A.N: To clarify, Chibi-Usa is ten years old, Hotaru’s twelve, the Inners are twenty-four. Fiore, Endymion, Michiru and Harucka are twenty-seven. Setsuna and Serenity refused to tell me how old they were, explaining me that a lady should NOT be asked these kinds of things, to which I readily agreed since I wanted to stay alive... NO! Not the ruler on the fingers! Ow!!! TT Wolves don’t hide in the woods... It’s full of bugs! From a high window, the executioner watched with emotionless eyes the ogress and the servant hurrying on their quest. She didn’t turn around as she said “They must be stopped. I don’t care how, but do it quickly. You have carte blanche.” The tall humanoid behind her smirked, executed an elaborate salute with their hat and left, making their cape swirl stylishly behind them. Then, the executioner left the room too, walked down a steep, endless staircase, stopped in the kitchen, grabbed a tray of food, came out in the open inner court and headed to the massive dungeon. She took the time to look up at the impossibly high tower before entering it and climbing the spiralling stairs, all the while wondering why princesses always had to be locked up at the top of dungeons. She hoped apparently randomly, avoiding some steps, bent sometimes to avoid cutting rays of light, seemed to disappear in the shadows at some point only to reappear higher on the stairs, seemingly out of nowhere. At least, she was the one who had been put in charge to booby trap the building. She knew all of them... Finally, she reached the top floor and opened a metal-reinforced wooden door that wasn’t even locked... She looked the room over. It was where the daughter’s prince was held prisoner by the cardinal. The prince didn’t even know she was there. He didn’t even know he had a daughter anymore... At least, it was quite decent. Actually, it was probably the warmest and cosiest place of the whole castle since she had taken up the post of executioner, four years ago. That was when she had met her only true friend, the princess, for the first time. The younger girl had seen right through her hood. The little princess had seen the loneliness the dark executioner hid behind it and over the time, the two young girls had developed the most unlikely friendship. Of course, no one knew about it, least of all the cardinal, she had been very careful about that. Anyway, nobody cared to come up there. High, trapped dungeons had some advantages, she had to admit... Since then, Hotaru had brought candles of all sizes and colours, thick carpets, heavy curtains, piles of cushions, do-it-yourself furniture. She had even managed to have a fireplace made. Of course, the builder had had to be taken care of afterwards, but it was worth it. It was chilly up there! She had even spent some of her week-ends repainting the bloody and dark walls in white with the help of the princess. She smiled at the memory of a pink-haired girl covered with white spots, laughing happily. Speaking of the princess, where was she? Hotaru set the tray on the table and crossed the living room and opened the bedroom door. It was decorated much in the same way as the previous room. The pink-haired girl was leaning against the window. She turned at her friend’s entrance. “Is it done?” She asked sadly. Hotaru just nodded. “Was it really necessary? This Michiru seemed to be a nice ogress, for what you told me. Maybe she could help us. And Donkey Pelt isn’t able to stand up without tripping, much less rescuing some princess. And would you have really hurt Puu?” The executioner looked at her sadly. The younger woman was so innocent, so compassionate. That was why she had to be strong for her, to be able to protect her. “I am sorry, small lady, you know I would never do that. But we can’t afford to let them endanger our plans. If this wedding is realised, the revolution will never succeed and you will never be recognised as the true heir to the throne.” Chibi-Usa stepped forward and hugged her only friend, burying her head in her shoulder. “You know that I don’t care about it... All I want is to be free, with you...” The dark-haired girl hugged her back, tightly. “I know, but it will never happen as long as the cardinal Fiore’s alive and have your father under his spell. Besides, we already know that Fiore plans to dispose of princess Minako if she ever marries your father. We can’t let that happen either...” ----------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, the cardinal was having a hard time keeping his temper in check. “This wedding will never be!” He almost yelled, jealousy dripping from every word. “This castle is mine, this kingdom is mine and more importantly, Endymion is MINE!!!” His only audience, a kneeling woman clad in leather armour shuddered upon hearing how venomous his tone was. She sincerely pitied whoever would dare to stand in the cardinal’s way. He walked to his desk, picked up a small leather purse and threw it to the mercenary. “You!” He barked. “Take those magic beans. Use them wisely for it took me a lot of power to make them. I want the ogress and the slave dead! Do I make myself clear?” She swallowed nervously. “Yes, Milord.” Fiore walked up to her. He reached out and idly ran his hand through her green hair, so much like his. “Succeed, and your reward will be past all your hopes...” His hold on her hair tightened and he pulled her roughly to her feet to meet his eyes. “... Fail, and death will be too sweet of a punishment for you!” “Yes, Milord!!!” She managed to squeak out and as soon as she was released, she all but fled the room. ---------------------------------------------------------------- A few hours later and Michiru had discovered that Donkey Pelt was more persistent than concrete and that there was no way she would get rid of her. Similarly, trying to avoid any physical contact with the walking bacteriological threat was wishful thinking! The girl was the clumsiest creature she had ever met. How could a specie produce such a specimen and still not be extinct yet? It was as if every root, every stone and even her own feet were members of a world machination whose only purpose was to make her trip and fall on the poor ogress. Michiru was in dire need for a bath. In addition, Donkey Pelt proved to be able to babble about anything, relentlessly. Michiru considered herself as a fairly sociable, patient and polite ogress but even her had limits. A hell of a headache was steadily building up in her poor skull. And things had considerably worsened when the heel of one of her precious stilettos broke. To sum up, Michiru was about to explode. “Hum, Miss Michiru? What did Setsuna mean, your heart desire?” The question caused Michiru to stop so abruptly that Donkey Pelt, who was walking just behind her, slammed in her at full speed. They both lost their balance and fell forward, rolling down a hill in a tangle of limbs and cries of pain and fear. As she rolled, Michiru noticed that the slope ended up on a cliff. Out of instinct, she grabbed the other girl and as they were launched in the air, she threw Donkey Pelt back on the hill with all her strength, and then braced herself for her fatal fall... ... Only to splash down in a filthy marsh a few meters lower. A stupefied silence fell on the woods. Without a word, the young ogress covered in mud and aquatic plants slowly stood up. She uselessly dusted herself, walked back up to where the servant was still sitting, the eyes of the donkey head still spiralling. When the probably human girl recovered, she jumped in fear when she saw Michiru towering above her. “Ack! The swamp monster!!!” She yelled, trying frantically to stand up to run away. Michiru grabbed her by the collar and brought her to her face. “Donkey Pelt! Enough of your silliness!!! It’s me, Michiru!” The young human calmed down instantaneously. Michiru saw a bright smile flash under the horrendous pelt. “Michiru! You saved my life! I owe you my life in return! I’ll follow you everywhere until I can pay you back!!!” And she glomped the ogress in a bone-crashing hug. Michiru wanted to groan. Michiru wanted to cry. Michiru wanted to deny everything. “Say, Michiru, why are you covered in mud? Did you have a skin beauty treatment?” Donkey Pelt asked cheerfully. That was when Michiru realised that everything she wanted was irrelevant. She gently lowered the smaller girl and with as much dignity as she could muster given the circumstances, she asked, very slowly. “Donkey Pelt, do you know of any clean inn with a well-equipped bathroom and nice, bug-free beds anywhere near here?” “Sure, there’s one not too far from here in Juuban Town. That’s the best in the whole kingdom!” Eyes sparkled. “Great food too!” “Let’s get there, then...” Concealed by the vegetation, the slitted dark blue eyes of a predator thoroughly studied them, lingering on the ogress’s heavenly built figure in particular. A.N: No, Hotaru and Chibi-Usa are not sexually involved with each other, even though they do share deep feelings. Maybe later, when they are older.
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