Promise of the Moon
Started here:
An Oasis
Continued from:
What Lies Beneath
Diamond left the next day. Kunzite found himself begrudgingly placed in charge of the sheik's men, although he was not told where the other man was going. It mattered not to Kunzite. The only thing he cared about was having time to himself without having to be under the constant scrutiny of a man who trusted no one. What did bother him was that the sheik had left his blonde companion behind.
The blonde wandered the desert camp alone, all eyes of the men around her downcast as she passed them by. They would not dare be caught staring at her so blatantly - Diamond's distrustful nature could be fatal when the winds blew in the right direction. Rather they ignored her, casting passing glances and committing her flitting image to memory for when they would find themselves alone at night with time to dream.
Kunzite watched as the hot winds buffeted against her skin causing the material of her white dress to flutter against tanned skin. Beads of water glistened across bare skin from a recent swim in the private oasis pond. He tried to forget the feel of her hands on his body as she approached him earlier in the morning. Death was the only guarantee for a man who dared to touch this woman, regardless of whether or not she was doing the touching. For some reason she felt that he was someone to keep her confidence, but he told her that he would not. Their brief encounter in the desert was nothing more than his urge to save a woman from a horrific death and nothing to do with her. She had shook her head, not believing his words, and after one look into her blue eyes, he didn't want to believe his own words either.
All the more that he knew he could not trust her.
So he let her go, heading back out into the sun where she was free to wander the perimeter or remain hidden in her tent.
Yet that night, he tossed and turned in his soft bed stuffed full of feathers and covered in rich silks. He could not sleep. Could not keep his mind from thinking. The pillows were too soft or too firm, blankets stifling despite the cool night air of the desert.
He rose from his bed, grabbing a pair of pants from the nearby chair and hastily pulling them on. A light colored cape wrapped around otherwise bare shoulders and a sword belt was strapped around his trim waist before adorning a pair of boots. He stepped out into the dark night, the moon hidden behind thick clouds. Perhaps rain would be in their future and help with the drought threatening to overtake the desert and its inhabitants.
The one thing he missed most from his former life in the city was the ability to run. Running in the thick sands was difficult and loathsome. The constant shifting of the winds and the onslaught of sandstorms made the ground unpredictable. Even riding by horseback one always had to be careful that the horse did not misstep. He had been fortunate that his favorite mare had remained with him as long as she has. Others in his travelling group had the misfortune of having to put their mounts down after they incurred painful breaks too far away from camp. It was the one misery that all of the men agreed upon and so offered compassion to whomever had to complete the task.
His path took him away from the camp and out into the open of the night. He walked further and further until the camp appeared to be little more than small lights on the horizon. Deciding he had walked far enough, he dropped down onto the ground, the heels of his boots digging into the soft sand. Leaving the city had been his own choice and one that he rarely felt regret for. Tonight, when he was restless, he almost missed the throngs of people and expanse of lights. Perhaps one day when his term of servitude was fulfilled, he would return. Although his ability to remain in the city was dependent on many other factors that he could not control.
Time passed and he felt his mind begin to slow, thoughts of calm starting to fall over him. The stillness of the night often helped to bring him the peace he so desired.
Yet from around him, he began to detect the scent of flowers. His eyes remained closed, hands resting on his knees. Somehow she had found him.
"What would I find if I continued walking to the west?" the blonde girl asked him, kneeling at his side.
"If you stayed due west, you would find more sand for more days than you would have water to sustain you. Heading southwest would take you close to the base of the mountain range where the lions have made their home. Northwest would eventually take you back into Diamond's arms."
"Then perhaps East would be best."
"You are but a flower in the desert," Kunzite said, his eyes remaining directly ahead of him. "You require so many elements to keep you safe and alive. Thorns and water determines your existence."
"And what determines yours?" she asked, her voice full of innocence.
Kunzite laughed, his voice deep and hearty. "My existence is determined by my ability to maintain my distance from you."
"Perhaps Diamond will give me to you."
All signs of laughter were quickly erased from Kunzite's features. "Do not speak such a thing."
"Do you think he will kill me then?"
Her words caused Kunzite to jerk his head in her direction. "As long as you are not foolish, he will keep you near him, protected from everyone around you."
"Do you know what he does to me?" she asked, her voice soft and low. "Does he tell you how he likes to enjoy me? The things that he does to me? That I am forced to do to him?"
"I can't help you."
"You are the only one I can ask."
"How do I trust you? You lie to everyone about who you are and how you came to be out here."
"I-."
"Do you know that tonight is a test for me? Diamond wants to know that you are faithful to him. More importantly he wants to know that I am faithful to him. Will you have us both beheaded together? Or will you return to your tent and spare us both our lives while you still can?"
Shards of moonlight pierced through thick clouds for precious seconds, briefly illuminating the tear that slipped down her cheek.
"Princess," Kunzite sighed.
"Why do you call me that?" she whispered in response.
"Because you have not given me your proper name."
"If I share my secret with you, will it remain that?"
Kunzite moved to stand, pausing when her hands reached out and grabbed his arm, fingers wrapping around his bicep. "I already told you that I cannot help you. You do not belong to me."
"But I can."
He rose to his feet pulling her to stand with him. She leaned into him, her fingers slipping under his cape to press into the bare skin of his chest. Instantly he was transported back to sand storm he had rescued her from, when the two of them had been confined to their small space, bodies pressed together. "In eight nights it will be the new moon, the desert will be dark without the moonlight. Find me. Now go." He pushed her away from him and back towards the camp, turning his back on her once she had taken her first step away from him.