Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Embers of a Flame ❯ Safe and Protected ( Chapter 8 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: himitsu-no-hi 
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.15.2002 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.4K | Visits: 233 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.15.2002 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.4K | Visits: 233 | Status: Work In Progress
The Embers of a Flame ~ Chapter 8
By Himitsu no Hi
"Rei sama?!"
The planetary princesses froze mid cushion throw and turned to face the young boy standing nervously by the door. His blue eyes searched their faces frantically,
"Where is she?" he cried in desperation. Minako turned around about to ask Rei if this was the handsome knight she 'wasn't' going to marry, when she realised that in fact the Martian princess wasn't there,
"She's...gone-" the blonde stammered
"Gone where?"
Minako looked to her friends who each had a blank expression on their face,
"We-um... don't know."
Yuuichirou became like stone, his face paled, breath stilled. Then suddenly he spun around and shot off again. The girls rushed to the door and peered out after him,
"What's wrong?" Makoto called after him but he ignored the question and continued running. Serenity tugged at Ami's dress,
"Rei-chan rubble...?" the moon princess' wide blue eyes blinked as all three princesses stared down at her, then with one shared glance they took off after Yuuichirou, princess serenity teetering slowly behind, her walking skills being newly acquired.
"That way!" Minako called as she caught sight of the Martian boy heading out through a large metal door,
"He has gone outside into the storm..?" Ami asked rather than stated. Makoto gritted her teeth,
"Then Rei must be out there too-we'll have to follow him!"
"But the princess-"
"Someone will have to stay and..."
"None of you will be leaving through that door."
The voice belonged the Lunarian queen who now stood towering behind them, the princess in her arms, Aphrodite to her left, Juno and Athena to her right (the queens of Jupiter and Mercury respectively)
"But-" Minako began,
"No buts-"Aphrodite finished, "What did you think you were doing? Leaving the princess alone and planning on going out in that storm, do you know how dangerous it is?"
The girls lowered their heads and muttered a united 'sorry'
"Where is princess Rei?" Queen Serenity asked suddenly, the Martian princess' absence causing her great concern
"Mama! Wrei outside, boy rubble...fowwo" Serenity offered helpfully, blue eyes staring hopeful at her mother. The queen's lilac eyes darted to the window just in time to see Yuuichirou's small form disappear into the forest. Her heart sank, the bond she had formed years ago with her senshi told her that Eris was in trouble and although the stubborn Martian queen said that she didn't want help, that's exactly what Serenity planned on giving her (after a small amount of deliberation) when she'd gathered the other queens and headed out of the hall, but it seemed there was more at stake here than she had first imagined.
"Rei may be in trouble now also- Aphrodite take the children back to their room" she handed her daughter to the worried Venusian queen before heading out into the storm with Athena and Juno by her side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuuichirou battled through the forest, the rain pounding against him as he ran. Rei loved this forest if she wasn't in the palace then she must be here, he silently thought-and prayed. He pushed back memories of the last time he had ran through these trees in search of Rei- that day Ares had...
His thoughts stopped as the young lord caught sight of something up ahead,
"Rei sama?!" His call faded away on the howling wind but he charged forward ever faster, the beating of his feet on the ground in rhythm with the pulsation of his heart.
Then it was before him. The great Queen of Mars and her daughter lay unmoving in the centre of the clearing, broken branches and crumpled leaves whirled around them, as the rain battered against their skin. Yuuichirou sunk to his knees by the princess he had sworn to protect. Edging forward he checked the queen for a pulse and found none. His eyes caught sight of the blood, which ran down her middle, pooling into a murky mass in the mud beneath, it turned his stomach but he didn't move away, couldn't move away. Tears laced his eyes as he reached down next to see if Rei had survived. His ragged breath echoed in his mind like thunder, as his fingers shook on her wrist-how fragile she seemed at that moment, how delicate life was.
His eyes became wide as a small pulse tapped lightly against his fingers, a few moments more and the sensation repeated. Rei was alive.
Yuuichirou filled with relief beyond words gathered up the small frame of the Martian princess, he held her freezing form close to him as he pulled his cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around her, gently rubbing her back to warm her. Rei pulled closer to him, murmuring softly under her breath as she felt the missing warmth and love return,
"Mama..."
Silently he rocked the princess in his arms, she was safe- everything would be all right.
An anguished cry rang out into the clearing, disturbing Yuuichirou's quiet meditation; he glanced up to see the queens of the Moon, Jupiter and Mercury, their faces paled with a look of horror and sadness mixed in their eyes. Athena was the first to move forward, she bent down over the cold body of her friend and after a moment glanced up to the others and shook her head sorrowfully. Serenity moved slowly and knelt down beside Athena, her hand reached out brushing the hair from Eris' face then her palm moved and hovered over her heart. Closing her eyes Serenity concentrated upon the power of the silver crystal, upon the power of the Martian senshi. Her shoulder's sagged; there was nothing- Eris had left them. As her eyes flickered open they rested on Yuuichirou and the figure he held tightly in his arms. Motioning for Juno and Athena to take Eris' body back to the palace Serenity stood and moved slowly towards the young lord. Cupping his bewildered face in her hand she glanced down at the sleeping form of the fire princess. Smiling brightly the Lunarian queen held out her arms towards him. Slowly Yuuichirou passed Rei into the Moon queen's arms, then standing himself, they set off after Juno and Athena.
A sudden glint of red caught Yuuichirou's attention as they left the clearing; stopping he bent down to scoop the object up from the mud. His eyes glanced over the ruby necklace that now graced his palm, even caked in mud and stained with drops of blood he recognised it as belonging to Queen Eris. Glancing up he noticed Queen Serenity gazing back at him, an odd smile on her face. She reached her spare hand out to him - slowly he took it and they moved back through the forest towards the palace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The responsibility of ruling over Mars automatically passed to Ares; it was his duty to act as a guardian of the red planet until his daughter was old enough to rule alone. (For the silver millennium was a matriarchy) Although Rei had insisted that her father remain in the palace and that the knowledge of Eris' murderer was to be kept a secret, for she believed an outside dark force had influenced the Martian king in his actions, Serenity would not allow Ares to rule alone and under her instruction a triumvirate was established with Lord and Lady Thebes taking part guardianship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As news of the queen of Mars' death spread, the solar system was thrown into mourning, so much so that even the celebrations held in honour of the senshi's move to the Moon was dulled with grey sadness. No one of course was more affected than the seven-year-old princess of Mars, her world had crumbled at her feet and she was left in a place darker than Eris could have imagined. Her mother's funeral was declared the day, which marked the united sorrow of the galaxy, but Rei refused to shed one tear. People marvelled at how brave the young princess was but what they saw was only a shell, a shielding created and presented to the world by Rei while everything else that she had been was locked tight away, safe and protected.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Authors babble:
Hello! ^_^
And welcome to the end of (the unofficial) part 1 of the story! I hope you are enjoying it so far. There is still a lot to come in part two so I hope to see you then!
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! It is very much appreciated.
H.n.H
By Himitsu no Hi
"Rei sama?!"
The planetary princesses froze mid cushion throw and turned to face the young boy standing nervously by the door. His blue eyes searched their faces frantically,
"Where is she?" he cried in desperation. Minako turned around about to ask Rei if this was the handsome knight she 'wasn't' going to marry, when she realised that in fact the Martian princess wasn't there,
"She's...gone-" the blonde stammered
"Gone where?"
Minako looked to her friends who each had a blank expression on their face,
"We-um... don't know."
Yuuichirou became like stone, his face paled, breath stilled. Then suddenly he spun around and shot off again. The girls rushed to the door and peered out after him,
"What's wrong?" Makoto called after him but he ignored the question and continued running. Serenity tugged at Ami's dress,
"Rei-chan rubble...?" the moon princess' wide blue eyes blinked as all three princesses stared down at her, then with one shared glance they took off after Yuuichirou, princess serenity teetering slowly behind, her walking skills being newly acquired.
"That way!" Minako called as she caught sight of the Martian boy heading out through a large metal door,
"He has gone outside into the storm..?" Ami asked rather than stated. Makoto gritted her teeth,
"Then Rei must be out there too-we'll have to follow him!"
"But the princess-"
"Someone will have to stay and..."
"None of you will be leaving through that door."
The voice belonged the Lunarian queen who now stood towering behind them, the princess in her arms, Aphrodite to her left, Juno and Athena to her right (the queens of Jupiter and Mercury respectively)
"But-" Minako began,
"No buts-"Aphrodite finished, "What did you think you were doing? Leaving the princess alone and planning on going out in that storm, do you know how dangerous it is?"
The girls lowered their heads and muttered a united 'sorry'
"Where is princess Rei?" Queen Serenity asked suddenly, the Martian princess' absence causing her great concern
"Mama! Wrei outside, boy rubble...fowwo" Serenity offered helpfully, blue eyes staring hopeful at her mother. The queen's lilac eyes darted to the window just in time to see Yuuichirou's small form disappear into the forest. Her heart sank, the bond she had formed years ago with her senshi told her that Eris was in trouble and although the stubborn Martian queen said that she didn't want help, that's exactly what Serenity planned on giving her (after a small amount of deliberation) when she'd gathered the other queens and headed out of the hall, but it seemed there was more at stake here than she had first imagined.
"Rei may be in trouble now also- Aphrodite take the children back to their room" she handed her daughter to the worried Venusian queen before heading out into the storm with Athena and Juno by her side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuuichirou battled through the forest, the rain pounding against him as he ran. Rei loved this forest if she wasn't in the palace then she must be here, he silently thought-and prayed. He pushed back memories of the last time he had ran through these trees in search of Rei- that day Ares had...
His thoughts stopped as the young lord caught sight of something up ahead,
"Rei sama?!" His call faded away on the howling wind but he charged forward ever faster, the beating of his feet on the ground in rhythm with the pulsation of his heart.
Then it was before him. The great Queen of Mars and her daughter lay unmoving in the centre of the clearing, broken branches and crumpled leaves whirled around them, as the rain battered against their skin. Yuuichirou sunk to his knees by the princess he had sworn to protect. Edging forward he checked the queen for a pulse and found none. His eyes caught sight of the blood, which ran down her middle, pooling into a murky mass in the mud beneath, it turned his stomach but he didn't move away, couldn't move away. Tears laced his eyes as he reached down next to see if Rei had survived. His ragged breath echoed in his mind like thunder, as his fingers shook on her wrist-how fragile she seemed at that moment, how delicate life was.
His eyes became wide as a small pulse tapped lightly against his fingers, a few moments more and the sensation repeated. Rei was alive.
Yuuichirou filled with relief beyond words gathered up the small frame of the Martian princess, he held her freezing form close to him as he pulled his cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around her, gently rubbing her back to warm her. Rei pulled closer to him, murmuring softly under her breath as she felt the missing warmth and love return,
"Mama..."
Silently he rocked the princess in his arms, she was safe- everything would be all right.
An anguished cry rang out into the clearing, disturbing Yuuichirou's quiet meditation; he glanced up to see the queens of the Moon, Jupiter and Mercury, their faces paled with a look of horror and sadness mixed in their eyes. Athena was the first to move forward, she bent down over the cold body of her friend and after a moment glanced up to the others and shook her head sorrowfully. Serenity moved slowly and knelt down beside Athena, her hand reached out brushing the hair from Eris' face then her palm moved and hovered over her heart. Closing her eyes Serenity concentrated upon the power of the silver crystal, upon the power of the Martian senshi. Her shoulder's sagged; there was nothing- Eris had left them. As her eyes flickered open they rested on Yuuichirou and the figure he held tightly in his arms. Motioning for Juno and Athena to take Eris' body back to the palace Serenity stood and moved slowly towards the young lord. Cupping his bewildered face in her hand she glanced down at the sleeping form of the fire princess. Smiling brightly the Lunarian queen held out her arms towards him. Slowly Yuuichirou passed Rei into the Moon queen's arms, then standing himself, they set off after Juno and Athena.
A sudden glint of red caught Yuuichirou's attention as they left the clearing; stopping he bent down to scoop the object up from the mud. His eyes glanced over the ruby necklace that now graced his palm, even caked in mud and stained with drops of blood he recognised it as belonging to Queen Eris. Glancing up he noticed Queen Serenity gazing back at him, an odd smile on her face. She reached her spare hand out to him - slowly he took it and they moved back through the forest towards the palace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The responsibility of ruling over Mars automatically passed to Ares; it was his duty to act as a guardian of the red planet until his daughter was old enough to rule alone. (For the silver millennium was a matriarchy) Although Rei had insisted that her father remain in the palace and that the knowledge of Eris' murderer was to be kept a secret, for she believed an outside dark force had influenced the Martian king in his actions, Serenity would not allow Ares to rule alone and under her instruction a triumvirate was established with Lord and Lady Thebes taking part guardianship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As news of the queen of Mars' death spread, the solar system was thrown into mourning, so much so that even the celebrations held in honour of the senshi's move to the Moon was dulled with grey sadness. No one of course was more affected than the seven-year-old princess of Mars, her world had crumbled at her feet and she was left in a place darker than Eris could have imagined. Her mother's funeral was declared the day, which marked the united sorrow of the galaxy, but Rei refused to shed one tear. People marvelled at how brave the young princess was but what they saw was only a shell, a shielding created and presented to the world by Rei while everything else that she had been was locked tight away, safe and protected.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Authors babble:
Hello! ^_^
And welcome to the end of (the unofficial) part 1 of the story! I hope you are enjoying it so far. There is still a lot to come in part two so I hope to see you then!
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! It is very much appreciated.
H.n.H