Rebirth Crescentia Homepage

A tall woman with dark green hair stood in the marketplace, quietly watching. She was dressed as everyone else was, in the bustling courtyard of Beaumaris Castle. She was good at remaining silent and unseen, yet nothing escaped her notice.

Her eyes were fixed upon the golden-haired little girl, who stood giggling and laughing as she petted the horse of a local knight. A white cat snoozed in the sun atop a low wall. Nearby, a green-haired woman was attempting to purchase something from a local vendor.

"Kreirwy, love," murmured the knight, coming up behind the green-haired woman and placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

"Gwiyon!" she exclaimed, turning around. "I mean, Your Lordship," she smiled, deeply curtseying.

He grinned at her and took her hand, leading her to a corner where they could enjoy a private talk for a few moments.

"I'm glad to see you're safe," murmured Kreirwy, looking happily at the knight. There was something else in her eyes-- love.

"King Edward has granted me leave for a few months," replied Sir Gwiyon. "I'll probably be called back next year sometime... but I have a few months."

Kreirwy looked around concernedly. "...And your lady wife?" she asked, with a slight frown on her face.

Sir Gwiyon sighed and ran his hand through his sandy hair. He forced a cheerful smile on his face. "My lady wife is not the topic at the moment... The topic is, the lads and I are going out boar-hunting next week. If you would care to join us?" he inquired, punctuating it a slightly suggestive lilt.

Kreirwy shook her head. "Sir Gwiyon... we've discussed this... I don't... I don't know."

He quirked an eyebrow and said nothing.

"I feel... you know how I feel. Like I should be yours, heart and soul... like we were destined to be together... but there is the matter of Gwendolyn to deal with."

"I was young," replied Sir Gwiyon simply. "I didn't know what love was... now I do." He gently kissed the palm of her hand, then held it tightly between his own. She allowed it to remain there for a few moments, before gently freeing it.

"I'm sorry, Sir Gwiyon... perhaps under other circumstances. But not now." Kreirwy sighed. "Now, if you are seen talking to me for too long, people might get suspicious. You ought to go."

He frowned unhappily, but allowed her to slip away and disappear into the crowd. The two faces floated in his mind... one of the lovely, green-haired woman who he loved.... the other, of the lovely, golden-haired woman whom he had married. He once again ran his hand through his hair, and walked over to where his horse was tethered. The little golden-haired girl looked so very much like his wife did when she was young, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. The innocence, the large blue eyes, the golden hair... "What's your name?" he asked politely.

"I'm Kerridwen," she replied. "Is this your horse?"

He nodded. "I have to bring it back to the stable now. Did you enjoy petting it?"

The girl giggled. "He has such a soft nose!"

He smiled at her, then mounted his horse and flicked his heels into its side. His eyes scanned disinterestedly through the crowd, then stopped on one particular face. She had long, dark green hair, and a dark complexion. Very exotic-looking. Even though she was dressed in common clothes, she had an aristocratic air about her. There was something vaguely familiar which tugged at his memory, but he could not place. He shook the thought away, and continued on towards the stable.

----

Setsuna was back at the Time Gate before Sir Gwiyon reached his destination. She smiled to herself, calling the Time Staff to her hand and reassuming her position of Guard. The position she had been faithfully keeping for centuries, alone.

Her heart had leapt for joy when she had discovered four of her Princesses had reborn on Earth. It was not the Rebirth she had waited for... and was still waiting for... but it was a Rebirth all the same. Feeling their energy patterns emanating from the Blue Planet was comforting, somehow... a piece of the Silver Milennium resurrected, soothing to her mind.

She had watched them grow.... her Princess of Neptune, into the lovely green-haired Kreirwy. How she would have grimaced at the thought that her new parents would ever inflict such a name upon her! That brought a smile to Setsuna's lips... Her Princess of Uranus, reincarnated into Sir Gwiyon. How fitting, that she should return to the Earth as male. The fact that they were still trying... unsuccessfully... to continue the love affair which had begun centuries before touched her heart. No, they wouldn't be together this lifetime... but there would be another one in the future where things would turn out happier for pair. Her own Princess Serenity, reborn as Gwendolyn. How different things were, when she was not their leader! And yet, how stunningly similar! Even though the Princess of Neptune was no longer fealty-bound to the Moon Princess, she still was hesitant to hurt her leader of the past, and her leader in the future. And the Princess of Venus... before, a mirror image of the Moon Princess, and would continue to be such.

Setsuna sighed to herself and couldn't help but yearn for the day the girls would all the reborn, together... not in Wales, but in Japan. When they would be awoken. When what they had begun would climax to its destiny, a thousand years after that.

Again, she felt something... another of the Princesses had been reborn, for the first time since the destruction of the Silver Milennium. No one else would have the same energy pattern emanating... her eyes brightened at the thought that one of her girls-- Mercury-- had returned. No... not in Wales, like the others... rather, in Italy. The realization brought a smile to her normally solemn lips, and her eyes brightened in anticipation. She made a mental note to go down and visit the girl sometime in the next fifteen or twenty years.

Until then, she stood. Alert and waiting. Holding her Time Staff. Guarding the Time Gate. As she had for centuries before.

Back to Castle Triton