Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Concubines ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Concubines

Author: ConservErie [katefire002@yahoo.com]

Rating: R

ATTENTION: IF YOU, THAT'S RIGHT, *YOU* ARE UNDER THE LEGAL AGE OF CONSENT, DON'T READ THIS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! BY CONTINUING PAST THIS POINT, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE OF LEGAL AGE AND WAIVE ANY PROTECTIVE RIGHTS AVAILABLE TO MINORS.

Moving on...

All notes written in the first chapter still apply, except the one about sex...I think...

I realize that the possibility of everyone speaking the same language during the Silver Millennium, and that language being a mixture of English and Japanese, is incredibly slim. If you have the urge to argue with me about it, I'm just gonna tell you to shove it, so you might as well get over it.

Please excuse the extreme lateness of this chapter. As more and more time passed, it became easier and easier to not think about this project and to just keep heaping excuses on the never-ending pile.

Then some people finally--"lovingly"--beat my ass enough to get it in gear. I'll never forgive you guys for trying to kick-start the "healing process", seeing me cry, or constantly playing all the oppressively cheerful and upbeat music anywhere you could. I thank you, and hope I'm still around to pick your sorry asses up if you're ever torn down, God forbid.

An incredibly big thank-you and hug goes to Locke, for putting forth so much effort towards editing this monster. I hope to have the next chapter to you relatively soon.

Disclaimer: Standard Sailor Moon disclaimers apply. Oh, the song "Stay Awake" is performed by Julie Andrews in/as Mary Poppins. I only exchanged the word "moon" with "Earth" (marked with an *) since, obviously, if you're on the moon it won't be in the sky. You won't need to have seen the movie to understand. I don't own the song, the lady, or the movie/character. The Eightfold Fence referenced to is from "Shogun," an excellent book by James Clavell. I don't own it; I presume he does. Oh, and they did have jello on Mars 5000 years ago. ^_~

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Chapter Three

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With the sudden sensation of Usagi's lips pressed against her own, the sight of the golden-haired maiden and the fire room slowly faded from Rei's eyes as her vision was swallowed by a field of black. All sense of feeling swiftly followed, and she was left with nothing but the knowledge that she still existed...and even that seemed to be receding as a picture--no--a memory took hold of her mind.

***

She opened her eyes and stretched just before someone walked into her room, no doubt to wake her up. Immediately, she smiled and sat up in her bed.

"Deimos-chan! Guess what today is!" she exclaimed, throwing the thin sheets off her seven-year-old body and running to her nanny.

The woman, twenty years the girl's senior, dropped the bags she had been carrying and hurried to quiet her charge down. Carried clearly over the silence, she heard the angry shouts coming from the direction of the palace gates.

"Hush, Rei-chan!" she hissed. "I must pack a bag for you and get you to the ship before the people force you to stay; they're rioting outside. Quickly, change into a dress from the closet!"

The raven-haired child, though young, could detect the fear and urgency in her nanny's voice and ran to do as she was told. Still, she couldn't help her precocious nature and had to ask what was going on. "But, Deimos-chan, I thought I wasn't supposed to leave until later tonight, after my party. Why do I have to go now?"

She looked up at Deimos, slightly disconcerted by the pause in her nanny's previously frantic movements. "The people are unhappy that you must go to the Moon Kingdom and are trying to force you to stay. They feel threatened that you'll hand the keys of the kingdom over to the Lunar court if you have to protect and grow close to the princess."

"Where's Ojii-sama?" she asked while hastily pulling a thin red silk child's gown over her head. She didn't even bother with the usual undergarments and threw her favorite "dress up" shoes, red high heels that were miniature replicas of a set her mother had owned, into one of the bags. She opted to remain barefoot.

The nanny's heart went out to the girl. "I'm sorry, Rei-chan, but he's trying to get the crowd outside to see reason without calling in the troops. I'm afraid he won't be able to see you off."

"Oh." It was all she could manage without crying.

Deimos finished, gathered the two bags, and took Rei's hand. "Don't you let me see any tears, little one. You know your grandfather is only trying to protect you. Besides, I'll still be there. And Phobos-kun is going with you on the ship," she added as an afterthought.

The din of voices from outside grew louder and the great gates to the palace seemed to groan in protest of the heavy press of so many bodies.

"Quickly, Rei-chan, run!"

And she did. But why, she thought, were the people so mad? Rounding corners, dodging statues, plants, and preoccupied servants, she couldn't understand. Sure, she was more than agitated by the arrangement, but she was the one leaving and didn't have a choice in the matter. And what if they broke through? Would they be angry at her for something she had no say in?

Her legs pumped harder beneath her, her feet slapping against the cool marble.

Right.

Left.

Another right.

She tried to remember the shortest route to the shipyard, but it was hard to concentrate when so many people were screaming and shouting less than two hundred feet from her. Gradually, the sounds grew fainter and fainter, though they refused to die away completely.

Rounding a final corner, the gigantic vessel loomed above her and she stopped in awe.

It was larger than she remembered. Painfully ancient, it was of the classical design from the turn of the Millennium, suited for little more than Inner Planetary travel, and constructed entirely from Mars's very rare trees. The sails were made of a deep red silk and majestically rippled in the winds. She knew that it was priceless to her kingdom.

However, her observations were cut short when Phobos's neatly shaved head, save a single braid sprouting from above his right ear, popped over the side of the ship. He spotted them and threw down a rope ladder; his suntanned body quickly joined them after sliding down the ladders length, completely disregarded the wooden rungs.

"Ready, you scalawag?" the young soldier asked with a roguish, confident grin, taking the bags from Deimos and crossing them over his shoulders.

Rei cast one last look at the palace and pleaded with her nanny, "Are you sure I can't say good-bye to Ojii-sama? It'll be quick, I promise."

"I'm sorry, Rei-chan," Deimos said, picking up her charge and holding her tight.

Phobos politely looked away as they said farewell. At the sound of Deimos clearing her throat, he turned back and ruffled his princess's hair. "Come on, you little scamp. The ship will only wait so long for us."

"Phobos-kun," she started, looking him straight in the eye and trying her hardest not to blush at her confession, "I don't think I can get up the ladder. My legs feel like jello."

The royal guard smiled reassuringly and knelt to her level. "Well, I would be surprised if they didn't. If I was you, I'd be screaming my head off and--" An explosion shook the rock beneath their feet. He cast an anxious glance over his shoulder and swung Rei onto his back. "Hold on tight!" he shouted before taking the ladder two, and sometimes three, rungs at a time.

He didn't stop once he boarded the ship, but hurried below decks and set her down once they were in a spare room.

"You okay, you little monkey?" he asked, looking her over for even the smallest scratch.

She slowly nodded her head and let her gaze wander around the small room. It was perhaps half the size of her palace closet and nowhere near as clean. Cobwebs hung wearily in the corners and, attesting to the room's former use, a cluster of cleaning supplies were scattered against one of the walls. There was no furniture in the room, merely a large pile of various furs.

"Is this my room?" she petulantly inquired, gesturing at the expanse of dust.

Her guard gaze followed her hand. "Only if you make me sleep in the hallway," he sheepishly responded. "This was the only unoccupied room, in the entire ship, without rats...You *will* let me stay here, right? You wouldn't leave a poor old man like me to the mercy of those big scary space sailors, would you?"

She didn't respond.

He sat down next to her on one of the hides. "Are you okay?"

"Today's my birthday," she replied in a monotone voice.

"I know," the soldier whispered, drawing the Martian princess to him, "I'm sorry we had to leave before your party, but we wanted to keep you safe."

She nestled into the crook of his arm and pulled one of the furs over herself. "Phobos-kun?"

"Hai?"

"Will you sing me a song?"

Her bodyguard smiled. "What do you want to hear?"

She grinned, delighted. She remembered when she was younger, hearing him exclaim on more than one occasion that the king was wasting his talent protecting little girl. Maybe it was just her, but he seemed to pick up lullabies, hair braiding, child rhymes, kid games, and making sticky messes with her very quickly for one so above them.

"One of your songs," she said, referring to a collection of songs he remembered from his homeland far to the north of the palace, songs that sounded best when they weren't accompanied by music.

"Anything for you, little rapscallion."

His lilting, comforting voice filled the room with a song of courage and honor, sadness and loss, hope and love. It was one of many legends about the mighty fire senshi of Mars.

A mere three verses into the epic, Rei fell asleep. She didn't wake up until a barrel-chested sailor stomped into their room and slammed the door against the wall behind it hours later.

"We've landed at the port of the Imperial Palace, right in their majesties' front yard," he bellowed in a gruff voice. "The Lunars are jumping all over themselves to help out," he laughed from low in his chest, "There's a litter already waiting for you."

"Thank you, bosun. We'll be there shortly," Phobos said, dismissing the man. He turned to Rei, "Are you ready to go?"

The seven year old started to nod, then changed her mind, shaking her head and confusing the soldier. She dug into one of the bags he still carried and pulled out a pair of shoes. While she put them on and straightened her dress, he came up behind her and smiled. With the gentlest of touches, he weaved a series of braids that began above her ears and met behind her head. The effect was a natural, semi-wreath-like arrangement that also held the rest of her long locks beneath them.

"Are you going to stay here with me?" she asked when he finished.

A pained look crossed his features. "I'm sorry, Rei-chan, but I can't. My duty was to deliver you to Serenity-sama and return to the palace. I'm needed on Mars." Seeing her dejected look, he hastily added, "But I would be honored if you would let me escort you off the ship."

She plastered a grim smile on her face, grasped his hand, and led him to the door before abruptly coming to a halt.

"Phobos-kun, can I take the fur I used earlier?"

Raking a hand over his queue, he returned to the pile of furs and draped the thick, midnight-colored hide, the largest of the bunch it seemed, over his shoulder. "Consider this a going away present from me," he shakily said, trying to estimate how much the captain of the ship could get away with charging him for such a luxurious pelt. "Anything--ah--else, you little grub?"

"Yeah. Phobos, whenever I asked Ojii-sama why I was coming here, his eyes would get teary and he'd tell me I would understand when I was older. Do you know why I'm here?"

"You don't know," he breathed, shaking his head. He took her hand, starting to lead her through the hallways and along the deck. "I'm sorry, Rei, you wouldn't understand any of the real political reasons, but all I can tell you is that by the end of today you will belong to Serenity-sama and Serenity-hime."

"Little girls aren't given away and traded like animals," she cut in. "I don't believe you."

"Well, I'm sorry you don't," he answered, stopping her and kneeling to her level, "but know this. Your grandfather is so protective of you that he stood against the entire planet to send you here for this opportunity. If you fail here and have to return, all his efforts will have been for naught and the anarchists will have another arrow to loose at you and your grandfather's way of life. They won't be satisfied with the monarchy, anymore, Rei." She started to interrupt, but he continued over her, "I wouldn't place such a burden on your shoulders if I didn't think you couldn't handle it, Rei. Deimos-chan and I have been with you since you were born, like two fussy hens, and we'd both like to believe that we taught you a little something about responsibility and commitment." He stood back up, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "Now, I think we need to get going. It looks like there's a party waiting below to take us to your new home."

Not in a rush to disembark, the pair leisurely strolled down the gangplank and stopped before the waiting litters. Before servants picked them up, they arranged themselves on their cushions and closed the surrounding curtains. The bearers set off for the castle, arriving at its front entrance fifteen minutes later.

A beadle met them at a wrought-iron gate and helped them out. He started leading them down a long, outdoor corridor, but the pair remained at the gate.

"Rei-chan," Phobos gravely began, "the moment you walk through that entrance, you won't be a little girl anymore. Part of your new duty will be to protect the princess and be strong for her."

Allowing no time for additional talk, he led her through the doorway.

The seven-year-old smiled and reached for her guardian's hand, "I don't feel any different."

He pulled away, frowning. "Rei-hime, how can Serenity-hime be expected to put her life in your hands and believe in your abilities if you show up holding my hand like an unsteady toddler?"

She was hurt, but showed it for no longer than a minute. Immediately, she took his comment to heart and let a mask of indifference settle over her face. She pulled one of the bags off of her guard's shoulders. "Then don't you think I should carry at least one of these?"

Acquiescing, he helped her prop the handle on her shoulder and continued walking. The beadle was just within sight.

"You should also try to help her be the best she can be. Technically, she is your better now, but there will be many times when she will need your help."

They had finally arrived at the entrance to the throne room so, while they waited to be announced, Phobos hurriedly added, "Remember all your miko training and continue practicing every day to expand your abilities. As far as I'm aware, you're the only senshi gifted with any psychic abilities. Keep up with your martial arts. Take the time to learn from each of the other senshi, but stay your own person." He put a hand on her shoulder to gain her full attention. "And most importantly, don't neglect your singing." He winked.

Smiling in spite of her confusion, Rei was going to ask a question, but, at that minute, the beadle swung a great door open and shouted, "Your royal highnesses! May I present, the Martian Hime Rei!"

A tall, thin woman in a white gown rose from the throne situated in the middle of the room, an almost identical, though smaller, version of her kneeling beside her. "Welcome. Please, come nearer," she beckoned, "there is no need for you to stay back there."

The two did as they were instructed and stopped a matter of feet from her and the girl kneeling on the floor beside her, undoubtedly her daughter by their identical looks. The woman, apparently Queen Serenity, possessed a commanding aura they could all only hope to acquire a fraction of someday.

"Phobos-san, I believe our kingdoms have already agreed on the terms of Rei-hime's stay. However, as I recall, you are permitted to peruse the written accord at your leisure. You may take this duplicate if you will be so kind as to endorse both in your king's stead, and be on your way," she said, motioning to a clerk.

The soldier set down Rei's bag and skimmed over the tome. In due course, he signed his ruler's name with an ornate chop he pulled from a hidden pocket. With a wave, the female ruler dismissed him, but, before he left, he knelt in front of Rei and whispered, "I realize I'm not your favorite person right now, but I'm begging you to listen. Hopefully, Deimos and I were able to instill a reasonable sense of loyalty and honor in you. Now, I understand that you're still young, but you're going to be forced to grow up very soon and I want you to pledge an oath to me. Promise me, with every fiber of your being, that you'll never give up on Serenity-hime. Never be satisfied that she is safe enough, loved enough, or satisfied. You'll be taught a lot while you're here, but always remember what I've said." He paused. "And never doubt that Deimos and I love you, because we do. If we didn't, we would have been protesting along with everyone else back on Mars."

It took her a moment to answer. "I swear, Phobos," she whispered, "I swear by my hope of rebirth."

He nodded and stood before her. "May your step be light and your aim true."

Flustered by the honor of being given a warrior's farewell, Rei stomped on her momentary elation and nodded back. "Thank you, Phobos-san... goodbye."

He smiled sadly, turned on his heel, and quickly exited the hall.

Rei turned her head to watch him go, her last link to her home exiting the hall at a brisk pace. She committed his hulking figure to memory, every last detail that her mind could grab on to, from the style of his boots, the gait of his walk, the fabric of his "man-skirt", as she called it, to the luster of his braided queue, tone of his tanned skin, cording of his muscles, shade of his extremely rare, on Mars anyway, blue eyes as he turned to see her one last time, and the smell of him that reached her on the slight breeze that filled the room with his passing. She suddenly realized that though she might someday return home, there was little to no chance of her ever seeing her beloved guard again. He would be given another assignment, one worthy of his skill. So will Deimos-chan, she sadly thought.

Torn away from all the people I love.

Ojii-sama, ruling the empire when he'd rather be tending to the nearby temple or the sparse flowers, forced to be crowned, again, when her parents died. He had always tried to make it a rule to have finished with matters of the state by late afternoon, just so he could spend some time with her, but his conferences rarely finished on time, despite his good intentions, and he was often late, rarely home before supper.

Phobos-kun, following her everywhere, protecting her, playing with her, letting her feel like a normal kid by taking her camping, helping her evade Deimos-chan and her countless lessons, sneaking her chocolates, taking her to action plays in disguise because her grandfather wouldn't allow her to go, and sleeping outside her door, back to the wall and sword in hand, because she was convinced monsters were going to steal her in the night.

Deimos-chan, following her and Phobos everywhere, if only to clean after their messes, dressing and feeding her, teaching her anything she thought Rei might someday need, from art to music to fire-reading, making sure she went to temple to practice her martial arts with Phobos everyday, trying to chase Phobos out of the female spa and finally blind-folding him when he insisted he follow to ensure Rei's safety, and learning the barest of knife-wielding proficiency from Phobos so she could dispatch any would-be intruders if she awoke in the night from her cot at the foot of Rei's bed.

Her parents had both died when she was too young to remember much more than her father's booming voice and her mother's calming touch. Her loving grandfather was turned back into the busy figurehead of the planet, relegated to seeing her in the evenings, when she usually had lessons of some sort and bedtime soon after, his doting affections directed elsewhere as he perused treaties. And now he was taken from her completely, along with her loving nanny and bodyguard.

And all because the Moon Kingdom can't breed soldiers strong enough to defend their own princess, she thought, her resentment growing to anger. It wasn't enough that fate had ripped her family asunder, now the workings of man felt empowered to do the same with the crude replica of one they had somehow managed to bring together?

Apparently she was the only one she could count on. Rei, herself. Not even her grandfather could overcome the forces splitting them apart, but at least she would never abandon or give up on herself.

Her anger grew.

And she had sworn to Phobos that she would defend this Serenity-hime. She leveled her wrathful gaze at the mother-daughter pair, secretly pleased when the girl's too big smile faltered and she looked away. The queen looked at her comfortingly and commenced a speech that would no doubt be long and boring. Rei opted to tune her out after hearing just a few words and fought to control her temper.

She was already getting instructions? Orders?

Her fury soon turned into a rage left simmering just below the surface, something that would always be present in the face of her captor. But she couldn't succumb to it. Not yet. Eventually, she was almost sure she would give in to the temptation of screaming, ranting and raving, but she had just gotten here.

A sadness pervaded her being. She couldn't even openly express her feelings anymore. She was just a girl, just like the princess, but she was now a soldier, too.

She shook her head and followed the two royals out of the throne room.

She was just a girl.

***

Rei woke up and looked around her completely decorated half of her room for the first time. She had been on the moon a little more than a month and had just gotten the finishing touches set up.

The room was bigger than her room in the palace on Mars, but only because she was to share this one with another of the royal personages. Not to mention, many of the common areas were incorporated into the quarters; it had a private bathroom, a small collection of books, a couch to read them on, and a screened-off portion that could function as a shrine if an illness or injury or the weather would not allow her the trek across the grounds to the temple proper.

The shrine had actually come about through a suggestion of the princess. Despite the young miko's loud and lengthy protests, the blonde had accompanied her to her daily lessons and training sessions, just because she didn't want Rei to have to be there alone, even though she was only allowed to watch the training. She saw how taxing the long hours of study and physical exertion were, and yet every morning before class and every night before bed, her young guard would make the circuitous journey to the isolated temple to perform her rituals and chores. She worried about Rei's health, so she put the idea to her mother, who provided for the shrine to be built according to Rei's specifications.

The act broke the barrier between the two girls, especially since the fruit of it was a constant reminder of home, Phobos, and the promise Rei had made to him. Their friendship had bloomed slowly, but it was there, and it grew stronger everyday.

The door opened and Serenity bounded in. "Rei-chan! Get dressed! You said we could play hide-and-seek this morning!"

"And you said you would let me sleep in on the weekends since I have classes all week," she retorted, pulling her blankets off and walking into her closet.

"I did!" the young princess objected. "I've been peeking in your room every five minutes for the past hour waiting for you to wake up! And you woke up by yourself!"

"Oh, fine, fine, get all technical on me," the girl joked from within the closet, her voice muffled. "Where do you want to play? Kitchens? Library? Stables? Gardens?"

"I want to play in the forest."

"No way. By the forest I'll do, but not in. You know we're not allowed."

"I know," Serenity rolled her eyes, "that's what I said, by the forest. Wear those pants you like; I'm not wearing a dress, either."

Rei peeked out to be sure and, seeing her friend in her simplest pants, pulled on her own plain pants and shirt. "Do I have to wear a hat today?"

She could hear Serenity's smile in her voice. "No, you don't have to pretend to be a boy today. Let your hair be free, Mother doesn't know where we're going."

"Good," she replied. She walked out of the closet and led her princess down the halls to the kitchen, occasionally fingering her shoulder-length locks.

"Did you bring your bag?"

"Yep, it's in my pocket. We'll just take a little bit so we can snack there and back."

The little blonde stopped, horrified, "B-but what about lunch?" Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and her hands crept up to cover her mouth.

A sigh. "Fine, we'll grab something for lunch, too, but we're going to have to take turns carrying the bag there, okay?"

"Oh, Rei-chan, thank you!" She hugged her friend in joy.

"Come on, Sere-san, or we'll never get there!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"I'll stop when it stops bothering you!" she laughed.

***

"I've told you a hundred times already, Sere-chan, I can't look into my own future!"

"Why was it, again?"

"It's like cheating!"

"Okay, okay, fine. I'm sorry I asked," Serenity sighed, looking for something to do and tapping her fingers against her cheek.

Rei watched her wearily, sure of what her next question would be.

"Could you do a fire reading about my future?"

Yep, she thought so.

"Yes, Sere-chan, I can."

"Will you? Please? Please? Please?"

The young miko pretended to think a moment. Surely she could use this to her advantage? Her friend had never seen her read the fire before, Rei had forbidden it. Trying to appear solemn, she sighed and frowned.

"I don't know, Sere-chan. These things can't be entered into lightly. I'll need a few supplies to promise the fire in return for a vision, and a few supplies to help prepare."

"Of course, Rei-chan. What do you need?"

"I'm going to need a length of freshly spun golden thread, a five-leaf clover from Earth, and the freely offered blood of a blue colt."

Then again, what could she need but a little fun?

The princess's blonde eyebrows knit together in contemplation before she suddenly struck out at her friend's shoulder. "That's not nice, Rei-chan! I actually believed you!"

"I know, that's what makes it worth it!" she laughed. Eventually, her mirth settled, aided by Serenity's glare. "Okay, fine. Come here and sit outside the door; I'll come get you when I'm done."

"I still can't come!?"

"Sere-chan, you know you can't sit still for five minutes."

"That's not true! I--"

Rei cut her off with a long stare and a quirked brow.

"Oh, come on! You know--"

She continued staring.

"Rei, that's not--"

Her silent approach wasn't going to win any point, so Rei quickly changed tact. "Sere-chan, it's okay. It means you have an energetic spirit, one that likes to get up and go for what it wants."

"Well, yeah, I guess, but--"

Seeing her friend's resolve weakening, the young miko pressed her advantage. "Sometimes I wish I was more like that. It's not fun to have to be patient," she murmured, peeking out of the corner of her eye.

With that, Serenity sighed and allowed herself to be guided her charge out of the private shrine, and Rei returned to kneel in front of the fire alone. Her hands moved before her, evoking the spirits she called in a steady chant under her breath.

The flames danced before and did little else.

A little voice in her head said it would be okay if she made something up for the girl, that she wouldn't know the difference. She could be sitting here for hours while her feet slowly lost feeling beneath her and her kimono became saturated with her own sweat. She could even fall asleep, becoming just more kindling for the fire, before she received a message from the spirits, if she did at all, her mind persisted, urging her to run away with its rampant thoughts.

And yet, as easy as that would have been to do, she didn't want to deceive her friend. She wanted to be able to exit the jinja with the genuine article, something that may actually save Serenity's life one day. Especially after all the trouble she had gone through to make her transition to life on the Moon easier.

Forget the shrine she was kneeling in and the various items decorating her room that had had to be sent for, the little things coming after them had endeared her more to the princess than anything else had; the way she had sampled all manners of Martian dishes despite her apparent dislike for spicy foods; how she had struggled to stay awake with Rei while she grew accustomed to the length of Lunar days and nights; the many times they had gone Earth-gazing together; how she had sweated for days so Rei wouldn't be alone wearing layers of clothes as she adjusted to the relatively lower temperature of the Moon; the way she had patiently sat, genuinely curious, and listened to Rei's explanations on the beliefs, values, and superstitions of her home planet, before returning in kind the same aspects of her kingdom. It was the little gestures that took time and effort that meant more to her, without a doubt.

No, she couldn't do it. Lying to her, even over a bogus fortune, would be like betraying her, her only friend.

No sooner had she reached that conclusion than her body ran rigid and her sight narrowed to a field of black. While she fought to maintain the connection, she also labored to see what was going on.

The Moon loomed before her, small and gray, blanketed in darkness. No buildings were present, no plants, no people, nothing but fine gray dust. Then, from behind a hill, a small white rabbit hopped. It hopped and hopped until, tired from running and playing, it lay down to rest. It shivered in the dark, in the cold, it struggled to breath past the dust underneath it, it mewled with hunger.

Suddenly, a fire flared up beside the animal, bathing it in light and heat. Able to see, the rabbit turned to the side and saw a small fruit tree growing beside a pond. Staying within the illuminated circle of warmth, it crawled to the water and slacked its thirst before going to the tree and eating its fill. For quite some time, the rabbit lived in contentment there, but it never grew, never matured, never met its full potential.

Out of nowhere, a shadow slowly entreated upon its sanctuary, pulling up the ground where it touched, dimming the fire, drying the water, withering the plant, weakening the bunny.

A bubble enveloped the bunny and its safe haven, pulling them off the Moon and away from the threat, hurtling towards Earth. Faster and faster they fell until the sphere glowed and slowed their descent. Touching the soil, it disappeared and left the bunny, fire, water, and tree, to flourish as they had before. More time passed, and while the shadow temporarily stretched over the land now and then, it was always repulsed by the rabbit and her refuge. The pond swelled to an enormous lake, nearly an ocean; the tree grew to a terrific size, and a forest grew around it; the flames of the fire licked the sky, lighting and warming the entire planet; and the bunny became a full-grown rabbit, large and sleek. The animals that had roamed the Earth before, killing each other at whim, all bowed to the rabbit and lived in peace, learning from her to depend on and take comfort in the four guardians: light, heat, water, and earth.

The influence of the spirits diminished, and the vision ended, the picture winking out of existence.

All her strength spent maintaining the connection, Rei collapsed on the ground behind her, panting. Exhausted, she laid there until she was able to bring her breathing back to normal. Licking her parched lips, she tried to call to her friend but ended up coughing.

"S-Sere-chan," she croaked through the shoji door.

"Yeah, Rei?"

"Grab a cup of water from the sink and bring it here, heya?" the miko asked, wiping her face on the sleeve of her gi.

"I'm allowed to come in and hand it to you then?"

Rei sighed, tired and exasperated, "Yes."

The princess's footsteps retreated to the other side of the room, where a small kitchen, or at least a small charcoal brazier and sink with a few cooking and eating utensils, resided. The screen door slid open, but Serenity didn't walk in. Instead, seeing Rei stretched over the wooden floor, she knelt beside the dark-haired girl and placed the cup in her hand.

She waited until she was finished drinking before asking, "Are you okay, Rei-chan?"

"Of course I'm okay," the miko replied, some of her bravado returning with the cooling draught. "I had a vision," she revealed, getting up and moving beside her friend to sit beside her cross-legged. "It was actually more like a story, and I don't know what it means yet, but I'm sure we'll know some day."

The blonde nodded and Rei took that as her cue to begin the story, to relate her message from the spirits, which she did very animatedly.

***

"Hi! I'm Minako, from Venus. You're Serenity, aren't you? Daddy said she was blonde and blue-eyed like me, so you must be her. Mind if I call you Serenity-chan or--no, that's too long--how about--"

"Sere-chan, you can call me Sere-chan," Serenity interrupted, her head reeling from Minako's rapid-fire speech. "And what about you? Minako-chan?"

"Only if you want to sound redundant, as my mother says. Call me Mina-chan." Her gaze traveled over the room and came to rest on the dark-haired girl silently standing slightly in front of Serenity, as if preparing to intercept a bullet if need be. "What's your name?"

Rei eyed her suspiciously and overrode the question with one of her own. "Why are you here?"

Minako's mega-watt smile dimmed somewhat. "I'm here to be a concubine to Sere-chan...are you ill?"

"I heard a few soldiers talking earlier, they said you weren't scheduled to arrive until a month after the girl from Mercury showed up, which in itself is months from now."

The Venusian flushed briefly, but recovered. "No reason, my parents just thought it wouldn't hurt to become friends sooner."

"Yes, but--"

"Relax. Look, if I hadn't come, you'd be alone with Sere-chan for two more months! Not that it's a bad thing," she hastily added, seeing Serenity's indignant glare, "but why settle for one friend when you can have two?"

"I only need one friend."

"Believe what you want to believe, but I'm going to be your best friend, you wait and see...er...what's your name?"

Rei tried not to answer, much preferring the dignity-restoring tactic of the silent treatment, but something about the girl made her. Perhaps it was her persistence in face of Rei's unjustified malice. Perhaps it was because she seemed to fight back without being aggressive. In any case, she shuffled her feet, cleared her throat, and choked out, "Rei," before falling silent again.

"See, that wasn't so bad," the newcomer encouraged, sharing a smile with Serenity as she linked her arms with the two girls. "So, why don't you give me the grand tour?"

***

She had tried to do another fire reading, but the result was the same as before, the same vision she had told Serenity. Sighing, still unable to completely understand it, she gave up for the night and started heading back to the palace, stopping by a small park and picking up her two blonde friends before continuing to her room. The other two had bickered about some other kids they had met playing most of the way, but when they noticed her mood, asked her what was wrong.

Tired, hoping telling someone else about it would increase the chances of getting to the bottom of the mystery, she passed on the details of her vision to Minako, Serenity occasionally interrupting to add her own thoughts.

***

Someone was crying. She had been deeply sleeping, but the suppressed sobs tugged at her and she knew they were real, that they weren't part of a dream, that someone needed her. She pushed her dreams away and forced herself to wake up.

Her eyes immediately fell on the shaking, slightly blurred, figure in the bed across the room. "Minako?" she said, her speech slightly slurred, "Mina-chan, what's wrong? Why aren't you asleep?" No reply. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"Yes, it was horrible."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she sniffed, "that makes them real."

Rei moved to the side in her bed and turned down the sheets. "Come on, Mina-chan, you can sleep with me tonight, I won't let the nightmares get you."

"I'm afraid they'll get me when I get out of bed. I know it's silly, but...I am," the blonde admitted.

"Then scoot over," the miko gently commanded, slipping from her bed into Minako's. "Now, go to sleep. I won't let anybody or anything get you while I'm around."

The blonde nodded and took her hand, cradling it against herself. "Thanks, Rei-chan." A few minutes passed while she repositioned herself countless times around the outstretched hand. "Um, Rei?"

"Hmmm?"

"I can't get back to sleep, I'm wide awake."

"No, you're not, just try."

"I am, but I can't. I--"

"Shh," Rei said, covering the blonde's mouth with a tired hand and wearily opening her eyes. She sat up against the headboard and pulled her friend into her lap. "Just relax," she whispered as she gently raked her fingers through Minako's hair.

Casting about for a way to ease her friend's anxiety, Rei remembered Phobos. When she couldn't, or simply hadn't wanted to, get to sleep, he would sing to her. The song always swiftly sent her dreaming, despite it telling her to resist it. Or perhaps that was why it always worked. She mentally shrugged and started to sing, quietly but clearly.

"Stay awake, don't rest your head.

Don't lie down upon your bed.

While the earth* drifts in the skies,

Stay awake, don't close your eyes.

Though the world is fast asleep,

Though your pillow's soft and deep,

You're not sleepy as you seem.

Stay awake, don't nod and dream.

Stay awake, don't nod and dream."

As the last delicate note of her not quite matured voice died on her lips, she glanced over and saw that her troubled friend had already been claimed by sleep. She smiled and closed her eyes, more than ready to join her.

***

The violet-eyed miko watched her friend from Venus brush out her long blonde mane, running her fingers through her own shorter hair.

"Is it hard to take care of hair that long? I mean, shampooing and drying and brushing must take forever."

"They do," Minako admitted, "but that's what I like about long hair. I get an hour or so each day to myself, doing something that relaxes me, something that let's me think and clear my mind."

"What do you think about?"

"Everything, I guess; the weather, our lessons, our training, our duty, you, Serenity, the other girls we haven't met yet, whether they'll like me or not, what we're going to have for dinner, home, what I should wear, when the next party will be, what I should wear to the party, everything."

"Yeah, I'd say that's just about everything."

"Why?" She smiled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You haven't fallen in love with it, too, have you?" she winked.

Rei laughed, "Call me old-fashioned, but I like whole people, not just shiny pieces of them. No, I was just wondering. I mean, living on Mars, I was lucky to be able to endure having hair this long. But, now, I live on the moon and I thought, I can, so why not grow it out?"

"I think it'll look really nice, Rei-chan."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Minako smiled. The two friends passed a few comfortable minutes in slience together, before the blonde's brow crinkled in thought. "Is it true that most of the people on Mars shave their heads? Even the girls?"

Rei blinked and sweatdropped, not even bothering to answer.

***

Idly, the young miko toyed with the idea of giving up fire reading. Ever since the day Serenity had asked her to tell her future, all she ever received from the spirits was the same message replayed over and over. None of it ever changed, ever varied. Quite frankly, it was getting monotonous.

Hearing the other four girls giggling and laughing in Serenity's adjoining room, she decided to share her vision, THE vision, with the two other girls who had arrived months ago.

***

"What are you doing!?" the enraged Venusian shrieked, slamming their shared bedroom door behind her. She stared at the miko sitting serenely on the fur before the fireplace, a stack of stationary notes, envelopes, an ink stone, and an ink stick scattered around her.

"Just practicing my calligraphy, Mina-chan, nothing too out of the ordinary. What are you doing?" she placidly asked, scrutinizing her last stroke and nodding in satisfaction.

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"Mina-chan, this isn't the first time the queen has taken Sere-chan away for a month, and it won't be the last," she calmly answered.

The blonde started pacing, gesturing in the air and ranting all the while, "But she'll be gone for your birthday! She knew your birthday is in two weeks! And not just any birthday, but your big sixteenth!"

"Yes, I'm sure she knew, but I'll have another birthday next year."

"She's already invited all the guests! Made all the preparations! After refusing your request for a private gathering and making a circus of it, now she's not going to be there and making sure Sere-chan won't be either! And now the news will leak and other people will back out!"

The miko pulled a few strands of her waist-length hair back out of her way, closed her eyes, blinking back tears, and sighed. "Yes, more than likely."

"It's just another political move, Rei-chan! Can't you see that? She's done it to most of us at least once! She's undermining us! Sure, we're all heiresses to our planets, but she's making sure everyone knows we're in her thrall completely and are concubines before princesses! That the one is so much more than the other and that we are insignificant compared to her!"

Rei started putting away her materials, giving practice up as pointless. "Thank you for spelling it all out so clearly for me, Minako. I never would have seen the light without your insight," she sardonically added.

"So none of that bothered you? She wouldn't even let Sere-chan stay the rest of the day so we could celebrate early, just the five of us..."

"It bothers me."

"You have a funny way of showing it."

"Yeah? Well, since the hime's not going to be here, I figured one of us should still get dinner to sneak you three some."

"A few weeks ago you would have been standing beside us, shouting the loudest--"

"And getting slapped the hardest," she wearily interrupted.

"Oh, come off it; of all people, you've gotten used to it, grin wider when you get a reaction from her and make her lose face."

"Maybe I got tired of the game."

"Maybe, but that's not it."

The violet-eyed girl decided to bite, tired of beating around the bush. "Sometimes you have to learn to create your own privacy. You can disappear within yourself, to grow impenetrable walls behind which you live. We have a limitless maze to hide in. Rituals and customs, taboos of all kinds, even our mind becomes a maze if we let it. Then, when you hide behind your walls, you can close your ears or close off your emotions. With enough practice, you can store everything away for later, when it's more convenient."

"Sounds real healthy."

"It's just something Phobos told me about that makes a lot of sense, now. He called it the Eightfold Fence. All recruits had to practice it at the barracks, or they'd surely go mad and kill each other and themselves."

"Cheery stuff." She walked over and sat down beside Rei on the luxurious pelt, talking towards the fire.

"Wise stuff."

"So it's just ignoring what's going on around you? Wearing a mask?"

"That's part of it."

"Rei, it's not normal to lock all your emotions away. I mean, here, I guess I could see doing it for a dinner or a ball, but not forever. We feel for a reason."

"But why does all we feel have to be pain?"

And it was all pain. Pain that didn't fade away but grew stronger with time, like a festering wound. She missed her home and life on Mars; she missed her grandfather, Phobos, and Deimos. Sometimes, she missed having Serenity to herself. She felt guilty for that, though, because she really liked Minako. It was like she was betraying her roommate with the thought. Then she felt doubly guilty when she missed being one of only three, before Ami or Makoto had arrived.

She never got over her dislike, almost hatred, of the queen, and felt she should be able to--if only for the simple fact that she was Serenity's mother. It was a double-edged sword. It felt right to be repulsed by her so, and yet she felt the need to punish herself afterward.

Minako pulled her into an embrace and she collapsed against her, sobbing on her shoulder and into her blonde hair. When her tears were spent and she was finished sniffing, the Venusian pulled back.

"Let's leave that fence of yours for parties, you were really scaring me. Besides, I'll never get to hug you again if you never feel anything. Deal?"

"Deal...Hey, Mina-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I didn't get slapped, too."

"Me, too," the girl managed to smile, before being tackled and tickled relentlessly.

***

The instructor was raving about some historical event that probably happened a million years ago and was as interesting as a box of rocks. In her opinion, anyway. Ami seemed quite engrossed, taking notes and even asking questions.

She was in the first of the five full-size desks, arranged in a kind of long semi-circle, which put her behind the teacher, who was currently lecturing from inside the horseshoe. Admittedly, this was how she preferred class. She was a good student, not as good as Ami but still decent, but she liked being able to sit back and breathe now and then, something she felt she couldn't do when the teacher was looming over her. Then again, being one of only five students, Rei was pretty much loomed over no matter where the teacher stood, she wryly thought.

It seemed everyone else was of the same mind, she noted; except Ami, who had engaged the educator in a debate, again. Serenity was stealthily nibbling on bits of something she held under her desk. Minako was doodling; when she saw Rei looking at her she held up her work, a demonified chibi version of Luna, and covered her giggle. Rei smiled and signaled a thumbs up before nudging Makoto, who stretched, looked, and held up her own version. Serenity's eyes landed on it and caused her to choke on her food. The room erupted in chaos as the tutor turned around and started reprimanding them all, mad at being defeated by the Mercurian yet again. Ami turned her exasperated glare on Makoto and Minako alternately, who were both laughing with Rei as she slapped Serenity's back with a bit too much enthusiasm in an attempt to dislodge the crumbs from her windpipe.

Though the class was settled down in the next few minutes, order was never fully restored.

A small wad of paper struck Rei in the forehead; a smirking Minako was revealed as the culprit. The miko unfolded the note and read.

'Hey, good-looking, Sere-chan says that our beloved queen is planning yet another ball in a few weeks for Sere's 16th. You know what that means! Shopping! Love, Minako.'

Her light mood was quelled; a frown replaced her smile. She scribbled her reply and chucked it back when the instructor wasn't looking.

'Not on your life. After 10 hours of that torture for my own party, you promised we could order them this time. Rei.'

Watching for the blonde's reaction, she was slightly disconcerted--no, make that terrified--by the grin that spread across her face.

What had she gotten herself into this time?

***

"Minako, no." The miko danced just out of her reach.

"Rei, just hold still!"

"This is ridiculous! I doubt I've shot up or out by much since the last ball!"

"Just in case, Rei-chan. Where's the harm? So we make sure you haven't. Please?" the blonde pouted, even trying the puppy dog eyes, as she fiddled with the measuring tape in her hand.

She tried to resist, but the lethal combination of the protruding lower lip and wide watery gaze proved too much for even her. "Fine," she sighed, relenting to her friend's wishes.

"You'll thank me when your dress fits perfectly, Rei-chan!"

"Sure I will, Mina-ko," she drawled. "Right after I crown you my queen."

"Start planning your announcement feast, babe. But, first, you need to take your clothes off."

"Just measure me!"

"Nope, that's hardly accurate. You heard me, Rei-chan, strip!"

Lightly flushing, the miko acquiesced, reaching behind herself, untying her straps, stepping out of the light dress, and removing her undergarments, save her panties. Despite her embarrassment, she proudly lifted her head to meet her friend's stare...and smirked when the blushing girl couldn't hold it.

"Mina-chan," she whispered, trying not to laugh, "don't tell me you've suddenly become shy. Aren't you going to measure me?" She ran her hands over her firm stomach for good measure, thoroughly enjoying having the tables turned.

The Venusian still didn't make a move, so the raven-haired girl ambled over to stand in front of her.

"Mina-ko," she breathed into her ear, leaning into her.

"Y-yes?" the blue-eyed girl stammered, frozen yet breathing heavily.

"Snap out of it," she said, pushing Minako onto her bed and climbing on top of her to keep her from getting away while she tickled her sides.

"Ah! Rei! Stop!" she shouted between laughs, struggling to no avail. Just as Rei broke off her torture and captured the blonde's hands above her head so she couldn't reciprocate the gesture, a door was flung open.

"What's wrong?" Serenity yelled. She was quickly joined by Makoto and Ami. They took in the scene before them: Rei above Minako on the bed and restricting her wrists, Rei almost completely naked, Minako red in the face and gasping for breath.

Serenity stood stock-still barely a foot inside the door, opening and closing her mouth at random. Ami merely covered her face and turned away, trying to will back her rapidly reddening face.

"If you can't keep it down, the least you could do is hang a stocking or something on the doorknob," Makoto joked, smiling.

Her comment broke the spell that had settled upon the intruded-upon scene.

"Uh, we should go," the princess faltered, turning around, pushing the other two back into her own room, and closing the door.

"She's just measuring me for the ball!" Rei shouted, trying to explain. She heard a bark of laughter from the other room.

A few minutes later, she finally noticed she was still straddling Minako's waist, who was still breathing heavily, though she seemed to be starting to control it. Weakly smiling, the violet-eyed girl released her prisoner's hands from her grasp and moved to stand in the middle of the room. The blonde quickly followed her and exacted her measurements, though Rei was frustratingly more aware that she was, in fact, in her panties and not only that her friend's hands would shake when taking slightly more sensitive dimensions, but also that her body was responding to her touch, whether she wanted to or not.

She couldn't understand why, though. Sure, she was sixteen, but they'd showered together, trained together, bandaged each other up, and slept in the same bed, countless times. Why would this be any different?

Minako finished and looked at her expectantly. She could see the question written within her eyes.

"Yes," she answered, "now you have to, too. Hand me the tape while you get undressed."

She took the roll and slipped on her yukata while she waited. When the Venusian was ready, so was she, having said a silent prayer and counted backwards from 25. 'Ha, take that, you damn hormones,' she crowed in her head, easily recording the first measurements.

Then it was time to measure cup size. A minute trembling of her hands. She moved on to her waist, slipping the thin ribbon down the girl's back and smiling at the gooseflesh that appeared over Minako's body. She coughed to the side and tried to ignore how the shaking had engulfed her entire arm. Finished, she released the tape, just to realize she'd done so too soon and still had her hips to do.

Mentally groaning, outwardly gulping and wiping her forehead on the sleeve of her robe, she wrapped her arms around the near-nude girl.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she'd finished, though a small part of her longed to be in contact with the silky skin of the beauty before her.

A very small part.

A small part that she hadn't noticed until now and seemed to be growing.

'Damn hormones, indeed,' she thought.

***

She surveyed the scene before her with growing disgust, and jealousy.

Other people, all men and clearly not her, had been surrounding Serenity since the beginning of the ball innumerable hours ago. They had flocked to the palace earlier that day, some even a few days prior in hopes of getting an advantage over the others in the form of extra time with the illustrious Princess of the Moon.

All were minor royalty compared to the petite hime. All in horribly tasteless, yet doubtlessly expensive, outfits with as many medals and fake awards heaped on their chests as they could stand upright with. Half of them double or triple, even quadruple, her age.

Every single one of them reeked of too much cologne and free alcohol, the latter of which was starting to show as some forgot their by-the-book manners and acquired the audacity to touch her. A pat on the back here, a tap of the shoulder there; it might as well have been a mad grab for her breasts, as far as Rei was concerned.

Seeing one particularly bold move, she growled low in her throat and started to make her way over, leaving her own fan club behind. Halfway to her destination and the satisfaction of punching one of the ill-fated would-be suitors, a slender hand grabbed her shoulder and restrained her.

She whirled around to confront her hindrance. "Minako? Let me go. You don't understand. He--"

"I do know, Rei," she interrupted, her words packed with so much meaning the enraged teenager was instantly stilled.

She had seen the men and was just as upset; had been on her own way to deal out some justice when she caught sight of Rei and came back to herself, rushing to stop the miko as well.

She grasped that Rei loved their charge, understood because she did, too. Understood how much she hurt when their queen delighted in taking their friend away for weeks on end to meet and spend time with this prince or that duke; how the ache throbbed when reminded that they were there to take care of her, not to care for her or be cared for; how much the ache became a gaping wound when confronted with the fact that Serenity would be expected to marry one of the men drooling over her and they, her concubines, the ones wrenched from their homes to watch over her, would be expected to step back, smile, and offer her words of encouragement and a bouquet when the time came.

Rei could see the emotions fighting for dominance in her friend's blue eyes, usually so bright but now dim, in turmoil, stormy. Frustration, love, resignation, reluctance, fear, resilience, anger, admiration, understanding... The curtains pulled away from her mind and Rei saw the truth, that everything Minako was feeling was as much for Serenity as for herself. Just as quickly, she realized that she felt the same way.

She felt the same emotions surge within her, threatening to engulf her, to overtake her, to make her experience every one in turn to its fullest extent until she screamed for mercy from any and every higher power in the middle of the dance floor.

And then she came back to herself. She was in the middle of the dance floor. She may have every human emotion raging within her, but she was still at her hime's ball, in the midst of the few people who could make Serenity's life and future reign a living hell if she let her mask slip, a mask that all senshi learned to wear, a mask that made them appear more than human and therefore Serenity's control over them all the more awesome, a mask that made them all feel slightly less human with each donning.

Roughly, unable to dispel the passion from her movements as easily as her face, the fiery guard pulled Minako to her and began to dance, searching for an outlet.

"That's it, hide behind your fence," Minako soothed, whispering into Rei's ear as they chased each other around the floor, pivoting and turning, pushing and pulling, thrusting and spinning, dipping and lifting.

Rei remembered her Eightfold Fence well; she still regularly employed its illusion to gain a temporary peace, though not as totally as she had the first night, and rarely around Minako or Serenity.

But she couldn't concentrate enough to uphold the illusion tonight. As soon as the music ended, she rushed off the floor and into the nearly deserted hall, sparing a mere two glances behind her. The first was to check on Serenity, where she saw that the queen was introducing her to an armored man, much better looking and younger than the earlier buffoons, with short dark hair. The second was to make sure Minako was following.

She heard the footsteps behind her and continued to their room. Her feet stopped a few steps in, where she waited until the door clicked closed. Turning, she made sure she hadn't been dreaming and that Minako still felt as she had. Satisfied with what she saw, the miko captured the blonde's lips with her own, pinning her against the door.

Feverishly, their lips danced over each other's, the force behind them steadily increasing. One of them opened their mouths, neither sure who did first, and the kiss grew more heated. Tongues ravished each other, wrestling for control. Teeth nibbled on lips and tongue both, eliciting gasps and moans. Hands roamed bodies, desperate for the feel of skin and unable to reach it.

Drawing Rei's lower lip into her own mouth and sucking, rapidly getting her full attention, Minako just managed to growl, "Let's at least get to a bed," before the fervent miko lifted her off the ground and fulfilled her request, straddling her legs on top of the comforter, their mouths never losing contact.

Her mouth was on fire, the touch of the blonde doing more to her than ever before. Electricity seemed to shock and jolt everywhere they touched, sparking between them. And still she wanted more, needed more. Rising on her knees, her hands struggled to untie the zigzags of lace and ribbon that held the bodice together while she continued to assault Minako's lips. Her movements grew frenzied, but she calmed somewhat when she finally succeeded.

Almost in disbelief, she broke away from her companion, staring into her heated blue eyes while she slid the dress down her lithe frame, uncovering her breasts, stomach, legs, and finally throwing the garment across the room.

Gently, with a tranquility she didn't feel, she lowered Minako to the bed. She moved to the milky skin of her neck, covering the expanse with kisses, some fleeting and feathery while others were lingering and impassioned. Eventually, she had passed her pulse too many times, its call was irresistible, and she fell to licking it, sucking it, drawing the blood to the surface.

Minako's urgings, her moaning and hisses, implored her to continue her ministrations, but she felt she could do more. Tantalizingly slow, she left a trail of moist kisses down her throat, over her collarbone, and down her chest, avoiding her breasts altogether.

The blonde finally tangled her fingers in the dark, purple by the firelight, hair covering her and guided its owner to her breasts, but Rei was not to be hurried. She was held the smallest breadth from a puckered areola, but she still had control. While she took one fleshy globe in her right hand and started massaging it, she enticingly circled the other with her tongue, the rings becoming smaller and smaller until she was just outlined the nipple. She bathed it with her saliva until it glistened in the dim light.

Minako was panting, pleading for more with every breath, arching her back trying to make Rei take her heated breasts in her mouth, but Rei merely switched to the other and started over, prolonging the girl's pleasurable torture.

"R-Rei-ko, please," she begged, a few tears of frustration escaping her clenched shut eyes.

She complied, feeling she had suffered enough, and took one erect teat into her mouth, sucking enthusiastically. This, and the miko's long fingernails raking over the other, was enough to take her to the brink and push her over. She screamed her orgasm, giving voice as wave after wave of gratification crashed over her. She cast about for anything to connect her to the world, something to cling to as she rode the inexhaustible sensations, and clutched Rei's forearms in desperation.

In time, the flow ebbed into satisfaction, and Rei halted her attentions. She pressed her lips to Minako's.

"I love you, Rei."

"I know, Mina-ko. I love you, too," she whispered, leaving butterfly kisses on her lover's eyes.

"Thank you, for that."

"Thank you for the chance," she responded, rising from the bed and picking a sock out of a dresser drawer. Smiling, she opened the door that connected theirs to Serenity's and hung a sock on the outside knob. "Don't worry, she'll think we're just messing with them," she reassured the blonde. "Besides, I'm nowhere near done with you, and I have yet to be rewarded for my efforts."

Minako smiled. "You mean your hotheadedness and less-than-perfect control?"

The Martian grinned and shrugged, "Same difference, I say." She took off her own dress and joined Minako on the bed.

***

Rei lounged on her back on an expanse of black, her long locks mingling with the shorter hair of the fur. The roaring fireplace she sprawled before battled with the evening light filtering through the windows to cast their respective glows on her porcelain skin and play with the violet highlights in her usually midnight tresses.

A hesitant knock sounded from her bedroom door and echoed between the high marble walls over the steady crackles and pops of the fire. The girl rolled onto her stomach and faced the door.

"Come in," she called.

Her princess shuffled in and closed the door behind her, eyes firmly locked on her feet the entire time. Slipping off her shoes in a single fluid motion, she stepped to the edge of the enormous pelt and stopped.

The Martian laid there, staring at her, waiting for her to talk. When her friend remained silent in the same spot, she languidly rolled back over onto her back and looked straight up at the blonde, easing the tension that had been building in her neck. When she still didn't talk, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Sere-chan, would you like to join me and be quiet instead of standing until your legs give out and being quiet?"

Serenity nodded and Rei moved over as she lied down beside her. When both were gazing at the high-vaulted ceiling cast in shadow, the soles of their feet heated from the fire, and the princess still hadn't spoken, Rei turned to look at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm engaged to Endymion," she whispered.

A forlorn smile flitted across Rei's face before she could stop it. "I know, it was announced two months ago."

"We're going to get married," she continued, as though she hadn't heard her friend's remark.

"Betrothed couples usually do at some point."

"I was supposed to go to Earth weeks ago, but I persuaded Mother to give me a little more time. Endymion's very nice. He told me to take my time, to not worry, but now with this threat, I'm afraid I should have gone there right away."

"Don't worry," the miko soothed, "if my vision is anything to go by, then we'll all be going to Earth together, nothing will happen to us. We live long, healthy lives."

"Yes, Rei, I know."

"Sere-chan, there--" she was cut off mid-sentence by an explosion sounding in the distance.

They both looked to the source of the sound, out the window, and were horrified by the sight before them. Silhouetted by a blazing sky, a horde of youma in battle armor was marching toward the palace.

She managed to keep her face impassive, but she doubted she kept the fear from her voice very well at all. "Serenity, go find your mother. I'll find the other girls and come get you. Now!"

Serenity did as they were told, they all did. She found Queen Serenity and her concubines found her, already transformed to guard her as senshi. They fought valiantly, bravely, and without reserve, but the multitudes were simply too much for them. One by one, they all fell.

In the moment before Rei's life ceased to be, while she just barely registered the bubble-like shield surrounding her, a moment of clarity hit her. Everything wasn't going to be all right. They were going to die. There was no magical save-all that would present itself. They would die before going to Earth, only then would they have a chance to cast out the shadow of Beryl.

She drew her last breath, and floated away.

***

The abrupt shift from scene to scene finally came to a close. All the emotions evoked settled, just under the surface, but settled nonetheless. Her mind quickly connected the dots between each event, filling in the blanks of her previous life.

Usagi was holding her, supporting her weight through her ordeal, when she tried to look back over what she'd learned and overloaded her senses. The world turned to black.

***

Rei opened her eyes and sat up. A wet washcloth fell onto her lap from her now vertical forehead. The room spun around her, but when it finally righted itself, she was glad to see she was in her own bedroom at the Hikawa Jinja.

And that a certain blonde was sitting on the floor, presumably watching over her, as one Odango Atama slept with her head in her lap.

"Welcome back," Minako smiled.

~*~*~*~*~

I bet you all read that and wanted to bash my head in at the end.

You can tell, roughly, where I gave up writing for a bit, namely at the tail end of Rei's arrival on Mars. The rest of the chapter is kind of paced differently, and no other segments are quite as long. I'm terribly sorry.

If you have any questions, comments, and/or complaints, feel free to leave a review or e-mail me. Those who have before know I'm pretty good at replying.

If you don't receive a reply within a few days, assume I'm pinned under a large piece of farm machinery and will get back to you as soon as I'm free and have full use of my arms and fingers again. ^_^ Nah. Chances are, if enough people ask about the same thing or if I was hoping someone would ask about something, I'll address it at the beginning of the next chapter for all to see.

Remember, good or bad, feedback is always welcomed by this author. It's my lifeblood. Thanks for your patience. See ya next chapter!