Judgment

[NPC]

Outttttttfiiiiiiiiiit

All in all, it had been quite the stressful week.

Meeting with emissaries, teaching the Princess valuable lessons, and bestowing blessings upon both the Earth and the Moon could take a lot out of a woman. But this, finding out that her daughter, her cherished one, had flouted every rule and traveled to Earth, not once, not twice, but numerous times, sometimes even with the help of her guardians...

Were it not for the fact that the Silver Crystal's power was greatly affected by its carrier's (and this case, carriers') emotions, the wise woman would have given herself to the despair and rage she should have been feeling, that she had every right to experience. Nevertheless, because she carried such a burden, she cooled her emotions to their tranquil state, working them into figuring out an arrangement. Discovering that they were not alone in the galaxy would have been a nasty shock for the Terrestrials, a shock that must have grown when they further realized there was an alliance among the planets to which they were not party.

If she were given to habits, Queen Serenity would have chewed on her lip or tapped her fingers on the table as she pondered the dilemma. On the contrary, having been brought up in a society were appearances and maintaining one's emotions were paramount, she remained her regal, put-together self. Giving in to such common actions would not have been prudent for the ruler of a planet and descendant of the founding member of the Silver Alliance. She had too many expectations set upon her shoulders to give into such slovenly behavior.

And then the thought struck her. Why not invite a small contingent of Terrestrials to an Alliance meeting? Not only would the Terrestrials realize that the Silver Alliance meant them no harm, but it would allow the other planets a glimpse into the yet-unseen life on the blue planet. They could prove both a veritable ally, and should something go awry, the Silver Alliance would have more knowledge on the entity that struck at them.

And also, Queen Serenity could view this as an opportunity to speak with the Terrestrial prince who taken her daughter's heart - by force or seduction, she wasn't sure. The only thing Queen Serenity was quite positive of was that this relationship would not bode well for anyone, and he would have to understand that. He could not expect to have a dalliance with the Lunarian Princess. Not only would the scandal shake the Lunarian society to its very core, but the powers of the Silver Crystal would not take lightly to the relationship, and Queen Serenity was quite sure that the Martians would view such an arrangement as grounds for war, as they so often did with meaningless trifles.

The plan set in motion, Queen Serenity arranged for a few messengers to travel to Earth and the other planets with the invitations. Naturally, before the messengers could depart, the Martian Princess had gotten wind of the matter (she was really outdoing herself with her foresight; Queen Serenity was much impressed) and had requested an audience.

After an exasperating conversation with her cherished one about responsibility, the Queen sent for the Fire Senshi and said that she would receive the woman in her private suite of rooms. Such actions were a little unorthodox for the likes of Lunarian society, but Queen Serenity had come to regard the Senshi in nearly the same way she regarded her own cherished one. Conversations with them would take place only with them and certainly not before the royal court or in a formally ornate setting.

And so the wise Queen awaited the Fire Senshi in her parlor. She had sent Appollonius away; men had no place in such intimate matters. Before long, a guard ushered in the Martian Princess.

"Good day to you, Guardian Mars," the Queen said by way of greeting. She smiled at the young woman, waving to a chaise. "I understand you requested an audience with me. Please, have a seat so that we may discuss the matter on your mind."

[Raen Mars]

((Ariana was sixteen. Approximately two months after Unrequited.))

This could not end well.

Sometimes, the gift of Sight was not an entirely welcome one. Amidst the secrecy that her life had become, devolving into some revolving door of trying to slip into Minu's room unnoticed or stealing looks when she was fairly certain Sariah and Makatza (and Artemis and Luna, for that matter) weren't looking, she had still been plagued with visions. One would have thought that having some peace of mind in other areas of life would have made it easier.

But two months with Minu had done nothing to assuage the nightmarish futures her dreams and waking moments alike would show. With or without her Fire, which she still tended daily even on nights when she dared to leave her bed empty, they came. Ariana had never once asked for the gift of Sight. From the time she had been born, it was a burden thrust upon her by her lineage and her people. It was an expectation and a birthright more than an actual aid to anyone, and though she liked to think there had to be an upside from her end of things, all it had done was force her down. She didn't live in fear, as she should have, but she certainly didn't make all the moves she might have otherwise. It was difficult to ignore warnings, after all.

Particularly ones as strong as those she had been having lately. Coupled with Court gossip, it would have been safe to say that the Martian Princess' fire-blood had turned ti ice in her veins. Every decision their Queen made seemed to make its way like a brushfire through the Court. Her choices hung on the lips of eager naysayers and enthusiasts alike, all eyes on the centre of their limited universe.

It would have been a shameful thing, most likely, to confess that her own universe had expanded. Not that she felt that in doing so, she had become any less of a fierce guardian for the Moon Princess, nor any less of a proper Seer. But her priorities were such that she wasn't only interested in things that benefitted her anymore. Because more than anything, she wanted to do something to make the situation between her planet and Venus better. That was still selfish, because she wanted Minu alive. She wanted her soulmate to survive a trip to her home planet, because she wanted her to know where she came from.

Perhaps someday, when she was the Queen. But visions of that were few and far between, some futures unseen. It worried her, that she never appeared older in the futures she saw. A year, maybe two, but never her mother's age. Certainly never older. And she never saw her love either, at all. She frowned, resisting the urge to pace as the guard they had placed with her waited (trembling, at that - pathetic) to introduce her.

Wordlessly, the fire goddess swept into the room. Underdressed though she was for such an occasion, she still held herself with every bit of regal flair she could muster. She was still a Princess of Mars, and the Keeper of the Flame. She would not be made out to be weak or useless because she could not show the proper respects. She moved her feet together, straightened her legs and, as the door shut, bowed from the hip, her right fist to her left shoulder and left fist to her back. She held the position until spoken to, snapping upright with aubergine eyes ablaze with purpose and little else.

"If Your Majesty does not protest, I believe I would prefer to stand," she stated, not one to lower her stance for anyone. She had already performed the customary bow, even if she did not necessarily feel it was something that should have been required of her. She was capable of decorum, as it suited her. And here, here it most certainly did. Because she needed to be able to consider herself as capable of escape if she so chose it. It was difficult, having to speak about visions that were otherwise better left unspoken of.

It was meant to be her cross to bear. But when it was something so easily preventable...

"I wish to speak with you about the decision to allow Earthlings on the Moon," she started, never one to mince words or dance about a point that wasn't carried on her lover's tongue. She paused, finding the words before continuing. "I have Seen several futures related to this event, as it were. The Fire has led me to believe that, should you follow through and allow the people of Earth access to your Moon, it may very well spark a series of events otherwise out of all of our control. Ultimately, these futures all end the same - with those you and I care about dead, and the Alliance in ruins."

That had to be all that needed to be said. If she wanted graphic detail, well, Ariana could provide that in some cases. Others, they were more a feeling than anything else. Visions came in various forms. Some were all about seeing and hearing, the senses that any normal human would rely on. Others were belief and feeling, things that people had a harder time subscribing to. Things that they could not and would not open their hearts to. She could only hope their Queen was more intelligent than she was certain others would have been in her position, when presented with the child of a line of Seers that had yet to fail in their predictions.

[NPC]

Even a simpleton could deduce the reason for which Princess Mars had requested an audience, but the good Queen had decided to let her speak her reasons first, with her own view cast on the matter at hand. Queen Serenity was no fool; she was well aware that inviting the Terrestrials to the Moon was a hard decision. After all, the belief that they should mix with the Earthlings had been inculcated in her since birth. If only her cherished one could have been as wise to her actions.

She realized now that she had placed too much faith in her daughter's exercise of restraint. For a year now, she had been deceived. But when the two groups had already had their forbidden meeting, the woman knew her hands were tied. She could not opt to forget the transgression; now she had to live with it and try to fix it as best she was able, hoping that the gods would not be too angered by the disobedience. She knew the prophecy only too well; it had been recited to her as she had recited it to her own cherished one. It was a warning as well as a promise: danger would come to pass if the Lunarians and Terrestrials ever met. The gods always fulfilled their promises, negative or otherwise. The good Queen only hoped that the response to this sort of action would not come too strongly.

The words of the dark Queen of the New Moon echoed within her ears. Was this what she meant by her curse? The Queen mentally shook her head. She never put as much stock in curses as she did in the workings of her Crystal, but too many things were falling into place. And now Princess Mars had arrived, requesting an audience with her. Would the terrible news never end?

"I have Seen several futures related to this event, as it were. The Fire has led me to believe that, should you follow through and allow the people of Earth access to your Moon, it may very well spark a series of events otherwise out of all of our control. Ultimately, these futures all end the same - with those you and I care about dead, and the Alliance in ruins."

The Alliance was already threatening to fall apart; it was skidding down a precipice, threatening to shatter into a thousand pieces. However, the Queen stayed mute on the subject, nodding to show that she heard as well as understood the princess's words and was mulling over them. The death of her cherished one was the ultimate punishment, the supreme torture. Would the gods bestow this on them for their disobedience?

She pondered all sides of the matter, wondering what would happen if she did let things be as Mars was asking. If she locked Serenity in her room and barred everyone on the Moon from traveling for several months, even going to the extent of shutting down the teleporters, would it be enough? Would it be enough to kill Serenity's desire and the anger that would inevitably drive the Martians toward war like lions to the hunt?

To give herself time to think the matter over, the Queen turned toward her window. A slight breeze was blowing through, but it did nothing to mar her view of the Earth, the planet on which she and her ancestors had bestowed countless blessings, aiding evolution so that it could blossom as a flower does when it's cared for, tended gracefully. She stared intensely at the planet that was at the root of so many of the their problems. She knew she was being tested, by the gods, by the Alliance, by herself. The only issue was, for as long as she had been Queen and studied her ancestors' rulings, she was entirely unprepared for this decision. Yet, so many people were relying on her that she could not shirk her duties. She would not.

After several moments of indecision, the good woman turned back to the Martian princess, no traces of doubt sewn on her face. She looked into the eyes of the woman who knew the future and all the possibilities that came with it. Was it wrong of her to assume that their relationship had extended far beyond that of a liege and a guardian? Was it her fault that she had grown to look at her cherished one's guardians as daughters instead of soldiers for hire? Perhaps, if she had never done this, the terrible mistakes would never have been made. It was easy to see now where all (or nearly all) of her mistakes had been, but there was no fixing them now. She could not change the way she saw Guardian Mars anymore than she could ask the Moon to take on a golden glow.

"Guardian Mars, I do thank you for alerting me of your visions and misgivings," the woman began. "However, I cannot see a different way to rectify the damage that has been incurred. I implore you to imagine what your mother would assume if she discovered the relationship the Princess has struck with the royals of the Earth. We must make certain that the Terrestrials mean us no harm, and that must be by their coming to us or our going to them." For a moment, the Queen feared she had spoken too much on the state of things, but she knew that these were aspects of their daily live of which the princess was only too well aware. Who could know better than she the blood lust that ran through the Martian Queen's veins, increasing with each mortal wound inflicted on an enemy?

For a moment, the Queen allowed the sadness to appear briefly on her face. "I am terribly sorry, my loyal guardian, but it is something we have to risk. There are too many bad signs no matter which path we take; I must correct this matter in the only way I am capable."

[Raen Mars]

Her own visions had warned her that the Queen would likely not understand. It was less a knowing in that case than it was a simple feeling in her gut. The same one that told her how to pick her battles, which fights were worth it and which were not. She made no move or sound at all, simply allowed the sovereign of the Silver Alliance to consider, and come around.

Ariana wanted few things more than how badly she wanted this to go well. Not even 'her way', really. It was one of the few potential-arguments she wanted to win for reasons not necessarily dedicated to her own benefit. She had to make sure the people she had come to care about there would be alright. She needed to know that, come hell or high water, at least she had given her all to keep them from being wiped out.

And even if her mind was admittedly in the same place her heart was, it was difficult to tell the Queen of Everything that you disagreed with a decision she had already made. Particularly when she was essentially laying out the law. The fire goddess felt her eyes widen, jaw and fists at her sides tight though she said nothing. She could wait, she could make this seem like a normal, easy conversation.

"Allow me to rephrase," she began, desperate to make this woman understand. Her whole life had been people not understanding, and she had thought... she had thought that perhaps Queen Serenity got it. Minu did, and she shouldn't have wanted more than that. She was actually happy, having the Venusian in her corner (and occasionally her arms, when they were alone). But she had adopted the silver-haired figure before her as something of a maternal figure, given that her own had never been all that motherly. She expected her to want to keep all of them safe, to keep danger and tragedy far from her legacy. She hoped that her real daughter's girlish wants would not force her to act and damn the consequence. "If you open passage between the Earth and the Moon, you are damning us all."

There was no better way to say it. She paused, but did not close her eyes. If anything, she stood slightly taller, proud that she had the ability to warn people of things like this. Her gift of Sight had to be good for something. She had to be good for something other than picking fights (and winning them).

"I urge you to reconsider. If you do not, I... I know what will happen. The end will come, Your Majesty. But if you were to change your mind, we could all be spared. This is not just your daughter's happiness. This is the fate of the entire Silver Alliance." She wanted that to be enough. It was all that she had. She wanted it to be enough, because if she had to try for more... well, she didn't know what she would say. All wild eyes and hair and heat, she waited, the brunette simply staring down the most powerful woman in the solar system. Hoping she would understand.

[NPC]

"If you open passage between the Earth and the Moon, you are damning us all."

The thought of her cherished one breathing her last stilled the woman. It was perhaps the only thing that Mars could say that would cause the woman to react so. She took a deep breath, raising her hand up to her chest. She wished there were another way. She wished she could act as her loyal Seer demanded, but there was nothing she could do. To bar the Terrestrials from the Moon would be considered an aggressive act, especially after the path had already been created. Not only by Serenity, but by her guardians as well. To suddenly shut their doors to the Earth would almost be inciting war.

The only thing at the moment she was certain of was her uncertainty. She wondered how the rest of the Alliance would react if she did bar the Terrestrials from the Alliance. She was almost certain the other planets would have very little issue with the matter, but Earth would. The might start to see the Alliance around them from which they were excluded as an oppressive force, acting without their knowledge or consideration. And suspicious men are far from idle. Her own messengers, having seen the Earth for themselves when fetching her wayward cherished one, had reported to her a colorful land, but a land of man nevertheless. Men ruled there; it was a patriarchal society. Hunting was their way of life. They had armies and had fought amongst each other often. If they could not keep war out of their own land, who was to say that they would not bring it elsewhere? The good Queen had no idea how the gods might react to a war between the two peoples, especially after she and her lineage had been charged with the task of helping the Earth. It was almost counterproductive.

And, once more, she was forgetting Mars. The planet from which her noble Seer hailed. They, too, thrived on war and would undoubtedly see the Earth as easy prey, as they had so often seen Venus. By what grounds could she defend Earth from the warmongering Martians when the Terrestrials had no seat in the Alliance? She would have no legs to stand on.

"I urge you to reconsider. If you do not, I... I know what will happen. The end will come, Your Majesty. But if you were to change your mind, we could all be spared. This is not just your daughter's happiness. This is the fate of the entire Silver Alliance."

This was one of the few times when the Queen wished she could forget decorum and bury her face in her hands. She had no idea what to do, which way to act. She could feel the forces telling her to invite the Terrestrials to sit on an Alliance session, but now Mars was telling her otherwise. It seemed that no matter what move she made, it would result in utter disaster. She would fail in her duties, and she would fail as a Queen. And she would also fail as a mother.

Her body started to glowing sporadically, a sign that the Silver Crystal was reacting to the unrest in her heart and wasn't liking it. The Queen took a deep breath, calming her nerves. It would not do well to get upset. She could not control the Crystal in such a state, and who knew what would occur. Mars might be danger simply for occupying the same room as she.

There was a beat of silence as the Queen looked at the guardian. Had this been a different time, she might have hugged the young woman, for she was so much more mature than her own cherished one. It would have taken a good deal of bravery to see her like this, and now the woman was bound to receive bad news. The Queen was failing her. She was failing everybody, but she had to do what she knew best, what her years of training had brought her up to do. The Martians were unpredictable, and she could not keep a leash around them forever.

"Guardian Mars, I respect you immensely for coming to me with this news. I understand that it must have taken a good deal of courage to speak with me, especially in such haste," the Queen said softly. "But the matter at hand has so few solutions. We are at a crossroads, you and I. I peer around and see nothing but error before me. Should I listen to you, it would spell disaster. Should I ignore you, the same would occur. It is normally so very difficult for one lacking in foresight to predict future matters, but in this one case, it is painfully clear. How shall I stop your mother from waging war on the Terrestrials? How shall I, at the same time, keep my oath with the gods in aiding in their evolution? Wherever I turn, there is failure before me. I must act according to how the gods would want me. They gave my ancestor this stone of power so that they could depart into the heavens. If we thwart them in even this venture, where shall we turn?"

A slight sigh escaped the woman's lips. "It is not an easy decision you leave me with, but I thank you for sharing with me all that you know. I wish to do all that I can to steer us into an age of even greater peace, but I fear that is not in my destiny." The signs were all there. She wondered if she should listen. "I must act as the gods would have me, and I must protect the ones they charged me with blessing."

She looked into the eyes of her loyal one. She knew at once that her words were striking a chord within the woman. "I am so very deeply sorry, Ariana," the Queen went on, using the girl's birth name for the very first time. "I will understand if you cannot find it in your heart to forgive me. Such decisions are not easy, and some may result in the loss of a loved one." She sighed again. "If you wish to depart for a while, I will understand."

[Raen Mars]

It was everything she had feared - she was failing to make her point. Ariana tried to calm her blood, knowing its boil would express itself as heat in the air. She had to stay calm, because this wasn't about her own damn pride. She shelved that notion early on, wild eyes finding a spot to glare at on the floor as she listened through another denial. Another, and another, and another... she couldn't take it. She wouldn't take it.

"This is an easy decision," she spat, voice cracking just enough to betray how much she cared about this. "You will break your daughter's heart, but in doing so, you will save the lives of your people." She steadied herself, unwilling to be the emotional soldier. That had never been her role, all things considered. She had been assigned to the Moon Princess for a reason. And whilst she couldn't imagine hurting her, and admittedly didn't want to hurt her, she knew it was the only way.

That, or she had to accept that she was going to lose everything and everyone she cared about. "I believe you are looking at this in the best interest of your daughter. She will survive a broken heart. Life will continue without her forbidden love. With it, there is only chaos and destruction. Some end or another. Which, I could not honestly confirm. But I am being honest with you right now, Your Majesty, when I say that I am not ready to see my people die for this. I am not ready to give up or simply bow my head and accept this. I am not the rest of your Court, blindly following you to hell. Perhaps three years ago, yes, whatever you pleased. But not now. You do not get to kill all of the people I have come to care about after you forced me to love them." A sharp inhale, and the brunette's eyes refocused, seeking out her Queen's steady gaze as she drew strength from next to nothing.

She didn't have much left, after all. This was her last possible attempt. It was the bottomline, so to speak. It was just so simple. Don't, and nothing would end. She frowned at mention of her mother, shaking her head. "She is no threat to you, in your current position. This decision of yours to involve the Earthlings - it is wrong. It will cause descension amongst the planets in the Alliance. It will destroy everything you have worked so hard to create. I understand that Mars' relationship with the Moon is tenuous at best, but... but please. You have to believe me."

Depart for a while? Then she wanted her gone. She grimaced, openly disgusted for the first time since their 'conversation' had begun. Of course she would want her gone - the fire goddess knew the truth. She was some insignificant, easily ignored little girl to this woman. Unworthy of listening to, even when she had such solid facts to present. Do this, and it is the end. Do not, and only your daughter aches.

"If you want to kill everything in your efforts to appease a selfish little girl," she started, knowing that even she loved that selfish little girl, "Then know that you do it against the advisement of the Seer you hand-choose. And I will not support your decision. I will warn my people. And I will do what I must to keep my loved ones safe. Even if it means going against you." All of sixteen years, and she was done. This was a threat for treason in her desperation - no, a promise. She would not stand idly by and allow this woman to ruin everything.

Not when she had Minu. Not when she had people who cared about her, and whom she cared about in return. Not when people were relying on her to save them. In truth, it was days like these when she couldn't even begin to comprehend why she had been taken from the red planet. She never regretted it, not anymore. There were too many nights of lips and hands for her to even try to claim that. But, unlike Serenity, her love did not blind her. It made her stronger. And as much as she loved her golden girl, she loved her people as well.

She loved the idea that they had a future, somewhere, in spite of everything. Even if she had to keep her own relationship a secret, and even if they needed to produce heirs somehow. Ariana knew she would make this world work. Even if she had to do it against their sovereign. "Be the smart, fair woman I have come to know you to be. I will be a better ruler on my planet, come my time, and that is because of you and the people I have met here. All I am asking is that you put the needs of many above the needs of one."

[NPC]

The change in the atmosphere was almost tangible. Where they had once been discussing the subject calmly, something that the Queen had said struck a chord within Ariana. It was obvious that the young woman was grasping at straws, anything to make the Queen see her way. For the duration of the fire Senshi's speech, the Queen remained silent, withholding her anger at the conclusions to which Ariana had practically leapt. It really wasn't fair of the fire guardian, in her opinion, but she stood silent as Ariana tossed accusation after accusation in her direction, as if each new one was fuel for another.

When at last the young woman tired of speaking, the Queen took a breath. "Do you actually think I intend to invite the Terrestrials here for my daughter's benefit?" she inquired. Without waiting for a response, the woman plowed onward, "You, Guardian Mars, are treading some very dangerous waters. Treason is a crime that, even on the Moon, can be punished by death," she warned, eyes flashing. It was all she could do to keep from giving herself over to her emotions, so incensed was she by the girl's accusations.

"I owe you neither explanations nor obedience, Guardian Mars. I am compelled to remind you that whilst you remain a Seer and representative of your mother's court, your power in decisions of the Moon is very limited." For a moment, the Queen paused, pursing her lips. She wanted to shout at the young woman, but refused. Whereas before Sailor Mars had glowed with maturity and responsibility, she was lacking it completely now.

"You have insulted not only my leadership skills, but also my skills as a woman and mother, and therefore I must ask that you retire. You are forthwith banned from court functions until you can retain at least a marginally civil tone. I have tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, and I understand that having visions is no easy task, but you have exhausted every measure of my forgiveness for the evening. I am not a child you can chastise into doing your bidding; I am the Queen of the Moon, descendant of the Blessed One of Artemis and Founder of the Silver Alliance, the woman you have insulted most ardently." The Queen refrained from returning insults as well; to do would be most childish of her.

"You may return to your suite of rooms, Guardian Mars. I do not want to hear any more of your commentary on my governmental decisions. Good day to you."

[Raen Mars]

There it was. What her mother had warned her about for all of those years - the vipers' nest was truly just that. There were still crimes for which the Moon, which paraded itself as the paragon of peace and amicable relations, the role model for the other planets, and they were just as barbaric as they would have had the rest believing the red planet was. At least Mars was open in its affairs, made them known to both their own people and the rest of the world. When a man was to be hanged, or delivered whatever swift justice the Queen at the time deemed necessary, the whole planet knew. Other planets knew, depending on the crime and the individual at stake.

But this, this was like some slithering, quiet thing in the Lunar Court. Something that laid beneath all of the gossip and usual rabble. Had this been three years prior, she might have relished such a find, a little piece of normalcy against a world she had been forced against. Instead, she felt almost physically sick, finding more of her own than she would have cared to. Not because the threat of death looming over her own head scared her. It did, but not enough to make her stomach churn, all bile and hate. Because in those years, she had come to look at these people as friends, as family that she had never been granted. The world, though boring and too chatty, was safe.

And Queen Serenity had, for all intents and purposes, been a decent surrogate mother to her. That was why she had come with an open mind at first, and simple, probing suggestion. With the idea that she could lose everything that mattered anymore in mind, she had escalated, gone towards diplomacy and reason. And then she had faded into the fire, fast and hard as she threw threats and accusations, hoping they would do something, anything to change the future that was to come.

Instead, the Moon's current ruler, a bastion of peace and justice, offered her own anger and a promise of death. Ariana's jaw set, squared and as hard as she had to force her heart to spit out the next words, devoid of any life behind them at all. "Then kill me." It was less a command than it was a dare, 'strike me down before I can do the same to you'. Her mind became a flurry of event, things she could do in order to circumvent things from unravelling the way she already knew that they would.

She wanted her people safe. She wanted her planet safe. She wanted Minu, she wanted her more than safe. She just wanted her. And heaven knew, she wanted her friends there safe as well, even the foolish, bratty girl who had declared them best friends ages ago, without ever really coming to understand the fire goddess or her ways.

Ariana leapt towards the door, like a newborn foal who had found his legs, pausing only long enough to lament that things had to end like this. "There will come a day when you will regret this decision. I wish you the best, but I must do right by mine. People are relying on me. They are who matter to me now - not you." It was the nicest thing she could think to say as she exited the chambers in a flourish, the guard outside nearly caught by the heavy marble door as she forced it outwards with senshi strength.

He stared at her just long enough, and she back to him in turn until he blushed and looked away, ashamed or perhaps a good actor. He wouldn't matter soon.

Truth be told, none of them would. Not if she didn't start doing everything in her power to counteract the stupidity of a blind Queen. Step one would be getting off of the silver rock. She could return home to Mars, but not with Minu. And step zero was getting Minu. If she would go.

When she was certain she was alone, Ariana's pace slowed, casually placing a hand to the back of her neck as she rubbed a muscle she hadn't even known had existed, it tight and pulsing and aching there in her distress. Whatever she had done in there, she really did hope it was for the better.