Hi all!

This is a short piece about the distant past, inspired
by watching a sad movie. So this is sad... be warned.

As usual, I haven't paid for use of the Sailor
Moon characters.

Sailor Cynic I: A Tale of Earth
by Beky NeRichnead


   I ran out of the room, the tears flowing down my face. My life
was gone. My world was gone. My family was gone.
   A guard stood in front of me. "Can I help you, Princess?"
   I glared at him. "Not unless you're adept at raising the dead.
Get out of my way." He did... smart man.
   I ran on, all the way to the spacedock. I didn't know what I
was doing... all I could see was the horribly beautiful explosion
I had seen.
   In my dimensional pocket, there was a heavy burden. A crown...
a crown of a planet that no longer existed.
   I leapt into the jet ship I had taken to the Moon, and turned
it on. I barely heard the shouts of the men on deck. I didn't care
about them... I just had to get off this Deos-forsaken ball.
   I took off, and didn't hit anything, so I guess the deck men
got smart and moved everything out of my way. I took off, and the
jet rose out of lock, onto the surface of Luna.
   It was five minutes before I realized I had next to no fuel.
I let go of the wheel and slumped. Wouldn't this be a fitting way
to end it?
   No. Because then the Natira would have won, and my father's
gift would have been for nothing. I gathered my wits and took my
bearings.
   I had enough fuel to get to Earth... just. But where could I
go there? Not the palace, of that you could be sure.
   Then it hit me... Perine. I would go to Perine.
   I typed in the coordinates of the clearing closest to her
house into the navigation computer, and waited. In ten minutes I
was out of fuel, but safely landed on Terran soil.
   I hoisted myself shakily out of the cockpit, and fell to the
sod. Perine lived in the midst of a thick wood.
   I walked towards her cabin, thankful for the path I'd dug on
earlier visits. My emotions threatened to overwhelm me, but my
royal training held them back. I couldn't afford them now.
   I walked up the door of her neat cabin, and knocked twice. She
opened the door. "Yes?"
   Perine was a short woman, as was usual for a commoner of her
age. Her eyes were surrounded by the wrinkles that spoke of much
joy. When she saw me, she turned pale. "What has happened?"
   I sobbed once, than sat down at the table. She sat down next
to me, stroking my long hair. "What's wrong, Liana?"
   I swallowed. "Perine... we lost. Those apathetic bastards
denied us help, and we lost."
   She gasped. "Is Zephyr occupied?"
   I shook my head dejectedly. "No, its in pieces. Lots of small
pieces."
   She winced. "Oh, Liana." She stood and hugged me, her frail
arms giving me strength as my tears flowed. "I'm so sorry."
   I embraced her stooped body, my sobs rocking her. Finally, I
got sound out. "I... I just wish I had been there."
   She pulled back. "No."
   I slumped on the table. "Yes. Then I wouldn't have this pain."
   "No. Deos kept you alive for a reason. And what of Zoitan? Or
Raye?"
   I frowned. "'Tan disappeared just before the incident... I
have no idea where he is. Raye is on Mars. What could Deos possibly
want with me?"
   "I don't know... I'm younger than you, remember? You're
supposed to be the wise elder figure."
   I smiled weakly. "You're only fifty years younger than I."
   "That may not mean much to you... you still look twenty. But
I am not so hardy, remember," Perine chastised me gently.
   I blushed, my tears stopping slowly. "I'm sorry... I had
forgotten in my grief... forgive me Perine."
   She kissed me on the cheek. "Always. Now, you need some soup
and sleep." She bustled about the kitchen.
   I cleaned up with a handkerchief, then noticed Perine's
furtive glances my way. I evaluated her, finally seeing her stooped
posture and pronounced limp. "Perine.... you're old."
   She nodded sadly. "Yes, I am. Its my birthday... I'm one
hundred and twenty-five today."
   I slapped myself on the head, and stood. I gently put her in
a chair. "I'm a dummy... I'd forgotten again. Let me put you to
bed."
   She shook her head. "No, no, I have things to do."
   "I'll do them... you mean so much to me."
   She swallowed. Then she whispered, "Liana... I'm dying."
   No! No, I couldn't lose them all! "You... you can't be. You're
not old enough to die."
   She coughed. "Yes, I am. Harley, would you put me in bed? I'm
not feeling well."
   I picked her up gently and lay her in her neatly made bed,
then sat by her. "You're... leaving me?"
   She winced. "I am sorry... this isn't very tidy. Please, stay
with me through the end."
   I nodded slowly. "I promise. To the end."
   She smiled. "Thank you... you've been a good friend."
   "You've been better."
   She laughed weakly. "We can't agree, right till the end, hmm?"
   "Of course not."
   Her body convulsed. "Goodbye, Liana. I'm sorry I wasn't here
to see you through your grief."
   I shook my head and leaned close to her ear. "On the
contrary... you already have."
   She smiled, and exhaled. She didn't inhale again. I shut her
eyes slowly. "Good bye, my friend."
   I walked outside and picked up a shovel. I would bury her
here, in a Terran fashion. I probed the earth in several spots, and
chose one. I pushed the shovel, and began to dig her grave. My mind
would not rest... so I thought of Perine.
   Perine had been my best friend. We had met by accident in a
horticulture class... she had come all the way to Zephyr to study
desert plant biology.
   I'd marked her as an obsessed student right away. She was
carrying a stack of books, and had a magnifying glass on her hip.
My image was soon spoiled... she truly wanted to know.
   She wanted to know *everything* about plants. She wasn't an
obsessed student... she was an obsessed biologist. She studied them
inside out, outside in, and every other way.
   It made sense, actually. She was Terran, and Earth's power
came from its flora. But she didn't just study plants... she knew
them. She could feel them.
   I'm not saying she had supernatural powers... she didn't have
a drop of royal blood in her. What she had was an affinity.
   You know, it was only because of her help I passed that
course. Plants were *not* my thing... I'd barely ever seen one.
Zephyr was a planet of mostly rock... moss was the one of the only
plants we had.
   We stayed friends... it was nice to have someone to talk to
who didn't care about politics. I visited her on earth, and she
came to Zephyr.
   She was the one who'd convinced me to accept Zoitan's
betrothal, despite the fact Dad wanted it for political reasons.
She pointed out that we did love each other, and was it so bad to
be forced into what we truly wanted?
   Only in examining my memories could I see her age... she grew
so much faster than I. By the time I was a hundred and twenty, she
looked like a grandmother.
   I should have come more often... but to one who is nearly
immortal, time loses its meaning.
   I looked up and realized that I had dug a hole eight feet deep
in my musings. I climbed out and dragged the shovel with me.
   I walked inside, and took out her pet banzai tree with me. I
placed it outside, at the head of the grave. Then I placed her body
in the hole, gently. I covered her body quickly and efficiently,
sadness permeating my being.
   When I was done, I kneeled at her grave. "Perine d'Earth, you
may not have had Xalen's blood, but you certainly had her heart.
May you rest in peace in Deos' arms till I come to meet you. May
your memory prod others to be as pure and loving as you were, and
may the plants you valued so highly live on."
   I stood and dried my eyes. My heart was clean now. I was
ready... ready to move one. I would make myself a new life, here
on Earth.
   Thank you, Perine.



           Beky NeRichnead
  Grand Potentate of the Universe

"It was good to be Time." - from "What is a Lunatic?" by Hotaru Fa

"Higher math exists solely because physicists need it to rationalize their conclusions 20 years after they come to them."

Warning: Any fics written by this author are to be avoided by pregnant women, people with no imagination, and those who are easily frightened.

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