"A White Rose, A Red Rose" - Chapter 5
So peoples, here is the next part! I can see that you are all
druling in anticipation. Actually you are more likely thinking
'Is this the end, I hope it is this is a long boring story!'
Well, to all you thinking that, I am sorry to disappoint you, but,
this is just the beginning of the end or the middle, it is just a
major part in the story. So read and enjoy!
Disclaimers:
Ditto
Acknowledgments:
I want to thank everyone who has encouraged me on this project!
Surprise! I bet you were wondering why this did not come out
sooner, well, I don't know. First off is my very sweet twin
sister (almost) Chichiri.
Chichiri - "Hey! What "almost"? We were seperated at birth for
our protection from teh Negaverse! It's only a matter of time
till we're awakened as teh twin Senshi of the wind . . . But
thanks for mentioning me!" So ladies and Genlemen, there you
have it!
Anyhow, she is soooooo supportive, and you all have to read her
work some time as well. In fact you have to read the work of
everyone I am going to mention. These are some great authors that
not only encouraged me through talking to me but through their
writing as well. These are some really cool people here, and
Chichiri thinks so as well. Anyhow they are Melinda, Alicia
Blade, Sailor Starra, Lady Athenacles, Tif, and lots and lots of
other wonderful people out there who took the time to write
fanfics. You know who you are, you are all those people that I
have sent e-mail to! Well THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR
INSPIRATION! God bless you all!
"A White Rose, A Red Rose" - Chapter 5
Usagi slipped out of her bedroom and climbed down the
terrace. All she wanted to do
was to get out of the palace and relax for a little bit. The
Terran were to arrive tomorrow
morning and complicate her life further. Oh, how she wished that
she could go back to
just a couple years previous when everything was simple, or at
least understandable.
Usagi reached out to Mamoru but found him to be sleeping.
She smiled. Usagi had leaned a lot on him the last few days and
had found comfort in talking to him, as she always had.
Deciding to let him sleep the young woman ran down to the
lake that was in the midst of the garden. On her way she stopped
to smell the roses. (Pun intended) She still loved them above all
the flowers in the garden, especially since Mamoru had given her
one. Just the thought of the gift made her shiver with delight.
It still stood tall by her bed, blooming without fail and never
even starting to wilt. Usagi fingered the locket, another gift
from him and her smile widened.
Upon reaching the lake Usagi stopped and sighed. A leaf
dropped from a near by tree and fell gently to the water. Slowly
she leaned over and blew on the water. The lake shimmered a soft
silver for a split second and then turned to ice. If it had not
been for the frost covering the lake no one would have even been
able to tell the difference, the leaf was still sticking out of
the water and ripples still seemed to be spreading away from it.
As the Princess stepped out onto the ice delicate skates appeared
on her small feet.
Slowly Usagi began to fly around and then to twirl and jump.
The star locket slipped open and she danced to the music that
flowed from it. She had never told anyone about her love of
skating, not even Mamoru. She kept it a secret it and allowed her
to do what she willed with it.
-Flashback-
The Princess sat in the stands next to her mother and
watched the figure skaters from
Mercury perform their dance. "Mother, how can they fly around the
ice like that? Why
don't they slip and fall?" asked the Princess curiously.
The Queen smiled at her daughter enthusiasm, "Serenity, they
have been dancing on the ice since they were little children and
also they have special shoes to help them."
The Princess had watched the remainder of the show with wide-
eyed amazement.
After the show was over, the small girl slipped down to the
ice where a couple of the
performers were still dancing and talking on the ice. A young
woman noticed the girl
standing on the bank and came over to her.
"Are you lost, little one?" she asked kindly.
Princess Serenity shy smile warmed and broadend, "No, I am
not lost at all, I just wanted to watch the skating up close. Is
it hard to fly on the ice like that?"
The young woman laughed a silvery laugh and smiled, "Little
one, would you like to try and skate? I can teach you."
Squealing, Serenity replied happily, "I would love that! You
will teach me how to glide and soar? I would love to learn that!"
Quickly the woman hunted out a pair of small skates out for
Serenity and
had led her onto the ice. At first, the small Princess fell down
over and over but eventually began to be able to move without
falling.
"Little one, you have the makings of a great skater. No
matter how many times you fall, you always get back up and try
again. As long as you keep that spirit and keep practicing, I
promise that one day you will be a fine skater."
After that lesson with the woman Serenity never saw her
again, the lady had gone back to Mercury with her troupe. But she
had taken the Lady's words and lesson to heart and had kept trying
until she could almost fly.
- End of Flashback-
Usagi danced and glided on the ice, twirling and moving to the
gentle music of the star
locket. No one had ever seen her dance, but if they had they
would have been so enwrapt
by the gentle beauty that they would never have been able to tear
their eyes away. If anyone could ever boast of having the pleasure
of escorting her on her dance they would not have had the power to
stop until she deemed it time, so powerful and beautiful were her
movements. The flick of her wrist could send a person into an
eternal dream if she deemed it good. The feel of her breath could
paralyze a person for life, and to stare into her eyes could make
a person drown in the depths of them.
That was why no one had ever seen her true form but her
mother. It was so for her mother as well. From just a small
child she had had to dull her natural beauty and hide beneath a
garb of magic. In truth the Queen and Princess of the Moon where
made of light, pure and light.
Each of the Princesses from the other kingdoms had some of
the light blood in them, but none was pure like that of the Queen
and Princess. Only the one that was to rule next received the
pure blood.
It was during her dance that Usagi would drop all disguise
and let her true self shine
forth. Golden hair, that was gradually turning silver as she
grew, would tumble down her back like a waterfall tied up loosely
in the two balls on either side of her head. Her eyes would gain
depth and change from an enchanting sky blue to a blue bluer and
vaster than the sky. Pure white skin shone with a pale silver
light that healed anything it touched. Lips turned redder than
the reddest rose. But perhaps the most miraculous of all were her
wings. Exquisite gossamer wings graced her back giving the
finishing touch to her unearthly beauty. She was truly radiant.
The power she held just in the tip of her pinky was more
than anything imaginable.
But all this power held a catch, it could only be used when
nothing else could be done.
True, it could be used on a minor scale. Healing wounds, causing
the sun to rise early,
freezing the entire planet was never a problem. But to use power
the user had to know that they held the power, and the
consequences. To look at it one way, it was a safe guard, it
would be rather devastating if the user accidentally used it, but
then if the user was not aware of the gift, or curse as you will,
then she may let people die and be hurt needlessly. The last
catch of all was that the power could only be fully reached when
the person was complete, meaning when they were with their soul-
mate.
But finding your soulmate was becoming a near impossible
thing. Centuries previously no one would marry unless they found
their soulmates, but that was no longer. Some where along the
line people had become impatient and had started marring without
ever finding their sulmate and the concept had become more of a
legand than a reality.
Despite all this, Princess Serenity's mother had never told
her of her power, so she
could not use it. She could do some things and picked up on even
more. She could
change her clothes with just a half a thought, she could turn the
lake to ice when she
wanted to skate, and other minor things.
Usagi did not even know the full affects of her beauty, all
she could see was that it was a curse, a curse to be so beautiful
that all men saw was that. So she chose to hide her form beneath
loose clothes and her eyes behind glasses. The magic that held
the majority of her true form in check was not enough for her, she
wanted to be plain. She wanted to be one of the people and have
them love her as she loved them, and because of her large caring
heart she had succeeded. No one in the universe looked at her
with disdain or malaise. The very mention of her name would calm
people's hearts.
All that was needed to calm fighting children was to say
"Would the Princess look on that with pleasure?" and all would be
right again. Some said that the reason there was discord on earth
was that they did not accept the Princess's love.
@--<--<---
Mamoru woke suddenly to find himself in an unfamiliar place.
'Where am I?' he thought starteled. 'Oh, the Moon Kingdom. We
arrived early and were let in by a palace guard. They showed us
to our rooms with barely a word claiming that the Queen and
Princess were already in bed and not to be disturbed, we would be
introduced in the morning. Strangely enough, as rude as it
sounds, they were very polite through the whole thing. And none
of us objected to the rest, we were all tired from the journey. I
still don't see why we couldn't just teleport, but no would they
listen to me? Of course not! We just HAD to take the space
shuttle and take our time. I mean talk about a long time! A
whole two days of travel! I could have gotten us here in two
minutes flat.' he thought to himself.
Soft light was spilling in through the window allowing him to
see about his room. It was comfortable, and simple, just the way
he liked it. The whole ambiance of the room was filled with
shadows but there were plenty of light sources to rid himself of
them. Not that he cared. He enjoyed living in the shadows and
often thought of himself like one, the only thing that could bring
out the light in him was Usagi, her light kindled his for his
light was her. The mere thought of her always made him smile.
But then there was the whole business with the Moon Princess.
Suddenly the room was not so comfortable and he walked out onto
his balcony for air.
Once outside he found himself three floors up overlooking an
exquisite garden. He
had heard about the Moon gardens, but had never thought they would
be like this. He
looked up into the sky and found the earth staring back at him.
He could feel the power
emanating out of it, all for his taking. A smile back on his
face, he looked back at the
gardens. They seemed to be calling to him, telling him that they
had a secret for him. Leaping off the balcony with a swift and
fluid movement, he hit the ground gently. (I KNOW that it was
three floors up)
Slowly the Prince began to wander through the gardens
enjoying the sights and smells
of the different flowers. As he walked he noticed that
occasionally he would pass over
certain paths that seemed a little more worn than the others and
gave signs that someone,
or something, ran down them almost daily. Curiosity aroused he
decided to follow one of them. The path he chose twisted and
turned as if whoever it was liked to just wander the same path
over and over, almost like they had been chased by something.
(Know who it is yet?)
After a while of walking Mamoru came to the end of the path.
'Why, it ends at a
rose garden! but why?' he wondered as he bent down to look at the
roses. He bent down
to smell them and noticed a silver kind he had never seen before.
After a while, drowsiness began to overtake him and he turned to
go back down the path to his room.
@--<--<---
Usagi finished her skating and stepped off the pond. Just as
she did so the ice instantly turned back into water and her skates
disappeared. Smiling, and momentarily forgetting the Terrans she
decided to take one last look at the roses to finish off this
perfect night. Immediately she took off in a dead run in the
direction of the rose gardens.
Wind blew her hair away from her face and her nightgown
slapped against her legs as she ran. Even though she wore pants
around all day she still wore a gown to sleep in claiming it to be
more comfortable. Her glasses began to slip down her nose and she
pushed them back into place. Her smile grew as she practically
flew down the path.
Years of running everywhere had paid off and she had
excellent stamina and speed. Glancing ahead she saw the last
corner before the rose garden and smiled, 'Almost there! I bet
this is a record for me, I don't thinkI hgave ever run this fast,'
she thought happily.
But just as the Princess Serenity turned the corner, someone
else did as well, only from the other direction and she ran
straight into the person. Immediately she heard a small "ooff"
from above her and she began to bow and apologize profusely.
"Gomen nasai! I did not know you were there, I am usually
the only one running about at this hour. I am sooo sorry! I hope
that you are not hurt, how can I apologize enough?"
As she said the last words she glanced up at the person she
was apologizing to for the first time. Although her speech did
not falter, (years of training had taken care of that), in her
mind she gasped.
The man that stood before Serenity was nothing short of
gorgeous. He had blue eyes,
like the sea after a storm on Jupiter. His hair was blacker than
the blackest night, blacker
that a raven's wing. He was tall to say the least, at least a
foot taller than she. The man
wore no armor and she could see firm muscles beneath his shirt.
Something about his
air struck her as cold and dark, but at the same time she could
sense some tenderness in
him and she felt herself drawn to him, like to no other man she
had ever met. She had the distinct feeling that she should know
who he was and she felt a strong urge to run into his arms and
kiss him.
@--<--<---
Mamoru looked down at the girl that had just run into him.
She was small was the first thing he noted, much shorter than he.
Her golden head bobbed up and down as she kept bowing and
apologizing. Innocence and tenderness emanated from her like
water rushing down a water fall. Gold hair poured down around her
onto the ground from two balls on each side of her head.
She glanced up at him and for the first time he caught a
glimpse of the girl's face. She had the most incredible blue eyes
he had ever seen, eyes blue like the sky. Thy seemed to pierce
into his very soul and he had the impression that nothing could
escape her notice. It struck him that this was the type of girl
that all the poets found their inspiration from and the type of
girl for whom the word beauty was truly defined. He felt the urge
to gather her up into his arms and kiss her, something about her
made him sure that he must know her, but that could not be, he had
never been off the earth before and she was from the Moon. Wasn't
she?
All of a sudden he realized that she had stopped speaking
and must be waiting for a reply. "Is it not dangerous to run
around at this time of night" Who knows what might be out here,"
he said when he could think of nothing else.
The girl laughed. "Dangerous? Not at all! This is the Moon
we are on, and in the palace gardens at that. We are safe here, I
have done this night after night for years, why do you think the
paths are so worn? Everyone knows that it is safe here, even a
person from somewhere as far away as Pluto."
Mamoru was stunned with her happy manner and her joyfulness.
He was so enrapt with her beauty and grace that he could not think
of what to say. So he let his mouth move on its own and
immediately regreted his next remark even as it left his lips
"Well that is if you are part of the Silver Millennium. And why
do you keep your hair in that ridiculous manner, it looks like a
pair of meatballs or odango atama." He pulled his breath in
sharply after he said it.
Usagi was startled at what he had just said and wondered if
she had heard right. "Did you just say what I thought you said?
My hair looks like odango atama does it? Well, your hair looks
like a raven's nest!"
Serena's eyes flashed. Never before had anyone ever
insulted her hair style before, not even Rei. Now this, man who
did not even know her, dared insult her?
"Do you even know who I am? I . . . " Endymion started
amazed that she had dared insult him, although he had insulted her
first.
The Serenity cut him off. "You are a Terran, it is evident
from your arrogant manners and ignorance. Only Terrans are as you.
True some people are arrogant, but none as much as the Terran,
they are know across the galaxy for it."
"It is true I am a Terran. I came with the Terran party as
an ambassador for peace, and now the first person I meat is rude
and insults my whole race, this will not fly well with my Prince."
He had realized that she did not realize fully who he was and
decided to play with her a bit.
"Hopefully the Prince will be better than you are, after all
who was it that insulted who first? What have I ever done to you,
am I allowed to ask?"
Endymion began to open his mouth to answer when she cut him
off again. "Never mind that I asked! I don't want to continue
speaking to you. I am tired, and seeing you are part of the
Terran party I will see you again tomorrow and you will discover
how great an insult you have laid . . . and why it would be best
never to mention this meeting to anyone."
"You also will discover what mistake you have made, so, till
tomorrow." He said with a mock bow. He reached behind his back
and pulled out a red rose to mock her. Handing it to her, he
wondered what her reaction would be.
Usagi stared at the rose that the man had just put in her
hands. It was to much. Tears began to well up in her eyes and
she turned and fled dropping, the rose as she turned.
Mamoru stared after her stunned. He never expected her to
react like that. It was like he had stabbed a knife into her
heart and turned it slowly to cause as much torture as possible.
In truth he felt like he had done the same to his own heart by
doing so to her.
Something about the girl seemed to call to him. Slowly he
walked over to the rose and looked at it. Something glistened on
it so he called it up to his hand. Strangely enough not a single
not a single petal was marred and on one of the petals was a small
gem. It glistened like a drop of water and as he gazed at it hit
him what it was, it was her tear.
'What kind of girl cried tears that became precious gems?' he
wondered, staring at the rose. 'And what in the name of Earth
possesed me to give the girl a red rose?'
Slowly Mamoru walked back down the path to his bedroom, still
staring at the rose. He could not get the girls face out of his
head. Her eyes had caught him in their trap and he could see them
in his minds eye. Thinking back on it, he realized that she had
been wearing glasses. But her eyes were so bright they had shone
right through them. She was truly a beautiful girl, like a beam
of light on a Moonless night. (Pun intended, she is light, so
since she's from the moon she's moon light, so there can't be the
moon w/o her. hee hee.)
@--<--<---
Sooooooooooooooooo, what do you think? They met finally, and they
insulted each other, and they seemed to be enraptured by the
other, or "drawn" to the other. hee hee, soooooooooo? My e-mail
address is Miaka2001@hotmail.com. (HINT HINT) I love e-mail.
(HINT HINT) So I really would not mind it if you want to drop a
line. (HINT HINT) OK, I'll say it out right, I would REALLY
REALLY like you to e-mail me! I want to know what people think!
And my web page is http://www2.crosswinds.net/santa-
barbara/~animegals (and yet another hint) If you feel up to it,
sign my guest book. I would LOVE that as well, and I ALWAYS write
back! Well, thanks again!
God bless you all.
(
geocities.com/element_sprite)