Of Love and Duty
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
A Sekkushiaru Roman
featuring characters from the anime "Sailor Moon"> Chapter 5 - Appearances <
A soft breeze blew in through the open window, billowing the drapes. Princess Mina lay in bed, unable to sleep. A glance at the clock showed it to be nearly one o'clock. With a sigh, she slipped out of bed and walked out onto the balcony. The moonlight cast its glow across the landscape. Around her she could hear the faint rustling of leaves, and the call of a distant bird.
Even as she sat there, her mind still raced, recalling her latest letter from home. Once again, her father was urging her to be present for a major official function, clearly hoping that she would bring the other sailors with her. The thought turned her stomach. She had already managed to avoid a number of these attempts by pleading her obligations as a Sailor Soldier. Soon, though, Princess Serenity would have to make an official visit to Venus, and Mina would have no excuse. Unlike the other sailors, Mina had eagerly looked forward to the day when she was sent to join the court of Princess Serenity.
Her parents' marriage was really a marriage in name only, and that fact was now the worst kept secret on Venus. The last time Mina had been back, she found the two were downright hostile to each other in private. The weight of tradition had forced them together, and now held them there. Never had Venusian rulers divorced, and neither of them showed any inclination to break that custom. It was made even worse because the king and queen were held to rule jointly and in concert. Few on Venus could even conceive of how such a separation could be accomplished.
Before leaving for the Moon, Mina had discovered that King Philos was not even her real father. While still a princess, her mother had fallen in love with a Venusian noble and become pregnant. Under the law of Venus, a love-match between individuals outweighed arranged marriages, and the old king, a widower for several years, had been overjoyed for his daughter, Ardora. A great wedding festival had been planned, but Ardora's lover was killed in a tragic accident only a few weeks later.
Ardora had married Philos shortly after Mina's birth. It had been purely an arranged marriage, rising from an ancient tradition that the co-regents' heir should marry a member of the highest ranking noble family to be more than five generations removed from both co-regents. Philos had clearly not been happy to be a very distant second choice, nor to have a step-daughter who was a constant reminder of that. It was said that only his desire to be king kept him from taking the drastic step of refusing the marriage.
As Mina grew up, mostly in the care of nannies, Ardora tried to do her best for her daughter. Philos, however, largely ignored Mina until she became old enough to be politically useful.
Mina knew where her ultimate duty lay, but prayed for a love-match that would spare her the unhappiness her mother had had to endure.
She stood up and stretched her legs. As she leaned forward against the rail, she caught site of something moving from the corner of her eye. She turned to look, but saw nothing. Still looking around, she became aware of a high whistle, which she sensed more than actually heard. Remembering this from previous visits to Atlantis, she pursed her lips and whistled softly in reply. The whistling stopped, being replaced by a low rumble, like the purring of a cat. A large, indistinct form began to become visible, about sixty feet away. She whistled once more, and the form grew more distinct, slowly moving toward her. By the time it reach the edge of the balcony, though still rather translucent, it was clearly a dragon. Not the giant reptile of myth, this was a creature of magic that could assume a variety of forms and most often seemed to be an insubstantial phantom. It grinned at her and purred once more.
"Hello there," she said, extending a hand.
As she touched it, she could feel a resistance, although it wasn't quite solid in any conventional sense. The dragon blinked, whistled once more, then purred again. She whistled back, while the dragon floated alongside the balcony. With its head, it motioned toward its back.
"You want me to climb on your back?" she asked in surprise.
The dragon purred, nodding its head.
"Is that even possible?" she wondered.
The dragon nodded again, and once more motioned toward its back.
She hesitated, having had some experience with dragons before but never anything like this, then climbed onto the rail, her nightgown fluttering in the breeze. As she moved closer to the dragon, she felt the creature's energy surrounding her while it seemed to lose its translucency, allowing her to recognize from its marking that this was one she had met before. She placed her hand on the dragon's back, feeling it now to be completely solid. Stepping onto the dragon's back, she sat down. It drifted slowly away from the balcony, then rose into the sky.
"Where are we going?" Mina asked.
The dragon purred once more, turning to the north and slowly picking up speed. Its energy protected her from the wind and the evening chill. The landscaped raced by underneath them as they flew north, crossing the mountains and heading out over the water. They approached a cluster of islands, and the dragon descended to the largest of these, setting her down on the beach. It purred at her once more, then turned inland.
"Wait," she called. "Where are you going?"
She hurried after the dragon. Minutes later, she came to pillar of polished black granite, sensing energy radiating from it. Several more shapes flashed by, noticed only from her peripheral vision. She stood beside the stone, and placed her hand on it, sensing its energy running through her. Suddenly, she saw another dragon nearby, lying on the ground.
"Is he hurt?" she asked, not entirely certain if her gender reference was correct or even applicable.
The dragon that had brought her only purred, the sound fading to a low growl.
She moved closer to the apparently injured dragon, which whistled softly and weakly. She ran her hand along its neck, feeling its physical consistency fluctuating under her hand.
"I... I don't know what to do," she said.
The first dragon purred, now sounding sad. It moved closer and nuzzling the injured one. Energy flowed briefly between the two, but the injured one let out a high-pitched squeal. Mina reflexively clapped her hands over her ears, as the dragon's cry rang painfully in her head. The first dragon backed away. She leaned closer, but could not see any sign of the second dragon's injury.
"What's happening?" a voice called.
She turned to see a tall man with sandy brown hair moving toward her, wearing a long brown cloak and tan pants.
"This dragon seems to be injured," she said. "The other dragon tried to help..."
"I 'heard' the cry of pain," he replied quickly, moving next to her and running his hands along the dragon's side.
"Are you a dragon-keeper?" she asked.
"Well, I don't care for the term, but yes, that's what I am."
He moved lower, an expression of anger forming on his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"She's been shot," he said. "Some bastard hit her with a magic arrow. It's disrupting her own natural magic. That's why the other dragon's attempt to heal her didn't work."
"Can you help her?"
"Yes," he said. "But I'm going to need some help." He looked at her for a moment. "Are you a wizard? I sense strong magic about you."
"No," she answered. "I'm Mina, princess of Venus."
He nodded his head, unimpressed by the title. "OK. I'm going to need you to apply some of your energy after I remove the magic left by the arrow."
"Alright," she agreed.
He whistled, then made a soft growl in the back of his throat. The other dragon moved closer, and as he pushed at the injured dragon's side, the other helped roll her over. Mina could now see clear evidence of a wound in the dragon's abdomen. The young man took a small black cylinder from a pouch under his cloak and touched it to the wound. The dragon flinched, but the cylinder began to glow. He placed his hand on the wound and the remaining glow there faded.
"Now," he said. "Put your hand next to mine and focus the energy into the wound. I'll make sure it goes where she needs it."
She nodded, letting energy flow through her and then into the dragon's wound. The dragon squealed once more, but she could hear him whistling softly. She did the same. He placed both hands around the wound, and she could sense her energy flowing away from him. As he moved his hands, the wound slowly grew smaller, and finally closed completely. The other dragon moved closer once more. The man removed his hands, and she stopped releasing energy. The other dragon took over the healing work.
"She'll be fine now," he said. "Probably be flying again by morning."
"That's good," she said.
They stepped back to the granite pillar, watching the two dragons.
"I wonder why he came to me," she said quietly.
"Presumably he knew you, and thought you could help," he replied. "Dragons are highly intelligent."
She nodded. "I've already seen that." She paused for a moment. "I don't think I got your name."
"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Geoffrey," he said. "I get a little distracted sometimes."
"When there is a creature in need, I can understand that," she said. "Why would someone shoot her with an arrow?"
He scowled in anger. "There are plenty of people who have never bothered to look past the myths, and who believe dragons are creatures of evil, to be hunted down in grand, chivalrous crusades."
"Dragons are nothing like the legends," she agreed.
"Very true," he said. "Let's leave them alone."
She clutched her arms around herself, feeling a chill from the cool night air. "I'm afraid I didn't have time to change, and it's a long way back to the Atlantis palace."
"Don't worry. I think I can arrange you a ride home in the morning," he said.
He led her back along the path he had come from, soon coming across a bag he had discarded upon hearing the dragon's cry of pain. Picking it up, he withdrew an extra cloak and placed it over her shoulders.
"Here. This should keep you warm," he said.
"Thank you."
They continued walking, soon reaching a small beach cottage.
"Is this your home?" she asked him.
"Just a temporary one," he said. "I tend to move around with the dragons."
She sat on a bench on the porch, while he stirred the remains of a fire in a pit about ten feet away. He added more wood to it, and the fire cast a flickering glow across them.
"What do you call yourself, since you don't like the term 'dragon-keeper', and what makes you that?" she asked.
"I've never really given that much thought," he said, sitting on the edge of the porch. "I guess I'm part healer and part observer, gathering information. As for what makes me one, I have a special love for these beings, and I have a natural ability to neutralize magic around me. That allows me to draw energy from them that would do serious harm to most other people. I hate the term 'keeper' because that implies they're not capable of taking care of themselves, and that is absolutely not the case."
"How long have you been doing this?"
"About six years," he answered. "I studied dragons in school even before that, however."
"Do you ever find time to go home and visit family?"
He shook his head. "I don't have any family. Not anymore."
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to intrude."
"It's alright," he said, waving his hand. "They lived on one of the far northern islands, and died when the volcano there destroyed it. I was away studying at the time."
"I'm very sorry," she repeated softly.
He remained quiet for a moment. "What about you?" he asked. "Do you visit your family much."
"As little as I can manage," she said with a scowl. "My mother and step-father can hardly stay civil with each other long enough to get through official functions, I'm afraid. It's not a pleasant atmosphere."
"I would guess not," he agreed. "Do you have to go through the whole arranged marriage bit?"
"Possibly. But not for some time yet. The royal marriage customs of Venus give me time to find someone I love and want to marry. There is a young nobleman who has already been designated as a potential husband, but if either of us choose to marry someone else for love, that would outweigh the arranged match."
"Well, that's a good thing, I guess," he said.
He rose to his feet and went inside, returning with a bottle and two glasses, offering her one.
"Would you like a little wine?" he asked. "It'll take the chill off, and help you sleep."
"Oh, I don't really drink much," she protested.
"It's your choice, of course, but one glass won't do you any harm."
She considered for a moment. "Alright. Just one."
"Just one," he agreed, filling her glass for her, then filling his own.
"It certainly is a lovely night," she sighed, taking a sip.
"That it is. 'And each star is an arrow of love, seeking its happy victim'."
She looked at him in surprise. "Where did you hear that?"
"Hmm? Oh, it's a line of verse somebody sent to me," he said. "Actually, last year, I had a brief correspondence with a young woman. I had found an unsigned letter when I had visited a wizard friend of mine at the palace. I returned it to where I found it, and left a short note of my own, with a reply code. I didn't expect a response, but we corresponded for about two months."
"That was you?" she asked. "The reply code was for a small teleportation center here in the north islands. No name, just a box number. Twenty-one."
He whistled softly in astonishment. "That's amazing," he said quietly. "As I recall, you said then your parents were pressuring you to return home."
She nodded. "Just my step-father, actually. He assumes Princess Serenity of the Moon and the other Sailor Soldiers would be with me, and that he can benefit politically."
He fell silent again. "I had always wondered who you were," he said. "I'd never found anyone so easy to converse with, who understood what I was saying, and was willing to share opinions with me."
She nodded. "I felt the same. In our letters, you seemed to understand exactly what I was saying. I mean, I have really good friends in the other sailors, but sometimes I need to talk, to share, with someone who doesn't have essentially the same background and experiences that I do."
"Well, being out here with the dragons, I haven't really made too many friends, I'm afraid. But on the other hand, you can't rely on conventional perceptions with dragons, so I've learned to see past a lot of the surface distractions," he said.
She rose to her feet, leaving the cloak on the bench, and stepped off the porch, moving closer to the fire. As the fire's warmth added to that she was already feeling within, she took another sip of the wine.
He watched as the fire cast its flickering golden glow over her, and displayed for him the silhouette of her body through her nightgown. As his own body responded, he took a larger sip of his wine. His gaze lingered on her for a long moment before, silently chastening himself, he finally looked away.
She turned and looked back at him as he sat there, before returning to the porch and sitting down. With a yawn, she leaned back and stretched, feeling sleep at last beginning to catch up with her.
"I'm thinking about getting some sleep," she said.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. Of course," he said, rising to his feet. "Uhm, I'm afraid the accommodations are rather spare."
"Oh, that's alright," she insisted, walking inside.
"Well, I would suggest you take the loft. There's a comfortable pad and bedroll up there, and it will give you privacy."
"What about you?" she asked, looking at the hard floor and the lack of cushioned furniture.
"There's a spare pad and blanket. I'll bring it down and sleep down here," he said, removing his cloak and hanging it up beside the door.
She looked up at the loft space. "Don't be ridiculous. There's plenty of room up there, and I don't require that much privacy. It's already chilly, and the floor down here will be quite cold."
"Oh, no. I couldn't," he insisted.
"There's no need for the gallantry act with me," she said. "I may be a princess, but I'm also a Sailor Soldier, not a damsel in distress who needs special help."
"Certainly... your highness," he said with an irreverent grin.
She scowled at him. "You are a rogue."
"That's one of the nicer things I've been called."
"Now that I do have trouble believing," she said, climbing the steep steps to the loft.
"Well, not everyone brings out the best in me as you do," he replied with a chuckle, while putting out illumination crystals.
"A rogue with a silver tongue," she said. "Maybe I do need to be concerned about your intentions."
He climbed the steps. "My only intention just now is sleep, I can assure you."
Mina opened the bedroll and climbed in, finding the pad underneath to be not as comfortable as her mattress at the palace, but still quite adequate.
"And what about after you're rested?" she asked.
"Oh, well then I'm a wild beast on the prowl," he said with a laugh.
"That should be interesting to see," she replied. "Maybe even enjoyable."
Across the loft, he rolled out the other pad, and spread out the blanket. As he pulled off his shirt, she found herself admiring the contours of his chest and shoulders. He removed his socks, then climbed under the blanket, where he slipped off his pants. "Good night, Mina," he said, putting out the last illumination crystal.
"Good night, Geoffrey," she replied, quickly drifting off to sleep.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The light of the sun was streaming in through the windows downstairs when she awoke. She heard noises below, looking over to find he was already up. Slipping out of the bedroll, she climbed down the steps.
"Good morning," he said. "Sleep well?"
"Yes. Very well, thank you," she said.
He was standing in front of the stove, wearing just his shorts.
"I was just making coffee. It should be ready in a minute," he said. "Would you like some?"
"Please. But first, I think I need to wash up," she said.
"Certainly," he said. "We don't have any water heated for a bath, but the shower booth is on the back porch and the tank is full of warm water."
"Thank you," she said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.
She emerged several minutes later, carrying several large towels, and went out onto the back porch. Entering the booth, she closed and latched the door behind her, then slipped off her nightgown, setting it on the edge of booth, and removed the bow from her hair. A chain controlled the valve on the base of the tank, which she found did indeed contain comfortably warm water. As the water poured over her, she applied shampoo, carefully working it through her long hair. Rinsing the suds from her hair, she found herself feeling better than she had in some time.
He looked out the window, seeing her running her hand through her hair as she rinsed. The sides of the booth were high enough to fully ensure her privacy, leaving only her head visible. His imagination, unprompted, filled in the concealed details, with his body quickly reacting. Suddenly realizing that, wearing just the shorts, his rapidly swelling member was now plainly apparent, he struggled to turn his thoughts to something, anything else.
She closed the valve, shutting off the water, then took one of the towels, wiping it over her face and then through her hair. Leaning down, she wrapped her hair in the towel, piling it on top of her head. Taking the second towel, she slowly wiped it across her body, before wrapping herself in it and stepping out of the booth.
Catching site of her wrapped in the towel brought another response from his libido. He turned his attention to the stove, where he was preparing eggs.
"Looks nice," she said, having come back into the cottage.
"Thank you," he said, turning slightly to keep his back to her.
She went into the bathroom and hung up her nightgown. He was glancing at her, turning away as she returned to the kitchen.
"Can I do anything to help?" she asked, moving up behind him.
"Ah, no, I don't think so," he stammered. "I think I have everything under control."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," he insisted, glancing back over his shoulder.
She sat down at the table, observing his now somewhat stiff and awkward movements.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Hunh? Ah, what makes you think something's wrong?" he asked.
"Maybe because you just dodged the question," she suggested.
He looked back at her, just as she shifted position in her chair, the towel slipping, displaying much of her thigh. Immediately, he turned back to the stove.
"I'm fine," he insisted.
With a nod, she stood up. She picked up a mug and reached for the coffee pot. As she did so, she caught sight of his difficulty, stifling a laugh. "Well, I see you're in a good mood this morning."
He shook his head as a flush spread across his cheeks. "I, uh, well, uhm, it doesn't really mean anything."
"Sure it does," she replied, still giggling.
"Well, I meant, ah, that I don't want you thinking that, uhm, that I intend to act on it."
"I didn't suppose that you would," she said, taking a sip of her coffee. "But would you want to?"
He looked at her, stunned, feeling his body giving its perfectly clear answer. "Uhm, well, I guess, ah, that as we're talking about a very beautiful and attractive and, uhm, sexy young woman, I'd have to say part of me definitely says yes."
She smiled, stepped toward him and kissed his cheek. "Part of me says yes, too," she admitted. "Now, those eggs look good. Are we going to eat?"
"Certainly," he answered. "Would you bring the plates over?"
"Sure." She picked up the plates from the table.
"When do you need to be back at the palace?" he asked.
"There's no hurry," she said. "Princess Serenity has told us to take some time for ourselves, and I am enjoying myself here."
"I'm glad. So am I," he said, as they sat down to eat.< To be continued >
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NOTE: Another break from the steamy action, but it was too early in their relationship for that. More to come.You can now find all my yarns at http://strands-of-moonlight.my3gb.com and http://strands-of-moonlight.6te.net.
Always remember, good gentles, that a yarnspinner works from and within existing legends and stories. The characters of "Sailor Moon" belong to others. In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on their rights of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread the legend still further. "The moonlight carries a message of love." Enjoy.