Chapter One: Oath

My father once told me that my destiny ended in a fork: either I'd embrace insanity, or I'd embrace greatness. I had cried for hours then, and no amount of pampering or appealing stories of the greats could make me stop. The prospect of going crazy terrified me more than the anticipation of strength. A child's stamina was my fall, and when I had woken up the next day, my father took me out on my first hunt.

It seems unusual, thinking back on it, that a man would take his eight-year-old daughter, his only child from a wife lost in childbirth, hunting in the Rose Forest. But now, as I sit on the porch of the little wooden hut we live in, mending a tear in a fishing net, my mind wanders and I think I'm beginning to understand. I had hurt my ankle yesterday while attempting to retrieve this wayward net from a stream and I had slipped on a rather mossy rock. Now, I am confined to the hut while my father hunts, and the boredom is driving me to madness!

I can never stay still, even as a toddler. If my father wouldn't give me his metal spoon to play with—either I'd dig at the ground or carve against wood—I would do absolutely nothing. It should sound nice; what else could I do at that age? Except that I apparently have a one-tracked mind. Or so my father says. I can place all my focus on that one specific task, or nothing at all. I think he believes that the former will make me great, and the latter will lead to my insanity.

And I'm very much inclined to agree with him now. Mending nets is nothing; I can do that in my sleep. Hunting, though… Hunting is a game, a challenge. It is dangerous and rewarding, exciting and calculating. My mind doesn't drift when hunting; I cannot afford to. My father gives me goals every time before a hunt: a two dozen fish one day, five rabbits the next, and if I'm at my best and the day is good, maybe a deer. I love these challenges, I love having goals.

And I'm good at it. Not just for an eleven-year-old; I can bring in game as well as some veteran hunters. I'm excellent with a knife. My throws almost always hit their target. Funnily though, I cannot shoot an arrow from a bow or launch a spear as well. The bow is unfortunate, but my father makes up for that. Together, we can bring in enough game in a day to feed us for a week. Add trading to our routine and we live more than comfortably for outskirt villagers. It is a very desirable situation come nightfall.

I finally finish the net and quickly toss it to the side in my haste to find something else to do. I rub my thumb along the tang of my knife idly—having removed its wooden grip a long time ago, though I don't remember what compelled me to do so—as I walked around the hut. We don't keep animals, not for breeding, milking, meat or company. Our closest neighbour is nearly half an hour's walk away. I have absolutely no inclination to be studying after the session with the fishing net.

I eye the rows of rose bushes that grew around near the back of my father's property, like fences marking the borders of the forest, which is how it got its name. I'm itching to venture into the darkness, maybe just a few yards in where I can probably find a couple of squirrels. Then the darkness breaks and my father comes out carrying one of the rarest find in the forest: a wild boar. It's a full day's travel to the area of the forest where boars roam. I am both impressed and sceptical.

"Venus, come give me a hand," he shouts as he drops the carcass. He wouldn't let me hunt because I cannot run properly and now he expects me to lug a hundred and fifty pound meat back?

Good, a challenge.

He has already divided up the rest of his game for trade and our use by the time I bring the dead boar to the cart.

"How in Ushas did you find a boar so quick?" I ask, out of breath, as he lifts the boar onto the cart. My father isn't a particularly large man, not too tall, not too muscular. But he's agile and fast, and it's what makes him a good and a safe hunter.

"I didn't," he replies, grunting as the boar threatens to slide off the ramp. "He found me. Nearly gored my guts out too." He shows me the tear on his shirt. "And on returning, I spotted another. They're leaving their territories for some reason. Maybe we'll find out why at the market."

He takes the front, pulling on the handle as I push from behind. The market is one hour away. One day, I am going start bringing in larger games that my father has no choice but to invest in a horse.

It is at the market that we discover the reason for the invasion of boars. Logging activities by the King's men at the other end of the forest had gone so far that they were driving the green panthers from their usual habitats to our side. It's creating a huge stir among the villagers because not only are the hunters in danger of encountering one, what is to stop the panthers from entering the village?

Two weeks pass and the panther epidemic has not been solved. I am forced to entertain the notion of insanity because my father refuses to let me hunt even though my ankle has healed for more than a week now. Today, I wait outside, sharpening my blade on a waterstone. For some reason, something is telling me to do it.

It has been happening for a few months now. Receiving instincts that are usually right. Usually, I welcome them. Squirrel up in the tree on your left. Deer behind that bush. Watch out for the snakes. A very useful thing to have when you hunt for a living. Except that I'm not hunting. And my instincts are telling me to get the biggest knife I can carry.

No sooner am I satisfied with my blade that my father comes crashing through the rose shrubs, yelling for me to get into the house. I am too stunned to comply immediately, and when he is halfway toward me, I finally see the source of his terror: a green panther.

Whoever gave the cat the name green panther had to have the weirdest sense of priorities ever, because a green panther is actually white. From head to tail, with unspotted or unstripped coats; the only green thing about the cat is its eyes. Bright, piercing greens like gems. I'm transfixed on them now, and I'm beginning to understand the reason for the cat's namesake.

"Venus, for Ushas' sake, run!"

I tear my eyes from the cat's to my father. He had lost his weapons and his shirt is torn and bloody. There is a nasty gash running down his neck and he looks ready to collapse.

"Papa!" I run toward him. I don't know why, I wouldn't normally call myself a stupid child. In fact, I'm often praised for my maturity, if not my skills. Half my father's height, what am I expecting to accomplish against a cat nearly twice his?

My father stumbles, maybe over loose soil, maybe from blood loss. I'm hoping it's the loose soil. The green panther roars as if it feels certain that it has its prey now. I heft my blade and throw it straight into the cat's forehead, right between the eyes. It connects solidly, and despite the victory, I wonder where did I get the strength to do that?

"Venus!" My father gasps from the ground. I start to run to him. "Run!"

What? Why? I don't understand. I've killed the predator, why do we still need to hide? My instincts are screaming now. Right! Right!

I turn to my right just in time to see a second green panther pounce from behind our water tank. Its front claws dig into my shoulders and I scream. My father screams. The panther growls as it lowers its jaws for the kill. I push against its snout, for all the good my little arms can do. Blood pours from my palms as the fangs bite into my flesh.

My death is inevitable and the new warmth on my forehead is just indication of that. But suddenly, I just know that the warmth is not due to the panther's hot breath on my face. My instincts grow deeper; they become knowledge. In my hands, a golden light glows, searing. Just as the panther clamps down them, the light shoots out, down its throat and out the back of its skull. I watch in dim-witted fascination as gold mixed with red.

Then the cat falls on me, and I can see the tips of my fingers protruding from the hole in its head. It's a little funny and I smile. Vaguely, I know that my injuries are fatal. Already, I am dizzy from the blood loss. Doing absolutely nothing feels like a very good idea now. I turn my head to my father. He is squirming on the ground, trying to crawl toward me.

I want to tell him not to bother, that it's all right. We can both be with Mama now.

I'm not sure if I managed to when the darkness claims me.

It's so ironic. Here I am, in the King's banquet room with a seat fairly close to the royal family, and there are exactly two contrasting reasons for it. One, I nearly died because of the King's irresponsible logging activities. Two, the King had sent his best healers to treat my wounds once he had gotten word that I had survived the green panthers' attack. So, here I am, picking at extravagant dinner courses, sandwiched between people I don't know and don't care to know, when I could have been having a simple fish stew with my father.

I blink, swallowing down a sob. I had survived; my father didn't. We were supposed to meet Mama together, I think sourly.

For the rest of dinner, I keep my eyes on my plate, never once looking up to the reason behind this King's banquet. Unlike a lot of people, it's not because I don't think I'm deserving of the woman's grace. Sure, she is legendary and many have inscribed deity status to her. Indeed, she is well-known for her powers which she uses mostly for healing, but has been known to destroy demons with it. Goddess queen of the Silver Millennium, a shining land that orbits Ushas' younger twin.

I look down because I don't want Queen Serenity to see the unfair hostility in my eyes at the knowledge she is here to take me away.

She killed a green panther bare-handed, with magic; Ushas' children cannot use magic as easily as Earth's people, so she must be a rare magician or a Senshi, they say. She survived in a pool of blood that no one should be able to; so she is more likely a Senshi, they say. Her injuries vanished in a matter of days, so she must be a Senshi, they say.

Senshi are the warriors of soldiers, the sorcerers of magicians. They are the immortals of the mortals, the goddesses of the weak. They are a myth until one shows up on your doorstep. Then you lavish her with gifts and praises and comfort to gain her favour. For if you anger a Senshi, you doom yourself.

I scoff quietly. The stories make it sound as if Senshi are tyrants. I wonder. No Senshi has been called to Ushas in centuries. If I am one, I will be the first any currently living child of Ushas has ever seen. For all they rightly know, I may just be the rare magician. It's certainly happened more often than having a child of Ushas becoming a Senshi.

But in all matters of Senshi, Queen Serenity is the person to call. So here she is, to verify the claims of my Senshi heritage. Frustratingly, nothing of the sort is being discussed between her and the royal couple. As the King stuffs himself with chicken and lamb, Queen Serenity talks politely in that enchanting, bell-like voice she has, her plate barely touched. The banquet is more for the King's pride than her reception; the Moon-dwellers of the Silver Millennium hardly need to eat, like Thoths.

After dinner, we proceed to the ballroom. I stay in one corner, near the King as I had been told—technically requested—to do. I don't mind. I am a simple villager. We don't dance. We also don't wear frilly dresses that look ridiculous and heeled sandals that hurt our feet. Of course, the King just has to grant me an Honorary Princess status for the bragging rights to his era of reign. So I'm forced to dance in frilly dresses and heeled sandals, with boys my age, with boys a little older seeking favour, with lecherous old men boasting of their nobility and how they can make me happy when I come of marrying age. I entertain them with the same fake smile and the occasional stomps on their toes.

Finally, I am summoned to the King. Queen Serenity smiles serenely down at me. She is a very tall woman. Stories about her have certainly not done her any justice. The woman is power and regality and peace and beauty. She puts all other kings and queens to shame even if one does not know who she is.

"Lady Venus," the King greets—I still laugh inwardly at that, but at least I get a castle in my name—and gestures to her. "This is Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium."

I bow; the King's servants had tried to teach me how to curtsy, but I'm always toppling over. She doesn't make any comment, but I can see her eyes glinting in amusement. Maybe it won't be so bad to go with her after all.

"It is nice to meet you, my Queen," I said. The King's wife tries to hide a frown; technically, she is my queen, not Queen Serenity.

"The pleasure is all mine, Venus," Queen Serenity replies. Ah, she understands! I'm liking her more already. "My, you are a young one, aren't you?"

In her eyes, I am just a seven-year-old. The common year runs longer than Ushas' year, though I am biologically and mentally as mature as a common year eleven-year-old; only my physical appearance matches that of the common year seven-year-old. Such comparison is the same for all children of Ushas.

Queen Serenity kneels down in front of me, and I freeze. I think the whole room freezes too. For someone such as her to lower herself in front of a person of my status—Honorary Princess aside—it is almost unheard of. She smooths my long, golden hair and the collar of my dress. I wonder if this is how a mother feels like.

"There's a girl who lives under my care from Thoth," she says as she runs her thumbs across my palm. "She's only a few years older than you, but she's experienced what you have, dear Venus. I think you two will get along very well."

I can't help but think that too.

I wait next to Queen Serenity's guard as she bids the King farewell. She has only come with one guard, unlike how the King likes to travel, except that this one guard is equivalent to the whole of the King's army. I steal a glance at the Senshi, a woman just as tall as Queen Serenity with short platinum blond hair and a serious face. Her uniform is very similar to the Romanus soldiers of the west: dark blue skirt instead of brown leather, white bodice instead of bronze armour. It doesn't look very fortified but I suspect weaker blades will crumble at contact with her body.

The King finally lets Queen Serenity go and she waves to the crowd that has gathered in the court gardens. For a moment, I consider the thought that I may actually miss this place. While lavish and prideful, the King is usually fair in the important matters like justice. I have seen many murderers and rapists hang even when they are nobility; soldiers patrol the villages frequently and bandits seldom venture in. Then again, as I gaze around the courtyard and the outside of the castle's main building, I feel rather disgusted. Hundreds of sculptures, both stone and plant, decorate the unnecessarily large courtyard; the castle is a kaleidoscope of bright colours over good-quality stone; huge furnaces under the castle's foundation powered by precious logs run non-stop during nightfall while the villagers freeze. I am only a child who has just lost her father and the King deems it his royal right to flaunt his—potentially—Senshi citizen as he wishes.

The Senshi takes my hand. I must be holding her hand very tightly because she reaches over and gives me a reassuring pat on the head. When Queen Serenity takes my other hand, I almost pull away.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"Will I be able to come back?" I have no real devotion to the King, nor any fondness for home. I have no living family and friendships are a little difficult to maintain when everything they do bore me. But she understands.

"Anytime you want," she says, holding my hands to her chest in a gesture of promise, "I will take you to see your father."

Travelling by magic is a very, very strange sensation. One moment, I am looking back at the misdirected pride on the King's face; the next, I am looking at the walls of a vast white room. Everything glows here, from the stone walls to the crystalline sculptures to the silver and gold tapestries, even to the lone girl rocking a cradle at the far end of the room.

"Thank you, Uranus," Queen Serenity says to the Senshi. She nods, and after giving me a clap on my shoulder, she leaves via magic again.

I sway, feeling a little dizzy from that clap, as if our contact has just drained a bit of my energy.

Queen Serenity shakes her head, a smile on her lips. "You have to forgive her," she says. "Uranus believes in learning by doing. You have just been taught that magic between Senshi can be combined or transferred for a purpose not normally available to just one Senshi. Like for teleporting."

The feeling is a rush and a concern at the same time. Like hunting.

"Come, I want to introduce you to someone."

I follow her to the glowing girl at the cradle. By the common year, she looks to be around twelve or thirteen and is at least a head and a half taller. I marvel at her blue hair; it is not a colour you see on Ushas. Then again, so is Queen Serenity's silver. When we are face-to-face, I see that the girl isn't really glowing as I had thought. But her skin is indeed reflecting the light of the room in a way no child of Ushas can do. If I squint, I can just see a bluish hue that is the base of her own shine. I look to Queen Serenity; she gleams too, but has no colour.

"Venus, this is Mercury." The girl inclines her head in acknowledgement. "Like you, she is a young Senshi."

The girl from Thoth. I don't know what to say.

She takes the helm of our introduction. "Hello, Venus. I have heard about your father. My deepest condolences."

I swallow and nod. "Thank you. The same for you."

Mercury smiles.

A small garbled sound breaks the silence and we turn to the cradle. The baby inside stares at us, eyes widened as if demanding she not be forgotten. Queen Serenity takes her hand and fondly kisses each of her little fingers. Mercury hangs back to let me look at the baby.

"This is my daughter," Queen Serenity says between coos to the baby. "Serenity, say hello to Venus."

The baby meets my eyes, and with the most adorable squeals of laughter possible, she reaches her hands up to me. As I carry her under Queen Serenity's supervision, I am hit with the feeling that I have just fallen in love. In my heart, I make an oath to be the strongest Senshi fit to protect this beautiful child.

A/N: So, I told myself that I would never work on two stories at the same time. But this came up while trying to come up with a consistent backstory for my other story. And here we are! :) This is a somewhat AU take on our favourite heroines' lives in the Silver Millennium, but will be in Venus' perspective, and primarily be centred around her and how she views the well-known events going on. Hope you like it!