Guardians of the Millennium: Into the Fire
By Alina (alinasan@yahoo.com)
Chapter One: "Waited all my life"
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Very Long Author's Notes: @)------>----->
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1. GOM: Destined for Love was the foundation
story. I wanted to focus more on each couple alone,
so I split this up into four sequels that continue
the tale. If you can't tell by now,
this is a sappy romance, so if you don't like long
sagas, stop reading now.
2. This is Raye's story. I'm going to try to
be more consistent with how I spell the names of
all the characters. I'm still sticking with the
North American/Dub version, and apologize to
those who that offends. Feel free to download,edit and
find and change Raye to Rei or Serena to Usagi...etc.
My reasoning is that I'm just used to the Dub names,
and so I'll use them. Besides, my setting though
nominally Japan, has more in common with the Americanized
"Any town" style of the Dub. I'm just a casual
Sailor Moon Fan, and my writing *will* reflect that.
3. I write for fun, and editing is *not*
fun....so I warn you there may be metakes awl ovur the playce. ;).
Please be kind and ignore them. I do. I just hope it
won't get in your way reading the story.
3. I don't own Sailor Moon. I never have. I never will (darn).
It belongs to Naoka T. Kodansha/ etc. You know the drill.
4. Musical Suggestions: I happened to be listening to Sarah Machlaclan's
Solace album, Tonic's "Lemon Parade" ("If you could only see"--I can
just hear Endymion singing this about Serena)
--and of course, the Sailor Moon Soundtrack...but for a theme song:
"Oh Starry Night" (Sailor Moon Soundtrack)
I've waited all my life
for the day when love appears
Like a fairy tale in days gone by
He will rescue from my fears
And now I feel him standing close to me
And how can I tell him what he means to me
My heart stands still--has he come?
Oh starry night
Is this the moment I dream of?
Oh starry night
Tell me, is he my own true love?
Every night I think of him
Here in my lonely room
Waiting for my prince to come
Wondering if he'll be here soon
And I sit patiently, waiting for a sign
And I hope that his heart longs for mine
He calls my name, is he the one?
Oh starry night
Is this the moment I dream of?
Oh starry night
Tell me, is he my own true love?
Oh starry night
Is this the moment I dream of?
Oh starry night
How will I know
Will his love show?
Is he my own true love?
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PROLOGUE: The Past:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lord Warrior General Jaedite tossed a lock of blond
hair out his eyes. Then he flicked an imaginary speck
of dirt from his uniform, as he surveyed the rough and
red terrain of Mars.
Jaedite was pleased that his Prince, Endymion, had chosen
him to accompany the Prince, of all the Lord Warriors, on the
official visit to the Mars kingdom.
He knew Endymion chose him because of the easy friendship
between the two. Nephrite and Malachite were
more seasoned generals, and perhaps could more rightfully
claim the privilege of escorting the prince on this
excursion. The remaining Lord Warrior, Zoycite, of course
was too immersed in his studies to want to go on a trip.
Endymion would not want him either. Zoycite
had never developed as close a friendship with
the prince as had the other three.
Then too, Jaedite and Endymion were of an age, with the
other two generals being older and Zoycite a few years
younger. Their temperaments were more suited, though Jaedite
was not as serious as Endymion . . . Still,they both loved
flirting with women. Frequently on official
visits and at balls the two would work together to
capture the hearts of one beauty or another
and compare notes.
Malachite did not usually socialize,
and being a little more puritanical, disapproved of the
Prince flirting when he was engaged to Beryl.
Nephrite didn't concern himself with the Prince's
social life--and he preferred that the others respected
his privacy as well. And Zoycite? Jaedite laughed
wondering about the young boy.
He looked up and caught Endymion's eye. "I believe
you didn't exaggerate the charms of this world,
My Prince." Jaedite's gaze had centered on the lithe
robed figure of a young woman. She appeared
to be engaged in some Martian ritual, holding a long stick
and swinging it back and forth in the clearing of some
rocks. She disappeared behind one of them.
"I think I will go investigate some
local customs, if you will excuse me." He
knew Endymion understood *exactly* what he meant.
Endymion frowned, following his friend's gaze. He
couldn't see anything but the formation of rocks. "Jaedite,
did I warn you to be careful what games you play here?"
"I wouldn't play any games!" his friend laughed, not
sure what had caused the shift in his friend's tone.
"They take things more seriously here....by the
way, if you see my little cousin," Endymion
called out after the departing figure "Tell her I'll row
her out on the canals if she wants." Endymion sighed...he
knew full well his friend was off to charm some
maiden or the other. He wished he could do the same.
He felt a little restrained in his Uncle's court.
Even though he was only related by marriage (his father's
brother had married the Martian King's older sister), The
Martian King treated him like a son--chastising
any improper attention the boy paid to the pretty
attendants of the court. He stared after his
friend...at least he could have some fun. Why
were they so strict here?
Jaedite rounded the curve of the rocks, and
rather abruptly found himself face to face with
one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen...
Girl he corrected, noticing that she couldn't
really be much more than sixteen, only a few
years younger than himself. He smiled
his most charming smile, and prepared to
honor her with his attentions--
"HOW DARE YOU ENTER HERE!!!" She shouted at him.
He blinked. He hadn't expected that reaction.
"Excuse me?" He said, letting the slightest
hint of annoyance indicate his displeasure.
He was a guest, a General of Earth.
Who was she to speak to him this way? "Do
you know who I am? Then you would know
how I dare." He said, smoothly and disdainfully
.
He waited for her to be impressed with his
title, as women usually were. He let his gaze
linger a little on her. "Still
your anger only increases your beauty...so
I'll forgive you." She was amusing, he thought,
and the first challenge he'd seen in awhile.
"And your insolence compounds this insult!"
She glared blocking his entering
further. "You've disrupted my prayers
in the great temple of Mars. You
offended the Royal House of Mars by addressing
me in this familiar manner!" She seemed about
to explode with her irritation. Her hands
moved upwards as she flung a small object
at him--a scroll with writing on it. He
felt an extreme flash of heat where it
hit his skin. "For this, you
will clean the east canal this evening, and
miss the festivities of the night---you must
learn respect." She said. She pointed to
the scroll she'd dropped. "So I've commanded,
and so it will be. Do you not understand?"
She asked when he didn't move.
"Who are you to order a Lord Warrior General of
the Kingdom of Earth?" He growled out,
his anger overcoming his amusement. Enough
was enough he thought...
"I am the Princess of Mars." She said over her
shoulder. "I'm sorry to see my cousin
has such a fool for a protector." She spun
away. "I'll let him choose the
punishment for you then..."
He stood stupefied...*that* was Endymion's "little"
cousin? That beautiful, though irate, goddess?
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Chapter One: (In the present) ----%@
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The sun set on the temple, and Raye suppressed a shiver. Despite the
warmth of the great fire, a river of cold danced
down her spine. She knew why of course, though she didn't turn to
look at the reason. He had entered, and stood there watching
her meditate. As if to mock her asking for answers, the fire had
shown nothing. Instead, it had flickered with the draft his
entering had caused, growing noticeably dimmer. Those not
knowledgeable of the ways of the fire would take that
lessening intensity as a sign, but maybe then again, it was a sign.
Still he respected her silence and did nothing. Yet even that,
his mere presence, stoked the embers of her constantly burning
temper...She turned around, her face a study in fury and
indignation. Her anger gave her the courage she didn't really feel.
"Jed! You imbecile! I told you before not to disturb me
while I was meditating. You've wrecked my concentration."
She berated him loudly and vehemently--definitely destroying
the peace of the darkening twilight. The anger colored her
cheeks to match the red of her robes. The cloth swirled
around her feet, as she stormed up to him. She continued to
yell.
Jed thought to himself, that she seemed so quiet and shy--not
sure of what to say to him unless she yelled. He didn't mind--
she was like an angry kitten to him. Nothing she said really
insulted or offended him--because despite the words she hurled,
underneath all he could hear was the whisper of the confusion
the attraction between them was brewing.
At least, he smiled to himself as she stood an inch from him,
that's how he saw it.
"And you aren't EVEN LISTENING TO ME!" She screeched.
"Every word, Lady Raye. Every word."He said focussing his
eyes on her. "Your word is my command." He took her hand,
knelt and kissed her palm.
That made her furiously uncomfortable--her face felt heated
by a different emotion than the anger. She rushed past him
muttering something about feeding the crows.
He grinned. He knew she'd have that reaction. Odd that
he knew her moods so well, when he didn't know much about
himself. Amnesia they'd said, at the hospital, that wiped
out some but not all of his memories. He'd almost drowned
in the ocean, but miraculously, he'd been rescued.
Rescued by several beautiful women--who's faces and how,
and from what he couldn't remember, along with the
details of his life.
He wasn't sure why he'd ended up at this
Temple either. Random luck, he supposed. After
the hospital had released him, Raye had arrived,
introduced herself and taken him to the temple
for the rest of his convalescence. Why she had
taken him here, he didn't know. She only explained
that she knew he had no one else--and that as
he'd once worked for her, she felt it was
her duty.
Between the lines of what she said, he sensed
she felt almost responsible for him--helplessly
so. She didn't want him. That was clear.
Yet equally clear was that she could, in
all decency, do nothing else.
And she seemed to despise him, but why she
never said. Perhaps for no reason.
Perhaps for some reason he was better not
knowing.
He knew so little about his hosts...but of
course he knew less about himself. For awhile
the quest for that knowledge was delayed.
He recovered from the strange weakness that had
kept him flitting about in sleep for weeks.
Now that he was alert, he could begin to learn
about himself.
He also wanted to learn about Raye...Why had
she taken him in, if she seemed to find the
task so unpleasant?
He followed her and could see her staring not
at the crows, but at the crescent moon which
had risen. Again he felt that tug at his memory
--as if he had witnessed just such a scene before.
Given his lack of memory, he couldn't brush such
things away. No, She fascinated him.
Not just her contradictions, which were many....
she was a maze of duty and desire....He Ôd
noticed that she tended him carefully,
and when she thought he was asleep, all the
simple and thoughtful things she'd done for a
sick stranger. Yet when he was awake,
she distanced herself. It was as if she didn't
trust him-- which one might expect of a stranger,
but there was something more than a lack of trust--
She treated him like he'd already betrayed her trust.
What had he done to her? He wanted to
know--and at the same time feared that knowledge.
Right now though, he thought, as he stole across
to stand close beside her, that it was enough to
be alive. With her.
She didn't move. She knew he was there. They
stood like that for a long time--staring at
the moon, and occasionally when the other wasn't
looking, at each other.
Helplessly, her mind wandered back to the first
night they'd found him.
The next night, she met with the group to discuss
Jaedite, now that he seemed to be fully recovered
and still showed no signs of remembering anything.
"So have we abandoned trying to find out
about the past?" Mina asked.
"Well, I think if Darien could get the bandage
from Melvin, we'd have another direction."
Serena said.
"NO." He replied quickly.
"But Darien!"
"Not even for you Serena. Come on, that boy Melvin is
torturous. I won't spend another evening with him...
find another way."
"What's the point? " Raye said. "The danger is
over--this must have been the catalyst. There is
no need to find out about the past now." She
seemed as if she were in a state of shock. She
wanted to forget all about that time and her love
for the man who now lay asleep in the room
that used to be Chad's.
Mina shot her a curious look. "So that's it?
We're done? We remember all that, and do nothing
to find out more?"
"MINA! We're tired and we faced one dangerous
battle with him...We can't worry about those
things now." Ami chided. "We need to find out
what he knows--why he's here."
Raye explained that all her questioning revealed that he
knew nothing--just that his name was Jed. All the
analysis showed no signs of the forces he had triggered
before. He didn't know why he'd surfaced--he didn't
even know he had. So they agreed to stick with
the original story--that him he'd been
in a shipwreck, and had been saved from drowning by
the Sailor Scouts. It was mostly true.
"If he's alive, couldn't the others be as well?" Mina
asked."We have to keep investigating."
"I don't think so." Ami said gently to Mina.
"They're gone. At first I agreed with
Darien that they all could be reborn--
but it seems Jaedite's condition was unusual.."
Raye nodded. "He was the only one we didn't
see disintegrate and die..."
"Whatever the reason
for your dreams, whatever happened
in the past--I think was a result of Jaedite's
resurfacing due to the crystal crashing down." Ami
continued.
"I no longer feel the forces from the
painting that I felt." Raye said, fingering it.
"I wonder what caused them? I keep checking
him for evil, but there is none. Just a
peace and exhaustion that I find draining."
"Well, couldn't we bring back Jaedite's memories to
see?" Mina asked, but the glare around the room
made her draw back " Guess not."
"It's better he remain without knowing that.
Who knows what he'd do? We should wait to
establish his life and when he is not as
lost as he must be now, we can tell him."
Darien said. "Trust me, that would be easier."
Pluto noticed the look on Mina's face. She was
troubled by something. Pluto herself was not
satisfied. It bothered her that she didn't
know what had happened--And she knew that this
wasn't finished. But she couldn't interfere.
Her memory was not open to her on these points
backwards or forwards--and there had to be some
reason whatever the answer was for that.
They'd all agreed that logically, the Shrine
made sense, as a place to continue to keep an
eye on Jaedite. A few weeks earlier,
Raye had introduced her grandfather to the young man
from the hospital as a disciple, now that the
position had opened up with Chad's departure.
The story could continue to work.
Her grandfather would recall (with help from a
borrowed Luna-P (borrowed by Pluto) that Jed had
worked there once, but left. This was the story
Raye had told Jaedite as well, and he
seemed in no hurry to leave.
She left the group and returned to the inner temple.
Her grandfather, caught in stealing a cookie, gave
her an embarrassed grin. "AH, I was just going to
take our guest this snack!" He lied.
"GRANDFATHER" Raye screamed. "You're diet! Where has
your discipline gone?"
But she knew. Everything seemed out of kilter
since Chad had left--strange that he'd come
to occupy such a central place in their lives.
Yes, the order and calm of the shrine had gone the
same place her heart had gone. Resolutely she went
to check on the ex-enemy ... She'd see this through.
A few weeks later, Raye found a new order had settled
in with Jaedite. As she stood beside him under
the quiet of the night, she realized she needed
to see Chad. Without admitting it, she kept waiting
for him to return. She knew though that
wouldn't happen without her giving him a sign-
he had left things in her power.
The next morning, Raye left the temple early and
set out for one of the richest areas of the city.
She was surprised by the large, manicured
houses--property was so scarce for others.
She recognized this as being near the
neighborhood in which Michelle (Michiru)
had grown up. Still she tried not to gawk at
the so easily displayed wealth.
Now she stood at one of the largest houses.
The owners of such a house were the kind of
the people that her father was forever pestering
to get campaign contributions, or that pestered her
father for favors. She took a deep breath.
Her knock brought a maidservant, who though shorter
than Raye, somehow managed to look down her nose at the
beautiful, confident girl. "I'll see if the master
is at home." She said.
Raye was lead into a beautiful light and airy room.
She wasn't surprised to see the grand piano, or
the gorgeously elaborate synthesizer and karaoke
machine. The Art was chosen carefully, and added
to the light elegance of the room. Except for
one modern work--she recognized the artist,
Peggy Jones (the former Lani Lanai) and she was
shocked, that it showed a girl who looked very
much like Raye herself--but different. This
girl's face was courageous, as if she were
overcoming something that made her very sad.
Almost hidden in the flowing cloak of her dress,
were two crows that peaked out as if to challenge
anyone to bring their princess sorrow again.
"Raye?" The familiar voice choked on her name.
She turned. She suppressed the urge to comment
on the room, though she couldn't help thinking
how wealthy his family was. Such wealth bought
power--her father would explode if he knew she
were familiar with people like this and hadn't
told him...but then, she wasn't really.
This wasn't the Chad she knew. "What are
you doing here?" He asked, hesitantly...
out of habit, he cringed as if she
were about to yell at him.
She laughed, and smiled. "I ...was curious.
..to see where you would go...it's not the
temple, but it'll do." She said.
She wanted to appear cool, and collected,
but suddenly she spied a jade crow of
incredible beauty....she recognized the
artist "It's an Andum--I don't believe it!"
She thought to herself "This stuff belongs
in a museum or a palace..." She blushed
when she realized she'd said it aloud.
He smiled back. " I'm very glad to
see you, but why did you come?"
She blushed. "I was not sure...I...." She
stopped. She rarely did things without knowing
the reason--that was for the whimsical Serena or
Mina, or the impulsive Lita. No, she thought
things out...or at least, rationalized once
she'd done something. "I suppose I never
really gave you an answer."
He shook his head " Your silence gave me an
answer, but not a reason."
"I don't have one."
Gently he said "I don't need one...not anymore.
Raye, all that matters is that you're here. I
have something to tell you."
"Chad.." She put out a hand to stop him from
coming closer--but she then realized, he wasn't
moving closer. She didn't want to hurt him,
but she couldn't think of any other way to
keep things clear. "I'm not here to say that
I've decided I love you. "
She never expected him to laugh, or to hear the
enormous relief in his voice.
"Raye, that's wonderful--because I was wrong about...
Everything! I'd be in a total mess, if you like did
say that..."
She furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"
"Raye, you were right, we ..you and I, we
weren't in love--and I should have like, seen it
like you did. When I met Sora--it was like
all so clear. Good thing
you had more sense than me--but you always did."
"That's me, sensible." She said to herself.
Her throat swelled with the words she had
been about to say "But I think I might" after
her first sentence. She knew now, she'd never
tell him that...
"I want you to meet her--I told heard so much
about you. She knows how important you are to me,
and that makes you important to her as well." Chad
went on heedless of the catch in Raye's voice.
"And she wants you to help arrange the ceremony--
we thought the temple would be the best place for it.'
"I see." Raye said.
"I was about to contact you--it's just like
you to show up when I need you!" He said, and
exuberantly hugged her. He pulled back
quickly, a little shocked at himself for
his forwardness... "I'm just so happy."
A shock went through Raye as she realized how
good that embrace felt. She was more than a
little reluctant to let go. "I ..need to go."
She said then, exerting her will to move away.
"You're always so busy, but I hope this won't be too
much for you...it would mean so much to Sora...and
to me." He said, leading her to the door.
"No, nothing would make me happier." She said
stiffly, hurrying away, her tone inconsistent
with her meaning. She wandered aimlessly
for awhile, and finally headed into the park. The animals
scurried away, as if ignorant of
the city around them.
She could see the row boats on the pond. Something
about the scene prompted her to recall with perfect
clarity a day she'd long since forgotten.
She'd come here on one of her "dates" with Darien.
Even to herself, she didn't like to admit
that she'd been far more into him than
he had been into her. Still, they'd had a good time.
She sighed "Ancient history" she said dismissing
the memory. Even more ancient history was the reason
that she and Darien were not to be.
She really wasn't even surprised when she looked
up and saw through the tears blurring in her
eyes, that a familiar pair of blonde pigtails
flowing in the wind bobbed above a boat.
She seemed to be leaning over the boat, and
trying to help a now soaking man with dark hair
back into the boat. Raye got up, and not wanting
to be near the dock when the couple rowed in. Slowly she
walked back to the temple, as the thoughts raced in her
mind. She needed to meditate. She needed to be alone.
She needed to forget.
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