Well, this is a story that is something completely different from most
fanfics out there. It is a Sailor Moon/Fushigi Yuugi crossover, set in the
Silver Millennium era of Sailor Moon. However...this is a completely original
story and will not be following along the plot of either series at all.
Basically, the only things I’m actually using are the characters, which do
not belong to me, of course, but to their respective owners, Naoko Takeuchi
and Yuu Watase. However, I’m pairing these characters up in ways their owners
never dreamed of, so beware. ^_~
And now, may I present you with...
Heart of Silver, Soul of Glass
by Stormlight
Prologue
There was smoke and fire everywhere, and the screams and cries of frightened
servants filled the nighttime air. The clash of weapons rang like thunder,
rising above the roar of the flames that licked at the roof of the sprawling
manor house. Horses shrieked, their hooves clattering across the courtyard
while shadowy riders wielding swords and axes cut through the pitiful group
of defenders, striking down men and women alike without provocation. The dead
and dying lay everywhere, and the smell of pain and fear hung thick and
choking in the air.
In all the confusion, nobody noticed a solitary figure hurrying away from the
scene of carnage, slipping quietly into the shadows of the trees lining the
riverbank nearby. How ironic, to be so near to this endless supply of water,
while the magnificent structure of the manor house burnt to the ground only
yards away. The woman, clutching to her a small, carefully wrapped bundle,
stumbled wearily to a nearby dock where a small fishing boat was tied,
stepping into it and untying it from its moorings. She weakly pushed it away
from the dock before allowing her exhaustion to overcome her, and her legs
abruptly gave out beneath her as she sank into the damp bottom of the boat.
Selene, the Countess of Willow Glen looked back through weary eyes at the
home she had dwelt in for the past ten years, along with her husband, Sir
Odhran of Willow Glen, who had been a knight to the great King Reagan. She
felt tears fill her eyes as fresh pain gripped her heart. Had been, but no
longer. When the bandits had attacked their home, he had been one of the
first to fall to their swords, giving his life to protect Selene’s own…as
well as the life of their newborn daughter, Serenity. His body still lay back
there, inside the master bedchambers of the pillaged house. The servants had
fled or had been captured or killed. Anything of value had been stolen before
the house had been burned. The comfortable life Selene once knew was now
over, and she could do nothing but watch as the boat carried her further and
further away. The red glow of flames licking against the backdrop of the
midnight sky was horrifyingly beautiful, and she could almost hear the wails
of the souls who had lost their lives that night attempting to protect hers.
"Odhran…" the countess whispered, letting a glimmering tear slide down her
cheek. Then another followed, and still more, until a steady stream of them
flowed down her pale face. She curled up in the boat, her arms clutching her
bundle protectively, and sobbed with the grief of a woman whose very soul had
been ripped from her body and torn to shreds. Her husband…her only love…gone.
"GONE!" she screamed, sobbing still harder as shudders wracked her exhausted
body. She was heedless of the burning pain that wracked her abdomen; the pain
in her heart was so much worse…
The bundle in her arms stirred abruptly, whimpering slightly, and snapped
Selene out of the deep depression that threatened to overwhelm her. She
instantly stilled her sobbing as she guiltily remembered the tiny life she
carried, whom she had almost forgotten in her grief. "Shhh…don’t cry, little
one," she cooed, gently rocking the baby close to her, kissing the downy
forehead. "You are safe, little Serenity. No matter what becomes of me…you
will be safe…" There was no time for grief, Selene thought sadly, swallowing
more tears. Not until she found haven for her daughter. A wave of pain
gripped her suddenly, making her double over, gasping for breath. "So soon…"
she groaned, fighting the dizzying pain. "They attacked so soon…" So soon
after Serenity’s birth. Selene had barely had time to recover before the
first screams of fear had reached her ears. Her composure crumpled once more.
"Nakago," she whispered. "Why betray me, Nakago…?" Using her thick cloak as a
pillow, Selene again huddled down into the bottom of the boat, holding her
daughter close as she allowed the river to take her where it willed.
In the stream of bright moonlight that fell across the gently rocking boat, a
dark stain began to slowly seep through the fabric of Selene’s once-fine
dressing gown, spreading ominous fingers of red over the tattered skirt and
pooling on the floor.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
The palace was in an uproar when two servants, who had gone out to catch
fresh fish for that night’s meal, came running back like their trousers were
on fire with a limp body slung between them, yelling excitedly for the healer
to come.
The one who was not too winded to speak hastily explained that they had come
across a boat floating in the river, and had swum out to catch it, thinking
that perhaps it had broken loose from a nearby fishing shanty. Imagine his
surprise when he found the body of a woman—who looked to be more than a
little dead—laying in the bottom of it, her skirts soaked with blood, and a
whimpering baby barely a day old clutched to her breast. He and his companion
dragged the boat to the shore, stuck the baby in the empty fishing basket,
and had managed to haul the woman the whole way from the river back to the
castle in hopes that the healer could help her.
"Darn shame," the servant added callously, wiping sweat from his greasy brow.
"That sure is a fine looking lady there. Wonder where she came from and what
happened to her."
The lady stirred then, moaning softly and fluttering her lashes as she sought
to open her eyes. "Odhran?" she whispered through dry, cracked lips. "My
love…Where…Oh, my baby! My sweet Serenity…" And she fell unconscious again.
"Where’s that healer?" a kitchen maid snapped, looking around fearfully. "The
woman can’t last much longer! She’s near bled to death!"
Another maid opened the basket, where Serenity had begun to wail piteously.
"Oh, the poor baby!" the woman gasped, lifting the tiny infant from the
smelly basket. "Just look at you! Barely a day old! It’s a wonder you’re
still alive!"
"What do you suppose happened to the mother, Ikuko?" a young scullery maid
whispered, eyeing the unconscious woman with horror. "Why…she’d barely
recovered from giving birth!"
"Save your questions for later, Allie, and make yourself useful by setting
the empty storage room in the kitchen with a cot and putting some water to
boil," Ikuko replied. Allie nodded and scurried off to do her bidding, while
Ikuko instructed the two man-servants to carefully carry the woman inside. It
was then that the healer arrived, a small boy of about six years of age
scurrying along behind her, carrying a bundle of medicinal supplies.
"What’s happened to her?" the healer asked, catching up to the servants as
they lay their burden on the cot.
"I wish I knew, Luna," Ikuko replied sadly, shaking her head. "She was found
in a boat, with this baby in her arms. Her daughter, I believe. I don’t know
why she was there…but she’s lost an awful amount of blood. Can you…do
anything to save her?"
"I’ll try," Luna replied primly, pushing back her thick black braid.
"Mitsukake…" She gestured, and the boy stepped forward eagerly. "Go to fetch
me a pot of water and some clean linens," the healer instructed, "and then
you can take yourself out of here and get back to your studies like you’re
supposed to do."
Mitsukake’s face fell. "But Miss Luna…" he whined.
"No buts about it, boy. You know the rules about your studies. Now scat!"
Luna gave him a light smack on the behind that sent him scurrying off, then
turned her attention back to her patients. "Ikuko, can you please tend the
baby while I take care of her mother," she requested. "There’s still some
life left in the woman, if I can only get her to wake up." Ikuko nodded
without a word, and Luna quickly stripped the woman of her filthy gown,
covering her with a blanket just as Mitsukake came back into the room, a pot
of boiling water held carefully by the handle in both hands. Behind him Allie
came, a huge bundle of clean linens in her arms, as well as a clean
nightdress. Sulking a little, the boy set the water beside the bed and
shuffled out of the room, clearly wanting to know what was going on. But what
was to come next was not for a little boy’s eyes to see, as Luna was quick to
assure him.
"If only I knew what had happened to drive her from her bed so soon after
giving birth," Luna muttered as she cleaned the blood from the woman’s body.
"Whatever happened, it was enough to rupture something inside of her. I need
to stop the bleeding, somehow, but I fear it may already be too late. She has
caught a fever on top of everything else." She pulled the nightdress over the
thin form and began to bathe her face with water. "Wake up, my dear, and tell
us what happened."
The woman moaned softly, her eyelids fluttering open to reveal bright blue
orbs that were glazed with pain and confusion. "What…" she murmured, her
voice hoarse and cracking. "Where am I?" Abruptly, a look of terror passed
across her face. "My baby! Where’s my baby?!"
"She’s right here," Ikuko hurriedly soothed her, stepping forward to show her
the tiny bundle in her eyes. "She’s perfectly safe. What’s your name, dear?"
"Selene Knightly," the woman replied after a moment of hesitation. She weakly
reached out her arms toward her child, and Ikuko reluctantly placed the babe
in them.
"Serenity," Selene cooed, stroking the soft hair on her daughter’s head. "I’m
glad you’re safe…"
"Can you tell us, Selene, what happened to you?" Luna asked cautiously. "You
were found in a boat…in the river…"
A look of great pain passed fleetingly through Selene’s eyes. "My home was
attacked…by a group of bandits from the nearby mountains," she whispered.
"They took everything…killed and captured our servants…looted our house, and
then burned it to the ground. I…could do nothing to stop them. I had only
just given birth to Serenity; I was weak. It had not been an easy birth, you
see. They took us unawares. And Odhran…my husband…died trying to protect us,
myself and our daughter. So you see, I could not let his life go to waste!"
She began to sob suddenly. "I had to escape, for Serenity’s sake, if not for
my own! I could not let my love’s sacrifice go in vain! If not for that…I
would have fought and died at his side, as I’d wanted to!" She broke down
into a fit of coughing that left her weak and gasping, and Ikuko quickly took
Serenity from her arms in alarm.
"Calmly, Selene," Luna soothed, soothing back the distraught woman’s pale,
silvery hair. "I understand what you’re saying, and none here blame you for
fleeing. You had your daughter to think about, after all."
"Yes…my daughter," Selene whispered. "What will become of her, I wonder, when
I am gone…?" Her eyes filled with tears again, and she gripped the front of
Luna’s dress with both hands. "Promise me you’ll find her a home, where she
will be loved and cared for. Please do this for me! I have never asked for
anything in my life, but please help my daughter! Take her to Castle
Davinshire. Her father, Sir Odhran, was a knight serving under King Reagan.
He was loyal and brave, and he has saved the king’s life many times in
battle! Surely…His Majesty would be so kind as to grant refuge to his
servant’s only daughter…whom he so selflessly gave his life to save…" Her
voice was growing weaker, and her skin was the color of the linens that
covered her. Her eyes were glazed with the fever, and Luna knew that Selene
was nearing the end of her time.
"Rest now," the healer soothed, pressing a damp cloth to Selene’s forehead.
"Worry not for your daughter, Lady Selene. She will be looked after. I
promise you."
"I’ll raise her for you," Ikuko whispered, stepping forward. "I’ll raise her
like she was my own flesh and blood. I have my own little daughter, Miaka,
who’ll be glad to have a sister. She’s only one, you see, so they’ll grow
close together."
Selene seemed to relax finally, and her strained features softened, revealing
once again the true beauty beneath her pain. Luna sighed and began to rise to
her feet, when a thin, white hand suddenly shot out to clutch at her wrist.
She gasped and turned a startled gaze back to Selene, who was once again
awake, her eyes staring intently into Luna’s own. "Nakago…" the woman
whispered. "Save…Nakago! Betrayal…death…" She gasped a little, thick lashes
fluttering against her pale cheeks. "Odhran…my love…" She smiled suddenly,
her face lighting with incredible joy as she gazed blindly toward the
ceiling. Then, with a final sigh, she relaxed upon the pillows and her eyes
closed for the final time.
(
geocities.com/element_sprite)