Quicksilver's Quill Offers
A Woman Scorned
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
Disclaimers:   Not mine, not mine.  You know the
drill.
Notes:  Earlier parts can be found at ff.net, the Evil
Mad Scientist Lair (http://www.demando.net/emsl) and
the Sailor Moon Romantic Fan Fiction Archive at
http://www.lunap.com/archive, listed under "Stories
unlisted.  And yes, I'm back in the Sailor Moon
fandom- it's just too addictive to leave.  Comments,
Critisism, or any other form of Feedback is more then
welcome!


Part Three: The Fractured Girl

Dedication:  For those who nagged me!   Yes, I love
this piece, but I was rather stuck for a while!  ^_~
	
	The door had barely swung shut behind Mamoru when
Esmeraude picked up the cup she had used and threw it.
  It shattered with a resounding "crash", but that
didn't satisfy her recently rediscovered urge to
destroy things.   She picked up the saucer and hurled
it into the door the way she would have thrown a
Frisbee.  Then she reached for the cup Mamoru had
used, and it met a similar fate.

	The noise in the living room roused Saffir from his
studies.   Normally he wouldn't have been concerned,
but this was the 20th century, and he'd been hoping
that such instances of temper wouldn't be in evidence.
  The palace staff had always been cleaning up after
one of her fits, but he had no intention of doing so-
and he had no intention of letting her get away with
it.

	�Esmeraude!   What do you think you�re doing?� he
demanded angrily, only to be met by a vase. 
�ESMERAUDE!   Stop that at once!� he snapped.

	She seemed oblivious to his presence, but the flowers
that had scattered all over the floor seemed to catch
her attention.  �Snapdragons�.� She whispered.  
�Snapdragons mean Great Lady, you know,� she murmured,
seemingly speaking to herself. �I used to love
flowers� Nemisian roses, those poor blooms that were
all our dying planet could produce� but I forgot.   I
forgot about them at some point� why did that happen?�
 Tears streamed down her face as she began to pick up
the flowers, ignoring the pieces of glass that pierced
her hands.

	He stared in horror as blood welled from her hands.  
�Have you gone nuts?�

	�No� sometimes I think I might just be going sane.� 
She clutched one of the flowers for a second, looking
thoughtfully at the petals.   Then she started to
sing.   �Clusters of crocus� purple and gold�.
Blankets of pansies� Up from the cold�.� Her voice was
surprisingly pleasant, and Saffir�s memories stirred. 
When they had been younger, Esmeraude had liked to
sing, and people had applauded her talent.  Then� she
had stopped.  Suddenly, and with no explanation.

	About the time the Wiseman had first risen from
nowhere to become one of Demando�s most trusted
advisors.

	A feeling of dread stirred in his stomach, but he
resolved to think it through later.  Right now she was
bleeding on the sea-foam green carpet, and blood was a
bitch to clean- at least, that�s the excuse he gave
himself.

	Saffir knelt down by her side, cradling her bleeding
hands.   He looked into her eyes, wondering what the
hell was happening.   "Ez, what are you doing?" he
asked.  He didn't like her, but... she was his cousin.
  This behavior was bizarre, even for her.

	The tears on her face started to dry, leaving her
messed-up make up.   "Nothing, Saffir.   Absolutely
nothing.�

	He knelt down beside her, and in a show of great
concern, took her hands in his.   They were ice cold,
the fight-or-flight response having kicked in, and her
blood stained his skin.  �Esmeraude� we�re in this
together.   I don�t like seeing you like this.�

	�Why should you care?  I don�t need you to,� she said
fiercely, tossing her head so the long black locks
swung back over her shoulders.  He noticed that in
spite of her arrogant words, she had made no attempt
to reclaim her hands.

	�Let�s ignore the fact that we can�t stand each
other,� he said bluntly.   �You�re not acting like
yourself� or maybe you�re acting more like the cousin
I recall from my childhood,� he said.

	Her chocolate brown eyes softened.  �I remember��she
whispered.   �We used to be friends.   What happened
to us?� she asked.

	He tilted his head, wondering if he dared share his
suspicions.   �The Wiseman,� he said finally.

	She giggled slightly, sounding hysterical.  �You�re
paranoid as always,� she said.

	He magically summoned a tweezers-like object that he
used when he was working on delicate electronics,
reasoning that it would work well enough to pick out
the glass shards.  He took her right hand and rested
it gently on his legs so he could work.   �Am I?� he
asked, digging out the largest shard in her right
hand.

	She flinched and made as though to withdraw, but he
stared her down.   �Hold still.   It�s your own fault-
they have to come out, or else they�ll get infected.�

	Esmeraude gave him a subdued looked instead of
arguing, flinching every now and then when the
tweezers poked her.   She studied the congealing
blood, wondering what had possessed her.   She had
wanted to impress Mamoru, and had done so.  Why did
she feel so ill about it?   She�d known she was
brilliant- it was just surprising to prove it to
herself.  �Saffir, why do you hate the Wiseman so?�
she asked after a moment.

	He paused in his task before returning his attention
to picking out the pieces.  �He�s leading us down a
dangerous path,� he said finally.

	�So?  We knew war was dangerous- but the benefits�
aren�t you the one who wants flowers?� she demanded. 
�When we conquer Earth, we�ll have a whole planet
full!� she declared.   A few days ago, her words would
have sounded passionate- now it sounded like she was
reciting a speech she had memorized without fully
comprehending its meaning.

	�Do you really believe that?� he asked softly.

	�I did- do!   I do!   If Demando-sama is our leader,
then we can�t fail��

	�Do you really believe that?� Saffir asked.

	Her eyes narrowed.   �You�re doubting your precious
oniisan?� she asked, disbelief coloring her words
darkly with scorn.

	He clenched his hand.   �If Demando was really in
charge, we would have won by now.   It�s the Wiseman
who is filling his head with insane notions of the
Goddess-Queen Serenity becoming his consort.  If he
wasn�t obsessed with her�� he trailed off leadingly.

	The mention of Serenity was guaranteed to send
Esmeraude into a rage, and this time was no different.
  �He doesn�t love her!   The witch has cast a spell
on him!� she declared fervently.

	�Really?�

	She glared at him, and their unofficial truce was
off.   �Of course, Sa-chan!� she said sharply.   �For
a genius, you�re awfully stupid!�  She rose somewhat
shakily to her feet, taking her hands back and
stomping off into her room, leaving Saffir behind.

	Saffir stared down at the remains of the vase, the
scattered flowers, and the blood on his jeans,
confused.   �What�s happening to her?� he wondered.  
His quick mind worked on the puzzle, and came to the
conclusion to the changes in his cousin could either
prove to be a very good thing or a very bad thing.

	He just wished he knew which.

*
	
	Mamoru looked at Motoki, who still appeared to be
slightly green around the gills.   �Are you sure you
should be going to classes?� he wanted to know.

	�It�s probably a bad idea, but I can�t afford to miss
the beginning of the semester,� Motoki said honestly
enough.   �If I get behind now, there�s no way I�ll be
able to catch up.�

	Mamoru nodded, and waved when he noticed Ezura enter
the room.   The shapely woman was wearing a black
skirt that was almost obscenely short, a soft suede
shirt that was a nice blue, and fashionably clunky
heels that made her legs look like they would go on
forever. She smiled at him, walking over to him and
taking the empty seat.   �Hello, Mamoru-san.   How are
you today?�	

�Well, thank you.   Have you met my friend Furahata
Motoki?� he asked politely.

	She smiled pleasantly.   �I don�t believe I�ve had
the pleasure,� she said, extending a hand.

	Motoki shook it, and then his eyes went cold.   �It�s
nice to meet you,� he said 

	Ezura�s smiled faded, a puzzled expression on her
face.   �Is something wrong?� she wanted to know.

	"Nothing, Chika-san," he said.   "Mamoru, I want to
go over your notes again," he said, grabbing the other
man's arm and pulling him across the room.  Ezura
watched them go, still looking confused.

	"Why are you being so rude?" Mamoru demanded. 
"Didn't you want to be introduced to the 'hottest
thing on campus?"

	Motoki looked grim, and his eyes were serious.  
"Mamoru, something is seriously off with that woman,"
he said.  

	"What do you mean?' Mamoru asked, feeling his
curiosity piqued.

	Motoki looked at him, his perceptive green eyes
worried.   Mamoru didn't have the best skills when it
came to judging people, and something about Ezura's
sly brown eyes had pretty much been... wrong.  It
could be that she was merely WAS plotting to make
Mamoru her boyfriend (more subtly then most women, who
just threw themselves at the handsome black-hair man)
in spite of her claims, but Motoki's instincts said
that it was much more sinister then that.  "It's... a
feeling.   I keep getting the urge to grab you and
keep you the hell away from her."

	Mamoru chuckled.   "I didn't think you were the
jealous sort!�   He fluttered his lashes mockingly.  
�Unfortunately, you�re not my type.�

	�Huh-wha- MAMORU!� Motoki exclaimed as he hit his
closest friend over the head with a notebook.  
�You�re so DEAD!�

	Mamoru laughed as he led the way to their seats. 
Glancing down at where Ezura sat, he wondered if
Motoki was right�. And why he hoped so fervently his
friend was wrong.

	He glanced at her through class, noticing how she
seemed distracted.   She took quick notes, but she
seemed to not really process the information the
professor was trying to impart.  Ezura seemed to be
distracted by something� maybe after class he could
ask.

	He was surprised at how quickly he had become
interested in her- there was something about her, an
odd form of charisma and spirit.  She was most
certainly unlike any of the women he had known before,
and he wondered why he was feeling a pull to find out
about her.   Her eyes held secrets that most
red-blooded males would have given their eyeteeth to
solve� and Mamoru was surprised to find that he was
one of them.   His dream princess may be whom he
loved, but sometimes flesh and blood was more
attractive- you couldn�t hold a dream, after all.

	He sighed and listened to the professor drone on. 
Sometimes he wondered if he was nuts to be chasing a
figment of his imagination- especially after meeting a
beautiful woman.   Perhaps it was time to resign
himself to putting away his dreams.

	The class dragged on until the clock finally struck
the hour.  He hurriedly gathered his bags and nodded
to Motoki, going off to speak to Ezura in spite of his
friend�s warning.  �Ezura-san?� he asked.

	She raised her eyes frown where she was writing an
overall summary of the lesson.   �Yes?   Did you want
to arrange another study session?�

	He nodded.   �I was going to go to the library this
evening, but would you like to maybe catch dinner
before?�

	She blinked.   �I don�t want to discuss biology over
food�� she murmured, but a smile started to pull at
the corners of her lips.  

	�We can talk about books.   Or movies,� he offered,
surprised by himself.   He hadn�t been planning on
asking her out.

	�This sounds suspiciously like a date.�

	Mamoru shrugged casually.  �I prefer to think of it
as a getting-to-know-you dinner.  I�d like to be
friends- you�re an interesting person.�

	To his surprise, that caused a blush to stain her
cheeks.  �I think I�d like that.   Pick me up at five,
my place.   I hope you know the city, because I have
no idea where to eat.  Sa-chan has been doing the
cooking.�

	�Sure,� he agreed.  �I�ll look forward to seeing
you.�   He nodded and headed back to Motoki.

	Motoki looked at him, his eyes narrowed.   �What was
that about?� he asked curiously.

	�Just arranging dinner with Ezura-san.�

	�What?� Motoki asked, unable to believe it.   �You
asked her out?   Mamoru Chiba asked a woman out after
nearly a year without a date?  And Chika Ezura, of all
people?�

	�Why not?�

	Motoki looked at where the black-haired woman was
exiting the room.  �I don�t know�. Something about
her��

	Mamoru just laughed.   �You�re so paranoid.�

	�You�re usually the paranoid one.�

	�Mamoru� please, be careful.   I don�t trust her.�
*

	The 27 annual Tokyo Chess Tournament was in full
swing when a young junior high student entered, ready
for her first match.  Her smile was painfully shy, but
she handily defeated her first opponent.

	Then the next.

	And the next.

	Within two hours, a small crowd had gathered around
this unknown wonder, watching the young girl go
through opponents like they were Kleenex.  On the
other side of the room, a college student was going
through the same pattern, and the inevitable finally
happened.   They were the only two left.

	The crowd grew quiet as the board was set up for the
final match.   The two competitors bowed to each other
before taking a seat.   �I�m Mizuno Ami,� the girl
introduced herself.

	The man�s eyes widened slightly, but no one noticed. 
 �Kae Satoshi,� he answered before signaling that she
should take white.

	She made her opening move, and the game started to
progress.   It was a fast game, neither one pausing
long.   Watchers felt dizzy after seconds- this was
high-class chess at its best.   A few hours passed,
and neither was able to gain the upper hand.

	A slight flush colored the girl�s pale cheeks, and
she stole glances at the intense young man who sat
across from her.   He foiled her best ploys, and
launched amazingly complex gambits himself.   He was
just about to launch another attempt when the
clock-chimed three- the tournament had been suppose to
be finish by one, but this game had gone beyond the
predicted time.   

	The man's eyes widened when he realized how late it
had grown.   "I have class in fifteen minutes!" he
exclaimed unhappily, gathering his bags.   He pushed
his King over to concede defeat.   "It was a pleasure
to play with you, Mizuno-san.   Maybe we can have a
rematch sometime in the future."  For some reason,
Satoshi burst out laughing as he left the room.

	Mizuno Ami watched him go, feeling somewhat
frustrated.   She'd finally found someone who could
play on her level, and he had had to leave before they
could finish a game.  A part of her would spend time
wondering, on and off for the next thousand years,
what the outcome would have been.

	Saffir wove through the campus crowds uneasily,
unused to the sheer amount of people that lived on the
planet.  He found the mass of humanity disconcerting,
and his encounter with Mizuno Ami had thrown him off. 
 It was almost a year before she was due to don the
mantle of Sailor Mercury, but he wondered what Gods
had been messing with fate to arrange the meeting.  
He�d never seen her, but the brains of the Senshi was
just as formidable as he had feared.

	His psychology class wasn�t one of his favorites,
because he started to apply all the disorders to
himself or people he knew.  Personality disorders were
a personal favorite of his.

	He entered the room, surprised to find a crowd
already there.   A bunch of young men were sitting
around one of their discussion tables, pouring over a
magazine and some printouts.   Curious in spite of
himself, Saffir dropped his bag in his usual seat in
the corner and headed over.

	�I�m telling you, it�s a publicity stunt!�

	�I heard she was an alien��

	�I don�t care what she is, she�s a babe!�

	Three of the young men were arguing, and Saffir
raised an eyebrow.   �What�s up?� he asked.

	The one who held the center seat in front of the
magazine smiled at him, slightly startled that their
usually quiet classmate was talking to them.  �Hello,
Kae-san!  We�re looking at this superhero that�s just
become active in England.   She calls herself �Sailor
V.�� He pushed the magazine and one of the photos
which had obviously been printed off the Internet to
Saffir.

	The blue-haired young man picked them up, studying
them carefully.  In it was a picture of an attractive
girl with long blonde hair wearing a modified Sailor
uniform and a red facemask.   It was Sailor Venus in
her earliest incarnation.   He felt himself pale- he
had known that she would become active first, but he
hadn�t realized it would happen so soon after his
arrival.  

	�Bets on whether or not she�s the real thing, or a
publicity stunt?   There�s talk of making a movie, and
video games are already in production.�  

	Saffir looked at the smiling girl, wondering what the
guys would do if they knew she was only thirteen.  
�Venus is real enough,� he said grimly.  

	�Venus?� the one who had handed him the pictures
asked curiously.

	�I mean she�s a Venus, a real Goddess of Beauty,� he
said hastily to cover his slip, handing the pictures
back.  He gave a polite enough smile and returned to
his seat.

	As he pulled out his text, he nibbled his lip
nervously.   Today he�d had two unexpected encounters
with the Senshi.   Fate and destiny was beginning to
draw the future, and he wondered if Esmeraude realized
how little time she had before they had to pull out
and return home.

END PART THREE
Up Next: Part Four- Breaking Free

=====
"No matter what the bible says, the battle always goes to
the strong. And I am strong. I don't need to prove that to
anyone anymore."
-Excerpt from Sainan no Kekka- Act Seven, Scene VII

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/
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