Everlasting Light - Chapter 13

Hikari inhaled deeply, her nose filling with all the fragrances she had missed. It felt so good to be home – even though it meant returning to all the troubles. She cringed at this thought. Trying not to think about it anymore, she turned to ChibiUsa. “So, where to first?”

“Won’t that be to where your parents live?” Hotaru asked. “Wherever that is?”

“A castle or a palace or something, right?” VesVes looked excited, only to be elbowed by CereCere.

“Well…” Hikari ran a hand through her hair. “There’s two. Castles, I mean. Refratris Manor and Prism Palace.”

“You have two castles?” JunJun asked, mouth agape. She, too, was elbowed by CereCere, and by now the pink-haired Amazoness sister was looking quite annoyed.

Suki sighed exasperatedly. “You didn’t tell them?”

“Tell us what?” ChibiUsa looked confused.

“Refractris Manor is on Continent Black, on one side of this world. And Prism Palace is on Continent White, located on the other half.” Megumi began to explain. “Hikari’s parents rules over Continent White. Continent Black is ruled by the family of Hikari’s betrothed…”

“You’re going to get married?” PallaPalla squealed, and quickly darted out of the way of CereCere’s waiting elbow.

Hikari heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed her face. “This is not the time to be talking about this…” She muttered.

ChibiUsa blinked and cocked her head. Is she meaning we should hurry up with our mission, or is this something about the other rulers? She wondered, and glanced at Helios, sending her thoughts his way.

I’m unsure, though it seems there are definitely some unpleasant emotions for her about the mention of her engagement. Helios replied, and then walked forward. “I agree with Hikari, we can talk about this at another time. We must carry on with our mission. In what direction must we go to reach your home?”

The Senshi of Light and Color looked relieved and flashed him a smile, then she looked around. “Well, to be honest, I don’t know where we are.” She admitted.

“I think we’re on your side, Hikari,” Suki said, standing on her tiptoes to see over a hill. “I think I can make out the Doorway from here!”

Together, the group trudged up the hill and the eight travellers from Earth gasped at the scene before them. Before them was a large valley; filled with trees and animals they had never scene before, and right through it ran a long river, churning blue water running down its length. At least the water’s the same color here… ChibiUsa thought to herself absently.

And, on the highest hill, a large, white stone archway stood tall. Within it looked like liquid magic, a rainbow of color, swirling in on itself. It was breathtaking. “That’s the door? To the Cauldron?” Diana asked, her eyes wide. Hikari nodded. “But it’s so big! How can you guard it?”

“It’s protected with a forcefield,” Hikari said, and she pointed in its direction. “The rainbow within it is the magic is what’s keeping the shadows out.”

Just then, there was a gust of wind behind them and the group turned to see a large beast that resembled what those of Earth would call a dragon – it’s charcoal grey scales shone like glass and it roared, making poor Diana shriek with fear and hide behind ChibiUsa, like she would do in cat form.

“Princess!” Came the call of a male voice, and that was when they noticed there was a man sitting atop the creature’s head.

Hikari’s exasperated expression returned, tinged with a touch of embarrassment. “I couldn’t have picked a better time for us to Teleport, could I…”

The creature lowered its head, and man hopped down. He was tall, with jet black hair and dark brown eyes. He was dressed sharply, in black pants and top, his shoulders adorned with intricate weaving. He hurried over to the group and scooped Hikari up in a hug. “You’re back!”

Blushing many shades of red, Hikari tried not to lose her temper. “I brought visitors with me, darling,” She said the last word with a bitter look on her face.

“Oh come on, we’ve been friends since childhood. Don’t be like that. We can get used to being married, someday.” The man, presumably the Prince of Continent Black, set her down. “Now, who are these guests?” He glanced at the others. “Hm, they look like Senshi.”

“Excellent deduction.” Suki rolled her eyes. “Oh Obsidian, you always were smart.”

“Hey!”

“Everyone, this is Prince Obsidian,” Hikari announced with a sigh.

“Princess Prisma’s betrothed…” Megumi said quietly, and Hikari winced.

ChibiUsa walked over to the man in black. “Greetings, Prince Obsidian. I am Princess Lady Serenity, of Earth.”

Obsidian took her hand and shook it with gusto. “A pleasure, a pleasure!” He smiled at her. “Your planet is so intriguing – mostly your ancient history - we study it in our classes often. All the different cultures and scenery, and the languages! The languages are very popular, ” He went on. “A lot of people here, and on our moons, have names derived from Earthly languages.”

“Oh?” ChibiUsa was taken by surprise. I guess Hikari’s name and that of her Senshi being in Japanese make sense now… She thought in the back of her mind, but she turned her focus back to the conversation at hand. “You know of us?”

“We keep tabs on a lot of worlds, Your Highness,” Obsidian told her. “We don’t go out much, but we stay informed, so to speak.”

A small frown furrowed ChibiUsa’s brow, and she gazed at Hikari. The blonde was conveniently inspecting her boots. “I see,” She said quietly. She turned back to Obsidian and put on her best formal smile. “Would you be so kind as to escort us to Prism Palace?”

“I was on my way there, actually,” Obsidian started walking to the dragon-creature and motioned for everyone to follow him. “Everyone can ride on Agatha…see, an Earth name!” He chuckled.

Hikari was feeling more and more embarrassed as he continued to talk. He never stops talking…I bet ChibiUsa and the others are going to be angry with me for not telling them… She was trailing behind, so she couldn’t see any of their expressions. However, she had practically felt ChibiUsa’s piercing gaze earlier. I hope this doesn’t mess things up for our mission…we really need their help… She sighed again, for what seemed to be the tenth time since they landed.

Up ahead, Helios was helping ChibiUsa onto Agatha’s back. He could tell that his fiancée was unhappy, and he understood why. He, too, was shocked to find out that they were being watched in secret. He rubbed ChibiUsa’s shoulder once he climbed on behind her, and she gave him a wary smile.

Getting on last, Hikari patted Agatha’s back, and was met with a roar she knew to be a happy one. She glanced up at the Earth Senshi, and saw them all looking at her. A few of them were frowning, especially VesVes and JunJun. She lowered her head, feeling ashamed. “For what it’s worth, we didn’t have a lot of time to talk,” She said to ChibiUsa, who was sitting nearest to her.

“I understand, but we’ll discuss this later. We have a mission to do.” ChibiUsa said tersely, then turned back forward.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Hikari looked back at Suki and Megumi. They looked nervous too, but she knew that the Earth Senshi were mostly mad at her. She had been on their planet longer then Suki or Megumi, so it only made sense. She felt so bad – she had had so little time on Earth, how could she have brought up the fact that her people had a substantial knowledge of Earth (at least their history) and yet, they knew nothing of her planet’s existence? She just hoped that it hadn’t jeopardized the mission.

It was imperative that they got their help. If they didn’t…Hikari shuddered at the thought. She exhaled slowly and shut her eyes as Agatha lifted off, then made a silent wish that everything would work out.