SM Monthly Submission - Image
Title: For Serenity
Author: Arabian Red
Theme: Image
Genre: Angst
Version: AR
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Technically comes after the Duty, Above All Else series. Pretty sure it can stand alone, but with a tiny spoiler/allusion.
Gut wrenching, debilitating pain. The agony she felt belied the beauty and serenity of the crossing. It became so excruciating, so tangible that Rei took no pleasure in the tranquil waters, the soft clouds, and the clear turquoise skies. The torment was one that even transcended the physical. Her soul ached, for the pain she had caused, for the dismal black abyss that was now his heart. And perhaps, if it were even possible, what hurt even more was that she could do nothing to help him. She never thought anything could hurt more than the pain of being burned alive, but this was worse. Far worse. The emotional pain, the agony that gripped her heart was more than she could handle.
And yet, she could do nothing but watch, from her spot at the foot of the bridge, with her feet rooted to the wooden planks, unable to budge. The skies revealed it all, tormenting her as she stood there, a silent witness to his downward spiral. It started the second he awoke and realized that she was no longer next to him. He knew. And then when the news hit, the pain hit her like a sledgehammer, and if she were not glued to her spot, she would have collapsed to the ground. Were spirits supposed to be able to feel? Rei had thought that she would beyond the physical, beyond the emotions, but she was wrong.
She watched him embark on a path of self destruction, one that he would not be able to return from if he continued down this path for much longer. Seeing him so miserable, so distraught … it did the one thing Selenity could never achieve-it shattered her spirit, snuffed her fire. It made her scream, the same ear shattering howls that had been the last sounds she never thought she would make again. They ripped from her throat, echoing along the calm waters, down the bridge. Again, and again, and again.
“Rei.”
The screams died in her throat, as the clipped voice kept her from teetering over into the throes of insanity. Yet, this was her bridge, a path resolved for her. How could it be that someone else was also here? She had been teetering on the brink of madness for so long …
“Rei.” Was the voice addressing her? When she opened her eyes, she saw the green haired woman standing before her, in a strange outfit that elicited a vague sense of familiarity. “This cannot continue.”
“What-” She cleared her throat, but her voice remained hoarse and raw. “What do you mean?”
“Look around you.” The woman motioned around her, to what was once beautiful. Instead, the bright turquoise sky had transformed into a stormy grey, and the clear, still waters now crashed against the bridge in tempestuous waves. “You’re disrupting the balance. You must cross.”
“I-I don’t know if I can.” His pain-it was like an anchor tied around her feet, keeping her rooted in place.
“You are the senshi of fire! Have you honestly forgotten what you and the other senshi sacrificed your lives for?! Have you forgotten why he suffers like he does? Why you chose to leave? All that you’ve accomplished, and you doubt you can cross a bridge?!” The woman snapped, as anger flashed in her eyes. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the raven haired beauty felt something stir in her, something other than pain. “Have you forgotten Serenity?”
“Serenity,” she murmured, as another wave of familiarity washed over her. Her eyes widened, as the woman in front of her began to fade. The translucent, green haired woman gritted her teeth, and her color returned, if only long enough for her to utter the next few words, words that she thought she would never hear again-
“Duty, above all else. Everything we do, is for Serenity.”
The strange woman had faded, even before she completed her message, yet her words lingered in the air. They whipped around her, buoyed by the raging winds that licked at her hair.
“For Serenity,” she repeated, as the strange sense of affinity and warmth tugged at her. And then, as if Hermes himself had come to lend her his winged sandals, she took her first heavy step.
For Serenity.
Author: Arabian Red
Theme: Image
Genre: Angst
Version: AR
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Technically comes after the Duty, Above All Else series. Pretty sure it can stand alone, but with a tiny spoiler/allusion.
Gut wrenching, debilitating pain. The agony she felt belied the beauty and serenity of the crossing. It became so excruciating, so tangible that Rei took no pleasure in the tranquil waters, the soft clouds, and the clear turquoise skies. The torment was one that even transcended the physical. Her soul ached, for the pain she had caused, for the dismal black abyss that was now his heart. And perhaps, if it were even possible, what hurt even more was that she could do nothing to help him. She never thought anything could hurt more than the pain of being burned alive, but this was worse. Far worse. The emotional pain, the agony that gripped her heart was more than she could handle.
And yet, she could do nothing but watch, from her spot at the foot of the bridge, with her feet rooted to the wooden planks, unable to budge. The skies revealed it all, tormenting her as she stood there, a silent witness to his downward spiral. It started the second he awoke and realized that she was no longer next to him. He knew. And then when the news hit, the pain hit her like a sledgehammer, and if she were not glued to her spot, she would have collapsed to the ground. Were spirits supposed to be able to feel? Rei had thought that she would beyond the physical, beyond the emotions, but she was wrong.
She watched him embark on a path of self destruction, one that he would not be able to return from if he continued down this path for much longer. Seeing him so miserable, so distraught … it did the one thing Selenity could never achieve-it shattered her spirit, snuffed her fire. It made her scream, the same ear shattering howls that had been the last sounds she never thought she would make again. They ripped from her throat, echoing along the calm waters, down the bridge. Again, and again, and again.
“Rei.”
The screams died in her throat, as the clipped voice kept her from teetering over into the throes of insanity. Yet, this was her bridge, a path resolved for her. How could it be that someone else was also here? She had been teetering on the brink of madness for so long …
“Rei.” Was the voice addressing her? When she opened her eyes, she saw the green haired woman standing before her, in a strange outfit that elicited a vague sense of familiarity. “This cannot continue.”
“What-” She cleared her throat, but her voice remained hoarse and raw. “What do you mean?”
“Look around you.” The woman motioned around her, to what was once beautiful. Instead, the bright turquoise sky had transformed into a stormy grey, and the clear, still waters now crashed against the bridge in tempestuous waves. “You’re disrupting the balance. You must cross.”
“I-I don’t know if I can.” His pain-it was like an anchor tied around her feet, keeping her rooted in place.
“You are the senshi of fire! Have you honestly forgotten what you and the other senshi sacrificed your lives for?! Have you forgotten why he suffers like he does? Why you chose to leave? All that you’ve accomplished, and you doubt you can cross a bridge?!” The woman snapped, as anger flashed in her eyes. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the raven haired beauty felt something stir in her, something other than pain. “Have you forgotten Serenity?”
“Serenity,” she murmured, as another wave of familiarity washed over her. Her eyes widened, as the woman in front of her began to fade. The translucent, green haired woman gritted her teeth, and her color returned, if only long enough for her to utter the next few words, words that she thought she would never hear again-
“Duty, above all else. Everything we do, is for Serenity.”
The strange woman had faded, even before she completed her message, yet her words lingered in the air. They whipped around her, buoyed by the raging winds that licked at her hair.
“For Serenity,” she repeated, as the strange sense of affinity and warmth tugged at her. And then, as if Hermes himself had come to lend her his winged sandals, she took her first heavy step.
For Serenity.