Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Dreams ❯ Chapter 4 - Setting Terms ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

: Chapter 4 :

Setting Terms

“Follow me,” Raye ordered in a clipped tone, putting herself directly in front of the golden-haired powerhouse the Earthlings called Jadeite. Her parents and all the other Kings and Queens had departed from the outer courtyard, leaving only herself, Mina, Lita, Ami, Princess Serenity and then the five men of Earth. Raye ignored all but Lord Jadeite, however, and focused her attention solely on the blonde.

He blinked a few times, slightly taken back by her forceful nature no doubt. Perhaps Earth women were expected to be quiet and demure at all times. Well he'd best not choose her for a bride!

While the man stood there—blinking and staring at her like a dumbfounded owl—the Princess of Mars was unwillingly struck by how handsome he was. Deep tanned skin, golden blonde curls and a pair of baby blue eyes that could melt ice. Raye felt her features tighten into an even more profound expression of disgust and displeasure.

A very good thing her element was fire.

“Uh . . . are you . . . you know . . . going to lead me anywhere?” he finally questioned. With a start Raye realized that she had ordered him to follow her and then stood here like an idiot contemplating his eye color. Cheeks flushed, she spun around on her heel and marched off into the palace, her red robes swishing angrily at her ankles.

Somehow she could almost feel his amused grin, which only served to make her that much more annoyed with him. His boots echoed eerily down the almost deserted halls as she led him, his armor only making the barest of noises. A testament to both the armor's quality and the skill of the man wearing it.

“So . . . Princess Raye, wasn't it?” he suddenly murmured, and from a lot closer than she thought he was. She gasped and jerked around a little to stare up at the Earth General, finding him smirking almost directly behind her.

“If you must address me, my Lord, you may do so as Lady Mars or Princess Mars,” she replied, and scowled as her husky voice came out far too breathless for her own peace of mind. “To use my given name would imply an undue amount of familiarity,” she continued a bit more firm.

“But that is your name, is it not?” he persisted, grin not fading in the slightest despite her rancor. Raye frowned and he grinned wider. Finally she conceded with a sigh.

“It is,” she confirmed, realizing the childish futility of refusing the man the knowledge of her true name. Then she spun around and began leading him again.

Eventually they reached the state rooms. Queen Serenity wanted no chance of accidental offense being given, and so she was affording kingly accommodations to these Generals of sorts. If Raye had her way, they'd be outside in the stables. The Princess of Mars swung open the doors, then stepped aside and crossed her arms.

“This is your room, your companions should be down the hall to the left. Servants will come tonight to assist you in your bath and any other essentials you may require for the ball.”

Throughout her tirade he'd stepped slightly inside and took a look around. She noted that Lord Jadeite didn't seem too terribly impressed, which perhaps implied that he lived in similar or even better conditions. Although Raye found it hard to believe that an Earthling could boast of living quarters as grand as those found here on Lunara. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Raye cautiously probed into the surface thoughts of his mind.

All at once she was seized with an amazing amount of power contained in this man. Like raw energy, it almost knocked her off her feet. As it was she gasped aloud and took several steps backward, trying to pull her mind free as well. It drew her in unwillingly, however, like a powerful vortex. He immediately turned to her at the sounds of her distress, though Raye didn't notice it, far too absorbed now in the visions that were blurring uncontrollably through her mind.

She had only meant to catch his surface thoughts, but instead his entire life whirred through her mind in the span of seconds. One memory in particular stood out and repeated many times. A large older man who resembled Lord Jadeite shoved her—or Lord Jadeite rather, since she was viewing the memory through his eyes—into a closet of sorts and locking the door. She beat on it many times, too many to count, until her hands bled freely. She knew that a great and terrible evil was coming, and that the man and the woman outside—his mother and father—would die if she didn't get out. But she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried. Helplessly she could only watch as a huge Youma monster slammed effortlessly through the last defenses before ripping the man and the woman apart.

All she could see thereafter was blood.

Raye screamed. Or was it him?

The next thing she knew, Raye was opening her eyes. She was laid out on something soft, and Lord Jadeite's worried face hovered right above hers.

“Oh stars, good! You're awake! What in the hell just happened to you?” Raye quickly sat up at that, and then winced at the sharp pain that lit up her brain. The girl bit her lip, a hand rising to her forehead. The heel of her palm pressed into her temple as she tried to stave off the throbbing. A large, comforting hand buried itself into the small of her back and braced her up, his fingers caressing gentle circles into her skin that she simply found too soothing to protest.

“You were talking to me one minute and then all of a sudden you started hyperventilating and looking like you just saw a ghost. Then you screamed and fainted. I almost didn't catch you when you took a nose dive for the floor.”

Raye then realized where she was. On his bed, with the door still standing wide open. The princess blanched, then quickly pushed his hands away and got to her feet.

“It's nothing,” she lied blatantly, but her troubled violet eyes betrayed her easily.

“Nothing” he parroted, frowning. “Screaming for no good reason and then passing out afterwards is no big deal here?”

Raye thought quickly. She couldn't very well tell him the truth, that she had pried into his inner thoughts uninvited and had witnessed what was, no doubt, very personal memories. What if he took offense and somehow influenced the King of Earth to cancel the negotiations? It would be all her fault. Raye bit her lip, wringing her hands together.

“Look, Martian women have a . . . a gift, so to speak. We see visions of the future,” she elaborated at his highly confused look. Stars, she had better keep things simple for this muscle-bound moron. “Oftentimes the premonitions are sudden and intense. I . . . I was simply overwhelmed is all, caught off guard. It is nothing to be alarmed about.” She cleared her throat and turned away. “I apologize if you were unduly startled. Now if you will excuse me, I have many preparations to make before the ball this evening.”

Raye thought she'd make a nice, neat getaway. Yet as she got to the door, he called, “yeah, see you tonight Lady Raye. And whenever you want to go ahead and tell me what really just happened here, you'll know where to find me.”

The Princess of Mars blanched, but did not turn around. Instead she hurried out of the room and prayed the Warrior King didn't try to follow up on this indiscretion. Perhaps the “muscle-bound moron” was a sight more intelligent than she originally gave him credit for.

“Your room is here, the others will be down the hall to your left. Servants will be sent to see to whatever needs you may have during your stay. You have but to pull the bell cord just there to summon someone.”

The irritatingly handsome man called Nephrite didn't even bother looking into the door that Lita had just flung open without preamble. He merely remained where he had stopped in front of her, staring down at her with a half bemused, half irritated expression on his tanned face. Lita did her best to appear unaffected by his gaze, glaring back up at him with one brow cocked and her hand on her hip. Finally Nephrite sighed and shook his head, soft brown hair swishing behind him.

“This is really killing you, to have to pretend to be civil to me, isn't it?” he finally mused aloud. The Jovian princess took no pains to deny it.

“You don't even know the half of it, Lord Nephrite,” she bit off through clenched teeth.

He crossed his arms then, a faintly amused quirk twisting his lips. They were very fine lips, those. Full, expressive . . . entirely kissable, one might say. Lita scowled heavier at the direction her traitorous thoughts were going, viciously telling herself to ignore the accursed things as well as everything else she could—and did—find attractive in the tall, dark-haired General. Oh, did she ever.

“Is there a reason why you should feel such animosity toward me, Princess?” he questioned pleasantly enough. “Other than the belabored obvious, that is. You seem to be holding a personal grudge against me in particular,” the General of the West elaborated at her odd expression, “as if I've done something to offend you.”

Well Lita couldn't very well tell the man that the reason why he made her so irritable was because Nephrite was the very first man she had ever encountered who made her not wish quite so hard that she'd been born the son her father had wanted. That the very sight of him made her belly flip and her heart quiver with sheer appreciation of her own femininity—meager though it might be.

“I am not going to marry you,” she suddenly blurted, then winced and inwardly groaned. Way to go, big mouth, she growled to herself. Nephrite blinked a few times, taken back it seemed by her sudden and thoughtless outburst. Then his features eased into an easy grin. Her chest constricted at the sight. Sweet Stars, that smile should be outlawed. Then he had to go and ruin its effect by speaking.

“Well that's awfully conceited of you, don't you think?” It was Lita's turn to be too stunned to react as he moved past her finally and stepped into his room. He glanced over his shoulder just before the door closed. “I mean, whoever said I'd have you?”

Lita was left gaping at the closed door, mouth wide open in shock. Then she scowled, fists clenching. How dare he!

She stomped away then, not trusting herself to act civilly should that arrogant, pompous jerk happen to come back out again. As much as she would like to put her fist in his face, she didn't want to be accused of ruining the negotiations with the Earthlings. Lita then did her best to ignore the kernel of hurt that had sprung to life in her chest at the Warrior King's cruel words, telling herself viciously that it didn't matter. Why should she care if he found her attractive or not? It wasn't as if she wanted the General to choose her for a bride, far from it! And hadn't she been working tirelessly for eighteen years to make herself more a man and a warrior than the Princess she was supposed to be? Lita should be taking this as a confirmation of all her hard work, that she had succeeded.

Yet, instead of any of these things, she found herself struggling with feeling rejected and very ugly and Lita wondered morosely if she would be able to recover from this row ere the ball began tonight. It was bad enough she was going to be forced into a dress. Crying into her wine wouldn't make the indignity any less embarrassing.

Mina led the huge warrior through the halls of the Lunaran Grand Palace, wondering idly what was running through his mind. An Empath—as her mother was—Mina was not used to being so completely shut out of someone's emotions and feelings like this. However, the great hulk of a man behind her was as unreadable to her as a blank stone wall. Her curiosity, as a result, was absolutely maddening. Was he happy to be here or did the very thought of it sicken him? Was he a coconspirator in the Earth King's plans of marriage into the Silver Alliance or was he an unwilling party in the grand scheme of things?

Anything was impossible to tell, as his inner emotions weren't the only things unreadable on the First General of Earth. Looking into his handsome face was like looking into a mirror, it was that impassive. General Malachite had done nothing more than nod politely when she had introduced herself and indicate that he follow her. Not a word in return, no twinge of recognition, not even a subtle twitch of an eyelash or flare of a nostril. Mina frowned pensively now as she led the Warrior King of the North down the hallway toward his room.

The Princess of Venus wasn't used to being ignored. At all. She found the sensation extremely dislikable.

Mina wasn't a vain person, but the fact that anything claiming manhood had either stared at her or made complete fools of themselves to gain her attention and favor ever since she had fully entered into womanhood could not be ignored. Even the other Warrior Kings and the King of Earth himself had cast her second glances upon first sight, if only to acknowledge her incredible beauty if nothing else.

But not this one.

She let out a soft sigh now, fists clenching at her sides. Mina knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would be one of the girls chosen to wed an Earthling. Her mother had made absolutely certain that Mina understood that hard truth before they had made the journey today. Psyche had told her daughter that, if just for the fact of her beauty alone and the reputation of their people, she would be taken as a bride. That there were other factors involved only strengthened that to a surety.

Trista, Princess of Pluto, was locked away with the Time Gate. Young Hotaru had barely passed the age of twelve, and she didn't take any of the men from Earth to be child molesters. And finally, Michelle and Amara preferred women—in fact each other—over men and for that Psyche had doubted that any of the Earthlings would choose them because of the greater potential for dissention in their marriage beds.

That left Princess Raye of Mars, Princess Ami of Mercury, Princess Lita of Jupiter and then herself.

The Queen of Venus had then asked Mina if her daughter was willing to make such a sacrifice of herself. If not, Psyche was more than willing to break with the Silver Alliance completely and close their boarders forever. They would deal with whatever came whenever it came on their own.

Mina had thought it over very carefully and finally decided to go ahead with the plan. She wasn't likely to find her true mate anyhow. A union for the sake of her people was just as good in her eyes. She thought now on all of the men that had been presented today, trying to decide which one she wanted. True, they might have plans of their own on which princess they would wed, but if a Venusian truly wanted someone . . . they had ways of ensuring that they got them. Mina had little doubt that she would nab the man she wanted to marry when the time came for it.

The one called Zoisite was attractive, she supposed. Perhaps not as masculine in build as she preferred, but not ugly by any means. She could sense that he was an analytical sort, however, extremely intelligent and rather reserved. Such a man would not suit her Kingdom at all, and would not suit herself either. He was summarily dismissed.

The one called Jadeite was a definite possibility. He was handsome, strong of body and seemed far less severe than his fellows. He would easily fit into Venusian culture. He was most certainly at the top of her list.

The brunette, Nephrite, was another possibility though not quite as suited to her needs as the other. He was handsome enough but she could tell he would be a bit of a brooder, prone to frequent losses of temper. Mina wasn't so sure she relished that in a mate, and it was certainly not the type of man she would prefer leading her people.

And this one behind her? Mina scoffed.

True, she might feel more of a mating heat between them than she ever had with any male before him—which Mina would admit to herself was extremely intriguing—but she would never ever choose Malachite for a consort. He was too strong of will, too in control. The opposite of the spectrum from a volatile Nephrite. There seemed to be a solid iron wall keeping everything inside of him in check, which made it impossible for Mina to discern anything from the man. This was more than a sight unsettling to someone who had gotten used to doing so all her life. What was more, to give anything to this man would be to lose herself to him, of that Mina was certain. A man like Malachite would not stop until he possessed all of her, and such a thought was downright terrifying.

No, such a man would smother her to death. He would never be able to adjust to life on Venus either, with their care-free ways and laid-back behavior. His was a world of strict and rigid control.

However . . . that didn't mean she had to accept the fact that Malachite seemed so annoyingly impervious to her charms, did it?

As she made her way down the corridor, Mina slowly began swinging her hips just a little more than was necessary. She sighed slightly, innocently brushing some of her hair that had fallen over her shoulder, back onto her back. In the process it lifted a good portion of the stuff and revealed the fact that her robes were almost completely backless, tying over her shoulder blades with a thin bit of string and folding down nearly to her rear-end. She waited, listening and feeling for any hint of agitation or arousal.

Nothing.

Scowling now, her pride and temper pricked, Mina rashly enacted something she never had before. All Venusians had the capability to release certain pheromones, ones that would excite anyone to the point of painful arousal. It was undetectable to most, and the person it was directed upon would know nothing of why they suddenly felt such an overpowering urge, only that they felt it and that it was uncontrollable. The princess didn't know why she did it now, especially because the potential for danger was so great. Yet even that failed to work on him. Not even a twitch!

Scowling, Mina's fists clenched and she stomped the last few steps to his door. She swung about and glared up into his silvery gray eyes.

“Your room, my Lord,” she announced, tone curt. “Should you need anything, servants will attend you. Your companions are down that hall and to the left.”

The First General dipped into a perfectly polite nodding bow of acknowledgement, then swept past her without a word and softly closed the door behind him.

Mina felt like screaming with frustration. What was he, made of stone! Even if he was gay, he would have shown some kind of reaction to her Scent. Shaking her head, Mina retreated back down the hall in search of her own rooms. She would set her mind to ensnaring Jadeite tonight at the ball, and that's all there was to it.

Ami turned down another hallway, the tall Zoisite keeping in step with her along the way. His arms were clasped behind his back, she noted as she snuck a furtive glance in his direction, his green eyes staring ahead and seemingly lost in thought.

He really did look amazingly similar to Jorowyn, the man she had almost married, enough so that they could very well be twins. His eyes were a darker shade of emerald, and his face was slightly less angular, but those were small differences unless they stood right next to one another. And both of them, of course, were amazingly handsome.

Jorowyn had fallen into sorry times since Phaeton's destruction however, and now his good looks were not so easy to distinguish.

Not that she could fault him. Ami had never gotten to know Jorowyn ere the betrothal was broken, hadn't even really met him in fact. But she was a soft soul who didn't like to see anyone suffer, and it was painfully clear to anyone who cared to notice that the Prince of Phaeton was suffering greatly.

Idly Ami wondered how this Zoisite must feel, given her complicated history with Jorowyn. Would he offer for her, only to gain the chance to humiliate her and get revenge on his cousin's behalf? Ami shook her head at that and turned straight again with a small frown, silently berating herself. Such a deduction was wrong of her, given the fact that she knew almost nothing of his character. It might very well turn out to be true, but then it also might turn out to be completely false. She really had no way of knowing, and no choice but to wait and see for herself what would happen. To do anything else would be the height of unfairness on her part.

“I suppose there's no use in beating around the bush,” he abruptly murmured, and Ami tensed. Zoisite stopped walking suddenly, and she was forced to do the same. She turned to him and found herself pinioned by a calculating green gaze. Something inside of her trembled to full awareness at that stare, which seemed to assess and devour her all at once. A powerful gaze, his. “Given your planet's ways and my intellectual background,” he continued, “there is no other choice for me in a bride but you,” was his announcement. Ami nodded, doing her best not to take offense at the way he'd said no other choice, as if he were "settling" for her, that she was somehow less than acceptable. “I can understand why you would want nothing to do with the idea of marrying me or any one of my fellows, but you must understand that it is an inescapable given at this point.”

Ami lifted her chin, doing her best to combat her natural shyness. She needed to be strong, confident. This was the sort of thing that needed to be dealt with boldly and in a forthright manner.

“Indeed, Lord Zoisite,” she replied, voice cool and firm, sounding far more in control than she actually felt. “It is the will of the council that I marry, and so it will be done. If my marriage can help save valuable lives, however, then I have nothing against the union itself. My marriage was always to be arranged, you see,” she added with a tight smile. “I have gotten well used to the idea of a match based on such terms.”

His expression was grudgingly curious at that. “You want nothing of love, then?” Ami blinked, caught a little off guard at that, and then she shook her head ruefully.

“Love is a rare thing indeed for one of my standing, my Lord. I doubt things are so very different upon Earth that this would not be the same for your planet as well. Love is for common folk who are free to throw their lives and their fortunes away on such fickle things as affection and physical desire. For nobility, it is a far better thing to base such dealings upon compatibility and common goals, things that are tangible and dependable.” Ami inwardly blanched after she had finished, marveling at how much she had just sounded like her father. Silently she withstood his unnerving, calculating stare for a full minute before he shrugged and smiled slightly.

“As I would expect from a planet of intellectuals. Very well, if we must be wed, what say you we set out the terms between us, here and now. I will give you your space and your independence, so long is it does not interfere with what dealings must be done to ensure my Lord's will and that of our mutual survival. I would ask only for any assistance you might be able to give me concerning your planet, your customs and your ways as I know very little about them.”

Ami nodded, feeling very relieved.

“Those are sound terms, my Lord. I am very relieved to know that we are of the same mind.” She gave his sudden smile an answering one. “Perhaps it will not be such a difficult thing for you and I to become friends, at least, for the betterment of all involved.”

“Indeed,” was his soft reply.

They did not speak again, and Ami led the rest of the way to his room in comfortable silence.