 |
Notes: I wrote this YEARS ago... I figured I'd finally put it out for critique. It's based shortly before the Moon Kingdom's fall, where revolution is starting slowly, backed by the evil force that is brainwashing people against their better judgement to betray the Prince's ideals and overtake the Earth to war on the White Moon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Daddy! Daddy, watch me!" the little girl was barely three years old, but she ran around faster than some of the other children in the courtyard that came out to play in the puddles after the rain. She slid in the mud under a wooden fence and then climbed up it to show off. "Daddy, watch me walk up on the fence!!" she called out and stood on the thin edge of the log fence. She took a few steps on the fence without waiting for her father to reply to her, then started to lose her balance. "Whoa...." her little slipper-clad feet slipped on the still wet fence. "Ai-yiiiiiiii!" she screamed and fell backwards, shutting her eyes tight.
Suddenly the girl stopped falling and opened her crystalline blue eyes to look up at her father's dark ones. She giggled and smiled up at him, despite the stern look on his face.
"Did you see me?" she asked proudly.
"I certainly did." he said calmly. "Next time try to stay on the fence. Better yet," he added, while putting her back down on her feet, "Stay on the ground." The girl nodded and ran off after a dark haired boy a few years older than her, tackling him in a mud puddle and giggling sweetly. The man rolled his eyes heavenward, "And don't pick on the boys!"
The girl stood up in the puddle, now so totally drenched with the mud that no one could tell her pretty gown was once made of beautiful silver-pink fabric, or that her hair was gold. Now she looked like a little dirty-blond with a black dress. Make that a black dress with no straight hemline. One of her slippers was missing in the clumps of mud. She grinned at her father wiped some mud off her forehead, trying to look like a perfect little lady. The silver haired man laughed and shook his head.
"Little Princess, when will you remember that you're a lady before you get in a mess?" he asked.
The girl shrugged and picked up her muddy slipper out of the water. "When I'm old enough to be a lady."
"I suppose that's a fair enough answer. She is only a child, Kunzite." a young man with dark hair said and smirked, crossing his arms. He looked over as the girl went back to chasing the boys around the courtyard. "She's got a wild spirit, I'd hate to see her as an adult."
"You're right, as usual, Endymion. Another ten years and the boys will be chasing her. If she lets them." Kunzite said and sighed.
"She'll let them, if she's anything like her mother." Endymion glanced over at Kunzite through his lashes, unaware that the little girl was now hiding behind a corner. "Are you ever going to tell her who she is? That she is more than just your princess?"
"I'll tell her when she's old enough. For now she's just a child, as you said." Kunzite said resignedly, "I'll tell her when she's old enough to understand why her mother gave her up, and who her mother really is."
"Why not tell her now? It would make a fabulous bedtime story. She's always bothering you for one of those." Endymion said and smiled.
"Good idea." Kunzite said and looked out on the courtyard for his child. "Where is she?"
Endymion fell forward out of his lazy posture and gave the area a quick look around. "I don't see her... Damn, you don't think...?"
"If she left the palace she's in danger." Kunzite said worriedly.
"It's not much safer here." Endymion said, frowning. "If I could, I'd send every child to the Lunar palace. But there's no guarantee they'll be safe there either. Let's find her before they do."
Suddenly another male voice spoke abruptly. "What are you doing back there, little princess?" It was Zoisite. He was walking over behind a nearby building. Kunzite and Endymion sighed with relief and followed him.
"Hi, Daddy." the little mud covered girl said sheepishly at being caught.
"Young lady, I told you spying was not a good thing. If you want to learn that fine, just tell me first." Kunzite said and picked her up.
"Sorry, Daddy. I was just curious." the little girl said and frowned.
"Curiousity kills cats." Zoisite said and shook his head.
"I'm not a cat!" the child said and stuck her tongue out, then looked up at her father. "Can I ride?"
"After the scare you put us through?" Kunzite said sternly.
"Kunzite, she's just a little girl, she didn't know better. Let her ride." Endymion said warmly and smiled at the little girl. She grinned at him and got a wink in return.
"All right, but this time pick a horse your size, princess." Kunzite gave in and carried his daughter to the stables.
"I dun want a little pony! I like Uncle Endy's horse!" the girl said and pouted.
"The last time you rode him he nearly killed you. No." her father said sternly and put her on a little white pony.
It was nowhere near as fun as Endymion's big black horse. He'd let her ride it nearly a week ago and she was so excited she accidentally spooked the horse into tearing off with her hanging on. Everyone yelled or screamed, terrified that she'd fall off and her head would crack open on a rock or a branch would rip her off the horse's back and fling her into the air. She just hung on to the horse's mane and laughed until he calmed down and brought her back to the stables. Her father had yelled at her for nearly an hour, saying that she'd scared him witless and if she ever rode that horse again he'd make sure it was when she was big enough for it! Endymion just smiled at her, rumpled her windblown hair, and told Kunzite she'd make a good rider one day, provided she started out with something a little calmer until her arms were long enough to reach the reins.
"This is boorrriiiinng!" the little girl said and pouted while the pony trotted around the courtyard. "I wanna at least ride outside like last time!"
"Princess, you know that's not possible, there's danger out there!" Kunzite said and picked her up off the pony.
"I'd rather face danger than die of boredom." the girl said, giving her father a defiant glare. It would have worked better had she not been limply sagging vertically in his arms with her own arms starting to slip above her head. He laughed and juggled her into a cradled hug. "You'll have adventures soon enough, but first you need to be a little older. You could never stand up to the Evil out there at your age."
"Yes I could!!" the girl said and frowned.
"Sweetheart, grown men even tougher than your daddy have fallen to those warriors." Kunzite told her and put her down.
The girl grabbed onto his pants leg and looked up at him questioningly. "Will they ever come here?"
"Maybe." he answered, frowning down at her. She gave him an adoring and proud smile.
"If they do I'll bet you'd wipe them all out yourself!" she told him proudly, "And I'll take care of the leftovers!"
He had to laugh at that, so he did and smiled. "Then I'd better leave you the short ones, huh?" he asked and knelt to ruffle her bangs.
"I'm not that short! There's four year old boys shorter than me!" the girl said and grinned. "Daddy, can I go see the garden over next to the palace? Please?" she pouted and gave him the best sad eyes she could.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. No one's seen them anywhere near here so it should be safe." he said and picked her up. "What do you want to see?"
"All the flowers!" she smiled and cuddled against his shoulder.
"Okay." he carried her across the courtyard, "But tomorrow, it's getting late."
"Awww, I'm not sleepy!" the girl said and yawned... "Okay maybe I am..." she sighed and closed her eyes.
***********************************************************
The next day the little girl pulled on her father's arms and legs all the way to the gardens. She gasped and giggled when she saw the first layer of plants, creating a maze. It was so green and the little dots of red and violet and yellow looked like a painting. She pulled on her daddy's leg again.
"Can I play in here?" she asked eagerly.
"I suppose, but stay in sight..." Kunzite said and pushed her on ahead.
The little three year old laughed and found a squirrel to chase up a tree and a pretty bluebird to sing to. "Daddy, look at all the aminals!!" She knew better, but still liked to call them that. Her father smiled and nodded.
"Just play nicely with them. They're fragile."
"Okay, Daddy." the girl nodded and ran off. "Here squirrly, come here!"
Suddenly with one turn down the garden path, the girl found herself away from her father. She couldn't see over the plants and the corner was so sharp he probably couldn't see her either... She forgot that a second ago he'd been less than a yard away and cried out in fear, "Daddy! Where are you?" A breeze started to rustle the bushes and trees around her. Something about it set her off. "DADDY!!!" she cried and ran the wrong way down the path.
Her father called out her name but she couldn't tell where it came from, she stopped running and looked around. She never noticed this part of the palace grounds.... It was dark and shadowed... it scared her. She whimpered and turned small circles, trying to get her bearings. She heard a sound behind her.
"Daddy?" she suddenly felt very small and shivered from a cold chill. "Izzat you?" she pouted and sat on the ground, curled up in a ball. "Uncle Endy? Zoi-Zoi?"
It wasn't her daddy. And it wasn't Uncle Endy or Zoisite... It was a woman. A beautiful woman, but she looked dangerous and the girl didn't know her. The girl gulped and stood up, backing away slowly. Just then her father came down the path on the other side of the small clearing.
"DADDY!" she cried out and ran over to him, hiding behind his leg. "Daddy, who is she?"
Kunzite looked down at her and frowned. "I don't know. I don't recognize her."
"You'll know me soon enough, warrior, and join me." the woman said cruelly. A dark force appeared behind her. The little girl screamed and clung to her father's leg tighter.
"Daddy what's that?!?" she ducked behind him and whimpered. "I don't like it!!"
"Me either..." he put his hand on her head and looked down, trying to smile. "Little Princess, I want you to run, as fast as you can. The palace is right down that path." he pointed to where he'd come from. "Go."
"No. I'm not leaving without you, Daddy!" the girl said and looked straight at the woman and the shadow behind her. "You don't scare me!" she tilted her chin arrogantly. "Nothing scares me!"
The shadow-thing with red eyes laughed, it sounded like a woman. Suddenly it moved and a rush of black wind moved over and around the little girl. The child stood her ground, huddling to protect herself, and wrapping her arms around her. She sniffled and shuddered from the force of the wind and the horrible sound of the thing's laughter.
"Go AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" she screamed, lifting her head up and letting out a scream to rival a 'shee. It backfired, when she screamed a flash lit around her and concentrated on her forehead.
"You....." the thing whispered and quickly retreated.
Kunzite knelt and grabbed the girl's shoulders. "I told you to run, I meant it, get out of here before they really attack!"
The girl sniffled then saw the panic in her father's eyes. She nodded and turned on her heel, running as fast as she could from the clearing and into the wooded pathways of the garden. Her eyes teared up and the water threatened to flow from them, but she stayed brave for her father's sake... Suddenly, something came under her foot and tripped her. When she hit the ground she cried out. It was HARD! The tears spilled when the pain made her forget being brave. She threw back her head and wailed, the light came again...
"What's wrong, little girl?" the woman said softly.
The golden-haired girl gasped and looked right at her. "You! You took my daddy!" she said angrily. She wasn't sure how she knew that the woman had taken her father away, but she knew.
"Don't worry, you're going with him..." the woman said cruelly. The shadow appeared behind her again.
"NO!" the little girl stood up and turned to run again, but less than a second later, the black wind was around her again. It pulled at her to stay and whispered her name in an odd language. "Noooooo!" the girl held her head and lifted it in a scream so loud that she was sure the palace heard it. It sounded like an echoing bird cry, but a few pitches too high... and somehow the soundwaves were visible. They shone with a golden light.
The shadow thing screamed and the black wind was gone again. The girl could have run back to the palace if she wanted, the path was clear now... but the scream had unexplainedly taken energy from her and she couldn't get it back in time to gather her strength... she collapsed and her entire world went black...
"Daddy....." she whispered and curled up to protect herself as the black wind came again.
|
 |
Reply
