Yume wrote a Sailor Moon AU...with vampires?

[heavenly_pearl]

I mentioned in my last entry that there was a new fic idea I was contemplating that was pretty surprising coming from me. Now that the contest at sailormoonland  is finished, I can finally talk about it.

The contest in question was to write up to 2,000 words of a Sailor Moon AU, with the catch that you could only chose from a set of certain "What if?" scenarios: mirror-verse, gender-bender, steampunk, zombies, mecha/space, western, vampires, and high fantasy. Anybody who knows me knows that I am generally not a fan of alternate universes and that vampires usually squick the heck out of me, but since it was for a contest, I put aside my general dislike of the two to write a Helios/Chibi-Usa vampire AU story...and discovered that I actually really liked what I had written. (Probably didn't hurt that it was a Helios/Chibi-Usa story. *laughs*) In fact, I like it so much that I now kind of what to expand it into a longer story. The entry works fine as is, but because of the 2,000 word limit, I had to cut a lot of the ideas I had for it.

Here's the entry as entered into the contest (where it placed third). FYI: The nuns are the Maenads.

Father Helios pulled his cloak tight around his body, his breath visible in the freezing air. He would be glad to finally return home. It was a miserable night, and he longed for nothing more than to sit down in front of a roaring fire with a bowl of Sister Eos’ delicious stew.

“We’re almost there, Peg,” he assured his white steed, knowing the horse was tired after the long trip to town. “Just hold on a little -- Whoa!” Helios pulled on the reins, signaling Pegasus to halt, and dismounted.

Up ahead, he could just barely make out the shape of somebody collapsed on the side of the road. Helios ran over and dropped to his knees, taking the unconscious woman into his arms. “Miss?” He lightly shook her, fearing the worse as there was no sign that she was still breathing. “Young maiden?”

The maiden’s eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes that were as crimson as fresh blood. They were a striking contrast against her pale skin, which seemed to almost glow in the moonlight. Helios, noticing that she was wearing only a thin evening gown of the latest fashion and a pair of opera gloves, shrugged off his cloak and wrapped it around her bared shoulders.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m…fine…” She seemed dazed and confused.

“Can you stand?” Helios helped her get back to her feet, wondering what a high society girl like her was doing in the middle of nowhere, dressed like that in a snowstorm. Had she been attacked, then dumped to die? “My house is only a half-mile away,” he said. “I’ll take you there.”

“No, I couldn’t…”

“Nonsense. This storm is going to get worse before it gets better. I insist you at least stay the night.”

The woman leaned up against him, which Helios took as a sign of acceptance. He led her back to Pegasus and helped her mount the horse, then took the seat behind her, thinking his body heat might help warm her. Her skin was as cold as ice.

“You’re freezing,” the maiden said, noticing his shivers a few minutes later. “Please, take your cloak back. I don’t need it.”

He shook his head. “Your garb is much flimsier than mine, and you’ve probably been out here for hours. You must be chilled to the bone.”

“But --”

“Keep it. We’re almost there anyway.” He held up his lamp toward the church up ahead, Elysion Abbey.

“Y-You live there? In the church?”

“Yes, I’m the parish priest.” She must not have noticed his collar in the darkness. “Is something wrong?”

“I can’t -- I’m not welcome.”

“All of God’s children are welcome in His house, even those who others might judge unworthy. There’s no reason to be afraid.”

“Stop!” She yanked the reins out of his hands and brought Pegasus to a halt. “I-I can’t!” she cried, dismounting the horse. “Please, don’t make me!”

“It’s okay, maiden,” he said, alarmed by the look of fear in her eyes. What had she done to make her feel so ashamed that she couldn’t even bear the thought of entering a church? “We needn’t enter the church itself if you would rather not. I’ll take you to the rectory, where I live.” Helios offered his hand. “Please stay with me. My conscience won’t allow me to let you run off in this weather alone. Once the storm passes, I‘ll take you home.”

“I…have no home,” she whispered in a mournful voice. “Not anymore.”

After a moment of hesitation, the woman took his hand and allowed Helios to pull her back up on the horse. They arrived at the abbey about ten minutes later, where they were greeted by one of the nuns outside the church.

“Sister Aurora!” Helios dismounted Pegasus, and after helping the woman down, walked over to the nun. “What are you doing outside? You’ll catch your death of cold!”

“Sister Eos and I were growing worried when you hadn’t returned when you said you would. I’m so glad you are safe, Father Helios,” Aurora said. “What happened?” For the first time, she noticed their guest.

“I found her collapsed on the side of the road. This is --” It occurred to Helios that he never asked for the woman’s name. “Forgive me, maiden. I never properly introduced myself. I’m Father Helios Horn, and this is Sister Aurora, one of the nuns who live in the abbey.”

“My name is Sereni-- Serena.”

Helios took note that she didn’t provide a surname, but decided not to press her about it.

“What a lovely name,” Aurora said, stepping forward and taking one of Serena’s hands between her own. “You poor girl, you must be starving. Come, let’s go inside the church and warm you up.”

At the mention of the church, Serena yanked her hand away and began walking backwards, shaking her head.

“She is afraid to enter the church,” Helios informed Aurora in a low voice. “I told her she could stay with me in the rectory instead.”

“But, Father, it isn’t proper --”

“You know I am an honorable man. She will be safe with me.”

Aurora sighed, but acquiesced. “I suppose it will be fine for one night.”

“Thank you,” he said, handing the nun Pegasus’ reins. “I need to get Serena inside. After feeding him, will you bring her a change of clothes and some extra blankets?”

“Of course, Father.”

Helios led Serena to the nearby rectory and entered the cottage to find a fire already blazing in the fireplace and the aroma of stew perfuming the air. “The sisters must have prepared things, anticipating my return,” he said as he brushed the flakes off his clothes, thankful to be somewhere warm and dry. “Bless them.”

Serena, however, remained outside the door, standing in place like a statue.

“Come,” he said, motioning for her to follow him. “Don’t be shy. You’re letting all the cold air inside.”

His guest stepped inside and closed the door behind her while Helios took a seat in one of the two tattered armchairs in front of the hearth, extending his frozen hands toward the cackling fire to warm them. “Fire must surely be one of God’s greatest gifts to man,” he mused aloud, noticing that Serena was still standing beside the door, his cloak folded over her arm. A small puddle of melting snow had already formed at her feet. “Come, sit by the fire,” he said, indicating the other chair. “Make yourself at home. The fire will warm you until Sister Aurora returns with a change of clothes.”

“I-I’m fine over here.”

Helios frowned. What was it about this girl that made her reluctant to accept any form of kindness or assistance from him when she obviously needed it? At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Since Serena was closest, she answered it.

“Here are some things for you, dear,” Aurora said, passing her a stack of clothes and blankets. “If you need anything else, please let us know. We don’t have much, but whatever we do have is yours.”

“Thank you. Goodnight, Sister.”

“Goodnight.”

After Aurora left, Helios stood back up. “My room is through there,” he said, pointing to the door that led to his bedroom. “You can change in there. I’ll set the table for dinner.”

Serena nodded her understanding and walked to the bedroom.

*****

As to be expected of a poor parish priest, Father Helios’ bedroom was small and only contained the barest of necessities -- a bed large enough for only one person, a small wardrobe, a mirror, and a nightstand with a Bible and a strand of rosary beads placed on top of it. A wooden cross was nailed above the headboard, providing the only piece of decoration.

Lady Serenity averted her eyes from it.

She set the stack of clothes and blankets Sister Aurora had provided her on the bed and began stripping out of her wet clothes. Though she wasn’t chilled in the slightest, it would raise suspicions with the priest if she didn’t change. She knew he already thought her strange.

Then again, she wasn‘t exactly normal.

Normal humans felt cold when it snowed and could see their breath crystallize in the air. Normal humans were drawn to fire, not repelled by it. Normal humans found solace in stepping inside a church, not fear. Normal humans didn’t possess red eyes and pink hair.

Normal humans saw a reflection of themselves when they looked into a mirror.

Serenity shuddered as she stood in front of the mirror hanging on the wall and saw nothing staring back at her. If she still had the ability, she would have broken down in tears.

“I never should have let him seduce me,” she whispered, her hand traveling to a certain spot on her neck. The area was already healed, thanks to her enhanced powers, but she could still vividly recall the pain of his fangs sinking into her flesh, even as he brought her to the edge of ecstasy.

She’d been so naïve. Lady Vesta had warned her to stay away from Lord Hawkeye, reminding her of the rumored fate that had befallen his previous lover, Lady Ceres, but she had been swayed by his pretty words and extravagant gifts. A vampire? She had laughed at the very idea. No such creature existed outside of novels.

Yet there was no more denying it.

Vampires existed…and now she was one.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. “Serena, dinner is ready,” the priest said.

Serenity quickly changed into the modest dress the nun had loaned her and joined Father Helios at the dining table. Food no longer held any taste for her, but she made a valiant attempt at eating the stew while avoiding the priest’s questions about what had happened to her and who she really was. Her parents were well-known nobles; she couldn’t risk them learning where she was. It was better for them to think her dead.

After dinner, Father Helios insisted she take his room. Serenity tried to refuse his offer, since, as a vampire, she was now a nocturnal being, but he wouldn’t hear of it. She retired to the bedroom and lay awake on the bed until she was certain the priest was asleep.

She needed to leave this place, but not only did she have nowhere else to go, she was becoming thirsty for blood. The stew had not quelled her hunger in the least.

Several times, her eyes darted toward the door. Though the sleeping priest would be easy prey, he had been nothing but kind to her. She didn’t want to kill him -- or anybody, for that matter -- yet she didn’t have any other choice if she wanted to stay alive.

Serenity tiptoed back to the parlor, where she found Father Helios asleep in the chair in front of the fireplace. He was still fully dressed, although he had removed the white collar that marked his profession from around his neck. It was like an open invitation, and Serenity’s new fangs extended in anticipation, her tongue running along her top set of teeth.

He really is quite handsome, she thought, straddling his lap. The priest shifted his position, but didn’t awaken, rolling his head back so that his neck was fully exposed.

It was the perfect opportunity. Every instinct in her body told her to bite him, to drink of his blood -- but she couldn’t do it.

Between the two of them, she was the one who deserved to die, not him. “Forgive me, Father,” Serenity whispered, caressing her cheek. “Thank you for everything, but someone like me is beyond your help. Goodbye, and sweet dreams.”

With those final words, Lady Serenity Moon fled the rectory, knowing she would die when the morning came and the sunlight burned her skin to ashes.

Perhaps, in her death, she would find her salvation.

As you can see, there is an ending, but it's the type of ending that easily leaves room for more. To continue, I was thinking Father Helios could awaken shortly after Lady Serenity leaves, go back out into the snowstorm to find her, and discover her secret. Then he would take her back to the rectory, where he would hide her until they could find a way to cure her of her vampirism, but somewhere along the way they fall in love, causing much angst since he's a priest and she's a vampire.

So my question is, is there anybody out there who is interested in seeing more of this story, or should I post the entry as is and concentrate more on Melting Ice and Metamorphosis?

P.S. Don't forget to reply to my Christmas/holiday card post if you've moved or want to be added to the list!