Give that poor woman a raise!
This scene is way too adorable. It’s from the doujinshi “Water Garden 2,” which depicts the Outer Senshi as Queen Serenity’s original guardians. Although I couldn’t understand the full story (given that it’s untranslated), I loved what I saw! The artwork is just gorgeous! <3
Anyway, I just had to color this scene!
I actually edited these little doodles so they were together so I could color them. I love the result! <3
The Lost Queen
Based on this prompt:
~~~~~
“I miss her.”
Three impossibly loaded words cut through the silence like a knife.
Setsuna Meioh slowly turned around and faced the small black cat that had appeared in her doorway. Luna. Setsuna didn’t say anything, simply stared at the visitor. Despite herself, she felt a familiar tugging at her heart. A longing she could never quite rid herself of. For it didn’t matter that she was the Guardian of the Gates of Time. It didn’t matter that, with her Garnet Rod, she held the power to move time and space itself. It didn’t matter because she would never see her face again. The face of her Queen. The face of her Serenity.
Luna didn’t know what it was like. To miss someone so much you could feel it forming a painful knot in your heart. To know that you held the power to save her but couldn’t because of the laws you had to abide by. To see everything, to know everything and have to stand by helplessly because you knew it was the way it must be. No matter the heartache, no matter the loss, no matter the devastation.
To Sestuna, Serenity was everything. Long before the arrival of Small Lady, Serenity was Pluto’s dearest friend. Even after countless millennia had passed, Sestuna could still remember her smile, her laugh, her beauty, as radiant and pure as a full moon on a cloudless night. In the back of her mind, Setsuna always wondered if the Queen’s frequent visits were because of her guilt. After all, it had been Serenity herself who had assigned Pluto to her post. But she’d take one look at the brightness in Serenity’s eyes, the smile that lit up her entire face, and knew in her heart that these visits were not out of obligation.
They were out of love.
And when Setsuna was alone, she couldn’t help but feel bitter jealousy at all of those who were able to be with the Queen at all times. The chosen ones lucky enough to be her presence whenever they chose, to make her smile and laugh, to help her whenever any kind of trouble arose. Why can’t that be me?
Luna had been one of the chosen. Setsuna remembered the small black cat that was constantly on Serenity’s heels, only leaving her side to be with the Princess. How embarrassing, she recalled thinking to herself, that I’m jealous of such a little cat. But she knew it was true.
“…I miss her!”
Setsuna was jerked out of her reverie by a chocking sob. Luna had broken into tears, tears for the Queen she could only partly remember. Perhaps that was why she was in so much pain. Because she felt as though she didn’t miss Serenity enough.
Setsuna felt as though she missed her enough for the both of them.
That was all it took. That simple assertion to herself broke open the wall of grief that had been surrounding her heart for so, so long. The loss, the pain, the anguish, the mourning all tumbled out of her mouth.
“I miss her, too.”
Wordlessly, Setsuna crumpled to the floor, completely defeated. She couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t keep lying to herself. Vaguely, she became aware of a small, furry weight settling itself into her lap. She wrapped her arms around the cat, thankful that, at last, she had someone who could at least partly understand. The tears she had been unable to shed before now rushed forth with a fury that terrified her. Setsuna wondered if she’d ever be able to stop.
All through it, Luna stayed with her. They cried together, expressed their anger, their frustration, their all-encompassing loss. And finally, the tears stopped just as the sun was beginning to appear along the horizon. Pulling herself together, Setsuna wiped her eyes and prepared to walk Luna home, where she was certain a young girl was beginning to worry where Luna had disappeared to.
Luna and Setsuna would never speak of that night, but a bond had been formed that had saved both of them. And somehow, Setsuna was able to sleep a little easier at night, knowing that someone could grieve as she had grieved.
