All Locked Up!
Long Days and Longer Nights.
"Somehow I expected something more... dank," Minako said as she,
Ami and Haruka sat around the low table of their 'cell'. It was like
a small and very traditionally Japanese living room, the kind of
thing they had seen in various anime and period dramas. Only smaller.
Back home Rei was the only one of them that lived a place like that,
and that was because the shrine was also her house.
Haruka just shrugged as she leaned back on her hands. "It beats
four days locked up in those coaches. My backside's still numb." She
would have let out a not so subtle quip there, but she wasn't in the
mood. None of them were.
"At least they are civil to their prisoners," Ami said, looking
down at the tabletop. "No matter how false that graciousness is."
"So what are they going to do to us?" Minako asked.
Ami shook her head. "I don't know. Rei-chan has read about this
kind of thing, so you could ask her. They will keep us comfortable,
at least for as long as they want our co-operation, but beyond that I
have no idea."
"Where is Rei-san?" Haruka asked. "And Mako-chan? Were they taken
to a different cell?"
Minako shook her head. "They're back there," she said, pointing
to one of the doors at the rear of the room, "practicing again."
Haruka blinked, then got up, stretched her legs for the twentieth
time, and poked her head through the other door. "We have bedrooms?
That's something at least."
Minako nodded with a cheeky grin. "One for the girls and one for
the 'young man'!"
Haruka gave her a sly grin. "Aren't I lucky?"
Ami shook her head, but a small smile had crept onto her own face.
"Don't you ever get tired of being mistaken for a man Haruka-san?"
Haruka just plopped herself back down at the table. "Why should I?
If they're going to make assumptions about the way I look then I'm
going to enjoy it. You all looked so cute and disappointed when you
found out I was a girl."
"And even after that it still took you ages 'till you told us you
and Michiru were, like, a couple!"
Haruka nodded, her smile turning wistful. "Yeah. She's always
thought it was funny too. And she was cute when she got jealous. Not
that I managed it often."
"Haruka-san..." Minako said apologetically.
Haruka looked up with that same smile on her face. "It's okay.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who wants to remember her now she's not
here."
Minako and Ami sighed a little at the short, practical speech.
Somehow it sounded romantic coming from Haruka's lips. Minako leaned
forward on the table, ready to rest her head on her arms and daydream
of some romance for herself, but she cringed and straightened up
halfway down.
"Minako-chan? What's wrong?" Ami asked, looking at her with
concerned eyes. None of them knew what had happened to the others
over the four days it had taken to get there. After the trouble they
had caused they had each been put in their own locked coach.
Minako gave her friends a pained smile. "It's nothing. I got a
few scratches in the fight, and all that bumping around kept opening
one of them up."
Haruka looked over curiously. "Show me."
Minako sighed and turned around. Below her dancer's vest, just
above the veil that hung from her waist, was a small gash where the
swordsman she had been pitted against had made a lucky hit. It had
been a sloppy swing, one that Minako should have danced past easily,
but she had been tired from almost constantly firing off her magic
tricks.
"Hold still," Haruka said as she crawled around the table, and
lightly placed her hand against Minako's skin.
"Haruka-san..." Minako said, blushing as she felt the boyish
young woman's thumb trace over her back. Ami however stared in wonder
as Haruka's thumb slid across the cut, leaving only clear,
unblemished skin behind it. She also noticed the faraway look that
came over Haruka's face, and the sudden look of unease that followed
as Haruka finished.
"Hey! That's... it gone!" Minako exclaimed, feeling where the cut
had been. "Wow! Curing Mary or what! Hey Haruka-san, are you okay?"
Normally Minako's ignorant melding of plague carriers and
historical nurses would have bothered Ami a little, but she had also
seen what the healing had done to Haruka. "Haruka-san, do you need to
lie down? Should I try and call for something?"
Haruka just closed her eyes, shook her head and swallowed down
the rising nausea that followed her mental disquiet. 'You'd have
thought that doing something good would at least feel a bit better,'
she thought, but now she knew. If she used her Art for anything
practical, anything at all, this would happen. At least this time it
was just a minor, if delicate effect.
"Haruka-san, I've been meaning to ask," Ami said, half concerned
and half curious, "what happened to you during the fight. What does
your magic do to you?"
Haruka went back to her place at the table and swallowed as the
feeling faded. "Later Ami-chan. Much later."
***
Rei's fist was balled as her eyes clenched themselves shut. All
she wanted to concentrate on was Makoto's voice, but she knew her
focus was too hard. She was reaching out for stability rather than
finding it within herself. She tried to calm her mind but she knew it
was already too late as Desir whispered out a single word.
Rei's balled fist faltered under the influence, and acted.
"Ohhhhh..!" Rei fumed as she looked down at her hand, seeing the
scissors that were promptly blunted by Makoto's own stone fist.
"That's it! You are officially more of a pain than Usagi-chan!"
Desir just grinned as Rei threw her tantrum and Makoto had to
calm her down yet again. "Too easy."
Makoto sighed. "Do you want to stop Rei-chan?" she asked. "We've
been going for an hour."
"No!" Rei replied with fierce determination. "I'm going to beat
you both if it kills me!"
Makoto sighed again, thinking that it might just do that. Her arm
was beginning to ache.
The pair of them had become quite good at simply ignoring Desir's
many and varied interference techniques, but the whole purpose of
this meditation training was to get on with real tasks while under
that kind of psychological stress. Now that Rei had to actually think
about what she was doing it became a lot harder. Desir was very
invasive, especially since she was whispering into Rei's mind, not
just her ear.
Since they had nothing else to do other than sit about Makoto had
suggested the game of 'Jan Ken', or 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' as
westerners called it. Desir would read what was coming from Makoto's
movements and then trick Rei into losing or tying, either by bluff or
influence. Logically when Rei won she would have centred herself
enough to completely block Desir out for that match, but Desir was
very good as getting in the way, even when Rei thought she had
compensated for the demonette's whisperings.
So the battling girls sat opposite each other, with Desir
sprawled out beside them. Thankfully the 'cell' was a pleasant enough
place, meaning they had some privacy in the bedrooms. One of the
others could alert them if anyone came in, and Desir could disappear
back into Rei's mind. Truthfully she didn't need to be manifest at
all for this, but being able to see her was another distraction for
Rei. One that Desir took full advantage of.
The game continued another twenty minutes but this time it was
Desir that won. "That was fun girls!" she grinned as Rei collapsed
backwards in defeat. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Just get out of here," Makoto growled at her, and Desir vanished
with a wink.
Of course for Rei Desir hadn't left at all. To Rei it felt like
Desir had just had a very satisfying meal, and just sat back inside
her mind feeling far too content for Rei's liking.
"Not once," Rei muttered, her eyes feeling itchy as they misted
up. "I tried to think around every bluff, every word, and I couldn't
even win one stupid game."
"Rei-chan, that's not what we're trying to do, remember?" Makoto
said. "Don't try to think about what she says or plan your way around
that... around Desir. Just empty your head again. Play from there,
with your heart and your instinct."
"You'd know all about having an empty head, wouldn't you Mako-
chan," Rei bit out as she sat up, but the anger in her watery eyes
faded just as quickly as it had appeared when she saw Makoto's
expression. "Mako-chan, I'm sorry," she sniffled. "It's just not
fair."
"Yeah, I know," Makoto said, but her eyes didn't meet Rei's.
"I'm just... all worked up," Rei continued when Makoto didn't
look at her. "I just want to blame someone, you know? Someone that
isn't me. You know I didn't mean it, right Mako-chan? And if there's
a next time I don't mean that either."
"Hey, it's okay," Makoto said, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Lighten up. There's always next time."
Rei smiled and rubbed her eyes. "Thanks. Come on, let's find the
others. And get these people to give us something to eat, I'm
hungry."
Makoto found that she didn't have to force the smile at that. It
was so like Rei to know where her priorities lay.
***
Lord Himora, Margrave of the province of Seiji, nodded as best he
could to the maid servant as she cleared away his used bowls. He
would have liked so much to tell of what was happening to him and to
his province, but he knew that if he did she might not live to see
the morning. Damyo was a ruthless man. Brilliant at times, but far
too calculating.
"Thank you girl," he croaked, his throat already dry after his
undoubtedly tainted meal. "Please inform Comte Damyo that I wish to
see him."
"Certainly my Lord," the maid replied, honoured by the kind words,
before leaving as quickly and as silently as she came in. Himora
sighed and laid his head back into his pillow. That one was far too
good to be a simple servant. In his prime he would have made her a
concubine without a second thought, despite her being little more
than a serf. Damyo on the other hand seemed to have no need of such
pleasures, or if he did they were well hidden beneath his veils of
respectability.
Perhaps the man was too paranoid to let anyone so close. If
Himora's own folly was having had too much trust in those who did his
bidding, Damyo's was in having too little. No man can run a province
without trust for those who carried out the orders. The Margrave was
sure that Damyo would discover that fact soon enough. That would be
enough to bring his plight to notice, Himora hoped.
Damyo was already dropping his guard when it came to the bed-
ridden old man. The fact that he now allowed servants to attend him
instead of just the appointed 'doctors' was proof of that. Damyo was
up to something, and even if he was impotent to do anything about it
Himora would find out what it was.
When Damyo finally strode into the room Himora fixed him with a
pointed glare. "You have not come to gloat for some time, scorpion.
You must be very pre-occupied these days."
Damyo just smiled. It had been too long since he had seen the old
man. "I have much to do and even more to plan for, now that you are
no longer resting on your haunches, Lord. A gift has recently fallen
into my lap: a most surprising gift. You would no doubt let such a
chance slip through your fingers, but I shall at least take a page
from your own book and allow diplomacy to win this battle."
"You were never good at winning allies Damyo," Himora replied.
"Whoever this man is I doubt you will sway him. Your schemings may be
solid, but your forked tongue is far from silver."
Damyo's smile slipped. "Perhaps you speak true old man, but I
have been thought a fool for far too long. However, a little honest
kindness can go a long way. Especially when it is no man, but a
simple girl who possesses such incredible intellect."
"A girl?" Himora asked, dumbfounded.
Damyo nodded. "A girl, not even twenty years old if what I saw of
them as they were brought here is correct. She and her companions
managed to cause quite a lot of trouble, brought on by my demands no
doubt, and so here they are beneath my roof."
Himora snorted in derision. "What could you of all people want
with a girl?"
Damyo's smile turned to feign innocence. "She no doubt thinks I
wish to draw her obvious genius from her head like water from a well.
However, she and her friends are evidently travellers of the most
eclectic origins if their clothing is any indication. A dancing girl
of the southern wastes and a coloured vagabond even."
Himora's curiosity was piqued, and the information worried him.
"A nomad?"
Damyo just sniffed. "She looks as unrefined as her heritage
suggests, undoubtedly to become a brute of a woman."
Himora shook his head. "Your ignorance only exposes your
foolishness."
"I care nothing for her, and neither do I care about the young
man that attempted, and failed, to protect them. However," Damyo said
with relish, "as a whole they must have travelled far for ones of
barely twenty years, if that. Even as Comte I can offer them much,
and as Margrave I can make sure they will want for nothing. That will
surely be gift enough for the girl genius to share her inspirations,
and I am told that even the coloured vagabond is a child of no small
skill.
"The young genius alone would be an exceptional companion to have
by my side once I have earned her trust, and I would wager my life
that the others would follow in her footsteps."
"Trust is not something you know of," Himora said, knowing enough
for now. Damyo's scheming left a bad taste in his mouth.
"But trust is something such restless souls believe in with
infinite conviction," Damyo said, pleased with his idea. "As do young
girls. Once earned, their trust will be worth more than that of your
entire court and every nobleman beneath it."
***
All told, Makoto was impressed by the place, even if it was
little more than a prison. It was clean, which was always a good
thing in her book, comfortable enough and surprisingly well lit, even
though each room only had the one slatted window. The warmth of the
rising sun had got her from her bed, and with nothing else to do she
had just padded out of the bedroom she shared with Minako and Rei to
sit at the table. She thought that when they all got back home she
might ditch the curtains in her apartment and get some blinds. It was
a much nicer way to wake up than an alarm clock.
Silence was one thing that had never bothered Makoto. After
living on her own for so many years, and at such a young age, it was
something that she had got used to. That wasn't to say that she
preferred it that way. She liked music and dancing, and there were
some sounds, like her friends' voices, that were very comforting.
Even after several years with real friends of her own, there was
still the unease that connected other people with trouble. Usually it
had been trouble that got her a detention, but when things got bad
for them, with monsters capable of attacking any minute of any day,
it was a useful wariness to have.
Still, it didn't help when trying to make friends. She was sure
she had come across as very standoffish with the nomads for the first
week she had been with them.
"Good morning Mako-chan. Why are you up so early?"
Makoto looked up to see Ami closing the door to the other bedroom
behind her, shutting out Haruka's light snores. "Morning Ami-chan.
Believe it or not, sleeping in these clothes isn't as comfortable as
it could be," she replied, raising her arms to show of her red and
green nomad outfit.
Ami sat down in the same yukata she had been wearing the day
before. "I did suggest you and Minako-chan wear something less...
bold."
"Minako-chan can sleep in anything," Makoto said with a grin.
"Besides, I asked the guard to bring us some of our stuff. It's about
time we had something to change into."
Ami nodded with a smile. "So how is your training with Rei-chan
going? You're spending a lot of time doing that."
"She's coping," Makoto replied. "We couldn't do anything on the
trip up here, so she was pretty eager to get back to it. I don't know
how much good it's really doing, but at least she's letting it out."
Ami blinked, a little surprised. "But you said you were making
progress back at the library."
"But I realised," Makoto said seriously, "progress towards what?
Rei-chan has control, she just doesn't know it. Do you remember the
fight? Desir didn't do anything, and it looked like she warned Rei-
chan about the soldiers before it started. When it really matters
Desir doesn't do anything stupid. It's only when nothing happens she
starts torturing Rei-chan."
Makoto gave Ami a wry smile. "So this isn't an ideal situation
for her."
Ami nodded. "I see. Still, I think it will help her a lot. Having
someone to go to when she can't manage. You're a very good person to
go to for comfort."
"What about Haruka-san?" Makoto asked with a pleased smile. "I
think you've helped her a lot since we came here. She looks happier
now than she has for a long time."
Ami shook her head. "Maybe, but she closed up when I asked about
her magic yesterday. It may sound cruel, but not having Michiru-san
here may make it easier for her to trust us. The Outers, they're all
so intent on tackling their problems by themselves. It would be so
much easier for all of us to share our problems. They don't want to
worry us, but we worry anyway because they feel that way."
Makoto sighed. "Actually, Rei-chan is the same. I can't imagine
what it would be like having to listen to Desir's mind games all the
time. It wears you down."
Ami sighed as well, looking down at the tabletop. "We should
probably stop. It's rude to talk about them like this." She gave a
small smile. "At least Minako seems to be coping okay."
Makoto nodded, then got up and went to the door. "Hey, guards,
have you got our stuff yet?"
They heard a snort and the door was unlocked. The guardsman
thrust a large bag into Makoto's hands. "That's your lot vagabond.
One of the servants will come by with a tub later. A little advice:
make sure you all use it."
"Why?" Ami asked, "What's happening today?" She certainly wanted
a bath, but what could these people have planned that needed them all
to be clean?
The guard didn't reply, but Makoto stuck her foot behind the door
to stop him leaving. "This is all we get?" she said, hefting the bag
in her hands.
"Your clothes and girl's trinkets, you won't need anything else."
Then he kicked Makoto's foot away and locked the door as he left.
Makoto sighed and dropped the bag by the table before starting to
go through it. "I don't think he likes me."
Ami shrugged. "You're dressed like a nomad. I think he treated
you like one."
Makoto decided not to say what she thought of that. There was a
certain level of rudeness that just wasn't used around Ami. "Well,
that's something at least," she said as she pulled out a simple
hairbrush. "Come on, let me fix that bed-hair of yours."
Ami just blushed and tried to cover her scruffy hair with her
hands. "You could have told me sooner Mako-chan!"
Makoto just smiled and shook her head. "Come on, over here."
Ami just sighed and did as she was told, sitting in front of
Makoto as the taller girl started to run the brush through her short
cut hair. "Just as long as I get to do yours later," Ami almost
pouted. Makoto had a bad habit of pampering her when they were
together. Cooking for her she could understand, thanks to her
fondness for sandwiches Ami was not a practiced cook, but Makoto
always seemed to need to make herself useful.
"If you want," Makoto replied. Her own ponytail of auburn hair
needed little attention, but Ami was like that. Whenever Makoto did
something for her she would try to do something in return. It was
almost cute, if completely unneeded.
Ami relaxed into the brushing for the moment until Minako made
her entrance. "Ooooh," she said as she rubbed her eyes and pulled her
long blonde hair from over her shoulders. "Why can't they have
curtains here? I open my eyes and BAM! - I'm almost blind."
"And good morning to you too Minako-chan," Makoto replied with a
dry, lop sided smile.
"Can you do mine afterwards, Mako-chan?" Minako asked as she
plopped down at the table. "I haven't been able to brush it for days
because of the trip here. I don't even want to think how many tangles
I've got!"
"No problem," Makoto replied, while Ami gave Minako a concerned
look.
"Minako-chan, how did you get those?" she asked, looking at the
red marks on Minako's bare upper arms. In fact she was only wearing
the dull tan top to her outfit.
Minako just pouted cutely and showed them the translucent violet
veil shirt she should have been wearing, and the decorations that
hung from the red string around the ends of the short sleeves. "My
tassels hurt!"
Makoto suddenly burst out laughing at Minako's honest simplicity,
and Ami had to giggle as Minako gave them a surprised look. "What?
That wasn't even a proverb! Mako-chan, Ami-chan!"
***
All five of the girls were washed and dressed in their best
clothes as they were led under guard to the lord's personal dining
room. Of all the reasons to be presentable, dinner with the Comte
himself was not what any of them had been expecting. Haruka, ever the
tongue in cheek pessimist, had even wondered whether they had to be
well dressed for their execution, but none of them had taken that
idea seriously. Still it was a nice surprise since their meals so far
under this man's 'hospitality' had been plain at best.
Minako had rightly said that the only thing worse that prison
food was school dinners. Either that or her own cooking. Minako had
no illusions about that these days: when she found a place of her own
back home she would be eating out a lot.
The spread that they were led to was just what Minako, or any of
the girls, would have wished their own cooking was like. Even Makoto
would have been hard pressed to live up to the standard that the
Comte was obviously used to.
The food however was in stark contrast to the room and the Comte
himself. Fine, delicate cuts of rich meat littered the table, and
even after living in Seiji for so long they could not believe the
amount of meat that made up the meal. Back in Japan it would have
looked obscene, or at the least extravagant. Makoto noticed that the
choice of food and the way in which the Comte ate were almost Italian,
aside from the small bowls of rice they each had. The room itself
however was so traditionally Japanese it made some of the girls a
little more homesick.
The Comte himself was a handsome man, none of them could deny
that, but to them he would have looked most at home in the theatre
with his mostly shaved head and top-knot of hair. The similarity to
their own home was so clear that what little doubt Ami had about this
world being directly linked to their own was cast away at that table.
Comte Damyo was a gracious host, but it was clear where his
interests lay. "However, I must admit to finding myself in something
of a quandary," he said, taking a sip of his wine. "While your
intellect is remarkable, and now I can speak with you all you are
clearly girls of no small education, I cannot think of anywhere you
might have learned of such things."
Minako grinned, her cheeks tinged with the wine. "Ohh, Ami-chan's
just that good. She's always been the smartest, right Haruka-kun?"
Haruka had to smile at the masculine honorific. The Comte had no
idea, and Haruka was happy to play along. "It's not simple knowledge
my Lord," she said with appropriate deference. "Our Ami-chan has true
intuition on her side."
Ami just flushed more deeply, under the assault of both the
praise and the wine. It may have been a well thought out story on
their part, but it embarrassed her all the same. In fact none of the
girls were without some sign of the alcohol they had been served.
"It's a very old tactic," Rei had told them all, remembering her
first stay at the library and the books on etiquette she had read.
"If he serves wine with the meal then we will lose a lot of face if
we don't accept it, but he'll also use it to soften us up. Good wine
is a status symbol of its own, and serving it to guests is a show of
respect. Still, we are fairly young and we're girls so he might not
use it, but be careful. If he does that's all there will be to
drink."
The wine he had served was a very good one indeed, as Desir
informed Rei. Good Seiji peach wine was hard to make, but it was a
very soft and un-invasive sweet wine. Perfect for women of high
standing, or female guests he wished to win over.
"Please do not feel abashed at taking more," Damyo said as he
helped himself to another roll of cured ham and passed his bowl to
the maidservant for more rice. Minako and Rei were all too happy to
oblige, and Haruka and Makoto followed suit, though with more
restraint. Damyo noticed Ami's hesitation however. "Miss Mizuno, does
the food not agree with you?"
"Oh, no," Ami replied, "it really is very good, but I'm not used
to so much richness in a meal."
Damyo nodded in understanding. "It must be difficult to find such
food on the road. If I may, how is it that you all, and yourself in
particular, had come to live as you did?"
Ami tried to sort out her reply from the pleasant fuzz of the
sweet wine. "... I am sorry, my lord, but it is a very personal
matter to me. We were making our pilgrimage to the Great Library, and
that is the reason we travelled."
"An impressive choice for one so young," Damyo said with care.
"But I shall not pry! Please, enjoy what you wish from my table. I
will not be offended." He raised his glass. "Such things should be
done properly, and as one likes them."
Several of the others nodded enthusiastically and they all raised
their own glasses. Only Makoto paused as she noticed the maidservant
smile a little at their toast, but she soon thought nothing of it as
the meal went on. Haruka played the part of the drink-fuelled feudal
bodyguard to perfection, and Desir seemed all too happy to share
Rei's growing tipsiness. Eventually they were all too busy giggling
to worry, and as Damyo himself became more jovial they were happy to
laugh at the embellished tales he told until both he and they had to
retire for the night.
***
Haruka let out a heavy sigh as she sank down onto her futon,
letting the wall behind her prop her up. She smiled widely and looked
over to Ami who, after taking her last few tipsy steps, sat down
beside her. "I can't believe Mina-chan passed out before we even got
back here," Haruka giggled.
Ami had to follow suit. Haruka never giggled, not that she had
ever heard before at least, but it was infectious. "Haruka-san that's
unfair," Ami replied, not sounding quite as sure of her words as she
usually did. "She drank a lot more wine than we did."
In fact Minako had drunk almost twice what Makoto or Ami had done,
but then she was more used to being served alcohol than either of
them. Dates and talent show parties were happy to oblige as soon as
she had become old enough, and sometimes even before that. Ami
herself only ever drank on special occasions with her mother, and
while Makoto was now happy to use wine in some of her more exotic
dishes, they didn't retain much of the alcohol after being cooked.
Rei on the other hand seemed to have a natural tolerance, and
although she had fallen asleep as soon as she had been put to bed she
hadn't held back as much as Ami might have thought. And Haruka: she
was older and talented at what she did, and that would always bring
celebrations after a success. It was natural that she would be able
to hold her liquor.
"Still," Ami said as her giggles subsided, "this was a nice
surprise."
Haruka nodded. "But I'm still waiting for the other shoe to
drop."
"Haruka-san," Ami admonished lightly, leaning into Haruka's
shoulder. "Everything's been serious for so long now. It's time we
could let go a little, don't you think?"
Haruka chuckled at that, "You're beginning to sound like Mina-
chan."
Ami nodded happily. "Even she can be a good influence sometimes.
Just for tonight, let it all go. You deserve it. Pleeease?"
Haruka just smiled at her. "Somehow I doubt that, but you're
right. It's nice to forget for a bit."
"That's not what I mean Haruka-san, and you know it," Ami said,
clambering unsteadily over her to straddle Haruka's lap and looking
deep into the sandy haired girl's eyes. "Please trust me. Galaxia is
all in the past, we've all forgotten it and we all tried so hard to
be friends afterwards. And whatever it was that you did back at the
library, it kept us safe, even if it didn't work the way you wanted
it to." A kind smile blossomed on Ami's face. "We could have been
badly hurt, but we weren't. So thank you."
She leaned in close and gave Haruka a warm hug. Haruka couldn't
see why Ami had chosen to thank her for that farce of a fight, but
that embrace was everything she needed and she wrapped her own arms
protectively around Ami. "I should be the one thanking you," she said,
sounding a little hoarse. "Always trying to offer me a hand. You were
right you know, back in that draughty old house. We're all so
different, but you keep making the effort."
"Of course," Ami replied, "we're friends, remember?"
For some reason Haruka couldn't help but chuckle at that as they
parted. "I think I just saw a little Usagi-chan in there too."
"I hope not," Ami said with a giggle, "I want to keep my grades!"
Then Haruka watched with concern as Ami's giggles slowly crumpled
into tearful regret. "Ami-chan..."
"I want to go home," Ami sobbed into her hands as she sat astride
her friend. "I want to see everyone again. I want to see Usagi-chan,
and Naru-chan, and hear my mother's voice on the answer-phone saying
she has to work late again!"
"Ami..." Haruka just smiled through her own painful homesickness
and lifted Ami's head from her hands. Then she leaned forward and
with delicate lips kissed away the tear that had started to make its
way down Ami's cheek.
Ami looked up with wide eyes at the face so close to her own.
"Haruka-san... Haruka."
Through their peach flavoured haze neither of them knew who it
was that leaned into whom, but the soft, passionate kiss seemed to
release a lifetime of worry from them both. Soon one kiss became two,
and two became four as they held each other. Ami's hands were timid,
but they soon began to wander as Haruka's own knowing hands did the
same to her. "Haruka... I don't think..."
"I know..." Haruka replied, but neither of them had the will or
the desire to let go. Haruka's fingers traced Ami's slender form
through the kimono that she wore, down behind her until they entwined
themselves with the bow of Ami's obi and slowly undid it. Ami blushed
as the garment loosened, but she didn't try to cover herself or turn
away. Ami wasn't going to run from her.
Haruka's hand slipped around Ami's waist, sliding her kimono open
as she did so, and kissed the girl again. Sitting there straddling
her waist, illuminated only by the moonlight that shone down across
them, Ami looked like a divine spirit to her. "How can anyone see you
as plain?"
Ami's blush grew, and she nervously slipped her own hand between
the folds of Haruka's dark kimono.
"Like this?" she asked, her voice quiet but hopeful.
Haruka nodded, and with gentle arms she brought them together
again, until their lips met.
***
The sun had long since come up by the time Ami stirred. The
bright light made her head throb as she cracked open her eyes, and
she shut them again with a whimper. She was not susceptible to bad
hangovers, but that didn't mean she thought herself lucky to have one.
Under the covers of the futon her arms tightened around Haruka's warm
body as she tried in vain not to wake up.
"Morning Ami," Haruka said, looking down at her. Her voice flowed
more softly than it normally did, a calmness lying over the
uncertainty she felt. "You slept well?"
Ami nodded into Haruka's bare breast before she finally pulled
away. She felt very conscious of her own nakedness, and pulled the
covers up around herself as they both sat up. "Yes," she replied with
a blush. "I slept better than I have in a long time."
Haruka nodded, feeling guilty. "So did I." She sighed. "I should
apologise about last night."
Ami shook her head and gave the handsome young woman a smile. "No
more than I should. I wasn't much more drunk than you. I knew what I
was doing. I know it's selfish, but I wouldn't change it even if I
could."
Haruka's surprise wrote itself all across her face. "Selfish? Ami,
I wanted you so badly last night, I couldn't believe it when it
happened. You've gone out of your way for me ever since we arrived
here. It just took me too long to realise what it meant to me, but I
never thought I would be allowed to have it."
"Haruka-san," Ami replied. That was all she needed to say for
Haruka to know how it had to be, but she had to say it, if only for
herself. "I enjoyed last night, I really did. I'm glad that my first
could have been with someone I trust as much as you, but we should
let it go. We are going to find a way home, one way or another.
Michiru-san is waiting for you, and I know there is no way I could
ever get between the two of you, even if I wanted to."
She dropped her eyes from Haruka's. "And I don't want to love you
and lose you. Because that time will come. You gave me a wonderful
night Haruka-san. Let's leave it like that - as a happy memory."
Haruka nodded, letting out the breath she had been holding. "You
certainly have a way with words Ami... Ami-chan. And you're right."
She smiled. "You know, for your first you were very talented."
Ami blushed crimson and averted her eyes again. "I read a lot,
even if I didn't find someone."
Haruka chuckled before that calmness returned to her features,
this time without the unease. "Thank you Ami-chan. I think I've
needed someone like you for a long time, even as just a friend." She
bent down and kissed Ami on the cheek. "Come on, get dressed. The
others must be up and tending their heads by now."
Ami's blush faded, but didn't quite vanish as she nodded and
found her own kimono. 'If things had been different... maybe...'
***
As subtle as it might have been, the other girls did notice the
changes in Ami and Haruka as they sat and lay recovering with their
breakfasts. Makoto in particular couldn't help but pick up the small
things that she thought passed between the pair. Despite their
hangovers their little smiles kept tugging at their lips, and more
than once Makoto caught Ami glancing in Haruka's direction, only to
turn away if the older girl looked as though she were about to notice.
In all honesty it surprised her, but had she spoken out Makoto
doubted her suspicions would have been the ones the others might have
guessed at.
Rei and Minako were also aware of the shift in mood between the
pair, but they were too busy with their hangovers to really take it
in.
"I'm dead," Minako moaned as Haruka and Ami joined them. She
looked it too. Her eyes were heavy and a little reddened, and she was
slumped over the low table like a narcoleptic ferret. Her hair, now
unbound, had spread out over both her and the tabletop like a short
blonde cape, her hands hanging limply at her sides.
Rei seemed to be faring even worse. She lay back with her head in
Makoto's lap, a cloth over her eyes as she tried to ward out the
result of that night's excesses. Makoto just stroked the girl's hair
gently, slipping easily into the role of carer now that she was
needed. Makoto herself seemed to have fared much better, as Ami and
Haruka had, but the bags under her eyes showed she had not escaped
entirely unscathed.
The five of them picked at their cooling food but Minako, Rei and
Ami didn't seem very hungry. "Ehh," Minako grimaced as she tried to
chew a spoonful of the fruit-topped porridge, her pounding head never
once leaving the table. "I can't eat anything."
Her eyes roamed across the tabletop as she tried to see how the
others were managing, but without actually making the effort to move.
"You had enough fun last night Ami-chan," she said when she saw her
friend picking at her bowl. "What's your excuse?"
Ami stuttered but tried to keep her composure. 'If only you knew
how true that was,' she thought.
"It w-was all that rich food I think," she eventually replied
when she trusted herself to speak again. "All that meat has turned my
stomach a little."
"I know what you mean," Rei replied from Makoto's lap, looking a
little paler.
Minako nodded from the tabletop. "It was great wasn't it? I
haven't eaten like that since I was in England."
Makoto and Haruka had to agree. It was a real luxury and
thankfully the both of them had managed to enjoy it without suffering
the same fate as Ami and Rei.
"Maybe," Rei replied, "but with a thumping headache and a
demonette that's having too much fun with it I really don't need the
extra problem."
"Just let it go Rei-chan," Makoto soothed. "She's gone for a bit
anyway, so you can enjoy your hangover in peace."
Rei just groaned but did as she was told. She didn't have the
energy to argue.
"Where is she then?" Ami asked. Rei was sensible enough to make
sure Desir didn't do anything stupid, but it was still something of a
worry.
"I told her to scout this place out," Rei replied. "Maybe she can
find our stuff, or find out what they're planning for us."
"Yeah," Minako said, finally sitting back up. "It feels like that
Lord guy's just waiting to hit us with the other slipper."
Haruka chuckled along with the others, but it was a genuine worry
of hers as well. "True, I got some real shoe dropping vibes myself."
"Come on guys," Makoto said as she stroked Rei's raven hair.
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. If this lord wants to make us
comfortable we might as well enjoy it while we don't have any other
choice. Besides, maybe he knows someone who can get us home."
"Hmm," Minako nodded, "maybe." Then with a dramatic flair she
toppled over into Haruka's lap. "Pleeeease Haruka-kun, can I get some
hair stroking too? Rei-chan looks so comfy."
Haruka chuckled and indulged the blonde in her lap, but for some
reason it wasn't quite as entertaining as it should have been, and
Makoto didn't miss Ami's expression as the girl tried not to think
anything of it.
***
Lord Himora watched with tired eyes as the servant girl ladled
his midday meal into the bowl beside his bed. He could only wonder
what she would have done if she had known she was feeding him the
very same thing that kept him invalid.
"Kaori," he croaked out, "are those proletarians still outside
the manor?"
The girl nodded as she finished serving her master's meal,
smiling when he used her name. "Yes my Lord. I am told there are a
few more than there were yesterday."
Himora sighed heavily as his head rested back onto his pillow.
"What did you make of Damyo's thoughts girl?" he asked. "Does he
share their fascination with these girls?"
Kaori looked away. "I would not presume to speak the Comte's mind,
Lord."
Himora game a small smile at her reticence. "Then what of that
intuition of yours, girl? Why would these children be worth such
attention?"
Kaori thought back to the few times she had seen them, mostly at
the dinner where she had performed as Damyo's serving girl. "I cannot
say why the people would think them such a spectacle, Lord. I have
not heard why they would congregate here, but the girls are certainly
uncommon. Though a couple of them seemed childish in their interests
they all have the bearing of the young adults that they are, if not
more so."
"Go on," Himora urged. He wanted to know as much as he could
about these people. Especially since Damyo had taken such an interest
in them.
"Well," Kaori continued, though with a little hesitation, "while
the clothes they favour are so different they seem very much a group
of their own. Even at dinner with the Comte their attention was upon
each other and their own concerns more than their host."
"They did not enjoy his company?"
Kaori shook her head. "No, they enjoyed themselves very much,
especially because of the wine, but they simply seemed...
disconnected. They have a profound link between them, some more so
than others I felt, and they were wary of letting others too close.
That one girl the Comte seemed most interested in, the alchemist, was
especially careful. She gave out only the most basic information when
asked, and even then was wary, but they all supported each other in
what little they said. The Comte seemed not to mind that they were
not forthcoming though."
Himora smiled at that. "And they let him talk on to entertain
them, so that he would not feel the need to probe them further
because they were enjoying his hospitality. They are either astute
when it comes to gauging a man or lucky that they have the
temperament to lead him around."
Kaori didn't say anything to that. She knew that her master
didn't like the Comte these days, but she kept her thoughts close to
her. As she was meant to.
"So Kaori," Himora finally asked, "you do not believe that they
are as different as their appearances would suggest?"
"No Lord," she replied. "I would guess that they have known each
other for a long time or have experienced a lot of hardship together.
Their bond is very solid, and from what I have heard they have been
wary of everyone; the soldiers and the Comte alike. I do not know why
they would dress as they do, but that is what I believe."
"Perhaps they have their own plans that require such diversions,"
Himora mused. "Such is the world we live in now when even young women
such as they must plot. In any case, you have humoured this old
invalid long enough girl," he said with a smile. "You will be
attending Damyo's next meal with these guests?"
Kaori nodded. "I believe so my Lord."
"Good. Once you have, return to me. I would like to know more of
them."
"As you wish my Lord," Kaori said with a deep bow before leaving,
worried over how her master had sounded a moment before. Lord Himora
had rarely been one to worry over plots and schemes before, or show
such worry over the state of his province. His illness must have been
worse that she had thought.
Then, unseen beneath the Margrave's bed, Desir slipped back
through the floor and under the house, listening to the province's
ruler as he muttered to himself over his situation. This was a new
twist, and the demonette couldn't wait to find out just what was
going on between the old poisoned fool and their arrogant host.
***
"Still, my friends," Damyo said as he and the lost Senshi sat
together again that evening, "even you must admit that your party is
not as innocuous as you first appear. You sit before me as
intelligent and well versed company, and yet as I have heard that
your power is impressive. Through your prowess, both martial and
magical, you resisted my guards with little effort, and one of the
poor men has yet to recover." He looked pointedly at Haruka, who had
resumed her act of the carefree bodyguard.
The look Haruka gave him in return was both relaxed and one of
warning. "You flatter us in spite of your men's fate," she replied
carefully. "Their skill was impressive. If it were not we would not
be receiving your gracious hospitality."
Damyo's smile was just as careful and calculated as Haruka's.
While the young man he thought he talked to seemed to pay no mind to
the violence they had all been a part of, the young girls were
obviously worried. It was not a topic they liked, or - even better -
the origin of their skill was what discomforted them. "True. That
would appear to be your only failing, boy. To take it upon yourself
to protect all four of your girls alone..." His smile grew a small,
feral edge to it. It seemed they both liked the challenge in each
other's words. "Still your courage is admirable."
"And Haruka-san's intent is above question," Ami jumped in. "We
are not defenceless Lord Damyo, but we are honoured by Haruka-san's
loyalty and trust."
The other three nodded. "That's right," Makoto added, feeling
proud of her friends and what they had achieved. "We were outnumbered
and unarmed. I feel for the man that has not recovered, but our
defeat was one I am proud to have survived with my friends."
A small twinkle appeared in Rei's eye as Desir whispered to her
from inside her head. "Surely you agree Lord, that defending our
lives empty handed and un-armoured is the mark of the most honourable
bodyguard."
Damyo's surprise showed only briefly, but Haruka caught it before
the noble restored his composure. She hadn't been able to stop the
soldier herself, but on hearing those words from the girls she
couldn't help but feel that - even if she had failed in the duty she
had given herself - it had been enough after all. Maybe more than
enough.
"You are of course correct young lady," Daymo said to Rei, bowing
his head slightly. "I would expect the same of any guard or slave of
mine." He spared a slight glance to Kaori on his right, and as they
followed his glance he noticed the cracks appear in the smile on the
buxom vagabond, Makoto, and her gaze lingered longer than that of her
friends. Despite her rough charm he would have to keep an eye on her
after all regardless of the company she kept, just like all her kind.
"And of course," Damyo eventually continued, "None of my solders
were slain, despite their injuries. A testament to each of your
skills."
Rei could see where this was going, and she had also noticed the
attention he had paid to their reactions to his servant. The less
they had to say about themselves the better. "So Miss," she said
addressing the slave directly, "your master would ask you to lay down
your life for him, even though you would not have the means to
protect yourself."
There was a silence before Damyo said, "Come girl, you may answer
the question."
Kaori nodded. "No Lady, his Lordship would not ask me. I would do
my duty whether asked on not."
Minako seemed to think about that and both Damyo and the slave
noticed the unusual calmness that fell on her. "Even though you
couldn't win?"
Kaori nodded. "Even such a brief delay as I could provide may be
enough to protect my Lord and Master."
Rei smiled, realising something she had read in her first weeks
in Seiji. "Who is this Lord? You are not attending to him, or have
you yet to be sold to Lord Damyo? You do not defer to him correctly
to be his."
Kaori remained silent, as she was supposed to at times like these,
and Damyo answered. Now he was convinced that at least one of these
girls was of noble birth. "Your mind is as sharp as your eyes I see.
Kaori is indeed not my property, but that of the Margrave himself,"
Daymo said, puffing himself up slightly. "His Lordship Himora has
taken ill, and I have put every resource within my disposal to aiding
his recovery. This girl does still attend him of course, but his
Lordship has generously given me dispensation to make use of her. She
is a most accomplished one, is she not?"
Rei nodded, the others not knowing quite how best to react.
"Indeed, she performs as befits a servant of the Margrave himself. We
are honoured that you should bring her to your table. Please, give
the Margrave our most humble wishes for his health, and thank him for
allowing Kaori to serve us."
Damyo's smile beamed at them. "Then I shall do so. Perhaps in the
future, should you take a liking to her, I might be convinced to
speak with his Lordship on your behalf. Though it is all I require of
her, I am told that table service is only one of many services she
can perform with such skill."
Rei bowed her head. "You are most gracious and generous in your
offer Lord Damyo."
"Not at all. Though our method of meeting was undesirable you
have shown to be pleasant and talented guests, much beyond my
expectation," he said, lying through his teeth. He had known exactly
what to expect, and offering to put the slave at their disposal was
just another incentive to keep them in his household.
Still, Rei had done what she had intended. She thought that, not
only were they finding their way into Damyo's good books, they had
neatly avoided the topic of their powers or origins altogether.
Little did Damyo know just how much vested interest they all had in
leaving, but what was the harm in one more potential source of
information?
***
"Hey girls," Haruka said as she poked her head around the door of
their room. "The guards are gone."
They hadn't seen anyone so far that day aside from when another
servant had brought them their lunch. It was already starting to get
dark outside, but with no-one to bring them dinner they were getting
more than a little hungry.
Except for Ami that was. The poor girl had eaten lightly again
the day before, but still looked green around the gills even so.
"Maybe Damyo is more trusting than we thought," she replied, ignoring
the plaintive sounds of their rumbling stomachs.
"So, that's nice and all," Minako said, "but are we just supposed
to go looking for someone to ask for food? Prison's not supposed to
be self service!"
Haruka sighed. "Minako-chan, that is my point. We are prisoners,
but the guards are missing. If we want to get out, now would be as
good a time as any."
Makoto nodded in agreement, but Ami wasn't so sure. "But how sure
are we that being here won't help us?" She looked up at Haruka and
tried to smile through her nausea. "I don't trust him any more than
you do Haruka-san, but with a little work he might be able to provide
much more help in finding something for us."
Minako huffed as Ami and Haruka stared uncomfortably at each
other, both trying and failing to concede each other's point. What
was wrong with those two? "Okay, how about we vote on it. Hands up
for everyone who wants to stay."
Minako, Ami and Rei all raised their hands. "Okay," Mikano beamed,
"The 'Aye want to stays' have it!"
Haruka nodded and sat back down against the door, but Makoto
still looked very unhappy with the situation. "Come on guys, I don't
care if it's comfortable here. It'll take forever to get anything out
of this Lord guy, and he might be a dead end too. At least if we're
free we can keep hunting if we don't turn up anything."
"Actually it's a tie," Rei suddenly said. "Desir wants out, not
least because she hasn't had a proper meal since we got here." Then
the raven haired shrine maiden groaned. "And apparently all the
guards have been called to a riot on the west side of the manor, so
we have an easy escape."
'Thanks for letting us know so promptly there, you wretched
little fireball,' she thought.
Desir just seemed to smile inside her mind. 'Anything to oblige!'
Minako just looked crestfallen. "I guess democracy doesn't work
after all. So what do we do?"
Haruka pulled her head back from another peek past the door. "Ask
that slave perhaps?"
They all looked up to see Kaori come to a stop outside their door.
"While it is not my place to say," she said with a bow, "my Lord has
no vested interest in you, unlike the Comte. If you truly are friends
with the nomads then your rescuer is bound to arrive shortly, so you
should gather your possessions."
Makoto blinked in astonishment. "The nomads are here? For us?"
"You most specifically," Kaori replied, "given your dress. Even
though you are not one of them, are you?"
Makoto gave the woman a curious look. "Not technically I guess.
How do you know?"
"Intuition. Good luck on your travels, whoever you all are," she
said before turning to leave.
"Wait," Makoto called, "you could come with us you know. You
could become a nomad, and you wouldn't have to live like this any
more."
"Yeah," Minako spoke up, "get yourself your own life instead of
living someone else's for them!"
Kaori shook her head. "I know of their history, but this is my
place, as it has been since my mother bore me. I would not wish for
another. Goodbye travellers."
Makoto just looked on after her, surprised by what she had just
been told. Why could that woman have wanted to be a slave? She was
tempted to run after her and convince her there was something better
outside this manor, but she supposed the answer would always be the
same.
"Weird," Minako added to Makoto's thoughts. "So what, we just
wait to get rescued?"
"Well," Rei said, "if we're going then let's go already."
The others nodded and one by one the slipped out into the
corridor. "Are you going to be okay Ami-chan?" Haruka asked, noticing
Ami's grimace as she got to her feet.
"I'll be fine," Ami replied, holding a hand to her abdomen.
"Thank you, Haruka-san. Of all the times to get an upset stomach,
huh?"
However, they were barely out into the hallway before they saw
the cloaked figure that stalked around the corner towards them.
Haruka and Minako readied themselves, but as soon as he saw them the
man pulled back his hood and called to them. "Makoto!"
"Jiyu!?" Makoto replied. One surprise was following another today.
"What are you doing here?"
The young man approached and, to their surprise, gave Makoto a
hug which she returned enthusiastically. "Saving you of course!" he
replied. "Come on, give me your bags. We'll do the introductions
later."
Despite their various weak protests the handsome young man
grabbed their bags from their hands before leading them back the way
he had come. "Our diversion won't last long," he said as they ran,
"but I've got horses waiting for you outside."
"Great," Makoto grinned. "Glad to see you're as well prepared as
always Jiyu."
"That may be," Haruka said, her natural wariness of this new man
evident in her voice, "but only one of us can ride, remember?"
"No problem," Jiyo replied. "I'll send the fourth back to the
diversion party and we'll all double up. I'll lead the pair that
can't ride. It's only a couple of miles to our caravans."
"Caravans?" Rei asked. "How many people did you bring?"
"Everyone," he replied. "Travelling is what we do, remember?"
Down the next corridor Rei stopped them all and lead them off
down a smaller passage. "The armoury is this way. We can get the rest
of our things."
Makoto blinked. "How do you know that?"
Rei just gave her a dry look. "How do you think?"
When they got there Jiyu just stared at it all for a moment.
"Would you look at that..."
The room was packed wall to wall with armour of various types,
pikes, swords, bows and arrows and even a couple of immense axes.
Almost half of what should have been there was missing, taken to
subdue the riot no doubt, but it was still an impressive stock.
"Alright! My scimitars!" Minako exclaimed as she rummaged through
the bags at the back of the room, while Rei pulled on her harness,
chose herself a new bow and snatched as many arrows as her quiver
could carry.
"Petty theft," Ami sighed. "This must be a new low for this
trip."
"It can't be helped," Makoto said, laying a friendly hand on
Ami's shoulder. "After this we had better be prepared."
"Hey Ami-chan," Minako called, "back at that village you said you
wanted to try a crossbow right?"
She held up the large device, but Jiyu's voice stopped her. "No,
go for the smaller one. It's lighter and easier to reload. A bow
would be a much better choice though."
"That's okay," Ami replied, reluctantly taking the weapon. "I
just need something easy to use."
Jiyu cut the looting short once he had filled several bags, and
he passed the girls' clothing sacks back to them so he could carry
everything he had pilfered. Either the nomads could use it or sell it
on, but either way he said it was worth his time.
However, the time that had taken to equip themselves was time
that they didn't have to spare. The crowd on the other side of the
huge manor house was fading away and the nomads who had instigated it
had long since slipped away and were waiting for the sign from their
comrade inside. After such a commotion any soldier could have been
forgiven for not wanting any more nonsense from the proletarians, and
least of all from the prisoners he might stumble across as he checked
the grounds.
"Halt! One move and I put a bolt through your head!"
The escaping sextet froze to see the crossbow wielding guard, his
short blade already in his hand as he aimed his weapon. They all
raised their hands, several of them glaring daggers at the soldier
and trying to think up a way out.
All except Rei. She was tired of being harassed. Tired of putting
up the formal front for their host because she was the only one who
had read up on the etiquette. Tired of the restless nights, dreaming
of what her demonette might do. And most of all tired of being afraid
to act the way she wanted to in case someone found out her sorcerous
secret.
Back home this was the time she would run away from the shrine
and waste the day on ice cream and boy-watching at the Crown with as
many friends as she could convince to come with her, even if she
would regret spending most of her money later on.
But there was no Crown, no ice cream and any boys she found here
she would have to say goodbye to in the end. She just had her friends,
who had helped her so much, and her demonette, who had fractured her
faith and made so much of this trip her own personal hell.
And she had her bow.
Mars was gone, but Rei could take her place.
Rei's feet shifted in an instant, and her bow was raised and her
arrow notched before the guard had time to take aim. It was her
instinct that made her hesitate. Could she really fire at this man?
Even if he intended to kill her, could she put him down and still
live with herself? What would the others think? What would her
grandfather think?
Her arrow left her hand the second the guard's bolt was loosed
from his crossbow and for a split second time seemed to slow down.
Rei was good, but Mars had been better. Something in the change gave
her more skill with her flame sniper than Rei could ever master with
a simple bow in her own two hands. Her arrow pierced the side of the
soldiers helmet, slicing a furrow down his temple, but his own bolt
had been dead on target.
Rei closed her eyes, knowing she had failed. She so desperately
wanted something to save her, but even her faith in her fire was no
longer sturdy. And even if it was, it was not faith that granted
wishes. She just had to accept the inevitable and hope her friends
knew how much she loved them. She cringed as she felt the metal bite
into the skin between her eyes.
And stop there.
Slowly, very slowly, she opened her eyes. There in front of her
the soldier stood petrified, stuttering as terror overcame him, and
next to her stood Desir, the bolt burning in her clenched fist.
The demonette looked over her shoulder to Rei and gave her a sly
grin. "You rang, dear?"
"S-S-Sor..Sor..." The soldier tripped backwards as one of the
magical monsters of old turned to face him, a vicious smile upon her
face.
Jiyu himself was shaking in fear, but Makoto grabbed his
shoulders and stared into his eyes. "Jiyu, listen to me okay, she's
on our side. Whatever you think, you have to trust me, okay?"
The young man just nodded, but his wide eyes never left the
burning orange female that Rei had conjured up.
"You know," Desir said as the guard scrambled to get away, "we
can't let him go. If people found out about us..."
Rei already knew the answer. She had no desire to be hunted down
and put to death in any way, let alone the ones reserved for people
such as her. She notched another arrow to her bow and fired, but by
now the man was too far and her shot went wide.
"Come one Rei..." Desir wheedled. "Pleeeeease?"
"Wait," Ami said, "you mean..."
Rei's gaze just fell to the ground. She felt sick in the pit of
her stomach, but Desir was right. "Just go. Make it quick."
Desir clasped her hands to her bosom in glee before turning to
the fleeing man, that vicious smile back on her face. He was thirty
feet away, but the others watched in morbid fascination as Desir
closed the gap in one enormous leap and fell upon her prey, her body
dissolving into a conflagration that consumed the man in seconds. He
could only let out a single scream of pain before his life was gone
and Desir was left to burn his fallen body with relish.
None of the others spoke for a moment, but despite Jiyu's fear
Makoto had spoken true. For now they were safe, but that wouldn't
last after the soldier's scream. "We have to go. Now." He let out a
whistle and the four horses he had brought appeared from the scrub
behind the rear of the manor. Strangely they seemed far less
disturbed by the sight of Desir than any of the others, but Jiyu just
counted it as one of his blessings.
He mounted the horse in one move and offered his hand. "Makoto."
Makoto just looked back to see Rei. The poor girl looked tired
and worried, but even so she was looking up at one of the horses,
trying to ignore what had just happened.
Rei just sighed, then with determination she hauled herself up to
sit astride the horse. "How hard can it be?" she asked out loud. Her
voice sounded angrier than she meant it to, but she just set her mind
to trying to keep the animal where she wanted it.
Makoto smiled. "I'm riding with her," she said before running
over and, with a little help, mounting the horse behind Rei.
Minako leapt into the saddle like a natural, and Ami accepted
Jiyu's hand. At least if she was going to have to ride she wanted to
get as gentle and professional a trip as possible. Once Haruka had
taken her seat behind Minako, Jiyu set the pace and the three horses
managed to leave with only a few arrows shot their way as the other
guards found their escape route.
"What about Desir?" Makoto asked as she clung to Rei's middle.
"She'll be back soon enough," Rei replied. She's not stupid
enough to get caught. The pair rode in silence for a while, close to
Jiyu and Ami as Rei tried to get the hang of the reins.
"Mako-chan," she eventually said. "Thanks."
Makoto just gave Rei's middle an affectionate squeeze. "Any
time."
On the other side of the group Minako was letting herself
remember what it was like to be back in the saddle, and had taken
them a little way from the others.
"Haruka-san," she asked, "she turned you down, didn't she?"
Haruka paused in confusion. "What?"
"Ami-chan," Minako said. "She turned you down, didn't she?" It
wasn't really a question, and they both knew it.
"How did you know?" Haruka asked.
"I'm the Senshi of love, remember? She did, didn't she."
Haruka nodded. "Yes."
Minako let a sad smile onto her face. "I wouldn't."
***
To Be Continued...
***
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