Did Ya Think
Started here:
I Don't Wanna Wait
Continued from:
Lolita
Special thanks to my most wonderful beta Sugarcross!
Members of the court spewed lines of elegant, unbiased stances.
Elders of the advisors spoke as if wise sages, change is not always for the best.
New members of the advisors used voices devoid of emotion, full of large words to demonstrate intelligence - change can be for the better.
The male Venusian answered with brave tones and soothing promises.
She was silent.
The princess of Venus, destined heir of Magellan, promised protector of the Moon, said nothing. Sharp blue eyes the color of the afternoon sky looked intently at the various speakers of the room. Her blond locks moved with each well timed nod of her head, yet she would not once look at the pair of green eyes that had been affixed on her, not once acknowledge him since they had entered this great room and all had taken pre-assigned seats at the long oak table with the carved pattern of the Earth decorating the center.
Kunzite no longer knew which feeling was at the forefront of his mind. She lied. She misled him. She could not be trusted. From the night on the cliff where she had spoken to him, he had been so wrong to believe that he could control her, manipulate her into telling him all of her secrets. Her heart shaped face belied the soldier that lay underneath. She was cold and calculating. Her modesty a decoy. Madelyne, that foolish sage, had tried to warn him. But did that make her any more right? After all, did she not perform magic of her own against him?
Perhaps what bothered him the most was how easily he had fallen into the hands of the two women he once thought to be his to do as he willed with. How fast the mighty has fallen, he thought to himself, trying to bring his thoughts back in order. He stood behind Endymion, his back to the wall, arms crossed at his chest, fingers dangling lovingly over the hilt of his sword.
What the fair haired, war worn soldier failed to realize was that there was something else pulling at him, something darker than he had ever known he could feel.
Hours passed, all the voices blending together into a cacophony of words sharing opinions and discord. When finally lunch was called, all delegates, court members, and advisors stood, stretching their cramped, disused legs. Some started to filter out the door, others gathered around those of Venus to talk with them more personally, curious of the non-terrestrials. Kunzite slipped out of the room, nodding to the other Shitennou in the room, a silent affirmative that watch of the prince had been transferred.
Venus stood from her chair, greeting those most closest to her, speaking conversationally with those who understood that she was not just a female who was there to smile, but the one who had been relegated with the responsibility of this venture. Small minds of the planet, she told herself, instead opting to let Adonis speak in her place rather than correcting them. Perhaps time was needed for these men to understand that part of joining the other planets was accepting that male leadership was the exception, not the rule. Allowing herself only the sparsest of seconds, she glanced to where Endymion had been seated, to where the silver haired soldier had been standing. Then, quick as the blink of an eye, she was back to the conversations around her, taking small steps outside of their circle until she was no longer noticed, and able to step away.
The air of the hallway, with its cathedral ceiling and open windows, felt cool and carried the air of the woodlands inside, replacing the stifling feeling caused by the meeting room that had been filled with too many human bodies. Between the emotions of the packed room and the efforts of too many transports to this planet, she felt drained. She was turning into her Princess, constantly running away from the Moon to this blue and green planet. Worse, while her travels had started with curiosity of the planet, they had now become distracted by a tall soldier with green eyes, squared shoulders, and a presence that demanded her attention and focus. It was her own curiosity that made her chase after him, wanting to know who he was. But it was his features, his strength, that trapped her.
"Was this all as you wanted?" Kunzite asked her, his voice low as he fell into step beside her.
Venus blushed, hating herself for being caught off guard. Hating that she felt warmed by his sudden presence. "I don't understand," she responded, her voice full of caution as she moved a stray hair away from her face. "I hadn't expected results from today's meeting, and I supposed that you wouldn't have either-."
"You are not a simple girl, Princess Venus. Please, for both of our sakes, let's not pretend otherwise."
She felt anger and embarrassment coursing through her. He had used her full title on purpose, and then, in the same breath, insulted her. "Do you think I am here as a spy? That I could not see the going ons of this planet from the safety of the moon?"
"What are you afraid of?"
"I don't understand." She paused, realizing that she had allowed him to alter the path she had been walking on and was now completely alone in what appeared to be a lesser used section of the palace. The lights were dimmed in these halls, the sun seemed to have gone into hiding from this man as well. "We shouldn't be here." She moved to step away from him, but was restrained when he grabbed her arm. Time stopped as his strong fingers wrapped around her bicep. Fight or flight. Would she be able to pull free? Would she find herself afraid of him if she discovered that he was stronger than she?
"Every word that comes out of your mouth is a lie, protecting a previous lie. Since I would believe that the guard of the Moon princess must be of some character, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you are afraid of some truth rather than just a liar." Her eyes met his, but she remained silent and unmoving, not fighting from his grasp. "Who are you?"
"I am Sailor Venus, princess of Venus. I -."
"That's not what I'm asking. We both know this. Why do you affect me the way that you do?"
"You're asking questions that I can't answer."
"Won't answer."
"I'm sorry that I was here in the courtyard last night. I shouldn't have been on this planet."
"The courtyard amongst other places, yet you continue to return, and always where I am - maybe so that I won't have to look too hard for you. Is that what you wanted? To seduce me? Allow myself to trust you and bring you into the palace?"
"I never try to appear before you."
"You are always in front of me."
"It's not of my choosing." A wry smile appeared on his lips, the skin above his right eyebrow rising. She pulled her arm, trying to release herself from his grip, finding that his fingers held firm like a vice. "Now is not the time. Please don't ask me these questions."
"Give me my answers. What have you done to me?"
"It's not me," she responded hesitantly, her eyes looking around them, verifying that they were still alone, almost hoping that someone would come by and stop her from having to answer his questions. "Kunzite," she said his name, ending her sentence there as she looked up at him with eyes flashing with a multitude of emotions.
For one brief moment he wanted to release her, to let her go back to the room where lunch would surely be waiting for them by now. But then he stopped. This was familiar to him. She had given him such similar looks when he had seen her at the cliffs, and then again last night as she stood in the pouring rain in a gold silk dress saturated with rain water. Instead of releasing her, his other hand reached out to grab her other arm, holding her in place, bringing their bodies closer together. "Are you a soldier? A destined warrior, Minako?"
"I am what I am. Neither lady, nor soldier. I will never know the satisfaction of either."
"You are whatever you choose to be. Pray that the soldier you are now never has to see true war for I think it would destroy you." His left hand released her arm and touched her cheek, her chin fitting against his palm. "You and I both are but figureheads in this world."
"We are both light," she whispered, pulling herself from his now lax hold. Her eyes studied his face, memorizing every detail, committing the curves and shadows to memory. "Be careful of the dark."
As she walked away, Kunzite knew that she would not be returning. He had so strongly believed that she had fooled him, pretending to be enamoured, but maybe she was not. Irony was the emotion that he felt right now - now that she was gone and out of his reach, he wanted her to reach out to him.
Madelyn stood in front of the glass paned balcony doors in Kunzite's bedroom. Disarray surrounded her, but she didn't care. Against the glass, in the off angle of the sun, she could make out the smudges left by a body. Almost a perfect outline - what would have been someone's back, tapering down to a trim waist. In her hand rested an amulet centered with a deep colored Beryl stone. Underneath the shiny surface, the stone was murky, gray colors trapped inside in smoky waves. She turned over the amulet, pulling her eyes from where they had been trapped, to look at the contours of the back surface and it's intricate carvings. At the bottom, the metal came to a sharp point, dried red blood on the surface. She lifted it up, bringing it to eye level and blew lightly against the tip, watching as the blood undried, returning to a deep red coloring before welling up into a bubble of fluid and being absorbed into the amulet. When she turned it back over, she smiled noting the changed color of the stone.
At her feet laid a dark cape of forest green, almost black in tone. She reached down and picked up the cloak, wrapping it around her shoulders before placing the amulet back around her neck.
And so falls the first, she mused.
Continued in: When It All Falls Apart