~Flames to Embers~

by Strawberry Moon Rose

What do you guys think of Seiya's English voice in the dub? Or do you still watch subbed regardless? I wasn't sure about it the first time I heard it because I've been so used to Niiyama Shiho as Star Fighter, but it's grown on me! It kind of makes her sound younger and more boyish, what do you think?

Enjoy! ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi.

Princess Kakyuu prefered to have Sailor Star Healer performing her duties in or near the royal palace because of her keen ability to sense things most of her guards and workers couldn't - like a star seed going out or the presence of negative energy. When they had returned to their planet after Galaxia's defeat, they were surprised to find the destruction wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. Still, buildings and homes were demolished and thousands of trees had been destroyed. It would take years to make up for what they lost.

It was precisely why the next morning Fighter found herself assigned to tree plantings with Healer in between their perimeter security rounds.

"Good morning," Fighter called, strolling up to her fellow teammate.

Healer looked up though wisps of silver bangs with furrowed eyebrows. She had a shovel in her grasp that looked comically too big for her petite frame, and a smudge of dirt on her cheek as if she'd tried several times to push her hair out of her eyes before giving up.

"Hey," said Healer. She took a swing with the shovel and stomped it into the ground with her thigh-high boot.

"Having fun?" Fighter surveyed the dozen or so six-foot tall ornamental trees stood in pots along the gate they were to get to today. Yikes...

"Having a total blast," Healer replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You know how much I love sweating and getting covered in dirt before 9 AM."

Fighter grabbed a bucket for her to dump the soil into wordlessly. The morning air clung to their skin and the sweet fragrance only a storm could leave hung in the air. She loved working outdoors, but today she just wasn't with it. Last night's conversation with Kakyuu kept swimming round and round in her head. Everything felt blurry like an abstract painting.

"So how'd yesterday go?" Healer asked, hoping it didn't sound too nosy.

"Yesterday?"

"You know, covering Taiki's duties. With the Princess. Her boring meetings in town and all that fun stuff."

"Oh. Fine, I guess." Fighter heaved a tree over to the hole they had dug. Her tan muscles bulged, already covered in sweat.

"I heard the carriage broke down," Healer offered.

"It wasn't a big deal or anything."

"I see..." Healer frowned. I'm not going to get anything out of Seiya at all!

"How's Taiki doing? Feeling any better?" asked Fighter.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. She's fine. Must've been a twenty-four hour bug or something. Maker's on in-town patrol right now."

"Glad to hear it." But she didn't really sound that glad, Healer noticed. If anything, her leader seemed a million miles away.

The two Starlights worked together planting the sweet olive trees, taking turns making a perimeter check around the palace every half an hour. Healer was just returning from her first check when Fighter saw a foreign-looking carriage roll up to the gates.

"Wonder who that is," Healer commented.

Fighter didn't reply. It felt like she'd just swallowed a bowling ball.

She watched in dread as a scrawny man with strawberry-blonde hair and thick glasses step out wearing slipper-like flats. He was dressed in a long-sleeved tunic-like shirt that fell above the knee and tight pants underneath. It was not the typical mens' fashion in the area, and the gold embroidery sparkling under the morning sun was a dead giveaway he was from the wealthy village eight hours away called Lin Lin.

"That," Fighter muttered, "may very well be our future prince."

Healer turned to her with bulging green eyes. "What?" she screeched.

Fighter shushed her as the regal-looking man marched up the stone path towards the palace doors. He paid no attention to the two Starlights, probably assuming they were just workers.

That irked Fighter.

After the guards let him through and the massive doors shut, Healer grabbed Fighter's arm roughly. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"Ow, ow." Fighter winced. For being so small, she sure was mighty. After Healer released her grip, the lead Starlight heaved a sigh and filled her in. When she finished explaining, Healer crossed her arms defensively.

"Yeah, well, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised," Healer grumbled. Damn it! This is going to make everything so much more difficult.

"Well, I'm still letting it all sink in," Fighter admitted. Even though it was just Yaten, it felt good to know she wasn't the only one upset by this turn of events.

Healer tossed her ponytail. "Yeah, well, the Princess can do whatever she pleases. But that geeky guy who just went in to meet her? What a joke! He's no match for our Kakyuu, and I sure as hell won't be thrilled if we have to fight to protect his scrawny butt someday. Does Kakyuu's father really think they would hit it off?" She scoffed. "Honestly, Fighter, you'd be a better match for the Princess that a guy like that who knows nothing about who she is or what she stands for."

Surprised by her words, a flush heated her face. "That's not funny," Fighter muttered.

"I'm not trying to be funny, Seiya. I mean it."

"It's 'Fighter' when we're on duty," she corrected her and went back to planting. Suddenly she seemed too interested in breaking the roots of their next tree up with the tip of her shovel.

"Don't change the subject," Healer said with a twinge of annoyance. "And don't tell me you haven't noticed the way our Princess looks at you, Seiya."

"I'm sorry, the way the Princess looks at me?"

"Yes! With those sad, longing eyes. Like she always wants to tell you something, but never does."

"I don't know what you're getting at, but I think you should help me plant this olive tree."

Healer grunted, her hands on her hips. "Humor me. Did you or did you not sing her one of our songs one night last week in her bedroom?"

"I did. But only because she asked me to. She couldn't sleep. How do you know about that anyway?"

Ignoring her question, Healer continued, "And what about last month when she asked you to give her a massage? I heard you hung out in her room for a while by the fireplace together. And let me guess, she wanted to snuggle with you on the love seat, am I right?"

"What the hell! Are you spying on me?"

Healer tilted her chin up. "Listen, Seiya. How dense can you be? Princess Kakyuu has a thing for you. It's so freakin' obvious! I even overheard the chef gossiping with a maid about how weird it is that the Princess always asks you to do all these things when we have other palace workers who easily could. Don't you think it's strange?"

Fighter fell silent for a moment, letting Healer's words sink in. There's no way...

For some reason her mind flickered to the bathing room a couple nights ago. The way Kakyuu's tangerine eyes held a gleam of playfulness when Seiya unwrapped her towel. like she wanted to see her naked. The way Kakyuu was always closing the physical distance between them by sitting close and resting her head on her shoulder, or placing her hands over her guardian's.

"You ever think I'm just her favorite?" Fighter said quietly. She suddenly didn't want the guards up front to hear their conversation, although she wasn't sure why. "Or that she's just lonely? She's always surrounded by people treating her like, well, a Princess, and we're the only ones who know her like we do. We're her family. That's all. And we have to be there for her, however she needs us."

Healer gave her an exasperated look that said, seriously, Seiya?

Ignoring the face she was giving her, Fighter continued, "Anyway, I'm pretty sure our Princess would never have feelings for one of her own guardians. Imagine the scandal that would cause amongst the kingdom. And even if I felt the same way, it wouldn't matter because she has her own duty to fulfil - marrying a prince and continuing the bloodline. I don't meet those qualifications. I was born to be her Sailor Guardian, that's all. I can't be that person for her." I can't be that person for her... I can't be that person for her... The smiling blonde's face sprung into her mind, but she pushed it away just as soon as it appeared.

"But... do you want to be?" Healer asked softly.

Fighter didn't say anything for a long time. It felt like half her heart already knew the answer to that question, one part was still in disbelief it could even be possible, and the other part was left back on planet Earth.

Finally she snapped out of it and said, "You know what? It doesn't matter how I feel."

But Healer wouldn't let it go. "Well, if she marries one of these foreign princes, are you going to be okay with it?"

Fighter stabbed the shovel into the ground a little too hard. "We have to be," she declared.

By the time the end of the day rolled around, Kakyuu's face hurt from plastering on fake smiles. Every hour on the hour a new man would enter and the last one would leave, hoping he had played his cards right and Princess Kakyuu would send him a letter requesting another get together in the near future.

She strolled from the evening room towards her bedroom, self-massaging one shoulder at a time. What a long day...

Kakyuu entered her bedroom and swiftly stepped out of her silk dress and tugged a pale pink, long-sleeved nightgown over her head.

Princess Kakyuu's bedroom was 1000 square feet of her own personal heaven. The walls shimmered a warm peach tone as the sunset streamed in through ivory lace curtains. Her dresser, nightstand, and bedframe were all handmade by her great, great grandfather. The fireplace crackled in the corner, even though it was a warm spring evening. But Kakyuu liked the constant flame. It filled the room with an earthy, woodsy scent.

Slipping the bobbypins out of her fiery updo, Kakyuu ran an antique brush through her locks, then collapsed onto her canopy adorned bed.

Several faces popped up in her mind. Ten to be exact, all blurring together like a movie. The first was the first gentleman of the morning, leading her to dub him "Mr. 9 o'clock". He would have been a better match for Sailor Mercury, based on what she had observed about the blue-haired guardian while healing herself in Chibi Chibi's lantern.

He was just too much the intellectual type. And he talked about himself in a manner that suggested a lack of self confidence by the way he kept boasting about his accomplishments. It was a complete turn off.

The 10, 11, and 12 o'clock candidates weren't much better. Why did her father think she would find chemistry with wealthy, self-absorbed snobs?

"You know it would be good for the family," she could almost hear his voice in her head. As if she hadn't heard her parents words a thousand times in the past couple years.

Mr. 10 o'clock seemed more interested in how well the palace was doing financially than getting to know her. The man who came at eleven looked so bored, Kakyuu could only guess his folks had set up this ill fit arrangement as well. Mr. 12 o'clock was so nervous, he stared at her feet more than her face and tripped over every other word he managed to squeak out.

Her afternoon suitors were much of a blur - only one stood out - Mr. 4 o'clock. She actually remembered his name - Duke Densetsu. He wasn't royalty or wealthy like the others, but that made him more attractive somehow. His dad was the mayor of a small town twenty hours away and his mother was a housewife. Duke seemed quite down to earth, but it was hard to tell after just one meeting. Kakyuu would be lying if she said he was as lame as the others. But husband material? Sure his broad shoulders and shoulder-length beach waves helped, but how would he be as a ruler? Would he care about the issues she did? Would he understand the dangers that could bestow their planet without witnessing it firsthand?

Kakyuu buried her face underneath her arm. This is so overwhelming. A tear slipped out and she didn't bother wiping it. Kakyuu rolled over to the other side of the bed. Who would be lying beside her this autumn? Who would she fall asleep next to each night, massage her shoulders when they ached, stroke her face and take on the burden of their kingdom together? Who would be making love to her under these very sheets in the months to come? Who did she want to be making love to?

A surge of pink colored her tear-stained cheeks when the last face flashed in her mind.

High cheekbones, an androgynous jawline, dewy skin and blue eyes so captivating that had drawn her in since the very first time she'd gazed into them.

With her eyes shut, Kakyuu could almost feel the long ponytail the color of midnight tickling her under the sheets. She could almost feel Seiya's strong hands feeling every inch of her body for the very first time, and just the thought made her wet. They always said the forbidden fruit tasted the sweetest, but she could only imagine just how delicious.

Feeling guilty and a little embarrassed about the fantasy, Kakyuu hugged a pillow to her chest. What do I do...?