So once again I have taken the mantle of writing another Sailor Moon story. I'm slowly working on my existing ones, so I apologize for my extended absence, my fair readers. I only hope this makes up for it.
Dawn
The sounds of soft moans floated under the gaze of the moon, who watched with disapproval upon the two who were lying on the ground in the open meadow. The woman's head was thrown back, her lips swollen as cries of passion came from her milky throat. The man's was tilted forward, teeth biting into his lower lip as muffled grunts came from him, his hardened body slipping and sliding along hers with the combined force of their sweat. Their coupling was hard and fast, exactly the way they both liked it, and as they both climaxed and cried each other's names, a soft wind blew to cool off their steaming bodies. Their images swirled in the scrying glass of a petite woman, her hair as silver as the moon that shone upon them and her eyes as clear as the blue sky. She wore a beautiful silver stola that hugged her curves, making her fragile body look sensuous under her clothing. A silver diadem with a crescent moonstone rested on her brow, throwing small blue-hued rainbows on her snow-white skin.
"Gazing at the humans again, sister?" The masculine voice made her turn away from the sight of the couple on Earth, her sky eyes landing on the man on the threshold of her room. His golden hair flamed with his power, his golden skin rippling with heat lightning. He wore a linen sheath around his hips that ended at his knees, golden leather sandals lacing up his calves. A more robust gold diadem rested around his head, a sunstone sunburst throwing its many sun-hued colors on the grey stones of her room. She smiled as he entered.
"Brother…done with the sun's caravan?" she asked, rising from her chair. Her stola fell in rippling waves to her silver-sandaled feet as she walked to her brother, embracing his wide shoulders in her arms. His brawny arms wrapped around her waist and squeezed briefly. "I would have thought it would take longer."
"Not much difference between my caravan and your rotations with the moon," he told her gently, smiling down at his twin sister. "Why were you looking at the humans again, sister? They're mortals, and they've forgotten all about us."
"They're just so interesting, brother," she told him stubbornly, going back to her scrying glass. "These two have just created a new life underneath the light of my moon, brother. I will bless them with a strong and noble son."
The man rolled his eyes and came to her side, his emerald eyes watching the glass. "Don't throw your blessings everywhere, darling sister," he warned her. "Someone may take them for granted and abuse them."
Selene, Titan Goddess of the Moon, rolled her eyes at Helios, her brother and Titan God of the Sun. Their father, Hyperion, ruled over the skies, for they were of the second generation of the Titans. Their youngest sibling, the very young Eos, lay in her bed in the next room, a dazzle of light to even their eyes; her hair color consisted of pastels of every shimmering color between rose and lilac, passing through orange, gold, peridot, and sky blue. Her gown, much like her older sister's, was white, but in every crease dazzling colors would throw rainbows upon their souls. Her skin glittered as if someone had sprinkled fae dust upon the pale canvas, and her eyes were a beautiful blue-brown that shifted colors. Eos was their treasure and their responsibility. "These humans won't know that I have blessed their son."
"So it is to be a son, Selene?" Helios asked, amusement coloring his tone. Selene nodded.
"A son as strong and tall as the mountains and as calm as the open ocean. His eyes will be of Oceano's precious waters and his head will be capped with the skies of the night. His skin will be of the most golden sunbeam, and his teeth will reflect the moon's light." Her gentle words wove a spell upon the glass, and a murky image swan in the mirrored depths. When the image cleared, Helios had to catch his breath; his sister's blessing would bestow the world with a man so inhumanly handsome that he would surely capture the heart of any human female, and make the goddesses look twice at him. He looked at his sister, who gazed lovingly at the mirror.
"And his name?" he asked quietly. Selene looked at her brother, seeing the question in his eyes; if she blessed him, would he surely have a mate to keep him happy?
"He shall be called…Endymion," she told him softly.
xxx
As it turned out, as Selene gave the blessing to the couple's child, the woman in her scrying glass ended up dying as the child sucked the life out of her, killing itself also. Selene, heartbroken, took the blessing back within her reach, waiting for another pull from the loom of the Fates to place her gift upon an unborn child. Every time, however, proved to be a mistake, as pregnant women died or the children were dead in the womb. Selene gave up all hope of granting the world with a son of her choosing, and Helios and Eos could see their sister's hope diminishing.
It was at this time that the Olympian gods came and defeated the Titans, taking Mount Olympus for themselves and keeping their Titan ancestors under lockdown. Selene, Helios, and Eos were locked together in a cell in Tartarus; their father had made one last wish before his death that his children should stay together. They had been replaced by a new set of gods; Artemis and Apollo, the young twins of Zeus and the children of Leto, their niece. So far none of the gods had taken Eos's place as goddess of the dawn. Without their focus upon which they could use their gifts, the Titans began dying, little by little, until Hyperion's children were the last of the Titans to stay alive.
Selene could barely open her eyes, she was so sick. She knew her brother and sister weren't fairing so well either. Glimmers of light behind her eyelids showed their souls to her, showing the bright flame that was their life muddled and dark. Soon they would leave this existence and return to the heavens, where their parents were, and they would become stars, from which they could be born again. Her fingers lay curled around a small ring of black titanium, the golden jewel in its setting winking with the faint light.
"Sister…" Helios's faint voice called. "You must…the blessing…"
At his words a sharp pain entered her chest, making her cry out. Her siblings rushed to her side as the pain faded, and a smile graced her lips. Finally! A son she could bestow the blessing upon! He would be a prince of Sparta, the greatest nation in Greece. "He will be born in the dark of the moon," she weakly told her brother, smiling at his blurry face. "Endymion…my blessed warrior…"
Eos looked down at her sister sadly. "Will he find happiness?"
Selene nodded just as a rattle came from the cell bars. Helios and Eos looked up to see Leto looking through the bars, holding the hands of her twin children. Artemis looked just like Leto, with her dark curling hair and silver eyes; a small silver crescent moon adorned her brow. Apollo looked faintly like Helios, with the sunburst like golden henna on his forehead. "Leto, niece," Helios greeted softly. The woman's eyes filled with tears to see Selene lying so still upon the cold floor, and her hands tightened on her children's.
"I felt the blessing being sent out," she whispered; she wasn't supposed to be here. "Will the warrior child find happiness?"
"Yes," Selene said, her eyes opening as an idea came to her. Her fingers opened around the ring, showing it to Leto. "Give this to the child when he comes of age…have young Apollo bear it to the warrior when he is ready." With Eos's help, Selene sat with her back against the stone wall. "Brother, sister, let us create the perfect mate for this warrior child of the earth."
Helios gave the ring to Leto, then came to his sister's side. As the last three Titans, this would be their last great working; a woman, made of the ancient powers to ensure the human race survived until the next sun was born. "What shall she look like, sister?" he asked, knowing his sister would make the most beautiful woman.
Selene smiled dreamily. "She will be his exact opposite in every physical way," she told them as they gathered close. Leto, Artemis, and Apollo watched with fascinated eyes and curious ears as the last three Titans began their last quest into their gifts. "She will have hair the color of a peregrine falcon's silver wings, with hints of the moon, sun, and stars in them. Her eyes will be the color of a cloudless day dotted with silver sparks like fish." She looked to her younger sister. "She will look as Eos does, young in face but mature in body and spirit. Her skin will be the same, as well as her smile being the power that draws in the dawn." She paused. "She will be delicate like the lotus flower, but she will have her thorns like the rose."
Eos and Helios smiled as the image of the woman swam in their minds. She would be utterly beautiful, even to draw the jealousy of Aphrodite. They joined hands with their sister, watching as a white light gathered in Selene's lap. The ring in Leto's hand vibrated, making her gasp and drop it. The ring didn't hit the ground, but floated to hover over the white light protectively. The light blossomed into a moonstone shaped like an open lotus flower, pulsing with the colors of silver, gold, and rose gold. All three Titans were bent over the crystal, pushing all of their powers into it, to make sure that their legacy would live on.
When all three fell, Leto swiftly opened the cell and gathered the ring and the moonstone, looking sadly at the empty eyes of Helios and Eos, their broken diadems laying jaggedly across their brows. She stroked a hand over Selene's face, watching as the light dimmed in her eyes. "Her name, aunt," Leto asked gently, smiling.
Selene smiled back, her eyes closing as she felt her breath leaving her body. "Serenity…" Her diadem cracked in half in Leto's hands.
And the Titans were no more.
xxx
So, what do you think? R&R, please! More chapters to come, surely!