Planet Bound: Venus
by Marj
Author's notes: Hah! No Japanese definitions this time! Or did I miss
something . . . ? Tell me if you find any, okay? In the meantime,
enjoy the chapter!
Please e-mail your comments and constructive criticisms at
. Thanks!
Disclaimers: The characters of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon were created
by Naoko Takeuchi-san, its copyright owned by Toei Animation, Kodansha,
Nakayoshi, Sterling Animation Inc., and many other companies scattered
throughout the world. Meaning, I cannot claim the characters as my
own, and am mearly borrowing them. The character Ayukawa
Himeru and all the characters of the . . . umm . . . characters not
found in the manga are mine. (I can't say that I created Ares now, can
I?) So please don't sue, as I don't earn anything from this other than
the satisfaction of making a story.
Chapter Sixteen: Reacquaintance
He ran his hand over his dark brown hair as he walked towards the room
at the other side of the palace. His parents were there. His father
had ordered him earlier to inform them of the princess's arrival.
As he walked through yet another hall, he encountered the Princess of
Venus talking to one of the palace servants. His heart stopped as he
stared at her beautiful face.
She turned around and saw him, her face lighting up as she recognized
him as having given her a gentle smile earlier. "Oh, hi!" she said,
walking towards him.
He blinked and bowed before her. "Your Highness! Were you not with
your mother when you entered the palace?" he asked.
Minako smiled brightly. "A man called her and said that he needed her
for something important, so she left me for a while. She told me to
roam around and become familiar with my surroundings again.
Unfortunately, I think that I'm lost."
He found himself grinning. "The princess getting lost in her own
palace? That's a bit new to me."
She laughed. "Can you blame me? I haven't been here for more than a
thousand years!"
"Perhaps your Guardian remembers?"
Minako waved her arms around. "Do you see him anywhere? He joined
Mother and the man. He's the only cat I know who's interested in
current affairs."
"I see," he said slowly. "Well, would Her Highness like me to take her
on a short tour around the castle?"
Her smile widening, she reached out and took his hand. "I would love
to, kind sir. And please don’t call me "princess" or any other title -
it’s too formal. Just call me Minako."
The man gave her a confused look. "Minako?"
"It's the name my parents gave me back home . . . back on Earth."
"I understand. You're more comfortable with that name."
Minako nodded.
He placed his hand over hers. "Okay . . . Minako . . . shall we see
the gardens first?"
*****
Standing in the royal gardens, the Earth looked just like Venus during
early evenings - a bright star on the black horizon. And right in
front of Minako was Earth’s twin planet, Venus. "It looks more
beautiful than all of the pictures I've seen in books combined," she
breathed.
The man whom she had just met smiled gently. "I'm glad you like the
view of your real home."
Minako turned to look at him. "Were you already here when the Dark
Kingdom . . ."
He nodded gravely. "I was the same age as you."
"What happened to my planet afterwards?"
His face turned dark. "Your Highness . . . Minako . . . Venus,
although young, was able to support life once upon a time. People
lived in domed cities, where the glass domes prevented the poisonous
air from coming in. When the Dark Kingdom invaded this solar system,
the resulting chaos led the planet to ruination. The domes broke, and
thousands of living beings died." He brightened up a bit. "There were
survivors, and they presently live *under* the planet's surface, rather
than on it like that those of Earth. Technology from our neighboring
planet, Mercury, has rendered this possible."
"I see . . ."
"It must have been a hard life, living as a Senshi and protecting the
lives of others who didn't do anything for you," the man said after a
long period of silence.
Minako nodded. "It was difficult, but the lives I saved were worth all
of the treasures in the universe."
A palace guard entered the gardens. "Sir, the queen requests the
princess's presence."
"She's coming!" The man turned and kissed Minako's hand. "We have to
leave now. Your mother is expecting you, and I have to inform my
parents of your arrival."
Minako blushed furiously from his gentle touch. "Umm . . . yes, I
think we have to . . ." she stammered, staring at his handsome face.
"We will have to continue our tour some other time."
The princess nodded, still speechless.
The man smiled as he placed his arms around her and escorted her back
inside the castle.
*****
Himeru wandered around the corridors of the castle in deep thought. In
comperance to the seemingly empty majestic castle, Tokyo seemed so
vivacious and so full of energy. He found himself wanting to return to
Earth, where in every step he took there was always life, whether he
was in a noisy, crowded place or in a quiet park where only the birds’
beautiful songs could be heard.
He sighed and headed for his favorite spot in the
palace.
He was about to enter the royal gardens when he heard Minako’s voice.
He looked up and saw her and his brother talking together. A look of
anger momentarily passed by Himeru’s face as he watched them converse.
Suddenly, he was mad at himself. he thought.
But when he saw Minako’s beautiful face staring at the planet Venus, he
felt a sense of longingness and despair surround him. He longed for
the long hours they had spent talking to each other, in school and in
home. He longed for the touch of her hand and the taste of her sweet
lips on his. Yet he knew in despair that his longingness could never
be fulfilled. He knew that he could never treat her the same way
again.
Himeru looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps clicking on the
marble floor. He quickly hid in the dark corners of the huge corridor,
and watched as a palace guard informed the young couple outside that
the queen was asking for her daughter.
He watched them reenter the palace from the dark shadows, a deep frown
creasing his handsome face, his hands clenched into tight fists. The
same fist that punched the wall earlier tingled, as if wanting to do
the same thing again. But he stopped himself from doing so. Punching
dents into the walls of the castle won’t do things any good. If
anything else, he’ll only get himself into trouble.
Himeru turned and walk away before Minako and his brother noticed him.
However much he wanted to serve her, he was out of the picture now, and
there was nothing more he could do. Nothing . . .
*****
Minako watched as a servant poured a dark yellow liquid from a
crystalline pitcher into two clear glasses and placed them in front of
her mother and her. She looked at the queer drink curiously.
"It does not have any alcohol in it, dear. Think of it as a juice of a
fruit you have never seen before," her mother said, smiling.
She raised it to her lips. "It looks like the juice of an overripe
mango," Minako said as she tasted it. The liquid flowed through her
tongue, very sweet yet unfamiliar to her senses.
"Tastes nice. What is it?" she asked.
"The people call it Sev. From one of the fruits of the trees of our
young planet," Elder Venus answered.
Minako took the pitcher and poured some in a small dish beside Artemis.
The cat drank it greedily. Pausing to catch his breath, he said, "You
used to love this a lot."
"I can see why," Minako said, drinking the rest of hers.
Elder Venus smiled as she watched her daughter. "You've grown so
beautifully on that world," she said softly. "I'm happy."
Minako blushed a bit. "You can thank my parents there for that."
The older woman nodded. "I owe them so much."
"They loved their child greatly, Your Majesty," Artemis said. "The
princess is their only child, too."
Minako thought, thinking fondly of the new life
growing inside of her second mother.
Her mother laughed a bit. "At least they gave you name other than
'Venus.' What was that name . . . Minako, correct? It makes
separating one from another much easier, don't you think?"
Minako grinned. "I was wondering why royal families from the moon and
other planets tend to have the same names as their elders."
Artemis settled down at her feet. "Think of it this way, Minako-chan.
Why do most of the rulers of England have their names bestowed upon
their crown children so often?"
"Like William, Henry, and James? Maybe it's because they want to
continue somebody's legacy," she answered.
Her mother nodded. "I think it's the same reason here. The only thing
is, this solar system is too young for it to change names yet."
"Young? It's more than a million years old!"
"Yes, it is. But we grow old very slowly when we reach our teens. It
is the effect that the ginzuishou has over us." Elder Venus smiled.
"If we grew just as fast as the people of Earth, then I'd be long dead
by now."
There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Elder Venus called out.
The huge doorway leading to the grand, gold-lined room opened and
revealed a man with jet black hair and a woman with blond hair a shade
darker than Minako's and her mother's. They bowed in respect to the
royal family before they continued walking inside.
"Mi-Minako, dear, let me introduce you to the Duke of Mars and the
Duchess of Venus," the queen said. "The Duke of Mars is a cousin of
Elder Mars."
"Duke of Mars? Duchess of Venus? Don't they have real names,
either?" Minako whispered to Artemis.
"No, for they are the only duke and duchess of their respective
planets. They did gave names to their sons, though," Artemis answered.
"How many sons do they have?"
"Two, the last I heard."
"So, I have two cousins."
"No, not exactly. The duchess is not related to your mother. She was
only adopted by your grandmother. Her parents were friends of your
family, but they died early, when your mother was just a child and the
duchess a baby. So the duchess achieved her royal title through
adoption."
Minako turned from Artemis when the duchess sat beside her and held her
hand. Her mother smiled. "Here is the woman who spoiled you terribly
during your younger years," Elder Venus said.
"Don't tell me you didn't do the same thing, Your Majesty," the duchess
laughed, her blue eyes shining. She turned back to Minako. "We're
glad to have you back, princess," she said softly, kissing her gently
on her forehead. "We thought that we had lost you in that terrible war
. . . "
The duke placed his hand on her shoulder. He said nothing, but smiled
warmly. The emotions in his deep emerald eyes were enough to express
his happiness. Minako smiled back at him.
"How's my niece doing, Your Highness?" he asked.
Minako blinked. "Rei-chan is doing fine,
sir," she answered. "But she has a terribly short temper."
"Still the same as ever," Elder Venus laughed.
The duke looked confused. "Who's Rei?"
"That's her given Earth name, sir. Mine's Minako," the princess said,
smiling.
There was another knock on the door. "Permission to enter, Your
Highnesses?" a voice asked.
"Please enter," the queen answered.
The door opened, and in came Himeru and the man whom Minako had met
earlier. "Pardon us for interrupting," the man said, bowing to Minako
and her mother. He then faced the duke and duchess and smiled warily.
"And you said that you would be in your quarters."
"Forgive us, child. We were just too eager to see her again," the
duchess said.
"Princess, we would like you to meet our sons." The duke pointed to
Himeru. "He is our youngest, Anchises, but of course you know him
already."
Minako smiled at her friend. Himeru just blushed and stared at the
carpeted floor.
"And this is Ares. He's the older of the two."
Warning bells rang on Minako's head as she remembered the name. she thought as he
bent down to kiss her hand. She shuddered a bit, thinking of what the
youma could have possibly done if Himeru hadn't been there.
"We meet again for the third time," Ares said, smiling.
"Third time . . . ?"
"The first was back in the Silver Millennium. Ares's older brother,
Vulcan, was your childhood friend back then," Artemis cleared up the
matter. "When Queen Serenity gave you a new life, you forgot
everything, remember?"
"And the second was earlier today," Minako mumbled. Her admiration for
Ares's kindness earlier decreased rapidly as she thought more and more
about the youma that he had sent. She suddenly blinked as something
about Artemis's words confused her. She turned around and looked at
him. "Wait. You said there were only two sons. How come Ares has an
older brother?"
The duchess looked away for an instant. "Vulcan . . . He was a
soldier of the Silver Millennium. He died in the war."
Minako tilted her head. "Then he's reborn on Earth? With us?"
Ares shrugged. "We don't know."
"I was born a few years after my brother died," Himeru said quietly.
"And you kind of look like him, too," Artemis said, remembering the man
who had looked like Himeru in his dreams. The man he recalled with the
name Vulcan during Himeru's fight with the youma. "And I thought the
duchess wanted to settle with only two kids."
"But they are still only two, since . . . well, one isn't around
anymore," Minako told her white cat.
The duchess nodded slowly. "Yes. One isn't around anymore . . ."
Nobody knew what to say next. Minako felt a little guilty for bringing
a delicate subject like that into focus. She found herself staring at
the carpeted floor, exactly what Himeru had been doing.
The room was so silent, the sound of the duke clearing his throat
seemed like that of a glass shattering on the floor. "So, princess . .
. you're so beautiful, you're sure to have hordes of young men
following you on Earth, right?"
Minako's face turned scarlet. "Umm . . . not exactly."
Artemis snickered silently.
"Have you ever been kissed?" the queen asked, her eyes shining.
"Mother!!"
"I was just curious! Every mother deserves to know that, don't you
think?" her mother defended herself. "Well?"
Minako looked at Himeru for a while. Himeru's head was bent really far
down, and she knew that he was blushing hard. Minako felt sure that
even she looked like an over-ripe tomato. "Ye - yes, but it was only a
game," she stuttered.
The duchess looked at her mother. "We see." She turned to her sons.
"Ares, Anchises, would you like to tour the princess around the
palace?"
"Umm . . . I don't think I could. I have to report to the duties that
I missed and . . . umm . . ." Himeru stammered.
"I'll do it, mother. After all, we already started the tour earlier.
Isn't that right, princess?" Ares offered.
Minako smiled weakly. "Yes, that's right," she said softly.
The duke nodded. "Well, why don't you carry on with it, then?"
Ares looked at the princess. "Would you like to continue . . .
Minako?" he asked.
Himeru flinched a bit, unnoticed by the others.
Minako looked at Ares for a while. she
thought. She wanted to go, but the memory of the youma keeps pushing
itself in front of her mind.
Himeru looked at her, and she met his gaze. "Go on, princess. I'm
sorry I can't go, but I really have too much to do. I'm sure that my
brother will do a better job of showing you your castle than I ever
would," he said quietly.
The princess still looked hesitant, but she trusted Himeru, so she
smiled at Ares. "Let's go," she told him. He smiled back and held out
his hand. She took it, and together they left the room, leaving
Artemis behind.
Himeru watched as his brother and Minako left the room. He then turned
around to face his parents and the queen, bowing down in front of them.
"Permission to leave, Your Highness," he said stiffly.
Elder Venus nodded. "Permission granted, Anchises."
"Thank you." Himeru bowed again, then left the room. He went to the
opposite direction that Minako and Ares had taken. he thought.
The heels of his boots clicked on the marble floor as he walked farther
and farther away from the people in the room who could very well decide
the state of his princess's happiness in the days to come.
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