfully. “That's…that's ridiculous!” The Saturnian Princess yelled as anger took root. Immature little boys, the lot of them! They were all well aware that physical prowess had nothing to do with the choosing—hell, she had nothing to do with the choosing! It was a divined choice, and nothing they said or did would matter.

 

Grumbling to herself, she stomped off to an unoccupied area, calling her Silence Glaive into existence as she went. Without realizing it, Hotaru began to whip her weapon around her body, slicing down invisible enemies. “Makoto, let's practice!” she yelled, spinning to face the princess of Jupiter, only to find that the brunette had already followed her.

 

“Agreed,” Jupiter's future monarch stated with a dangerous smile. “Transform or not?” Hotaru felt her own lips stretch to match Makoto's smile, stating, “Let's. It should be fun.” Her opponent grinned, and called in her transforming device.

 

“Jupiter Power, Make Up!” she shouted, her voice strong enough to carry across the practice fields. Energy crackled and swarmed, and a moment later Makoto stood across from Hotaru as Sailor Jupiter, clad in a sailor fuku and boots. “Come on, Hotaru, let's have it! I'm ready to go.”

 

Ignoring the world beyond her singular opponent, Hotaru carelessly cried out, “Saturn Power, Make Up!” The cold energy of death surrounded her for a moment, magic infusing her pores. A moment later she stood as Sailor Saturn, defender of the galaxy. Her fuku always took her a second to get used to—personally, she thought the designer of the outfit was a foolish man. Only a man would have chosen a short skirt for a fighter.

 

Without warning, Jupiter charged at her, sending a bolt of lightning crashing in her direction. Spinning her Glaive, Saturn deflected the shot and sent it crashing into the orchard. She knew at least one tree would be ripped to shreds, but that was better than hitting one or more of the boys in the field. Deciding it was time for a little payback, Saturn shouted her attack, “Silence Glaive Surprise!” She slammed the butt of her Glaive on the ground, feeling the rush of energy towards Jupiter. Using her mental control, she steadied the flow of the power so Jupiter could handle it—otherwise, her powers naturally overcame the other senshi's.

 

Very few senshi were actually on par with Saturn's abilities. One was Pluto, the other was Princess Serenity. Combined, Uranus and Neptune made a powerful duo against her. Jupiter knew that her power was slightly lesser than Saturn's, so she didn't argue when Saturn limited her attacks that way. In return, Jupiter pushed herself to attack more often and stronger.

 

“Supreme Thunder Crash!” With those words, several lightning bolts came headed directly for Saturn, and the senshi of death hurriedly pushed her Glaive in front of her, leaping back as she did so to gain more space. “Silence Wall!” Abruptly, a protective barrier appeared between herself and Sailor Jupiter. The battle continued this way for awhile until, magically exhausted, Jupiter cried out, “Hand to Hand!”

 

Saturn nodded her ascent and tucked her Glaive away in its space pocket. Jupiter charged head-on and came at her with a strong right hand punch. Quickly, the senshi stepped back into a more stable fighting position, and threw her arm up, deflecting the punch. With the other hand, she twisted Jupiter's arm away from her, and threw a low punch to Jupiter's stomach. “Oof!” she heard, as her fellow senshi's wind left her.

 

Jupiter, always stronger in hand-to-hand than she, returned with a low roundhouse kick that knocked her flat on her back. Saturn flung out with her legs, using a spinning motion to knock Jupiter to the ground also and get herself to her feet at the same time. Jupiter got to her feet then and they traded blows with feet and hands until finally, both girls collapsed to the ground as a unit, panting and sweating, and generally exhausted.

 

“Well,” Makoto panted as she detransformed, “I think that…you got in a couple of great bruises.” Hotaru looked up at the sky, fighting a tired grin, as she admitted, “You too. Maxine's going to be irritated. Here I'm supposed to look all pretty for the feast tonight.”

 

“Another one?” asked Makoto, still looking up at the sky as well. “Yeah,” the other princess returned, “He's damn determined to see me married.” Jupiter's princess slowly shook her head, her breath evening out once more. “That's…hard. I think it's terrible that you and Minako can't choose your husbands. I mean, I wouldn't want to be bound to someone I loathe for the rest of my life.”

 

“Your parents are kind, Makoto. They realize you have time enough to find the one you will be happy with,” Hotaru stated, getting to her feet, and offering Makoto a hand up, which the brunette eagerly took. It was only then that they noticed silence across the normally bustling practice yard. Everyone was staring at them…in awe. Suddenly, applause sprang up and the princesses blushed and bowed simultaneously, moving in tandem with one another. “We should get out of here,” Makoto said between teeth clenched in a smile. “Yeah,” Hotaru agreed from the side of her mouth.

 

Moving once more as a well-timed unit, they hopped over the fence and strolled away. But Hotaru couldn't help but glance back once more, noticing that her eyes had not deceived her—Prince Duo of Janus still leaned against the fence, mere yards away from where she and Makoto had fought, an amused smile on his gamine features.

 

*

 

Hotaru saw Makoto off at the Coach landing, and then proceeded to make her sweaty, exhausted way back to her bedroom, where Maxine waited, clucking her tongue and muttering about women's duties. The princess merely shook her head as she was drawn yet another bath, and scrubbed and polished thoroughly by her maidservant.

 

This time the young heiress found her hair dried thoroughly, and was dressed in a simple gown of white cotton. Hotaru almost rejoiced in the maneuverability of it, until an overdress of violet velvet was put on over it. What was the point of wearing lighter fabrics when you wore heavier ones over it anyway? Her feet having been stuffed into a pair of black flats, and half her hair pulled back into an elaborate bun, the princess was finally allowed to make her way down to her father—but not before she submitted to the indignity that was make-up.

 

In the hall, her father made noises about how beautiful she looked, how much like her mother she appeared—and the balm of his words made the indignity the process had been less of an ache to her pride. In the Coach, Hotaru rested her hand on her father's knee and told him of her adventures that morning.

 

He laughed, his voice a harsh-sounding wheeze, and immediately gave way to a coughing fit, which made his daughter feel bad for telling the tale in the first place. Hotaru rubbed her father between his shoulder blades gently, trying to ease the spasms. If she was such a powerful healer, then why could she not heal this ailment? Of course, they'd told her many times over that her abilities were only good on surface wounds—preventing death when it was not their natural time.

 

Finally, the coughing fit eased and her father drew in a long breath, which went out in a sigh. “Oh, Hotaru, how weak I am in my old age. I know you truly don't want to be married yet, but I'd rather be there to see it, than to have you face it alone when I'm gone.” The princess ducked her head, refusing to admit to the truth. “Be angry with me, my daughter, if you must, but don't lock yourself away from reality. You were raised to see the necessity of things—surely you must see it now.”

 

She gave a submissive nod, and then the carriage stopped. The door was opened by one of the coachmen, and Hotaru took his hand, stepping out onto the cobbled streets of the temple district. Her father followed close behind, and with their entourage—important dignitaries, their chancellor—to serve as witnesses, they climbed the steps to the largest temple in the district, the temple of death.

 

*

 

“Come in, Your Majesty, come in! What a delight to see you, as always! It is been awhile since your last visit, sir.” The head priest, a gregarious older fellow, continued to babble as he showed them the way to the divining room. Hotaru followed at an eager pace, wanting to see this room—it was the only part of the temple she'd never been allowed in. She'd even seen the dorm rooms that the priests slept in—having taken one as a lover over a year ago.

 

The taboo affair though had ceased once the king had taken ill—Hotaru devoted most of her time then to taking care of him, and being near should something occur. The princess was taken out of her thoughts when the company halted and a pair of double doors, intricately carved from dark walnut wood, began to swing open.

 

Hotaru, her father, and the chancellor were then ushered inside and the doors closed behind them. Glancing around, the room took the princess' breath away. A deep pool of still waters took up the majority of the room, its contents looking nearly black in the romantic candlelight. Suspended above it was an intricately woven spider web, tangled onto circular stonework of a tall skylight.

 

“Don't worry about the spider. He's harmless,” the head priest said as he started to arrange his tools on the ground. “Princess, please kneel. We will allow your father and the chancellor to stand. Who's to say that their knees would work a second time?” Without a flicker of emotion in her violet eyes, Hotaru knelt on a ninety degree angle from the priest, just a quarter turn around the stagnant pool, except for the drip of water from the spider web.

 

The realization hit Hotaru then. Divination in the death temple was a very closely guarded art. They were about the witness something that less than one percent of their population saw. Still, she knelt and kept silent. The high priest began to chant in Ancient Saturnian, the language of death, calling up the deities and welcoming them into that humble space.

 

Above them, Hotaru heard a skittering sound, and a large shriek as the spider caught a bird who'd strayed through the open skylight. Blood sprayed as the spider attacked, and Hotaru turned her face up in shock. The spider was a large a pony. It twisted the bird, ripping off the head, and blood rained down upon them. Droplets splashed onto her face, but for some reason, the princess remained unaffected.

 

As she turned her face once more to face the priest, Hotaru felt a drop roll off her cheek, down her neck, and into the valley between her breasts. Fire lit along her spine and in her heart, wherever the blood touched her. Still, the princess could not bring herself to brush the blood off. It was then she noticed that the water was not water at all, but blood that had been collected there, probably from the spider's kills.

 

How old was that spider? Or did it bear children there, and did those children continue to make sacrifices to the god and goddess of death? Miraculously, the blood in the pool remained uncongealed, as though it had been taken from its enemy mere seconds before. The chanting had stopped. Hotaru found herself leaning over the pool, much as the priest was doing with his tool, an athame, resting in his left hand.

 

Abruptly, the priest shot his right hand forward, and captured her wrist, pulling the princess towards him sharply. Had it not been for her training as a senshi, the girl probably would have become unbalanced and crashed into the pool of blood. “What…?” she began, but was cut off when the priest brought his athame down, slashing her wrist. The wound itself was not very deep, but it was long and it bled.

 

With her blood on his athame, the priest dipped the tool into the pool, and gently stirred its surface. Her blood mixed with countless others. She tugged on her captive wrist, satisfied when the priest absently freed her, as though he'd forgotten he was holding his future sovereign. “Look,” the priest ordered, his voice somewhat hoarse with the use of magic.

 

She did, fixing her violet eyes on the blood pool. As she did, it began to shiver as more blood dripped from the spider web. The surface became choppy, difficult to watch, then suddenly it cleared…

 

The surface had formed an unmistakable picture of Janus' Prince. As though to confirm it, the priest stated, “Prince Duo of Janus.” Startlement gave way to quiet horror in Hotaru, as she contemplated a future with this man.

 

*

 

“You must be joking, father! I cannot marry him!” Hotaru cried as they argued their way back to the castle. “No, I am not joking, Hotaru! The divination says it is, so it is. That is the way it works,” her father stated.

 

“But that's not fair!” the princess cried, her voice full of indignance. “Life is not always fair, Hotaru,” the king responded, his voice beginning to grow cold with anger. The carriage pulled up to the castle, and Hotaru leapt out without waiting for the coachmen. “Now listen here,” her father said as he struggled his way out of the Coach, “You'll go to your chamber and get ready for the feast. Then I expect you to meet me down there, promptly. We'll announce the divination result just after dessert.”

 

With those words, the king painfully walked up the steps to the castle. The coachmen took off to the stable house, leaving Hotaru alone. Once she was sure there was no one within earshot, the princess let out a piercing yell, one full of impotent anger. She did not want to be married, period, much less to someone like the Prince of Janus.

 

*

 

“It's nothing to be upset about, princess,” Maxine cooed, as she did Hotaru's hair into an elaborate up-do comprised of long, twisted curls. “I'm sure the prince is a kind man. He's worthy of the job; otherwise the divination wouldn't have picked him. The divination's never been wrong.”

 

Hotaru sighed, trying to keep a straight neck for her maidservant, when every bone in her body wanted to melt with despair. “I know, but…Maxine, I'm worried. I don't want my husband to be a source of gossip—and I think that's exactly what this Duo of Janus is. He drinks too much too often, gambles, causes tavern fights, adores women—sometimes two at once, I might add.”

 

“I don't want my name to be sullied because he can't be discreet.” The princess found herself smoothing down the folds of her gown; an elaborate affair with a stiff amethyst corset-top and layers of multi-toned crinoline and sheer silk on the bottom. “I think you might not be giving him enough credit, dearie,” Maxine said in her softest voice as she moved on to do Hotaru's make-up once more.

 

Obstinately silent, the princess remained still until the maidservant was done with her task. Hotaru finally sat up then, taking a look at the young woman in the mirror who didn't look like herself at all. Slipping on her shoes, flats again, of the same amethyst as her corset, the future queen thanked her maid and began to walk downstairs to the feast.

 

She met her father at the raised-up dais, and took her normal seat at his side, allowing the servants to push in her chair for her. Giving her father an imperious nod, Hotaru settled into a façade of stuck-up grace, hiding her true melancholy within. Gradually, nobles began to drift up to the dais to offer their king and princess greetings and well-wishes.

 

Surveying the growing crowd, Hotaru watched two nobles take seats next to the Prince of Janus. From what she knew, her father had gone and contacted Duo's parents, giving them the news ahead of time. She guessed that must be them, waiting to hear the announcement in person. The thought made her cringe just a little.

 

Dinner went without a hitch, guests chatting amongst themselves and minstrels providing delightful background music. To Hotaru's mind, it might as well have been nails on a chalkboard. The prime rib, which she knew should taste wonderful, sat on her tongue like sawdust. Dessert came around, and instead of enjoying the strawberries with their crème de menthe sauce—which the kitchen staff knew was her favorite—the princess only wished for it to go away. The only good thing about the meal was the wine—a robust red which she kept draining and refilling. She was almost positive that she was getting drunk.

 

Finally, dessert ended and her father refilled his wine glass and stood up, immediately catching the attention of those in the room. He'd always had that effect of people, Hotaru marveled, hoping that she would one day do the same. “Noblemen and Noblewomen, my daughter and I would like to thank you all for your immensely enjoyable presence this evening. However, we did not merely call you together for dinner…”

 

A hush fell over the room, the kind of hush where you could hear a pin drop. Hotaru drained her wine glass again and refilled it once more. Her head began spinning and she let it loll against the back of her chair. “The divination has been performed!” the king cried, his old voice infused with strength, “It has been foretold that my daughter's husband shall be…Prince Duo of Janus!”

 

A moment of stunned hesitation followed the announcement, while Hotaru watched Duo's parents, the King and Queen of Janus beam with pride. Duo himself just looked stunned. Finally, applause and congratulatory shouts rang out. Hotaru smiled into her wine goblet, then drained the contents again. She began to laugh quietly, her head still resting on the back of the chair, but the laugh grew in volume, until she was nearly boneless with it.

 

That night, the princess of Saturn suffered the indignity of being hauled to her chamber, too drunk to stand upright. But later on, collapsed on the bed still in her finery with Maxine fussing over her, Hotaru simply cried, despairing of ever having her heart unfurl in love.

 

*

 

TBC…