Author's Note: If you wish to comment on my story, either positively or negatively, don't hesitate to contact me at treetop@voicenet.com. Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation and DIC. All references to Vulcan are the province of Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Studios. So, please, don't sue me because I haven't any money. I do this strictly for entertainment purposes, not copyright infringement.
Across The Millennia
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Part Five: Prism of the Past - Beginnings
Rating: PG-13
The Moon: a thousand years ago....
Despite being from totally different backgrounds, different philosophies and different worlds, Serena, Princess of the Moon Kingdom and T'alya, a daughter of the planet Vulcan quickly became inseparable.
For Serena, T'alya was just the sort of friend she always hoped for: kind, understanding and honest. Despite T'alya's emotional detachment, Serena considered it her duty to get the Vulcan girl to open up as she saw that T'alya was caring and warmhearted once Serena got past her defenses. Serena treasured every single minute she spent with T'alya, and every night before bed, she thanked God for her friend. T'alya had successfully filled that yawning emptiness in Serena's heart and banished her pain filled solitude.
As for T'alya, even though she could not bring herself to admit it, she found Serena to be delightful. T'alya was fascinated at how much Serena enjoyed life, and how her newfound friend so freely displayed her emotions for all to see. At first, T'alya was envious of Serena because of her openness, but then discovered that being with Serena helped develop her feelings. With each passing day, T'alya was grateful that Serena was now an integral part of her life. T'alya felt fulfilled, at peace, and Serena was the reason why.
The girls did almost everything together. From taking long walks in the gardens, enjoying music as T'alya was an accomplished pianist and Serena a surprisingly good singer to learning all they could with their mothers about the planets of the Milky Way system and it's peoples. And at night, the girls would get together in Serena's bedroom and talk, sometime for hours on end. The girls regularly bared their innermost feelings and found the experience refreshing and stimulating while strengthening their special bond.
In the end, two lonely souls had found each other, and knew they would never part.
One month into her stay which T'alya was enjoying more and more, she joined Serena in the royal garden one afternoon as her friend boasted of a surprise she had for her.
"Am I properly attired for the occasion you mentioned at breakfast?" T'alya asked Serena.
Serena, gazing at T'alya, garbed in a knee length, form fitting, silk mandarin dress in rich purple with gold trim nodded appreciatively and smiled at her. "Uh-huh. You look gorgeous, Tal. You're even wearing heels. I thought you hated them."
T'alya glanced down at the spike heeled satin pumps she wore, dyed to match her dress and shrugged slightly. "Hate? Not at all, Serena. I was merely frustrated because I had trouble walking in such shoes initially. Now, I actually enjoy wearing them because of how they accentuate my legs. Might I say you look quite stunning."
Serena, wearing a strapless, baby blue gown with a three tiered skirt and matching opera length gloves giggled and did a little pirouette. "Thanks. I wanted to look my best for when my prince arrives."
"Prince? You mean Prince Darien from Earth?"
Serena snapped her fingers and pouted. "Darn! I gave away the surprise!" But her face quickly lit up from an ear to ear grin. "Yes! He's due to arrive after being away on a diplomatic mission to the outer planets of the system for the last several weeks. I can't wait for you to meet him! He's absolutely wonderful!"
T'alya tried to repress a smile of her own but only partially succeeded. Since T'alya arrived on the Moon, it was hard for her not to smile and feel good when she was with Serena as her friend's bright and cheerful spirit was highly infectious. "If you say he is, then l am certain I will not be disappointed."
From the balcony of a private den two stories above, a pair of dark, stormy eyes regarded Serena and T'alya with frustration, anger....and white hot jealousy. Princess Mars, dressed in her Guardian uniform scowled as she intently watched the girls chatting below. A single thought ran roughshod through her mind:
That should be me with Serena! I should be her friend! Not that stone faced, pointy eared freak!
"Rei? What are you looking at?" asked Princess Venus, walking up to her teammate. Like Mars, Venus was garbed in her uniform.
"Nothing!" Mars snapped, quickly turning away from the balcony.
Unconvinced, Venus walked up to the balcony and looked down into the courtyard. "Uh-huh. Didn't think you were the type to spy. You don't have the patience for it. You're jealous of T'alya, aren't you?"
"Jealous? Are you insane? What gave you that idiotic idea?"
"Oh, only that highly pissed off look on your face, which, right now is redder than your skirt," Venus replied. "It's hardly a secret among the others that you've had a serious mad on for T'alya ever since she arrived here and became cozy with the Princess. What's wrong? Upset because Serena befriended her?"
"Leave it alone, Minako! I don't want to talk about it!" Mars snarled.
With a sigh, Venus walked up to Mars and put an arm around the brunette's shoulders. "You don't have to hold it in, Rei. Not with me. I know you too well. We all know how much you love Serena and wanted so desperately to be her friend. Hell, we all do. She's so very special to us. Not just because she's the Princess, but because she's Serena."
Mars felt tears sting her eyes while her throat tightened. "It's not fair, Mina! From the day I arrived here, all I've ever wanted was Serena's friendship! She means everything to me! Yet there's a barrier between us that I'll never be able to break, no matter what I do! And now, that....bitch has taken Serena away from me! I hate her, Mina! I hate her!"
Venus gently spun Mars around and saw the tears pouring down her friend's face. The terrible anguish in Mars' eyes was all too plain for Venus to see and it wrenched at her heart.
"Hey, hey! Don't go there," she said, tenderly drying Mars' tears. "Don't let hate corrupt the goodness in your heart, Rei. You know how incredibly lonely Serena's been, not being able to associate with anyone, including us because she's the Queen's successor. Imagine how hard that's been on her.
"But, that's all changed now, and it's definitely a change for the better. I've never seen Serena happier than she is right now. Not even when she's with Prince Darien. T'alya's the best thing that's ever happened to Serena. Be happy for her, Rei. For me. Please."
Mars sighed, then nodded. "Okay. I'll try."
With a smile, Venus wrapped her arms around Mars' waist and pulled her close. "That's my girl. Besides, you still have the rest of us to love. You still have me."
Mars nodded, then hugged Venus tight. Of all the Guardians, Mars felt closest to the blond beauty. In her own way, Mars loved Venus deeply. "It's just that this is so hard on me, knowing I can never be close to Serena. Oh, Mina! Sometimes, it hurts so much, I just want to die!"
"I know, honey, I know," said Venus, softly stroking Mars' hair. "Not a day passes when I don't feel the exact same way. But you'll overcome it. You're much too strong to let this cripple you. I won't let that happen."
Mars gazed affectionately at her teammate. "Thanks, Mina. I really needed that. I'm glad you're here for me."
"Anything for a friend. You know I care about you," said Venus. She then she broke the embrace and gave Mars a hard stare. "Look, we can cry like wussies about this later. Right now, we've gotta get down to the gym for today's training session before Luna pitches a royal fit!"
"And then some! C'mon!" said Mars. With more than a small bit of effort, Mars put Serena and T'alya out of her mind. Taking Venus' hand in hers, the girls left the den. Mars hoped that working up a good sweat with the others would soothe her troubled, aching heart. But, she had her doubts.
"Darien! Welcome back!" cried Serena, rushing into the arms of her prince and planting a long, passionate kiss on his lips. T'alya, standing a few feet away meekly observed the duo. She felt a warmth blossom in her cheeks as she watched them.
"It's so good to see you, my darling," said Darien once he and Serena broke liplock. "I had missed you so much while I was away. Those few weeks apart from you felt like years!"
"I know how you feel. It was torture on me as well," said Serena. The couple then kissed again. Serena then waved a hand at T'alya. "Darien, I want you to meet my very special friend I told you about in our communications. This is Princess T'alya of Vulcan."
T'alya cocked an eyebrow at Serena calling her 'princess', something she didn't at all expect. She took in Serena's paramour and was suitably impressed with what she saw. Prince Darien was tall, dark haired and exceptionally handsome in his navy blue military styled uniform, spit polished black boots, a cloak lined in red with a scabbarded sword on his left hip. Darien walked up to T'alya, smiled and bowed before her. Then he surprised her by giving T'alya the Vulcan salute.
"Welcome to the Milky Way galaxy, and to the Moon, Princess T'alya. It is a pleasure to have you among us," he said. "Your beauty is a delight to the senses. May you live long and prosper."
"Thank you, Prince Darien," said T'alya, returning the salute. "I am truly honored to have been so warmly greeted. You do me justice with your courtesy."
Darien bowed again. "I aim to please. I spent my idle hours studying as much as I could about your planet and your people when Serena told me about you. Vulcan has such a rich and proud heritage. I hope we can learn from you while you learn from us."
T'alya nodded. "That would be a most desirable goal, Prince."
"Please, call me Darien. Like Serena, I hate formality."
"Only if you call me T'alya. I have never been one for honorifics."
Serena meanwhile was trying to do the salute but found it difficult. "How do you two manage that salute? It hurts more than the corset I'm wearing!"
Darien laughed and took Serena into his strong arms. "Practice, sweetheart. Practice."
"Serena told me that you had been away on a diplomatic assignment. Might I ask what it was all about?" asked a curious T'alya.
"Well, as a ruling member of the Milky Way Council, I was charged with establishing crucial land lease arrangements on Uranus and Neptune," Darien explained. "The negotiations were touch and go for awhile, but I managed to work out a suitable arrangement with their governments. In fact, Serena, as part of that arrangement, you'll soon be gaining two new members for the Guard. Haruka Ten'oh from Uranus and Michiru Kai'oh from Neptune have formally agreed to join the team in three month's time."
"That's wonderful, Darien! You're a born diplomat!" said Serena happily.
Darien chuckled, partly from embarrassment. "I wouldn't go that far, darling. I do as best I can, but I don't think I could make a career out of that like, say, Ambassador T'Lar. T'alya, if you don't mind my asking, do you plan to follow in your mother's footsteps?"
T'alya thought about Darien's question for a moment before answering him. "I am not sure that I want to. My field of expertise is history, primarily, Archaeology. I have always been fascinated with uncovering and studying the past. In fact, would it be possible to journey to Earth some time in the future? I understand that the region you call the Middle East is said to be a veritable treasure house of archaeological importance."
"I don't see why not," Darien replied. "And you're right. A great many ancient civilizations called the Middle East home. I'll see what I can do about setting up a trip to Earth and arranging a private dig for you. A member of our staff of Science, Beryl Darkholme is a renowned Historian who does a lot of digging. I think the two of you would hit if off nicely."
T'alya nodded. "That would be most kind. And what of you? What do you aspire to be?"
"Besides taking Serena as my bride one day, I'd like to be a doctor," said Darien. "Even though I've been mostly a warrior and a statesman, I'd love nothing more than to turn my sword into a plowshare and become a healer."
"A most noble occupation. I hope you will succeed," said T'alya.
"Me too. It'll be good to have a doctor in the house once we're married," joked Serena. "That'll save on medical bills and whatnot!"
"You're such a scheming little minx. That's what I love so much about you," said a grinning Darien who then kissed Serena on her pert, button nose. "Now, I know this is not going to sound too terribly romantic, but I'm starved. I don't suppose there's anything to eat around this dump?"
"Oh, I think I can get the chefs to scrounge up some week old leftovers for you," said Serena with a smirk. "Want to come along, Tal?"
"That is quite alright, Serena. I imagine the two of you would appreciate some time alone after being apart for so long. I will see you at dinner later. It was a pleasure to meet you, Darien."
"The pleasure was all mine, T'alya." Darien clasped T'alya's hand and kissed it. Before T'alya could control herself, she blushed. "I'm glad you're Serena's friend. I hope that will never change."
"I echo those sentiments. Serena is very special to me. So long."
Watching Serena and Darien walk away arm in arm, T'alya discovered she was highly envious of her friend and the handsome young man she was in love with. T'alya never had a soulmate while on Vulcan, something that, thanks to her emotions, only heightened the loneliness she felt. Just thinking about that brought a sharp ache to T'alya's heart, a familiar pain she had felt many times before and could not ignore.
Love. Romance. Togetherness. The special bond that exists between a man and a woman. Is it possible for a Vulcan to experience these things as humans do, she wondered, her eyes filling up. These are the times when I wish I was not burdened with emotions, otherwise I would not hurt as much as I do right now. Will I ever be able to enjoy the things Serena does?
As T'alya pondered that question, sadness over not having a soulmate conflicted with anger for feeling the way she did. Anger won out in the end. It was not dignified for a Vulcan to behave in such a ridiculous manner, she thought. Yet, being governed as she was by her emotions, she couldn't help but feel the way she did. That frustrated her. More than ever, T'alya realized she would need Serena's continued help in understanding the power of her feelings, otherwise, she would never be whole.
Entering the castle, T'alya decided to go to the library to read when she heard shouts and what sounded like the discharge of energy from down the hall. Curious, she headed in the direction of the sounds. A couple of minutes later, T'alya found herself before a pair of doors, a sign on the wall beside the doors read: COMBAT SIMULATION CHAMBER: OBSERVATION DECK. Wondering what it was about, T'alya pushed open the doors to investigate.
Once inside, she found herself in an enclosed balcony, a thick, glass partition sealing off the balcony from a huge space below. The Queen's familiars, Luna and Artemis sat before what looked like a control panel as they gazed into the space below. T'alya could hear the shouts and the discharges, most notably, the sharp crackle of lightning and the roar of flames quite clearly. With the familiars unaware of her presence, T'alya crept up behind them and gazed down into the space. What she saw brought an involuntary gasp from her lips, giving her away. The cats spun around when they heard her.
"Princess T'alya! We didn't know you were here!" said a startled Luna.
"I apologize for the intrusion. I was on my way to the library when I heard noises. Is that the Queen's Guard?" T'alya asked.
Artemis nodded. "Yes. It's their daily training session. We drill them daily so they'll remain in peak physical condition while teaching them to be proficient in the use of their powers."
"I was not aware they possessed such incredible abilities," said T'alya, gazing down into the space.
"Yes. They certainly are impressive," said Luna.
What T'alya saw were the four girls who composed the Royal Guard, dressed in their uniforms as Guardians: sailor styled tunics with bows in front and back, short, pleated skirts and tiaras on their foreheads in battle against large, lumbering, but dangerous looking robots. The girl in blue, Mercury, unleashed a torrent of crystal clear bubbles that froze one robot dead in its tracks, sheathing it in solid ice. The girl in red, Mars, leaped a good fifteen over the head of another machine that missed her with a laser blast. Deftly landing on her feet, Mars pointed her index fingers at the robot and a ball of flame erupted from her hands, destroying the machine. The tall, muscular girl in green, Jupiter ducked under the flailing arm of a robot and drove a fist into its midsection, knocking it off its feet. T'alya then saw lightning shoot down, crackle about Jupiter's body before she hurled it at the robot which exploded. The fourth girl, garbed in orange, Venus, dodged laser blasts from two machines with all the elegant, breathtaking grace before destroying them both with an energy beam fired from her fingertips. The battle was over in seconds. T'alya was suitably impressed.
"Excellent. Twenty seven seconds. You've eclipsed your previous best time by two full seconds," said Luna into a microphone. "Take ten while the chamber reconfigures for the agility drill."
The girls smiled and patted each other on the back. It was then that Mars looked up and saw T'alya in the control booth with the familiars. An angry scowl creased her sweat drenched face and she rushed out of the chamber, the others, confused, followed her. Moments later, Mars stormed into the booth and confronted T'alya.
"What the hell are you doing here? This is a restricted area!"
"As I told Luna, I heard the sounds of shouts and fighting, so I decided to investigate," T'alya explained. "I was not aware this was a restricted area. I apologize for having intruded."
"Don't sweat it, Princess. No one bothers us anyway. Mars' lovable disposition tends to scare off gawkers," said Jupiter, giving T'alya a kind smile. The tall Guardian took off her soiled right glove and offered T'alya her hand. "You've been here a month and we haven't gotten around to introducing ourselves. My name's Makoto, but everyone calls me Mako."
T'alya accepted Jupiter's hand and, not unexpectedly, got a very firm and strong handshake. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Mercury was next to extend a hand to T'alya. "Hello. My name is Ami. It's very nice to meet you."
Then Venus. "Hi! I'm Minako. Mina for short. Welcome aboard."
Mars glared at T'alya, not bothering to hide the anger and disgust she felt towards the newcomer. For a moment, there was a strained silence before it was broken by the dark haired girl. "Queen Serenity tells us we're not supposed to fraternize with royalty. So I won't. I've had enough playtime for today." And with that, Mars spun on her heel and abruptly stomped out of the booth, leaving the others redfaced from shame.
"I'm terribly sorry about that, Princess," said a crestfallen Luna. "Mars can be ill-tempered and difficult to get along with at times, but she's never been so blatantly rude."
"You can say that again, Luna!" snarled Jupiter, angry at Mars' actions. "You want me to drag her sorry butt back here to apologize?"
"No. That will not be necessary. If Mars does not wish to befriend me, that is her perogative," said T'alya, long used to being snubbed by others. That happened a lot to her on Vulcan, and while it didn't ease the pain of rejection, it was commonplace to her. Still, she couldn't stop the hurt from briefly showing on her face. "I will not force myself upon her. If you will excuse me, I shall bother you no longer." And with that, the Vulcan girl left the booth.
T'alya, her mood ruined by the encounter with Mars, decided to retire to her chamber to meditate. She couldn't understand why Mars was so hostile towards her. It was a mystery, and mysteries frustrated her.
Lost in thought, T'alya almost failed to notice the tall, smug and commanding presence of Administrator Stefan as he and four people, three men and a woman approached her. Her attention sharpening, T'alya closely observed the four people, all garbed in overalls and workboots who followed behind Stefan. The first man was tall, gaunt and dark skinned, the second, shorter, swarthy with dark hair, the third was broad shouldered with stringy blond hair while the woman was attractive with longish red hair. The expressions on the faces of all four were grim, furtive, almost dangerous. Stefan noticed T'alya staring at his companions and bowed in passing.
"Good afternoon, Princess. A lovely day, is it not?" the man asked.
"It is indeed, Administrator," T'alya replied.
The eyes of T'alya and Stefan locked for only an instant, but in that instant, the Vulcan girl sensed a....wrongness about Queen Serenity's chief assistant. Yet, she wasn't sure what that feeling truly was. Stefan's eyes narrowed as he returned T'alya's stare, as if he somehow knew the girl suspected was out of place about him. Then, the instant passed and the sensation she felt vanished. T'alya returned her gaze forward and continued on her way. With a frown creasing her face, T'alya filed away the encounter for future reference. She had an uneasy feeling about Stefan and his companions, a feeling that troubled her much more than Mars' petulance.
"Damn Rei! That was totally uncalled for!" growled Jupiter once T'alya was gone. "Emotionless or not, T'alya looked like she was about to cry! I could strangle Mars for that!"
"I can't understand why Rei behaved the way she did," said Mercury.
"I can, guys," said a somber Venus. "Rei will kill me for talking behind her back, but the truth is she's resentful of T'alya for befriending Serena when she wasn't allowed to. Rei's really hurting because she's been denied Serena's friendship, so she's lashing back at T'alya who's gotten it instead."
"That's no excuse for Rei being such a bitch! In case you haven't noticed, Mina, we're all in the same leaky boat!" Jupiter snapped back. "Our job is to protect Serena, to the death if necessary, yet we can never be close to her! You think that doesn't hurt us too? Believe me, Rei doesn't have the monopoly on grief around here!"
Mercury nodded. "I concur. While it's an honor to be a member of the Royal Guard, there are times when I feel it's nowhere near enough to satisfy my spirit. My life would be greatly enriched if I had Serena for a friend. We all love her, yet the knowledge that we can only be her bodyguards makes for a rather....uncomfortable existence."
"I know! I know!" Venus grumbled. "At least we've come to grips with that realization. Rei hasn't, and probably never will. She loves Serena too much think straight."
Luna sighed. "If you're right, Mina, then this could spell trouble. Especially since T'alya has become a permanent resident here with her mother. We'll have to keep tabs on this situation as it develops."
"I agree, Luna," said a grim faced Artemis. "If Rei's attitude towards T'alya starts to affect her performance with the Guard, we might have to recommend to Queen Serenity that she be replaced."
The girls gasped from shock, stunned from what they heard.
"You can't be serious!" cried Jupiter. "Sure, Mars is a pain in the ass, but she's one of us! It wouldn't be fair to kick her off the team!"
"Mako's right! And considering how deeply Rei feels about Serena, sending her home would be a death sentence!" Venus added. "Trust me, guys, she'd rather die than leave Serena!"
"We know this! That's why Artemis and I insisted on a strict non-fraternization policy for the Guard, to prevent situations like this from happening," Luna pointed out. "It would be impossible for you to concentrate on protecting the Queen and Princess if you're too conflicted or distressed to properly do your job."
"As cold as this sounds, Luna and I can't afford to worry, or care about your feelings. The Royal Family must come first," Artemis said sternly. "This is no idle threat, girls, if you can't perform your duties for which you had been handpicked and trained to do, we won't hesitate to replace any of you. Including Rei. Is that clear?"
There was a long, heavy silence before the girls, properly chastised replied to the familiars.
"Yeah," Jupiter growled between clenched teeth.
"Sure," muttered Venus, her head down.
"Yes, I understand as well. But I wish to make a statement," said Mercury, a look of deep anger on her normally placid face.
"Luna, Artemis, we're fully aware of our responsibilities, and we take them quite seriously. But, we aren't robots, so don't treat us as such. I personally resent that. We're flesh and blood people. People with desires, passions, hopes and dreams. Just because we all have feelings for Serena doesn't mean we've shirked our duty to protect her," said the blue haired Guardian, her voice sharp. "If anything, our love for the Princess has strengthened us, motivated us to work even harder to keep her and the Queen safe from harm. Emotions aren't a handicap for us; they're our greatest advantage. Perhaps you should take that into consideration before you wonder whether or not we can still do our job."
Now it was Luna and Artemis who were stunned into silence from Mercury's words.
"If you'll excuse us, we're going back to work. We still have to finish our training for today," said Mercury. And with that, she and the others, their heads held high, a look of righteousness in their eyes left the booth.
"I don't know about you, Artemis, but I feel just a little ashamed of myself," Luna said quietly. "Ami's right. We have been treating the girls more like machines than people. And it's not as if we didn't anticipate they'd become fond of Serena. We knew that would happen almost from the day they arrived. Perhaps we were too harsh with them."
"Maybe you're right, Luna. I'll apologize to them later," said a dour Artemis. "At the risk of sounding two-faced after what I had said, I can't deny that I like the girls, even Rei. I hope we'll never have to replace any of them. Mako's right. They've become quite a team."
Luna shook her head. "No, Artemis. They're much more than that. They've become friends. And we have Serena to thank for that. I pray nothing ever happens to her."
Mars was a steaming cauldron of emotions as she stormed into her private quarters and slammed the door shut behind her. She whipped off her crimson pumps and threw them at a large, delicate glass sculpture of her home planet on a nearby stand, shattering it.
The princess from the Red Planet was angry. Angry at the familiars for their pomposity, angry at the girls for being nothing more than trained pets who jump through hoops for Luna and Artemis, and, most of all, she was angry at herself for behaving like a juvenile. Even worse, she acted like someone who had been jilted, spurned, rejected. That made her think about T'alya, the Vulcan girl who gained what Mars had wanted from the day she arrived on the Moon but could never have: Serena's friendship.
Why T'alya? Why couldn't it have been me?
Sitting down on her bed, Mars tried to sort out her tumultuous feelings which threatened to strangle her. Admittedly, Mars was never the model for decorum among the Guard, what with her ferocious temper and annoying habit of speaking her mind whenever it suited her. But today was the one time when Mars wished she had employed her wisdom instead of her mouth. Yet, the mere sight of the Vulcan girl fanned the flames of wrath within Mars. Wrath that had been fueled entirely by her jealousy.
Feeling dirty, both inside and out, Mars stripped off her uniform and padded into the bathroom for a badly needed shower. Under a jet of water that pelted and stung her skin, Mars tried to wipe away both the sweat on her body and the guilt in her heart. She knew it was wrong to blame T'alya for her troubles. It wasn't the Vulcan girl's fault that Mars could never be close to Serena for fear of emotion clouding her judgement which she needed to perform her job as a trusted member of the Guard.
I've made T'alya a scapegoat for my problems, and that's not fair, Mars thought glumly. She only wanted to be cordial to me, and I practically spit in her face. And all because of some stupid fixation I have for Serena. I'm going to have to apologize to T'alya. I have to regain the honor I soiled by my actions.
After finishing her shower, Mars, wrapped in a large, thick towel, her anger washed away padded back into the living area and sat back down on the bed. She glanced to her right at her nightstand on which sat a framed photograph of a smiling Serena while on a trip to Earth. Mars sighed. No one, not even Venus whom she took into her trust as her partner knew the picture which Mars secretly took five months ago existed. With a trembling hand, Mars picked up the frame and stared at it, idly tracing an outline of Serena's head with a fingernail. As she did, tears filled her eyes.
"Dammit, Serena! Why did I have to meet you? What is it about you that I can't get out of my head? Or my heart?" Mars whispered. Tears streamed from her eyes and spattered on the glass enclosed picture. "If you only knew how much I care about you. How much I love you! If I died tomorrow, you'd never know what my true feelings really were for you! And yet, I'm not allowed to reveal them! Why, God? Why must I suffer like this? Answer me! WHY?"
Mars got no answer to her anguished pleas. Clutching the frame tightly to her chest, she buried her face in her pillow and cried her heart out.
That night when Serena and T'alya got together in the former's bedroom for their nightly chat, one thought in particular was prominently on the mind of the Vulcan girl.
"Serena? What is it like to be in love?" she asked.
Serena, lounging next to T'alya on her bed in a flowing, ivory nightgown sighed wistfully. "Tal, it's the most wonderful, the most beautiful feeling in the world. Love gives you a warm, blissful sensation in your heart that spreads throughout your entire body. Being in love makes you happy beyond compare, especially when you know that you are loved in return. There's no other feeling in the world that even comes close. Why do you ask?"
T'alya, sitting cross-legged on the bed, garbed in red silk pajamas thought over Serena's words before she replied. "After seeing you with Prince Darien, I felt....envious because I had never experienced love before. I did not even have a working concept of the emotion, nor could I understand the power love holds sway over people. Not having loved anyone before, it makes me feel inadaquate....empty inside. Just like you told me on the day we first met."
Serena, hearing the sorrow in T'alya's voice sat up, took the Vulcan girl's hand in hers and squeezed it. "I'm sorry I said that. I didn't think those words would cause you pain. I never want to hurt you, or see you hurt." Serena then paused to stare deep into T'alya's eyes. "You see, Tal, I love you."
T'alya's eyes widened. "You....love me? But, I don't understand. I thought those kind of feelings were reserved only for Darien."
Serena giggled. "I'm afraid you've got it all wrong. Love can be expressed in many different ways. There's love for parents and family, love for someone of the opposite sex, and love for a friend. That explains why I care so much about you. I've even come to think of you as my sister, you're that close to me. My mother nutures me, Darien holds my heart, and you are my companion. Without the three of you, I couldn't exist."
T'alya felt her throat tighten and tears glistened in her eyes as she stared at Serena. "I....I have never felt this way before. I can feel that warmth you mentioned. It is so powerful," T'alya paused and did something that made Serena gasp. She smiled. It was warm, bright and sincere. "Now I understand what this emotion is all about. Serena....I love you very much."
Serena burst into tears and hugged T'alya tight. She finally broke through T'alya's defenses and brought out the humanity she always knew existed within the heart of the Vulcan girl. "Oh, Tal! I've longed to hear you say those words to me! You're the absolute best friend a girl could have!"
"The feeling is mutual. Serena," said T'alya. Tears escaped from her eyes as she returned Serena's embrace and enjoyed how good it felt. After breaking the embrace, T'alya gave Serena a deep gaze. "There is something I would like to do for you. For us. As you know, Vulcans are possessed of telepathic powers, most of which usually do not manifest themselves until we are in our adult years. I, however am the rare exception in that my abilities developed earlier than the norm."
Serena was curious. "What is it do you want to do?"
"I propose a mind meld, a joining, a sharing of consciousness. Our katras---Vulcan for living spirit, soul, in your language---would become as one in an unbreakable telepathic bond. All our thoughts, everything that we have been, everything that we are now would become an open book to the other. A part of me would reside in you while a part of you will dwell in me. But, it is your choice, Serena. I will not force this upon you."
Serena wasted no time making up her mind. "Yes, Tal! Yes! I want to join my mind with yours. You're my best friend. I want us to always be together."
T'alya smiled again, happy to know Serena was willing to do this for her. For them. Serena crossed her legs and sat directly in front of T'alya. Her heart was pounding from anticipation.
"There may be a moment of discomfort and disorientation as I establish the meld," said T'alya, placing her fingertips on the sides of Serena's head.
Serena nodded. "I understand. Go ahead, Tal. I trust you. With my life."
And, with that, T'alya closed her eyes and concentrated.
Next: Prism of the Past - Revelations