Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Embers of a Flame ❯ For a moment ( Chapter 9 )
[ 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: 12.28.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 214 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.28.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 214 | Status: Work In Progress
The Embers of a Flame - Chapter 9
By Himitsu no Hi
"I wish I could stay here again Serenity, I envy the time they now have together, I do not know how Athena and Juno managed to pull themselves away last week...and oh how I will miss my little Minako!" Aphrodite sniffed softly as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. Serenity smiled as she turned from the princesses who were playing in their new room to face the Venusian queen,
"She is not exactly little anymore Aphrodite- and don't worry she already loves it here and you know that you and Eros are always welcome."
Aphrodite sighed and nodded as she glanced over to the young girls once more. As her gaze caught sight of Rei her expression deepened in concern,
"How is she holding up?"
Queen Serenity followed Aphrodite's gaze until her own eyes rested upon the Martian princess who sat quietly by the large window of the room staring absently out into the garden, a slight frown creased her forehead.
"I'm worried about her, although she seems fine and tells me so when I ask I can sense something troubling that stirs in her thoughts and in her heart. Eris always told me that Rei was such an active, bright and somewhat temperamental child much like she had been at her age but Aphrodite I've seen no such thing from the poor girl." Serenity softly shook her head,
"I fear that we're slowly loosing her - that she is loosing herself to something that she has yet to realise - only she can over come..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darkness they always began in darkness, but then slowly the light would come, a light so bright that it should burn the eyes of those who dared to glimpse it, but the light always welcomed her gaze and wrapped its warmth around her and for that moment, that second, the walls of her heart crumbled and her spirit was free, she was free.
But it was just a dream, and as with most dreams it did not last- the warmth would ebb silently away and the darkness would return, bringing with it the images that haunted her mind, visions that forced her to rebuild the walls so that the fragile self would be protected.
"Maybe...he'll punish someone else for your crime hum...?"
"Burn...in Hades Eris."
Afraid, her hand reached out into the darkness calling for the light to return, she felt cold, so cold...
In the midst of the darkness and confusion an aura like her own returned her call, quiet and dim at first, it began to grow in strength as she concentrated upon it, its light, not like that which enveloped her before the darkness, but instead like a flame which braved the darkest night. She reached out to it and it reached out to her as if their thoughts and movements were one. A strange feeling rested on her heart, soft and comforting yet burning and passionate and then just as her fingers grazed the fiery light it vanished.
The grey woman's face flashed before her, merging silently into that of the dark woman who had cursed the baby Serenity and then finally the image she hated most filled her vision...
"MAMA!"
Rei awoke with a start, all that she had seen swirling madly around in her mind as she tried to remember where she was.
A gentle light filtered in through the doorway of the room pushing away the darkness from her dreams and allowing calmness to return- she remembered now.
Two weeks ago Queen Serenity had announced that it was time for the new generation of senshi to being their training and schooling on the moon kingdom. Very few people realised that in doing so Serenity was fulfilling her promise to the late Queen of Mars, but it was agreed upon by most that this was a wonderful time to celebrate. Rei had not found the grand party in the moon palace to be a very joyous affair however, most people seemed afraid to speak to her as if she were so fragile that even a whisper would crack her brave facade.
How little they understood.
Rei was at least glad to have escaped the oppressive and suffocating atmosphere that had overcome the Martian palace- life on Mars would never be the same without her mother...her father hadn't even come to say goodbye, she understood that his battle with darkness was still far from concluded.
Rei quietly slipped out from under the crimson covers of her bed, padding silently over to her dressing table where she had abandoned her dressing gown a few hours earlier she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror - a shiver passed over her as reproachful violet eyes glared back at her.
Would those eyes ever forgive her?
Preferring not to dwell on that matter she swiftly she moved towards the door of her room tugging on the lilac robe as she came to a stop in an area the girls had named 'the pool room.' Ironically there was no such luxury as a pool in that room, it was instead a place where the girls themselves 'pooled' together. The pool room, in fact reminded Rei very much of the teleportation room on Mars, as on each of the surrounding six walls was a different style of door, five of which were currently open and four of which held a sleeping princess.
Every night since she had arrived on the Moon, Rei found herself standing in the pool room peaking in through each door to make sure her friends were safe and sleeping before she made her way to her grandmother's sacred fire room. Meditation had become a vital part of her life since her mother had passed away. Rei had promised herself that she would be strong, that she would not let anyone see her suffering, that she wouldn't let the darkness win. Just like mama had said to her,
'People will try to trick you and hurt you and make you cry and if you let them see your fear, or a single tear fall from your eyes then the darkness in them can grow and attack, you must always stay strong for those you love and for yourself so that you can defeat the dark and evil souls.'
Her papa was not strong enough and the darkness, the grey woman, had taken his soul, had forced him to kill her mama, all because he had been so sad, because he had let his pain consume him. Rei would not let the darkness do that to her. At first her heart had wavered, she missed her mama so much, but she refused to give in - despite the nightmares, the memories that flickered occasionally to the surface of her mind, the images that kept her awake at night and the secret blame, she harboured deep within - she fought against them all with the help of the fires. Rei had learned that with the fires she could do much more than simply learn the future or unlock the past, the warmth and the light which they offered were a strange comfort to the princess, they provided a focus upon which she could still her thoughts, with which she could burry the feelings that would weaken her defence, they gave her tranquillity, a calmness which allowed for the strength and the patience she needed to hide away any part of her that would succumb to darkness' call.
Silently Rei opened the sixth door and slipped out into the darkened corridor. The whole palace was silent at this hour, only the guards remained alert but they rarely bothered the young Martian princess as she moved past them- it was only a short walk to the sacred fire shrine. A now familiar warm breath of air brushed against her as she pushed open the heavy door and disappeared into the soft glow of the room. She smiled as she thought of the first time she had entered this place-her grandmother's special place on the Moon; it had been the day she had become a senshi, the day that promised her happiness. Both Ami and Makoto had found their special rooms also; the room of Mercury was home to the most extensive collection of literature in the solar system and probably the galaxy, in general the girls thought it was just an over glorified library but Ami remained adamant that it was much more than that-one day, although Rei appreciated the wonderful books stored there, she hoped that Ami would let them all in on the secret...
Jupiter's room - a magnificent green house stocked with the most rare and beautiful plants of the solar system was much more awe inspiring. Princess Serenity (whom they had taken to calling Sere) was especially taken by a flower from earth by the name of 'rose.' Surprisingly they had yet to find the room of Venus.
Rei settled herself in front of the gently swaying flames, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth - the room of Mars was definitely the most beautiful. Glancing to the story of the 'Great War' which was engraved upon the walls she read the first few lines, committing them once again to memory, it allowed her to focus her thoughts - Rei wanted to be able to recite the legend by heart, as it was, in a way the whole reason for her being. Finishing the first paragraph she concentrated once again upon the flames and the meditation she was about to begin. Usually she used meditation to suppress her fears or calm her temper (which she had clearly inherited from both of her parents) she had even discovered that the composure and peace of mind earned from devout meditation sharpened her developing psychic and senshi abilities. Tonight however, there was a more specific reason for her fire reading; for many nights now her dreams had been filled not only with the nightmares of her the past or visions of future events but also by the image of and aura very much like her own. It had been so much like her own in fact that it had taken her this long to realise that it was someone or something else who was reaching out to her in her dreams and now that she was certain, Rei was determined to discover all that she could about the flame which called to her through the darkness, the soul which had felt the pain as she had.
Curious eyes peered through the door way, three varying shades of blue and one green, each gazing intently upon the raven-haired priestess who sat perfectly still uttering a quiet mantra to the eternal flames.
"The fifth night this week, do you think she will she be okay?"
"I hope so...but she never tells us what she's feeling."
"Rei's stronger than she looks...besides..."
"We're here for her if there is a time she needs us."
"..."
"But...we're still going to spy on her just incase?"
"Of course!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ahh! Look out!"
Three senshi lay sprawled across the ground as the remains of a golden chain faded from existence. Slowly Sailor Mercury got to her feet, looking only slightly dazed,
"Venus chan I think you're supposed to keep a hold of the chain until it wraps around its target," she offered gently glancing quickly to the blonde who was hopping from foot to foot in worry and aggravation,
"I know I know, I'm so sorry minna chan! It just...slipped." Venus added sheepishly as Mercury helped Mars and Jupiter to their feet, the latter looking exceptionally disorientated after taking the brunt of the attack while the former just looked mad,
"Minako-that was the fourth time this morning!!" the senshi of fire uttered in a low growl, "We can't help you if we're unconscious!"
"It was only the second time it went the wrong way over her head and hit us though..."Jupiter said shaking her head to clear the fogginess clouding her vision. Venus' chin quivered as tears welled up in her eyes,
"Its not my fault I'm such a crappie leader!" the senshi of love yelled, "Maybe someone else should do it, they can take Artemis' stupid leader strategy lessons and miss training with Luna and see how good they are!"
With that she spun around; calling once again for 'love me chain' she threw the golden attack towards the dummy target before stamping off towards the gardens.
Three pairs of eyes blinked in astonishment,
"She hit it!"
The girls set off immediately after the blonde senshi,
"Venus chan!" Mars cried happily, wrapping her arms around the stunned blonde senshi, who was soon smothered as Mercury and Jupiter followed suit,
"You did it Venus chan! You hit the target!!"
Venus' blue eyes blinked in surprise,
"I did? I did!! Of course I did...I knew I could do it all along!"
Laughter rang out through the garden as Princess Serenity made her way towards the group, her long silver hair tied up in the traditional moon style buns, the young princess was now almost the same height as Ami, her smile shone as she joined in the group hug,
"Well done Minako-chan!" the young princess didn't know what it was that Minako had done...but figured that she deserved the praise anyway.
"Hello Sere, how did you first lesson with the queen go?" Mercury asked softly. Sere's eyes dimmed somewhat and she sighed,
"It was nice spending time with momma but I messed up all of Artemis' important paper things when I tripped on the step of the throne..."
"Don't worry princess" Jupiter grinned, "you've got plenty of time to practice before you become queen."
"Besides odango...if you can't handle it, one of us could always take over for you-"
Mars quipped, achieving the required reaction from the Moon princess, whose fists curled into balls as she glared back at the Martian senshi,
"Na a Rei chan! I can too do it! I might be a bit slow and clumsy but I'm gonna be just like my momma! And I'll prove it...I came to find you on a special errand." Sere's smile beamed proudly,
"You have a guest Rei chan...Luna said he was in the Grand hall and see I remembered all this time, I told Luna I'd tell you when I came to find you all and see I did!"
Mars suddenly looked very worried,
"Sere how long ago did Luna ask you to tell me?"
"Well...after I finished with momma I went to the pool room, then to the Jupiter room to look at the roses, then I checked the kitchen for cake and then I came here!"
"Nani!" Mars cried as she pushed past the confused moon princess, running through the gardens back into the palace.
"How does she run in those heels?" Venus asked, shaking her head in amazement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rei skidded to a halt as she reached the entrance to the main hall, taking a moment to de-transform and get her breath back before quietly slipping into the room.
"Rei-sama!"
Rei's violet eyes opened wide in surprise,
"Yuuichirou san! What are you doing here?"
The young lord grinned, his blue eyes shining as he hurried towards her,
"I was beginning to think you didn't want to see me...I've been waiting for hours. I tried to get away from Harmonia to see you before now but everything has been so hectic with my parents taking over most of the Martian royal affairs."
He suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace, Rei blinked too stunned by the sudden show of affection to do much, they had never shown formalities before, but he'd never hugged her before either-Slowly Yuuichirou pulled away, his expression now serious as his eyes bore into her own,
"How are you Rei sama?"
For a moment, just a nanosecond in time, Rei felt her defences weaken as she lost herself to the blue penetrating stare, pulling herself from the daze so quickly that it was barely noticeable that it had happened at all the raven-haired princess whacked the young lord playfully on the arm,
"I'm fine baka...and since when did I say you could hug me!" She glared at him, but the smile of her eyes told him she meant no harm. Yuuichirou's smile returned somewhat, although his serious tone remained,
"It is the job of a knight to serve his queen in whatever way he possibly can-this soon to be knight thought that his soon to be queen needed a hug...she has been through a great deal of upset recently."
"Maybe...he'll punish someone else for your crime hum...?"
Rei's eyes dimmed, and she moved silently towards the dining table set out in the centre of the hall,
"I'm fine Yuuichirou...if that is all- then I need to get dressed for dinner so-"
Yuuichirou, for all he was only 10 years old knew that his princess was lying, he had know her since she was born and had made it a point to know everything about her so that he could love and protect her to the best of his ability,
"No Rei sama, although I was glad at the opportunity to see you again, my real reason for this visit was to give you something...something that I guess now belongs to you..."
The young lord moved slowly towards Rei- she looked up at him, face expressionless as he took her hand in his.
For one beat her heart stopped moving, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes stared down at the ruby necklace, which now rested in the palm of her hand; her mother's necklace, the same necklace which had belong to her grandmother and her mother before that. The gem glinted in the reflecting light from the sun, which poured in through the open windows,
"I found it that night...it took a while to clean up but I thought you would want it..."
Rei replied with silence, as if mesmerized or frozen by the jewel. Yuuichirou inwardly sighed, he was prepared to comfort his princess to reassure her that it would all be okay, but he had seen no sorrow or grief within her eyes - he did not know however, what to do to ease what was visible there,
"I...I have to get going Rei sama," he stuttered, edging away, "Its so busy back home, my parents will be worried, I've been gone so long."
Yuuichirou had almost reached the door when she spoke.
"Will you come again Yuui-kun? Will you come and tell me of Mars."
Rei's gaze still had not left the necklace, her voice was strangely calm.
"Hai, Rei chan, if you want me to, I will come. Take care."
She nodded.
He turned and was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Babble:
Helloooooooooo!!
This chapter is kind of an interlude between (the unofficial) part one and (the unofficial) part two. In the next chapter I'll be jumping ahead quite a few years in order to get the story moving a bit faster^ . ^
Oo some Japanese words and their meanings-
Baka: idiot
Minna: everyone
Hai: yes
I think they are the only three most peeps might not have heard of^ . ^
Well- thanks for reading!! And I'll see ya next time!!
H.n.H
By Himitsu no Hi
"I wish I could stay here again Serenity, I envy the time they now have together, I do not know how Athena and Juno managed to pull themselves away last week...and oh how I will miss my little Minako!" Aphrodite sniffed softly as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. Serenity smiled as she turned from the princesses who were playing in their new room to face the Venusian queen,
"She is not exactly little anymore Aphrodite- and don't worry she already loves it here and you know that you and Eros are always welcome."
Aphrodite sighed and nodded as she glanced over to the young girls once more. As her gaze caught sight of Rei her expression deepened in concern,
"How is she holding up?"
Queen Serenity followed Aphrodite's gaze until her own eyes rested upon the Martian princess who sat quietly by the large window of the room staring absently out into the garden, a slight frown creased her forehead.
"I'm worried about her, although she seems fine and tells me so when I ask I can sense something troubling that stirs in her thoughts and in her heart. Eris always told me that Rei was such an active, bright and somewhat temperamental child much like she had been at her age but Aphrodite I've seen no such thing from the poor girl." Serenity softly shook her head,
"I fear that we're slowly loosing her - that she is loosing herself to something that she has yet to realise - only she can over come..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darkness they always began in darkness, but then slowly the light would come, a light so bright that it should burn the eyes of those who dared to glimpse it, but the light always welcomed her gaze and wrapped its warmth around her and for that moment, that second, the walls of her heart crumbled and her spirit was free, she was free.
But it was just a dream, and as with most dreams it did not last- the warmth would ebb silently away and the darkness would return, bringing with it the images that haunted her mind, visions that forced her to rebuild the walls so that the fragile self would be protected.
"Maybe...he'll punish someone else for your crime hum...?"
"Burn...in Hades Eris."
Afraid, her hand reached out into the darkness calling for the light to return, she felt cold, so cold...
In the midst of the darkness and confusion an aura like her own returned her call, quiet and dim at first, it began to grow in strength as she concentrated upon it, its light, not like that which enveloped her before the darkness, but instead like a flame which braved the darkest night. She reached out to it and it reached out to her as if their thoughts and movements were one. A strange feeling rested on her heart, soft and comforting yet burning and passionate and then just as her fingers grazed the fiery light it vanished.
The grey woman's face flashed before her, merging silently into that of the dark woman who had cursed the baby Serenity and then finally the image she hated most filled her vision...
"MAMA!"
Rei awoke with a start, all that she had seen swirling madly around in her mind as she tried to remember where she was.
A gentle light filtered in through the doorway of the room pushing away the darkness from her dreams and allowing calmness to return- she remembered now.
Two weeks ago Queen Serenity had announced that it was time for the new generation of senshi to being their training and schooling on the moon kingdom. Very few people realised that in doing so Serenity was fulfilling her promise to the late Queen of Mars, but it was agreed upon by most that this was a wonderful time to celebrate. Rei had not found the grand party in the moon palace to be a very joyous affair however, most people seemed afraid to speak to her as if she were so fragile that even a whisper would crack her brave facade.
How little they understood.
Rei was at least glad to have escaped the oppressive and suffocating atmosphere that had overcome the Martian palace- life on Mars would never be the same without her mother...her father hadn't even come to say goodbye, she understood that his battle with darkness was still far from concluded.
Rei quietly slipped out from under the crimson covers of her bed, padding silently over to her dressing table where she had abandoned her dressing gown a few hours earlier she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror - a shiver passed over her as reproachful violet eyes glared back at her.
Would those eyes ever forgive her?
Preferring not to dwell on that matter she swiftly she moved towards the door of her room tugging on the lilac robe as she came to a stop in an area the girls had named 'the pool room.' Ironically there was no such luxury as a pool in that room, it was instead a place where the girls themselves 'pooled' together. The pool room, in fact reminded Rei very much of the teleportation room on Mars, as on each of the surrounding six walls was a different style of door, five of which were currently open and four of which held a sleeping princess.
Every night since she had arrived on the Moon, Rei found herself standing in the pool room peaking in through each door to make sure her friends were safe and sleeping before she made her way to her grandmother's sacred fire room. Meditation had become a vital part of her life since her mother had passed away. Rei had promised herself that she would be strong, that she would not let anyone see her suffering, that she wouldn't let the darkness win. Just like mama had said to her,
'People will try to trick you and hurt you and make you cry and if you let them see your fear, or a single tear fall from your eyes then the darkness in them can grow and attack, you must always stay strong for those you love and for yourself so that you can defeat the dark and evil souls.'
Her papa was not strong enough and the darkness, the grey woman, had taken his soul, had forced him to kill her mama, all because he had been so sad, because he had let his pain consume him. Rei would not let the darkness do that to her. At first her heart had wavered, she missed her mama so much, but she refused to give in - despite the nightmares, the memories that flickered occasionally to the surface of her mind, the images that kept her awake at night and the secret blame, she harboured deep within - she fought against them all with the help of the fires. Rei had learned that with the fires she could do much more than simply learn the future or unlock the past, the warmth and the light which they offered were a strange comfort to the princess, they provided a focus upon which she could still her thoughts, with which she could burry the feelings that would weaken her defence, they gave her tranquillity, a calmness which allowed for the strength and the patience she needed to hide away any part of her that would succumb to darkness' call.
Silently Rei opened the sixth door and slipped out into the darkened corridor. The whole palace was silent at this hour, only the guards remained alert but they rarely bothered the young Martian princess as she moved past them- it was only a short walk to the sacred fire shrine. A now familiar warm breath of air brushed against her as she pushed open the heavy door and disappeared into the soft glow of the room. She smiled as she thought of the first time she had entered this place-her grandmother's special place on the Moon; it had been the day she had become a senshi, the day that promised her happiness. Both Ami and Makoto had found their special rooms also; the room of Mercury was home to the most extensive collection of literature in the solar system and probably the galaxy, in general the girls thought it was just an over glorified library but Ami remained adamant that it was much more than that-one day, although Rei appreciated the wonderful books stored there, she hoped that Ami would let them all in on the secret...
Jupiter's room - a magnificent green house stocked with the most rare and beautiful plants of the solar system was much more awe inspiring. Princess Serenity (whom they had taken to calling Sere) was especially taken by a flower from earth by the name of 'rose.' Surprisingly they had yet to find the room of Venus.
Rei settled herself in front of the gently swaying flames, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth - the room of Mars was definitely the most beautiful. Glancing to the story of the 'Great War' which was engraved upon the walls she read the first few lines, committing them once again to memory, it allowed her to focus her thoughts - Rei wanted to be able to recite the legend by heart, as it was, in a way the whole reason for her being. Finishing the first paragraph she concentrated once again upon the flames and the meditation she was about to begin. Usually she used meditation to suppress her fears or calm her temper (which she had clearly inherited from both of her parents) she had even discovered that the composure and peace of mind earned from devout meditation sharpened her developing psychic and senshi abilities. Tonight however, there was a more specific reason for her fire reading; for many nights now her dreams had been filled not only with the nightmares of her the past or visions of future events but also by the image of and aura very much like her own. It had been so much like her own in fact that it had taken her this long to realise that it was someone or something else who was reaching out to her in her dreams and now that she was certain, Rei was determined to discover all that she could about the flame which called to her through the darkness, the soul which had felt the pain as she had.
Curious eyes peered through the door way, three varying shades of blue and one green, each gazing intently upon the raven-haired priestess who sat perfectly still uttering a quiet mantra to the eternal flames.
"The fifth night this week, do you think she will she be okay?"
"I hope so...but she never tells us what she's feeling."
"Rei's stronger than she looks...besides..."
"We're here for her if there is a time she needs us."
"..."
"But...we're still going to spy on her just incase?"
"Of course!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ahh! Look out!"
Three senshi lay sprawled across the ground as the remains of a golden chain faded from existence. Slowly Sailor Mercury got to her feet, looking only slightly dazed,
"Venus chan I think you're supposed to keep a hold of the chain until it wraps around its target," she offered gently glancing quickly to the blonde who was hopping from foot to foot in worry and aggravation,
"I know I know, I'm so sorry minna chan! It just...slipped." Venus added sheepishly as Mercury helped Mars and Jupiter to their feet, the latter looking exceptionally disorientated after taking the brunt of the attack while the former just looked mad,
"Minako-that was the fourth time this morning!!" the senshi of fire uttered in a low growl, "We can't help you if we're unconscious!"
"It was only the second time it went the wrong way over her head and hit us though..."Jupiter said shaking her head to clear the fogginess clouding her vision. Venus' chin quivered as tears welled up in her eyes,
"Its not my fault I'm such a crappie leader!" the senshi of love yelled, "Maybe someone else should do it, they can take Artemis' stupid leader strategy lessons and miss training with Luna and see how good they are!"
With that she spun around; calling once again for 'love me chain' she threw the golden attack towards the dummy target before stamping off towards the gardens.
Three pairs of eyes blinked in astonishment,
"She hit it!"
The girls set off immediately after the blonde senshi,
"Venus chan!" Mars cried happily, wrapping her arms around the stunned blonde senshi, who was soon smothered as Mercury and Jupiter followed suit,
"You did it Venus chan! You hit the target!!"
Venus' blue eyes blinked in surprise,
"I did? I did!! Of course I did...I knew I could do it all along!"
Laughter rang out through the garden as Princess Serenity made her way towards the group, her long silver hair tied up in the traditional moon style buns, the young princess was now almost the same height as Ami, her smile shone as she joined in the group hug,
"Well done Minako-chan!" the young princess didn't know what it was that Minako had done...but figured that she deserved the praise anyway.
"Hello Sere, how did you first lesson with the queen go?" Mercury asked softly. Sere's eyes dimmed somewhat and she sighed,
"It was nice spending time with momma but I messed up all of Artemis' important paper things when I tripped on the step of the throne..."
"Don't worry princess" Jupiter grinned, "you've got plenty of time to practice before you become queen."
"Besides odango...if you can't handle it, one of us could always take over for you-"
Mars quipped, achieving the required reaction from the Moon princess, whose fists curled into balls as she glared back at the Martian senshi,
"Na a Rei chan! I can too do it! I might be a bit slow and clumsy but I'm gonna be just like my momma! And I'll prove it...I came to find you on a special errand." Sere's smile beamed proudly,
"You have a guest Rei chan...Luna said he was in the Grand hall and see I remembered all this time, I told Luna I'd tell you when I came to find you all and see I did!"
Mars suddenly looked very worried,
"Sere how long ago did Luna ask you to tell me?"
"Well...after I finished with momma I went to the pool room, then to the Jupiter room to look at the roses, then I checked the kitchen for cake and then I came here!"
"Nani!" Mars cried as she pushed past the confused moon princess, running through the gardens back into the palace.
"How does she run in those heels?" Venus asked, shaking her head in amazement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rei skidded to a halt as she reached the entrance to the main hall, taking a moment to de-transform and get her breath back before quietly slipping into the room.
"Rei-sama!"
Rei's violet eyes opened wide in surprise,
"Yuuichirou san! What are you doing here?"
The young lord grinned, his blue eyes shining as he hurried towards her,
"I was beginning to think you didn't want to see me...I've been waiting for hours. I tried to get away from Harmonia to see you before now but everything has been so hectic with my parents taking over most of the Martian royal affairs."
He suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace, Rei blinked too stunned by the sudden show of affection to do much, they had never shown formalities before, but he'd never hugged her before either-Slowly Yuuichirou pulled away, his expression now serious as his eyes bore into her own,
"How are you Rei sama?"
For a moment, just a nanosecond in time, Rei felt her defences weaken as she lost herself to the blue penetrating stare, pulling herself from the daze so quickly that it was barely noticeable that it had happened at all the raven-haired princess whacked the young lord playfully on the arm,
"I'm fine baka...and since when did I say you could hug me!" She glared at him, but the smile of her eyes told him she meant no harm. Yuuichirou's smile returned somewhat, although his serious tone remained,
"It is the job of a knight to serve his queen in whatever way he possibly can-this soon to be knight thought that his soon to be queen needed a hug...she has been through a great deal of upset recently."
"Maybe...he'll punish someone else for your crime hum...?"
Rei's eyes dimmed, and she moved silently towards the dining table set out in the centre of the hall,
"I'm fine Yuuichirou...if that is all- then I need to get dressed for dinner so-"
Yuuichirou, for all he was only 10 years old knew that his princess was lying, he had know her since she was born and had made it a point to know everything about her so that he could love and protect her to the best of his ability,
"No Rei sama, although I was glad at the opportunity to see you again, my real reason for this visit was to give you something...something that I guess now belongs to you..."
The young lord moved slowly towards Rei- she looked up at him, face expressionless as he took her hand in his.
For one beat her heart stopped moving, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes stared down at the ruby necklace, which now rested in the palm of her hand; her mother's necklace, the same necklace which had belong to her grandmother and her mother before that. The gem glinted in the reflecting light from the sun, which poured in through the open windows,
"I found it that night...it took a while to clean up but I thought you would want it..."
Rei replied with silence, as if mesmerized or frozen by the jewel. Yuuichirou inwardly sighed, he was prepared to comfort his princess to reassure her that it would all be okay, but he had seen no sorrow or grief within her eyes - he did not know however, what to do to ease what was visible there,
"I...I have to get going Rei sama," he stuttered, edging away, "Its so busy back home, my parents will be worried, I've been gone so long."
Yuuichirou had almost reached the door when she spoke.
"Will you come again Yuui-kun? Will you come and tell me of Mars."
Rei's gaze still had not left the necklace, her voice was strangely calm.
"Hai, Rei chan, if you want me to, I will come. Take care."
She nodded.
He turned and was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Babble:
Helloooooooooo!!
This chapter is kind of an interlude between (the unofficial) part one and (the unofficial) part two. In the next chapter I'll be jumping ahead quite a few years in order to get the story moving a bit faster^ . ^
Oo some Japanese words and their meanings-
Baka: idiot
Minna: everyone
Hai: yes
I think they are the only three most peeps might not have heard of^ . ^
Well- thanks for reading!! And I'll see ya next time!!
H.n.H