The Creationist
By Yuri Ishtar

Lesson 7: Happiness and virtue alike lie in action

September. This day, like every other day of the past few weeks, is unrelenting with its heat and humidity. I lay on my back, shoulders and back stuck with grains of sand, the heat of the sun boring into me with no relief. A smile graces my lips, I feel like I'm in heaven. The smell of salt and the squawk of the Gull s lulls me into a sort of sleepy trance…. My eyes half-lidded with lethargy; a good lethargy, the kind that comes after a great adventure or at the end of a happy and fulfilling life.

The sun is so bright I can hardly open my eyes, so I just keep them closed. This joy isn't something I've often felt in the past few years… the joy of being free.

Someone calls my name, a woman with a strong tone and a smooth sound. My name rolls off her tongue with a sweet familiarity, like she was a sister or a close friend. She calls my name again, this time with more urgency.

"Serenity…!"

The sun melts away into a pool of red and orange, the sand beneath me becomes a thousand swords at my back, my breath leaves my chest.

I can't breathe!

Terror fills my heart, my body becomes stiff and rigid, unable to move or even speak. Fear unlike anything I've ever known takes over me, consumes and drowns me in panic.

"Serenity… do not fear it. Embrace it. Let it enter your heart…" The same familiar voice penetrates my mind. Still speechless, I close my eyes and let myself drift into the colorless void of the unknown. The pain at my back subsides, the sun has set. Air fills my lungs.

"My, my… was that so hard, my little one?" She speaks to me again, a playful lilt coloring her tone.

Eyes still closed, I continue to drift until I feel the wet softness of dewy grass under my toes. Before I could open my eyes, the silk of a dress caresses my body, billowing at my ankles as a gentle breeze sweeps over me. The thick smoke of incense drifts through the air, heavily scented with what I presumed to be patchouli and myrrh.

I finally open my eyes, the glare of the setting sun too much for me to handle all at once. I turn away from the sun, its rays at my back. In front of me stands a woman more beautiful than words could say – blue-black hair knotted into the braids of ancient Nubians, a silver and gold beaded lapis band fastened around her forehead, numerous exotically colored and heavy-looking bangles hung from her slightly boney wrists; a semi-translucent robe of pale gold draped about her slim body, she had the look of what I thought to be an ancient Egyptian queen. But that was silly now, wasn't it?

I said nothing, only looked down at my own dress, glad to see it wasn't nearly as sheer as the one the woman in front of me wore. I looked up at her, raising an eyebrow in question, my lips parted to speak. Before words could leave my lips, she interrupted me.

"Does my clothing bother you? Ahh… it might. Your century is so… boring."

Before I could say another word, she disappeared into a glittering haze of patchouli and myrrh. A sigh escaped my lips as I rolled my eyes and turned toward the setting sun. What was all of this? A dream?

Was I even alive…?

"Oh, yes, little one… you are very much alive."

I turn around swiftly, my long hair sweeping behind me. The woman is no longer dressed in gold and hues of green and blue, her hair no longer dark. In front of me stands someone who looks completely different; her hair no longer stick-straight and black, instead falling down her back in pale curls the color of moonlight, a robe of pure white silk tied around her body and secured at her waist with a silver cord. Her eyes, a penetrating yet lovely honey color, are locked on me as a smile makes its way to her lips.

"How…? How did you know what-?" I trail, finding it hard to connect one word with the next. "I… who are you?"

She let out a giddy laugh as she stroked the glossy white feathers of the falcon that perched itself on her thickly-gloved and outstretched hand.

"Who am I? Oh, you know me…. You've known me your entire life. Well, all of your lives, actually. Daughter, you know who I am… my dear little one…" Her voice is a loving coo as she nuzzles the falcon against her face, the bird in turn closing its eyes and cooing at her in return.

Still unable to speak, I open my mouth slightly, as if to will the words to speak themselves. I close my eyes and bow my head, my frustration sky rocketing. Who in all of the Heavens was this woman?

I look back up at her and give an unconvinced smile, having decided to just go with whatever the woman said. All of this had to be a fever dream anyway. What with the bird and clothing and whatnot.

Another giggle leaves her smiling lips as she raises her arm and lets the falcon fly off into the heavens. "He'll be back. Once he's hungry, that is."

I say nothing, simply smile and appear to be comfortable where I stood.

"Oh, Serenity, don't act so… polite. If you really haven't yet remembered who I am, please, say so. This act of false manners will get you nowhere, believe me."

The smile fades from my lips and I drop my façade of manners and decorum. "Who the hell are you? I honestly can't place you, let alone remember your name. And where are we? It surely can't be the Moon Kingdom, nor Elysion. It can't be my kingdom either."

The still unnamed woman took a few steps toward me, a kind smile sat upon her face. With the boldness I could never muster, she wrapped her arms around me and held me to her like I was a long-lost family member, one who hadn't bothered to call or write in many years; like I was someone loved and long lost, finally found and able to be held again.

"I've been called many things. Tiye. Jahanara. Boudicca. Cleopatra. Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. But in our lifetime I was merely Serenity, High Queen of the Silver Millennium. I have seen many lives and many lands. You ask who I am? I am the one who gave man darkness, the one who gave them hope. Like the Heavens which I ruled high over, I am both the light and the dark. Serenity, my daughter, I am both justice and injustice."

Stunned into silence, I too wrapped my arms around her. I held her tight, the smell of roses and lavender filling my nose. A fever dream, this had to be all a dream. Perhaps I'd come down with something from my stay with the other refugees. This dream had to be a product of food poisoning or something. It was too eerie and too surreal to be anything else but something brought on by delirium.

"Justice and Injustice. I see. So… you are Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium? I find this impossible to believe, seeing as my mother was known only for her mercy and kindness. Never had she once in her life been the death of anyone, nor had she ever waged war. My mother, Serenity of the Moon, was a goddess of peace and love, the keeper of the Ginzuishou."

My words are harsh and unbelieving as I let go of her and force her from me. I take a few steps back, take in all of the woman who stood before me. The smile never fades from her lips, only grows wider, as if she is amused by my words.

"I see Luna has embellished quite a bit. Artemis, too. Shame. I would have expected more from them. Serenity, as a Queen, you too must know that not all in life is good. You've been to the edge of the Universe and back. You've battled Chaos and won. You've died only to be reborn. As a Queen, you surely can't believe I never once encountered the need to defend myself and my Queendom? For what other reason does the Ginzuishou exist? It is the pure heart of the Moon, loving and kind, but also dark and cunning."

Her words are like a slap on the face, they bring me back to whatever reality this was. This woman was right, despite whoever she claimed to be. Life was filled with both good and evil, and it was respective at that. What was good for my kingdom and planet led to the pain and suffering of others, even death if needed. I knew I would defend my kingdom and daughter to my last breath. Silly of me to even for one second think my mother was a simple-minded woman with no problems what so ever.

Queen Serenity's smile saddened as she wrapped me in her arms once more. Tears began to prick at the corners of my eyes. The state of my kingdom was on my shoulders. I should have seen with clearer eyes, seen the darkness that had loomed over the horizon like a storm cloud. It had been my choice to be with Endymion in our past lives, had been my choice to stand by his side as Usagi Tsukino, had been my choice to take his hand and become his Queen and wife in this life.

My mother's voice came in a sweet whisper as she spoke to me, "It broke my heart to give him to you like I did, to promise your hand to the Macedonian king. My kingdom was crumbling at the foundation, my subjects unhappy and the treasuries emptied of gold. I had failed to see that my own high priestess had turned against me. I was so content with what I wanted to believe that I was blind to the betrayal that was happening right before my eyes."

x-x-x-x-x

With a jolt he was awake, his breath caught in his chest. King Endymion of Crystal Tokyo bolted upright in his bed, his body feverish. A slight chill overtook him as he sat there in silence for a few moments, taking time to remember the nightmare that had caused him to lose his breath.

Slowly it all began to sink in, what he had done, what he had managed to achieve. Crystal Tokyo was no longer a Queendom, but rather a Kingdom now; his Kingdom, his crowning glory. A smug smile found its way to his face as he flung the silk sheets from over his body and stepped out of bed, slid his feet into his slippers and tied his robe tight about his waist.

He was finally a single monarch, had to answer to no one.

And it never felt so good.

x-x-x-x-x

By this point it was late September, at the peak of Autumn. Heat unlike anything I'd felt all summer had descended upon the whole of Crystal Tokyo, turning the modern metropolis into a simmer pot of sweat and anger.

My feet ached, my shoulders felt perpetually sore; my lips were dry and cracked. Yet I paid no attention to these things, my mind permanently fixated on the dream from a few weeks ago.

That world – the world in which my mother had stolen and delivered me unto – was a world I wanted to visit again.

x-x-x-x-x