Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Heart in Fantasy ❯ Awakening in a Strange Land ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Sailor Moon, and only the original characters that are in this fanfic are mine. This is done for pure enjoyment and not for profit…^_^

Chapter 1

Awakening in a Strange Land

I woke up feeling cold and empty and realized that I was no longer fighting alongside my fellow senshi back in Tokyo. I took a look at my surroundings and saw that I was in a cave and bright sunlight streaming in from the opening. With confusion flying through my mind, I carefully made myself sit up. This was not that easy because I was apparently injured; my back painfully sore as well as my legs. I groaned softly to myself as I then tried to stand up by putting my hand on what appeared to be a green mossy rock.

"What do you think you're doing, lass?" a voice rumbled from behind me, causing me to fall less than gracefully on my butt. Slowly, ever so slowly, I began to realize that it wasn't a rock that my hand was on. It was the scaly tail of a rather large dragon!

I shook my head in disbelief because I could not fathom the possibility of a creature of myth being alive, but as I turned around what was before me was not a myth. It was a live, breathing dragon. I started to back away a little in fear, forgetting for a moment that I had the abilities of a sailor senshi. The dragon began to laugh, a deep rumbling sound that was actually not unpleasant.

"Lass, do not worry that pretty head of yours," he stated matter-of-factly. "I won't eat you. As a matter of fact, I found you unconscious and wounded in my forest with several large creatures about to devour your body."

I stared incredulously at the dragon. "I thought that dragons eat virgins…"

The dragon laughed again, this time it seemed that there was a huge smile on his muzzle and showing several large teeth. "No no no…that is quite untrue, a myth to keep humans like you away from my fellow dragons. Yes, there ARE those who do like virgins, but not to eat them. You are much too young anyway to do that sort of activity."

He kept chuckling like that for most of the day while caring for my wounds. I don't know what kind of cream he told me to put on my injuries, but I started to immediately feel better as soon as it touched my skin. Later, I was told that it was a healing salve that would magically heal minor wounds. Magic?!? I thought to myself. How could that be possible? Then again…there IS this dragon that is being nice and is taking care of me…

When I finally glanced out towards the cave opening, I saw that the daylight was waning and there were no lights. I was about to say something when the dragon uttered a small phrase and there were orbs of light floating throughout the cave, illuminating the place in a nice, soft light. I thought that it gave this cave a nice feel…I actually began to feel safe with this creature and smiled timidly at it. That was when I realized I didn't know his name.

"I am known as Al'Teath Jhen Ketaro, the protector of the Forest of Shades," he replied, answering my question because I could ask. "It has been my duty for the past one hundred years and will be my duty until the Chosen One of Lightning appears to help save our world of evil."

I stared at the dragon for a moment because of the part of the "Chosen One of Lightning" bit. Among my senshi attacks, I can command lightning to a degree. "Are you sure about that?" I asked, trying to carefully word my question. "Al'Teath, are you absolutely sure about the lightning part?"

Al'Teath glanced at me and lowered his head so he could look me in the eyes. His golden eyes were shining, staring at me intently. "Yes, lass, I am quite certain. The Chosen of Lightning is also the follower of Jupiter."

At that part, I nearly fainted but then I started laughing. Later on, I believed I started laughing because of the incredulity of the situation and my mental state, which wasn't exactly stable at the moment. Al'Teath made an exasperated sound and curled up at the far side of the cave, rumbling something about young hysterical girls. Sighing softly to myself, I tried to make myself comfortable on the dirt floor of the cave and fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning with the bright light of the morning sun falling gently on my face and some sort of covering was on my body. I curiously fingered the blanket and found it soft to the touch and was very warm. I was glad for the warmth that the blanket gave me because it was still rather cool inside the cave despite the light of the sun. I tried standing up and realized that my wounds were hardly noticeable and I no longer felt any stiffness or pain. It must have been that magic salve Al'Teath told me to use, I thought to myself. I slowly made my way to the cave opening and stared out in awe at the vista that greeted my eyes. Never have I seen a forest so green and enchanting that was probably at least five thousand feet below me and it seemed to stretch for an eternity. There was…a feeling in the air that this land was pure and for some unknown reason, I felt compelled to protect this world with my life if need be.

I was lost in my thoughts, gazing at the view, when I heard something fly above me and a large shadow was cast upon the rocky ledge in front of the cave. I stared at Al'Teath because I had not seen him in full sunlight before. The sun glinting off of his scales gave way to their true color. They seemed to glow in a bluish-green metallic hue and his eyes seemed to be more golden than usual. I glanced up at his muzzle and noted that the coloring there was a lighter shade of the metallic blue-green and he had two long horns sprouting from the top of his head. But what caught the most attention from me were three long scars over his left eye. Noticing that I was staring at his scars, Al'Teath turned his head quickly and then dropped a load of various types of fruit in front of me.

"I am sure that you are hungry, lass," he rumbled softly to me. "I do not know if you eat meat or not so I picked some fruit from the forest for you."

I smiled gently at Al'Teath as I reached for an apple and bit into the fruit hungrily, knowing I had not eaten the previous day. "Thank you, Al. I was getting a little hungry," I admitted, speaking to the dragon between bites. When I finished with the apple, I grabbed another one and sat down on a nearby rock. "Al, can you tell me more about this Chosen One of Lightning?"

Al'Teath seemed to have a grimace on his face as he made himself comfortable on the rocky ledge and stabbed one of the fruit with a talon on his right front paw. "There is not much to talk about the Chosen One," he explained. "All I know is what I have been told and I believe that not even the Draconic Elders knew much of the prophesized savior. Also, lass, I still do not know your name…Also, tell me why you shortened my given name to Al? It seems…demeaning to me."

I chuckled softly to myself and gave Al'Teath a sweet smile. "Think about it, Al. It's easier for humans to call each other with nicknames. Besides, I think it's cute and it suits you," I answered him, giggling slightly when he harrumphed at my words. "Anyway, I meant no disrespect and I don't believe that calling you Al is demeaning in any way."

That was when I stood up from my rocky chair and let the blanket fall to the ground as the air was warming up. My senshi uniform was still in pretty good shape with the exception that both the front and back bows had been torn off and my gloves were missing. "You said that you wanted to know my name so here it goes. I am Makoto Kino, also known as the sailor senshi, Sailor Jupiter."

When I mentioned my senshi name, Al'Teath stared at me for a few minutes; his mouth fell open in shock. Who would have thought that a human could surprise a dragon? I sure didn't…