Wind Runner and the Dragon Senshi

 

Title: Wind Runner and the Dragon Senshi

Author: kazeko [ginnokonekochan@yahoo.com]

Show: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Alternate Reality

Series: no

Multipart: yes

Chapters: 19

Rating: M15

Couples: Usagi/Mamoru, Haruka/Michiru, Makoto/Nephlyte, Ami/Zoicite, Rei/Jadeite, Minako/Kunzite, Setsuna/Ailan(I love this pair!)

Time: The time of horses, knights, kings, and palaces.  Alternate reality, though, so it really doesn’t matter.  Haruka&Michiru are 25ish, Setsuna&Ailan are 40’s, Hotaru is 7, Chibiusa is almost 3, Minako/Ami/Makoto are 21, Rei&Usagi are 20, Mamoru is 23, the generals are 25, Seiya/Taiki/Yaten are 23

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko, as does the senshi concept.

Disclaimer 2: As with so many of my other fics, I own the world and non-Takeuchi characters.  Please ask before use.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 1: The Newcomer

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

They sat on the silent bluff, the blonde leader cleaning his sword, emerald eyes scanning the valley below.  “I said no,” he growled.

 

His second, a woman with aqua-blue hair she usually kept hidden under dark scarves during missions, glared at the newcomer.  Her sapphire eyes sparked fiercely, and the older members rolled their eyes as the man’s stupidity.  No one dared to anger the leader or his lover.  The newcomer, though, must have been stupid.  His darker blue eyes shone in the light as he pointed at the castle in the distance, short black hair swaying in the wind.  “Why not?  When I brought my men into your organization, you promised to help me.  I have only ever asked for one thing, that princess.”

 

The leader growled and pointed his sword at the palace.  “No!  The Wind Runners do not attack the palace!  That’s suicide!  If you want that princess, you’ll have to take your men and get her yourself.”

 

“It’s not that easy!  I know that the elusive Dragon Senshi joined your organization, and only a Dragon could ever break through those defenses.  I need your help.”

 

The leader stood, towering over his followers, though he wasn’t taller than the newcomer.  “Look.  I respect your wish to retrieve your woman and get her away or marry her or whatever, but the Dragons are not expendable.  I will not waste them.”

 

The black-haired man stood, eyes softer.  “I understand, Ten’ou-san, but she’s not just any princess.  She can help you, too.  I think she might have the power of the Dragon Senshi herself.  She can be a great help to your organization.”  He moved closer and cast a glance at the aqua-haired woman sitting on the ground, watching them from under lowered lashes.  “What would you do for the woman you love?  What would you give?  What would you dare?  Please, Ten’ou-san, help me get Usako back.”

 

He sighed, turning back to the encampment.  “We have survived thus far because we live out here and correct injustices on the edge of these cities.  If we, even once, go into the heart of the capital, the palace itself, the Royal Guard will come after us.  I don’t have enough men and women to survive that.”

 

“Then we’ll go away, or we’ll fight.  I know you think I’m just some spoiled prince who knows nothing of real life, but don’t worry.  I have a plan.  Ten’ou-san, can’t we enlist the aid of the people?  They know the regent has no real power and does not deserve to rule, though her niece is old enough to take her rightful place.  When the old queen vanished, the people expected my Usako to rule.  When her aunt made the marriage law and the princess’s guards vanished so mysteriously, the people out here wanted to break away.  They will follow you, Ten’ou-san.  They’ve been waiting for a hero.  All I want is to get my girlfriend back.  You take the glory and the power and the prestige.  I’ll take Usako.”

 

The leader walked to the edge of the cliff and sheathed his sword, staring at the flickering torches of the people living on the edge of the city.  “I’ll have to ask the Dragon Senshi, Mamoru-kun.  But I think they will agree.”

 

Mamoru smiled, bowing to the Leader of the Wind Runners.  “Thank you, Ten’ou-san.  Usako and I both thank you.”

 

The leader offered a rare smile as he turned around and also bowed.  “Call me Haruka.”  His lover smiled as she returned to making a new scarf.  The newcomer wasn’t all that stupid, after all.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 2: Eight guards

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Minako reclined in the hammock, sharpening her silvery sword, watching the stars twinkle overhead.  “We should try to return to the castle.”

 

“Impossible.  Beryl has too much power.”

 

“We can’t sit here forever and do nothing.  Haruka-san’s little campaign to cure injustice in the outer provinces does not help Usagi reclaim her throne.  And whatever happened to that little prince she was going to marry?”

 

Rei shrugged and tossed another handful of herbs into the fire, watching as the flames stretched for the moon.  “Minako-chan, I can’t see anything anymore.  The flames will not speak.  How can you just sit there and sharpen your sword?”

 

“Because she doesn’t have anything else to do,” Minako’s cousin growled.  Emerald-eyed Makoto tossed an apple into the air, watching as it fell back into her hand, a perfect shot every time.  Makoto and Minako’s blue-haired cousin, the genius of the team, leaned against the tree Minako’s hammock hung from, sketching the stars overhead, a small, flat, thin crystal in her hand.  The magical scanner provided her with information at the touch of a finger, linked to the planet that lent her power, often quite useful in battle.

 

“She could help me draw some of these star charts,” Ami murmured, glancing at the crystal display.  “Minako-chan, find Venus.”

 

“The sun is between us and it,” Minako murmured, hand pausing as she closed her light blue eyes, a trait she shared with her princess half-sister.  Minako’s mother had died giving birth to her, and her father married the queen when she was just a toddler.  She had grown up with Usagi and Rei in the palace, only leaving when the queen’s younger sister took control of the kingdom.  “Why?”

 

“Because we won’t be at full power while there is something between Earth and our planets.  Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter are visible”—Ami pointed at them in turn—“but Venus will take a little longer to show herself.”

 

“Don’t you think it’s odd that there aren’t senshi for the Outer planets?”

 

Ami shrugged, knowing that she had to be careful in answering Rei.  The red-head could get very angry very fast when talking about protecting her twin sister.  “They might not be ready to reveal themselves, Rei-chan.  I think I’ve heard rumors of a Sailor Pluto, and the second-in-command of the Wind Runners exhibits indications of power, but they have no reason to come forward, find their power, become Dragon Senshi.”

 

“They have Usagi,” Rei whispered, purple eyes closed.  “Can’t they come forward and save my sister?  She deserves that throne, she deserves to rule, she deserves to marry the prince she loves.  Beryl deserves none of that.  But we can’t save her alone.”

 

“You may not have to,” a husky voice purred from the tunnel leading into the intricate cave systems.  Haruka stood there, his eyes sparkling in the light, glancing at two points of light hanging in the west before returning his attention to the senshi.  “The prince you have been looking for arrived today, four Royal Guards and a host of his supporters with him.  In return for joining the Wind Runners, he only asked for one thing.”  He paused for effect, knowing that the four senshi were hanging on his words.  “He wants us and you to help him rescue Princess Serenity.”

 

Rei grinned, glancing at her half-sister and cousins.  “Perfect!  When are we going?”

 

“Tomorrow we’ll head into the outer provinces and try to enlist support for the Wind Runners.  We have to create a plan to overthrow Beryl, and we need to rescue Princess Serenity—Usagi, I believe is her more common name—first.  Whenever Venus returns to this side of the sun, you can help my Wind Runners storm the palace.”

 

“Of course,” Minako answered, putting her sword away.  There was something strange about the leader’s stance, about his attitude, even the glint in his eyes.  “We would be glad to help retrieve my sister.  You mentioned that the prince brought his Royal Guard with him?  The four generals, too?”

 

Haruka narrowed his eyes, mouth curving into a half-smile.  “Yes, the four generals, too.  Kunzite, Zoicite, Jadeite, and Nephlyte.  I see they mean something to you.”

 

Minako blushed, color the other senshi could easily detect in the faint light.  Haruka’s laugh indicated that he, too, had seen.  Their conversation was ended by the appearance of little Hotaru, Haruka’s purple-eyed daughter.  The seven-year-old always seemed much older, and Minako had wondered if she could be a senshi since she first met the child.  Haruka smiled at the girl, all of his reserve melted by her shy smile.  “Haruka-papa, I want to show you the star charts I’m working on.”

 

“I’ll be back in a moment, Hime-chan.  Tell your mother I’m almost finished out here.”

 

“She wants you to know that Prince Endymion and his people are settled and fed.”  The little girl wrinkled her nose.  “His name is very strange.”

 

“It’s a family name.  Every prince of the Kingdom of Maredan has that name.  His given or common name is Mamoru.  You can call him that, but be polite.”

 

“Yes, Haruka-papa.”  Hotaru turned to the senshi and smiled.  “Hello, Minako-san, Rei-san, Makoto-san, Ami-san.  How has your day been?”

 

Minako grinned.  “Fine, Hotaru-chan.”

 

“Would you like to meet one of my friends?”

 

“That would be nice.”  Hotaru squealed and dashed back into the caves, returning with a small girl, pink hair tied into two pointed odangos like the princess wore.  Minako sat up straight, sensing her sister and cousins copy her actions.  That little girl . . .

 

“This is Chibiusa-chan,” Hotaru introduced, pushing the girl in front of her.  “We found her on one of our raids on the outer provinces.  The owner of the orphanage didn’t know who her mother is or where, just her name.”

 

Minako slipped out of her hammock and pulled the two-and-a-half-year-old into the light, blue eyes wide.  “Rei-chan, she looks exactly like . . .”

 

“I know,” the redhead murmured.  “Did Mother come back?  Chibiusa-chan, do you know who your mother is?”

 

The little girl’s red eyes widened.  “Mama,” she answered.  She looked at Minako and smiled.  “Looks like you.”

 

Rei’s purple eyed darkened and she shot to her feet, turning to face Haruka.  “Haruka-kun, where is Mamoru?”  Haruka pointed, and the princess dashed into the caves.  Minako’s eyes widened as she lifted the child, glancing at Makoto and Ami, who were standing beside her.

 

“That’s just not possible, Minako-chan.  She has to be from Aunt Ailan.”

 

“No she doesn’t, Mako-chan,” Minako whispered.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Mamoru!  What the hell happened?!”  Rei burst into Mamoru’s tent, ignoring the four generals that leapt to their feet at her entrance, the entirety of her fiery wrath directed at the prince alone.  She was glowing red, her senshi powers barely controlled.

 

Mamoru, his cape lying on the chair with his sword.  “What did I do now, Rei-chan?”

 

“Who is Chibiusa?”

 

Silence filled the room, all eyes turning to the prince for answers.  He paled, hands shaking, blue eyes searching for a way out.  Kunzite glanced at Mamoru and Rei.  “Prince?  What is she talking about?”

 

“Chibi . . . Chibiusa.  Where did you hear about her?”

 

“Hotaru-chan found her.”  Mamoru dashed past Rei and headed for the caves that held the Dragon Senshi, Rei and his generals following instants later.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Mamoru-kun?”

 

Mamoru skidded to a stop in front of Minako, eyes locked on the girl in her arms.  “Oh my . . . kami-sama, it’s her.”  He reached out and took the child, eyes full of love and wonder.  “Hey, Chibiusa.  How did you wander up here?”

 

“Papa!”  Chibiusa wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, and the senshi watched, shocked, as the prince began to cry.

 

“I thought I’d never see you,” he whispered.  “My baby.”

 

Rei and the generals joined the senshi, staring in shock at the pair.  “She’s your daughter?  Who’s the mother?”

 

“I would think you’d know, Kunzite-kun.  She’s Usagi’s daughter.”

 

“When?  How?  Why don’t I know?  She’s my niece!”

 

Mamoru nodded, wiping his tears away.  “Let’s go inside and put Chibiusa to bed.  I’ll tell you all about it.  I never even hoped . . .”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 3: Chibiusa

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“I was twenty and well on the way to take my throne.  Usagi was just barely seventeen, but she always acted so much older.  We had known each other for a while by then, and she had already agreed to marry me when we were older.  We had this grand plan to combine our kingdoms, you see.  I was visiting Lamirah and we had a beautiful picnic under the stars one night.  Her parents already approved the union, and my parents were warming up to the idea.  We were so sure of ourselves and so much in love and we knew that we would be together forever.  I guess we were a little drunk, and we didn’t even care about any consequences.  We made love that night, under the stars, and it was so wonderful.  I had to return to Maredan and I didn’t come back for four months.

 

“When I met her in her gardens, she was crying.  When I asked her what was wrong, she slapped me, said it was all my fault.  I asked her what was wrong, and she said she was pregnant.  I was shocked, and I offered to marry her immediately, but she wouldn’t have anything to do with that.  She told me that she spoke to her parents and they suggested a five-month retreat in the mountains for the entire royal family.”

 

“I didn’t want to go,” Rei whispered.  “I remember that so well.  Usagi seemed so distant, but she wouldn’t talk to us.”

 

Mamoru nodded as his mind flew back to that day.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

(—Flashback—)

 

Usagi stared out across the garden, tears in her eyes, one hand resting on her stomach.  “It’s not fair, Mamo-chan.  This would be a scandal if anyone ever learns what happened.  The princess isn’t supposed to have sex with someone before she’s married!  She’s not supposed to get pregnant.”

 

“What can we do, Usako?”

 

“Don’t call me that!  Damn it, Mamoru!”  Usagi covered her face with her free hand, shaking.  “I don’t want any of this.”

 

Mamoru reached out and placed a hand on Usagi’s shoulder, relaxing when she didn’t pull away.  “Look, I’m sorry you’re pregnant, but I’m not sorry we made love.  I’d do anything for you, Usagi, and I can’t bear to see you in pain.  Maybe we’re young, but we already have plans to get married and your parents aren’t ready to kill me.  I wanted to be the father of your children.”

 

“And I wanted to have your baby,” Usagi whispered, letting Mamoru wrap his arms around her.  “I’m seventeen, Mamo-chan.  I’m the High Princess of Lamirah.  What will it look like if I have a baby before I’m even married?”

 

“I’ll marry you, love.  I told you that.  I’m ready whenever you are.”

 

“I’m not ready yet.  I love you, but I can’t be your wife just yet.”

 

“Then what about our child?”

 

“I don’t know.”  Usagi ran her fingers over her belly, wiping her tears away.  “Mother and Father want me to go on this retreat until our child is born and then we’ll figure out what to do.”  She pulled away from her boyfriend.  “I don’t even know if I want to have the child.”

 

“Usagi!  You can’t be serious!”  Mamoru grabbed the slender blonde’s shoulders.  “You can’t be actually considering going to a midwife!  Some of those women can never have children again.”

 

“Those women aren’t princesses,” Usagi whispered bitterly.  “And what do you care?  You could get any girl pregnant.”

 

Mamoru wrapped his arms around the distraught young woman.  “Usako, please, believe me.  I never meant to get you pregnant, but I don’t want to lose that baby.  I love you and I’ll love him or her, I promise.  Please, calm down.”

 

“I’m calm,” she murmured, feeling much safer and more secure in his arms.  “I’m just so scared, Mamo-chan.”

 

“We’ll get through this.  Maybe your mother can pretend that the child is hers for a while.  I’m sure we can think of something.”

 

“What should we name it?”

 

Mamoru smiled.  “If it’s a boy he will be Endymion, and a girl will be Serenity.”

 

Usagi giggled, some of her former joy returned.  “No, silly.  Their common names.”

 

“If it’s a girl, let’s name her Usagi.  We could call her Chibiusa.”

 

“And a boy would be Mamoru, of course.”

 

“Naturally.”  Mamoru tilted Usagi’s chin up to face him, wiping the last of the tears from her cheek.  “No matter what happens, I’ll be here for you.  Both of you.  I don’t care about my reputation, okay?  You and this baby are my life, my love, my family.  Okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

(—End Flashback—)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Mamoru sighed.  “I was with them in the mountains for three months before I had to return to Maredan.  She seemed so happy, so content.  She was ready for our child.  Two months later, days after her eighteenth birthday, Usako returned to Lamirah Palace alone.  She said her mother and father vanished in the mountains and should be presumed dead.  I went to see her as soon as I heard of her return.  She said that the baby girl was born dead.”  He looked down at Chibiusa and smiled.  “She looks just like her mother.  I wonder what happened.”

 

Rei stared at the child, tears filling her eyes.  “She didn’t want Chibiusa to grow up a bastard child of the future queen.  That has to be it.  She must have given her newborn daughter to an orphanage far away when her mother and father vanished and she learned that she would have to become queen.  We have to get her out of that palace, Mamoru-kun.  We have to tell her that her daughter is alive and healthy.”

 

Haruka cleared his throat, wiping tears from his eyes.  The senshi glanced over their shoulders, having been unaware that the leader and his daughter were there.  His lover, sapphire-eyed Michiru, was also drying her eyes.  “Wow,” the blonde whispered.  “I see now that you were right, Mamoru-san.  Serenity is much more than just some princess.  No mother deserves to be separated from her child.”  He placed an arm on Michiru’s shoulders and led his lover and daughter away.

 

Minako watched the tall man leave, something tugging at her memory.  “He was looking at Uranus,” the blonde whispered.  “He looked at Uranus.  I remember now.  When he was talking about Venus coming back to this side of the sun, his eyes were locked on the western sky.”

 

“He kept looking back at that specific point of light,” Ami murmured.  “I think while we’re working on a rescue plan for our cousin, we should keep a close eye on Haruka-kun and Michiru-san.  There is something going on here.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Haruka?  Are you coming to bed?”

 

“Hai, hai, Michiru.  I was just checking that the guards know their assignments.”  The tall leader entered the spacious cave, pushing one of the warm curtains aside to reveal a glass window colored in blues and golds, one of the most precious possessions of the Wind Runners.  Haruka pushed the window open and pulled the outside shutters closed, well aware of the danger of detection.  Letting the curtain fall, Haruka turned back to the aqua-haired woman seated so sedately on their bed.

 

Michiru smiled seductively as she untied the scarf from her hair, releasing the aqua locks, pulling her tunic off next.  The sheer silk shirt she wore underneath did nothing to hide her soft curves, and Haruka moved forward, emerald eyes sparkling.  Michiru held up her hand, slipping out of her overdress, standing before her lover in a silk shirt and skirt, blowing out most of the candles in the large cave.  Sapphire eyes sparkling, Michiru stepped forward and laced her fingers through her lover’s short blonde hair, kissing the taller Wind Runner passionately as she reached for the blonde’s tunic.  Pulling the plain cloth over her partner’s head, Michiru unwrapped the cotton cloth from Haruka’s chest, stepping back to admire her lover.  “I don’t know why you pretend to be a man,” Michiru whispered.  “I like you just fine this way.”

 

Haruka laughed as she pulled Michiru back into her arms, the younger woman nuzzling her partner’s breasts.  “None of my men would follow a woman, Michiru.  And what would happen to Hotaru if someone found out she has no father?  It’s better this way.”

 

“You shouldn’t have to hide who you are, love.”

 

“I’ve hidden my true identity as Wind Runner all these years; being a woman is just a side note.”

 

“I miss the old days, Ruka.  I miss the days when you were a constant presence at court, right arm to the queen herself.  None of the younger Dragon Senshi know anything about us.  You could be a great help to them.”

 

“No I can’t.  Wind Runner died eight years ago when Arihlai fell in battle against Queen Mettalia.  I can’t ever go back, any more than you can.”

 

Michiru nodded, holding her lover close.  “I know.  Sea Siren is gone, too, as is Time Weaver and Moon Melody.  The old senshi are gone, but those Dragons would be very useful right now.”

 

“I know.  I can’t believe little Usagi is a mother.  It’s now more imperative than ever that we save that girl and reunite her with her family.”  Haruka’s eyes clouded with pain, and Michiru kissed the taller woman’s cheek.

 

“I know you miss them.  I do, too.  We’ll see them again in the next life, since we are lost in this one.”

 

Haruka pushed the unhappy thoughts away, turning her full attention to the woman she had pledged her life to so long ago.  “Well, Michi, I believe we were doing something before we started talking about lost Dragons.  Feel free to continue.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 4: Moonlight Stroll

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Makoto wandered along the edge of the cliff, watching the lights below flicker out as the people in the towns went to sleep, something she couldn’t do.  She glanced at Jupiter, hanging serenely in the sky, and she felt her thoughts return to Haruka.  That man acted for all the world like a Dragon Senshi, probably of Uranus, but how was that possible?  Makoto knew all of the senshi, or else Usagi did.  And neither of them knew the leader of the Wind Runners.

 

Makoto stopped still, almost falling to the ground.  “Haruka-san,” she whispered.  She picked up the piece of bark carved with the image of the Leader of the Wind Runners.  She brushed the dirt away, fingers running over the expert lines.  She ran her fingers down Haruka’s chest, pausing when she realized that the carving had breasts and hips.  Shocked, she fell to the ground, never noticing the jolt.  She stared at the carving, noting the other feminine features assigned to their leader.  “Haruka can’t be a woman,” she whispered.  An image of a tall blonde woman, single braid hanging down her back, emerald eyes fierce entered Makoto’s mind.  She had been twelve when she first visited the Royal Court, and the queen and king had always been attended by two striking women.  One had been the blonde, and the other was a slender woman with sapphire eyes and shoulder-length aqua hair.  They had vanished a few months later, and Makoto had never spoken to them, but that image had haunted her for years.  Who were those two women?

 

Staring at the bark carving, the edges singed from an aborted attempt to destroy the piece of art, Makoto found her answer.  “Wind Runner,” she whispered.  Slipping the precious piece of evidence into her tunic pocket, Makoto reached for the tree to pull herself up.

 

A hand met hers, and a very familiar General smiled as he helped her stand.  “What were you doing down there, Makoto?”

 

“Nephlyte!”  Makoto embraced the brown-haired general, her cares of a moment ago forgotten.  She was incredibly tall for a woman, but Nephlyte was taller than her, easily a match for the senshi of lightning.  “Where have you been?”

 

“Out patrolling with Mamoru-kun.  When he heard that the senshi had vanished, he realized that the trouble with Beryl is a danger to his lover, so we came here.  What’s this I hear about you being kicked out of the palace?”

 

Makoto smiled.  “You heard about that, huh?  She’s mad, Nephlyte.  But Haruka-san has agreed to help us rescue her and begin some sort of revolution to overthrow Beryl.  I and my dragon are ready.”

 

“Speaking of, where are the buggers?”

 

“They found some nice caves farther up.  They don’t want to be in the way.”  Makoto pulled away, taking Nephlyte’s hand and heading for the encampment.  “Ne, Nephylte?”

 

“Hai?”

 

“When did you first visit Lamirah?”

 

“Oh, ten years ago, I think.  There was this big ball and all of the neighboring countries were invited to attend.  That was before Asarine, Nabirrh, and Jadiluu joined Lamirah and Farderj joined Maredan.  Now, of course, there are only three great kingdoms, but there were many back then.  It was quite the gala, though I had to stay with Endymion most of the time.”

 

“Did you notice two women who always stayed with the queen and king?”

 

Nephlyte raised one eyebrow.  “Yeah, I guess so.  A blonde and a woman with blue hair.  Why?  You lived in the palace once they discovered your Dragon powers.  I’m sure you met them.”

 

“Not really.  I went to the palace for the first time two years after you, and they vanished mere months later.  Did you notice anything special about them?”

 

“They were powerful.  That much we could all agree on.  And when that blonde looked at you, she looked through you.  Those green eyes of hers could pierce any deception.  We heard that she once brought a soldier to his knees, crying, confessing every sin of his life, just by looking at him.  But she never spoke to anyone but the other woman and the royals.  She knew she was better than us.”

 

“Was she a Dragon Senshi?”

 

“Probably not.  I don’t remember there being senshi in the last Dragon Wars.  Too bad I don’t remember her name, ne?”

 

“You don’t remember her name because she cast a glamour spell when she ‘died’.”  Makoto paused and thought a moment, letting the tiny clues fall into place.  “Ami-chan and I have been practicing light glamours for years, and I know we could make any of our casual acquaintances conveniently forget our names.  But why would she leave the queen and princess when they needed her so badly?”

 

“Maybe her Dragon died.  I know you guys are very close to those creatures.”

 

“We are,” Makoto murmured.  “I didn’t know there were any senshi before us.  That’s silly, of course; there must have been.”  She cast her thoughts to her Dragon, Emizarit, restless on the highest peaks.  “Emi?  Were there senshi before us?”

 

“Of course, Makoto.  The greatest Dragons of the Wars had senshi.  Arihlai had a very special woman, mate to Nabiril’s senshi.  They were called . . . hmm.  I do not recall their human names.  Nabiril’s girl’s senshi name was Sea Siren, and she pulled mana from Neptune.  The other answered to Uranus and went by the name Wind Runner.”

 

“Wind Runner,” Makoto whispered.  “Of course.  They came here and formed their own little kingdom.  When Beryl took the throne from the rightful heir, they dedicated the rest of their lives to healing her injustices.  Senshi never stop fighting evil.”

 

“Who’s Wind Runner?”

 

Makoto smiled at her lover, emerald eyes sparkling in the moonlight.  “Can’t you guess?  The legendary Wind Runner is none other than Haruka-san, who was a senshi once.”

 

“A Senshi!  She can’t possibly be . . . Makoto!  You can’t mean it!”  Makoto slipped the piece of bark out of her pocket and showed it to Nephlyte.  He took the carving and ran his fingers over the shallow cuts.  “Whoever did this must be some kind of artist.”

 

“Look closer, Nephlyte.  What do you see?”

 

“Kami-sama!  It’s . . .”

 

“It’s a woman and she is Haruka-san.  She has to be Wind Runner, hero of the last of the great campaigns in the Dragon Wars!”

 

“Why would she hide something like that?”

 

“Because Arihlai died at the end.  We are nothing without a Dragon.  She could take another bond, but after the first it is very hard to open your mind again.  Emizarit is my second bond, and the only reason I didn’t have that much trouble with him is because Tarevel died when I was only fourteen, four months after I met him.  I wasn’t that used to the bond yet.  But Arihlai and Wind Runner were partners for at least five years.  Some say they met when Wind Runner was five years old or even younger, but those are just stories.  Until now, I really didn’t believe that she existed.  But she does, and she just has to help us.”

 

“Should we go wake my brothers’ girlfriends and ask what they think?”

 

“We probably should wait until morning.”

 

Nephlyte nodded and handed the carving back.  “Very well.”

 

Green-haired Makoto smiled, taking Nephlyte’s arm once more.  “You are so different from your brothers.  Jadeite would have confronted Haruka-san, Kunzite would have left the evidence where Haruka-san could find it and know that we know, and Zoicite would have demanded more proof.  How can you be quadruplets?”

 

“Mother asks the same thing,” the tall man laughed.  “So does Mamoru-kun.  I can’t believe your cousin and my cousin have a daughter.”

 

“I don’t think your cousin can, either.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 5: Onee-chan

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka groaned at the bright sunlight filtered through the warm curtains.  Morning.  She hated mornings.  Michiru stirred, sensing that her lover was awake, and Haruka slid out of bed, reaching for her clothes.  By the time Michiru opened her eyes, the leader of the Wind Runners was ready for the day, pulling her cloak on.  “Morning.”

 

“It is,” the younger woman agreed.  “There was a time when you did not wake with the sun. We could laze about in bed for hours.”

 

“Attendants of the Queen have certain privileges that leaders of resistance cells do not.  I have a meeting first thing; coming?”

 

“Always, Ruka.  You know that.  Why don’t you go wake Hotaru while I get dressed?”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Ten’ou-sama!  There’s someone to see you!”

 

Haruka turned to glare at the man, stopping her follower in his tracks.  The senshi and four generals stood to one side, waiting for her to finish her conference with her main intelligence officers, and the lackey’s interruption was unappreciated.  Without realizing it, Haruka’s emerald eyes were sparkling with the remnants of her Dragon power, the same piercing stare that Makoto and Nephlyte had noticed as children.  “I am in the middle of a meeting.  It can’t be that important.”

 

The man, his composure shot, looked away, unable to face his leader.  He was shaking, searching for an escape.  “No—I mean, yes, Ten’ou-sama.  These people want to talk to you about joining immediately.  They said it is very important.”  Haruka’s gaze darkened, and the man hit his knees, shaking uncontrollably.  “Please, Ten’ou-sama!  They ordered me to find you immediately!  I wouldn’t have dare disturbed you, else.  Th-they’re in the main field!”

 

Haruka waved her hand majestically, fully cognizant of the effect she was having on the trembling man.  It did good to remind them who they obeyed once in a while.  “Go.”  He vanished, running away so fast Haruka doubted that she could have caught him.  Turning to the senshi, Haruka bowed her head.  “Forgive me, but duty calls.”

 

“If you were going to hide in the mountains,” Makoto began, halting the blonde, “you might want to choose mountains away from anyone you knew in your past life.  Anyone who once saw that glare could never forget.”

 

Haruka feigned confusion.  “Pardon?”

 

“I know that you’re Wind Runner.”

 

Silence. 

 

Michiru, who had approached with Hotaru during the last little exchange, stared at the senshi, noting the glare her partner had directed to the Senshi powered by Jupiter.  The senshi were immune to her powers, though, and the green-haired woman smiled.  “Is it true, then, Haruka-san, once-friend of Queen Ailan?”

 

Haruka glanced at each of the senshi and generals, shocked that they also seemed to know, and the prince was nodding as he approached, daughter in hand.  “How do you know?”

 

Makoto pulled a piece of bark out of her pocket and handed it to Haruka.  “I found this.”

 

Haruka glanced at the carving and smiled.  “I remember this,” she whispered.  “Michi, you carved this for little Princess Usagi.  She asked to hear the story of Wind Runner so much that you gave her a picture.  She treasured it, even after the Wars.  How did it get here?”

 

Chibiusa giggled and pointed.  “Found my picture!”

 

Haruka shook her head.  “Oh, Princess.  You gave me away.”

 

“Why, Haruka-san?  Why do you pretend to be a man?”

 

Michiru laughed at Mamoru’s question.  “She thinks her men won’t follow a woman.  I know that they would, and what happened a few minutes ago is a good example.  They don’t recognize her gender, they recognize her strength, her passion, her power.  They follow that, not the blonde guy that hired them.  She won’t listen to me.”

 

Haruka sighed, glancing at the picture again.  “Makoto-san, how did you know for sure?  This picture could have been anything.”

 

“Actually,” Rei piped up, “it was me.  When Mako-chan came to us last night with her suspicions, Nephlyte mentioned something about a story he heard that Wind Runner could stare down anybody, could make grown men cry with the power of her glare.”  Michiru laughed, and Haruka sighed.  “Anyway, I remember seeing that power in action once.  I told her about it, and when we saw what you did this morning . . . some things never change, Dragon or no.  Just cutting your hair isn’t enough for those of us who know you.”  The princess touched Haruka’s arms, purple eyes soft.  “Look, I know how hard it is to lose a Dragon—all of us understand that bond.  But you don’t have to hide who you are anymore.  These men will follow you, we will follow you.”

 

“I don’t want you to,” Haruka whispered.  “I’m not Wind Runner anymore.  She died with Arihlai on that field years ago.”

 

“Why did you never re-bond?  Any Dragon would have given both wings to be yours.”

 

“It’s not that simple, Minako-san!  I wasn’t just bound to Arihlai from my fifteenth year or my twelfth.  I was bound with her from the day the Dragons saved me from the people that raided my home town and forced my family into hiding.  I was bound with her for seventeen years.  I can’t accept another Dragon.” 

 

“Of course you can.  You just have to learn to open your mind.  There are stories of Dragon senshi accepting a second Dragon after twenty years.”  Ami smiled, turning her statement into a kind suggestion.  “We can help you open you mind, Haruka-san.  We want to help you, we want to find you a new Dragon.  The princess needs you.”

 

Haruka groaned as she turned and headed for the caves, knowing that the senshi, generals, and prince were at her heels.  “I’ll think about it.  For now, I have people to speak to.”

 

There was a large group of soldiers and armed commoners waiting for the leader of the Wind Runners, three women in the lead.  Haruka approached the women—she could tell they were sisters by their bearing—sensing deep inside that she knew these people.

 

The shortest of the three, silver-white hair tinted blonde, turned at the group’s approach, and Haruka groaned.  “Why did you three come back?”

 

“Haruka-san!  There you are!”

 

The woman with long black hair and the tallest, a brunette, also turned, smiling and rushing forward to embrace Haruka in a move she had always deemed very inappropriate.  Haruka shrugged the three women off, crossing her arms and glaring at the three.  “Why are you here?  I thought you went away.  For good.”  The threat in her last words was more than merely implied.

 

Seiya grinned and gestured at her men.  “But we brought you a present, Ani!”

 

“Don’t call me that.”

 

“Lots of men willing to fight for you,” Yaten continued, pouting.  “We thought you would be happy, Onii-chan.”

 

“I told you to stop calling me that, Kou Yaten.  And I guess I am grateful.”

 

Taiki glanced over Haruka’s shoulder.  “Ne, Haruka-Onii-chan, aren’t you going to introduce us to your new friends?”

 

“They’re all attached.  And I suppose you three may join us for the midday meal.  Have your men stay here, and some of my generals will come and assign them rooms.”  She turned and headed for her private rooms, the encounter leaving her tense.  The senshi could guess why she had sent the three sisters away.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“I thought you made it to Kamiret,” Haruka growled, picking at her food.  Michiru looked up from spooning food onto Hotaru’s plate, eyes worried.  Chibiusa gurgled something, and Hotaru handed her a piece of soft bread, ever the attentive little baby-sitter.

 

“We did,” Seiya answered, leader of the three fraternal triplets that looked nothing alike.  “We met the Queen, Yuriko—their family name is Kakyuu—and her new husband.  They don’t have any kids, but we heard rumors that the queen had a daughter with her first husband, long ago.  The king has three brothers, and all are very nice men.  They’re all engaged to sisters, which I found funny.  The queen’s father was visiting from the Outer Provinces and what used to be Aderaph.”  Seiya glanced around the table, eyes coming to rest on Minako before passing on.  “Anyway, I told the old king about your plight, and he and his daughter raised a little volunteer army.  They also mentioned that a pair of women had appeared in their mountains about three years ago, living in harmony with the wild Dragons.  I thought that was pretty interesting.”

“I agree.  But you could have just sent them back.  You didn’t have to come.”

 

“Sure we did!  Aino Shinrai said we were needed here.”

 

“Aino?”  Minako glanced at her cousins.  “The old king’s last name was Aino?”

 

“Yeah.  The royal last name, Kinmoku, is what gets passed down the Royal Line to the Kakyuu daughters.  Why?”

 

“Aino is my last name, that’s all.  Seiya-kun, who was the queen married to before her current king?”

 

“Meiou Hiroshi.  Why?”

 

Minako paled.  “Because that’s my father’s name and the name of the last king of Lamirah.  But my mother died in childbirth.”

 

“Not unless Hiyoshi was having an affair during his marriage to Kakyuu.  They were married until twenty-one years ago, according to Shinrai-sama.”

 

“Then . . . Queen Kakyuu was my mother . . .”  Minako stared at the triplets, unable to believe Seiya.  “That’s just not possible.  I can’t be her daughter.  That would make me heir to the Kamiret throne, and I can’t accept.  I have a half-sister to protect.”

 

Michiru cleared her throat.  “We could go to Kamiret after we remove Serenity from the palace and ask Queen Kakyuu what happened and why she would abandon her daughter.”

 

“Good idea.  What do you think, Onii-chan?”

 

“I am NOT your Ani.  Please stop calling me that.”

 

Seiya nodded.  “You’re right, Haruka.  You’re our Onee-san.”

 

Her head shot up.  “What did you say?”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 6: The Kou Sisters

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“I said you’re our Onee-san.  We know you’re a woman—we’ve known since we found you in the Royal Palace so many years ago.  We know that you’re Wind Runner, the Dragon Senshi of Arihlai, answering to Uranus, and that you formed this group when your dragon died.  We joined you to make sure you wouldn’t take your own life after you lost your dragon.”

 

Haruka glanced at Michiru and Hotaru.  “I wouldn’t have, Seiya-kun.  But what is this whole Ane thing?”

 

Seiya grinned.  “The real reason we left Kamiret was because we learned that our mother had a daughter in Lamirah before the wars forced Mother and Father to move.  She was lost and presumed dead.  We learned later that the Dragons adopted her.”

 

Haruka dropped her fork into her plate, emerald eyes wide.  “You can’t mean . . .”

 

“We do,” Taiki assured the blonde.  “Our father is Kou Koshu, as you know, and we all carry his name since we were born in Maredan, but our sister was born in Lamirah and has Mother’s last name.  Mother died ten years ago, but she tried so hard to find her firstborn child.  Haruka, you are Ten’ou Kazeko’s child.”

 

Haruka groaned, head falling into her hands.  “I so don’t want to be your sister.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Minako?  I brought you a present.”

 

The blonde self-proclaimed Goddess of Love grinned, spinning to face her fiancé.  “What is it, Kunzite?”

 

He pulled a small box from behind his back, opening it to reveal a delicate golden necklace with a topaz heart on the end.  “This,” he whispered.

 

“It’s gorgeous!  Where did you get it?”

 

“A jeweler in Maredan who owed me a favor.”  Kunzite fastened the jewel around his girlfriend’s neck.  “Perfect.”

 

“I really did miss you,” she purred.  “I wish we could have been reunited under better circumstances, though.  This mission to find the princess . . .”

 

“I know.”  Minako’s eyes strayed to the top of the caves, where her orange and gold dragon watched, fiery red eyes glowing even in the sunlight.  “Nameri doesn’t like you very much, and she really doesn’t trust you.”

 

“Really?”  Kunzite stepped closer and wrapped his arms around the slender senshi.  The red eyes narrowed and a threatening grunt wafted down.  Nameri stretched her neck down, claws digging into the stone too keep her balance, long tail held above her head as she bared her teeth at the white-haired senshi.  Another Dragon, black and gray, grunting his displeasure in being awakened, glanced at what was bothering the excitable female.

 

“Nameri, be calm.  That male won’t do anything.”

 

“He is messing with my senshi,” she hissed back.  “I don’t like him.”

 

The wild Dragon rolled his eyes.  “You bonded ones are far too protective.  They’re two-legs, not hatchlings.”

 

Nameri swung her head at the young wild male, opening her wings in an obvious threat, and the male shrugged.  Without another word, the slim Dragon jumped into the air and headed for his flight, leaving the bound Dragons to their senshi.  Nameri grunted and turned her attention back to the senshi and her mate.  Closing her eyes, she pretended to ignore the couple, fooling no one.

 

Minako pulled Kunzite away from her Dragon.  “I wonder what Usagi-chan is doing right now.  I hope she’s okay.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

She sat in her private garden and watched the wind play in the flowers, eyes riveted on the red roses.  Red roses.  Mamoru always brought her red roses.  That thought brought the tears to her blue eyes again.  “I miss you,” she whispered.  She rested a hand on her flat belly, closing her eyes.  “Mamoru, I want to see you.  I want to tell you the truth about Chibiusa.  I don’t even know if she’s alive anymore.  And now . . .”

 

“Serenity!”

 

The blonde clenched her fists.  “Yes, Aunt Beryl?”

 

The red-haired woman oozed into the garden, smiling as she approached.  “There you are.  I hear you were nauseous again this morning.”

 

Serenity quelled the flash of fear that filled her.  Beryl couldn’t know.  “It’s just a little cold or something.”

 

Beryl ran her finger down Usagi’s cheek and tipped her chin up.  “There’s something about you.  I think you’re lying to me.”

 

Usagi shook her head, trembling from the ice in her aunt’s stare.  “P-please, I’m not.  I’m telling you the truth.  Th-there’s nothing wrong.”

 

Beryl pulled her hand back and slapped the princess, knocking her to the ground.  Usagi stayed where she had fallen, unwilling to anger her aunt more.  The queen leaned down and grabbed Usagi’s chin again.  “I will find what you are hiding,” she growled.  She threw Usagi back down and stalked away.

 

Usagi curled up and tried to stop the flow of tears staining the ground.  “I have to get out of here,” she whispered.  “If she ever finds out about my child . . .”

 

A warm, soothing voice interrupted her tears.  “Do not cry, little Moon Singer.  Your daughter is fine.”

 

“That’s not what I meant . . .”

 

“I know, child.  You’ll be alright.  Even now your mate searches for a way to free you.”

 

“He can’t be fast enough,” Usagi whispered, having discovered months ago how to speak telepathically with the kind entity.  “In days she will know and my child will die.  I can’t do that to Mamoru again.  I have to get out of here for his sake.  When he finds out what I did he might not ever speak to me again, but he deserves to know.”

 

“He’ll forgive you, Usagi.  How much do your aunt’s guards watch you?”

 

“All the time.  They won’t go into my room, but that’s all.”

 

“I’ll think of something.  Sleep well, Moon Singer.”

 

Usagi sighed and pulled herself back up onto the bench.  “I don’t think I’ll be able to as long as I live here.”

 

In the mountains towering over the city, a white Dragon sighed.  Her mate reclined lazily by her side, short black fur shining red in the light.  “Who was that?” he asked in the whistling language of the Dragons.

 

“Serenity.  We have to find a way to get her out of that palace.  Beryl’s far too close for comfort,” the female grunted back.

 

“Then Call.  Anyone would answer you.  Even the Dragon Senshi.”

 

Nodding, the white female rose onto her back legs, shining pale gold in the sun, front legs tucked against her chest, wings open for balance.  She let out a complicated trumpet, the Call, the brassy sound echoing off the rock faces of the mountains.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Makoto fell out of her hammock, afternoon nap interrupted, head ringing, as a crystalline trumpet vibrated the bones of the mountains.  She whimpered in pain and confusion, Nephlyte by her side in a second, as Emizarit trumpeted, the other Dragons joining his call.  Makoto felt the ground shake as the Dragons came down from the heights, searching for their riders, whistling their demands.  Emi scooped Makoto and Nephlyte onto his back, unwilling to bother with separating them, hissing a warning before taking to the air.

 

Ami’s Biyakyu, the senshi and her lover on the female’s back, joined them, followed by Minako and Kunzite on Nameri, Rei and Jadeite on Faneley, and four Dragons the senshi did not recognize.  Three of them carried the Kou Sisters, marking them as Dragon Senshi, and the fourth bore Michiru, Hotaru and Haruka behind her.  The senshi knew that Michiru had lost her first Dragon in the Wars, so she must have rebound in order to protect her child and lover.  The Flock of Bound Dragons, followed by their wild companions, headed for the palace.

 

A silvery white female and her black mate joined the flight, eyes sparking.  “Arihlai’s senshi must slip into the upper floors of the palace and locate the princess while the rest of us distract the guards,” she hissed, knowing that she was in charge.  Three more Dragons, two males and one female, joined from the direction of Kamiret, murmuring to the leader and each other.  Their riders were cloaked and hooded.

 

“Seralii wants you to go into the palace and find the princess while the rest distract Beryl, Wind Runner.”

 

“I am not her anymore, Sadaine,” Haruka whispered to Michiru’s Dragon.  “I can’t.”

 

“You must.  The princess is in such danger that Seralii summoned us here hastily and with no plan.  Dragons do not act in such a manner unless there is a problem.  You are the only one who knows the layout of the palace.  For Serenity’s sake, you must.”

 

Haruka sighed and glanced at the palace.  “Fine.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Usagi stared out her window, smiling as the dark specks in the distance resolved into more than a dozen Dragons, flaming and attacking everything in their path.  Most of them landed on the palace, reaching in and removing Beryl’s guards.  One of the Dragons, a small blue-green female carrying three women, landed on Usagi’s balcony, the blonde jumping off and reaching for the latch.  The sound of footsteps outside Usagi’s door froze the women, sending the Dragon to a higher ledge and the blonde to one side, invisible from the door.

 

Beryl burst into Serenity’s room, dark eyes flaming.  “You called the damn Dragons!  You’re a Senshi just like your worthless mother!”

 

“I d-didn’t call them,” Usagi whispered, shaking.

 

Beryl growled and grabbed Usagi’s arm, throwing her against the nearest wall.  The blonde princess cried out in pain and fear, curled around her belly.  Beryl stared in shock, realization dawning.  “That’s why you’ve been sick,” she whispered, pulling out a sharp knife.  “I can’t have two royal brats roaming the palace.  I’ll have to get rid of you now.”  She threw the knife, and Usagi closed her eyes.

 

The expected pain never came.  A sharp ringing sound filled the room, and Usagi looked up, to find the blonde from the Dragon standing between her and her aunt, glowing sword drawn.  The blade had deflected the knife, its baleful golden glow echoed by its master.  Queen Beryl, having seen the new warrior jump through solid glass without breaking it, waved her hand and vanished, leaving the fight for another day.  The warrior let the gold and the faint symbol on her forehead vanish with her sword, kneeling down beside the confused princess.  “Serenity-hime?”

 

“Of course,” she whispered.  “Who are you?”

 

“I’m here to get you out of this palace.  The Dragons called, and even those who are unbound for now and all eternity must respond.”  Reaching down, she easily lifted the woman and carried her to the glass doors, kicking them open and exiting onto the large balcony where the Dragon waited once more.  She mounted behind her mate and the flight of Dragons left the palace.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 7: Unexpected Reunion

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The entire camp was awake by the time the flight of Dragons landed in the mountains.  Haruka jumped off Sadaine’s back and helped the princess dismount, Hotaru and Michiru just behind them.  The rest of the senshi dismounted, letting their Dragons return to the heights, the Kou triplets joining their older sister.  “Haruka-onee-san?”

 

“Don’t call me that, Seiya-san.  Call me just Haruka.  What do you want?”  She still was not comfortable with the Kou triplets being her younger sisters, but as long as she kept them at a distance, she wouldn’t have to deal with that.

 

“Haruka-kun, I thought you did not ride Dragons anymore.”

 

“I don’t,” she growled, turning to leave.  “But some calls even the unbound cannot refuse.  This was one.”

 

“Unbound,” Usagi whispered.  “You’re Wind Runner!”  Usagi turned to Michiru, seeing the truth of her words in the older woman’s sapphire eyes.  “And you must be Sea Siren.  I remember you.”

 

Haruka glanced at the princess, sighing before she walked away.  “The queen will come for us.  Lamirah is no longer safe.  As soon as the sun sets, we move.”  Michiru and little Hotaru followed the Leader of the Wind Runners as her lieutenants gathered around her, ready to prepare the camp for evacuation.

 

“Usagi!!”  Minako, Rei, Ami, and Makoto dashed forward and embraced the princess, laughing and cheering at her freedom.  The four generals stood back, knowing better than to interfere, as the Kou triplets followed their sister.  The three strange Dragon Senshi stood to the side, waiting for something, faces still hooded.

 

“Usako!”

 

The senshi moved back from the princess as Prince Endymion sprinted through the camp, pulling his fiancée into his arms.  “Mamo-chan,” she whispered, arms wrapped around his neck.  “I missed you so much.”

 

Mamoru wiped the tears off her face, stepping back.  “Are you okay, Usako?  Did she hurt you?”

 

Usagi bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall.  “Mamo-chan, there’s something I need to tell you.”

 

“Papa?”

 

Usagi’s head shot up at the soft word, blue eyes wide as a little pink-haired girl walked out of the nearest tent, red eyes fastened on the blonde.  Usagi slipped out of Mamoru’s arms and knelt down, scooping the child into her embrace.  “Chibiusa,” she breathed.  “I thought I’d never see you again.”

 

“Mama!”  Chibiusa threw her tiny arms around the princess’s neck and closed her eyes, falling asleep, feeling safe and secure for the first time in her life.  Usagi stood up and turned to face her family and fiancé, knowing what they would ask.

 

“Why did you give her away, Usako?  Why did you lie to me?”

 

“I had to,” she whispered, hanging her head.

 

“It was because you didn’t want her to get in trouble for being the bastard child of the princess, right Usagi?”  Rei’s purple eyes were hopeful as she offered her twin an ‘out’.

 

Usagi shook her head, and Minako tried.  “Did someone take her from you?”

 

“No.”

 

“It wasn’t blackmail or anything, was it?”

 

“No, Mako-chan.”

 

Ami touched her cousin’s arm, silencing the green-haired woman.  “Why don’t you tell us what happened, Usagi?”

 

The blonde looked at the child sleeping peacefully in her arms, and a smile stole across her face.  “When I found out that I was pregnant, I was so scared.  How could I let such a thing happen before I was even married?  When I told my mother, she scolded me, but then she smiled and said she was happy that I was giving her a grandchild.  Father gave me a big hug and said that it would be alright, that I would be alright.  I didn’t believe any of it until Mamo-chan said that he was happy.  I had considered going to a midwife and terminating the pregnancy, but Mamo-chan made me see how stupid that was.

 

“And the pregnancy was just fine, but you can’t understand what it’s like to have a little life growing inside you.  They depend on you for everything—for food, for safety, and for love.  Especially royal children, since we have abnormally strong telepathic powers.  I could sense them, towards the end, and I knew there was something wrong.”  She paused to clam herself.  “You see, I considered killing them.  They knew already that I didn’t love them.  So something went wrong.  Terribly wrong.”

 

“They?  Usako?”

 

“There were twins, Mamo-chan,” she whispered, closing her eyes.  In her mind, she was there again, her parents helping her, the midwife chanting.  “Chibiusa was born first, and she was so beautiful.  Mother said that she’d be a great queen one day.  But then I had another contraction, and her brother was born.”  She looked up, tears streaking her cheeks, voice shaking.  Unnoticed by the senshi, Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru had returned.  Even the aloof Wind Runner’s eyes were filled with tears.  “He was already dead.”

 

“Oh god,” Rei whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.  Mamoru moved forward and wrapped his arms around Usagi, lending her what support he could.  Minako shook her head, unable to believe her half-sister, and Makoto clenched her fists, wishing there was something she could pound to make her cousin’s son come back.  Ami felt Zoicite wrap his arms around her waist, and she leaned back, stifling her sobs.

 

“After that I couldn’t risk Chibiusa.  Because of me, her brother died, and I had to make sure she was safe.  So Mother and Father went away, promising to find a good orphanage for her.  A few days later, I went back to the palace and told you that she died.”  Unable to hold her tears, Usagi sobbed into Mamoru’s tunic, his arms the only thing that kept her standing.  He swallowed, regaining his composure before speaking.

 

“It’s not your fault, Usako,” he whispered, kissing her forehead.  “Women lose children all the time.  He was just weak, that’s all.”

 

“Weak?  Your son?”  She shook her head.  “If he was weak it was because of me.”

 

“No, Usako.  You’re the strongest woman I know.  You gave up your only child so she could have a better life.  She’s perfectly fine, even if her brother didn’t make it.”

 

Usagi pulled her daughter close, closing her eyes.  “Now I almost wish . . . I wish things had been different.  If I hadn’t been so scared, if I hadn’t considered aborting them, he might still be here.”

 

“Usako, listen to me.”  Mamoru caught Usagi’s chin in his hand and tilted her face up.  “You didn’t do anything wrong.  There’s no way your actions could have killed our son.  You saved Chibiusa, didn’t you?  And I’m more to blame than you are.  When you told me that you were considering going to the midwife, for an instant, I wanted you to.  I was not ready, and I didn’t think you were, either.  Afterwards I felt so guilty that I had even considered killing my own child that I went to the mountains with you.  When it came close to time for Chibiusa’s birth, I kinda’ panicked a little.  I didn’t want you to see how scared I was, so I left.  Maybe if I had been by your side, if I had stayed with you, he might still be here.”

 

“Mamo-chan . . .”

 

“See?  It’s not your fault.  Children need two parents, and I should never have left you to take care of Chibiusa alone.  Don’t blame yourself, okay?  It’s not like Chibiusa can never have a brother now, and it’s not like I’m ever leaving you again.  From now on, my family takes precedence over my kingdom.”

 

Usagi smiled as Mamoru embraced her again.  “Mamo-chan, aishiteru.”

 

“Aishiteru, Usako.”

 

As the four senshi gathered around their princess, Haruka glanced at Michiru and stalked away, wishing that she did not have to propagate so many secrets to protect her daughter.  Michiru followed, leaving the senshi, princess, prince, and generals alone.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Usagi?”

 

“Come in, Rei.”

 

The redhead entered the tent, smiling at her twin and niece.  Mamoru and his generals were helping Haruka get the camp ready to move, and Usagi and Chibiusa were resting.  The princess was stretched out on her hammock, daughter nestled safely in her arms.  “Are you okay, Usagi?”

 

The blonde nodded.  “I wish I had been able to tell someone earlier,” she whispered.  “You or Minako.  I just couldn’t tell Mamo-chan.”

 

“I know,” she whispered, sitting on the chair beside her sister.  “Why did you decide to tell him now?”

 

“Because he found Chibiusa.”

 

Rei shook her head.  “I know you better than that, Usagi.  You were going to tell him before she even entered the picture.  Why?  And don’t lie to me, please.”

 

Usagi sighed and took Rei’s hand.  “Clear your mind,” she whispered as she placed her sister’s hand on her belly.  “Listen.”

 

The Fire Senshi gasped, purple eyes flying open.  “Usagi!”

 

She rolled her eyes and smiled.  “I know.  I don’t think it was that much of an accident, though.  Mamo-chan has been spending more and more time with me in Lamirah since my pregnancy.  It made Beryl’s takeover a little easier to bear.  She kicked him out for good five months ago.  I haven’t seen him since.”

 

“I can’t believe you’re pregnant again!  You’re still not married and you’re still not queen!  Usagi, what am I going to do with you?”

 

The princess laughed.  “I don’t know.  But I wanted to make sure that this pregnancy goes smoothly and both children make it.”

 

“I also can’t believe that it’s twins.  The Serenity line is noted for the lack of siblings.  There are almost never two princess and there hasn’t been a prince for hundreds of years.  Why now, I wonder?”

 

“If you think about it, times are changing.  Mother and Beryl are sisters, and you and I are twins.  Chibiusa was a twin, but it seems that her destiny is to merely be the oldest child.  These two will make three royal children.”

 

“Now I see why the Dragons were so eager to get you out of there.  Beryl would never tolerate your children.”

 

Usagi winced, pulling Chibiusa closer.  “I know,” she whispered.  “She found out, just before Wind Runner saved me.  I’ve had morning sickness so bad this time around, and it must have alerted her.  Wind Runner saved my life, Rei.”

 

“Call her Haruka.  She gets upset if you mention her Dragon Senshi past.  She had it bad, losing her dragon.  They were bound for seventeen years, after all.”

 

“I know.  She was the best Dragon Senshi ever.  Mother envied her skills sometimes.”

 

“Usako?”

 

“I’m in here, Mamo-chan.”  Rei and Usagi looked up as the prince entered, smiling. 

 

“Usako, why did you suddenly decide to tell me about Chibiusa?”

 

Usagi smiled as her fiancé took a seat.  “Mamo-chan, there’s a reason the Dragons called the senshi so suddenly.  They knew that Chibiusa isn’t going to be an only child for very long.”

 

His blue eyes widened, and his eyes flew to Usagi’s belly.  “You don’t mean . . .”

 

“I really do, Mamo-chan.  And this time I won’t send our child away.”

 

“It’s about time.”

 

Mamoru and Rei were on their feet in an instant, the prince with his sword drawn and the princess in a defensive posture.  Just inside the doorway stood the three strangers from the rescue, faces hidden in shadow.  The leader, who had spoken, glanced at the woman on her right, who dropped her hood.  Usagi smiled, standing, as she recognized Kinmoku Yuriko, Queen Kakyuu of the third Kingdom, Kamiret.  Usagi had met the queen many times, but for the first time she recognized a resemblance between Yuriko and her blonde half-sister.  She glanced at Rei, and the Fire Senshi nodded.  Minako was the daughter of the Queen of Kamiret.

 

The woman on the leader’s other side removed her hood, and Usagi squealed in delight, a sound echoed by the others’ gasps.  The silver-haired woman smiled, the purple eyes her younger daughter had inherited dancing with delight.  “Hello Usagi, Rei.  I missed you both very much.”

 

“Mother,” Rei breathed, hands falling.  “I thought you died.”

 

“No, but I and your father had to go away.  His little glamour trick was failing, and it would take too long to create another.  My husband Hiroshi died the day Chibiusa was born, and his real self joined me in Kamiret.  Usagi, Rei, meet the person who was your ‘father’ and King of Lamirah.”

 

The leader dropped her hood.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 8: Enough

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The woman who stood before Usagi and Rei was tall, long, dark green hair falling down her back, a small bun on top of her head, ruby eyes sparkling.  She smiled and tilted her head in greeting, glancing at the women standing behind her.

 

“Oh my God Minako get in here Right NOW!!”

 

Rei’s frantic mental call brought her half sister and two cousins in an instant, forcing Ailan, Yuriko, and the green-haired woman to step aside.  The four generals followed, hands on their swords, Michiru, Haruka, and Hotaru just behind them.  The instant their eyes touched Ailan, once Queen Serenity of Lamirah, Haruka and Michiru hit their knees, tears in their eyes.

 

“I thought you were dead,” Michiru whispered.

 

Ailan knelt down in front of her senshi and tilted Haruka’s head up, wiping the tears from the taller woman’s emerald eyes.  “I thought you two were dead, Wind Runner.  What happened to you, Haruka?”

 

“I had to go away, Majesty,” she whispered, reaching up to take the silver-haired woman’s hand.  “It was so hard to live without Arihlai.”

 

“I imagine it would be harder to live without Michiru, hm?  Is that why you brought her with you?”

 

Haruka shook her head, reaching down and taking her lover’s hand.  “I didn’t ask her to come, but she refused to stay behind.”

 

“I wanted to help you, Majesty,” Michiru whispered, “but I couldn’t leave Haruka alone.  Dragonless, she might . . .”

 

Ailan nodded, pulling both women to their feet.  “There’s someone here who wants to see you and your girl.”

 

Haruka glanced at the leader of the three women and burst out laughing, her lover’s more gentle chuckles coming a moment later.  The ruby-eyed woman smiled.  “What’s so funny, Wind Runner?”

 

“Gods, Setsu-chan!  I thought you would never wear this guise!”

 

“My glamour faded.  You may not have noticed, but Arihlai and Nabiril helped me a lot; they gave Adaqame most of the power he needed to create that spell.  It was not some weak apprentice-level spell, either.  Ailan’s Mirrah tried to help me reweave the glamour, but she wasn’t powerful enough.  So I told Ailan that I had to leave, and she decided to go with me.  At the time we were sure that Usagi would be okay, especially with her child, but things didn’t turn out as expected.”

 

“Kami-sama,” Minako breathed, falling to her knees.  “Father . . .”

 

The woman smiled and pulled Minako to her feet, walking over to stand beside the twin princesses and the blonde leader of the Dragon Senshi.  “My name is Meiou Setsuna and I masqueraded as Meiou Hiroshi for . . . twenty years or so.  I had to because of some stupid prophecy Ada told me.  He told me that I had to marry a queen, and I was fighting in some skirmishes in Aderaph at the time before it joined Kamiret.  I met Yuriko and I fell for her.  She was gorgeous as a princess.”

 

Yuriko snorted and crossed her arms over her chest.  “Was?  Setsuna, I do believe that I resent your choice of words.”

 

Setsuna smiled.  “Okay, Kakyuu.  You’re still stunning.  Anyway, we kinda got married and I kinda got her pregnant . . . that’s actually a longer story than you need, and there was quite a bit of Dragon Magic involved.  When you were born, Minako, I realized that Kakyuu wasn’t my destined wife.  Ada sent me a dream, and I told Yuriko about it.  She reluctantly agreed that I had to follow my destiny, and I found her a really nice duke before I left.  His name is Yoruno Kiyoshi, and they’ve been married eighteen years.”

 

Yuriko smiled and hugged her daughter.  “I’ve wanted to see you again, but Setsu-chan told me that you were born a Dragon Senshi and that you were destined to help a half-sister who wasn’t born yet.  You weren’t destined to grow up in Kamiret as my daughter and heir.  So I reluctantly let her take you away.”

 

“But you don’t have any other children,” Minako whispered.  “I am your heir.”

 

“Yes, you are.  If you want to be.”  She cleared her throat and pulled Ailan closer.  “Let Setsuna finish her story.”

 

“I wandered to Lamirah, baby Minako and Ada my only companions, and I met this silver haired woman I thought must be a goddess.  She was gorgeous and I knew the instant I saw her that she was my destiny.”  She took Ailan’s hand and kissed it, pulling the former queen into her arms.  “I had no idea that she was the princess and for the first time in my life I didn’t care about destiny.  I met with her a few times at some of the parties and royal functions, and I introduced her to little Minako.  Since I had to leave Yuriko when you were just a little baby, Minako, I ended up nursing you myself, and I slipped up one night and mentioned that.  That was so embarrassing!  Eventually I told her the entire story.  I never mentioned the dream, of course, but she didn’t care.  When I asked her to marry me, she said yes.  And, of course, I got her pregnant, too.  Ada and Mirrah got an earful for that one, let me assure you.  Nine months later, Usagi was born, followed five minutes later by Rei.  We had no idea that there were twins!  It’s almost unheard-of in the Royal Line.  Rei was fairly normal-sized for a girl, but Usagi was so tiny.  We weren’t sure you would make it.”

 

Usagi turned white and trembled, clutching her daughter closer.  “He was small, too.  So very little . . . he died before he was even born.”

 

Ailan smiled and embraced her oldest daughter.  “It’s okay, Usagi.  I told you years ago that you will have a son if you are destined to.”

 

Rei narrowed her eyes as she moved closer to Setsuna, the woman she had known as her father for twenty years.  She crossed her arms over her chest, and Jadeite moved back, recognizing the signs of her anger.  “Why did you leave?  Why did you never tell us?  Obviously Haruka-san and Michiru-san knew your true identity, but you thought it was fair to keep it from your three daughters?”

 

Setsuna took Rei’s arm wordlessly and pulled her outside, the senshi and generals following curiously.  A huge male Dragon knelt outside the tent, garnet eyes slowly changing to black, short fur the color of night, tiny white spots covering his body and wings.  The sleepy Dragon looked up, eyes turning red again, and sniffed the senshi his rider pushed in front of him.  “Rei, meet Adaqame, my Dragon.  Old Ada told me that it was time to go and I thought it best not to anger one of the largest male Dragons in the Three Kingdoms.  Would you have disobeyed?”

 

Rei shook her head, tears sparkling in her purple eyes.  How could she face the woman who had not only abandoned her but lied to her for eighteen years?  “I don’t understand why you couldn’t tell us who you really are.”

 

“Because you and Usagi weren’t Dragon Senshi yet.  Knowing that I was and had abandoned you would have made you follow me, and I could not allow that.  Ailan and I had to disappear to give the younger senshi a chance.”

 

“Fat lot of good it did,” Minako groused, glaring at the huge male Dragon.  He was larger than her female, rare for a tiercel.  “Beryl took over quick-as-you-please and all but threw us out on our collective asses.  Usagi never had a chance to take her throne.”

 

“We never intended that she should,” Ailan murmured.  “It was kind of a test of the new senshi and my younger sister.  Beryl failed—she’s as power-hungry as I always assumed.  You passed and you found Haruka, a task I thought impossible.”

 

Haruka crossed her arms over her chest, emerald eyes flashing.  “Who said I wanted to be found, Majesty?  Michiru and I were perfectly happy without you.”

 

“What about Hotaru?  I’m sure she wondered about me.”

 

Haruka clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to punch Setsuna, emerald eyes glowing like twin suns, a strange golden power enveloping her slender form.  She never noticed the power buildup or the strange looks the senshi and generals were exchanging.  “I told you eight years ago that I would let you help create the child for Michiru’s sake, not for yours.  I love Hotaru dearly, but none of her belongs to you save the initial burst of Dragon-power we needed from Adaqame for the pregnancy.  She is not your child in any way, shape, form, or fashion and I would thank you to remember that!”  The senshi took her daughter and stomped away, Michiru at her heels, desperate to calm the blonde.  Only she understood what bothered her lover so much.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Haruka!  Wait a moment!”

 

“I don’t want to talk, Michiru.”  Haruka placed Hotaru in the hammock in the back of their cave, smiling at the girl.  “Why don’t you take a nap or play with your toys?  Your mother and I will be inside if you need us.”

 

“Okay, Haruka-papa.  What about Setsuna-mama?”

 

“I told you that she’s more like your aunt.”  The blonde entered the cave, Michiru close behind.  Hotaru, purple eyes thoughtful, slid out of the hammock and slipped away, wondering where Setsuna was.

 

“Haruka, please stop.”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it, Michiru.”

 

Michiru grabbed her lover’s arm, sapphire eyes sparking furiously.  “No!  You will talk to me!  I saw the power when you saved Usagi-san and I definitely saw that damn sword.  Where did that come from?”

 

“I don’t know!  I just needed to save the princess and it appeared!  Don’t make a big deal out of it.”  Haruka turned away and pulled the curtains aside, staring across the miles to the palace she could barely see.  “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

 

“It does matter!  You haven’t shown any signs of power since Arihlai died, and I know you have some!  Dragon Senshi never lose their power.  You must have had some when we conceived Hotaru, but you never showed any until now.”

 

Haruka gripped the edge of the window so hard that pieces of stone fell to the floor.  “You don’t understand at all.  You and Nabiril were only bound for five years.  I was bound to Arihlai for seventeen.  There’s no coming back after that.”

 

“There must be some way—”

 

“The only reason you were able to bind to Sadaine so completely is because you became pregnant with Hotaru mere months after the initial tentative bond had been forged.  That’s why Setsuna chose you, because you had a hope in hell of riding a Dragon again.  I never can.”

 

“But you can still fight!  Haruka, you have to fight!”

 

“No I don’t!!!”  Haruka whirled on her partner, glowing again, and the sea senshi pulled back, frightened by the sudden display of power.  “I don’t want to talk about it!”

 

“Dammit, Haruka—”

 

“Shut up!!”  She raised her hand, knocking Michiru to the floor, glaring at the tears in the younger woman’s sapphire eyes.  “Go away,” she whispered menacingly.  “If all you can talk about is Arihlai and Dragon Senshi, then take your precious daughter and leave me be!  I have hundreds of men and women to protect who like me just fine the way I am, powerless, and there are eight Senshi out there who would be glad to take you in.”

 

“H-Haruka . . .” Michiru whispered, trying to restrain her tears, hand covering the reddening mark on her face.  “Please . . .”

 

“Go.  Away.  Now.”

 

With a muffled cry, Michiru ran out the door, leaving everything she loved behind, tears blinding her as she ran for the senshi’s caves, her Dragon screaming on the heights.  The other dragons took up the call, the mountains vibrating with their mournful cry, and Haruka threw her hands into the air.

 

“ENOUGH!!!!!”

 

Silence reigned once more.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 9: Fatherless Children

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Michiru-san?  What’s wrong?”

 

The sobbing woman let Setsuna embrace her, unable to speak, Ada reaching forward to nuzzle the distraught woman.  The silent Dragons on the heights descended to the lower plateaus of the mountains, lending their support though they no longer cried.  Michiru’s Dragon, turquoise-colored Sadaine, landed beside her senshi, sapphire eyes flaming.  If Wind Runner had not been the one to make Michiru cry, the female would have killed the person who caused her bonded senshi such pain.

 

The other six senshi glanced at their Dragons, asking for answers, but the creatures were unable to help.  Michiru finally calmed down a little as the two queens and former king carried her inside, helping her sit on the only chair in the room.  “H-Haruka h-hit me, Setsu-chan.  Sh-she told me to g-go away.”

 

“Michiru . . .”  Setsuna held the woman, hoping that her presence could calm the younger senshi.  “Why would she do that?”

 

“She doesn’t want to talk about Arihlai.  She loved her so much, Setsu-chan.  I never realized until just now that she loves that Dragon more than she could ever love me.”

 

“It’s a different kind of love, Michiru.  She loved only Arihlai for so long, but she fell for you pretty damn fast when you met.  And if she only loved Arihlai, your presence could not have kept her from taking her own life.”  Michiru shook her head, and Setsuna smiled.  “Look, I’ll try to talk to her and you get some rest.  Where’s Hotaru-chan?”

 

“Haruka left her outside our cave.”  Michiru let Setsuna lead her to the hammock, stretching out and closing her eyes.  Sadaine and Adaqame moved away from the door, conversing excitedly as Setsuna headed for Haruka’s cave.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Haruka!  Let me in!”  Setsuna glared at the golden energy barrier separating the senshi from the rest of camp, the Dragons on her side of the wall.  The former Dragon Senshi ignored her.

 

“Haruka-onee-chan, let her in.”

 

“No, Seiya-san, and quit calling me that.  Look, my camp is leaving, and the senshi aren’t coming with us.  Are you going to stay with them or does your offer to follow me still stand?”

 

Seiya didn’t have to glance at her sisters to know her answer.  “We have looked for you our entire lives, Haruka-chan.  We are your sisters, not theirs, and we will be there for you, no matter how far you go.”

 

Haruka nodded and placed a hand on Seiya’s shoulder.  “I really am glad you came back, though I have problems showing it sometimes.  And maybe having three little sisters isn’t so bad after all.  Now, I need your power to help me out a little.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Mirrah reared on her hind legs, trumpeting in confusion as a huge buildup of power shook the mountains, frightening even the oldest females.  Ailan dashed outside, shading her eyes with one hand, as the golden barrier screamed and vanished.

 

There was no camp on the other side.

 

Every man, woman, and the three Dragons who had been on the other side of the wall was gone, their tents and equipment with them, the mountains’ slopes bare.  Setsuna walked forward, ruby eyes incredulous, searching for any sign that the Wind Runners had been there.  “Minako, what other senshi were here besides us?”

 

“Um, only the Kou sisters.  Haruka-san’s little sisters.”

 

“She used their power to move the damn camp!  Only a powerful senshi can trace that kind of transport.  Even I can’t.”

 

Yuriko sighed and pulled Ailan and Setsuna back toward the cave system, glancing at Minako as she passed her daughter.  “When Michiru-san wakes up, we can ask her to help.  She has a link to Haruka-san that we can’t replicate.”

 

A squeal from one of the larger caves high in the mountains caught Sadaine’s attention, and the aqua Dragon stood up on her back legs, eyes sparkling, as a little purple hatchling jumped out of the cave, trying out his wings for the first time, a tiny person on his back.  Michiru’s dragon grunted and leapt into flight, easily snagging the baby and pulling the squealing infant Dragon to the ground.  “What are you doing, Mishka?” she whistled in the language of the Dragons.

 

“Flying.  Needed help, asked, answered.”  Sadaine translated his baby garble as she nudged the rider, little Hotaru, off his back and draped her wing over the child.

 

“Hotaru-chan!”  Minako scooped the child into her arms, frantic eyes flying to Setsuna.  “Where were you going, Hotaru-chan?”

 

“I was going to find Haruka-papa.  She left me and Michiru-mama all alone.”

 

“We’ll find her,” Setsuna promised, smiling as she took the child.  “You can talk to Mishka?”

 

“Yeah.  I went to the cave and he said hello and asked how he could help.  Why can’t we go, Setsuna-mama?”

 

“We’ll all go in a little while, but you and Mishka are too little to go on your own.  Besides, what about Chibiusa?  She’d miss you.”

 

Hotaru frowned thoughtfully and nodded.  “Okay.  Where is she?”

 

Setsuna walked into the caves, Ailan and Yuriko at her heels.  Michiru passed them, hugging her daughter before she approached her Dragon.  “Sada?”  She spoke out loud for the benefit of the senshi who were moving closer, petting the baby boy dragon.

 

“This is Mishka, first born from my first litter.”  Dragons gave birth live, carrying their babies for any amount of time from three months to an entire year, depending on how large the mother needed them to be when born.

 

“Sada, I don’t remember you being pregnant.”

 

“I made them grow quickly and they were born small.”  Mishka was only the size of a small pony or a large dog, much smaller than many of the newborn Dragons Michiru had seen.  “I became pregnant only two months ago when the Dragon Senshi arrived.”

 

“Two months?!  Sada!  You know you’re not supposed to force a pregnancy!  Especially not like that!  And who’s the father, in any case?”

 

Sadaine shook her head as more of her babies climbed or floated down.  They were all small but healthy, eyes clear and fur shining.  “Michiru, there was no father.”

 

“Let me tell you how much I believe that.”  Minako looked up, one eyebrow lifted.  “Sada says she forced the pregnancy, only carried the kits two months, and that there was no father.”

 

“Impossible,” Ami whispered, glancing over her shoulder as the four generals joined them.  “Dragons are incapable of spontaneous genetic recombination.  Er, taking two eggs inside the womb and merging them to create a viable fetus—baby.  Some species can, but Dragons are not one.  Beside, Mishka at least is male.  That requires a father.”

 

“Regardless, there was not one.  I was never courted, which is required to produce the hormone levels Dragons need to exhibit estrus, and I was never mated, which is required to encourage ovulation and—obviously—for the actual pregnancy.  Dragons understand the mating and normal birthing process without instruction, but even a first-time mother like me knows that there was nothing normal about this pregnancy.  It might be my first, but I know I should never have been able to force the kits as I did.  Yet they were born two months after I awoke on the last True Full Moon, knowing without a doubt that I was pregnant.”

 

“Do you remember anything strange from two months ago, Sada?”

 

“I remember Haruka coming to me that day.  That was when you and Hotaru were visiting the towns, and she was lonely.  She asked me if I knew anything about children, about being pregnant.  Of course I didn’t, but I asked her why.  She didn’t answer, but she asked what I knew about magic on a True Full Moon.”

 

“She already knows all that, though.  During a True Full Moon, all magical powers are increased sometimes a hundred-fold, and Dragon Senshi have been known to perform previously impossible feats while all of the moons hang high in the sky.  Now that I think about it, she did seem a little preoccupied that night when I got home.  She was unusually amorous, but I thought she had just missed me.”

 

“I did tell her the Dragon Myth that the great Dragon Goddess who guards and dictates all births among my people soars through the sky on that night, and that if a female sees her shadow cross the moons, she will have a blessed pregnancy before the moons all set.  I saw that shadow before I fell asleep, and I awoke just before dawn as the smallest moon set, knowing that I was with child.”

 

“Anything else, Sada?  Anything you told Haruka.”

 

Sadaine shrugged and counted her children, pulling all thirteen tiny children under her great wings.  “She kept pushing me, asking about the Goddess of Death.  I reluctantly told her that spirits of the great Dragons are freed from the bonds of death on that night and many of them will choose blessed females and be reborn as little kits.  It’s a stupid superstition and bonded Dragons rarely believe it, but she asked.”

 

“I think Haruka did something that night, Sada.  I think maybe she cast a spell or something that got you pregnant.”

 

“Pretty powerful spell for a powerless Dragon Senshi.”

 

“She has more power than she’ll even admit.  And now she’s left and I don’t even know why.  She’s acting so different, so moody, and I don’t know what’s wrong.  I’ve never seen her like this and her thoughts are in turmoil.  I can’t reach her anymore.  Sada, what did I do?”

 

“You didn’t do anything, Michiru.  She’s just confused and hurting from Arihlai’s death.  You and Hotaru were enough for a while but even a senshi as powerful as she was needs a Dragon again.  Nothing, not even you can ever replace Arihlai.  The most you can do is to be there for her.  Find her first,” Sada amended, “then be there for her.”

 

“I will find her,” Michiru promised, staring at the spot where the camp used to be.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 10: A Sacrifice for Love

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka watched the sun slowly sink beneath the horizon, covering her face with her hands.  She had finally done it.  Hundreds of times over the past eight years she had toyed with the idea of leaving Michiru and Hotaru, the last of her old life, behind, but it had taken this long to finally do it.  Now she was truly free, no more mention of Arihlai or her time at the palace, nothing.

 

Shouldn’t she be happier?

 

“Haruka-chan?”

 

“Over here, Seiya.”  She had dropped the honorific a day ago at the triplets’ request.  She was their older sister and they didn’t want her to forget it anytime soon.  The black-haired woman plopped onto the ground beside her, pulling her long legs up and resting her head on her knees.

 

“Haruka-chan, what’s bothering you?”

 

The blonde sighed, letting her walls and defenses fall, trusting her little sister.  Seiya flinched from the pain in Haruka’s eyes, but she did not pull away.  “I’m so damn lonely, Seiya.  I never thought I would feel this way again.  I’m free for pity’s sake, like I’ve always wanted, but it’s not right.  There’s something missing.”

 

“Michiru,” Seiya whispered.  “Taiki, Yaten, and I know how much you love her and you must be hurting, knowing that your words drove her away.”

 

“I meant to, I think.  I want her to stop talking about Arihlai and our time in the palace.  I don’t want to remember that time.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Have you ever been Dragonless, Seiya?”

 

“No, I haven’t.  Noderia and I have been together for ten years.  Taiki lost her first Dragon after five years, though, and it took her three years to Bind to Corinth.  While she suffered, we suffered.  I’ve never felt such emptiness.”

 

“I was Bound to Arihlai for seventeen years, Seiya.  I loved her more than my own life, but she sacrificed herself to save me and Michiru at the end of the Wars.”  Haruka closed her eyes and took Seiya’s hand, using what residual Dragon Power she still possessed to show the younger woman her memories of the last Dragon War.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

(—Flashback—)

 

“Michiru!!!”

 

Nabiril closed one wing and turned, screeching her fury at the small wild male who would dare attack her Senshi’s lover.  Michiru waved her hand, throwing a ball of energy at the male, and he screamed, one wing almost entirely numb, as he veered away.  Haruka raised her hand, and golden Arihlai swooped out of the sky, easily scooping her rider up and returning to the battle.

 

“That was close, my love.”

 

“Too damn close, Haruka!  Why is the Haveret Clan attacking now?!  I thought we taught the wild ones that we aren’t going to take their land or babies!”

 

“Me too, Michiru.  It looks like—there!!”  Haruka pointed at a huge grayish black male swooping in to attack the palace again, a rider visible on his back.  Ailan’s Mirrah, easily larger than the wild, rammed into him, teeth and claws bared.  Her rider, Moon Melody, held a long silver staff above her head and threw a shield up around the palace, falling to her knees with the effort.  Haruka and Michiru directed their Dragons closer, ready to help their queen.  Time Weaver, wearing her female form for once, swooped in from the north on her rather large male, Adaqame, hundreds of ally Dragons on her tail.  Sea Siren and Wind Runner cheered, noting Fire Strike and Silent Night in the crowd, riding Chavekn and Zaarent.  Silent Night, whose real name was Yoruno Kiyoshi, was followed by his three younger brothers, Demando—Diamond Sword—on Tiravii, Saffir—Sapphire Dagger—on Soulento, and Rubius—Ruby Blade—on Ghareth.  Haruka recognized the Ayakashi sisters—Emerald, Petz, and Kooan—but she did not know their senshi names or their Dragons.

 

“Kamiret came!  Thank the gods.”  Michiru moved Nabiril closer to the battle, sapphire eyes finally catching sight of the old grey male.  “Haruka, there’s a rider—a woman—on the Dragon.  Do you see her?”

 

“Yes.  Arihlai, what do you think?”

 

“It’s Metallia,” the gold female whispered in fear, furling her wings, desperate not to go near power that stank of so much evil.  “Bad, Haruka.  Very bad.  Mirrah, Adaqame, Chavekn, Zaarent—watch out for the rider.  It’s Metallia.”

 

The response from the cloud of Dragons was immediate.  They pulled away like a frightened flock of birds from a thrown stone, blowing fire at the woman.  She laughed, the dark sound filling the sky, and even the wild Dragons of the Haveret Mountains pulled back.  They were as afraid of their leader as the Senshi were.  Haruka gained control of her Dragon and moved Arihlai closer, Space Sword in hand.  “She does not scare me,” Wind Runner announced, knowing that the other Dragons and Senshi could hear her.  “Follow me!!”

 

Hundreds of Dragons dove at the same instant, Wind Runner’s power calling them, flaming, teeth and claws ready.  Metallia threw her power out, creating a shield, sending a single bolt of black lightning at Wind Runner and Sea Siren.  Nabiril screamed as the energy enveloped her, knocking her rider off with her tail, her last thought that Michiru must not die.  Arihlai dove and caught the unconscious senshi, keening for her Dragon partner.  Nabiril fell to the ground, eyes wide, and did not move again.

 

Michiru’s Dragon was dead.

 

The Dragons took up Arihlai’s keen, grief fueling their power, as they dove again, the wild ones from Kamiret slamming into the shield without thought.  Arihlai screamed for the senseless sacrifice to stop, sending the Kamiret Clan to fight the wild Haveret Dragons, gathering the bound Dragons on the ground with her.  They all banished their riders, knowing that they could fight more efficiently if they did not have to worry about their wingless partners. 

 

Arihlai stared at Metallia, tears filling her huge eyes as the Dragons whistled and chirped in their language.  They came to a decision and the other Dragons hung their heads as Arihlai turned to Haruka, glancing at Michiru safely nestled in her lover’s arms.  When Sea Siren awoke, she would know that her Dragon was gone forever.  Haruka, having been with her Dragon for her entire seventeen years of existence, went cold at the tears in Arihlai’s emerald eyes.  “What is it?”

 

“I love you, Haruka.”  Arihlai jumped into the sky, cloaking herself in Wind Runner’s golden power, arrowing straight for the woman who had attacked and riled up the wild and bound Dragons for thirty long years.  It was time for the Dragons Wars to be over for good, and Arihlai knew how to do that.

 

“NOOOOO!!!  ARIHLAI!!!”  Haruka watched, powerless, as Metallia and Arihlai met in an explosion of grey and golden magic, the shockwave sending all of the battling Dragons to the ground.  Her final defiant scream filled the sky as Metallia and her Dragon fell to the ground, dead, Arihlai’s broken body crashing down beside Nabiril.

 

Haruka felt an emptiness fill her as the Dragons’ death keen filled the air, and she fell to her knees, laying Michiru safely on the ground in front of her.  “Arihlai . . .”  She pulled out her sword and impaled herself on it, smiling as her blood soaked the ground, never feeling pain.  “I’m coming to join you, Arihlai . . .”

 

“Haruka!  No!!”  Setsuna fell by the blonde woman’s side, red eyes wild.  “Haruka!”  It was the last thing she remembered for a long, long time.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka slowly gained consciousness, wondering where she was and what happened to her.  As she gained strength, she automatically reached for Arihlai as she had done every morning for the past seventeen years.

 

For the first time, there was no answer.

 

Haruka was shocked out of her hazy dreams, screaming as she opened her eyes and fell to the floor.  “Arihlai!!  Arihlai!!”

 

“Haruka!!”  Michiru dashed into the room, wrapping her arms around the sobbing blonde, eyes closed.  “You’re finally awake.”

 

“Why didn’t you let me die?”  Haruka’s voice was bitter and grief-stricken.  “I wanted to follow her.”

 

“She didn’t want you to die or she would have taken you with her,” Michiru whispered.  “She sacrificed herself to get rid of the greatest threat to the three kingdoms.”

 

Haruka shook her head, unable to even sit in bed without Michiru’s support.  “Why did she leave me?  Why did she go away?”

 

“It’s okay, Haruka.  I know it hurts, but it will be okay.  You’ve been asleep for three months, but it will get better, I promise.”

 

Haruka suddenly remembered something, and she pulled back, staring at Michiru.  “I remember Nabiril’s death.  Why aren’t you still grieving?”

 

“Because Nabiril’s daughter came to me right after I woke up and offered herself as my next Dragon.  Sadaine says that any Dragon would be honored to Bond a hero of the Last of the Dragon Wars, especially you.”

 

“I can’t take another Dragon, Michiru.  Arihlai told me that long, long ago.  Because she had to bind with me and share her life force to keep me alive when she first found me, I can’t open up enough for any Dragon.”

 

“Haruka . . .”

 

“Leave me alone, Michiru,” the blonde whispered.  Michiru bit her lip, and her lover sighed.  “I won’t try to kill myself again.  Just go.”  A moment later, alone with her thoughts and her pain, Haruka began to cry again.

 

She didn’t stop for hours, long into a night once filled with the warm thoughts of her beautiful Dragon.  She was alone, and she would be alone forever.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Haruka?”

 

“Go away,” she sighed, knowing that Michiru would never obey.  “Please, just leave me alone.”

 

Michiru entered the room, Setsuna just behind her.  Since Arihlai and Nabiril had both died in the final battle and Mirrah was not half as powerful as either of those females, Setsuna only wore her Hiroshi guise when around people who did not know the truth, including her daughters.  Adaqame simply lacked the power to hold it longer.  “Haruka, Setsu-chan has an idea to help you heal.”

 

“Unless it’s Arihlai, I don’t want to hear it.”

 

“She wants to help us get pregnant.”

 

Haruka sat up, staring at the two women.  “You’re not serious.  I know that Arihlai and Nabiril said they could help us, but Sadaine and Adaqame are not nearly as powerful.”

 

“Mirrah can help.  Please, Haruka, you need to help.  We always wanted a daughter and now we can have one.  I’m sure she can’t ever replace Arihlai, but she might help.”

 

Haruka narrowed her emerald eyes.  “How can you talk so casually about my Dragon?  Don’t you feel any pain from Nabiril’s death?”

 

“Of course I do!  But I know that there are other, more important things in life besides our Dragons!  Sadaine knows how much you’re hurting and she wants to help.  Haruka, please let us help you.”

 

Haruka bit her lip.  “Will it really help?”

 

“It has to.”

 

(—End Flashback—)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 11: Dragon Scream

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka pulled away from Seiya, tears in her eyes at the memory.  “It was so hard to move on, but Hotaru made the pain a little easier to bear.”

 

“Haruka . . .” the black-haired woman breathed.  “I had no idea.  Who have you ever talked to about this?”

 

“No one.  I never could before.”

 

“Because you had Michiru-san to lean on.”  Haruka’s head shot up, and her little sister nodded.  “Your love for her let you bury your love for Arihlai, but recent events have made it much harder to ignore.  All of a sudden, after eight powerless years, you have to confront the truth about your past and your loss and it’s just too much.”

 

“It’s not just that, Seiya.”  Haruka glanced up as Taiki and Yaten joined them, knowing that the other two Kou triplets knew what their older sister had heard.  Taiki sat on Haruka’s other side, and Yaten joined Seiya as all waited for their sister to continue.  She shook her head, brushing her hair out of her face.  “Seiya, I never get sick and I certainly didn’t while I was a senshi, but lately I’ve been so sick.  I’ve been nauseous every day, I’ve had all of these weird cravings, and I felt kinda bloated for a while, but it seems to be fading.”

 

“Poor thing.  How long has this been going on?”

 

“Since the True Full Moon.”  The triplets paled, exchanging startled glances as their sister looked up.  “What?”

 

“The most powerful night of the year?  Were you with Michiru that night?”

 

“Yeah.  That was one incredible experience.  I never believed Sadaine when she told me that making love would be different under a True Full Moon, but she was right.  She told me all of these stories and Dragon Legends, but I didn’t take much stock in them.”

 

“You should.  Every one of those Dragon Myths is a true story, passed from mother to child over the centuries.  And if, on that night, a Dragon Senshi is with his or her soul mate and true love, miraculous things can happen.”

 

“Like what?”

 

The triplets exchanged a challenging glance, and Seiya sighed as she apparently lost whatever contest they were using.  She reached over and took Haruka’s hand, directing it to her flat belly.  The blonde stared at her sister as if she were crazy, looking down at her stomach.  “Listen, Haruka.  We know that you have some power left and you have to use it to listen.  What do you hear?”

 

“Seiya, this is stupid . . .”

 

“Haruka,” Taiki sighed.  “Please trust us.  Clear your mind and search for that place inside you where Arihlai once resided.  Search for her and tell us who you find.”

 

Haruka shrugged and closed her eyes as Seiya pulled away, leaving Wind Runner alone.  She felt the gentlest of breezes caress her skin and she leaned into it, smiling at the kind playfulness of the elements.  She could hear someone very far away, calling her, and she reached for that voice, pausing at the closer murmur she hit first.  Pulling back, she felt the other voice reach for her as she touched the closest whisper.  Power.  Life.  Life?  She reached out with whatever she had left and jerked as she realized what it was.  Oh my . . . I had no idea.

 

“Haruka!!”

 

“Michiru?”  Haruka opened her eyes, finding herself in Seiya’s supporting arms, green eyes wide.  “Michiru?  God, what did I do?  What did we do?”

 

“Haruka!  Where are you, dammit?!  I have to see you.”

 

“I can’t!  Not now!  Michiru, I had no idea!  I wouldn’t have left if I knew.”

 

“Ruka, I don’t care about any of that or assigning blame or anything like that.  Please, my love, come back to me.”

 

“I can’t.  I have people here to watch.”

 

“Where are you?  Maredan?  Kamiret?”

 

“Kamiret.  Aderaph Province.”

 

“The Senshi and I will be there as soon as possible.”

 

“Gods, Michi, what am I going to do?”

 

“When I get there, I’ll help you.  For now, let your sisters be there for you.  They love you, too, okay?”

 

“Michiru’s coming,” Haruka whispered.  “This isn’t what I was trying to do.  It should have been impossible without Arihlai.  Sadaine’s pretty powerful now, but not as strong as Adaqame and Mirrah.  How did this happen?”

 

“It was the night of the True Full Moon.  Anything can happen then.  Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine, Yaten.”  She laid a hand on her flat belly and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts and powers wander.  “Gods, I never thought . . . please help me.  I’m so scared.”

 

“I know,” Seiya whispered.  “Look, why don’t you go lay down for a while?  Michiru and the senshi should be here soon a-dragon-back, and then everything will be okay.  Can you do that?  Can you let us be strong for our favorite sister?”

 

“Yeah, I can.”  Seiya escorted Haruka to her room, the younger two triplets heading for the encampment.  An instant later, a horrendous screech rent the air, sending the four fighters to their knees.  “A wild Dragon,” Haruka whispered, emerald eyes scanning the blue sky.  “He’s responding to a call . . . a human?”  She paled, grabbing Seiya’s arm and running for the camp as quickly as she could, leaving her sisters to catch up.  “Break camp!” she cried as she dashed into the temporary settlement.  “We have to go now!!”  Men and women scattered to obey her orders as she pulled up short, pushing her sisters into the shade of an overhang, away from the bustle.  “I have only heard that call once before, and it terrified Arihlai.  That’s the cry of a Dragon ensnared by magic by a woman using darkly distorted senshi-type powers, and there has only ever been one.”

 

“Metallia,” Seiya realized, her face turning white.  “Does she know you’re here?”

 

“Seiya, I was her main opponent for years as the leader of the Dragon Senshi.  She has no idea that I survived the final battle, and I had no idea that she could recorporealize after so many years.  She must have broken free during the True Full Moon, maybe when Michiru and I . . . anyway, it’s not safe for any of us anymore.  We could barely defeat her last time with Arihlai’s sacrifice, and I will not force anyone else to live dragonless in order to kill her.  I have to send a message to all senshi to stay away from Aderaph.”

 

“How?”

 

“You three, stand in a circle around me and open yourselves to my power.  I have to construct this message so that Metallia is too close to hear it but they will hear it in the capital city of Kamiret.”  The Kou sisters moved into position as Haruka closed her eyes, stretching muscles she hadn’t exercised in eight years, releasing a short and very urgent message into the Power pulsing along the length of the planet, keeping it from returning and alerting Metallia.  She swayed, exhausted, as she finished, and Taiki easily caught her as she completely fainted.  She lifted her sister and smiled at Seiya and Yaten as Charikei, Haruka’s third-in-command, dashed into the shade.

 

“We’re ready to go,” she reported, glancing at Haruka but knowing that she was to obey the Kou sisters if her blonde leader was indisposed.

 

“Where would you go next, far away from Aderaph?”

 

“The next hideout is in Ghriiten Province, northern Maredan.  We have a few men camped there, waiting for our arrival.  Is that where you would like to go?”

 

“Yes, that sounds fine.”

 

“Fine.  Your horses are waiting.”

 

Less than ten minutes later, the rock face was empty again, a few wild Dragon calls whimpering from the higher peaks.  A tall woman with black hair stared down to the plains, wondering what happened to the glimmer of power she had felt.  “Where are you, Wind Runner?”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Michiru gasped, sapphire eyes wide, Sadaine screaming for a halt as she lit on the nearest mountain peak, babies gathered around her.  A brief mental conversation between Michiru and an unknown senshi—Haruka, the senshi were sure—followed, and Sea Siren almost lost her seat in shock.  Smiling, she arranged to meet her wayward lover as she turned back to the other Senshi, who had also stopped.  The generals were sitting with their fiancées, as was the prince, while Hotaru was riding with Michiru since Mishka was a little too small to wear a harness.

 

“Haruka’s in Aderaph, southern Kamiret.  She wants to see us.”

 

“That’s wonderful,” Ailan smiled.  “I miss Wind Runner.”

 

A screech suddenly shattered the silence as one of Sadaine’s unnamed golden daughters clutched her head in pain.  A mental cry filled the Power, and the Senshi started at the words.  “Stay away from Aderaph at all costs!  Metallia is HERE!!!”

 

Michiru cried her lover’s name as she lost contact with Haruka.  “Ruka!  Answer me!  Where are you?  Haruka!!!”  Unnoticed in the panic as the senshi gathered closer, Sadaine’s tiny golden daughter vanished, using power she have knew she had to protect the woman who needed her so much.  Michiru calmed a little as she received a report from Seiya.  “Seiya-san says that Haruka fainted after doing the spell to warn us about Metallia.  God, Ailan, we have to get there.  We have to protect them.  They’ve left Aderaph, but I know where they’re heading.”

 

“Why is it so important to protect her?  Metallia hates us all.”

 

“Not as much as she hates Haruka,” Michiru whispered.  “None of you killed that evil woman’s Dragon, and now she has the chance to get revenge in the same way.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Haruka’s pregnant.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Chapter 12: Dragon Pregnancy

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka stirred, groaning as she placed a hand to her head.  Seiya called a brief halt as she helped her sister sit in the saddle, Taiki and Yaten joining them.  Their three Dragons, having stayed out of the way during the march, gathered close in case they were needed.  They also wanted to protect Wind Runner as per orders from Sea Siren’s Sadaine.

 

Haruka slid to the ground as another mare was brought for her, glancing at her sisters.  “Where are we headed?”

 

Seiya pointed south.  “That-a-way.  Charikei-san told us that Ghriiten Province would be your next stop, so we march south.  I know that Michiru-san would not be foolish enough to ignore your order to stay away from Aderaph, so she’ll know where to go next.”

 

Haruka swung onto the horse’s back, eyes downcast, one hand absently rubbing her flat belly.  “It might be a long time before we see your mother again,” she whispered.  “I never planned to hide from Metallia in the mountains as Michiru’s daughter grew in my womb.  I never intended for any of this to happen.”

 

“But it has, and we’ll just have to make the best of it.”  Yaten smiled as she pulled her horse close, reaching over to lay a hand on Haruka’s arm.  “We’re all here for you, Ane.  You’re not alone anymore.”

 

“Thank you.”  She glanced south, then north toward her army gathered on the flanks of the mountains.  Only a well-trained eye like hers could pick out the drab people along the drabber folds of rock, and that would keep them hidden from Metallia.  “I noticed that you didn’t do another teleportation spell.”

 

“It’s too soon after the last one,” Taiki pointed out, “and even if we and our Dragons weren’t too tired, it wouldn’t be safe to do any spell so near Metallia.  We sent a tight message to Yuriko-san’s Chavekn telling them not to attempt any spells.  We copied the message to Zaarent, Kiyoshi-kun’s Dragon, in Kamiret’s capital.  We haven’t dared to contact anyone since.”

 

Haruka sighed in relief.  “Good.  I was afraid you would contact one of the other senshi and Metallia would pick up on it.  She’s never been able to read our tight lines, though.  It wouldn’t be safe to speak to Michi, though, because Metallia interrupted one of our conversations years ago.”

 

“I’d think that you’re a lot closer now.”

 

“Maybe, but I don’t want to chance it.”

 

“You’re afraid of her?”  Seiya’s incredulous voice drew her sister’s closer, curious for an answer, and the blonde sighed.

 

“I am,” she whispered, so quiet that they could barely understand her.  “I killed three of her Dragons and Arihlai killed her and the fourth.  She holds a personal grudge against me, and she’s been looking for a way to get back at me.  She now has a lot of options, including Hotaru, Michiru, and the three of you.  She’ll want to take my family away from me, and it scares me.”

 

“And your baby,” Taiki realized, her sharp mind already jumping to the obvious next conclusion.  “If she finds out that you’re pregnant, she’ll do anything in her power to make you miscarry.”

 

“At least when our daughter is born she can be hidden away.  While I’m pregnant, she’s in danger.”

 

“We won’t let anything happen to you and her,” Seiya promised.  “You’re our family, and we will protect you.

 

Haruka nodded and swung her horse around, trotting into the middle of her army.  She found a small rise and sat there for a moment, wind rustling through her hair, composing her thoughts.  “I have not been entirely truthful to you these past eight years,” she began, ignoring her sisters’ confused glances.  “I have always encouraged the belief in certain facts about me that were not true.  Eight years ago, at the end of the last of the Dragon Wars, the leader of the Senshi, Wind Runner, watched as her Dragon Arihlai sacrificed herself to kill Metallia and save the three kingdoms.  She decided that she could no longer live in the court, so she headed for the outer provinces and formed her own little kingdom, telling her people that she was a man.  Her name is Ten’ou Haruka, and I can no longer hide my true identity from you.  Michiru was right, I should have told you long ago.  Now that Metallia has been reborn, she will be after me and I have no right to ask you to follow me if I can’t tell you the truth.”

 

Charikei laughed, glancing at the other secondary leaders, who were smiling.  “Oh, but Ten’ou-sama, we already knew all of that.  We’ve known for months, since you got pregnant.”

 

“You know that, too?”

 

“Maybe if you hadn’t been so afraid, you would have known, too.  Haruka-san, we did not join you and we do not follow you because we thought you were a man.  We are your Wind Runners because we trust you, we believe in you, and we love you.  You can’t buy better loyalty.  And we want to protect you and your daughter, no matter what the cost.  You have no reason to hide and you no longer have anything to be afraid of.”

 

Tears in her eyes, Haruka pointed south.  “We need to move on now.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“And just like that, we’re going?”

 

“What would you have us do?  If Metallia is alive, then Wind Runner needs us.  I know that the queen will be heading to Maredan, and we should, too.”

 

“Fine, but we have to make sure to bypass Aderaph.”

 

Demando smiled as he packed his saddle bags.  “I’m not that absent-minded, my love.  Are you ready?”

 

“I, Petz, and Kooan are ready to leave whenever you, Saffir, and Rubius are.”

 

“My brothers and I are ready to mount our Dragons and ride.  Tiravii says that she can leave her new clutch with one of her friends, and Soulento and Ghareth have no fatherly obligations.”

 

“Lillith is also leaving her yearlings behind, while Temirin has paused her pregnancy until it is safe and Varentu has ceased this season’s search for a mate.  Also, your older brother has decided that he and Zaarent are coming along for the ride.”

 

“Oh, goody.  Well, I’m packed.  We’re off!”

 

Emerald paused, placing a hand on her husband’s shoulder.  “Try to remember that the last eight years have been hard on her.  Wind Runner—Haruka-san—is not the same woman she was when we fought by her side.  She may not even want to talk to us.”

 

“I won’t give her a choice.  I won’t let Metallia kill her because she’s too damn stubborn to let us help her.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“They’ll come, Seiya.  I know they will.”

 

“Who?”

 

“The other Senshi.  Emerald, Demando, Rubius, Petz, Saffir, Kooan, Kiyoshi . . . they will all come like Yuriko, Setsuna, and Ailan did.  Another Dragon War is brewing and I never wanted to see one again.”

 

“We’ll need their help, Haruka.  The princess and her family are very young senshi, just like Taiki, Yaten, and I.  We have never been tested, never fought, never had to fly a Dragon into battle.  We need you guys to each us, to show us how to fight.”

 

“I’ll do my best.”  Both women looked up as a frightened squeal announced the arrival of a very small and very young Dragon, her golden fur shining in the last light of the sun.  She soared over the small, hidden encampment, stumbling to a crashing halt at Haruka’s feet, staring up at the two Senshi.  Noderia climbed down from the higher peaks and craned her neck to examine the fledgling with her huge orangey eyes.

 

“Where did you come from?”  Haruka, having been so linked to Arihlai, could understand the whistling birdlike language of the Dragons and translated for Seiya.

 

“Was called.  Came.  Destiny.”

 

“Destiny, youngling?  That’s a little ambitious for such a small scrap of fur.”  The great red, black-pointed Dragon reached down and scooped up the baby, who couldn’t be much larger than a hunting dog.  Abienn and Corinth joined her as Haruka moved closer, staring at the newborn.

 

“She’s very small, Noderia.  Let me see her.”  She took the golden-furred babe from the Dragon’s hand, cradling the female in her arms as if she were a dog.  The green-eyed Dragon youngling cooed and closed her eyes, curling up contentedly in Haruka’s arms.  “It looks like I have a Dragon after all . . . well, a scrap of a Dragon, anyway.  Do you have a name?”

 

“No name.  Not yet.  Soon.”

 

“Okay.  Sleep, then.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Seiya covered her sister up, smiling at the tiny Dragon the blonde was using as a pillow.  She probably had no idea that she was sharing her bed with the newcomer.  She closed the tent flap and returned to the one next to it that she shared with her sisters, trusting the night watch to keep her sister safe.

 

“Is she asleep, Seiya?”

 

“Hai, Taiki.  Finally.  That daughter of hers sure is a restless one.  Our little niece keeps her mother up forever.  I imagine she’ll be quite a handful to raise.”

 

“Hopefully by then we will have reunited with Michiru-san,” Yaten sighed.  “I don’t know a thing about kids.”

 

“Me, either,” Taiki admitted.  “We have five months; don’t worry.  Be glad we have a seven-month gestation cycle instead of a Dragon’s variable one that can end as soon as three months after conception.”

“I don’t know, Taiki.”  Seiya took her seat and her meal, picking at the rations with little enthusiasm.  “When I was helping Haruka change, I noticed that her belly has already begun to bulge.  She let me touch it, and I can already feel how hard it is.  That child is larger than it has any right to be so soon, and watching Haruka eat, I know that she has an unusually strong appetite, even for a first-time mother.  She may well give birth in only one month.”

 

“What?!  Impossible!”

 

“Is it really, Yaten?  After all, our sister was bonded to the very life force of a Dragon Queen for seventeen years.  She already told us that she could feel what her Dragon felt and that Arihlai had to partially sever their bond moments before the explosive meeting with Metallia or risk killing her senshi.  I wonder if Arihlai’s breeding cycle matched Haruka’s.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Haruka’s body still acted like a Dragon’s after all this time.  Now that there is another Dragon nearby—a baby one, at that—Haruka’s body might try to speed up the pregnancy and force the child as pregnant Dragon foster mothers sometimes do.  Noderia’s second litter was like that, remember?  When Dafani died, leaving seven newborn fledglings motherless, Noderia’s body accelerated her pregnancy so she could be rid of the fetuses and produce milk for the fosterlings.  She lost two of the babes.”

 

“We can’t let the same thing happen to Haruka!  What can we do to prevent it?”

 

“Treat her like a broody female Dragon.  We’ll have to ration her food, keep her from excessive overeating to convince her body that there isn’t enough available food to risk the child.  That unnamed baby needs to spend as little time with Haruka as possible, and we need to find some iriina herb to slow the growth of the fetus.  Also, since high levels of stress have been known to cause a premature birth or even abortion, the three of us should try to take over the day-to-day running of the army.  Haruka has to rest.”

 

“Is it safe to let the child sleep with her tonight?”

 

“We have no choice, Taiki.  The Dragon was determined.  I’ll have Noderia speak to her tomorrow and explain that there is another youngling to be considered, and she should back off a little.”

 

“Why wasn’t Haruka’s pregnancy accelerated before we returned?”

 

“Because she had no stress,” Taiki answered her white-haired sister.  “Even a Dragon will allow a five- or six-month pregnancy in good times when there is no war or stress of any sort.  If there is little or no food it may get stretched to a year.  Then all of this happened, Haruka rediscovered her power, and she is separated from Michiru.  She has no idea how much she loves and relies on that woman, but she does.  She needs her.  And all of it has built up and accelerated the growth of her daughter.  Do you think we should tell her, Seiya?”

 

“All it will do is upset her more.  All she needs to know is that we’re her loving sisters and we don’t want our beloved Onee-san worried while she’s pregnant.  She’ll accept that explanation.”

 

“Okay.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 13: Mother and Child

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Usagi watched the scenery pass by below her, Seralii’s gold-tinted hide warm beneath her hands.  Mamoru’s arms were wrapped around her, one hand resting on the bulge of her belly, his strength washing away the constant fear she had felt at the palace since she discovered that she was pregnant.  The twins were very small, for which Usagi was grateful, since Mamoru only thought she was having one.  Rei knew, and she had told Minako, Ami, and Makoto, but Usagi didn’t want to tell her fiancé in case one of the children didn’t make it again.  She smiled as one of them kicked their father’s hand, knowing with a Senshi intelligence who he was.  Mamoru sighed at the contact, leaning back in the saddle, arms pulling Usagi with him.  “Relax, Usako,” he whispered.  “You’ll make our baby restless.”

 

“She’s already that.  I wish she’d go back to sleep.”

 

“You only have two months left, you know.  We need to get rid of Beryl by then.”

 

“We have to find Haruka-san first.  We’ll have to have her help, especially if Metallia has returned.”  Usagi shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.  “I don’t want her to be alive again, Mamo-chan.  I don’t want a repeat of the Dragon Wars from eight years ago.  Especially if Haruka-san has to worry about her own daughter.”

 

“Do not fret, little Moon Singer,” Seralii purred.  “Soon I will be fully linked to you and you will not have so many worries.”

 

“I hope not.  Seralii, look!”  Usagi pointed at a small group of spots in the sky, soaring in from the north and Kamiret’s capital, trumpets carrying across the gulf between them.  Seralii extended her neck and trumpeted back, the other Dragons turning to land and wait for the newcomers.  The seven Dragons landed, their riders dismounting as the great beasts whistled and chirped with their companions.  Usagi slipped off her Dragon and joined her parents and Michiru as Ailan embraced the new senshi.

 

“It’s so good to see you again,” she smiled.  Ailan pulled Usagi forward as the younger Senshi and their General fiancés gathered behind her to hear the introductions.  “This is my oldest daughter and heir, Serenity Usagi, this is my younger daughter Rei, and this is Kakyuu Minako, my step daughter, all of whom you may have met before.”

 

The tall man with white hair stared at Minako, glancing over his shoulder at an older man with black hair and grey eyes before turning back to the blonde.  “Kakyuu?”

 

Yuriko smiled as she stepped forward and embraced the grey-eyed man, ignoring his white-haired brother’s question.  “I imagine you heard Wind Runner’s call, Kiyoshi?”

 

“We did, Yuriko.  Tell me, did you find your daughter?”

 

Yuriko pulled Minako forward, glancing at the white-haired man.  “Kiyoshi, Demando, Saffir, Rubius, Emerald, Petz, Kooan; meet Minako, my daughter with Meiou Setsuna who was Meiou Hiroshi when you knew her.  Minako is my heir.”

 

Setsuna stepped forward, a mysterious smile on her lips, and Kiyoshi grinned.  “I always wondered if you would find Yuriko again.  Greetings, Setsuna-san.”

 

“Hello, Kiyoshi-kun.  I see that you made Yuriko happy.  You deserve each other.  As for me, I have three daughters and my true love back and I am happy.  Except, perhaps, for Haruka’s message about Metallia.  I do not wish for her to return.”

 

“Neither do I, Setsuna-san, which is why I have come.  We must find Wind Runner before we can plan an offensive.  I imagine the Star triplets are with her?”

 

“Yes, they are.”  Minako glanced at the other young Senshi gathered behind her.  “She’s their older sister.”

 

“Wind Runner has sisters?  What’s her real name—Ten’ou Haruka?”

 

“Yes.  Her mother was Ten’ou and her father was Kou.  She was born in Lamirah but her sisters were born in Maredan and received their father’s last name.”  Ailan smiled as her Dragon leaned down and sniffed the new arrivals, confirming their identity.  “They went with her toward Maredan, and she couldn’t be in better hands.”

 

Sadaine let out a terrific scream at that instant, the sound flattening the senshi as Michiru rushed to her side, desperate to calm the poor mother.  The sapphire dragon thrashed away from her rider, teeth bared as she gathered her children close, tail whipping back in forth.  She very closely resembled a very scared or a very pissed off cat.  “Sada!  Calm down!  What’s wrong?”

 

“Missing,” she hissed in her native tongue, followed by a series of words none of the senshi could recognize, ending in, “trouble!  Trouble!”

 

“Sadaine!”  Michiru’s sharp voice froze the great Dragon, her eyes calming as Michiru reached out and placed her small hand on Sada’s forehead between her sapphire eyes.  “Please, tell me what is wrong.”

 

“She’s gone, Michi!  My littlest baby has vanished.”  Michiru looked around, counting twelve of Sada’s tiny babies.  The single gold female with silvery white points was gone.  “Where could she be?”

 

“Shhh, Sada,” Michiru soothed.  “I’m sure she was just a little scared when Haruka’s message came through.  She’ll be back.”

 

“I can’t hear her!!”  Sada thrashed her head, unwilling to be calmed, her babies taking up her call.  Hotaru squirmed free of Setsuna’s arms and dashed to Mishka’s side, catching the purple Dragon’s head and forcing him to face her.

 

“Enough!  Calm down, Mishka.  You will not get your sister back by acting like a maniac and going crazy.”  The boy nodded sharply and glanced over his shoulder at his younger siblings.  With a short screech he silenced them all, save the frantic mother.  Sada leaned down and sniffed all of her babies again, scratching the ground as she leapt into flight, soaring south faster than she ever could with a rider on her back.

 

“SADA!!!  Where are you going?!!!  COME BACK!!!”  But the aqua Dragon wasn’t listening to her Senshi anymore.  Michiru fell to her knees, the sense of abandonment overpowering her, tears in her eyes.  “Don’t leave me, too,” she cried.  As one, Mishka and his unnamed siblings began to keen, needing their mother back, hungry and scared, too young to be alone.  Lillith, Emerald’s pale green Dragon, pushed Temirin back and moved forward to comfort the babies, concerned that the other female’s body might accelerate her pregnancy so she could take care of the orphaned babes.  Mishka nipped and nudged his sisters and brothers until they silenced and accepted Lillith’s exposed teats, latching on and claiming her as their mother.  Lillith still had plenty of milk since she only just weaned her last litter and a little prematurely, at that.  “It’s not like she won’t come back,” Michiru whispered, letting Setsuna pull her to her feet.  “Sadaine’s coming back, isn’t she?”

 

“Of course she is, Haruka-san,” Ailan soothed, “but we can’t leave babies without their mother.  They’re very vulnerable at this age, and their motherless scent could force even wild females to abort their litters to take care of these fourteen.  It’s for the babies’ sake, okay?  Sadaine is just very protective; all first-time mothers are.  Don’t worry, okay?”

 

Michiru slowly nodded, following Setsuna to her Dragon.  Adaqame purred reassuringly as the flight reorganized and prepared to take to the sky again.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka led the army silence, the wind whipping her hair.  Annoyed, she brushed the lengthening strands out of her face, wondering why her hair chose to start growing with her advancing pregnancy.  She really didn’t like long hair that much.  Smiling, she watched as the Dragon youngling soared overhead, trying out her wings with Noderia and Abienn on her sides, Corinth watching from above.  They were also watching out for any wild Dragons that might be on Metallia’s side, protecting the army and their riders.  Seiya rode just behind Haruka, Taiki and Yaten with the army to relay orders from their sisters.  The blonde knew what the triplets were doing, keeping an eye on her all the time, watching the amount of food she ate, dosing her with herbs and potions to keep her baby from growing too fast.  They thought they were keeping their plans a secret, but Haruka knew about their Dragon pregnancy theory.  Had Arihlai really changed her body’s chemistry so much?

 

Haruka gasped as her daughter kicked her hand, scolding her mother for the dark direction of her thoughts.  Smiling, Haruka rubbed her swollen belly, hearing her stomach growl.  It had been quite a while since breakfast.  She waved her hand for Seiya to join her, smiling as her worrywart sister rode to her side.  “Yes, Haruka-onee-chan?”

 

“I think we need a break.  Get Noderia to look ahead for somewhere we can rest for an hour or so and maybe eat a bite or two.”

 

Seiya shook her head.  “We’ll stop and we’ll rest but you don’t need to be eating.  This trip is far too stressful and we cannot allow you to give birth early.”

 

Haruka sighed, pulling her arms out from under the dark cloak she wore to hide her identity and her pregnancy from curious individuals.  “I’m getting thin, Seiya.  My body still acts like a human and feeds the baby first.  I’m not Dragon enough for it to pause the growth of my daughter for my sake.  You’re diet is going to kill me.”

 

“That’s what the herbs are for.  Look, it’s working a little.  That’s all we need, a little help.  You don’t want to give birth to my niece out here in the mountains, do you?  If we can put labor off until Ghriiten, we’ll be doing well.  Please don’t fight us in this.”

 

“Okay.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka looked up from her secluded spot as a familiar golden Dragon baby landed on the branch overhead, something in one paw.  Dropping to the ground, the baby held out her prize, most of a leg of one of the large Andiir birds the scouts had caught.  In her other hand she held some of the fruit, obviously pilfered from the same unlucky soul that lost part of his meal.  She laid the meal before her chosen Mage, her large Dragon eyes smiling as she purred.  “Nice?”

 

“Yes,” Haruka whistled back in the Dragon tongue.  “How did you know I was hungry?”

 

“Heard it.”  She bared one long fang in amusement, nosing the pregnant woman.  “Eat, Haruka Wind Runner.  Your baby needs all of her strength and she needs to stop taking yours.  Please?”  Haruka never noticed that the baby had spoken with her telepathically, falling into the old habits she barely remembered from her life with Arihlai.  That golden girl also liked to switch between spoken and telepathic communication, supposedly to help her young rider learn both languages.  Haruka always suspected that she did it for a laugh and a joke to tell her friends.

 

Haruka nodded as she quickly devoured the meal, knowing that one of her sisters would come soon, looking for her.  When she had polished off the last of the very much appreciated food, Haruka sighed and leaned back, reaching out to pet the Dragon’s nose.  “You did good, little girl.  Thank you.  I guess we ought to give you a name, huh?  Do you have an idea?”

 

“No.”

 

“How about Ri?”

 

“Fine.  Hungry?”

 

“No, not anymore.  Thank you.”

 

“Always help.  You need me.”

 

“Yes, I really do.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 14: When They Were Young

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

(—Flashback—)

 

A young princess with raven-black hair smiled as she watched the wild Dragons court high above the plains, her male Dragon Faneley boasting of his strength and prowess, hoping that one of the females would take him for a mate that season.  Rei hoped that one of the little females would accept; she was looking forward to the surge of power she received during a Dragon mating dance.

 

“Is he yours?”

 

Rei spun at the voice, smiling as she recognized one of Prince Endymion’s cousins, the short-haired blonde named Jadeite.  He bowed to the princess, smiling as she nodded that he was allowed to join her.  “Yes, Duke Jadeite.  He is Faneley.  It being the mating season and all, he wants to find a new mate.  The three girls from last season are not interested in more litters, so he needs a new one.  My half-sister’s Dragon offered, but Fan already mated Nameri once and wants to spread his genes further.  I think Nameri is falling for this little wild girl above the Dragon Caves and may not be interested in males for much longer.”

 

Jadeite smiled.  “Or she may turn out like your sister and prefer both.”

 

Rei nodded.  “True.  I hear that you four Dukes and your prince have Dragon Senshi powers but have yet to find compatible partners.”

 

“That is so.  Perhaps one day . . . I hear that males have more trouble finding Dragons than females such as yourself and your two sisters.”

 

“Of course.  A relationship with a Dragon involves letting someone else take over completely, at least for the actual bonding process, and men have more trouble letting go than women do.  Don’t worry, Katana-san; your Dragon Power will attract the right Dragon eventually.”

 

“Please, Hino-san, call me Jadeite.  You and I need not be so formal.”

 

“Then I am Rei.  Hino-san is my grandfather.”

 

“Alright, then.  Rei-san, while your Dragon is preoccupied, perhaps you and I could travel to the shrine for a brief prayer before we must rejoin our families for the midday meal.  We will need all of the spiritual guidance we can achieve to survive that.”

 

Rei bowed and took Jadeite’s extended arm.  “Very well, then.  We will.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Duchess?  There is someone here to see you, milady.”

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Nephlyte-sama, second oldest of the Katana quadruplets.”

 

Makoto paused in her exploration of the flower bushes.  “Nephlyte?  I suppose you may admit him to my garden.”

 

A tall man with wavy brown hair sauntered down the path, his suit adding an air of authority to the young man as he slowed to a stop behind the Duchess.  “Kino-san?  Are these your flowers?”

 

“They are, Katana-san.”  Makoto heard a whisper in the back of her mind and she smiled at her Dragon’s words, reaching out to find a beautiful red rose, turning to hand the flower to Nephlyte.  “Emizarit wants you to have this.”

 

“Your Dragon?  What interest does he have in me?”

 

“He doesn’t, not really.  This is just his way of showing us that he approves of you.  He won’t try to break you into fifty tiny pieces, in other words.”

 

“Oh.  Then please tell Emizarit that I appreciate his gift and that I will do everything in my power to live up to his faith in me.”

 

Makoto laughed as Emizarit leaned his huge head over the garden wall, snorting in amusement.  He stretched out his nose and sniffed Nephlyte, nodding and returning to his nap.  The General stood really still until the Dragon was completely gone, relaxing very slowly as Makoto began to laugh again.  “You really need your own Dragon, Nephlyte-kun.  Emi isn’t that scary!”

 

“He is to someone like me!  He’s ten times my size!”

 

“And he’s a tiercel, not even fully grown yet.  You should see my cousin Minako’s Nameri.  She’s quite a beauty in Dragon terms.  If she hadn’t fallen for a little wild female this season, Emi would have courted her for the right to father her children.”

 

“My brothers and I have been told that we possess Dragon Power, but we haven’t found compatible Dragons yet.”

 

Makoto reached out and rested a kind hand on Nephlyte’s arm.  Shocked, she realized that she actually felt sorry for the man that she hadn’t seen since she first bound to her first Dragon, Tarevel.  “Don’t worry, Nephlyte-kun.  When you are needed, a Dragon will find you.  Now, we have a little while until the midday meal; would you like to stay and help me with my flowers?”

 

“I’d love to, Makoto-san.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“No, but history clearly proves that the Dragons and humans lived in harmony for hundreds of years before there were any hints of Dragon power manifesting itself in humans that we eventually named Dragon Senshi.  There are ancient paintings depicting Dragon families living in mountains above human settlements and protecting their chosen people from attack.”

 

“Yes, but there are also written reports that clearly show the humans’ fear of the animals living outside their cities, what they called winged lizards.  They could not have lived in harmony with something they so obviously feared.”

 

Ami raised one finger, pulling out the flat crystal she used to store all of her notes.  The Dragon Magic pulsing through the stone made it glow blue when in its Senshi’s hands.  She touched the surface, reading the information displayed and finding a quill.  In a few moments, she had drawn a rough sketch of the continent Lamirah, Maredan, and Kamiret occupied, using red, blue, purple, and green ink to outline certain areas on the parchment in front of her.  “Look, Zoicite.  Here, in the blue areas, are where my paintings and carvings and a few ancient writings hinting at Dragon friendship came from.  The red is where your letters from people who were scared of them originated.  The purple areas are places where they mentioned Dragons in the ancient texts but never feared nor worshiped them, and the green is where there was never any mention of Dragons at all.”  She used some of her black ink to write in the names of present-day cities and towns, outlining the three kingdoms and most of their states.  Zoicite stared at the picture, shocked.

 

“Wow.”

 

“Exactly.  I believe that all of the ancient accounts were true, and this map shows how much we depend on the Dragons and their Senshi, such as my cousins and myself.  The areas in green have little or no information leftover from their civilizations, the areas in purple had long-lived but weak civilizations that eventually fell, and the civilizations in red did not survive long past the age of these ancient accounts and most were destroyed quite violently.”

 

“And these blue ones are the ones that grew into the Three Kingdoms and the Lesser Kingdoms that they combined with.  The civilizations that weren’t protected by Dragons never blossomed and many vanished off the face of the planet.  The Dragons saved us from self-annihilation.  I believe all of those letters, pictures, carvings, reports, and others because the current spread of our civilizations supports that theory.”

 

Zoicite leaned back, nodding.  “I see.  So, Ami-chan, how long have you been working on this theory?”

 

“Ever since you told me that you and your brothers found some artifacts in a cave in Kamiret that showed that our ancestors were actually afraid of Dragons.  I couldn’t believe that, so I did some of my own research.  I surprised myself with the result, actually.  What do you think?”

 

“I’m impressed,” he admitted.  “You really ought to put that kind of energy into a relationship, Ami-chan.  I don’t believe that many men could resist your charm if you would just try a little.”

 

Ami blushed, the reaction Zoicite had been looking for.  He loved that dark rose tint on her cheeks and had become quite adept at embarrassing the young Duchess.  “I don’t think so, Zoicite.  I’m not that special.”

 

“I think you’re very special, Ami,” the general argued, leaning forward and tilting the blue-haired woman’s head up.  “And you need to know that.”

 

“Thank you,” Ami whispered.  “Um, what shall we do until the midday meal?”

 

“I suggest we take a walk.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Minako watched the birds playing in the trees, lounging against her Dragon’s side.  Nameri rumbled slightly, flirting with the orange-pointed white female she was courting, reaching her neck out every now and then to nuzzle the younger wild.  The female, Audrah, was blushing as only a Dragon could, her joy and amazement warring within her.  It was a great honor to the Wilds for a Bound Dragon to show interest in them, except for the younger and more horny males looking for any mate.  Nameri, though, was no young tiercel, and Audrah was quite besotted with the great orange-gold beast.

 

“Ssimarrhh?”

 

Audrah whistled in shock, her gold eyes widening.  Minako laughed as Nameri stood, nudging the wild one to her feet, nibbling her gently on the neck, forcing her into the sky.  “I’ll be back in a little bit, Minako . . .”

 

“Don’t rush, beloved.”

 

“I thought she would never leave.”

 

Minako didn’t even bother to turn as Kunzite’s long arms snaked around her waist.  “She doesn’t much care for you, Kunzite.  I really don’t know why.”

 

“She’s very protective, Minako.  She doesn’t want you to get hurt.”

 

“You won’t hurt me.”

 

“Never.”  They stood like that, watching as Nameri flirted with Audrah through the empty sky, the smaller female squealing her excitement.  Kunzite felt a tug, a pull, from the wild female, and he leaned forward.  Minako smiled and shook her head.

 

“Not yet,” she whispered.  “It’s not your time yet.  She’s too young and your powers are too new.  Just a little longer, my love.”  Turning around, she reached up and caressed Kunzite’s cheek, smiling kindly.  “What are your brothers up to?”

 

“Wandering around.  Jadeite was talking about your red haired sister, Nephlyte headed for Mako-chan’s garden, and Zoicite was arguing with Ami-chan the last I saw.  As for my cousin, I have no idea where Endymion vanished off to.”

 

“I’ll bet he headed for the Fountain.  It’s very calm and quiet there.  Usagi goes there all the time.”

 

“Maybe they’ll run into each other.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Usagi, Princess Serenity of Lamirah, slowly wandered through her garden, feeling the wind play with her hair, watching her pale purple skirt swirl around her slender legs.  She giggled as rose blossoms filled the air, some settling to rest on her arms and in her long golden hair.  Another voice, deeper, joined her, and she spun, startled, to find a tall man with black hair and dark stormy blue eyes standing at the edge of her garden, dressed in a casual suit, sword hung by his side, dark cape flowing in the wind, black boots shining in the light.  “Princess,” he greeted, bowing deeply.

 

“Y-yes.  And you are . . .”

 

“Endymion, Prince of Maredan,” he introduced, waving his hand.  A red rose appeared in his palm, bereft of thorns, and he smiled as he held it out.  “For you, beautiful princess.  I hope you like roses.”

 

“I do,” Usagi whispered, taking it.  “I didn’t know you were here.”

 

“My cousins decided to come visit.  Kunzite wanted to see Minako-san, Zoicite came to compare historical notes with Ami-san, Nephlyte wanted to see Makoto-san, and Jadeite wanted to try his hand at courting your twin.  I had heard recently how very beautiful the Crown Princess has become, and I thought I should come and see for myself it the rumors were true.”

 

Usagi blushed as red as the flower in her hand.  “Did you do the thing with the roses?  Is that part of your Dragon Power?”

 

“Yes.  Did you like it?”

 

“It was beautiful, Endymion-san.”

 

“Please, my lady Serenity, call me Mamoru.  There is no need to be so formal.”

 

“Then call me Usagi.  Serenity seems too formal for me.”

 

“I had hoped to get to know you better, Usagi-san.”

 

“You can count on it.”

 

(—End Flashback—)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 15: Littlest Dragon Senshi

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“It’s your turn, Michiru-san.”

 

“I don’t think so, Princess.”

 

“Please,” Usagi begged, pouting.  Her sisters and cousins joined her, ignoring the older senshi when they started laughing.

 

Michiru raised her hands in defeat.  “Okay, Usagi-chan, you win!  I’ll tell you about how I met Haruka and how we got together, but be warned that you asked for it.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

(—Flashback—)

 

The young duchess, only daughter of a very old line from Lamirah, slowly dipped her fingers into the fountain, watching as water dripped back into the pool, the fish under the water watching her with big round eyes.  “I wish something would happen,” Kaiou Michiru murmured.  Life in the palace was great, and learning about her Senshi power so she could bind to a Dragon someday offered many opportunities for excitement, but there was no one to talk to.  There was no one her own age.  The Queen was in her fifties, her daughter just reaching twenty-two and ready to take over, married and pregnant with her heir.  Michiru was only seven and no one at the palace was close to her age.

 

A high-pitched screech filled the air, catching Michiru’s attention.  A large adolescent Dragon crashed to the ground beside the fountain, her golden coat dark and dim, something small clutched in her huge fists as she went limp.  She was still breathing, but each breath was labored, her strength waning.  The thing she was holding slipped out of her claws and fell to the ground, resolving itself into a tall girl with long, tangled gold hair and dirty rags hanging from her thin frame.  The girl reached out and rubbed the Dragon’s neck, cooing softly as she urged the huge beast back into the sky.  The poor Dragon, though, was too tired and too weak.

 

“Maybe the princess can help.”

 

The blonde waif glanced up at Michiru’s voice, emerald eyes full of fear.  “Ansstiaan!  Mirratherress,” she hissed, her voice that of a Dragon, the only language she knew.  “Arihlai.  Mitharr, Arihlai.”

 

“Arihlai,” Michiru repeated, taking a step forward.  “Your Dragon’s name is Arihlai.  She is sick, visitor, and must be healed.  We can heal her here, and we can heal you, too.”  She touched her stomach, mimicking an eating motion, pointing at the blonde.  “Are you hungry?  You are very thin.”

 

“Maharr?  Da’arriiss?”  The blonde moved closer to her adolescent Dragon, touching her belly.  “H-hungry?”

 

“Yes.  We can give you food, and something to drink.”

 

The child shook her head, unable to understand, twitching her nose as she searched for something.  Glancing at the fountain, she ran forward, plunging her hands into the cool liquid, drinking her fill before returning to her Dragon’s side.  She pulled Arihlai’s head toward the fountain, splashing water on the beast’s overly warm hide.  Michiru closed her eyes and touched the surface of the clear water, using the powers she had only begun to understand to move some of the liquid onto Arihlai’s darkening skin.  The strange girl looked up, shocked, as the aqua-haired Duchess tried to help Arihlai, slowly warming to the strange girl.  “Ja’aritt?”

 

“Ja’aritt?  I don’t understand.”

 

The girl clenched her fists in frustration and pointed at Arihlai, raising her arm to the sky.  She repeated the action.  “Tarrinelaass.  Ja’aritt?”

 

“Oh, help.  You want me to help Arihlai.”  The waif nodded.  “Yes, I will.  You must come with me and speak with the Queen.  Her Dragon, Mirrah, can understand you.”

 

“Mirrah?  Darrhetss?”

 

Michiru reached out and took the other girl’s hand, pulling her toward the palace.  The blonde froze, feeling a strange urge to follow the other girl.  She glanced at Arihlai, and the sick Dragon nodded.  “Amarranett, Harruka.  Tarifass.”  Trust the little one, Haruka.  My life is in your hands.

 

“Ja’aritt,” Haruka promised, following Michiru.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“I can heal her, but it will take time.  She has lost a great deal of her strength.  It looks like a great evil touched her and she fled, searching for anyone to help her fight it.  What about the girl she brought, Michiru-san?”

 

“Her name is Haruka, Serenity-sama, and she is a Dragon Senshi.”

 

“She’s too young to be a Senshi.  How could she have bound to a Dragon so young?”

 

“She was lost when a great evil overtook her village,” Arihlai whispered, her words translated by Mirrah.  “My Clan cleansed the land after the Evil destroyed everything, and there was only this one small child left.  Her parents had fled, thinking her lost forever, and I had to take her in.  The only way I could save her was to link my life to hers.  Ten’ou Haruka is my child, my partner, and the other half of my soul.  Without her, I would die, and without me she would not live.  She is thin and gaunt because she gave me her energy when the Evil attacked our Clan.  It is only through her incredible will, love, and power that I am alive at all.  Because she is my Senshi, I live.”

 

The queen nodded, smiling as her daughter joined her.  Tsukino Rikuriko glanced at her Dragon as Pilathe and Mirrah began to heal the golden female, whispering to her that she had to be silent, be still, and preserve her strength.  Rikuriko pulled Ailan and Michiru away, glancing at Haruka sitting in the highest branches of the old oak in the center of the garden, emerald eyes focused on her Dragon.  “I don’t believe I would have pegged her for a climber,” Ailan murmured, purple eyes entranced by the strength in such a young girl.  Haruka would make a great Senshi someday, and a greater leader, if given the chance.

 

“She’s not a climber,” Michiru whispered, blue eyes never leaving the other girl.  “She’s a runner, a flier, and she only climbs to be closer to the sky.  She was born to ride a Dragon, and it must have been that power that saved her so many years ago.  She’ll be a great Dragon Senshi one day.”

 

“I doubt she will stay,” Rikuriko admitted, dismissing the child with a wave of her hand.  “She is too flighty, too free, too . . . distant.  She’ll never make it.”

 

“She will!  I’ll teach her!”

 

Ailan and Rikuriko turned to the child, both raising an incredulous eyebrow.  Michiru crossed her arms over her chest, determined to keep the blonde in the palace and where she could see her everyday.  “You?  Teach her?  Teach her how to use her power, how to be a part of this court, how to be a lady, how to speak?  She can’t understand you, and she won’t want to stay.  She’s free, an eagle you could never hope to tame, and she’ll fly away as soon as Arihlai is better.”

 

“I don’t want to tame her, I want to give her a safe aerie.  I know that she doesn’t want to be here, but that’s only because she’s lived in the mountains with Arihlai’s Clan her entire life.  She doesn’t know any other life.  Mirrah can help me, or one of her little children.  And when she first landed, on some level, she did understand me, she knew that all I wanted to do was help her.  I can teach her everything, Ailan-chan; please believe me.”

 

The Princess of Lamirah glanced at her mother.  “Mirrah’s clutchlings are old enough to help you, I suppose.  I have to return to Hiroshi now and little Minako.  She’ll be a great Senshi some day, and so will this little girl.”  She placed a hand on her rounded belly, her smile that of a first-time mother.

 

“Antaerr,” Haruka whispered from Michiru’s side, having slipped down from her tree perch while the Senshi were speaking.  She pointed at Ailan’s belly and repeated the Dragon word.

 

“Antaerr?  What does that mean, Michiru?”

 

“I have no idea.  She’s talking about your daughter, though.”

 

Ailan smiled and held out her hand to the tall girl.  “Would you like to feel her kick?”

 

Haruka glanced at Michiru, reaching out and placing her long-fingered hand on the princess’s round belly.  She smiled as tiny feet impacted on her palm, emerald eyes lighting up.  “Antaerr,” she repeated, pulling back and placing a hand on her own flat belly.  “Antaerr, suriett.”  Moving her hand to Michiru’s belly, she grinned.  “Suriett zarress.  Naliett zarress.”  She turned to Rikuriko, her eyes widening.  “Alieramonn,” she whispered, her voice shaking, fear paralyzing her.  “Tarentur . . . Berryl.  Wamieret t-tarr zufareth.  Mettalia rifurr.  Tarentur!”  Haruka turned to Michiru, shaking her head.  “Ana, tarentur.”  As the duchess watched, not sure what to do, the other girl swayed, her eyes rolling back as she fainted, the power of her vision sapping all of her strength.  Arihlai screamed, arching her back as she lost consciousness, Mirrah and Pilathe increasing their efforts to heal the poor Dragon.

 

Rikuriko easily lifted the unconscious blonde and turned toward the palace.  “Michiru-san, you may try.  If you succeed, than I will welcome Duchess Haruka into my court.  If you fail, than she will fly off with Arihlai and we will never see her again.”

 

“I won’t fail.”

 

Ailan shook her head, following her mother, gasping as a sharp pain shot through her body.  “Oh no.  Mother!”

 

“What?”  She spun around, eyes widening.  “Ailan!  You choose now to go into labor!”

 

“I didn’t choose!  Hiroshi’s not even here!”

 

“Mirrah will call Adaqame!  Get into the palace!”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Ailan shook her head, the tears on her cheeks not entirely due to her prolonged labor.  Her husband was late, Adaqame flying as fast as he could.  “Where are you, Setsu-chan?  This baby won’t wait forever.”

 

“I know, my love.  I’m trying.  Minako was a very impatient as well.  We’re almost there.”

 

Ailan clenched her fists, refusing to cry out as another contraction moved her daughter closer to birth.  The midwives were shaking their heads, amazed that the princess could hold out for so long, wondering where her husband was.  Ailan screamed as the strongest contraction so far squeezed her belly, and her outstretched hands met her husband’s.  Hiroshi kissed Ailan’s forehead as the princess squeezed his hand.  “Where have you been?!  This girl is not going to wait for you!”

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, dark red eyes smiling.  “I’m here now.”

 

“And so is she!”  Michiru automatically reached for Haruka’s hand as the baby princess made her entrance into the world, head covered in fine golden hair, so tiny that midwife almost missed her.  Haruka, having regained consciousness, smiled, amazed at the beauty of the tiny child.

 

“Usagi,”  Haruka whispered, one of the few non-Dragon words she remembered from her childhood emerging from her lips.  The child looked just like a little rabbit, so tiny and squirmy.  “Usagi.”

 

“That’s a perfect name,” Hiroshi whispered, glancing at his wife.  “What do you think, Ailan?  Do you like it?”

 

“Of course I do.  Oh . . .”

 

“What?  More contractions?”

 

“Antaerr,” Haruka insisted, pointing as Ailan’s body began to expel a second child, the princess’s twin.  Minutes later, the second child was born, much larger and louder than her sister.  The midwives cleaned both and the princess, Queen Serenity standing to one side.  Antaerr was the Dragon word for ‘twin’.  Haruka had known that her daughter carried two babes, even though no one in the court had a clue.  That girl could become the greatest Senshi of all time, if encouraged properly.

 

Hiroshi held the second daughter, the redhead Rei, smiling.  One of the nurses brought his first daughter into the room, little Minako trying to see her little sisters.  As the family gathered, Rikuriko touched Michiru’s shoulder.  “Antaerr . . . she was right, Michiru.  Look, you have to train her.  She has to become a Dragon Senshi because we cannot afford her as an enemy.  She is too powerful to be a wild element, especially with this evil that Arihlai referred to attacking small villages.  Get her to trust you, teach her how to speak, and make her want to stay.  Can you do that?”

 

“I will.”

 

From the doorway, the younger princess, the redhead Beryl, glared at the blonde waif who had invaded her life.  She, born powerless, was already ignored, and now it would be worse with such a powerful Senshi in the palace.  She had to find a way to get rid of that annoyance.  Haruka suddenly looked up at the younger princess, emerald eyes sparking fiercely, and Beryl backed away.  She would not so easily cross that child.

 

(—End Flashback—)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Wow,” Usagi whispered.  “But what does all of that mean?  Did you ever learn what Haruka-san said that day?”

 

“No.  I wasn’t Bound to Nabiril until years later, and it never seemed important when I was teaching Haruka how to speak.  Sada, what did it mean?”

 

Sadaine leaned over the campfire and searched her Senshi’s mind.  “Antaerr means twins.  I think your Haruka knew that the princess was carrying twins.”

 

“Twins . . . Haruka knew . . . Sada, what about the rest of it?”

 

“Zarress means single child.  Suriett means in the future.”

 

“She knew that I would have Hotaru?”

 

“Apparently.  Naliett is a phrase of ownership.”

 

“Naliett?  She was seven, Sada; she couldn’t possibly have known back then that she and I would have a daughter.  Besides, she touched her own belly when she said ‘Antaerr, suriett’.  She’s never had twins . . .”  Michiru’s eyes widened, hands flying up to cover her mouth.  “Twins.  Haruka’s carrying twins.  And she knew twenty years ago . . . how is that possible?”

 

“Alieramonn is an old warning.  It means ‘you will not live to see the light’.  Haruka must have known that Queen Rikuriko would be killed by Metallia.  Tarentur means danger and darkness, evil without measure.  She named Beryl and Metallia, saying that Queen Metallia was the evil that destroyed her home and that she would take over the queen’s second daughter.  Haruka knew, and if . . .”

 

“And if I had thought to ask Mirrah what Haruka meant back then, we could have avoided a great deal of the pain that followed,” Michiru whispered, shaking.  “It’s my fault that Arihlai and Nabiril died.  I was so blind . . . Rikuriko-san knew that Haruka was powerful, and I should have seen that.”

 

“You were seven,” Usagi pointed out.  “The princess was giving birth and Haruka didn’t even speak properly yet.  How could you know that she saw our future?”

 

“She was my responsibility, and I failed.”

 

“You didn’t fail,” Setsuna whispered, hugging the younger senshi.  “I was there and I never suspected . . . don’t blame yourself.”

 

“It’s not that, not really.”  Michiru sighed and glanced south, toward where she knew Haruka was sleeping, tossing as the restless babies kicked and wrestled.  “She . . . she knew even then that she would have these babies, and I got in a fight with her just before she found out.  What kind of wife am I if I drive my lover away just when she needs me the most?  I wish . . . maybe it would have been better if I let her fly away with Arihlai twenty years ago.”

 

“Michiru!”  Rei glared at the older senshi, arms crossed over her chest.  “Do you know what you are saying?  You love her!  If you had let her leave, you would be alone, you wouldn’t have Hotaru, you wouldn’t have two more children on the way, and this land would have fallen to Metallia!”

 

“And Arihlai would never have died!  Haruka would never have run away from me.”

 

“And Metallia would rule us all.  What kind of life would that have been for her?  Arihlai would still have died, but she would have taken Haruka with her, and three people that belong in this world would never have been born.  I know you miss her, Michiru-san, and I promise that you will see her again.”

 

“Thank you, Usagi-san.  I miss her so much.”

 

“I know.  I’m sure she misses you, too.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 16: Windy Heights

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Haruka-onee-chan, what are you thinking?”

 

The blonde sighed, rubbing her hand over her rounded belly as she watched the sun set.  “Michiru,” she whispered.

 

Seiya smiled and handed her sister a small plate of food, her rations.  The little baby in Haruka’s belly was growing faster than made the sisters comfortable, and Yaten had decided to cut the blonde’s rations again, trying to slow the child’s growth.  If Haruka gave birth early, she and her child might not survive.  “I know you miss her, but all this constant worrying will upset your child.  Please stop thinking about her.”

 

“I can’t, Seiya.  I never realized how much I love her, how much I need her, until I can’t see her anymore.  And now her baby will be born without her.  She’s the motherly type, not me.  I don’t know the first thing about raising a child.”

 

“We’ll help you, Ane.  I know you love her, I really do understand, and I can feel our pain.  Would it help you to talk about it?”

 

“About Michiru?  What about her?”

 

“Well, you told me that you don’t remember meeting her, that Arihlai always had to remind you because some vision you had gave you amnesia, but I’m sure you remember after that.  Tell me about your time in the Royal Court with Michiru-san.  She seems like a very beautiful person.”

 

“She is.  I remember Usagi and Rei’s birth, you know.  I almost remember directing Arihlai toward the palace when the Evil killed her Clan, knowing that we would be safe there, and I remember a little girl with aqua hair taking my hand and leading me into the palace.  After Rei and Usagi were born, Rikuriko-san, Usagi’s grandmother, invited me to stay in the palace and learn to be a Lady.  I really didn’t want that, but Arihlai’s healing would take weeks, so I agreed to let Michiru teach me how to speak.  Over the weeks, I began to understand that she really wanted to help me, and I didn’t want to leave so much.  As the days and weeks passed, then months, I became accustomed to life in the palace, regular meals, baths with soap and flowery shampoo, and especially Michiru.  But one day, when I was fourteen and only just becoming a woman, I got sick of it.  So I took some supplies, jumped on Arihlai’s back, and headed for the mountains, no longer giving a damn about any of it.  Rikuriko had already been dead for four years, her daughter Queen for that long, and Michiru was often caught up in affairs of the court.  I didn’t think anyone would miss me.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Michiru leaned back against the tree, absently rubbing Lillith’s nose as the great Dragon slept beside her and Emerald, babies nestled against their adopted mother’s warm flank.  “Haruka was doing so well for years, blossoming into a gorgeous woman, but one day she just vanished.  I think it just became too much for her.  It made me realize that I hadn’t been spending enough time with her, that I had been ignoring her as Ailan-chan gave me more and more duties and responsibilities.  For the first couple of days, I pretended like nothing was wrong, that I was okay alone, but I had become so accustomed to being with her that I couldn’t stand being alone.  So I asked Mirrah to take me to wherever Arihlai had flown away to.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“We returned to Arihlai’s old caves, empty since Metallia attacked, and settled in to return to our old life.  But I was so lonely and Arihlai couldn’t tell me why.  I remember the day I saw her again.  I was sitting on the ledge outside our cave . . .”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

(—Flashback—)

 

Haruka’s brilliant emerald eyes scanned the fluffy clouds for any sign of a storm or wild Dragons.  The Evil might return, and she didn’t want her Arihlai in danger.  She started as a dark speck soared through the sky, heading straight for her cave.  Squeaking in shock, the blonde dashed back into the caves, searching her memory for that damn shield spell Michiru taught her.  She finally remembered the proper sequence of motions and words as a silvery white female Dragon landed just inside the cave, a very familiar aqua-haired woman slipping off her back.  Arihlai emerged from the back of the cave, softly scolding her Senshi as she greeted Mirrah, purring seductively as she rubbed her body against the older female’s.  Mirrah snapped at the golden flirt, flicking her tail as she returned to the outside perch, hissing mock-ferociously as Arihlai followed the queen, nipping at the tip of her tail.  Haruka and Michiru both knew that the silver queen would give in to the golden one’s amorous advances soon enough, though she had refused for years at court.

 

“I didn’t know you were coming, Michiru-san.  I thought . . .”

 

“You thought you could just leave, just like that?  Haruka, how dumb do you think I am?  You left because no one was paying any attention to you anymore and you’re too spoiled to be ignored!”  Michiru had worked up a really good seriously-pissed-off on the way to the caves, and she was ready and willing to let loose on the only available target.  “I don’t care if you wanted to be alone up here, but you could have had the decency to tell me that you were leaving!!”

 

“I didn’t want you to follow me!  I’m sick of living your life with rules and routines and so many small rooms!  I belong up here, in the wind, free!”  Haruka hadn’t meant to yell at the younger teen, but she was sick and tired of controlling her emotions, guarding her words, and being nice in general.  She was annoyed to say the least, and someone was going to know about it.  She was glowing, her power covering her in a fine golden aura, watching as Michiru’s aqua power covered the smaller potential Senshi.  “I’m not spoiled, either!  I grew up without parents or cousins or any of the things you took for granted, and it’s only my BAD LUCK that I landed in your fucking palace in the first place!  If I had my way, Arihlai and I would never have headed for Saverrit Province and you!  I wish we’d never met!”

 

“And I wish I hadn’t argued so hard with Rikuriko-san to keep your worthless ass!  I went to a lot of effort to teach you how to speak, to act, to behave, to be a lady, and all you did was throw it all back in my face and RUN AWAY!!!  Dammit, Haruka, I gave you everything I had and you threw it back!”

 

“Maybe it wasn’t enough!  Maybe I needed more!”

 

“What more could a young woman of the court need?!”

 

“Someone who needs me as more than a fucking charity case!”

 

“You weren’t a charity case!”  Michiru balled her hands into fists, somehow resisting the urge to pummel the taller woman into a bloody pulp.  Both Senshi were practically adults, perfectly capable of controlling their emotions and powers, but Michiru felt like acting childish for once, and Haruka really didn’t care about being an adult anymore.  “You may not believe this, but I cared about you!”

 

“If you cared so damn much, why did you start to ignore me?!”

 

“You’re NOT the only person in my life!!  I have duties, responsibilities . . .”

 

“None of which would mean a damn if you really cared for me!”

 

“I DO care for you!  That’s what scared me when I realized that you’re not a little girl anymore.  You’ve become a woman and I don’t know how to interact with Haruka the woman!  When we were children it was easy, we were friends, partners in all things, but now you’re a woman and you’re sexy and I want you and I don’t know what to do!”

 

Haruka stared at the smaller woman, all of the fire and anger leaving her frame, emerald eyes wide.  “You . . . want . . . me?”

 

Michiru nodded, biting her lip as her power also faded and a tear trickled down her cheek.  “And I was so confused the first time I saw you naked and realized I wanted you so bad I could taste it.  I didn’t know what to do, how to react, so I thought that if I spent less time with you it would go away.  How could I even be attracted to you in the first place; I’ve had ten suitors this year, and none were women.  But you turned me on in a way they never could, and it scared me.  But the less time I spent with you, the more time I spent engrossed in my work, the more I wanted you, the more I needed you.  When you vanished, I hoped that it would go away . . .”

 

“But the longing only got worse,” Haruka whispered, stepping closer, the very masculine boots she had liberated from Michiru’s second cousin ringing on the stone.  “I didn’t leave because no one was paying attention to me, and I didn’t leave because I was sick of life at Court.  It was nice, easy, predictable, except for the minor skirmishes with wild Dragons on the edge of the kingdoms that I, as one of the few active Lamirhan Senshi, have to go investigate.  I left because you gave me a way out, a way to leave all of the confusing emotions, the hormones, the lust, behind me.  As you spent less and less time with me, I realized that I wanted you as more than just a friend and I couldn’t handle it anymore.  So I left.  When I saw that Dragon coming through the clouds, you don’t understand how much I wished it would be you.”

 

“Well, here I am,” Michiru whispered, wiping the tear off her cheek.  “What do we do now?  We’re not in the palace, and there’s no one here to tell us that duchesses and ladies are expected to marry for advantage, no queen desperate for her court to run as smoothly as her mother’s did.  There’s just us.”

 

“Just us,” Haruka echoed, her low voice sending shivers down Michiru’s spine as she reached out and caressed the younger woman’s smooth cheek.  “What do two people who are falling in love do alone together in a cave in the mountains?”

 

“I don’t know,” Michiru whispered, smiling a small, seductive little smile as she flipped her wavy hair over her shoulder.  The gleam of purest lust in Haruka’s green eyes froze her, sending a more powerful shiver through her thin frame.  “I guess we can do whatever we want to.”

 

As if those words had been her signal, Haruka moved, long arms wrapping around Michiru’s slender waist, lips claiming hers with a passion she didn’t know she possessed.  Michiru moaned as she leaned closer, raising her arms to wrap them around Haruka’s neck, unknowingly shifting her position until she had one thigh between Haruka’s long legs, pushing upward slightly, sighing as she felt the wind woman groan.

 

A sudden screech from the pair of Dragons outside separated the women, sending both out of the dark cave to see what was upsetting the pair.  Arihlai had jumped into flight, flaming at the small wild Dragons arrowing toward the caves, Mirrah hissing from her crouched position in front of the cave and the two Senshi.  Haruka growled as more and more Dragons swarmed in, acting as a unit, their leader still absent.  “Why now?  These mountains have been quiet for years!  Arihlai!  To me!”

 

Mirrah leaned back and scooped Michiru onto her back, leaping into battle as Arihlai returned for her rider.  Haruka called on the power of her planet, the seventh one in-system, Uranus, and a change came over her, a short-skirted, skin-tight fuku colored in navy and gold marking her as one of the famous and powerful Dragon Senshi, a tiara on her head.  She raised her hand, throwing crackling balls of energy into the cloud of wild Dragons, scattering them and throwing a few to the ground.  Mirrah joined the battle, flaming and clawing, Michiru easily staying in the saddle.  Arihlai, easily the largest female Dragon anyone in the court had ever seen, dove down, flaming two tiercels and slashing at three more with her claw-tipped tail.  Haruka raised her hand to attack another when the leader of the wilds entered, black hair streaming behind her, wild red eyes pinning the young Senshi, grey Dragon hissing his fury.  Michiru looked up, sensing her partner’s fear and fury.

 

“It’s you!  You’re the Evil that destroyed Arihlai’s Clan!”

 

“And you’re that blonde bitch that killed my Dragon!  Don’t think I will forgive that crime so easily.  I am Metallia, Queen of the Wild Dragons, and I will rule the Three Kingdoms and the outer Provinces!  And I will kill you and your powerless little slut of a girlfriend.”

 

Haruka’s green eyes narrowed, all of her fear turning into resolve as she raised her gloved arm.  A sparkling energy covered her right hand as a long, thin, deadly looking sword appearing in her hand.  “I am Wind Runner, Dragon Senshi of Uranus, and I am not afraid of you, Metallia.  I killed one Dragon by chance; this one I will kill by plan.  And, in the end, I will kill you.”

 

Metallia laughed as her Dragons swarmed closer, the Clan surrounding the two females.  They were doomed, and they knew it, but they would go down fighting.  Haruka’s determined eyes never left Metallia, even though she would almost certainly lose.

 

A sudden trumpet from the south startled the flight, all heads turning as another flight of wild Dragons, the sea-side dwelling Mirrtaa Clan, dove into view, their numbers easily twice that of Metallia’s clan, and the other wild Dragons pulled back.  One of the new Dragons, a large blue-green female with white points who wasn’t that old, swooped close to Mirrah, staring at Michiru with dark eyes.  Mirrah turned to look at the wild, turned partly on her side, never seeing the dark brown wild that rammed into her from her blind side, knocking the duchess off her back.  Michiru screamed, Mirrah’s wail following her as she and the blue wild dove, Haruka’s frightened eyes following them.  She sighed in relief as the wild blue female caught her almost-lover, staring in shock as a blue-green glow enveloped the pair, fading to reveal Michiru’s aqua Senshi fuku, a tiara on her head.  She grinned as she and her Dragon flew higher, ready and willing to challenge the evil queen.  Metallia grinned and faced the new Senshi, sensing that she would be easier to defeat than Haruka.  She threw a ball of black lightning at the aqua-haired woman, staring in shock as Michiru pulled a mirror out of thin air and deflected it away, glaring at the self-proclaimed Queen of the Wild Dragons.

 

Haruka raised her sword above her head, power cloaking her and her Dragon.  “Mirrtaa, to me!”  The flight reorganized in a second, diving behind Arihlai and Michiru’s dragon, splitting off to attack the rest of the flight as Haruka and Michiru headed for Metallia.  Michiru swerved away at the last second, distracting Metallia long enough for Haruka to swoop in, her sword and Arihlai’s claws and teeth sinking into the evil Dragon.  It screamed, falling from the sky, taking his rider with him as Mirrah and Arihlai led the Mirrtaa Clan away from the evil queen.

 

They flew for an hour, going deep into the mountains where Metallia could never find them, a short hop from the Lamirah Palace, before Mirrah, Arihlai, and Michiru’s new Dragon landed, moving off to the side so the Senshi could talk.

 

Haruka grinned, pointing at Michiru’s skirt.  “Cute uniform.  What planet do you answer to, Michiru?”

 

“Neptune,” she whispered.  “Nabiril saved me.”

 

Haruka nodded, holding back her tears.  “I thought you were done for.  I knew Mirrah would never catch you.”

 

Michiru jumped into Haruka’s arms, never bothering to hide her own tears as both women slowly relaxed.  “I’m so glad you’re safe, Haruka.  She’s the woman that killed all of the Dragons in Arihlai’s Clan?”

 

“Yeah.  The reason Arihlai and I were so weak when we appeared at the palace is because we fought her, just the two of us, and we managed to kill her Dragon.  That only occupied her long enough for us to escape.  I never wanted to see her again.”

 

“Maybe you killed her this time.”

 

“I know I didn’t, Michiru.  But one day I will bury my sword in her evil belly, and as I watch the life leave those heartless eyes, I will know that the Karientaa Clan is at last avenged.  But I have to be a stronger Senshi for that.”

 

“You can’t become a strong Senshi unless you come back to the palace with me,” Michiru whispered, blue eyes closed.  “Please say that you will.”

 

“I’ll never leave you, Michiru.  I promise.”

 

(—End Flashback—)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Michiru smiled, staring across the campfire at a pair of burning emerald eyes only she could see.  “That was the night Haruka taught me how much I like her hands.  The next day we returned to the palace, where we remained until Metallia attacked.”

 

“You could always be seen together,” Makoto whispered.  “From the few memories I have of the palace, I never remember seeing you one without the other.”

 

“We’re very close,” Michiru whispered, reaching out across the flames, never seeing that the fire split apart to keep from injuring her.  She felt phantom fingers twine with hers, long fingers that she knew so well caressing the back of her hands.  “I can hear her every thought miles away, her love, her loneliness.  I know that she didn’t mean to get angry, that she would never have left me if she had a choice, that she meant it when she said I was hers, now and forever.  Aishiteru, Haruka.”

 

“Aishiteru, Michiru,” a soft, familiar, faintly masculine voice replied, the whisper filling the air.  The phantom of Haruka stepped out of the fire, closing her eyes as she solidified.  She stared at herself, shocked, as the other Senshi jumped up.  The Dragons keened as a strange sensation enveloped them, the babies screeching as something changed.

 

They were no longer around a campfire in Lamirah.  They were in the mountains of Maredan’s Ghriiten Province, just south of Kamiret.

 

Michiru stared at Haruka, taking in her gaunt appearance, her belly huge as the children took all of her nutrients for themselves, her emerald eyes calm and loving, a strange and unexpected undercurrent of fear in them.  She was afraid of Metallia, afraid of what would happen if the evil queen found her.  All of that vanished as Haruka realized that she wasn’t dreaming, that Michiru really was in front of her, and she let out a muffled sob as she jumped into her lover’s arms.  Michiru held the taller blonde, her own tears silent, feeling the twins kick her excitedly.  She pulled away, kissing Haruka before resting a hand on her wife’s belly.  “Haruka, love, look how thin you are.”

 

“Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki are trying to keep our daughter from growing too fast.  Dragon pregnancy and all.”

 

“It’s twins, Haruka.”

 

The Kou triplets, having located their sister after the powerful teleportation spell, stared at Michiru, eyes automatically flying to Haruka’s belly.  “I guess that’s why the herbs aren’t working as well as they should,” the brunette murmured.

 

Haruka stared at her belly, Michiru’s white fingers splayed on her tightly stretched skin, eyes wide.  “Twins,” she whispered, words she half-remembered returning to her mind.  “Antaerr.  Suriett.  Naliett.”  She stared at Michiru, sensing that her wife already knew what her words from so many years earlier meant.  “How did I know?  How could I have known, Michi, twenty years ago?”

 

“It doesn’t matter.  What you need right now is a good meal and someone warm to sleep with.”  Haruka’s eyes lit up, and Michiru caught her wife’s hands as they started to wander.  “I said sleep, Haruka.  That’s what you and the twins need now more than anything, sleep.”

 

“Michiru-san, she doesn’t need food . . .”

 

Michiru whirled to face Seiya, dark blue eyes sparking, her fury silencing the hurried introductions between the two armies.  “Of course she needs food!  I don’t know what happened to rob my wife of her voice, of her will, but she’s hungry and thin and pregnant.  I know that it’s stressful and that she might give birth early, but at this rate she won’t survive.  What brought on the sudden Dragon nature of her pregnancy, anyway?”

 

“A little golden Dragon.”

 

“Ri,” Haruka whispered, looking up as a tiny female baby Dragon landed beside her, smiling in her Dragon way, fur shining and gold.  Her emerald eyes reflected power, and Michiru realized, shocked, that the little baby had been the one to find the power for such a massive transport.  “She found me.”

 

“Isn’t her name a little short for a Dragon?”

 

“So is Mishka,” Haruka pointed out, glancing at the dark purple Dragon standing in front of his siblings, Hotaru by his side, purple eyes locked on her father.

 

“How did you know his name?”

 

“His mother told me.”  On cue, a great blue Dragon mother soared into sight, landing beside the fire and scattering the Senshi, nuzzling her youngest daughter.  Sadaine stretched out her neck and touched her nose to Michiru, letting her Senshi rub her nose before returning her attentions to her daughter.

 

“I told you I would find my daughter, Michiru.  When we touched, I Saw you reaching for Haruka across the fire and the miles, and she and I, with help from the Starlight triplets’ Dragons, managed to give your mate enough power for the transportation spell.  I know that it was dangerous, but Metallia is far away in Kamiret and we are within the borders of Maredan.  It is weeks a-Dragon-back even at the fastest speeds until she reaches us.  And she cannot teleport without a destination in mind.  Perhaps we should change course after this, though.”

 

Michiru nodded, wiping her tears away.  “I am glad you’re safe, Sada.  And we will change course.  But we can decide that in the morning.”

 

“Wind Runner?”

 

Haruka smiled as Princess Serenity approached, one hand on her swollen belly.  It had been more than a month since their separation, the army traveling as fast as possible, the band of Dragons traveling slowly and hiding to avoid detection by Metallia.  “Yes, little Moon Singer?  We’re a matched pair now, you and I.  Antaerr.”

 

Mamoru caught Usagi’s arm, placing a hand on her belly.  “Twins, Usako?  Again?  Why did you not tell me?”

 

Rei, the only one who knew, stepped up beside her twin sister.  “She did not want to raise your hopes, Mamoru-san.  After what happened to her first son . . .”

 

Ri let out a sudden cry, echoed instants later by Haruka as the woman fell to her knees in pain.  Michiru crouched beside her wife, one hand on her swollen belly as she glanced up at the Senshi gathered around her, snapping into leader mode.  “I need a tent, some clean cloths, any herbs and potions you have for pain, some water, and you princesses to help me.  The twins are coming now, whether we like it or not, and we cannot have Metallia sensing that.  Hotaru, take Mishka and his siblings to a safe cave; Charikei, send part of the army, tents, and supplies with her to guard them.  Lillith, I want all of the Dragons up in the mountains like Wilds except for Sada, Ri, Noderia, Corinth, Abienn, Adaqame, Mirrah, Seralii, and Chavekn.  You nine need to create a shield so that Metallia cannot hear the twins’ birth, then everyone except Ri needs to head for the mountains.”

 

“Do not make me leave my daughter!  Michiru, I only just found her!”

 

“Sada, you and I have been Bound for eight years; our connection is in no danger.  But Haruka cannot open her mind, not since Arihlai died, and Ri has to be near her at all times if we are to have even a hope of Binding them.  In labor, she will have no control, no shields, no power, and that pain may make her vulnerable enough for Ri to turn her into a Dragon Senshi once more.  She is too powerful to be left Dragonless.”

 

Sada nodded, understanding, as the triplets lifted Haruka and carried her to a tent, Michiru and the Senshi just behind her.  Haruka bit her lip, refusing to cry out, as contraction after contraction ripped through her body.  The babies were coming, Metallia or no, and Haruka knew that the final battle with her ancient enemy was at hand.  Soon she would face that dark queen for the last time, and one of them must die for good in the meeting.  As soon as she was sure her babies were safe, she could leave.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 17: More Dragon than Senshi

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka was shaking, freezing, burning up, barely able to breathe, her vision clouded with red.  Pain flowed through her in waves, and she bit her lip each time, feeling something trickle down her chin; her fingernails were digging into her palm, blood dripping to the ground.  It wasn’t supposed to hurt this much.  She reached out with her mind for anyone, any way to stop the pain, but it didn’t work.  She felt someone fluttering at the edge of her consciousness, but she couldn’t break through.  She couldn’t help.  Haruka could feel herself screaming, begging for help, needing the pain to end, but nothing was helping.

 

“Silly child,” a kind, warm, liquid voice whispered, surrounding her and easing her pain.  “I told you that it would be very hard for you to ever have children unbound.  Don’t you understand?  I told you not to conceive without me around.”

 

“I didn’t mean to, Arihlai.  I love Michiru and we made love on the night of the True Full Moon.  I didn’t think it would be me.”

 

Arihlai laughed as the red haze faded and Haruka looked up into her wife’s worried blue eyes.  “No, of course not.  When you were young, you knew.  Antaerr.  I think maybe you needed this more.  Give birth, my beloved, and become the Senshi I died to save.”

 

“Michiru,” Haruka whispered, focusing on her wife.  Michiru visibly relaxed, squeezing Haruka’s hand as she eased her pain, using her link with Sadaine to save her blonde wife the pain of childbirth.  “I heard Arihlai.”

 

“I believe you,” Michiru whispered.  “You’ve been in labor for twenty hours.  It’s dark again.  There has to be something else you need.”

 

“Arihlai,” Haruka whispered.  “Ri.”

 

The immature Dragon stuck her nose into the tent, emerald eyes flecked with gold, and nuzzled the laboring woman.  Haruka rested her hand on Ri’s nose and relaxed, all of her pain gone.  Her body finally settled into a steady rhythm of contractions, pushing the first of her twins closer and closer to the outside world.  The Senshi, standing back, exchanged glances as Usagi moved closer, one hand on her swollen belly.  She smiled as she placed the other one on Haruka’s belly, using her newfound power to calm the babies.  Haruka stared at her, shocked, as one final powerful push brought the first of the twins into the world, silent.  Makoto and Minako caught the tiny blonde, cleaning her and wrapping her up as Seiya cut and tied off her umbilical cord.  Haruka stared at the baby as her body delivered the second girl, also silent and uncomplaining.  Ami and Usagi cleaned the second child as Taiki carefully cut her umbilical cord.  The second baby had sapphire eyes and aqua hair, eyes that stared at Haruka.  The first girl’s emerald eyes also followed her mother’s movement as Wind Runner delivered the afterbirth and sat up, letting Michiru clean her as Ri pulled her head out of the tent.  The women flocked around their two newest members, examining them and exclaiming over their tiny size as Haruka pushed them away, staring at the tiny babies Setsuna and Ailan held.  So tiny.

 

“They’ll get bigger,” Michiru laughed, taking both girls from the former queen and king.  “I’m proud of you, Haruka.”

 

“We did that?  We made those tiny girls?”

 

“Yes,” Michiru smiled, “and you delivered them.  They came out of you.  You asked the same questions when Hotaru was born.”

 

“I remember.”  Haruka let Michiru place both newborns in her arms, both of them smiling their tiny baby smiles at the tall blonde, as Hotaru joined her mothers.  Setsuna lifted the child so she could see her sisters and touch the tiny babies.  “What . . . what should we name them, Michi?”

 

“Seiya-san, what did you say your mother’s name was?”

 

“Kazeko,” the black-haired woman answered.  “Her name was Kazeko.”

 

“Then I want to name the blonde girl Kazeko,” Michiru whispered, caressing her new daughter’s cheek.  The baby cooed, tiny fist clenching and unclenching uncontrollably.  “But I don’t know about the other girl.”

 

Haruka handed Kazeko to Michiru as she touched the younger girl’s aqua hair tinged with a darker blue.  “Your mother’s hair was sapphire and aqua, right?”

 

“Yes it was, but . . .”

 

“And she had your blue eyes.  Why can’t we name her Shousha?”

 

“Should we?  Are you sure that you want to name her that?”

 

“Why not?”  Haruka looked at Hotaru and smiled at the purple-haired girl.  “Hime-chan, what do you think about Kazeko and Shousha as names for your little sisters?”

 

“I like it,” she whispered, unable to take her eyes off the twins.  Shousha began to squirm, waving her little arms, and Kazeko began to cry softly.  Michiru laughed at Haruka’s confused expression as Usagi collected Hotaru and led the other women out of the tent.  Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten remained behind, watching from the corner to see what their sister would do.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Oh, Haruka!  There’s nothing wrong.  They’re just hungry.”

 

“Hungry?!”  Haruka’s green eyes widened as Michiru took Shousha and placed her on a large pillow in the corner, Kazeko by her side.  Without offering any explanation, she removed her wife’s shirt and handed her one that laced up the front, glaring at the blonde until she reluctantly slipped it on.  Michiru then retrieved her blonde daughter and held her up to Haruka’s breast, swollen with milk, watching as the baby eagerly latched on.  Shousha was next, and Haruka watched as the twins drank, letting Michiru push her into the nearby chair.

 

“They drink milk,” Michiru whispered, caressing her daughter’s cheek.  “They’re so little, Haruka.  So perfect.”  Haruka nodded, eyes closing slowly, as her body moved closer and closer to sleep, exhausted from the delivery.  Michiru carefully took the girls and glanced at her sisters-in-law, her gaze demanding a crib at once.  Seiya glanced at Taiki and Yaten, watching as her sisters stepped out, finding the crib they had procured for their new niece.  It was big enough for twins.  They returned an instant later, placing the crib beside Michiru and helping her settle Kazeko and Shousha.  Haruka tried to open her eyes as Taiki and Seiya lifted her and headed for the large tent she and Michiru were going to sleep in, Yaten helping Michiru move the twins.  As soon as their blonde sister was curled up in her bed, sound asleep, and her full babies were dreaming in their crib, the triplets left Michiru alone. 

 

The aqua-haired beauty watched, silent, as her wife slept peacefully.  So peaceful.  Michiru felt warmth fill her at the sight, changing to a chill as Haruka turned over, revealing her gaunt body and sunken cheeks.  “Kawaisou,” she whispered, tears in her sapphire eyes.  “My poor Wind Runner.”

 

“I’m fine,” Haruka managed, struggling to open her eyes.  “I’m just a little tired, love.”

 

“And hungry, koibito.  The girls took a lot out of you.  Why did you let Seiya-tachi cut your rations like that?”

 

“I knew that they were worried about my old link to Arihlai.  Ri brought me extra food all the time.  It wasn’t so bad.”

 

“You’re not at full strength, though.”  Michiru sat on the large cushion bed, kissing Haruka’s forehead.  “We won’t move until you have a little more meat on your bones, dearest Ruka.”

 

“We may have to,” Haruka whispered, clenching one fist.  “I can feel her evil, on the edge of my senses, coming closer.  She sensed the power of the twins’ birth.  I know she did, Michiru.”

 

The aqua-haired beauty smiled as she shook her head, somehow managing to hide the chill that ran down her spine at her wife’s dark words.  “Metallia will not know, Ruka.  I made sure of that.  Now, are you ready to sleep a little?”

 

Haruka groaned and stood up, balancing herself on the nearest tent post.  “I must go see to Ri, koishii.  She is a little worried about me.”

 

“We all are.  Do you want me to go with you?”

 

“No, I’ll be fine.  Why don’t you just watch Kazeko and Shousha?  I’ll only be a minute, Michiru.”  A dark fear filling her, Haruka leaned over and kissed her wife, passion and promise in the simple act.  Michiru watched the taller blonde leave, shivering with a sudden premonition that her wife would never return.

 

Two tents over, Seiya watched as Haruka headed for the caves where the Dragons slept, blue eyes sparkling with power.  Her sister was glowing, power radiating from the former Dragon Senshi, making her sisters wonder what had happened during the twins’ birth to so change the older woman.  Taiki touched Seiya’s arm and pulled the other woman inside, glancing at Yaten.  The silvery-blonde spoke first.  “There is something different, and I think that I sensed it with Hotaru before.  A change of the spirit, a power not quite human, something not related to us at all.  I think that Haruka is more Dragon than Senshi and we are only just seeing it now because she had to expend so much of her own power in the birth.  Her three daughters are no more Human than Noderia, Corinth, and Abienn are.  What do you two think?”

 

Taiki nodded.  “Your argument is not flawed, for sure.  I know we call Hotaru ‘niece’, but I wonder if we can even call Haruka Onee-chan.  She is not the same as the child our mother birthed twenty-seven years ago.”

 

“She’s a Dragon,” Seiya whispered, “and I’m not sure what this birth has done to her.  She still fears Metallia, she still wants to protect her family, but she can’t remember how to access her power anymore.”

 

“Maybe Ri will help her,” Taiki suggested, glancing out the open tent flap at the silent caves.  “She’s the only one who can.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Haruka walked slowly into the caves, something very wrong, as her emerald eyes searched for a familiar golden form.  “Ri?  Are you here?”

 

A startled whistle reached her ears, followed by a screech and a crash.  Haruka raised her hands in defense, gold power sparkling in her palms, as a tall form with grayed black hair stepped out of the shadows, fierce red eyes freezing the tall woman.  “So we meet again, little Wind Runner.  I thought you died on your sword all those years ago, then I feel a huge surge of power coming from the woman who killed so many of my Dragons.”

 

“You deserved it, Metallia,” Haruka hissed, stilling the urge to call out for Michiru for fear that her cry would be intercepted.  She could feel little Ri on the edge of her consciousness, wounded but only slightly, more stunned than hurt.  “I killed so many of your beasts . . . and Arihlai sacrificed herself to kill you.  How did you survive?”

 

Metallia laughed, the evil, rasping sound echoing off the harsh walls and making the baby Dragons hidden in the darkness whimper in pain.  “The Dragon that killed me is the one that saved me, puny Senshi.  She loved you too much to leave you for good, so some part of her spirit bound to yours and continued to live, as did I.  As long as you and your whore were the only Senshi, I couldn’t get enough power to escape since you repressed your Senshi self for so long.  But then a tiny princess Senshi came into your camp, followed by the two princesses and two duchess, then the Crown Princess and prince.  Then I was able to break away and return to the crags where I died, feeding on your power and then the power of your three sisters.  Your abomination of a daughter I could not feed on because she has too much Dragon in her, but I considered killing her once or twice.  When you all vanished, I was afraid I had lost my chance at revenge, but then you foolishly did a massive transport spell and I was able to come here.  Thank you, little Senshi.  You were most helpful.”

 

“Get out,” Haruka growled, feeling her power grow, filling places inside her that had been dark and barren for years, missing the loving warmth of her Dragon half.  “Go back to your mountains and leave us in peace.  All we want is to be left alone.”

 

“I know, but my servant Beryl wishes to kill the princess and her brat.  For that to happen, I have to get rid of her protectors.”

 

“Wait!”

 

Metallia raised an eyebrow at Haruka’s sudden change of attitude, watching warily as the Senshi let her power disperse.  “Yes?”

 

“Don’t kill them, just take me.  Take me back to your mountains and punish me in whatever ways you see fit, but leave them out of it.  None of them had anything to do with your demise.”

 

“Your whore had a hand in it . . .”

 

“Michiru would never have bothered you if not for me.  Please, Metallia, leave them out of this.  Just take me.  It’s what you really want, in any case.”

 

Metallia regarded the defeated Senshi, her slumped shoulders and gaunt cheeks, her weary eyes and powerless stance.  She was surrendering.  “You are surrendering to me?  Fully and completely?”

 

“Yes, Metallia.  You win.  Take me, bind my power, do what you wish.  I will not resist as long as you do not kill any of them.  Or hurt them in any way.  Leave them to Beryl, if she thinks she can fight so many Senshi.  The fate of these mortal kingdoms has never truly concerned you.”

 

Metallia held out a hand, a slender black rope hanging from her surprisingly delicate fingers.  Haruka knew at once that it was enchanted, and she held out her hands without hesitation, wrists together.  Metallia tied them together, watching her enemy for any sign of resistance, pulling out another rope and a slender blackened silver circle of metal.  She snapped the circle around Haruka’s neck, grinning as the Senshi winced, feeling her power locked away.  Metallia tied the string onto the collar, jerking Haruka forward as she walked deeper into the caves, easily navigating the maze of tunnels until the pair emerged into the night, high on the flanks of the mountains, a gray Dragon tiercel waiting for them, eyes dull red.  Metallia leapt onto his back, pulling her prize up behind her and ordering the beast off the ground.

 

A shrill screech followed them out of the caves, the furious sound awakening the camp as a tiny golden Dragon baby rammed into Metallia’s Dragon’s side.  “Darmon!  Attack that beast,” the dark queen ordered.  The male spun around, flaming where Ri had been, but the babe was gone.  Mishka, his tiny purple body moving so fast that Darmon couldn’t hit him, sunk his sharp baby teeth into the larger male’s sensitive tail, one of his other siblings attacking, also, as Sadaine exploded forth.

 

“HARUKA!!!!!!!!”

 

Michiru’s agonized scream sent the rest of the Dragons into the sky, fighting the strange beast for possession of the tired Senshi.  Metallia waved her hand, throwing a ball of black lightning at the Dragonets, scattering the cloud of babies as Darmon flamed at their mother.  The blue female was not so easily hit, as old and experienced as she was, and she called her fellows to join the battle.

 

Metallia pulled a knife out of her robes and turned in the saddle to hold it against her captive’s throat.  “One more move and I kill her!”

 

Every Senshi froze, the Dragons hovering just out of fire’s reach, all eyes glued on the blonde Senshi.  Michiru’s horrified eyes watched as Haruka looked up, an old demon haunting the green-eyed woman.  Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten joined her as the Princess and her Senshi formed a second circle around them, silently chanting.  Mamoru stood outside the tent he and Usagi shared with Chibiusa and Hotaru, protecting the youngest of their number, as the non-Senshi wisely remained hidden in the craggy rocks.  Setsuna, Yuriko, Ailan, and Yuriko’s court also watched from the side, leaving the younger Senshi to fight, knowing that there was nothing they could do.  “Don’t hurt her,” Michiru whispered.  “Please, Metallia, let her go.”

 

“I don’t think so, Sea Siren.  She belongs to me, traded for the life of your child.”

 

Michiru’s mind flew to Kazeko and Shousha, unprotected in their tent, but Seiya’s hand clamped down on her arm before she could make a move to protect her daughters.  “Do not move, Michiru-san.  If you take a step toward that tent, she will know where your children are.  I do not think she knows about the twins or they would already be dead.  She refers to Hotaru, who is safe at the moment.  Stand your ground.”

 

Michiru obeyed her sister-in-law, standing up straighter.  “We will find you, Metallia, and we will kill you and save my wife.  You can be sure of that.”

 

At that moment, the younger Senshi struck, sending their most powerful combined spell at Metallia, the magic surrounding the dark queen’s Dragon and forcing an unnatural scream from his throat.  Metallia waved her hand and dispersed the spell, raising both hands above her hand, one still holding the knife.  “You weak Senshi will die for that!”

 

Ri squealed in defiance as she and her siblings flew between Darmon and the camp.  They all began to glow, their power reaching down to the ground and up to the flying menace.  Ri’s power tried to touch Haruka, but the woman refused, desperate not to endanger the baby Dragon.  With a shrill scream, the Dragonets attacked, the unbound Senshi on the ground clutching their chests as they fell to their knees.  In their tent, heard only by Michiru, the twins began to cry, caught by power they could not understand.

 

Metallia cried out as her power was reflected back at her, Darmon’s agonized howl filling the mountains as the dark queen and her hostage vanished, a gray Dragon’s body falling to the ground, lifeless.

 

The power vanished as the Dragonets landed, and Michiru stared at them, shocked beyond words.  Two things were very wrong, and she began to shake her head as she backed away, Sadaine’s shock filling her mind.  Ri was missing again, and the Dragonets were no longer babies.

 

And Haruka was gone, in Metallia’s clutches after evading that fate for so long.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 18: Aftershock

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Michiru stared into the sky where Haruka had vanished in Metallia’s clutches as the flight of Dragons slowly landed, Adaqame and Mirrah nudging Darmon’s body, Sadaine, Chavekn, and Zaarent joining them to move the heavy carcass.  The Yoruno brothers and Ayakashi sisters gathered around the distraught Senshi, letting their presence sooth her shattered nerves, wondering what they could do.  Kiyoshi joined his wife and murmured something to her, his words shocking Yuriko and Ailan, Setsuna nodding in her all-knowing way.  “I foresaw this.”  The Senshi of Pluto’s words filled the dark silence, the younger Senshi turning to question her.  Setsuna’s three daughters approached their “father” and stood there in silence, unsure what to do next.  Their cousins joined them, watching as Mamoru’s quadruplet cousins formed a loose circle, joined by the prince himself a few moments later.  They stared at their hands, wondering at the strange power they felt filling them.  Usagi placed a hand on her swollen belly as her Dragon, white Seralii, began to trumpet, calling the Dragons to her side, as a male Dragon black as midnight joined his queen, fur shining red in the moonlight.  He turned his glowing stormy blue eyes on Mamoru and growled, watching as the prince approached him.

 

The Dragons landed in a loose circle around the Senshi, the mundane members of the Wind Runners gathering along the edge of the empty caves, unsure what to do since their leader was gone.  The Dragonets, in the center of the circle, began to keen, frightened, their voices deeper and stronger than they had been before.  Lillith and Sadaine began to nuzzle the younglings, pulling back as Mishka jumped forward, the tiercel no longer small.  He glared at the new male, hissing as his mothers tried to comfort him.  He glanced at his siblings, realizing that they had all grown to full size in a matter of minutes, freezing as a headcount revealed that Ri was missing.  “She followed Haruka,” Setsuna whispered, Adaqame whispering to the purple male, watching as the spikes on his head slowly lowered and vanished.  “We can do nothing for her.  But I believe there are new Senshi among us now.”

 

All eyes turned to Mamoru and his cousins as the tall prince stared at the black Dragon, the faintest of glows around his form.  The Dragon leaned down and touched his nose to Mamoru’s outstretched hand, purring as a reddish light surrounded the pair, marking the birth of a new Dragon Senshi.  His four cousins were approached by three of Sadaine’s children, a male and two females, and the others watched as Nephlyte and Jadeite bound to females and Zoicite bound to the little male.  Kunzite stepped away from his brothers as Nameri began to purr behind him, eyes turned to the sky as a beautiful wild female she had courted during Minako’s time at court descended from the mountains, Audrah’s golden eyes locked on the human.  She landed beside him, larger than she had last been but just as petite, white fur shining with more than moonlight, orange points on her feet, tail, and wings.  Nameri began to purr even louder as Audrah’s power reached for Kunzite, Minako smiling as the two bound.

 

“Now she’s old enough and you’re powerful enough,” she whispered.  “Now you’re a Dragon Senshi, my love.”

 

“Can I be a Dragon Senshi now, too?”

 

The Dragons and Senshi turned as Mishka stepped forward to meet a young woman with purple hair and purple eyes, her steps slow and deliberate.  The sight of the woman broke Michiru out of her grieving trance, and she gasped.  “Hotaru!  What happened?”

 

“I’m not sure,” Hotaru replied, reaching up to caress Mishka’s chin.  A tiny hand was clutching the hem of her short skirt, and a little girl with pink hair tied up in her mother’s Odango style peeked around the woman, red eyes scared.  Chibiusa had grown to about nine years old, a much less drastic change than Hotaru, who appeared to be about eighteen years old.  “Chibiusa changed, too.  Not as much as me, because I’m mostly Dragon, but a little.”

 

“Chibiusa?”  Usagi bent down and hugged her daughter, wishing she could pick the girl up.  “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine, mama.”

 

“If Hotaru changed that much,” Michiru whispered, frightened blue eyes turning to her test, “then what happened to the twins?”

 

The Dragons separated, Sadaine’s pink daughter nuzzling Chibiusa, as Michiru dashed into her tent, Setsuna, Ailan, and Yuriko just behind her.

 

The crib was empty, the bed holding its former occupants.  Two women were sprawled across the bed, barely covered by the blankets, one with short golden hair and one with long, dark blue waves highlighted in aqua, fading to white at the end.  The blonde slowly sat up, groggy and confused, emerald eyes searching, pausing when they came to rest on Michiru.  She looked so much like Haruka.  “Kazeko?”

 

“Of course.  Who else would I be?  Where . . .”

 

“Mother?”  Shousha pushed herself into a sitting position, blue hair covering her like a cloak, sapphire eyes jumping from Kazeko to Michiru.  “Where is Haruka?  I can’t feel her anywhere.  Please, where is our other mother?”

 

“She’s been kidnapped.”

 

“Then we must find her.  Where are our Dragons?”

 

Setsuna stepped forward and placed a kind hand on Kazeko’s shoulder as the overeager blonde tried to stand up.  “You aren’t going anywhere just yet.  You need clothes and food and instruction and daylight.  We can’t do anything in the dark.  Rest here for a moment and I will send your sister and aunts in here to help you.”

 

“Aunts?  Dragons?”

 

“No, my dear.  Humans.”

 

“Oh.  Then they are from my mother’s old family.  They’re not related to us.”

 

Setsuna pulled back, staring at the twins.  “No, I imagine not.  There’s too much Dragon in you.  I imagine you aren’t related to anyone except Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru.”

 

“Haruka has a lot of Dragon in her,” Michiru whispered, letting Ailan pull her out of the tent.  “She always did.  Where are we going?”

 

“You need some rest,” the former queen soothed.  “I’m taking you somewhere you can rest.  You’ll feel better in the morning.”

 

“I have to go look for Haruka . . .”

 

“In the morning.  You’ll do her no good now, like this.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Seiya led her sisters into the tent, stopping dead at the sight that greeted her eyes.  Hotaru, a gorgeous eighteen-year-old, was helping two other beautiful women slip into dresses.  It took the black-haired senshi a moment to realize that the blonde was Kazeko, born only a few hours before, and the one with blue hair was her twin Shousha.  Seiya had known for years that she was a lesbian, but she never expected to be so moved by the beauty of a woman.  She stepped forward, blue eyes locked on Kazeko, as Hotaru succeeded in slipping her into a shimmering emerald dress, and the blonde looked up, smiling.  “Kou Seiya, I believe?”

 

“Y-yes.  K-kazeko?  What happened?”

 

“We grew up.  Setsuna-san said that you would help us?”

 

“Yes, that’s why we’re here.”  Yaten took charge, the smallest of the trio stepping forward and taking the cloaks that Hotaru was holding, smiling as she helped the shorter, purple-haired woman decide what color the twins should wear.  Taiki joined Shousha and helped the girl tie the strings of her dress, the brunette’s eyes wandering horrendously.  It was obvious that the three women were having an effect on the Kou triplets, and Seiya was suddenly very glad that Haruka was gone.  She would not have taken kindly to three women ogling her daughters.

 

Kazeko glared at her skirt and pulled at the shimmering fabric.  “I already know that I don’t like dresses.  Hotaru, isn’t there anything else?  Pants, maybe?”

 

“I suppose.  Haruka-papa only wore pants, until her pregnancy.  Maybe there’s some in her trunk over there.”  Hotaru nodded toward an old, antique trunk sitting under a pile of cloth in the corner of the tent, and Seiya pushed the fabric off, opening it easily.  Inside were Haruka’s Wind Runner clothes, pants and tunics in all shades, including masculine boots in a very small size and a few dresses left over from her court days.  Kazeko squealed as she pulled a petite green tunic out, darker leggings following an instant later.  Without a thought for modesty, she stripped out of the dress and jerked the pants on, smiling at the perfect fit.

 

“But what about my breasts?  They’ll get in the way.”

 

Seiya swallowed, feeling that she ought to try to be useful, staring at the other woman’s perfect breasts, thinking how unfair that the owner of such a perfect body was barely free of her mother’s womb.  “Um, Haruka tied hers up with some cloth.  You could also wear a corset like the rest of us.  They won’t move.”

 

Kazeko nodded as Seiya fumbled through the trunk for the corsets Haruka used to wear as a lady in court.  “That will work.  Do you see any?”

 

“No, unfortunately.  Maybe Michiru has some . . . do you want to just tie them up?  If you were wearing a dress it wouldn’t matter, but the tunic really isn’t made to hold breasts.”  Seiya pulled a piece of white cotton cloth out of the trunk, noting where Michiru’s skilled needle had added small holes along the edges so it could be tied up.  An instant’s search revealed the string.  Kazeko nodded and raised one eyebrow, glancing first at the cloth and then at her breasts.

 

“I don’t think I can do it myself.”

 

“Let me help, then.”  Seiya tried to keep her hands from exploring the blonde beauty as she pulled the cloth tight across Kazeko’s breasts and tied it up in the back, tucking the ends of the strings under the crossed ones to keep them from annoying Kazeko.  The girl slipped the tunic over her head and tried on her mother’s boots, finding them a perfect fit.  Taking the gold cloak Yaten offered, she stood before her sisters and the Kou triplets, fully attired.  “You look so much like her,” Seiya whispered.  “But more feminine, I think.  How can the daughter so closely resemble the mother?  You are so beautiful, Kazeko.”

 

“And me?”  Shousha, dressed in dark blue threaded with white, twirled around, her white cape ballooning around her for a moment before settling.  Her long hair passed her waist, restrained by nothing at all.

 

“Fantastic,” Taiki murmured, self-consciously brushing the dirt off her tunic.  “What was in that last spell the Dragons cast to make you two grow so fast?”

 

“Soul merge,” Kazeko answered, glancing at her sisters for confirmation.  “It was a spell meant to protect a young or weak dragon by merging her soul with that of a much more powerful one, making one body from two.  It must have worked, and the extra magic left from the loss of the powerful Dragon’s body awakened the Senshi outside and made the four of us grow.  I imagine the three of us grew so much and so fast because the extra Dragon-magic looks for babies around it and causes them to reach adulthood very quickly so that they will soon have the power to break the souls apart when the crisis is ended.  Hotaru, Shousha, and I were baby Dragons the same as the ones from Sadaine’s litter.  One of them must have known about the spell, though it is rarely used and not for centuries.  Is there a baby Dragon missing?”

 

“I think Ri did not land.  She went after Haruka.”

 

“There is a good chance, Taiki-san, that Ri is Haruka now.  There is a good chance that my mother was Dragon enough to accept the merging of souls.  But she is not Dragon enough to understand, and the second soul may well drive her mad, though Ri will protect her physically.  If we don’t find her soon, there may not be enough of Haruka left to split the souls apart.”

 

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Chapter 19: Court of Darkness

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“Then let’s name her Diana.”

 

Koneko Luna smiled, holding her tiny daughter close, knowing that her silvery gray hair meant that she would be gray in her cat form.  Their special ability was a secret known only to the Mau of the Western Desert, and they had vowed long ago to keep that secret for fear of their children’s lives.  If the humans found out, they would be forced to work as spies and help create another civil war, akin to the one that made them forsake the East so long ago.  The black-haired Queen of the Mau glanced up at her white-haired husband, knowing that he could sense her thoughts.  “It’s perfect, Artemis.”

 

Her seventeen-year-old husband reached out and caresses her cheek.  “Do not dwell on the past, my love.  You are lucky that Metallia found you sixteen years ago, so few days after your birth.  With your mother dead, you would never have survived.  Luckily Nehelenia had a child of her own then and could easily nurse you.”

 

“I’m glad you came East to search for the lost princess, Artemis.  My life would be worthless without you.”

 

“And one day,” he whispered, speaking in the native Mau tongue, “you and I and little Diana will escape this place and return to our kingdom and your rightful throne.  We will not have to serve her forever.”

 

“The Queen returns!”  Lady Nehelenia and Lord Zircon’s quadruplet daughters dashed through the palace at their older sister’s call, red, blue, green, and pink flashing past the three cats’ room.  The youngest, blue-loving PalaPala, stuck her head inside, grinning at the woman two years her elder.

 

“Come, Luna-onee-san!  Queen Metallia at last returns from the mountains!”

 

“We are coming, PalaPala,” Luna replied, the smile on her face genuine.  She loved the children of the palace, for Metallia had encouraged them to have families in her lonely palace, and all of them were energetic and playful.  The black-haired woman—an adult in her land but still an adolescent child in the East—wrapped her daughter—barely three hours old—up and headed for the throne room, Artemis resting his arm around her waist protectively.  The sword on his hip was not for show and he intended to protect his family.

 

Metallia was standing on her high dais as the families of her court gathered around.  Lady Nehelenia was closest, unfailingly beautiful with her black hair and deep eyes, often frightened the younger nobles with her coldness, her perfection, her obsession with her beauty.  Her husband, Lord Arimura Zircon, was a dark man with weathered skin and dark brown hair, his cold black eyes missing very little.  They had been in service to Metallia the longest, their family was the largest, and they had been promised one of the thrones when the Three Kingdoms were at last conquered.  Their children lined up behind them, every one polite when around the Queen.  The first three, the seventeen-year-old boy triplets, were as different as they could be and still have the same parents.  Torame had orange hair and fierce eyes, most closely resembling a tiger on the hunt.  The second boy, Sakaname, had blue hair and was as feminine as a boy could be, his preference for men confusing his brothers, his swimming prowess making all of his sibling jealous.  The youngest, Tokame, had short brown hair that refused to be tamed, preferring the company of older women, his hobby watching hawks in flight.

 

Kiokuko was Luna’s age, her hair dark and her memory infallible.  She was often called Mnemosyne because of her perfect memory.  The quadruplets were next, only fourteen years old, playful and fierce at the same time.  VesVes, whose color was green, was first, then red JunJun, pink CereCere, and blue PalaPala was the youngest.  A year behind them was Naruru, her hair and eyes a striking red, her slim figure promising a slender and beautiful woman when she finished growing up.  Her sister, Suzuko, was seven, gray eyes and black hair striking in a family of such color.  In her arms was the youngest child of her family, two-year-old Beruche, well-behaved for her age.

 

By Metallia’s side stood her most trusted lieutenants, Sarashina Momoko and her wife Kototo.  Like many of the other nobles, Momoko and Kotono were Dragon Senshi and had once been bound to powerful Dragons.  As such they had been known as Sailor Phi and Sailor Chi, respectively.  The mystery surrounding the pair was so great that the others speculated that Phi and Chi had a daughter, Hanami, but the truth of such a rumor was contested.  No one knew how old the pair was, though they looked fairly young, but two women could never have a daughter.

 

The next group of Metallia loyals was headed by a very colorful pair.  Himitsu Hanako had very long, pink hear with streaks of blue, her eyes the same pink as her hair.  Her husband, Yuuta, had blue hair streaked with pink, his eyes blue.  Their three daughters were just as colorful.  Nineteen-year-old Kaoriko had pale pink hair and light purple eyes, thirteen-year-old Ruruna had pale blue hair and dark blue eyes, and seven-year-old Chuuko had pure white hair and gray eyes.  Kaoriko had bonded to Kiokuko from the day the other girl was born, though she was three years her senior.  They could have been twins, as close as they were, and no one dared try to break them up.  Ruruna had been born on the same day as Naruru, and the pair was so close that their parents were already making arrangements for a marriage years in the future.  Chuuko spent all of her time with Suzuko while their sisters played together, and most of the court considered the Himitsu family an extension of the Arimura family and often called them collectively the Aritsu family.

 

The Arimura family was the largest in Metallia’s court, populated with multiple births, and was also closely linked to the Tomoe Family.  Souichi and his wife Kaorinite, often called Kaori, had five daughters, each girl only a year younger than the previous one.  Karaberas, the oldest at eighteen, was the leader and had already discovered her senshi powers as Death Flame.  Her parents were Shadow Fear and Shadow Flame and were very proud of their daughter.  Metallia looked at her as another soldier in her personal war.  Yuuko, the second child, was identical to her mother, while the next child, Mimi, was colored in orange.  Ruru had pale green hair and darker green eyes, while Yui had white hair and pale blue eyes.

 

The last three members of Metallia’s court, besides the Koneko family, were not related to each other or any of the other families.  Aya Reiko was a gentle woman, desperate to befriend everyone, eager to please, and glad to make new acquaintances.  She was thin, but a great lover of food, and sampled every cuisine she came across.  Her long, pale blue hair and medium blue eyes made her stand out in any crowd, and she was deadly in her Senshi form as Sailor Aluminum Siren.  The twenty-five-year-old woman often deferred to her partner—and, most believed, lover—Karasuma Akane, though she was brilliant in her own right.  Akane’s coloration matched her name, long hair a rusty orange and eyes a fierce crimson red, and her Senshi form, Sailor Lead Crow, possessed a pair of black feathered wings.  She was twenty-nine and the leader of the trio, though she was the easiest to upset.  Her anger was swift, her wit caustic, and every word spoken in anger measured for destructive effect.  Though Reiko loved her dearly, none of the other members of the court could understand that feeling. 

 

The third woman, Morino Sakura, managed to stay on Akane’s friendly side, her nature kind and mothering, even though she was only seventeen.  She always seemed sad, underneath her loving attitude, and she seemed to be looking for something.  Often, Sakura, her pink hair tipped with white and highlighted in brilliant red, would transform into her Senshi form, Sailor Bronze Papillon, and use her butterfly wings to wander into the clouds, disappearing for days or weeks at a time.  Metallia never noticed her, though she was surprised that the girl was present for her triumphant return from Kamiret.

 

Metallia had appeared before her dark throne, an aura of foreign golden magic dissipating as her court gathered, the self-proclaimed queen exhausted.  There was a lump of darkness behind her, but she ignored it as she counted heads.  Her eyes landed on Luna, and the old woman smiled.  “I see that your daughter was born at last.”

 

“Yes, Metallia-sama.”

 

“What have you named her?”

 

“Diana.”

 

Metallia nodded.  “A good name for a daughter born to a young mother.  I expect that you will return to keeping track of the servants now that you are free of the child.”

 

“Yes, my Queen.  What brings you so soon from your travels?”  Inside, Luna was shaking.  Her pregnancy had only lasted three months, a third of a human’s gestation, so she and Artemis had to pretend she was already growing slightly round before she ever went into her first fertile heat.  The first three heats of a Mau were always infertile, serving to warn the female that she had to find a suitable mate to father her kits.  If she didn’t mate her first fertile heat, Luna would go into heat so frequently that Metallia would discover her dual identity for sure.  Diana would keep her mother’s estrous cycle under control for a long time.

 

“I discovered that the rider of Arihlai, the Dragon I bonded to in order to come back to you, Wind Runner, survived.  She lived through the end of the Dragon Wars and I would not have known about her if I had not been in the Middle Range months ago, as per your sense about the Dragons of the area, Luna.  Thankfully, I now have a hostage to use in this war and a source of power to get my army up to standards.”  Metallia reached for the bundle at her feet and jerked the—what was that?—the slender woman to her feet.  The poor woman was almost emaciated, all of her strength sapped by some unknown force, her long blonde hair hanging in a single heavy braid down her back, green eyes glazed and flecked with gold, barely able to slump beside Metallia.  Her hands were chained to a collar around her neck and the leash in Metallia’s hand, but she could not have stood any taller if she was unshackled.  Luna doubted that she had the energy to speak at that point.

 

“Wind Runner,” Nehelenia whispered.  “The Senshi of Uranus?  I thought she was uniquely bonded to her Dragon and could not be separated on pain of death.”

 

“She looks kinda dead now,” CeresCere pointed out.  “What did you do to make her so thin?  And what happened to Darmon?”

 

Metallia hung her head, and Akane growled her sigh.  “Another tiercel bites the dust, I see.  Why do we even find you compatible Dragons anymore?”

 

Reiko chuckled politely into her palm.  “But Akane, if she had no Dragon she would stuff up this place all the time!”

 

Metallia rolled her eyes.  “I’m not boring and you know it.  I need a volunteer to  . . . take care of our guest for a while.”

 

Nehelenia groaned.  “I’m busy with Beryl right now.  That woman will go insane if we don’t deliver her niece’s dead body very soon.  I think she expects some dead children, as well, though I can’t figure that out.”

 

Hanako looked at Yuuta, and the blue-haired man slowly shook his head.  Hanako turned back to her queen, smiling in regret.  “We have a garden to tend to, and our children and Nehelenia-san’s have agreed to help.”

 

“We have to train mercilessly to reach the next level of power,” Karaberas apologized for her family.  “Mother and Father promised to show us some tricks today.”

 

“You are not saddling me with that emaciated, nasty, dirty, power-starved and depressed pile of flesh,” Akane scoffed.  “Your prisoners and pleasure are not my duty.  I have farms to collect tithes from today, and Reiko will be with me.”  Only she dared to talk to the queen in such a tone, but Metallia never minded it from her.

 

“I have to go find you a new Dragon,” Sakura sighed, her butterfly wings forming as she transformed into her senshi self.  “You have got to stop losing to those senshi.”

 

Chi and Phi exchanged a long-suffering glance as the lovers raised their matching staffs.  Before Kotono could speak, Luna cleared her throat.  “Artemis and I will take care of her, Metallia-sama.  I’m sure that you don’t want to be bothered with her, Kotono-san.”

 

The tall blonde nodded.  “Good.  Take her, Artemis, and put her in that room next to yours.  The dungeons were flooded in the last earthquake and we haven’t had them fixed yet.  Torame, you and your brothers will take turns guarding the prisoner.”

 

Nehelenia cleared her throat.  “That’s fine for now, but Souichi’s daughters will have to take that job soon.  The next time I visit Beryl, I will have the triplets by my side as a gesture of goodwill.  My girls can help Luna take care of the woman and feed her or whatever.”  CereCere groaned, and Nehelenia glared at her child.  The girl silenced.  “I thought so.  Girls, take the prisoner and follow Luna and Artemis.  I’m sure they need help installing her in that room.”  Luna smiled at her adoptive mother, knowing that the woman loved her like her own daughter.

 

Watching CereCere glare her sisters into action, Luna’s eyes met Wind Runner’s, and she shuddered at the darkness and insanity she found there.  She knew exactly why the woman was sickly and thin, but she could not tell Metallia.

 

“I wonder what Metallia did to that poor woman’s child.”

 

Artemis shook his head, wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist.  “I hope we don’t ever find out.”

 

 

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To be continued

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