Well, I guess you all know the usual
disclaimers by now; so I’ll save myself and yourself time and not bother typing
any more, except enjoy your read.
---
“Live” Part One
by Greta
---
Sitting in her room on a large
armchair, a large book resting in her lap, the queen tried harshly to stay
awake. It was late, but to work for her Kingdom, she felt it could never be too
late. Working through the silence of the night, she flipped page after page, a
pencil working its way through different sentences of many words in foreign
languages. But suddenly, the slight sobbing and weeping of a soft voice could
be heard, making the queen look up at once.
A small girl was carefully entering her
room. The young child had creamy skin, and long, beautiful silvery hair, trailing
down her shoulders. She wore a beautiful white dress, traced with pearls, and
lined with swirls of gold. Bu tears were running down the soft cheeks of the
pretty child, and she was rubbing her eyes with her small hands. Sniffling, she
headed towards her mother.
"What is wrong, Princess?"
the queen asked softly, laying her book aside to embrace the small body in her
arms.
"I can't go to sleep," she
answered, sniffling. "Venus' stories scare me. She told me that there are
big black monsters that eat small children that cry... Is that true?" the
small girl continued.
"Serenity ..." the queen
started, cradling her child. "We all own a star within our hearts."
"A
star?"
"Light and Dark have belonged
together since all eternity. When the darkness scares you and you show it your
tears, only then shall it become larger and come over yourself. And in the end
... then it has succeeded over the light." She paused for a moment.
"Serenity, when you want to overcome the shadows and darkness, that are a
threat to your heart, you must let that star that lives in you shine
forever."
Taking the Princess' face in between
her hands, the Queen placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Standing up, she took
a small hand in her own, and led the young girl back to her room, where she
stayed until the girl drifted off into slumber.
---
Time has the strange
tendency to pass away far too quickly once times are happy and carefree, and
worries scarce. It very much seemed to appear that way to the young Queen, as
it seemed to her that her small child was turning into a young woman much too
quickly, her time of mothering the young Princess nearing its end. But what was
she to do, but watch proudly and hope for the best? For fear kept creeping up
in her heart ever so often for what was to come and be.
---
-- Dearest Queen
Serenity,
The Queen sighed, reading the letter
over that had arrived earlier that day what felt for the hundredth time, one
paragraph standing out boldly from the many pages. I know
what you have feared these past few years. I have as well. My galaxy, being far
away from your beautiful Solar System, has seemed to be doomed sooner. I can
feel a threat coming closer, too close, too fast. Yes,
she had feared something happening that wasn’t meant to happen, but that did
not make it any easier to believe in what had been written down black on white.
Her eyes continued scanning the gracefully swung words that were already so
familiar to her that she could almost recite them. As your galaxy shall be in peace for much longer, I am writing to you
to ask of this. Please take my daughter to you, as I believe she will be safer
at your side than in this doomed galaxy, and I could not stand it, if anything
would happen to her.
Much dearest wishes,
Queen Kakyoku--
Folding the letter away, she sighed.
She could take no more of that letter today, the burden of what she would have
to do already heavy on her shoulders. Why did everyone assume that all would
always be well here? Closing her eyes, she grimaced. Because they still believed
her to be someone she was not.
A slight knock could be heard at the
door, making her look up. "Yes?"
"Can I come in Serenity?"
a friendly voice asked as a black haired woman peeked around the door.
"Of course, Armina.
Please enter."
A woman entered the room. Smiling at
her advisor, she noticed in the dim light several candles were casting in her room
that Armina had grown older, just as she had herself.
"Armina,
I’m sorry to have called you at such an unearthly hour,” the Queen said,
smiling apologetically. “But – take a seat first of all – I need you to read
this over." Watching as Armina sat down gracefully, the Queen slowly unfolded the sheets of paper
she had been reading minutes ago. Handing them to her advisor across the table,
the Queen sighed. Watching Armina intently as she
started reading, the Queen leaned her head on her hands, her mind working as
she surveyed the emotions cross over Armina’s face;
first the mild curiosity and interest, then the disbelieve and finally the
shock.
Looking up from the letter, Armina’s eyes narrowed in thought. "What does this
mean, Serenity?” she whispered, her voice scared.
"I believe that we will be
expecting visitors soon," knowing even while she was saying it, that it
had not been the answer to the question Armina had
wanted to hear.
---
The fair Princess of the
Moon cursed under her breath as she pressed herself up against a tree, trying
to disappear in its shadows. Even though the sun was sinking already and she
was standing in the shadows, she was scared of being seen.
“I really hate you,” she
whispered to the cloaked figure beside her.
“Oh, you know you don’t
mean that,” a young woman replied, flicking her long black hair over her
shoulder. “And now stop complaining. Nothing can happen to us now that the
sun’s almost gone.”
“But … Rei!” Serenity
wailed.
“Serenity! Don’t make such a fuss!
Now, put your cloak on so we can finally go.”
Serenity’s eyes widened.
“Go? I’m not going anywhere!” she screeched.
“Sere! Why did you think we
came to Earth? To hide behind some trees? And anyways,
you promised!”
Serenity opened her
mouth to reply, but quickly shut it again. The problem was that she had promised to come along. And yet she
had also promised never to use the room Rei had dragged her to without permission.
The moment the last words of her promise had left her mouth, the Princess of
Mars had grabbed her by the arm and led her down many steps and stairs she had
never sat foot on before. The Room of Teleportation lay behind many doors and
corridors which were sealed to the eyes of the servants and people without
magical powers in the palace.
It was a vast room with
a high ceiling held up by enormous pillars, engraved with signs and runes of
old, to them unknown, languages, out of the most beautiful marble. And yet, in
all its gloriousness, a gloomy and mysterious air was about the room. Only
people with great magical powers were able to use the devices inside it to travel
wherever one wished to go; Rei’s and Serenity’s power
combined were just enough to get them where they wanted.
Actually,
where Rei had wanted them to go. Because truth be
said, Serenity was scared as hell. Scared of having to be on this strange planet
she had never been to before, scared of not being in
her bed in the
“Serenity, come on.”
But, what was done was
done. Serenity nodded feeling brave, slipping the heavy cloak the black-haired
female had brought along for her with them over her long silken dress. Reaching
for Rei’s hand, she nodded once more.
“Where are we going
Rei?”
“I don’t know. Let’s
just walk around a bit …”
So, they had risked
doing something absolutely forbidden for looking at the scenery? In the middle of the night? “Alright,” Serenity whispered,
glaring slightly at her friend.
They continued walking
in silence, passing trees and wild flowers, which were strange to Serenity’s
eyes, on an uneven path. The darkness of the night had covered everything in
sight with its inky shadows, making every branch look like a threatening,
gnarled hand which was only waiting for a moment of unwatchful ness to reach
out for them.
The small, winding path
had led them to a small clearing in the wood they were walking in. The grass
stood high, trying to tickle their calves, and the starry sky was reflected in
a small brook, bubbling mirthfully.
“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?”
It was the first time since they had arrived,
that Serenity appreciated the beauty the strange planet had to offer. “Yes, it
is. Look at the sky,” she said, marvelling at said inky dark, velvet dome above
their heads. At the vast endless sky which was one day to be her kingdom.
“Beautiful … But it’s
strange to see the moon instead of the earth up in the sky, isn’t it?”
“You’re right,” Serenity
agreed with a nod. It was very strange to see her home sparkling like a pearl
up in the sky. “Say, Rei … Why did we come?” she carefully asked, sitting down
beside Rei in the lush grass, from where the crickets were chirping their
nightly song.
“Because
you promised, stupid.”
“No, I mean, why did you
want to come here?”
Rei hugged her knees to
her body, shrugging. “I don’t know. I’ve just always wanted to come here, I
guess.”
Serenity put an arm
around her shoulders, pulling the young woman closer. “Hey, you’re forgetting
that I’m your friend. You’ve been here before. Don’t you remember telling me
about it?”
Rei blushed a bit,
biting her lip gently.
“You’re home-sick,
aren’t you?”
Rei looked at Serenity,
her eyes wide. Lowering her eyes to the ground, she brushed her fingers through
the green grass. A small, sad smile was forming on her lips. “This planet, it
reminds me of Mars. The many landscapes, the mountains, the rivers ...”
Everything the Moon was
not, Serenity thought. “You aren’t happy on the Moon, are you?” she asked,
having difficulty in keeping the bitterness from her voice.
“No, I am happy. I have
friends and I feel at home. But something’s is just amiss …” Rei answered
slowly and thoughtfully, not wanting to hurt her friend.
And then it hit
Serenity. Not something, someone was missing. “You miss him, don’t you?” she
asked ever so carefully.
The young woman remained
still, trying not to show that she had heard what Serenity had said, trying not
to show that said girl had hit the very spot. Biting her lips, she tried to
reason with herself. Don’t, not now, I don’t want to, no … But she couldn’t
stop the small salty drops from forming at the corner of her eyes.
“Sere … I – I feel so
bad. I should have been home and at his side when he was going through such
pain …”
Serenity hugged her
friend close to her side, stroking her hair. She felt that she had not been a
good friend. Of course the event now lay back a few months, but such an event
was nothing to get over in a defined amount of time. “Hey, Rei … It’s not your
fault.”
“Then why do I feel so
bad?” she whispered, her purple eyes showing the pain she felt.
“You’re hurt, Rei. I can
understand that, but –“
“No, you don’t understand,
Sere,” Rei cut her off harshly. “You can’t. No person that you were ever
attached to has died yet.”
Serenity bit her lip,
and hugged her friend closer, trying very hard not to seem thrown off guard.
---
Running a hand through his dark hair, he
sighed. He was rather frustrated, just wanting to finally get home.
“Damn this stupid wood
…” he muttered under his breath. It was hard for him to admit, but he seemed to
be lost.
But then again, it was his fault, parting with his group of friends. Sighing
again, he thought he should have been more sensible.
Pulling on the rein he was holding, he walked on through the small wood, his horse
following closely behind.
Suddenly he heard a faint sound in the distance. It seemed to be that of
footsteps. Startled, he looked around, trying to make out from where the sound
came. Strange, he thought, people here in the middle of nowhere so late in the
night?
“Are we there yet?”
“No, Sere.”
He could make out two women’s voices in the distance. He wondered what they
were talking about. Unconsciously he started walking into the direction of
where the voices came from, not really watching where he was going.
“Rei, I’m tired.”
“Don’t be a baby. We’ll be home in a second.”
‘Home?’ he thought, not knowing of any settlements or even houses close to this
wood. The moon and the stars were very bright that evening and not covered by
any clouds, and in their light, he could see two figures drawing closer to him.
All of a sudden his horse neighed, and much too loudly for his taste.
The voices faltered, and stared into his direction. He wasn’t sure if they
could see him very clearly, but they seemed shocked anyway.
“Why do I get this feeling that that was not a wild horse?” one of the women
said, loud enough for him to hear.
“Don’t be afraid, I won’t do you any harm,” he said carefully, having come
close enough for them to hear him.
They didn’t say anything, but didn’t back away either. He took a few steps
forward, and asked, “What are you two doing here this late?”
“Uhm …”
“That is not to be of your concern,” the other woman went on for the rather
nervous other one. Lifting her hood to reveal her face she looked at him
sternly.
He smiled at her. He wouldn’t be thrown off guard by her. “May I at least know
who you are then?”
“We are just some peasants.”
He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. She looked nothing like a
peasant. Her hair was long and silken, and she held herself perfectly. And even
though she was wearing a long cloak, he could see a fine golden necklace she
was wearing. A red, brilliantly glittering stone was embedded in the
tear-shaped pendant on it. Even though it was simple, the necklace looked very
exquisite.
“And who may you be?” she asked him.
“That is not to be of your concern,” he smartly quoted her, grinning a bit.
She looked crossly at him, and was about to reply, when the other woman tugged
on her arm.
“Just leave him be. We should get going, Rei,” she said. Her voice was very
gentle and melodic.
“You’re right,” her friend replied with a sigh. “Farewell, sir,” she said,
turning to him.
“Farewell,” he said as they brushed past him. He looked after them for a moment
or so, before walking on as well.
‘How strange’, he thought to himself.
---
Well
fellas, tell me what you think! I’m happy with
everything I get; suggestions, wild suspicions, ideas, requests, complaints,
and well, I’ll just laugh at stupid, mindless flames, so if you don’t like what
you see, tell me in whole sentences and in a cultivated language, alrighty?
Greta