Hello beloved readers!
Disclaimers as usual, as Sailor Moon
still has not become mine (damn).
---
„Live“ Part Five
by Greta
---
Stroke … stroke … stroke ...
Breaking through the water, feeling the cold air of the morning hit her wet
face. Breathe in deeply. Plunge back down into the cool wetness, engulfing her,
binding her. Gulping the air greedily down – down – down her
lungs, filling her body with strength. Arms stretch, hands grab, legs
propeller. She feels the need within her body. The need of
reaching her limit – her need to feel the painful contradiction of her
body for oxygen once more, holding it long – long – longer, savouring the
exhilarating need. Her eyes open, her body moves gracefully, swiftly, in the
element so natural to her. So beloved … so cherished … so
needed. She pushes her body down, further, further, down to the rough ground
of the body of water she is in. Gracing her hand against it, she feels peace. All
is calm within her. Closing her eyes she allows her body to do what it has been
begging for, begging for painfully and greedily.
Resurfacing, she breaks through the
ice-cold water, greedily swallowing mouthful after mouthful of air. Pushing her
short wet her out of her face, she lets her body float softly on the surface of
the water, the cool rippling soothing her mind and body.
Breathing in deeply, she could feel
the sunshine tickle her closed eyelids and feel her body sway softly with the
water.
Oh, how she wished to stay forever;
her mind was free of thoughts and worries here, and her limbs woeful at the
thought of leaving.
But slowly she opened her eyes, ignoring
her body’s protest as she took in her surroundings once more. Her blue eyes
blinked, having to get used to the sudden brightness. Ever so slowly she swam
to the edge of the body of water she was in, taking her time to relax one last
time before the day began with all its facets, good and bad. The roughly hewn,
white stone basin that held the water was easily her favourite place to be on
the palace’s grounds. Be it the early hours before sunrise or the wee hours of
the night, may she be in it, pushing her body’s limits further and further
along, or simply sitting outside of it, she always felt of this place as her
own.
The palace’s inhabitants knew it
existed just as well as she did, but no one felt the strange desire to come
here as the Princess of Mercury did. The rough stone that held the water was
dangerously covered in sharp corners and edges, being deep at the same time,
too deep, some said. There were few ways to get in and out, barely anyone
knowing where the stone was smooth enough to pull yourself out of the water
without getting hurt.
But the danger made the place only
more attractive for the young princess, as it meant that she would be left in
peace, unlike anywhere else she went.
Shaking the water from her short
blue hair, she stretched beneath the only just risen sun, her head uplifted
towards it, before pulling on the dressing gown she had brought along with her.
Feeling ready for a new day to
begin, she smiled silently to herself, heading to the
---
Crash.
Serenity twitched her nose,
snuggling down into her pillow as far as she could.
Yelling.
Clamping her eyes shut, she turned forcefully
to the other side, hoping to escape the bothersome noise and fall back into
deep slumber.
More yelling, stopping just as
abruptly as it had surfaced.
Serenity sat up abruptly, her sleepy
face disgruntled. Scrunching up her eyes, she swung her bare legs over the side
of the large bed she had been sleeping peacefully in mere minutes before. It
took her dozy head a moment to realise where she was, namely her mother’s
bedroom. Looking over her tangled covers, she saw that her mother was still sound asleep. Tiptoeing to the window, she pulled the
curtains to the side slightly, peeking out on the grounds still wet from last
night’s rain. Rubbing her eyes, she angrily surveyed that it could not be very
late into the day yet. She even suspected, that the sun had risen just moments
before, making it therewith much too early for her taste.
Sighing, her feet shuffled back to
the huge four-poster bed her mother still lay in. Wanting to lie down once
more, and hopefully catch some more sleep, a thought crossed her slowly working
brain.
Why had she woken up again? She
blinked, having forgotten for a moment.
Jumping back off the bed, she
angrily noticed that she – naturally – did not have a dressing-gown in her
mother’s bedroom and no slippers either. She eyed her shoes from the day before
critically, as if it was their fault no other ones were around. She just did
not feel like walking around in high heels in the wee hours of the day in her
nightgown. It was just too ridiculous, and uncomfortable in the bargain.
Storming angrily through the bedroom, she
passed her mother’s office, in which she had felt so small the night before.
Glancing at the silver father clock that stood in a corner of the room she
noticed angrily that it was freaking-6-o’-clock-in-the-morning.
Clenching her teeth together tightly, it took all of her self-control to not
let the large doors of her mother’s chambers bang loudly behind her as she
walked – actually rather stormed - out of them.
Moving forwards swiftly, she felt
the cold from the marble hallways creep into her bare feet, following the
muttered conversation she could distinctly hear. Rounding a corner, she saw
three young men standing boldly in the Queen’s private corridors quarrelling
angrily about something at 6 o’clock in the freaking morning, not noticing her
at all. The black haired and silver haired young man were throwing whispered
insults at each other, while the third one was busy trying to make himself
noticed to them by lecturing them.
“What on the Moon do you think you
are doing here?” she hissed as menacingly as she could manage, stomping up to
them, her hands on her hips. She had never seen these men before, even though
she knew most of the palace’s inhabitants at least by their looks.
Stopping a few meters in front of
them, she savoured the embarrassed looks they gave her. Well, at least the
brown haired one was doing so.
She gave them no time to answer as
she raised her voice again. “Do you realize that you are making a completely
rude and disrespectful commotion at 6 o’clock in the morning in the Queen’s
private corridors? How dare you enter the Western Wing of the palace without
permission?”
Taiki stared at the silver-haired
girl in front of him. Wonderful. The one thing he had
really wanted to avoid doing had just been done. Simply
wonderful. He tried thinking frantically of something polite that would
yet explain their extremely stupid situation, but his companion gave him no
chance.
“Hey, dumpling, calm down, won’t
you?”
Taiki groaned. He hated his life at
times. Sighing, he pondered on how Seiya always seemed to know how to make a
situation worse.
The girl raised her eyebrows
dangerously high, her hands clenching into fists. Why, how - how dare he! Alright, she knew that her
looks weren’t at her best right now: her silk nightdress crumpled,
her feet and arms bare, her hair tousled from sleep. But this! This was
ridiculous! Didn’t they know who she was?
“What did you call me?” she
whispered slowly, her voice deadly, having to look up slightly at the
affronter. He was grinning boyishly at her, his dark hair falling slightly into
his face, his dark blue eyes full of mischief.
“Dumpling … Say, what are you doing here then? Don’t tell me a dumpling head like
you actually is actually allowed here?” he said teasingly, liking the look of
her shocked face. She had looked like an easy prey to aggravate, and he had
been right. But her unusual hairstyle was just too inviting. The strange balls
of hair atop her head made her look like a big child. Well, like a big child in
a too sexy nightgown.
Smirking at his friend’s comment,
Yaten eyed the girl critically. “Well, maybe you can show us to where we are
allowed then?” he asked mockingly, his beautiful green eyes narrowed sardonically.
This was more than she would take.
Her body shaking slightly, if from the cold, which had now crept into her whole
body, or from the temper rising inside her body she did not know, she prod her
finger in the dark haired man’s chest who she was still facing.
“Oh, now you want my help? If I’m so
unworthy of being here, why should I know my way around here?” she asked
dumbly, yet coldly.
“Well, I wouldn’t know, pretty
dumpling,” Seiya said smirking, grabbing the hand she had been repeatedly
prodding him with softly, raising one eyebrow, delighted at the faint blush
which had crept up her cheeks.
“Seiya!”
Taiki hissed under his breath.
“What? Can’t a guy have a bit of fun
while he’s stuck in a strange galaxy?”
Hastily and forcefully withdrawing
her hand, Serenity felt blind rage, but also disgust rise in her. So, she was
just a bit of fun, was she? And why, why
did she have to blush in that exact moment? She could cry and wail.
Pushing his companion aside, Taiki
stepped forward, hoping he could recover at least some of the damage Seiya had
caused.
“I am very, very sorry for the rude
manners my companion has displayed, and would like to apologize,” he began,
sighing softly. “I would also like to apologize for intruding these private
corridors, but you see it seems we have gotten lost a bit.”
“I take it that you are not from
here then,” Serenity said after a moment’s pause. At least the tallest of the
three had manners, and was talking politely to her, very much unlike the other
two.
“No, not at all.
We’ve never been to the Solar System.”
At this, Serenity perked up. Pondering
she studied the three young men. She could dimly remember her mother mentioning
visitor’s from another galaxy some time ago. Could it be - ?
“My name is Taiki. We come from the
planet Kinmoku of the
Serenity smiled faintly. So, the
visitors her mother had told her about had arrived. Cocking her head slightly,
she mulled over what her mother had told her about them, which she could sadly
barely recall.
“I’m glad to meet you, Taiki. I am
the Princess Serenity of the
Seiya flinched.
---
Her magenta eyes watched her
surroundings worriedly. The mists of time were – strange as it sounded –
floating around her hectically, their movements strangely uncoordinated, which
was very much unlike them. Her hand clenched her slender staff tightly while
taking a few steps backwards. What was happening? This was so very strange for
time. It almost seemed as if time was … confused. She had experienced something
like this only once before, on a day which now lay almost 18 years in the past.
Biting her lower lip, the Guardian of Time and Space worried.
---
Ever so slowly, a blonde head peeked
around the corner of a corridor’s wall, revealing two bright blue eyes checking
their surroundings hastily. The Senshi of Venus was chewing her lip nervously.
So she was a Princess? And a royal defender of the Princess? Well, that hardly
kept her from being scolded for looking the way she did at that very moment.
Her early morning training had not only left her bare feet muddy and her body
sweaty, but had also made her excoriate her knees and right hand from dropping
to the ground heavily once too often. Her treasured sword was tied to her back,
adding to her appearance of a warrior. Her high-heeled shoes in one hand, she
tiptoed down the corridor briskly and soundlessly. Only two more corridors and
she’d be in the Western Wing of the palace, where all the chambers of the
royals lay and where she’d be safe.
Quickly moving on, a grin appeared
on her face. Ha. The advantages of senshi training,
which had left her step soundless, were
nice at times after all.
“Venus!”
The addressed youth flinched, her
eyes widening upon hearing a scolding voice. Shit! She had so wished to
disappear noiselessly in her room and emerge looking respectful without anyone
noticing. Sighing she prepared for the worst. Even though she had been of age
for over two years now, she - and the other Princesses as well - was still
being treated like a child who needed to be brought up at times. Well, not
today! Breathing in deeply, she turned around, assuming that she was about to
face Magda, the head servant of the palace, who was
to be seen bustling around the palace at any time of the day.
“I don’t give a damn about looking
–“ she started saying loudly, trying her best to sound dignified, before
realizing she wasn’t facing anybody else but Serenity along with three unknown
men.
“Oh, I don’t either, Minako! But what are you doing up so early?” the younger
girl gasped, rushing forwards to her friend.
Minako released
the breath she had been holding, a grin of giddy relief spreading on her face.
Smiling warmly at Serenity she found the concern being displayed for her flattering.
“I was training outside, Sere.”
“But, Mina! It’s so early!”
“Exactly!” she replied, laughing
loudly, her blue eyes sparkling. Serenity had no idea what it meant to fight
and train, never having to do it. But she would not fret on that now. Pulling
the young princess closer to her uniformed body, she whispered, “Won’t you
introduce me?” while gesturing her gloved hand towards the three young men
watching them.
“Erm,
right,” Serenity answered, remembering suddenly that they weren’t alone. Glancing
in their direction, she smiled apologetically, carefully avoiding the
black-haired one’s glance. So he might not have known who she was, but she just
would not forgive him for treating her like he had done. She was going to make
him suffer. “This is the Princess of Venus, you three,” she said, nudging her
friend, her thoughts making her smirk slightly.
“Princess?” the silver-haired male
asked sarcastically, letting his eyes roam Venus’ dishevelled body openly. “You
Princesses do tend to run around in strange outfits here,” he said, his arms
crossed across his chest, rolling his eyes at her.
While Taiki stopped to sigh
frustrated halfway through his bow, the blonde senshi’s
eyes narrowed dangerously. What was that
bloody boy saying about her? Loosening Serenity’s hand from her arm, she
walked forwards to meet him, stopping only few centimetres from his face,
eyeing him irritated.
“What gives you the right to talk
like that?” she whispered dangerously while cocking her head. “Just because I
feel the need of training in peace, it does not make me unworthy of being a
Princess. Just because I practice the art of sword-fighting with all my heart, that
does not make me a subject of insult. And just because I’m good at what I do …”
breathing in deeply, she stopped in mid-sentence, before continuing, her voice
deadly. “You don’t have to judge someone you have never met before in your
life. I am the Senshi of Venus, first royal protector of the Moon Princess.
Address me with respect.” Her head held high, she never moved her own blue eyes
from his green, watching his expression turn from mild surprise to bemusement.
Yaten was indeed feeling slight
amusement mingled with surprise rise in him. So this girl had guts. Most of the
time, people backed away from his sarcasm sullenly, his small stings creeping
under their skin slowly and hurtfully.
But that didn’t bother him, no,
it was actually quite the contrary. He didn’t need others to come too close to
him. People were false. People were dishonest. And people were cruel. And
before they hurt him, he rather evaded them with dealing out hurtful words
himself. He couldn’t stand them hurting his soul anymore than they had already
done in his young life.
But he liked this blonde girl. This Senshi of Venus. Her eyes were still glittering up at
him, giving her a strange aura of dangerous beauty. Her blonde hair was tied
back, most likely to keep it from getting in the way, her gloved hands clenched
tightly to her hips, her upper body leaning towards him ever so slightly. He
liked the way she wasn’t letting his comments get to her and the way she was
talking back to him fearlessly, demanding what she felt she deserved. But he
wasn’t about to show her that much.
“Should I now?” he said slowly.
“Then I will expect the same from you.” The words left him smiling deliciously
at her, his eyebrows raised slightly. Minako’s eyes widened in surprise, not having expected him to reply like
that. Her mouth agape slightly, she studied his face which was quite as defiant
as her own. Her head cocked to the side, she smirked. She might like this
silver-haired man.
“Hey, hey, stop it you two!” a
nervous voice kept the Senshi of Venus from replying. Tugging at her friends
arm nervously, Serenity hoped to keep the two from quarrelling any more. Not
that they had been quarrelling exactly; but the imposing danger Minako had shown moments ago demanding respect, had surprised
Serenity deeply, and she felt sure that it would have led to a fight in the
end.
These three boys just weren’t getting on a good
start on their first day here.
---
Shameless plug for my newest ficcy, “Bloodstained Angel”: Chaos
defeated and gone, Usagi and her friends settle down to their normal lives at
last. But tragedy strikes once more, leaving Usagi not only utterly alone, but
also immortal. The Gates of Time now unguarded, strange things start to happen,
parallel universes overlapping, the forces of time jumbled. Bruised and broken,
Usagi has to learn to get on alone, damned to eternity, fighting the new enemy
that has come upon
Greta ;-)