When you think too long about something...

Ajax presents:

Sailor Moon: Stories of Life

Naked/Dust
***

	The vessel moved slowly through the space. Or at least, it seemed
slow in the void where there was nothing to judge by; its real speed was such
that it could cover the distance between Earth and Mars in six days.

	The young prince sat by a window, watching the endless expanse of 
black with a bored face. His four guardians chatted nearby, occasionally 
glancing at him to make sure he was okay. With an exasperated sigh, he turned
around and stomped over to them, throwing himself down in an armchair.

	"Just when are we going to get there?" he asked impatiently. They had
been in this blasted spaceship for five days, going to a planet he'd never
been to before, at the time when he and the other members of the royal family
would normally be having a vacation, thus he wasn't very enthusiastic about
this journey. The eldest of his guardians, a man with long white hair, looked
disapprovingly at him, while the youngest gave an exasperated sigh.

	"If you ask that one more time I'm going to ask the stars to cast a 
very painful spell on you," one of them threatened.

	"Look, I'm bored. My father wouldn't even tell me why I have to go to
Mars. I should be home, relaxing." The prince was NOT a sissy. Even though he
was only nineteen years old, he was a warrior, but he had never been before 
sent on diplomatic duty anywhere.

	"Very well, Endymion," Kunzite said, "Your father decided to send you
to Mars to find the new Sailor Mars. The previous one died two weeks ago, as
you know. He can't go himself because he and Queen Serenity are busy 
negotiating the latest trade treaty between our two kingdoms, and he 
volunteered to send you to look for the new Sailor Mars as a gesture of good
will, which would also have the effect of hastening the treaty."

	"Diplomacy is so boring," groaned the prince.

	"Perhaps, but it is necessary, my prince. You are also going because 
you will have to learn sooner or later. As to your first question, we will be
there shortly, if you look out the window on the right you will be able to 
see Mars." 

	Walking over, the prince contemplated in wonderment the fourth 
planet, so different from his own. Seen from this distance, Mars was but a 
swirling sphere of coppery red.

	Suddenly, a loud alarm pierced the silence, and the ship shook as if
something big had impacted with it. Crew members rushed around, shouting to 
be heard above the deafening alarm. "What's happening?" Kunzite yelled to one
of them.

	"A meteor hit the left wing, sir! Not much damage to the ship, but
our trajectory changed by 1.79 degrees, and we're being hurtled towards the
planet twice as fast! We're all trying to slow the ship, sir!" The four 
guards ran to the control room, cursing as they went, and dragged Endymion
with them. Together with the crew, they tried everything they could to slow
the ship, and they succeeded somewhat. When there was nothing else to be 
done, the occupants sat down and prayed, looking at the huge form of the 
rapidly approaching planet.

			*	*	*	*	

	The day had started out normal for Salaaddin. He had woken up, had
his breakfast in his little red clay hut with his wife, and then he'd gone to 
look after his little herd of camels. The routine. That is, until he heard a 
sharp whizzing sound as an object passed by high overhead and crashed down a 
few hundred meters away from his small village, throwing up a huge amount of 
red dust before skidding to a stop. Slowly, people from his village 
approached, warily. People started to emerge from the ship. Everybody stopped 
and kneeled respectfully when they saw the emblem of the royal family on the 
arm of a blue-black haired young man. Only their chief remained standing, to 
mark himself as the representor of his people, even though he bowed his head.

	"Where on earth did we land?" spoke the blond man accompanying the
prince, more to himself than to anyone else.

	"Well, we're not on earth, actually," said Kunzite. The prince, 
meanwhile, was observing the surroundings, and approached the kneeling people
with a purposeful stride.

	"I'm Prince Endymion of Earth, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of
the Blue World. Arise, and pray tell us where we are," he spoke to the chief.
Behind him came a choked sound from Jadeite, who was trying not to laugh at
the flowery, outdated formality the prince was using.

	"You are all welcome to our village," spoke the chief, "will you not
come and have a refreshment while we talk?"

			*	*	*	*	

	"...And out trajectory was changed, so we were forced to crash-land 
here." finished Nephrite, drinking a cool drink that tasted like yoghurt, 
providing relief from the heat of this blasted Martian desert they had landed 
in.

	"You wished to go to the capital Ma'ir, did you not?" asked the 
chief. Upon receiving confirmation, he continued, "You did not land that far 
away, but I am afraid the only way to reach Meer from where we are is to 
cross the desert. I will give you a guide, of course, you can't cross without 
a guide."

	"Endymion, that would be the perfect solution," Jadeite spoke, "we
could move on, meet the king, do our negotiations and look for Sailor Mars 
while Kunzite and Zoisite stayed here with the crew to repair the ship.

	"How long would it take to cross the desert?" Endymion asked. The
answer was three days.

	"There is no other choice, Endymion."

	The prince had to assent. "Very well, then. I suggest we start as 
soon as we can, seeing how we are expected back in a week. We will pay you 
for all your troubles, of course," he spoke to the chief, "Now, who is going
to be our guide?" The chief's eyes sparkled at the mention of money. He rose
and called to his men to prepare the camels and provisions for "his royal
highnesses", and sticking his head into the other room, called a name,
softly. 

	Following the call, a girl entered the room, a small boy clinging to
her skirts. As soon as she saw the male strangers, she covered her head with
her hood, its shadow obscuring even the eyes, and Endymion wasn't able to see
her face. She wore long robes of a coarse cloth of dirty white. She moved so
very quietly that it unnerved him. 

	"This is my daughter, Badawi," introduced the chief. The girl moved
as if she was floating closer to her father, and for a second her robes clung 
to her body on one side, outlining every curve. 

	"She will be your guide. Badawi has spent her whole life on the 
desert, and I daresay she knows it better than me." From the way his 
guardians were devouring the girl with their eyes, Endymion knew that they 
were planning to get to know her better. He grinned, he pitied the poor girl.
His friends could be quite annoying in their pursuit of women.

			*	*	*	*

	Jadeite, Nephrite, Endymion, Badawi and a few other members of their
crew set out in a few hours, entered the desert very soon after.

	It was desolate. The sand was red, a copper color that reminded
Endymion of blood. The sun beat down mercilessly, causing sweat to bead their
foreheads as the camels underneath them grunted every few steps. Even the sky
had a red tinge to it, as if it was merely a reflection of the coppery sand
all around them. Endymion shuddered to think that more than eighty per cent 
of Mars was desert. Here, in the middle of nowhere, red sand stretching into
the horizon with no interruptions, he felt suddenly insignificant, a mere 
speck in the ocean of red.

	Nephrite and Jadeite didn't seem very interested in the desert, 
riding a few meters behind him and engaged in their own conversation, 
occasionally a deep laugh from one of them. Suddenly, Jadeite galloped past 
Endymion and caught up with Badawi some distance ahead. The prince watched 
him try to chat up the girl, who rode as if Jadeite wasn't there, the only 
visible response a subtly defiant lifting of the chin.

	"Come on, open up, let's see your pretty face," prompted Jadeite. 
Endymion saw her stiffening beneath her robes, and felt sorry for the poor
girl.

	"Leave her alone, Jadeite," he ordered in a commanding tone, "If she
is anywhere near as hot and bothered as I am, then she is in no state to be
dealing with you." Jadeite made a face at him but slowed down, pulling back
in step with Nephrite. Endymion and Badawi now rode together ahead of them.

	"I'm really sorry for him," Endymion finally spoke, "He is quite the
womanizer amongst us, but he means no harm, really. He can just be very 
annoying, sometimes." 

	The girl remained silent.

	"Don't you ever say anything?" Endymion demanded, a bit annoyed.

	"What would your majesty have me say?" The sudden voice startled him,
crystal clear like icicles, and he ignored the slightly defying tone of her
words. "Proud one are you?" he thought.

	"Well, if you won't say anything, at least let us see your face," he
spoke, "I'd like to get to know a person if I'm going to spend the next three
days with them." In her unnervingly quiet, fluid movements, she reached up
and pulled back the hood, letting loose a waterfall of black silk that caught
the sun and reflected it, shimmering an unnatural purple.

	The background noise became but a silence in his head as he stared,
breathless, at the girl.  Her steady eyes pierced into him, and for a 
fraction of a second, felt like he was laid completely naked in front of this 
woman. The crackle of electricity that passed between them was nearly audible 
in the air. Then she turned her head and looked down, and her face showed no 
emotion.
	
	For some time, they rode together. Conscious of her every movement
beside him, yet not looking at her, Endymion stared into the horizon. For a
moment, he felt ultra-sensitive. The sun hung blinding white high in the sky, 
and he thought he could hear a metallic ping as the light travelled at 
unimaginable speeds through space onto the red sand. Silence, heavy in the 
air. Heat. Height, far above the ground on the camel. The moment passed, and
he felt the ground tilt as dizziness claimed him. With a moan, he slouched
forward on his camel and leaned his forehead against the animal's neck to get
rid the dizziness.

	"Your highness?" the crystal voice asked anxiously, bringing her 
camel even closer to him.
	
	"Just call me Endymion," was the groggy, slurred reply. Badawi,
knowing every effect the desert could have on a person, pressed something
against his mouth.

	Water poured cool down his throat. "Better now, thank you," he 
said, nodding to clear his head, "Just got very hot for a moment."

	"It happens sometimes, don't worry," Badawi spoke, "It's only your
first time in the desert."

	"I sure hope it'll be my last. You don't seem to mind it, though." 
He had difficulty speaking. It was hard for him to concentrate on his words,
he was all too aware of the incredible face looking at him. "Why on earth am
I acting like a little boy?" he thought frustratedly, "It isn't like I 
haven't seen beautiful women before, I've had a quiet few of them..." A 
mental grin accompanied that train of thought, which was broken as he looked 
at her again, the desire to just stop and stare overwhelming everything else. 
Bit by bit, she opened up and talked about the desert. She told him about the 
events that had happened there. Of the people who lived on it. Of the nomads 
who travelled it, perched endlessly on their camels and setting up their 
large white tents when they pleased. He listened, interested in the words, 
and interested in their speaker, feeling strangely peaceful, then he told her 
about the earth, about the forests and mountains and seas, his heart already 
aching with longing. They advanced for a few hours, unaware of everything 
else as they spoke. 

	Sometime later, a wind began to blow. Slowly first. Then faster. On
the wind came grains of sand, stinging their skin for a second before being
blown away. In the distance, a twister of red sand formed. Every minute the
wind got faster. The sand got in their eyes and mouth. Winds made it harder
to advance.

	"It's a sandstorm." Her voice was quiet, blending in with the silence 
of the desert. "Turn left, there is a cave a little way from here." Indeed, 
up ahead in that direction was a small hill, also covered in red sand. The 
entrance of it was small, just enough place for the camels to get through, 
but they managed. As night fell, it got colder and colder, the howl of the 
wind outside accompanying the crackle of the fire they had made.

	Badawi had volunteered to sleep where the camels had been put, which
was a small cave joined to the first by a short, narrow tunnel. As the night
progressed and his friends fell asleep one by one, Endymion discreetly went
to join her.

	She was still awake as he entered the smaller cave, leaning against 
the rock and staring into the fire. For a moment, he didn't make his presence
known, content to look at her. Something in her eyes, fire reflected in them,
intense, oh so intense... 

	"Badawi?" he called, somewhat nervously. She turned, and for a second
purple blanks stared at him, fire swirling in their depths, then she blinked 
and her eyes turned back to normal.

	"Your highness should get some sleep. We are going to ride all day
tomorrow." 

	"I told you you could call me Endymion."

	"Yes, your hi- Endymion." 

	He sat next to her, not touching. They sat in silence, lost in their
own thoughts, until one of the camels snorted loudly in its sleep. Endymion
laughed, his deep laugh mingling with the crystal one of the girl. They
looked at each other, laughing. Their eyes met.

	Then he kissed her.

	She froze. Hot lips pressed against hers as he held her motionless 
against the rock with his body and he was kissing her fire crackled his body
moved against hers oh gods wind howled outside and grew louder in her ears 
she wanted him to stop no she wanted to be kissed arms somehow wound around
his neck her hands were cold but his were hot on her waist gods fire burned 
his mouth was still on her and-

	"Endymion?" 

	They sprang apart immediately, settling in innocent poses a good 
distance away from each other. The voice called his name again, then Nephrite
appeared in the tunnel, drowsily scratching his head.

	"Oh, so you were here." He yawned. "Just wanted to check up on you. 
Good night." The guardian sleepily trudged back to the other cave.

	Endymion tried to calm the frantic beating of his heart, hearing 
Badawi breathe deeply to do the same thing. The silence hung palpable in the
air until they looked at each other at the same time. Wild storm eyes gazed 
into purple steadiness until she opened her arms at him in a mute invitation, 
and they came together again.

			*	*	*	*	

	The next day, they rose early in the morning to continue. To the two
guardians and the few crew members, the journey was the ultimate bore, but
Endymion felt strangely detached in the desert, unaware of everything but the
silence, the heat, and her. Time seemed to flow as slowly as the movement of 
the sand dunes. 

	He talked with her, as he had the previous day, filing away
everything she said in a special compartment of his memory. Sometimes he
caught her blushing, and he knew she was thinking of last night. Yet when
their eyes met, the blush disappeared and the steadiness returned. And he 
also knew that behind the steadiness lay passion, before only passion for the
desert, now passion for him also, burning. 

	"Endymion?" she spoke, her face uncaring, yet the slight tremble of 
her voice betraying her nervousness, "You won't need me any more, after we
reach Ma'ir?"

	His heart twinged. How could he leave her? How could he bear leaving
her?

	"Come to Earth with me."

	"But how can I? What will I do?"

	"I'll marry you."

	Her eyes sparkled at his words, and she reached out to briefly touch
his hand. 
	
	"But is it appropriate for a prince to marry one such as me?"

	"No, but it doesn't matter. I can't leave you."

	Up ahead, they saw for the first time since they had set out a clump
of trees, and long white tents set up nearby.

	"It's a Bedouin tent!" Badawi spoke happily, "I thought they had gone
north by this time! We're lucky, we can stay here tonight."

	They approached the tents. It appeared that this was an oasis, for 
they could see the sparkle of water.

	"I must warn you," Badawi cautioned, "The Bedouins are a society that
operate on a totally democratic basis. To them, everyone is equal in the 
desert. You will be treated the same as me. Please do not try to force your
authority on them."

	A man dressed in the same coarse robes as Badawi stood waiting for 
them in front of the biggest tent. The travellers got off their camels and
introduced themselves.

	"...And I am Prince Endymion, heir of the Kingdom of the Blue World,"
finished Endymion.

	"Well met, travellers, and welcome." True to what Badawi had said,
the man did not bow or kneel to them, nor did he lower his eyes as he talked.

			*	*	*	*

	They spent the night with the Bedouins, sleeping on straw mats, or
listening contentedly to the peaceful sound of water splashing in little 
waves as the river nearby flowed. The night air brought with it the swishing
sound of the leaves through the half-open flap of the tent. "No wonder we 
say an oasis is like a heaven," thougth Endymion as he fell asleep.

	The next morning, he rose early. Outside the tent, Badawi was 
kneeling next to river, filling her waterbottles. Wordless, he kneeled next
to her to wash his face, then sat back, watching the water flow.

	"Where does this river go to?" 

	Screwing on the cap, Badawi sat back also, and answered his question.
"It is the river Faltama, one of our major rivers. The source is further east
in the desert, however it doesn't have enough water for agriculture. From 
here it flows to Ma'ir, we will follow it the rest of the way. My father told
me they have canals in the capital, and that the river gets so big you can
sail on it."

	"Haven't you seen the city yourself?"

	"No. I have only been until the gates, where the desert ends."

	"Well, you will see it with me when we get there today. I'm not 
letting you go back to your village until we are married."

	"Married?! You want to be married here?"

	"Of course. That way we don't have to worry about what my parents 
will say. Even if my marrying you causes problems, divorcing you would cause
a scandal."

	Seeing that their companions were ready, the conversation ended and
they set out again to complete the final stretch of the journey to their
destination. 

			*	*	*	*

	They were nearing the city. In fact, when Badawi looked back, she
always raged how near the city where they would have been out of danger the
event had occurred.

	The sand kept shifting, faster than usual, but none of them remarked
it, for they were engaged in their own conversations. Suddenly, two worms,
twice the size of a man, sprang forth from beneath the sand and attacked 
them. Then more emerged. Hard-pressed against the wild beasts, the men fought
nevertheless ferociously. Getting off their scared camels, which they 
shielded themselves behind, they hacked at the worms with their swords, and
the guardians let loose their magic, but there were too many of worms. Some
of them injured the men. Somehow, Badawi found herself seperated from 
Endymion. Hiding behind Zoisite, she looked around frantically to locate him.

	That's when she saw the sand worm. 

	It was only a few feet away from Endymion. Time seemed to slow down
as it suddenly streaked forward, its jaws open to bite through his neck or
his heart, while he fought against more worms, totally unheeding of it.

	"ENDYMION!!!!!" she screamed, and ran toward him. Instead of turning
towards the worm, he looked instead at her. 

	And the worm was nearly atop him. 

	"NOOOOO!!!" Her eyes suddenly became purple blanks as a symbol blazed
into life on her forehead.

	The worm was only a dozen centimeters away, and he still hadn't seen
it.

	Fire tore from her hands, and burned the worm to cinders. As he 
looked in shock, a metallic tiara formed on her forehead. Scared by the fire,
the rest of the worms scurried away. 

	She fainted.

	The man advanced warily, still in shock of what they had seen.

	"Gentlemen," Jadeite spoke, "I believe we have found the new Sailor 
Mars."

			*	*	*	*

Epilogue:

	One week later, Badawi, now Sailor Mars, bid goodbye to her family 
and went to the Moon. She didn't see Enydmion before leaving.

	Endymion went to Earth, and suffered, in silence. Nobody knew of 
their love, and nobody needed to know now, for how could he marry a senshi
and take her away from her duties? He thought often of her, and of that 
journey through the desert.

	Five months later, Endymion went for the first time to the Moon
Kingdom. He immediately fell in love with Serenity. 

	Mars loved him, but she knew it couldn't be, and she tried to forget.

	And that's the story of Mars and Earth.

	However that's not the end, for the story of Mars and Earth continued
in another lifetime.

	But that's already been told.

			*	*	*	*	

	
Author's notes:

Phew. 

The people of the desert in this fic were inspired by some research on the 
Bedouins, a tribe of nomadic Arabs who live notably in deserts. Badawi is the
Arabic word for Bedouin, it means "dweller in the desert".

Apparently, the yahoo account I use to post to the FFML completely messes up
my formatting. I am very sorry for this and will try to use another account
next time. Meanwhile, you can ask me for the nicely formatted version (I'll 
have to send it as an attachment) or you can check out the Sailor Moon 
Romance archive, where you can also find other works from my "Stories of 
Life" and the other series I'm working on entitled "After School". 	

As always, thanks to everyone who has e-mailed me about previous stories. You
have no idea how much it helps. Please don't hesitate to C&C this story. My
e-mail address is:
breaker@technologist.com

Until next time,
Ajax
1.12.98