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Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its associated characters and canon belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. The text of this creative work was written by Dejana Talis and is her exclusive property. Not to be used without permission. Written for Kihin Ranno.  Evening on the Moon. In the city on the shore of the Sea of Serenity the buildings seemed to huddle together beneath the dim starlight, braving the long dark hours before the distant dawn. Lights shone in the windows of taverns and game-houses, promising refuge from the void. Tiny flames were bobbing along the roads as the lamplighters made their rounds through the city, replacing dead crystals on the tall poles that lined the main streets and setting up more primitive torches of fire in the shadowy avenues. This would be a darker night than most; it was a Day of Shadow, when the entire Moon was buried in the shade of the Earth. The pure darkness had been in full swing for over an hour, the empty hole in the sky where no stars shone rising higher in the heavens as the Moon continued its steady course toward the far end of the Earth's shadow. The eerie night seemed to make everyone uneasy, and there were few people on the streets as the citizens of the Moon Kingdom sought the comfort of hearth and company. There was scarcely anyone around to notice the blonde girl running full-bore through the city. She had never much liked running. It was required for her training, of course, and she always performed admirably, but she never understood those who chose to exercise for fun. It had always seemed to her more pleasureable to dedicate her energy to a goal, a score, a record to be defeated, rather than to simply run endlessly for no purpose at all. Still, on this night, she had to admit she found some merit in it. The rhythmic exercise relieved the tension of both body and mind, which was just what she needed. On a night like this there were fewer people around to wonder at the streak of long blonde hair tearing up the cobblestones, but even without that the girl would have had no reason to worry that she might be identified. She hardly ever left the Moon Castle, let alone in a form other than that of a Sailor Soldier. An occasional face turned in her direction as she passed someone capable of sensing the supernatural energy that surrounded her, but to the casual eye she was just another citizen of the Moon. With the blonde hair and fair skin that were natural to her people, the warrior of Venus could even pass for Lunarian. That, of course, was part of the reason she had been chosen for her role as a soldier. It didn't take much magic to make her the perfect image of the Princess, the ideal security double. That same magic served to make her anonymous tonight. She breathed in shallow, tight breaths as her feet pounded the stones of street after street, limbs pumping in an endless rhythm, the skirts of her pale yellow dress snapping from side to side in her wake. Exerting herself like this, she could almost forget the cause of the unease that had prevented her from sleeping and driven her to physical exercise. Almost. It could not be ignored forever. Even as she turned a corner onto a darker side street to distract herself with thoughts of what might be in the shadows, it pressed on her mind, the weight of the knowledge she had stumbled onto and the burden of her duty. Princess Serenity was in love with a forbidden man. Venus could not say she had not been slightly relieved when she was told the affair was over; it saved her from the unpleasant duty of informing the Queen. A pang of guilt constantly reminded her that it was still her responsibility to confess what she knew, whether the relationship was ended or not, but every time her thoughts came to this conclusion she cringed outwardly and inwardly with the horror of it. If Serenity's secret became known there was no predicting the consequences. At the very least, the Princess' relationship with her mother would never be the same. It was this that had muted Venus' voice whenever she tried to speak the words, this that held her limbs frozen whenever she considered seeking an audience with the Queen. It was this that had held her firmly in denial through an entire night and day after she witnessed the lovers' secret meeting. Princess Serenity was her friend; how could she bear to cause her harm? She trusted Venus, and trust was not a thing to be easily restored once broken. Still, if the forbidden romance had not ended on its own, Venus would have been forced to act. There was far more at stake here than two amorous hearts. No matter how much Serenity wished it, she was not a normal girl. She was a Princess, and that came with even more duty and responsibility than being a Sailor Soldier. Venus was not privy to all the workings of the Moon Kingdom, but she did understand the importance of Serenity's betrothal to Earth's Prince. As a soldier she was bound to fight any threat to that plan, no matter the consequences. It was for the best, really, that the romance was over. Every time Venus came to that conclusion her heart skipped a beat. Sailor Mercury would have been proud of her practical logic, but her fellow Venusians would have been ashamed. The values of her world, more natural than breathing, had been ingrained within her heart and mind long before she was discovered to be the soldier of her planet. "Love, child. Love is what is most precious in existence." The words of her childhood tutor echoed endlessly in her mind. "Love is not to be resisted, but gripped tightly with both hands." Her mother's mantra. Tears stung the blonde runner's eyes at this memory. What her mother had loved most was her daughter, and fate and the Moon Kingdom had taken that away. Could she do the same to the very person she had sacrificed so much to serve? She was a Venusian, representative of the famous champions of love! She was also a Sailor Soldier. She had taken a vow. Princess Serenity was her friend. She deserved better. Selene was her Queen. She deserved loyalty. Where did Venus' loyalty lie? From birth she had been a subject of Queen Lakshmi; it was only when her powers as a soldier emerged that she became a servant of the Moon Queen. Was her responsibility first to this alien world, or to her native people? She was avoiding the subject at hand again. Venus' legs and lungs were beginning to burn as she wound through the streets of the middle class and plunged into the dimmer avenues of the Lower Quarter. Still she pressed on, forcing her knees to keep bending, her feet to keep thrusting her forward. The last thing she wanted to do in her agitated state was sit still. What sort of man was this lover of Serenity's, anyway? The Princess was well-educated, but naive of social matters outside the political arena; could she be trusted to know well whether a man's heart was genuine or concerned only with her power and wealth? From the look of him he was a common Earth-child, without a drop of noble blood. Wouldn't anyone of his class seize an opportunity to advance himself given the chance? Venus distracted herself briefly by dodging gaps in the road where paving stones were missing. Out here there was only the occasional flickering glow of a torch; in the Lower Quarter light crystals were reserved for the busiest streets. Here and there a cafe or performance house that was open late cast dim light across the soldier's path, but for the most part it was dark and quiet, the Moon's poorest citizens sleeping away the shadowed hours. As she turned a corner into a small courtyard Venus nearly stopped short, remembering at the last second that he had never before seen her and could not have recognized her now even if he had. A bitter curse flew through her mind at the thought that no matter how large the city was, fate would draw her into the presence of the very man who troubled her mind. There he stood across the courtyard, avoiding the gaze of the blond man talking to him. The warm light shining through the windows of the building at their backs cast shadows over the faces of the two men, but the dark-haired one was instantly recognizable as Princess Serenity's Earth-born lover. Venus nearly groaned aloud. Not only was he of common blood, but lower-class besides. The worst possible match for the Moon Princess. Venus raised her eyes to the structure behind them as she jogged into the open space. Of course it was a tavern; the "Full Earth," according to the placard of wood hanging above the door. Earth men were reputably fickle; most likely he was already out looking for a replacement for Serenity. A sharp bitter pang twinged in Venus' stomach. Her Princess was shut up in her room in misery, and the man was already behaving as a free spirit! Slowing, she stopped beside the well that stood in the center of the courtyard, half to rest and half to eavesdrop as she sent furious thoughts in the unnamed Earth man's direction. "Look, I know how you feel, but it's just not right to spend a Day of Shadow alone in the darkness," the blond man was saying as Venus hauled on the rope to draw a bucket of water. Wise words. At times like this, most residents of the Moon felt compelled to gather together in brightly-lit places. Shooting a sideways glance toward the pair, Venus confirmed the Earth man's companion was indeed Lunarian. "Prien, I really don't feel up to this," Serenity's lover murmured. "You know I'm not the type to recommend drowning one's sorrows in drink, Endou," replied the one called Prien, "but I don't want a repeat of this morning." Venus took her time drinking from the well and washing her face, trying her best to appear casual. So, the young man who'd so captivated the attention of the Princess was named Endou. She wondered vaguely what his blond friend was referring to. She remembered well Serenity's misery; was it possible this man did feel similar agony over their parting? "Please, just come in with me for... a... few..." The Lunarian trailed off. Venus smiled slightly; she did not have to look to know she now had the blond man's full attention. Even the power of her disguise could not mask the ever-present allure that was natural to her people. Beyond that, she knew she must be quite a sight for a lonely servant boy, her toned body glistening with sweat from her run and her face and hair shining with stray drops of well water. With the finesse of years of experience she allowed the young man a fleeting glance from the corner of her eye and the flash of a half-smile, conveying at once the sense that it was nothing against him, but she was simply not interested. With this, Prien was released from the spell of Venusian glamour and free to return his attention to his friend. A friend who, Venus realized with a jolt, had taken no notice of her whatsoever. Returning the bucket to the depths of the well, Venus opened all her receptive senses to absorb every ounce of signal the Earth-child was giving off. There was nothing. Not the slightest interest. Now this was something completely alien to her. As the soldier of Venus, a world whose people were rarely to be found on the Moon, she was well accustomed to getting attention from anyone and everyone in her vicinity at all times. Here was a man whose heart was so completely focused elsewhere that there was not even a trace left for anything else. Or was there? With the fire of an avenging angel, Venus suddenly found she had to know if this Endou was as devoted to the Princess as Serenity was to him. When she thought of the Princess' tear-stained face, the soldier knew she would be unable to restrain herself if it were otherwise. When the man and his friend disappeared into the Full Earth, she hesitated only a moment before following them. Once inside, Venus had to pause a moment to accustom herself to her strange surroundings. This was not her first night out in disguise, but she had never before ventured into any establishment within the Lower Quarter. It was dim and as crowded with shadows as it was with patrons, and loud, filled with the rowdy voices of laborers enjoying their hours of freedom. Distracted as they were by drink and company, few of the tavern's occupants noticed Venus despite her natural charisma. Before that could change, she plunged into the crowded room, weaving between the noisy citizens until she reached the bar and found herself a seat on the end. The bartender was a thin, grizzled old man with a ragged graying beard. He slid fresh drinks to the other patrons leaning against the bar with the practiced hand of a man who had been doing this since far younger days. Venus could not help but stare briefly; with the long lifespan Lunarians were granted by the power of Queen Serenity, this man must have been very old indeed. Even then, healers could have easily taken decades off the bartender's face if he so desired. An elderly person who actually looked so was quite a rarity. The bartender returned the favor with a long stare of his own, looking Venus up and down with blue eyes that twinkled in appreciation of her beauty. "What'll it be, honey?" he asked in a voice that was graveled with age yet not unkind. "Moon Nectar, please," Venus replied, erring on the side of certainty. She had no idea if Neptunian ambrosia was available to the lower classes, but Moon Nectar was a draught enjoyed throughout Queen Serenity's domain. As the bartender turned away to prepare the drink, Venus twisted in her seat and scanned the crowded tavern. She was in luck; Prien and Endou were at a table only a few steps to her right among a handful of other people who seemed to be their friends. To her disappointment and disgust, one of them was a Lunarian woman who was seated right beside Serenity's lover. With the way she smiled and laughed, and played with her pale green hair as she leaned toward him, Venus did not need the sensitivity of her race to know the girl was attracted to Endou. Although irritated, she sighed mournfully. It would have been so much simpler if the man had chosen this girl to court instead of the Moon Princess. "All right, which one is he?" a rough voice said close to Venus' ear. Startled, she whipped her head around to discover the bartender grinning at her with a mouthful of erratic chipped teeth. "Pardon me?" "Miss, I'm a bartender," the old man chuckled. "I've seen it all, and I've never seen a lovely thing like you come into a place like this alone unless she's tailing a man she's sweet on. That one, there?" he asked, nodding toward the Earth-born man Venus had been focused on. He sized up the Lunarian girl flirting with him in one glance, then gave a grunt. "Honey, he's a unworthy fool if he won't choose a goddess like you over that." Although she had been complimented many times before, Venus was still touched to hear such flattering words from the old bartender. She treated him to a dazzling smile and a peal of laughter. "No, they're just friends." As she heard the words pass her own lips she realized she knew them to be true. The girl was attracted to Endou, yes, but the emotions passing between them were nothing more than friendship. Although the Lunarian would've welcomed a deeper relationship, she had accepted that there was none. Venus narrowed her eyes. She wasn't willing to believe in Serenity's lover just yet. Forcing a pleasant smile to her face, she turned back to the bartender as she considered her next move. "All right, ask," the graying old man said over the noise of the tavern as he slid two fresh tankards of Moon Nectar down the bar to customers. Venus looked blank, still distracted by her mission. "I asked you a personal question, I'll allow you one," the bartender explained. "Ask; I know you want to, everyone does." The blonde smiled. "Why do you choose to look your age?" "Well, I get a lot of young folks in here," he said. "Real young folks, not just those that look it. I've been running this place longer than they've been alive, and I want the respect that comes with that." The old bartender gathered up some empty glasses and stowed them away under the bar. "There comes a time when all you have is the respect earned by memories." He shot her a sideways grin. "I know I can't expect a pretty young thing like you to understand." Venus forced a broken grin. Something about the old man's simplistic values was making her uncomfortable. Sliding some coins across the bar, she smiled indulgingly and slid off her stool, tankard of Moon Nectar in hand. It was time to swing into action. Turning to face the table nearby, she adjusted the red bow in her hair and closed her eyes momentarily. It was such a simple thing to draw the pheromones to the surface, to bring forth the powerful aphrodisiacs her body naturally produced and raise her glamour from a faint draw to an irresistible allure. As she approached the table, the grin on her face developed a more natural pleasure as every male face in the group turned in her direction. "Mind if I join you?" she purred in a practiced voice as smooth as silk. Her tone spoke of wispy rosy clouds rolling through a brisk free wind and powerful wings spread wide for a flight into adventurous dreams. She got a brief annoyed glance from the woman, but the others were more than happy to offer Venus a seat. She found herself seated directly across from Endou. Perfect. "I hate these shadow nights," she sighed, sliding her chair in closer to the round table. "I'd much rather be outside, but there's something about all that darkness that makes me feel more comfortable with a roof over my head." "I know exactly what you mean," drawled a dreamy-eyed young man with pale blue hair. He leaned across the table toward Venus, but his expression was a hundred worlds away. "It's as if there were no dome above you, as if the void itself were a black hole ready to draw you into its depths, as if, if you stay outside, you'll break free of the Moon itself and tumble away into the darkness..." Venus blinked, caught off-guard. It sounded as if this man had already broken free of the Moon. Could Moon Nectar really be that strong? "Oh, give it up, Seraph," the blond man Venus now knew as Prien groaned. "Don't worry, he's always like that," he informed the soldier in disguise. "Miss Amaris told him a few too many poetic stories when he was a child, I think." "Miss Amaris?" Venus asked, seizing the opportunity to keep the conversation going. In situations like this men fell all too easily to silence, content to stare admiringly at their blonde companion, and that would not help her cause in the slightest. "Head of the stables up at the castle," Prien explained. "The bunch of us are all stable hands. Her Majesty's finest," he added with a proud smile. As he said this, Seraph and the as yet unnamed redheaded man at the end of the table drew themselves up and casually angled their heads to display the silver tattoos on their necks. Clearly they were used to the women of the Lower Quarter being drawn to men in the employ of the Queen, even in such a lowly position. With the finesse of years of training, Venus succeeded in stifling the urge to giggle and pretended to be impressed. The green-haired woman rolled her eyes, disgusted by her companions' eagerness to please a pretty face. Venus could tell she was feeling ignored, and almost felt sorry for her. Almost. It certainly was an easy thing to get information from an interested man. Venus could hardly be blamed for using her natural talents to the fullest, could she? Throughout all of this Endou remained silent, and even now he did not look up at the blonde goddess who had joined his table. He barely seemed to have noticed her. Was it possible for any man to be that lost in his own thoughts? "What about you?" the soldier purred, bending down to peer up at the glum-looking man through her long eyelashes. "What do you do, shy one?" "Same," the Earth-child muttered. His eyes flickered up to Sailor Venus' face for a brief moment as he spoke the word and then returned to the tankard in his hand, which he raised to take a deep swig of Moon Nectar. Venus was momentarily taken aback. He had looked at her, and then looked away so easily. Perhaps Earth-born men were more resilient to Venusian magnetism. With a brief scowl of effort, she mustered up a fresh burst of glamour, and sensed rather than heard the other men at the table catch their breath as the added power came over them. Clearly her glamour was working, but there was still no apparent effect on Endou. "You're beautiful," sighed the redhead, leaning forward on his elbow. Venus blushed delicately to disguise her amused smirk as a flattered smile. There was always one whose self-control was the weakest, and obviously this was the one. "Really, Trell! I never guessed you were the pathetically desperate type!" The Lunarian woman had finally had enough. Slamming her palms angrily against the table, she got to her feet and wove her way around the other chairs, their occupants' lack of attempts to stop her adding to her disgust. "I'll be in Delphi's Haven if any of you come to your senses," she growled before stalking away into the crowd. Now Endou raised his head, anxiously looking after her, but when he started to rise from his chair Prien grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down. The Earth-born man was still maddeningly free of the Venusian's spell, but she had all three of the others completely entranced; none of them had looked away from the blonde woman even for an instant. There would be some hurt feelings to be mended among the stable hands in the morning, but at the moment Venus could not bring herself to mind much. She had an important mission to complete, and it could be accomplished much easier without the distraction of another woman. "She's right, Trell," Prien said in a faintly dreamy voice, his eyes locked on the blonde soldier. "Can't you tell this is a woman of higher standards than stale empty flattery?" "Indeed," mused the one called Seraph, now slurring his words as the Venusian's enchantment pushed his naturally otherworldly manner to new heights. "This is a lady deserving of the best efforts any man can muster. Your eyes," he sighed, ignoring the lock of hair that had fallen over his own, "are mirrors to the endless mystery of the abyss, and pools of cool water from which no mortal may drink." "I don't see how that's any better than mine," Trell grumbled. "It's just more words to say the same thing." "Your lips are a portal to the music of the spheres..." "Give it up, Seraph!" Prien slid his chair closer to Sailor Venus with an annoyed glare in the blue-haired man's direction. "Does that nonsense ever work?" Venus recognized the warning signs. She was pushing her natural magnetism to a dangerous level, and was reaching the point her mentor had warned her about when she came of age. Men in love could be volatile creatures, and to tempt them too much could only lead to disaster. Already, the rivalry was there between the three friends, and it could soon lead to a willingness to do anything to remove the competition. Under the full force of Venusian glamour, no friendship or reason could calm a man's boiling blood. Wars had been started by a number of her ancestors in that manner. She knew she should fall back; cease her assault and let the pheromones she was exerting disappate before it was too late. However, Endou had still shown no sign of being interested in her in the slightest. It was unthinkable, and an irritation Venus could not bear. There had never been a man who could resist her once she had her eye on him. Her mission was rapidly becoming less and less about judging Endou's fitness for the Princess and more and more about defending her honor as a Venusian. She raised her power to the fullest strength she could muster. It was tangible on her skin now, a tingling heat that covered her from fingertips to toes. Sailor Venus ignored the three men now staring at her speechless and openmouthed, ignored the people at nearby tables who were turning to gaze at her in wonder, and focused all her thoughts on Endou, who still sat hunched over his drink, oblivious to the world. The tavern was growing silent except for the scraping of chairs and rustling of cloth as one patron after another turned in his seat, and the confused questions of the other women present. There was a feeling of mutually held breath, of a brief pause before an explosion. Prien's cup slipped from his fingers and hit the table with a loud thud. It tipped sideways. Amber Moon Nectar spilled out and gushed over the tabletop. The three mesmerized stable hands ignored the thick liquid as it pooled around their elbows. Endou, however, looked up with a jolt, startled by the sound, and hurriedly slid his chair backward before the spilled drink could drip into his lap. "What..." He blinked, then frowned as the blond man at his side failed to glance in his direction or even notice the mess he had made. "Prien, what is the matter with you?" Sailor Venus stared at the Earth-born man, wide-eyed. He was not in the slightest affected by her glamour, even with all the power of a Sailor Soldier behind it. This sort of event was not completely unheard of, but it was a far rarer thing than Venus had ever expected to experience, even as one of the guardians of the Moon Princess. In one long glance Endou took in the sight of his friend's awestruck expression and the desperate hunger that had sprung up in his green eyes, and it became instantly clear to him that something was seriously wrong. As he noticed the same manner mirrored on every man surrounding them and felt the tension that was growing thicker in the air by the second, Endou leapt to his feet and glared down at the focus of the attention. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What have you done to them?" The disguised soldier shook herself. It was clear now that she could not possess Endou's heart, no matter what she did, and the atmosphere of the tavern was swiftly going from bad to worse. Once she let go of her fixation on the Earth-born stable hand, the raging emotions of the tavern's other occupants flooded in. Many of the men surrounding Venus were a hair's breath from literally pouncing upon her. She had crossed a line beyond which there was no calming the situation from within; her only option now was to remove herself before it was too late. Jumping out of her chair, Sailor Venus turned away from Endou and fled the Full Earth at a run. Several hands grabbed at her as she passed, but she paid them no mind, using all the strength at her disposal to tear free and escape the tavern without being caught. She burst through the door and into the street, the cool night air like a refreshing splash of water after the suffocating heat of desire that had surrounded her a moment ago, and crossed the courtyard in a few leaping strides before slowing down. Several dazed men stumbled out after her. That had been a closer call than she had anticipated. The blonde Venusian headed into a shadowy street and kept moving, but at a more relaxed pace, drawing deep breaths to calm herself and clear the tension from her body. Clearly the thresholds of safety were in place for a reason. It was all that Endou's fault, anyway. If he had simply fallen for her allure like everyone else, she would not have ended up in such a situation. What kind of man could stand against the full force of Venusian glamour? Venus found herself staring down at her feet as she slowly walked back toward the Upper Quarter. She knew the answer to her own question. There were only two sorts of men against whom no glamour would work properly; a man whom the Venusian herself was genuinely attracted to, and one whose heart was completely committed to another. Sailor Venus could not have Endou's heart because it was no longer his to give, not even in casual lust. All the signs pointed to the stable hand being in love with Princess Serenity, a deep true love that no other could put asunder. Could Venus really believe that? Even as she imagined it, it sounded ludicrous. Endou and Princess Serenity were from completely different worlds, in more than one sense. What common ground could they possibly have found upon which to build a relationship so strong that no power could shake it? It was unthinkable. Was it not more likely that Endou was some kind of emotionless rock, a cold man so removed from love that he had built up an immunity to seduction? It seemed a more plausible explanation than such a strong bond between such vastly different people. How could Venus be certain that Endou's behavior was out of faithfulness to Serenity and not simple cold indifference? Her steps grew slower and slower as she wound through dark side streets and alleys, delaying her return to the Moon Castle while she pondered the situation. It couldn't be love. The people of Earth were rumored to be cold and greedy, caring only for themselves. Endou had been raised on the Moon, but his Earth-born heritage was bound to emerge sometime. He was a stone, a living statue so cold not even a Venusian could reach him. That had to be it. "Hey, sweet thing!" Venus stopped short and grinned to herself, shaking her head slightly. Even just walking innocently down the road, she attracted admirers. Still, she'd had quite enough flirting for one night. Turning around, the blonde soldier prepared to give her special dismissive smile. She was completely unprepared for the rough hands that seized her by the shoulders. Before she knew what was happening, Sailor Venus was forced against a nearby wall by a shove so hard that she barely kept her head from striking the stone. She looked up at a muscular, hardened worker, his grizzled face filled with a desperate ravenous hunger. He wasn't alone. Over his shoulders the soldier could make out four other men in the darkness of the alley, some of whom she recognized from the tavern. They all had the same crazed look in their eyes. A sickening block of ice dropped into Venus' stomach. She had been so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she had completely forgotten to drop her glamour. Some of the Full Earth's mesmerized patrons had followed her, drawn by her power. Sailor Venus immediately released the magnetic cloud that surrounded her, and the tingle vanished from her skin, but it would take some time for the glamour's effects to wear off. In the meantime, she had five men who were uncontrollably wild with lust on her hands. The first man still had the blonde soldier by the shoulders and was leering at her, breathing hard with his mouth hanging open. He was unkempt and unshaven, which was typical for Lower Quarter laborers on an evening off, but far below Sailor Venus' usual standards. His grip on her shoulders tightened as he leaned toward her unsteadily. Venus jerked her head to the side and his intended kiss missed her, but the strength in his arms was no small matter. "Let me go," she demanded, trying to keep her voice steady. No resident of the Moon would dream of assaulting anyone under ordinary circumstances, but this man was clearly not in his right mind. "Come on, honey, loosen up," he slurred, leaning his face toward hers again. Twisting in his grip Venus managed to get her arms up and hold the man at bay by his ears, but he pressed closer, ignoring her pleas for him to stop. "Who says she's yours, Tyren?" A man with shoulder-length blond hair pushed Venus' attacker hard from the side, and he lost his grip on the young woman. It was clear, however, that her fate would be no better with this new man than with Tyren. As she tried to twist away, the blond man caught her by the wrist and pulled her back, wrapping his free arm securely around her waist. Tyren turned around and shoved his usurper, but the blond man did not let her go. Sailor Venus' heart was pounding in her chest, but she stayed focused, not permitting herself to be overtaken by fear. She had no real reason to be afraid of these men. Although they were far stronger than her while she was in disguise, not even the five of them together were a match for a Sailor Soldier. Still, she did not exactly want to set off a rumor that the Sailor Soldiers were spies among Selene's own people. If at all possible, she wanted to escape without having to resort to transforming into Sailor Venus. As the seconds passed, however, escape as a normal woman became less and less likely. The five men jostled and struggled with one another for possession of her, and she was passed from one hand to the next, but every time she thought she had an opportunity to break free someone got a strong grip on her from one angle or another. Venus bore the unwelcome advances as bravely as she could, all the time pleading with the men to release her, hoping beyond hope that the glamour would wear off before she found herself in serious trouble. Her mind was racing. What would she do if she found herself overpowered? If she shouted for help, there would be questions asked that she could not answer without revealing she was Venusian. If she transformed, her secret would be out. A moment later she had run out of time. A green-haired man had her flat against a wall, his competitors pushed aside for the moment, and his rough hands were pawing at her dress. The panic was rising within the disguised soldier, and nothing she could say was making any difference. The man's lips and tongue were on her neck, and his hands had her skirts up past her knees. There were no options left. Sailor Venus stretched out her hand and extended her fingers, preparing to summon the power needed to transform back into a soldier. "What in the name of Selene... Hey!" New hands pulled the green-haired man off Venus, and she slumped against the wall for a moment to catch her breath, letting the budding energy fade away from her open palm. A man with short dark hair was yanking her attacker away, fury in his face. It was Endou. When the crazed assailant tried to fight his way back to the blonde soldier, Endou drew his arm back and punched him solidly across the face. Behind him, Prien had already laid out one of the other attackers and was wrestling a second, the glamour on him having gradually worn off after its source left the tavern. Sailor Venus stared at them, openmouthed, frozen by relief and disbelief. The green-haired laborer fell to the ground and sat there for a moment, groaning and holding his head in his hands. "What..." He blinked and shook his head, then stared around at the alleyway as if he had no idea how he got there. "What's happening? Tyren! What are you doing?" Leaping to his feet, the former assailant grabbed Tyren around the waist and pulled him back just as he was about to lay hands on Sailor Venus again. With the green-haired man's help, it wasn't long before all the attackers had been subdued. It seemed a good solid blow was enough to dispell the glamour and knock some sense into them. Venus shrank back against the wall, dreading the inevitable questions as the five recently enchanted men checked themselves in confusion. The first question, to her surprise, was asked by Endou. "Are you all right?" The blonde soldier looked up into a tanned face that showed nothing but honest concern. Far from the cold, removed statue of the Full Earth, this man practically shone with compassion and tenderness. Endou didn't even know her, and yet he had saved her from more than he would ever realize. It was clear from the narrow-eyed, puzzled faces behind him that the other questions would not be so easy to answer. Venus had to get out of there before their minds fully cleared. "Thank you," she said quietly, giving her rescuers a respectful nod. Without another word, Sailor Venus turned and dashed off down the street. She heard footsteps behind her as someone briefly gave chase, but she was running now with all the strength she could muster, and none but the other Sailor Soldiers could match that. Before long she was alone again, tearing up avenue after avenue on her way back to the Moon Castle. After what she had just experienced, she wanted nothing more than to be safe in the familiar world within the castle walls. By the time Venus reached the Upper Quarter, there were tears rolling down her cheeks. She kept running despite her near-blindness, desperate to get back on familiar territory, her cheeks burning with the shame. Imagine, a Sailor Soldier, frightened and crying in her own city! If anyone she knew saw her at that moment she'd be absolutely mortified. Still, she could not stop the tears. How could she have been so foolish? Venus now understood the importance of her tutor's warnings. Passion was not a force to be taken lightly. It was shameful that a Venusian in such an elevated position as hers would have to make such a dreadful mistake to learn that lesson. She cursed herself under her breath as she ran. What kind of a soldier would let pride put her into such a dangerous position? It was pathetic, stupid. The Queen expected better of her. Never again would she exceed that threshold instilled inside her by the training of her homeworld. She was still berating herself as she crossed the High Quarter and reached the boundaries of the castle grounds. With all the emotion running through her mind, she almost forgot to wipe her tears and transform back into Sailor Venus. The guards at the castle gate stood aside for the orange-suited blonde, pulling themselves to attention out of respect for the head of the Sailor Soldiers, but Venus' hands trembled at her sides and she had to struggle to hold her head properly aloft. Despite all her power and strength, she had been through a harrowing experience. It took all Venus' self-control to keep her pace steady as she strolled through the corridors of the Moon Castle, keeping up a firm illusion of being cool and collected. It would not do for anyone to see her in the state she had been in during her run a few minutes ago. Still, when she reached her quarters, she was nowhere near ready to retire for the night. The soldier's hands were still shaking when she entered the office that was the outer room of her apartments. She was still trembling when she sat down at the marble desk that faced the balcony doors. The office of the head of the Sailor Soldiers was smaller and simpler than that of Queen Serenity, but it was still impressive, with hangings in shades of yellow and floor-to-ceiling windows facing the balcony outside. Bookcases and cabinets of documents lined the walls, and four chairs decorated in the signature colors of the nearby worlds were set in a circle at the center of the room. It was here that the planetary soldiers held their regular meetings. Sailor Venus ran her hands over the four symbols carved into the surface of her desk. Leader of the soldiers, indeed. Anyone who had any prolonged close contact with the sailor-suited warriors could tell Sailor Venus was little more than a figurehead, an excuse to label the young women "soldiers of love and justice." By placing the representative of the planet Venus in a prestigious role, it could be said that love and emotion were important to the Moon Kingdom, but that was a farce, and nobody knew that better than the Venusian soldier. If she was supposed to be the leader, how could Mercury refuse to tell her the subject of her meeting with the Queen earlier that day? The soldiers were headstrong, independent women, held together solely by their shared responsibility of protecting Princess Serenity. Serenity. If love was such an important value to the Moon Kingdom, how could the Queen force her daughter into an unwanted marriage? Sailor Venus leaned back in her chair, her thoughts returning to the crystal-haired heartsick princess. It had been painfully clear that morning that Princess Serenity was far from over the loss of her Earth-born lover. Venus shuddered as she remembered the events of the evening. After what she had now seen of Endou, she could not bring herself to condemn the Moon Princess for not wanting to let him go. Venus sighed, hanging her head as all the lies she had told herself finally crumbled away from her heart. Endou was a good man. He was an honest, just, faithful person willing to jump to the aid of a stranger without duty or reward, and he was truly and deeply in love with the Moon Princess. He was, in short, the perfect match for Serenity. Sailor Venus had been deluding herself, clinging to excuses to help herself stay on what her duty told her was the correct path. She could no longer deny what her Venusian senses had been telling her the entire time. Except for the fact that Serenity had been born a Princess, there was no reason she and Endou should not be together. But their love affair was over. Wasn't it? The blonde soldier's memory flew back to the Full Earth and a dark-haired man who stared gloomily into his drink while his friends chatted and laughed. That was not the face of a man who had put his broken relationship behind him. Princess Serenity had said that their tryst was over, but one only had to glance at the distraught young woman to know she didn't want it to be. No matter what had occurred to separate them, they were both utterly miserable without each other, and therefore could be reconciled. Now Sailor Venus was back to her original problem. Did she choose love, or duty? Which were more important - the values of the kingdom of her birth, or the values of the kingdom she had sworn to defend? Since arriving on the Moon, the blonde soldier had set the lessons of her childhood aside in favor of Queen Serenity's guidance. Perhaps it was time to return to the principles of the planet of her birth. She had certainly been reminded of Venusian ideology by recent events, not all of them involving the Princess and her Earth-born lover. The soldier's eyes strayed to a stack of papers at the corner of her desk. She stretched out a gloved hand toward them. Only the slightest nudge was needed to slide the top few sheets off the image they had been set there to conceal. Her fingers hovered over a picture of a man in a gray uniform with long snowy hair. Sailor Venus knew how it felt to long for a love that could never be. Could she condemn Princess Serenity to a lifetime of that misery? No. Love was most important, over all else. With love, there was nothing that could go wrong forever; even the most serious hardships would eventually be overcome. Sailor Venus could not in good conscience leave things as they were. What, though, could she do to help the situation? Even had it not been for the confrontation in the Lower Quarter, she could hardly go to Endou personally and bring him back to the Princess' side. In fact, at this point, Serenity herself could not go to Endou if she wanted to. A sick shudder of guilt rolled through Sailor Venus as she remembered the rough brown cloak and length of rope that were now hidden in her own chambers. She'd taken them from the Moon Princess' room that afternoon, on impulse, under the delusion that the separation of the lovers was really what was best for all involved. Now Sailor Venus found it hard to comprehend why she had once felt that way. Never again would she stand in the way of true love. She would return the rope and cloak that were Serenity's ticket to her beloved's side. First, however, there was something else she could do, something that would bind her to the path any other Venusian would choose. The soldier turned in her chair, stealing a quick glance around her office to make sure she had no audience. When she was certain she was quite alone, Sailor Venus let a hand drop from the surface of her desk. Her questing touch met a smooth silver handle. She slid the drawer open. Her hand reached inside, and her fingers closed around a small glass vial. Could she really do this? Most would consider what Venus was about to do akin to treason. Her hand trembled in the drawer. If she went through with this, there could be no turning back. But if she didn't go through with it, she'd never be able to forgive herself. Before she could change her mind, the blonde soldier lifted the vial in her hand and pulled out the stopper. With a flick of her wrist, soft pink sand scattered over the top of her desk. It was a finely-grained substance, more like a light powder than ground-up rocks; sand from the beach where her parents had fallen in love, and very likely the place where Sailor Venus herself had been conceived. The ritual itself was simple once one had the right materials. With a shaking hand she sketched out two symbols in the fine sand. First, a round circle with a straight line extending downward. "Endou," the soldier whispered, closing her eyes briefly to picture the young man in her mind, fixing every detail of dark hair and tanned skin and charcoal eyes firmly to the mental image. Next, her gloved finger traced a circle with a triangle at its base. "Serenity." With this word, Venus imagined a young woman with long pale hair and bright blue eyes, a golden crescent on her forehead. The figures stood side by side in the center of the sand, awaiting only a link between them. Reaching down, the blonde Venusian unclasped the chain that always hung around her waist. The links seemed delicate at a glance, but any enemy would soon find them harder to break than the marble walls of the Moon Castle itself. She hesitated only a moment, sliding the string of metallic orange charms through her hands as she took a deep breath to steady herself. Somehow, handling the Love Chain that was both a decorative accessory and a secret weapon reassured her somewhat, reminding her of home and the traditions she was upholding. Venus imagined her mother beside her, guiding her motions as she carefully laid the chain in a circle around the pair of symbols in the sand. Her hands no longer trembled as they hovered over the design she had made. Her voice was steady as she spoke the words. "As this chain sets them a world apart, may none come between them." With her right hand she drew a line from the male figure to the female, and with her left connected female to male. "As these ties bind them, may their hearts sing forever in tune." She laid her hands on either side of the design, the solid surface of her desk acting as a stable foundation for the ancient ritual. "As these words bless them, may I act always as supporter and defender of their fated union." Rising from her chair, Sailor Venus walked around her desk and headed for the tall glass doors that divided her office from the balcony. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she thrust the curtains aside and threw the doors open. A fresh breeze, unusually strong for the Moon, rushed past the soldier and flowed into the room, rustling papers and chiffon hangings and the pages of books. The swirling breath of the wind caught up the fine sand scattered across the desk, momentarily spinning up a tiny maelstrom in midair. No sooner had Venus' eyes focused on it than it was gone, tumbling out through the doors again into the inky night. The breeze tugged at her long blonde hair as it left her, almost as if it would draw her into the power she had invoked and carry her away along with her wishes. As the soldier closed her eyes and reveled in the freshness of the night air, she almost wished it would. A mere moment after it was born, the wind died. The cloud of rosy sand was lost to the darkness. When Sailor Venus reentered her office she found her desk swept clean, with only the Love Chain remaining where she had placed it. It was done. Her decision was made. Now all that was left was to make sure she didn't come to regret it. |
