Of Love and Duty
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
A Sekkushiaru Roman
featuring characters from the anime "Sailor Moon"> Chapter 8 - Magic and Dragons <
Geoffrey stood out in front of the beach cottage stirring up the remnants of last night's fire with a stick, making certain there were no hot embers left. A cool breeze blew in from the ocean.
As he moved around, he saw Mina standing on the porch, still clad in just a towel.
"You're not making things any easier for me, you know," he said.
"I'm not doing anything," she replied innocently.
"Oh, no," he said. "A beautiful young woman standing there in just a towel, but you're not doing anything."
"Well, it's not my fault if you're having problems with your urges," she said with a smile. "Perhaps you need a cold shower."
"Oh, really? Maybe I'm not the only one," he said, dropping the stick and lunging toward her.
With a cry, she ducked away, holding her towel in place with one hand. He pursued, quickly overtaking her and pulling her into his arms. Lifting her over his shoulder, he turned and rushed toward the water.
"No!" she cried, as he splashed into the water.
He laughed as he struggled to maintain his balance with her squirming in his grasp. Finally, he went down, immersing both of them. Her towel came loose as she went under. She came up, gasping for breath, when she suddenly realized her state of undress, hurriedly sliding an arm across her breasts.
His eyes went wide as he saw what had happened, taking a step back. Before he could do anything else, she splashed him with her free hand.
"Thanks a lot!" she exclaimed. "Now look what you've done!"
Her angry expression began to crack as a wave of giggles overtook her. She splashed him again repeatedly.
As he turned away, he caught site of her towel in the water, quickly diving for it and then balling it up. He held it over his head and feinted a throw.
"No! Give me that!" she demanded.
"This?" he asked. "But it's all wet." With a grin, he hurled the towel toward shore.
"You're going to pay for that," she said, the threat considerably weakened by her continuing giggles. She splashed him still more.
"Well, you're just going to have to prove that," he said with grin, finding her giggling contagious.
He splashed water back at her, then dove toward her. She splashed more water at him, even as she jumped clear. Her arm slid off her breasts, offering him a brief glimpse before she fell back into the water. Regaining his feet, he dove in cleanly, racing toward her underwater and catching her in his arms, pulling her down. They resurfaced together, with him still holding her in his arms. Her initial struggle to escape quickly faded.
"So, you've captured me. Now what do you plan to do?" she asked, still giggling.
"Oh, I intend to take full advantage of this situation," he said with a grin, pulling her closer.
"Just how full?"
"Full advantage," he repeated in a low voice.
Before she could reply, he pressed his lips to hers. Her body tensed briefly with uncertainty, but then relaxed as she embraced him and the kiss became mutual. She felt a spreading warmth within her as the kiss took her breath away, and she could feel his body reacting, despite the cool water.
He pulled back with a sigh, looking into her face, and struck more than ever by her beauty. His entire body tingled with arousal.
"Wow! That was... incredible," he gasped.
She just nodded, struggling with her own yearnings. Quickly, she pulled him to her and kissed him in return. This time, she opened his mouth with her own and slid her tongue over his lips.
As her naked body pressed tightly against him, he felt his manhood bulging within his shorts, while his entire body hungered for her. His hands swept across her back, and he could feel her passion and willingness. Her hips swayed, rubbing her abdomen over his hardness, and flooding him with still more pleasure. A tremor swept through him and his legs faltered, sending him tumbling backward into the water and taking her with him. They both came up gasping for breath.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I guess... I lost my balance."
She giggled again. "That's alright. I think... we both got... a bit carried away."
"Not necessarily a bad thing," he pointed out.
"No. Not at all," she agreed. "And it was fun."
He nodded, standing back up again.
She stood up, dismissing a brief flash of hesitation at letting him see her fully naked.
As they walked back toward shore, she could see the form of his penis, though partially receded, within his shorts. He paused, with the water now to their knees, to look at her, his body promptly responding once again. She grinned as his member swelled.
"I think I should take that as a compliment," she said with a grin.
"Ah... Uhm... Well, I guess so," he stammered, a flush spreading over his cheeks. "Now I can understand the legends."
"What legends?"
"That the pure beauty of Venus could drive the mortal male crazy," he said.
"But I'm not a goddess," she protested, giggling once more.
"From where I stand, I think I would have to disagree," he replied.
A blush now covered her cheeks. "Ooohh, you really are a silver-tongued devil," she laughed, shaking her head.
"But you can't tell me you don't have some special power over men," he said.
"Well, if I do, it's only what nature has provided me as a woman," she said. "Besides, if I had some sort of magical power, your ability to neutralize magic would leave you immune to it. So, I still think it's just your male urges running wild."
He shook his head. "And you're just going to compound my problem, then, by walking around dripping wet and naked?"
"I'm not doing anything," she insisted with an innocent smile, though still giggling. "I can't help it if men are so weak-willed and are ruled by their hormones."
"Oh, really?! And I'm sure that is not the case with women, now is it?" he asked, disbelievingly.
"But of course," she insisted. "That is why... uh... That's... ahm..." He stood there, having dropped his shorts, and she found herself staring at his erect member, bobbing there and pointing at her, even as a warm, wet sensation spread through her abdomen and down between her legs.
"You were saying...?" he asked.
"Now, that's not fair," she sputtered, turning her head away.
"No more so than you doing the same thing to me," he countered.
She burst out laughing. "I guess you're right," she admitted. "And I do have to confess, the sight of your penis swelled up like that, and knowing that I had a part in causing it, really does do something to me."
"That's nice to know," he said.
He stepped out of his shorts and picked them up, continuing toward shore as fully naked as she was. They retrieved her sopping wet towel and walked back to the cottage. In the bathroom, they each got a fresh towel and began drying themselves off.
Just then, they heard a whistling sound from outside.
"That's a dragon," he said, rushing to the door.
They found the two dragons from the previous night, the wounded one now appearing fully recovered. The other one whistled, purred, and bobbed its head frantically.
"Something tells me he's not just here to say thank you," Mina said.
"Definitely not," he confirmed. "There's something wrong, but he's going too fast."
Geoffrey whistled in reply and gestured, trying to get the dragon to slow down. The dragon stopped, then began whistling and purring again. Geoffrey listened closely, interrupting occasionally with brief whistles and growls of his own.
"A point of dark magic has appeared inland," he told Mina. "It's causing basically an illness among the dragons who get too close to it."
"Can we do something to help?" she asked.
"I certainly intend to find out," he said.
"Good. I'm going with you."
He whistled once more to the dragon, then turned and hurried back inside.
"I need to get dressed," he said. "I'm afraid I can't offer you much..."
"No need," she interrupted, discarding the towel. Energy swirled around her, coalescing into the uniform of Sailor Venus. "As a Sailor Soldier, I always have my uniform at hand."
"Most convenient," he said, pulling on his pants.
He pulled on a shirt and stepped into his shoes, then grabbed a cloak and his bag, quickly opening it to double check that all his tools and equipment were where they were supposed to be.
"All set," he said, heading back to the door.
"Are they going to take us there?" Mina asked, seeing him climbing onto the dragon that had brought her there. "Won't it be dangerous for them?"
"I certainly won't ask them to put themselves at unnecessary risk, but at the same time, I can't stop them," he said.
She nodded her understanding, then climbed up behind him.
The two dragons purred to each other as they climbed into the sky and flew inland. Mina and Geoffrey saw them approaching the mountain that dominated the south end of the island. As they came closer, the dragons slowed and began conversing.
"Sounds like a bit of a disagreement," Mina said.
"Yes," he agreed. "He wants her to turn back, I think because she hasn't fully regained her strength yet."
"I guess that makes sense," she said.
"Well, she doesn't seem to think so," he said. "She actually reminds me of someone else I know who said something about not being a damsel in distress."
"Ooohhh! You didn't tell me he was on that over-protective male kick," she said, giving him a light jab in the ribs. "That does make a difference in my assessment."
"I'm afraid I'm out of practice on my caveman grunt," he replied. "But it is part of the basic male instinct to protect his mate, you know."
"Well, that can be a nice thing, but it can also be taken too far," she said.
The dragons began descending, coming down on the side of the mountain. As Mina and Geoffrey climbed off, the male dragon motioned with his head and started purring. Geoffrey growled, then whistled in response.
"The magic point is over there," he said, pointing in the direction the dragon had indicated. "It's a bit of a hike, but this is as close as they were willing to come."
She nodded her understanding, then turned toward the dragons and made a soft growl in the back of her throat to say thank you.
He added his own thanks, then turned to her. "Very impressive," he said. "It seems you are a woman of many talents."
"And don't you forget it," she said with a grin and a giggle.
As they walked, they began to sense the magic growing stronger. Some of the surrounding trees looked sick or completely dead. Further on, they found several trees looking strangely misshapen from the effect of the dark magic. Finally, they came upon a pillar of granite, very much like the one where she had found the injured dragon.
"That must be the magic point," she said, moving still closer to it.
He nodded. "There are some inscriptions on it, but I don't recognize them."
She walked slowly around the pillar, looking at the inscriptions. "They don't mean anything to me, either," she said.
He reached out to touch the pillar, which suddenly flared as it fought his neutralizing effect. An intense burst of energy flashed out, throwing him back.
"Geoffrey!" she cried with alarm and concern, dashing to him. "Are you alright?"
"I think so," he said, sitting up. "I was hoping I could simply disrupt it, but it's too strong for that."
"Will any of your tools help?" she asked.
"Possibly," he said, reaching for his bag.
As he went through his bag, she walked around the pillar once more.
"I think I have an idea," she said. "If we intentionally made it flare, could we draw the energy away from the pillar?"
He thought for a moment. "We should be able to." He retrieved five black cubes from his bag. "We need to place these around the pillar, each about ten feet away. When the pillar flares, the cubes should start pulling the energy away from it."
With a nod, she took several of the cubes and began laying them out around the pillar, while he set out the rest.
"Any preferences on how we make it flare?" she asked.
"Not really," he said. "We just need to stay outside the perimeter of the cubes."
They both moved back. Seeing that he was out of the way, she raised her hand and released her energy beam. Energy rippled over the surface of the pillar, while the cubes took on a very faint glow. She increased the power of her beam, beginning to feel feedback. The energy on the pillar's surface grew brighter, suddenly flaring intensely. Flinching, she turned away, stopping her own energy release. The cubes flared, sending sharp beams of energy surging upward, even as still more energy arced out from the pillar, draw out vacuum-like in the wake of the energy already discharged. The surface of the pillar began to flicker.
"Strike it again," Geoffrey said. "Quickly!"
She raised her arm again and fired. The stone immediately began to crack where her beam struck it. The cracks spread rapidly across the pillar, the surface of which was now flickering much more intensely. With a sudden flash, energy burst straight up into the sky as the pillar shattered. In only a moment, the energy discharge was gone, leaving only the remains of the pillar as evidence it had ever been there. They both could feel the Earth's own natural magic flowing back into the area.
"Very good work," he praised her.
"Thank you," she replied with a smile. "But it was a joint effort."
He nodded his head in acknowledgment. Reaching down to pick up one of his cubes, he pulled his hand back, finding it quite hot.
"Have to give those time to cool," he said.
They soon heard noises, turning to see the dragons approaching. As they landed beside them, Geoffrey filled them in on what had happened.
"Now, we still have the question of just how this thing got here," Mina said. "A point of dark magic that strong doesn't just appear by chance."
"No, it doesn't," he agreed. "But it would take an experienced wizard to really track this down. I'm afraid I don't have the necessary skills and abilities for that."
"I understand," she said. "I'll have to mention this to Prince Endymion. He may want to send someone out here to investigate it."
After another half an hour, they were on their way back down to the cottage. The dragons offered their thanks as Geoffrey and Mina climbed off. They both waved in return as the dragons floated into the air again and then vanished.
Back inside the cottage, Mina let energy swirl over her body, melting away her sailor uniform, and leaving her standing there naked.
Geoffrey felt his body immediately respond. "You like doing that to me, don't you?"
"Doing what?" she asked with an innocent smile. "I'm not doing anything."
He just shook his head, while she walked into the bathroom, returning moments later wearing her nightgown.
"Is this better?" she asked.
"A little," he replied.
She stepped forward, gently placed her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him. His arms promptly enfolded her as their tongues danced together.
"Just as long as you're happy," she said with a grin.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
At the Atlantis palace, the storm continued into the late afternoon, when a messenger arrived. Having been called by the guard, Endymion entered the main hall, with Serenity on his arm. The messenger dropped to a knee.
"Your highnesses."
"Please rise," Endymion said.
"Thank you, your highness," the messenger said, rising to his feet. "I come on behalf of Lord Devon of Venus, who requests an interview with his betrothed."
Serenity stepped forward. "Should I presume this request is made in accordance with the marriage laws of Venus?"
The messenger nodded. "Yes, your highness."
She turned back to Endymion. "That means Mina is hardly at liberty to refuse," she said softly. Serenity turned to face the messenger once more. "Princess Mina is not here at present, I am afraid, but you may tell Lord Devon she will be informed of his request."
"And you may tell him that he will be received with hospitality if he wishes to wait for her here," Endymion added.
"I thank your highnesses," the messenger said. "I shall convey your responses. By your leave?"
Serenity nodded, and the messenger turned and left.
"I take it this is not the best of news," Endymion said.
"I'm not entirely certain, but it does not feel good," she replied. "As I understand it, this sort of a request is made only when one of the parties wishes to summon the other to fulfill the terms of the marriage contract."
"You think he wants to marry her?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," she said. "She's still too young to marry without her parents' consent, so I'm not sure why he would be doing this now."
"Well, I guess we'll find out when Lord Devon arrives," he said.
She nodded. "But now, we have to find Mina. Do we have any idea where she went?"
"The guard report is that she left with a dragon, and was heading north," he said. "Since dragons usually aren't threatening, and there was no sign of a struggle, the duty officer only made a note of it. No attempt was made to follow her since that would have been an invasion of privacy."
"I understand," Serenity said. "And with Rei gone as well, my options for locating Mina are decidedly limited."
Endymion thought for a moment. "Well, if we want to keep this informal, what about Ryo, Ami's young man? He is an apprentice oracle, and might be able to help."
"It's certainly worth a try," she agreed. "We will have to ask him."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ami and Ryo sat together on a sofa in the library, with Serenity and Endymion sitting across from them. Ryo considered the request that had just been made of him.
"Well, I'm not sure if I can pinpoint her location closely enough to do you much good," he said. "I'm afraid I'm still rather hit-and-miss in that area. And since you want to keep this quiet, I can't seek help from my instructors."
"Any assistance at all would be helpful," Serenity said.
Ryo nodded, still thinking. "There may be another way. You said she left with a dragon?"
"That's right," Endymion confirmed.
"Then perhaps we can ask the dragons for help with this," he suggested. "I know they have quite a remarkable ability for communication over great distances, so that it shouldn't take too long for the request to reach the dragon she flew off with."
"It sounds like a good idea to me," Serenity said.
Minutes later, they made their way out into the privacy of the forest. Ryo suddenly stopped and began whistling. A whistle and a low purring noise answered from nearby, seemingly coming from thin air. Ryo whistled again, and a large shape began to take form just a few yards away. Though it was still translucent, they could now make out the features of the dragon's face as it moved closer and smiled.
Ryo made a series of whistles and growls, going slowly. The dragon looked slightly confused, then nodded its head in understanding, whistling in reply.
"I didn't know you could speak to dragons," Ami said in surprise.
"Well, I'm hardly a master of it, I'm afraid," he said. "But the dragon seems to have figured out what I was getting at."
A high pitched whistled rang in their heads, then faded away as it went beyond the range of human senses.
"It's actually an energy signal," Ryo explained. "But dragons can lower it to the point that the part of the human brain that manages hearing can receive it. That's why we think we're hearing it with our ears."
"But evidently they can hear sounds at least something like we do, or they wouldn't be able to hear us," Ami said.
"True," Ryo acknowledged. "But to my knowledge, no one is very sure of how that works."
The dragon interrupted with several whistles and purrs. Ryo replied slowly and carefully. The dragon nodded, and resumed sending its message. In just moments, it had a reply.
"Princess Mina is on an island in the north," Ryo explained, after listening to the dragon. "The dragon who brought her there will relay the message to her."
"Good," Serenity said. "Then we can only wait for her to return... And hope that this isn't as serious as it sounds."
"Please thank the dragon for his help," Endymion said to Ryo.
Ryo nodded, then turned back to give a soft growl of thanks. The dragon purred in reply, before fading away.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The sun was just beginning to set when Mina and Geoffrey again heard the dragons outside.
"I wonder what it could be this time?" she asked rhetorically.
They walked out onto the porch, where Geoffrey communicated with the dragon. His eyebrows went up as he listened to what the dragon had to say.
"He says you are requested to return to the palace," he said. "Apparently a messenger has arrived from Venus to announce that someone is coming who wants to see you."
"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," she said, shaking her head ruefully. "Although it could be worse. At least it's not a summons to return home... But I wonder who would be coming?"
Geoffrey whistled and growled some more, listened to the response. An incredulous expression formed on his face, and she could tell he was asking his question a second time.
Still shaking his head, he turned back to her. "The dragon is using the term 'designated mate'. It doesn't make much sense to me, however."
She thought for a moment, suddenly struck with realization. "He must mean 'betrothed' but it probably doesn't translate into the dragons' language," she said.
"Then... the visitor is this Venusian noble who has been designated for you to marry?"
"Lord Devon. Yes, it has to be," she said, her expression turning sour. "But I can't imagine why he would be coming. Normally, such a meeting is only called when one is ready to marry, but that shouldn't happen for some time yet."
"Can he just summon you like that to marry him?" he asked.
"When we're both older, he could theoretically," she said. "But right now, I must have my parents' consent to marry. My mother would refuse because she thinks I'm still too young, and my step-father would refuse because he sees greater political benefit in keeping Devon's family waiting, rather than making them in-laws."
He turned back to the dragons with a series of whistles and growls. They both purred softly in reply, then faded from sight.
"What did you tell them?" she asked.
"I asked them to pick you up about noon tomorrow to return you to the Atlantis palace," he replied. "I'm sure there's nothing seriously wrong with you making this person wait a little while."
She grinned. "No. Nothing at all."< To be continued >
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NOTE: I'm sorry for the delay in getting this latest installment finished, but this has been a very busy month for me, and November doesn't look to be much better. Please bear with me. More will be coming.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.