And the Desert Roars (part 2 of 12)

a Sailor Moon fanfiction by arashi-enkou

Back to Part 1
"Impossible!" Setsuna gasped. "How could you two have known each other 
before Rei came to the palace!?"

Usagi laughed and snuggled against the desert warrior's side. "It was 
when I ran away Setsuna."

--------- 5 Years ago ---------------

Usagi panted as she climbed down the rope that led to her freedom. Being 
the pharoh's daughter was worse than a lifetime in the sand pits. Even 
worse was that she was the only child and only fourteen summers.

Making sure her cloak's hood hid her face, she darted out of the steel 
gates and ran into the desert.

There was one problem.

She had no idea of where to go. Daylight had broken the darkness and the 
sun was at its peak. Days had passed and she had lost track. Usagi 
gulped and wiped the sweat from her forehead. It was just so hot...she 
had ran out of water and food.

Her vision blurred. Usagi looked behind her and gasped. The golden city 
she had left had completely vanished. Now, only hills and mountains of 
golden sand surrounded her. She panted and continued forward. She had to 
make it until dusk...

She stumbled and fell to the ground. 'This is how it ends then?'

Suddenly, black-mocasin clad feet came into her vision. She felt herself 
being rolled to her back by gentle hands. Usagi squinted against the sun 
to see the owner of them, but the sun blurred out eveything. "Are you 
alive?"

Usagi's breath came out in a wheez. The person's voice was like black 
velvet, even more enticing with the slight roll added to the 'R's.

A chuckle came from above and she felt herself being carried. "I shall 
take that as a yes then." A bird's call escaped her savior's lips and a 
cream colored camel trotted from a dune.

"Hello my friend," her savior whispered with affection. "I need your 
help." With the grace of a palace dancer, her savior swung both of them 
up onto the camel's saddle. Usagi helped as much as she could, but she 
was too exhausted to do much of anything.

When she came in contact with something soft, her eyes opened. 'A 
woman?'

The woman bowed her head near Usagi's ear and whispered, "Sleep now, 
little kitten. Conserve your energy." At the woman's request, Usagi 
closed her eyes and desepreatly tried to find sleep, but the constant 
bumping of the camel made it difficult. A chuckle tickled her ear, the 
sound throaty, husky.

The woman began to croon something in a different toungue, the syllables 
strange and different. Usagi sighed as the beautiful song soothed her 
mind, making her forget the scorching sun and the uncomfortable ride, 
the woes of her mother and the past problems she had faced. There was 
only the soft music that clung to the lyrics, the quiet and un-seen 
seduction that wrapped around her and carried her to Nirvana.

Just before the dark claimed her, she felt a feather-light touch grace 
the nape of her neck, and a word whispered in the language that souded 
like:

Mine.

When Usagi awoke, her first thought was that it had all been a dream, 
that she was still living like a prisoner. That the mysterious woman who 
had sang to her was simply a figment of her stressed out mind.

It was then she noticed that she was not on the feather-stuffed 
mattress. She was on a mat, the only cusion was the sand. That her body 
was covered not by silk sheets, but by a wonderfully soft black fabric 
that seemed to be spun of night.

And the dark woman was indeed very real.

So real in fact, that she was cooking something over a fire.

Usagi heard her stomach growl. Loudly. It seemed that the woman also 
noticed because she turned and face Usagi. The blonde gasped. The woman 
was...beautiful. Raven black hair reached the nape of her neck and 
violet eyes peered underneath thick, luxurious eyelashes. The lower half 
of her face was covered by a black face veil, made out of the same 
semi-see through material her robes were made of. They stayed like that 
for Isis knew how long, simply locking gazes.

Then Usagi blinked and the spell was broken. The violet eyed woman 
chuckled silently and stood. She approached Usagi, carriying a canteen 
and a stone slab that had a peice of freshly roasted pork on its 
surface.

"I am glad to see you are not dead." the woman said gently. Usagi shook 
her head in order to keep from falling into the web of sensuality the 
woman's voice produced.

"I,ah, I thank you." Usagi croaked. She took the slab and the canteen 
and began to eat neatly remembering her manners.

The woman laughed and said, "No need to peck at it like a desert bird. 
Eat your fill." Usagi paused, then began to dig in fast and swallowing 
mouthful after mouthful.

When she had finished, she turned her eyes to the woman. "What is your 
name?"

The woman jumped. She clearly had not been expecting this question. She 
stayed quiet before she reached behind her and, slowly, removed the face 
veil. "Rei." she whispered.

Usagi swallowed. Rei was...stunning...Full lips that sat underneath a 
small nose. A delicate, yet strong chin. All of them simply added to the 
picture that made Usagi's heart flutter. "And what is your name little 
kitten?" Rei whispered.

"Usagi," the run-away princess breathed.

Rei smiled. "Then perhaps I should call you 'Little Bunny' from now on?"

Usagi found herself leaning closer. "I liked 'Little Kitten' better..."

Rei 's smile faded and her eyes became hooded. "'Little Kitten' it is 
then..." They were drawn to each other, one with hair spun from the sun 
and an innocense to match, the other a child of the night, with eyes 
that held so much passion.

So different...so alike...and each captured by the web of destiny that 
had wrapped them in the fabric of love.

Rei reached up and touched a lock of blonde hair that had slipped to her 
shoulder. Her fingers brushed bare skin as they held the sun-kissed 
locks.

"Are you a sun-sprite, little kitten?" she murmured. Usagi blinked 
slowly, as if she was drugged. "No..."she whispered.

Midnight purple locked with sea blue.

"Ah," Rei breathed as she began to lean forward. "then you must be a 
goddess of the sand." Their foreheads touched. The chill of the night 
was completely wasted on the two of them.

"No..."

"Truly?" Rei smirked. "Have I found myself a child of human flesh? Or 
are you a sand nymph, come to steal my soul?" Usagi moved her hands to 
grasp Rei's shoulders for support.

"I am human." she whispered. Rei laughed quietly.

"Even if you weren't" she purred. "I would still do this." Then she 
closed the few centimeters between them and pressed their lips together. 
Usagi moaned and fisted the black material in her hands. Rei groaned and 
closed her eyes as she cupped the back of Usagi's head. Fire sprung 
between them, powerful and consuming. Rei stood up, not breaking the 
kiss, and pulled Usagi flush against her. They moved together, trying to 
get closer, trying crawl into the other's soul.

"Io amore aloro, sole dea..." Rei gasped against her lips. Usagi wrapped 
her arms around Rei's neck as the night-child sank back to her knees. 
Their lips fused together as Rei's hands grabbed her hips. They deepened 
the kiss, much to their mutual enjoyment.

"That lauguage," Usagi breathed when they seperated. "What is it? I have 
never heard it before..."

"The traveler who taught me," Rei whispered as she buried her face in 
Usagi's hair. "Told me it was the language of lovers..."

"It's beautiful." Usagi murmured as Rei placed light kisses on her 
eyelids. "Will you speak it to me once more?"

"Ah, sole dea, aloro sotrarre miei etere lontano." Usagi moaned as the 
night-child traced kisses up and down her neck. Her fingers buried 
themselves in short obsidian waves.

"Bacio miei, sole dea, bacio miei ognora," Rei pleaded as she laid on 
her back and drew the princess down.

And in the face of love, the fire and the moolight merged.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Setsuna was breathless. "You mean you two..."

Usagi blushed as Rei wrapped and arm around her waist. "Yes."

The sorceress blanched. "B-but, you two were strangers!"

Rei shrugged. "Love can erase that."

Setsuna sighed and ran a hand over her face. This was very bad...

Usagi leant up and whispered in Rei's ear, "Io amore aloro ognora, miei 
fuori dea."

"Io amore aloro ognora, miei sole dea."

:::::::: fin :::::::

Thanks to an English to Itailian translator, I was able to come up with 
the Itailian phrases in the story. Please, if you have any questions, 
feel free to ask!

Translations:

Io amore aloro, sole dea : I love you sun goddess

Ah, sole dea, aloro sotarre miei etere lontano: Ah, sun goddess, you 
steal my breath away.

Bacio miei, sole dea, bacio miei ognora: Kiss me, sun goddess, kiss me 
forever...

Io amore aloro ognora, miei fuoru dea: I love you forever, my fire 
goddess

Io amore aloro ognora, miei sole dea: I love you forever, my sun goddess

And why does Rei have short hair instead of long hair? Because she'd 
probably a hellof alot sexier. (plus, there isn't a whole lot of fics 
with a short-haired Rei in it.)

Onwards to Part 3


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