Where is Endymion?

[waterfell]

There's a smell of ash in the air, though there is no crackling of fires or snap of flames. Nothing seems damaged, there is only the reminder carried on the wind. A hush pervades everything, quietly forbidding, mysterious.

At the top of a long set of marble stairs, there is a castle with sculpted columns and domed roofs, a symbol of wealth and luxury - and permanence. It sits against the backdrop of a darkened night sky, where even the stars seem dim and sparse.

Amid all this, at the top of the steps, a girl wearing a sailor uniform trimmed with lace and satin and pearls sits and stares into space as though oblivious to the muted atmosphere or anyone approaching; her face is utterly still. A tiara crowns her blond hair, worn in the signature style of the Silver Millenium royal dynasty.

The princess plays a small lap harp, the only notable sound. Her tune is gentle, but lonely and yearning, a constant ache for a past long gone. A close look reveals that the harp bears the sigil of Mercury.

(ooc: answers coming from nihil_serenitas for icons)

Comments

[nihil_serenitas]

Whether the princess found that likely or not, she did not seem unwilling to provide more information of her own.

"Endymion," she says, as though the name must be a part of anything that comes from her mouth, "is the noble prince of Earth." He alone was tall and proud and strong.

[memorials]

"Prince of --!" Mnemosyne's eyes seemed to widen at the sound of that. Her hands found their way to her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her shock. The new star seed that had just been claimed... the one that gleamed with a golden hue admist the others. Another number added to the collection.

Backing away, she shook her head slightly from side to side. "Who... who are you?"

[nihil_serenitas]

"I am the one who fell in love with Endymion, even though it was forbidden." She seems to consider this enough introduction, as though it's all that's left to this spirit from so many centuries ago.

"I am Princess Serenity."

[memorials]

There was an audible gasp at the mention of that name. This was Princess Serenity? The past incarnation of the Neo Queen? "Then... then that means -- !" her heart was beating madly, threatening to jump out from her chest, "You must be Sailormoon!"

[nihil_serenitas]

Sailor... Moon? Perhaps she is; she wears a sailor senshi's fuku instead of the gown she is used to. She can feel a sailor senshi's power. Yet this uniform is made of satin and lace and pearls, not the stuff of the guardian soldiers who protect her.

"You are sailor senshi," she observes, as if only now seeing Mnemosyne. But she is far less interested in that than the same old question: "Where is Endymion?"

[memorials]

In the blink of an eye, Mnemosyne has already thrown herself at the feet of the princess. Her head is bowed, and her eyes are shut tight. The question, although she's heard it before, doesn't reach her ears this time. With the palms of her hands to the ground her voice comes hoarse -- pleading. "Please! You... you must save us, Sailormoon! You're our only hope! The love that transcends space and time... it's you, isn't it! I know it is!"

I feel... SO guilty now lol

[nihil_serenitas]

The princess treats Mnemosyne's self-abasement with calm. She does not require the... excessive display, but she does not complain of it either. Instead, she allows the girl to rise, signalling her permission with a gesture.

And she returns immediately to her own concerns. "Why should I be concerned with it, if Endymion is not found there?"

hahah... help us sailormoon!! youre our only hope!!

[memorials]

She doesn't rise, despite the gesture. Instead, as she looks up, tears cresting over the lids of her eyes... there's an expression of disbelief as she hears what comes next. "But... but you're the only one who can help us! We've waited so long just to find you! I... I waited all this time... You'll help us, won't you?! You'll save us?!"

[nihil_serenitas]

The heart that loved everyone has been broken. The cheerful girl who ran with her prince in the sunlight and let him pull her to him for a kiss is gone.

"Where is Endymion?" she asks again, a challenge, and a message: there will be no help, no discussion, no salvation until he is found. Until he is in her arms.