Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon! I’d really enjoy rewriting the script though…
Thoughts ‘…’
Speaking “…”
Minako sighed and looked around the party. It had been for her, but she truly didn’t feel welcome. There were too many stuffy nobles. There were some people her own age; however they were snobby and spoilt. Some young men tried to flirt and try to earn her favor. Minako was too clever for their attempts for power and influence.
Her mother had her dance with some of the young men present. She failed to enjoy any of them, because seated against the wall was her new friend wearing the same black dress from this morning. Minako couldn’t be happy when Hotaru looked so lonely. She left a young noble during a self-promotion, who didn’t notice that he was alone.
Hotaru kept her eyes on the floor. As a slave, she knew better than to meet anyone’s eyes. She didn’t want to make Minako look bad. Then, a familiar pair of shoes entered her view. They were familiar because Minako had made her help decide which ones to wear. She looked upward into the eyes of her master and friend. Minako pulled her to her feet and they left together.
Hotaru was led all the way to back to Minako’s room. From there, Minako led her out to the balcony. The music from the party could still be heard. The blond princess looked at her friend seriously. “Have you ever danced before?” Hotaru shook her head. Minako sighed and placed one of Hotaru’s hands on her shoulder and the other she took in her hand. Then, she led her friend in a simple waltz.
They danced for hours and strangely, no one but a certain sandy-blond captain noticed Minako was gone from the party. However, she wasn’t going to mention it to anyone. She had seen the small smile on the dark-haired girl. It was one she recognized.
Minako yawned as she pulled her nightgown on. Hotaru was examining a blank wall on the opposite side of the room, blushing profusely. Minako smoothed out the silk garment and turned towards her friend. “Hotaru? It’s okay. You can look now.” Hotaru let out a relieved sigh and turned to face the blonde. “Wait a minute. Didn’t they give you anything to wear for bed?”
Hotaru shook her head and quickly added: “That’s all right I’ll probably get something when I get to the servants’ quarters.”
Minako’s jaw dropped at the thought of the girl leaving. “Nonsense! You’re my friend and I intend to show you how much I care. Besides, I’ll worry about you and not get any sleep.” Hotaru opened up her mouth to argue, as she realized the alternative to the servants’ quarters. However, Minako was already digging through her drawers. She had a triumphant look on her face as she pulled out a silky, black night gown.
She expects me to wear that! Hotaru accepted the garment without argument. She struggled with one of the buttons on her dress. She then noticed Minako looking at her.
Minako blushed and blurted out: “Sorry! I’ll just turn around…” She quickly turned around went to the window. Hotaru wondered if the windows would reflect, but the room was dim. She quickly changed and Minako turned around without signal. Her face was slightly flushed.
Hotaru addressed the next issue: “Where do I…?” She let it hang in the air, waiting for reply.
Minako laughed. “In the bed, silly…” As if to demonstrate, she slid under the covers and patted the empty spot next to her on the large four post bed. Hotaru gulped at the suggestive invitation and got in next to her. Minako scooted over to give her room and smiled. She laid her head on the pillow and sighed contentedly. “Good night, Hotaru. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Oh, and sweet dreams.” She closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Hotaru couldn’t go to sleep so easily. This was her first time in such a comfortable bed. It was soft and smooth. Not to mention, there was someone sharing it. Everywhere she slept it was far from everyone else, be it floor, rug or couch. Now she was in an expensive bed with someone she had only known for a day. Although she was somewhat uncomfortable, she trusted the princess. She had given her everything and made her feel safe and… embarrassed. She was always saying nice things about her and complimenting her. It made her feel special. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep.
That night Minako had a dream. She was dancing again. This time she was dancing with Haruka. He looked dashing in his ceremonial uniform. He was smiling as they swept through an empty ballroom. Suddenly, the music stopped and Haruka looked into her eyes and began to lean forward. Minako tensed, but closed her eyes. The kiss was soft. As their bodies moved closer, Minako felt something strange. There were breasts on Haruka. Shocked, she opened her eyes. She gasped as she saw a pair of violet eyes staring lovingly into her own. The sight of a blushing Hotaru woke her up.
In reality, she noticed that she was in fact very close to her friend. Close enough to kiss. Minako relaxed. Then, she sighed. ‘My first kiss and I’m not conscious for it.’ It never bothered her that it was Hotaru. ‘She’s really beautiful when she’s asleep.’
The next day Minako’s lessons continued, but she did not go alone. Together, they covered history, math, grammer, literature, and the humanities. Hotaru remained silent throughout the lessons, but once Minako was doing her homework, she became a veritable fountain of knowledge. With her help, Minako finished her homework quickly. They spent the rest of the day having fun.
Hotaru’s trust in Minako grew stronger everyday. She finally felt happy. Someone cared for her, wanted to know her. The inquisitive blonde kept asking her opinion, as if it actually mattered. She was slowing unraveling the defenses she had put up. They had so quickly been replaced after she had left Serenity’s service. Minako made her feel so comfortable and so uncomfortable at the same time. It confused her. What was it she was feeling? It seemed similar to her friendship with Serenity, but very different. First of all, she didn’t share a bed with her! It was hard to sleep sometimes, and every now and then she would catch Minako watching her sleep. At first, it was creepy, but it quickly became comforting to have someone watching over her.
They did almost everything together. She still refused to bathe with Minako. Just thinking about it made her blush profusely. Other than that, she enjoyed every moment of her service with Minako. She had more freedom than ever. She got to read by ‘getting books for Minako’ (Minako let go her alone to avoid her tutors). She ate well and got plenty of sleep. No one ever bothered her because they knew what the chocker meant. Until that one day…
Hotaru was on her way back from the library after getting more books. She had found a particularly interesting love story to read about. Minako loved romance stories. She always asked Hotaru read them out loud to her. She would always giggle at the mushy parts.
Her thinking was interrupted by the sound of footsteps following her. She kept walking, thinking it to be another servant going about their business. She began to feel anxious as they kept following her. The hallway was abandoned and her anxiety became fear as her pace hastened. The thud of the boots behind her quickened and her pursuer caught up.
Before she could make a corner, someone grabbed her by the arm and slammed her into the wall. Then, she had her arms pinned to her side by strong arms. As she struggled against her attacker, she heard him whisper: “remember me?” Horrified, she looked over her shoulder and saw the face of the blonde recruit who Minako had defended her from. She let out a scream, which was quickly silenced by another blow to the head. Hotaru felt the world spinning and she could barely say anything. The blonde recruit grabbed her tiny wrists in one hand. She let out a gasp as she felt a hand on her breast. “I can have you whenever I want.” His hand went lowered and started to move under her dress. Then, there was the sound of a door opening. The young man cursed and whispered harshly: “Don’t tattle, or I’ll get both of you.” He dropped her and ran off.
Hotaru laid there for a few minutes until her head cleared. Tears formed in her eyes as she collected her books and got back on her feet. She ran all the way back to Minako’s room.
“Welcome back, Hotaru,” Minako said from her seat at the table. When she saw Hotaru standing in tears at the door, she immediately went to her and wrapped her in a hug. “What’s wrong?” She began to stroke Hotaru’s head when she noticed her hand was wet. She looked at it and saw a smear of blood. “What happened? Are you alright?” The hug was broken off as Minako began to inspect her friend.
Hotaru tried to put it off as nothing. “I’m fine. I had an accident.” She remembered the young man’s threat. She didn’t want to endanger Minako. She would do anything for the princess, suffer anything for her.
Minako cleansed the small cut and examined the knot that was forming. “That must have been quite some hit you took.” She noticed the bruises on the face and how Hotaru was covering her chest as if she was ashamed. She noticed the pained look in her violet eyes. That look had been slowly going away and it had returned. This couldn’t have just been an accident. She gently placed a hand on Hotaru’s chin and raised her eyes to meet hers. “Who did this to you?” Hotaru looked shocked.
I can’t tell her… I don’t want her to get hurt. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with some lie. It hurt her inside to even attempt this.
Minako gave her a small reassuring smile and said: “It doesn’t matter who it is. I’m sorry for not being there to protect you, but I can now. Only if you tell me who.” Minako softly stroked her hand as her penetrating gaze warded off all lies.
“It was the blonde boy you put to work in the stables; the one who was flirting with me.” She said as tears began to flow anew. Minako embraced her once again and stroked her back soothingly. Minako gazed at the wall with anger.
I gave him a second chance and he attacks Hotaru! He will pay! Minako felt ashamed that she had let her friend get groped and hit by someone she had let stay in the castle. It was her fault. She would have to take care of that later. Now, she was going to stay with Hotaru until her tears dried.
Once Hotaru had settled down, Minako put her to bed and sent for Haruka. She wasn’t going to let this go unpunished, even if she was overstepping her boundaries.
End Chapter 3
Am I evil for treating Hotaru this way? Don’t worry this punk’s gonna get it. Minako’ll take care of it. Do you like how I do Minako and Hotaru? I’m really concerned about that since they’re the focus of the story…
Another important piece of imformation… Haruka is a WOMAN in this story. I really like gender changing when it involves women characters. I think it’s just a way of avoiding shoujo-ai writing. (I don’t mean to sound that offensive.)
Thanks for the reviews thus far. Please feed my ego! (It makes the evil chocobos in my head turn the hamster wheel in my head.)