The Star of Night | MIYAKO

act twenty-six { from tear to crystal: the moon drops remember, part two }

CHIBA MIYAKO-TSUKINO

It was my fault this all started. If only I had listened to my parents warnings--to never let Mako leave the palace, then no one in my family would be...be so hurt. 

Everything happened so fast. Miya's mind was disconnected from her body the moment the world went black. Neo-Queen Serenity ran out of the palace so fast, she was a blur of white in the dark. In her daze of confusion and fear, Miya partly registered the scolding she got from her mother. She was more surprised she ignored the man responsible behind her. It was like he was never there and she could care less if it meant she could scold her children more. 

She then sent us off to find our father, as if she had an errand to do and needed his help. I still remember what she told us before we ran. 

"As long as the Moon shines." She always said that.

Under the man's purple glare, Serenity palmed a single crystal tear and gave it to Miya. The instructions were simple: once they make it inside, give it to their father. A crystal tear. No one outside of the royal family would know that the queen of Neo-Tōkyō cries, let alone cries crystals. Once a tear rolls off her face, it becomes a crystal that she likes to collect. It reminds her of the emotions she has and the weight she carries. 

From what I last remember, our mother hadn't cried since Mako learned to manage his swordsmanship classes when he was 500-years-old. 

Miya credits her nerves or adrenaline, but as she and Mako ran for their lives against the man's laughs and taunts, she swore she could hear their mother's prayer. Whenever the queen she was nervous anything, be it her children's exams or when father went out for surveys and troop training, she prayed. They were always quick yet heartfelt and sweet. 

The prayers she said that night were the most sorrowful words I've ever heard in my life. 

"O Moon, powerful and great. May you watch over your Queen this night as I pray to you."

"Grant me powers and protections of the Legendary Silver Crystal that was bestowed to I, your princess once and your queen for centuries to come. Give me divine sight to your whole self. Save me, I beg you." 

Then there was silence. I don't remember getting back home or feeling my father's arms around me. All I could feel was the crystal tear in my hands and the weight of something horrible against me. 

ss

What felt like the pass of crippling hours shattered above Endymion's head. From the confines of the Control Room, reports across the monitors tracked the increasing amounts of losses of his soldiers. Soldiers were killed before they even had a chance. The number of civilian casualties, destruction, and the spread of black crystals was too much for him to track. 

"Papa! Papa! Papa, we're here!" The sound of hope rang through the king's ears 

Miya and Mako bust through the doors of Crystal Palace with ragged breathes and dirtied clothes. They barreled on in even after tackling their father to the ground. Chibiusa (who managed to crawl back into the palace before the fighting reached the palace doorsteps) watched them and the door, waiting for the queen to return. 

"You two had your mother and I incredibly worried." The twins caught their breath in a daze, their hands still glued together. "Where is your mother?" 

Where one child was lost in her thoughts, the other pointed out the door. Endymion was stopped by a small hand before he could take a step to see the destruction he assumed lay outside his home.