Categories > Anime/Manga > Sailor Moon

Unnecessary Punishment

by darkpower 0 reviews

This story, set after the conclusion of the Japanese Sailor Moon Anime series, takes place back on the rebuilt Moon Kingdom. Queen Melissa Beryl's daughter, Ashely Beryl, is the potential victim in...

Category: Sailor Moon - Rating: R - Genres: Angst,Drama,Horror - Characters: Beryl - Warnings: [!] - Published: 2007-11-08 - Updated: 2007-11-08 - 12825 words - Complete

By: Darkpower
DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to their respective companies.

The High Crimes Court, or just HCC for short. Something that would scare even
the most hardened criminal, traitor, or anyone in the Moon Kingdom who thought
they were above the law there. Maybe it was because the sentencing there
sometimes went a tad bit overboard for the crime. Robbery, for instance, would
normally get at the most a few years in a holding cell. However, one person got
life for doing such a thing. They were careful. A little too careful, some
thought. Yes, people would think twice before doing something stupid, but
exactly how much of that lesson do you need before you learn from the mistakes
you made, asked some critics.

To some, NOT ENOUGH!

Treason, one of the highest crimes there, had a max of life in the cell.
However, two people got executed because of such acts. This was definitely not
necessary to the many people watching the trial that day. Not even Queen
Serenity condoned the sentence, and knew that they were going too far with the

And she would've said something about it, except for one tiny little detail. A
long time ago, she signed a deal that prohibited even her from getting in the
way with the sentencing or verdicts in any way what so ever. Doing so would get
her in trouble, since it going back on a contract that she had signed to.
However, the critics of the HCC were convinced that something had to be done
about such punishments.

They had rebuilt the kingdom since the attack by the Dark Kingdom of the
Negaverse. The Moon Kingdom had learned that since the reinvention of the
castle, the Dark Kingdom had returned. This was due to expeditors, looking for
oil in the middle of Antarctica about a year ago, something in which they
weren't sure why they were looking in that country for such a commodity.
Instead, though, they found a box containing the souls of the Dark Kingdom, and
unintentionally released the very souls that were entrapped in the container.
The team hasn't been seen since.

However, the Moon Kingdom had also learned that ever since then, there were
major changes to the Dark Kingdom. Sanikite, the newest general, had changed
Queen Melissa Beryl a lot. Standing about six foot three, he was 210 pounds,
brown hair, with all black clothing. For the first time, she had loved someone,
and that person was Sanikite. In her mind, that was the light bulb that said
that she was doing something wrong. They had since destroyed the Dark Force,
which was Queen Metallia, and had started a 180 degree turnaround in everyone's
eyes. However, that wasn't all that had happened.

A new princess was born there. They had named it Princess Ashley Beryl of the
Dark Kingdom, who has inherited the same looks that her mother had, only with
darker, straighter hair. She had just turned four by now standing about four
foot, and everything was well. And it was apparent that the dark queen cared so
much for her princess. In fact, the destruction of the Darkforce came because
Queen Metallia, the woman in the Dark Egg, said that Beryl couldn't have a
daughter, and thus tried to kill Ashley. Melissa opposed to this, and actually
took the shot that Metallia shot directly at her. Melissa survived, but not
before suffering major pain.

This was the attitude she showed towards her daughter. She would let the Sailors
destroy the Dark Kingdom, if it meant keeping Ashley alive. Even more so, she
would sacrifice her own life to save Ashley, if it came to that. And, so help
her, if someone tried to kill her daughter, the things she would do to them. One
already tried to go after her daughter, which everyone knew that was not a good

He had severely hurt Ashley, which sent her mother into a fit of rage. "You hurt
her. I'll hurt YOU," were the last words he ever heard before Melissa killed the
attacker, which in some minds was a death he very much deserved. No one knew why
it was such a forgivable act to kill the man instead of convicting him to jail
time, but it was, notherless. As Ashley got cared to, Melissa thought that
Ashley would die because of this person's cowardliness. The Queen was so sad
that, for the first time, someone actually saw her shed a tear in her life. She
had ran away to not be seen, probably because she knew tears were flowing, and
she didn't want to be seen looking like hell because of her daughter. This was
understood, as well. However, really, Sanikite was the only one who felt her
pain, or who would want to.

Although many had seen this, they didn't want to believe the things that were
going on there. Some people even went as far as saying that she was trying to
pull them into a trick of feeling sorry for them, and then attack them again
when they least expect it. They couldn't of been further from the truth,
however, as Melissa was truthfully felling pain and sadness at the time.

Melissa soon got her daughter back safe and sound. The very next few hours were
a sight to see, with Melissa, on her throne chair, with her daughter in her lap,
comforting her, almost putting her to sleep. She told everyone to leave the room
for the moment. Although a few stuck around to see this remarkable, if not
surprising, expression of feelings coming out of someone so cold and evil, who
didn't really know what feeling were. And there she was, with Ashley, as happy
and relieved as possible, almost in disbelief that this daughter was the one she
almost lost forever.

However, everything as they knew it was about to change forever.

The High Crimes Court still wanted to nail her for what had happened, even more
so now that she was happy. This didn't fit well with a few people who were on
the Moon, one of which was a brother of Serena's, named Casto Sommers, with
short and dark hair, and a medium-type voice. His build was in between a slim
man to a medium-build body, although he never really cared about how he looked.
He usually had jeans and a traditional, gray t-shirt on. He was the only one to
really feel the pain of what Melissa went through that wasn't in the Dark
Kingdom. However, he knew she had to be punished somehow, if it was even a
little sentence as to sign a contract to not attack anymore. Casto knew that
Queen Beryl wouldn't think twice then to put her horrid past to rest once and
for all.

So why wasn't he so content with the HCC's strategy? It was because he didn't
know why they would move to press charges against her at this point. He thought,
'why the hell do they have to ruin something so wonderful for Melissa by
bringing her past back up?' He wanted them to let it go and move on, but,
needless to say, they didn't.

One day, all hell broke loose in the Dark Kingdom. Soldiers from the HCC came
and arrested Melissa. The only words that she needed to hear was, "You are under
arrest for destroying the Moon Kingdom," for her to be puzzled, as well. Why did
they have to arrest her for something that she knew they could put to rest? They
were arresting her for something that, to the rest of the witnesses, they could
take it as the past, and move on. However, to everyone's sadness, she was taken
away. Some people tried to stop them, and, needless to say, they failed
miserably. The last words that Melissa said to Sanikite were,

"Take care of Ashley for me," said a frightful Beryl, "and tell her I'll love
her always."

Sanikite said he would with a nod, and then, she disappeared into the portal,
with the hole closing immediately afterwards. That wasn't the last of that
incident, however.

A few minutes afterwards, Ashley came in, and immediately asked, "Where's my
mommy? Daddy," pulling on Sanikite's uniform, as he was the one who conceded
her, "where's my mommy?"

In a blink of an eye, Sanikite could see Zoysite shed a tear, something she
never did before. Zoysite didn't want Ashley to be without a mother. Sanikite,
however, knew that he couldn't dare tell Ashley what really happened, because
that would scare her greatly, and he didn't want to do that. That's the last
thing he wanted Ashley to be, scared. He knelt down to her and said, "Mommy's
had to do something. She'll be back soon."

Ashley, however, knew that was a lie. She was only four, but she wasn't stupid.
Learning a lot from her mother, she could tell, even at her young age, if
someone wasn't telling her the truth or not.

"No she's not," she responded. "Something happened to mommy. Please tell me."
Sanikite looked in her face. He didn't have it within to tell her what really
happened. However, he found it within him, somehow, to tell her what was going

"Ashley, I'm about to tell you something about your mommy. You may not like it,
but I want to tell you something. Your mommy, a long time ago, did something
that she regrets doing now. She did something bad. She destroyed someone's

At that moment, Ashley was dumbfounded. She didn't want to know this about her
mommy, even thought she had asked for it. She would've been more contempt about
taking the lie as the truth.

Sanikite continued, "You're mommy did that, but now they're okay again, and
mommy wanted to patch things up with the lives she messed up. But they don't
want to let it all go away. They want something to happen to mommy." Sanikite
knew Beryl had regrets for what happened that day, and those regrets couldn't be
measured by a scale of any sorts. She wanted to apologize for what she did, or
tried to do, anyway.

Ashley started to ask questions, as any child would do after hearing something
this hellish. "What's gonna happen to mommy?"

"They'll probably try to patch things up with your mommy." Immediately, he
thought, 'I hope.'

"Will she be okay?"

"Yes, she'll be just fine," said Sanikite, although he really didn't know if
there was truth in those words or not.

'Please, let her be ok,' he thought once more to himself. 'Don't let anything
happen to her mother, to my soulmate. I love her with all my heart. Please,
don't hurt her.'
He would find out his soulmate's fate, because the next day, the trial took
place. Everyone was there. All of the Sailors were there, Serenity and Edmonton
was there, as well as Casto and the vulture guardian that he owned. He was the
only male Sailor of the entire group, Sailor Vulture, and the Vulture was more
than a power or a guardian, it was a part of his soul. Luna and Artemus also
attended, and about all of the people in the courts attended Beryl's trial.
People knew that this would be something to see. The sentence of the one person
who had the guts to destroy the place, although she had regrets for what she did
to them.

"This court meeting will come to order," said Judge Carl Reinheart, the high
judge, a big, buff guy who looked as if he could kill with a single punch, and
had a cold stare which told just the same. He was also their executioner. He was
the one to carry out a death sentence if that was the case. And he was known as
a true bastard in executions. He loved every second of it. Once, when killing a
man, making him bleed, he went so far as to taste the blood of the man. He loved
to execute, and loved the agony and the pain that went with it. He even goes so
far as to make some slow and painful, with each minute ticking away to their
death. That was just the kind of man this guy was thought to be.

However, he wouldn't execute a man if he wasn't guilty of something. He wasn't
that kind of guy. He knew that he was a fair guy. If the man wasn't guilty, then
he, or she, was free to go. At least that was what many people have said about
the man, anyway.

"This case is against Queen Melissa Beryl for destroying the Moon Kingdom ten
years ago. Melissa, this court has reviewed the documents that say the case, and
we have reviewed them. The case against you is very incriminating. I don't know
if there is anything that could save you from being found guilty. However, we
understand that you have the right to defend yourself in this courtroom. With
that being said, do you have anything to say on behalf of your case," he said.
Melissa did have a lot to say.

Melissa started, "I do, council." She then turned towards the audience and began
to speak towards them.

"Ten years ago," she continued, "I did something that I will regret for the rest
of my life. I had destroyed your home. There is no punishment great enough for
what I did. However, I have turned my life around. I have a husband that I hold
dear to me, a daughter that means very much to me, and all of the people there
have made me realize that I was doing the enough things. I stand before you now,
to say that I---I am sorry. I know that won't be enough. If I am found guilty,
then all I want as a punishment is to say that I will never do it again. I will
not hesitate to sign any type of contract that says so. That is all," and with
that, she sat back down.

"Well, Queen Beryl," started the judge, "I see that you are component that you
want these people to forgive you for what you did to them. You presented your
case pretty good. You had changed greatly. This court applauds you for doing
that." Melissa was getting a smile on her face from that notion.


That word all of a sudden brought her smile out of touch, and a worried look
came on her face. She knew she wouldn't get the sentence that she wanted if she
was found guilty. She wouldn't get a plea bargain. She listened as the judge
rendered his verdict.

"Your crimes can never be forgiven. Your crimes will never be forgotten, and the
crime will not go unpunished to the highest extent that I can, maybe further
that even that. Queen Melissa Beryl, on behalf of this court, I find you...

A few people clapped their hands in acceptance, thinking that this would finally
be the end of their troubles, even though the clapping was very weak-sounding.

"Now," he continued, "I have also thought of the sentence to carry out if you
were found guilty. We thought to execute you. That wasn't enough. We had thought
to exile you to a place of Hell forever, but that's not enough. Not even is that
suck-ass effort about a contract deal enough. I had thought about it. Melissa,
there is something that you hold very dear to you, someone that you care about
more than anyone here."

She believed that he meant her new husband, Sanikite, in which she knew that he
would give his life for her.

"Go ahead. Kill him if you must. I deserve it. You should if that is to be my
punishment. He would be more than willing to die if it meant for me to move on,"
she said, knowing that she should be punished.

"HUH?!! HIM?!! Who said anything about a HE?!!" Reinheart had said that with
great stride.

Serena was there that day as well, accompanying Casto. "What's he talking about,
Casto," she asked to her brother.

"I don't...," Casto stopped, now seemingly knowing what he's going to say, "Oh
my God!!"

"What is it," Serena asked.

"Take a listen," Casto said.

Beryl also knew what he was going to say. Immediately, she started to worry,
with tears starting to flow down her cheek.

"No, Judge! You CAN'T!! WHY HER," she screamed in shock.

Carl Reinheart spoke on. "You hold your daughter so dear to you that it's
amazing. I can't believe how much you really love Princess Ashley Beryl.
However, as your punishment, we shall...EXECUTE HER!!!!!"

As soon as he was finished, everyone turned straight at the judge in disbelief
of this sentence, Casto more than any other. His quickness in standing up told
the whole story with his sudden thought of the matter at hand.

"I OBJECT," screamed a trembling Casto, who shot his way out of his seat.
Everyone turned towards him, as his voice was so loud it caught the attention of
everyone in the courtroom. No one held enough guts to question a sentence like
this before.

"Now I know that Queen Beryl did some very bad things in her life. Some very bad
decisions, but the sentence that you're asking. Why kill her daughter?!! She has
nothing to do with this."

"Casto, I suggest you sit down before I throw you out of the courtroom."

"I don't care if you throw me..."

"Casto," Serena started, "let it go for now. We'll find some way to convince

"NO, I WILL..." Casto was interrupted by some guards who escorted him back to
his seat and directed him to sit back down.

"And to teach you a lesson, we are ordering you to watch the execution."

All of a sudden, the doors to the courtroom opened, and two guards were holding
one hand each of Princess Ashley. 'How the hell did they find her,' Melissa

"Mommy," Ashley said when she found her mother, "what's going on. I'm scared,
mommy. HELP ME MOMMY!!"

"GIVE ME BACK MY GOD DAMN DAUGHTER," Melissa pleaded to the guards, to no avail.
"You can kill ME!! I'll DIE if I have to! But please let her GO!!"

A guard came over to her. "Shut the FUCK up," was the last thing she heard from
his lips before a stinging slap came before her face. She would've retaliated,
but in fear that they would kill her daughter right then and there if she tried
anything, she decided against it.

"MOMMY, HELP ME PLEASE!!" Ashley was crying and screaming to the loudest her
lungs could allow her.

Melissa Beryl was also scared of what they were doing. "Please let her go! I'll
do anything you want! I'll be your slave for the rest of my fucking life!

That was the last thing she said before Ashley disappeared from her mother's
eyes, maybe for the last time before she had to see her die, and at the
executions, Melissa knew that the true bastard behind Reinheart, the true him,
came out then.

Casto was also staring dead at the door, with a cold look. He couldn't believe
they were going to do this to Melissa. Sure, she did some very evil things, but,
in Casto's mind, not even Queen Melissa Beryl herself deserved what this
sentence was asking for, which was that this was the only way she could be
punished effectively, by murdering her only daughter.

"Execution will occur tomorrow. This court is adjourned."

And with that, it was over. Just like that. No jury, no testimony, nothing.
Usually, Reinheart was also a fair judge, and heard both sides of the case. But
something possessed him to not be fair this time, as if he almost wanted her to
be guilty of the crime.

'That little son-of-a-bitch,' Casto thought to himself as he continued to stare
at the door in which they too Ashley. 'So my mother hired a murderer as a high
judge. She'll hear something from me about this. I'm not gonna let that bastard
Reinheart murder an innocent four-year-old girl for something that's in the
After the trial was over, Casto went right into Queen Serenity's room.

"HOW COULD YOU LET THEM DO THAT," he screamed into her face. Obviously, he was
very angry at what had happened at the trial.

King Edmonton was also there, as well. "You shall never speak to your mother in

Serenity, however, held up a finger to get him to cease his verbal lashing at
Casto. She knew why he was angry at her. He deserved an explanation as to why
she didn't intervene, as he knew nothing of the agreement that she and the
courts made about her not interfering in the trials.

She interrupted her husband, "It's okay, my love. He's as angry as I am right
now at all of this. He has the right to be angry at me. I'm angry at myself for
this, as well."

"What?" the king said. "You cannot be serious. You're saying that you agree with
the way he just lashed out at you, and with knowing that this is the best?"

"My dear husband, my strong-willed son, I know what Queen Melissa Beryl did was
wrong, but I would've been happy for what she wanted. I would've be happy to let
everything go to rest in the past by doing what she wanted. But I don't think
taking her only daughter she has ever had away from her is the right way. This
is not necessary. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about it."

"And why is that," Casto screamed angrily at her.

"Because a long time ago, I signed a contract, stating that I wouldn't interfere
in the court's decisions in any way. If I would've intervened then, I would
breech the contract, and they could...find me guilty."

Casto looked at her dumbfounded. "Mother, why are you letting them control you?
No one can do that. You're the queen of this kingdom, for God sakes. Why did you
let them take control of you like that?"

"Because, I was...stupid. I didn't think twice when signing it. At the time, I
didn't know that they would do such a thing. But don't worry Casto. So help me,
I am not going to let them go though with this sentence."

"I would hope not," he said in response to her comment. "I looked into both
Reinheart's and Ashley's eyes earlier and his were filled with joy, while her's
was filled with fear. If what Reinheart is planning goes through tomorrow, he is
going to have to be answering to me, and I'll send his sorry ass straight to

"Son," Serenity said to Casto, "I know that you are angry. I know that you want
to do something about what has happened. But please, don't get too angry, or
you'll do something you might very well regret. I myself am angry right now, but
I have a known history for expressing my anger calmly, with no violence from my
end. But Casto, I've seen you at times like this. You may not be able to hold
back your anger, and that's what I'm afraid of. Casto, for me, please, try not
to get into anything you might not be able to turn back from?"

"Don't worry, mother, I'm not going to try anything downright stupid. I'm just
warning you that if anything happens to that poor girl, I'm going to take off
his head. She doesn't deserve this. GODDAMN IT, SHE JUST DOESN'T DESERVE THIS,"
Casto screamed, kneeling down and punching the ground with his bare fist.

"I know, my son. I feel your pain," Casto's mother answered back, putting one of
her soft, gentle hands on his shoulder.
It was night time in the Dark Kingdom. Melissa Beryl was in her bedroom, and
slowly, she began to feel a quick tear running down her cheek.

She then remembered the moments when she was crying. She would be in her
bedroom, thinking about how her life was almost ruined because of what she did,
and she would start to cry. Then her daughter would come in and see her mother

crying into a pillow. And then she would say, "Mommy, what's wrong? Why are you
crying?" Melissa would look into her eyes, crying over something. Ashley was the
only one to see these emotions out of her mother. "It's okay, mommy," she would
say. "Don't cry, mommy. Everything's okay." Then she would get onto the bed with
her, and hug her. This would comfort Melissa to know that no matter what she was
feeling; her daughter would love her 'mommy'. Melissa slowly would go and give
her back the love that Ashley would give her. Ashley knew nothing about what
Melissa did, and she didn't dare tell Ashley what she did to the Moon Kingdom,
although those regrets would always be what brought her to tears.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Everything okay with your mommy," she would say. And
Ashley was the absolute only one that Melissa would talk to in that manner,
calling her "sweetheart," among other comforting names. She would do this to let
her know that everything was okay.

Her mind then came back to present day, and now, knowing that those times might
be taken away from her, she started to get puffy cheeks from sadness. Her eyes
were litterly shining because of the tears that she was trying to hold back. 'I
can handle this,' she thought. 'I'm strong. I don't have to cry over this. No
one needs to see their queen, someone they need for guidance, to be crying at
all. I have to stay strong, to continue to lead. Don't let yourself--!'

Her thought was quickly cut off by a quick sob. ' daughter...oh God,
Ashley. I love you so much. I never felt like this. I've never felt so
helpless.' She then let out another sob, this one longer than the first. And
then, she felt a tear slowly rolling down, and Melissa was quickly losing her
will to fight her tears. 'Ashley, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't cry. I'm sorry
you don't have me there, to comfort you. I can almost see you now, so scared, no
clue what the hell is going on. I wish I was there, just letting you know that
mommy's here for you. Oh God, I can't lose her. I---just---can't.'

That was all it took for her to completely lose her endurance to hold back her
feelings. She buried her head into the pillow that was on the bed there, and she
just started crying. The sobs were loud, and she was soaking the pillow in
tears, although she would be damned if she cared about that right now.

And then, without even thinking twice, she blurted out about the HCC, "YOU

She yelled out those words as loud as she could possibly get. Then she buried
her head back into the pillow, and started to cry again.

Sanikite seemly heard those words, as well, as they were yelled that loud. He
quickly came into the room to see what was going on with his wife. "What's going
on," he said. He hadn't attended the trial, so he didn't know about the
sentence, but he did see the guards kidnap Ashley.

"GET AWAY, SANIKITE," Beryl commanded to him.

"Tell me what's wrong, and I.."

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME RIGHT NOW," she said, not realizing who this was that
she was saying this to.

"Okay, then, I'll..."

Beryl then realized what she said, and quickly felt guilty. Her emotions had
taken over, and she needed someone to take it out on. Sanikite was there, so she
belted on him, without realizing that he knew nothing of the trial.

"Sanikite, please don't go. I'm sorry," she said. Sanikite heeded the request.

"Sure," he responded. "Just tell me what's wrong. You yelled so loud I could
hear you from out there in the throne room."

Melissa fought to get the words out. "They found me guilty."

"OH MY GOD," Immediately, Sanikite knew that she was talking about the trial
earlier. Then he linked that with Ashley being kidnapped. "What happened with

"There gonna use her as my sentence. They're gonna...KILL HER to teach me a

Sanikite could be seen with his jaw opening his mouth uncontrollably, and now he
was the one holding back tears. He starred at his wife in disbelief as what she
just said, "I...don'" He said those words as if he was fighting
to find those words out of the anger and sadness he was feeling right now, as
she was talking about his daughter, as well.

Melissa then uttered some words that Sanikite knew he would never forget for the
rest of his life. She let her emotions now take control, and just blurted out
what she thought was happening. "There gonna take my daughter away from me.
Ashley, my princess, everything that I had ever tried to turn around my life
for, is gonna be taken away by those FUCKING bastards! DAMN THEM!! They're
NOTHING to me. Serenity was sorry for me, too! She wanted to do something, but I
Ashley is gonna DIE because those Courts don't know how to be FAIR!! DAMN THEM

Sanikite was about scared to death at those words, but never showed his fear.
Never had Melissa talked talk way before. Sure, she used such profanity before,
but never in such succession, and never in the way she was using them, either.
But he knew why she was saying such phrases. He felt the same way, too, but his
emotions hadn't taken control of him yet, but her's had now given way. She was
saying words about what she felt. She tried to fight them, but she couldn't. She
had to tell someone about what she felt. She had to let it out. And Sanikite let
her just air out what she needed to let out. He then took her by the shoulders.

She started to speak again, realizing now who she said those words to.
"Sanikite, I'm sorry. I'm letting everything go to my head, am I?! I'm taking it
all out on you when I shouldn't, am I?"

"No, your not," he responded, starting to choke up himself. "You're not doing
anything wrong. She's my daughter, too. I feel the exact same way you do, my
love. I wish that I could say the same things that you just said to them in
their face. They would think twice before killing her. Melissa, let it out.
Don't let your emotions build up inside of you. Please, if this is the way you
feel, then say it to me. You don't have to hide it from me. Melissa, I love you.
I don't want to see this happen anymore than you do. If this is the way you

She interrupted him, "Yes, I do feel that way. They're gonna take my baby away
from me for their gain. She was the only one that I would die for. If she was
ever taken away from me, I wouldn't know what I would do. Sanikite, I'm SCARED
that they'll do it. I don't DESERVE this. I WANT ASHLEY BACK!! IN MY ARMS!! I
GONNA LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO YOU!! I'm not gonna get that chance AGAIN to
comfort her. I want to SEE her again! That's all that I want, and those
BASTARDS. They won't LET me. They said that it was to teach me a lesson. They've
already done that. I'll do anything for them. I JUST WANT MY DAUGHTER,

That was the last thing she said before burying her face into Sanikite's
shoulder and started to cry some more. She held him tightly, and she almost
broke his back at the grip that she had. However, he didn't care. Her emotions
were the only things that were being felt right now, and she needed to be
comforted right now. She needed someone to speak to, someone who would cry with
her. Sanikite started to stroke her hair peacefully, telling her that it was
going to be okay. Her hair was smooth, and he liked doing this for her. He then
felt her get a hold of some of the fabric on his uniform to strengthen the
comfort of his body against hers. He didn't mind it a bit. He took his lips to
her forehead and started to kiss her on the head, trying as hard as he possibly
could to comfort her more. He lied down with her on the bed, and he did nothing
else that night but just hold onto his love while she let everything out. She
had been crying now for about an hour, and no longer did she fight back the

And, in a way, he was holding onto her to comfort him, as he was saddened along
with her. He had said to her that everything would be okay. Now he knew that it
was a complete lie. They were going to murder Ashley because of something that
they could've forgiven his wife for now. He decided not to think about what
could happen, and what was happening right now. He was able to not think about
the awful stuff that could happen, but his wife didn't. He helped Beryl undo her
dress and took it off of her, so she would feel more comfortable physically, at
least. He continued to stroke her hair and kiss her on her temple. He then heard
Beryl stopping the geyser that was her crying. He then looked on her face. She
was asleep. She had cried herself to sleep, lying right on her lover's chest.
Sanikite smiled, knowing that she was comfortable right where she was, on him.
He stayed where he was at, until he fell asleep himself. This was the kind of
thing that would happen after they had a night of passion. After a night of them
showing that they really did love each other, although they knew tonight wasn't
one of those nights, so he had to show it another way, and this was the way, to
just stay with her tonight. They were then sound asleep, bodies touching one
Casto went to the Courts in the middle of the night, hoping to see why Reinheart
was so impatient to find Melissa guilty in the first place. He thought that even
that was suspicious. He went to where the judges sat. Mistakenly, they had left
the documents for the case there. On it was the one statement that would justify
his suspicions about Reinheart and the case. He didn't know what it was, but he
had a feeling it was from one of his private records and files that they kept
under lock and key. It read, "I HATE Queen Melissa Beryl for what she did. That
new attitude of hers was only a mask. She doesn't care about her daughter,
although, yeah, she makes us think that. It is my duty to make sure that she
gets punished to the extent of not the law, but of what I believe is right. And
let's see how she really cares about Ashley when I get a taste of her blood. Not
only will I make Melissa watch it, but I'll make her watch me get a little
sample of that four year old's..."

He couldn't read any more. He thought this was sickening to even think about
wanting that. The message that he received churned his stomach to the point of
where he was going to vomit because of what Reinheart really wanted to do. He
didn't find her guilty of destroying the Moon Kingdom. Casto figured that Carl
couldn't care less about that. Carl found her guilty of a personal vendetta
against Melissa. Reinheart wasn't fair. Furthermore, he didn't and maybe
wouldn't ever figure out the motive behind his madman antics, much less what he
was reading right at the time. He didn't care, though. He just wanted to put an
end to this rage before this issue went further than it had to, and slowly, but
surly, it was getting to that point. And that note as it was showed that he was
serious, for whatever reason he wrote it.

He then got down to the bottom portion of the note he wrote. It read, "I am also
real happy that that bitch, Queen Serenity, can't do anything about it. I really
wish, though, that she would do something foolish, so I will have a reason to
kill her, and get a taste of her blood. I already got a taste of her blood once
before, though, and it tasted so good. She was very..."

"OH MY GOD," Casto blurted out. He wondered if either Reinheart was a vampire,
or if he had hurt Serenity before. He couldn't believe this sick and twisted
mind of his. It was truly revolting to him.

"So he's also hurt my own damn mother," he said, raising a trembling fist to his
face in anger. "I'm gonna make sure that he pays for this. But first, I have to
show this to my mother. She must know what's going on." He immediately went back
to Serenity's room.
He woke her up, and showed her that note. Immediately after viewing what was
written on the note, a surprised look came over her, and she started to cry.

"Mother, what's wrong," he asked

"That's how he got me to sign that damn thing," she said.

"My God, you mean he really DID threaten to kill you if you didn't sign that

"YES!! Melissa is right, just as much as you are, abut this Carl Reinheart. He
IS the sickest bastard that ever walked the face of the Moon."

He never heard Serenity talk about anyone this way. In fact, he never heard her
talk this way period.

"Mother," Casto started, "what happened to holding back your anger? You've never
said that about anyone before in your life, not even to Melissa when she was
destroying this place. You said to me yourself that you can express your anger
without conflict. What's going on? What's made you suddenly say that about him?"

"Casto, I never hated anyone in my life until I met him, either. If you saw me
trying to hold myself back with him, you would think that I was lying to you. I
hate him. Hate him more than anyone could ever be hated. For what he has done to
me, what he's tried to do to my family, and for what's happening now."

"What did he do to you, though" Casto blurted out. "It said that he had hurt
you. I want to know what that son-of-a-bitch did to you."

"He slapped me in the face, and then he punched me where he slapped me. I had a
cut in my lip. I was bleeding. He then took a finger and got some of the blood
that was seething down my face, and, to my sickness, he took that finger into
his mouth."

"WHAT?!!" Casto was about to stop her right there. That enough was enough to
tell her to stop this right now, before he got to becoming sick to his stomach.
It was one thing to hit Casto's mother in the male Sailor's eyes. However, the
tasting of the blood went too far by his standards. He would think that
Reinheart had a little bit of class, or a little bit of reasoning of when he was
taking things too far. But he knew then that Reinheart didn't, and there was
more than met the eye for what Casto viewed as a sick and twisted mind. More
than what he wanted to know.

"It's true," Serenity continued. "I don't know what possesses him to do such a
thing, but he does it. I finally gave that son-of-a-bitch what he wanted, which
was to sign it. But you look at it. I was shaking when I signed on that dotted
line. And then, he left without saying a word. I cried myself to sleep that
night, not knowing what possessed him to do such a thing."

"Mother, why didn't you stop him? I know that you are powerful enough to stop
that guy from hurting you. If that was me, I would've done whatever I could to
kill that bastard."

"I would have, but there was one problem." She continued to cry, trying to get
out all that she could. "He also threatened my family if I didn't sign that


"He said that he would kill my whole family if I didn't sign it. I almost
retaliated with the punch to my face, but I thought that if I did, my family
would be murdered by that bastard. I took the blows, knowing that if I didn't,
it would be you and Serena taking them, and no one, and I mean no one, hurts my
family and gets away with it. I'd rather die before I let you two get hurt."

Casto understood what she meant by that. He knew that, beyond normal, his mother
would do anything to protect her family, her husband, son, and daughter.

Serenity continued. "Now I am stuck with him as a judge, jury, and executioner.
He wasn't too bad of an executioner till I saw his face on one. He's not human.
He loved every second of that damn thing. And I thought that that was all that
he did, until I saw that I wasn't the only blood that..."

Casto stopped her right there. As soon as she said blood again, he knew exactly
what she was talking about, and he really didn't have the stomach to handle
another tale of the vampire-like tale of him and his blood-tasting. It was
already churning him as it was. One more mention of it, and he wouldn't have
been able to hold back what he wanted to do.

Serenity understood what he was feeling about that blood-tasting tale. "I know,
it's kind of sick, and it's kind of revolting. But that's the kind of man he
is...if you want to call him a human." Casto didn't want to.

However, now he realized something that could've turned the tide of this whole
ordeal. Extortion was a high crime, as well, and now he had the judge for
something. If he could bring this up in the courts, not only would Reinheart
definitely be guilty, but Ashley would be saved, and Serenity would be released
of any contracts that he made her sign, under law.

Casto, however, knew that this would have to be quick, because the execution of
Melissa Beryl's daughter was tomorrow.

He was about to walk out of Serenity's room when he heard her say, "He'll get
something from me tomorrow."

"Huh," Casto asked, and turned back around. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm going to be there tomorrow, Casto," she answered her son. "And when I get
there, I'm no longer going to try to hold back my hatred for him. I can't. I
just can't hold back from that little...that.."

"Mother, I'm here. I know how you feel. Don't try to hold back the anger. Don't
try to hold back that hatred that you have for him. Personally, I don't think
there's anything else that will surprise me."

"Thanks, Casto. You were always a warm-hearted guy who cared about his friends
and family. I'm glad that I had you for a son and brought you up. I did well, I
think. But it's not going to be the same for that...that...," she tried to hold
it back, but suddenly, she couldn't take it any longer. She could feel her anger
building up inside of her, and it was about to burst like a geyser. Her teeth
were clinching, her body was trembling, and anger arose in her voice with every
syllable that she spoke in this particular conversation.

"Mother," Casto asked, a little worried at what would happen.

"...that LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT," Serenity screamed to the top of her lungs. As
she said that, her fist met with a wall in sheer violence, her entire body
shaking in anger, with steady tears glistening down her face.

As Casto heard her mother udder those frightening words, he was both proud that
her mother had finally seen enough of what she was going through. But at the
same time, the thought of what she said to him earlier that night raced through
his head. He knew several times from pure experience that once you lose your
temper like the way he witnessed, you might as well have lost it totally for the
next few days, and the execution was the very next day.

For now, however, he let Serenity say what she wanted to say without any
immediate concern.

She continued. "Why did that have to happen to me, Casto? You know me very well,
maybe even better than my own husband. You know I don't want to be like this.
But why the hell do I have to actually take that from that bastard? Why was I so
STUPID," she asked, starting to cry. "I...I can't do this. I can't hold it back
any longer."

"Don't, mother," Casto answered. "Don't hold back. You have to tell someone how
you feel. You can tell me. Just continue to let it out."

"Thanks. It's just that Reinheart has the guts to murder her. Murder an
innocent, helpless daughter of my former enemy. What kind of courage is that? He
can't find a better way than to use violence to solve his problems. It's not
even anything that I'm concerned with anymore. All he cares about is his OWN
reputation. He'll stop at nothing to get it. Not even...," a quick breath came
BASTARD HE IS!! A FUCKING BASTARD!!" She then looked up at the ceiling, as if
she was talking to someone not in the room. "DO YOU HEAR ME, REINHEART?!! THAT'S

She knelt down on both knees after saying that in her loudest voice ever. Casto
knelt down beside her. He could see the tears flowing down her cheek as she
cupped her hands and buried her head in them. Casto could only hug her at this
point. Serenity wasn't used to saying such words to express her anger, and Casto
wasn't used to hearing her in that manner. Serenity cried for about two minutes
without a word while her son tried to comfort her in the best way he could.

"I...I'm sorry, Casto," she said, trying to get the words out in between her
sobs. "I think I went too far with saying that. I never wished death upon anyone
before. I never said those words bef..."

Casto interrupted her, "Shhh, it's alright, mother. Don't worry, you didn't go
too far. In fact, I'm proud of you."

"You are?"

"Yes. I know you've been holding back that anger inside for so long. I could
never do that. But at the same time, at some point, you have to let it out,
sometimes in ways you never thought you could. You thought you could never say
anything like what just came out of your mouth, did you?" Serenity nodded yes.

"Well," he continued, "I know more than anyone here that each person deals with
their anger with different ways. Sometimes, though, the actions people take
aren't the best ways to go about expressing it. You trying to hold back that
anger wasn't the best way, in my mind. This guy is someone that you have to deal
with directly." He paused for a few seconds before asking, "Mother?"

"Yes," she answered with a sniff.

"Tomorrow, if you do show that son-of-a-bitch exactly what he deserves, save
some of him for me, will you? I have some issues that I want to deal to him

"WITH PLEASURE," she stressed.
That tomorrow turned into today. Ashley was in a prison cell, not knowing what
was going on. "Mommy, where are you. I'm so scared. I need you, mommy."

Ashley was so scared she was shaking. She was on the bench, curled up in a ball,
shaking in fear. So scared she was, and so frightened from that cell. They had
locked up her in that cell, and it would be scary to a grown man alone. One
could only imagine what it would do to a four year old girl, who didn't know
what was even going on, or why she was in there. In many eyes, she deserved an
explanation, and more than that. She needed Queen Beryl, her 'mommy' there. She
wanted her 'mommy' to comfort her. To be there, telling her it was okay.

"Hey, kid, you have a visitor." The guard said that like he was going to croak
if he was excited at all.

Ashley was hoping that her mother was coming. The guard wasn't allowed to let
her have any visitors, but the reason that he did this was the person. Casto was
the visitor. Ashley quickly gave up all hope then. He was let into the cell.
Ashley all of a sudden backed up to the back wall of the cell.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!! YOU'RE ONE OF THEM," she yelled, becoming scared of him.

"No, I am not," Casto tried to tell her. "I am here to help. I want to tell you
what's gonna happen, and I want to know a few things."

"Start talking."

"How can I put this? Do you know why they have you here?"

"No, I don't."

"Do you want me to tell you?! It might scare you."

"Please tell me."

He tried to tell her in word that wouldn't scare her as much as she was already.

"The judge wants to do something to you to teach your mommy a lesson. He kill you."

He knew saying that would scare her, but, for some reason, those words blurted
out. And it did scare her. She started to whimper a little.

"Don't be scared, Ashley. I'm not gonna let those bastards do this to you. But I
need for you to do something."

"Please let me see my mommy."

"I will, Ashley, but what I need from you is to tell me what happened. How
exactly did they kidnap you."

"They just took me. My daddy tried to stop them, but he couldn't. They said for
me to stay with them. To trust them, but I didn't want to go. I started to try
to struggle. And that's when I felt myself be dragged by my arm. They hurt me, I
almost can't move my arm, and all I saw, those scary eyes of those bad men. I
can't forget them."

"Those bastards. Okay, that's all I needed to..."

All of a sudden, Reinheart came into the part in which the cell was. He didn't
expect Casto to be there. "What the hell are you doing here, Casto," he said.

Casto went right into his face, and started to scream. "What I want to know is,

"I have a duty to uphold the law, and you're in the way of me doing that."

"Well, I know that it wasn't that she DESTROYED THE MOON KINGDOM THAT MADE YOU

Reinheart was surprised, because no one knew that much about him. "YOU BASTARD!!
GET OUT OF MY WAY BEFORE I HAVE TO KICK YOUR ASS!!" Reinheart went and punched
Casto in the face, Casto not being able to react fast enough to stop him or to
dodge, and fell to the ground, his pain was overwhelming.

"COME WITH ME, CHILD," he screamed, grabbing Ashley by the hand and dragged her
out of the cell, not caring if Ashley was a child, a newborn, or whatnot. He was
only intent to execute her.

" with...her. You...won't...get..away...with...this," were the last words that Casto could get out of his
beaten body before he passed out on the prison cell floor.
Casto came to in a chair in a room. He then looked up after rubbing his eyes.
What he saw was the most heinous thing ever to him. He saw Princess Ashley,
there an electric chair, a basic form of execution, and here was the four year
old, scared half to death, not knowing what was going on, and here she was, tied
up, restraint from even moving, ready to die.

"What the hell...?!," He said out of the blue, and then it hit him. "Oh, my God!
He can't be SERIOUS!! This piece of crap is really going to go through with
this? Has this guy lost his mind?"

A door opened up. Two guards were there, each dragging Melissa by one arm each.

"LET ME GO," she said, with no one even listening. They then brought out a
special chair for her, in which they put her in. They restrained every part of
her body, down to the eyelids, so she wouldn't be able to close your eyes to not
witness it, and the neck still so she wouldn't turn her head from her daughter.
Her eyes became glittery from the tears she was letting out. Everyone else that
was forced to watch came in.

Reinheart appeared on the other side of a plain sheet of glass which was held by
a wall. It was a two way glass, so Ashley and her mother would see each other,
or be able to, at least.

"MOMMY," she screamed.

"SWEETIE, I'm here," Melissa responded.

HOME!!" Ashley followed that with a few tears of fear going down her eyes.

'Ashley,' Casto thought, 'I'm not going to let him do this. I swear on my soul,
I'm not going to let him do a thing to you.'

Reinheart started to speak, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Melissa is sustained to
watch, and you all have been brought here to watch. So, let's get going."

Reinheart went to the lever. When he pulled it down, Ashley would be subjected
to a lot of electricity, and be dead within minutes. And he was gonna do it. No
one was going to be able to stop him, either.

He got halfway down with the lever, when Casto couldn't take it anymore. This
was it for him, the breaking point. He had tried to subdue this for so long, but
this was it. Something had to give in him.

"STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!" Casto jumped up right from his seat. Reinheart quickly

"And what are you gonna do about it?!"

'Good question. This was a sentence that he handed down to her, but it's going
too...' He then thought of something surprising to him. 'HEY, THAT'S IT!! Why
didn't I think of it sooner?'

The next words surprised everyone there. "I want to drop all charges on Queen
Melissa Beryl."

People were heard of saying "Is he out of his mind?" Or "What did he say?!"
Everyone turned to Casto, and looked dead upon him.

Reinheart looked that way, too. No one did such a thing at that point. "Don't
tell me you want to become a coward now."

Casto said something even more surprising. "Melissa doesn't deserve to have her
daughter killed like this. Please stop. We can find another way. You're nothing
but a greedy, sick son-of-a-bitch to be seeking revenge this way. Enough is
enough. Two wrongs don't make a right here. These people want for all of this to
be over. This will only prologue their pain and suffering. What do you think
murdering her daughter is going to do to her? It's only going to cause more
travesty and anger. Everyone is happy again, there's no reason for this
insanity! Stop this, now!"

"No way, Casto. You have no idea what Queen Beryl having a daughter will do to

"Do I, or do you? Ashley has nothing to do with anything that Beryl did. All I
want, all that we want, is for you to stop. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THIS IS NOT

At this point, Melissa was thinking that Casto was a savior to Ashley. She was
relieved that he has taken as much as this as he could possibly see before he
has reached the boiling point.

Reinheart thought nothing of his request, though.

"No, Casto, and if you have the fortitude to do that again, I'm gonna kill

"I agree."

Someone just interrupted him again, but no one knew who it was. They looked for
the owner of the voice. It was King Edmonton, who had also seen enough.

"I'll admit, I didn't see it at first, but you, Reinheart, are a poor excuse for
a judge, and even less of an excuse for a human being. If you kill her now, we
will never forgive you, and damn you for all eternity. Let her go. I'm dropping
the charges, also," said the alleged first individual who would want to see
Melissa punished.

Suddenly, Serena, who was also in the room, stood up to join her father and
brother in their efforts. Then, to Reinheart's surprise, everyone stood to join
the three. They had all said, one at a time, what they wanted to say, with the
words that told him that they wanted to drop all charges that was on the Queen.
Melissa had a rally going to let her go free.

Reinheart, however, said nothing about it, and went back to the lever, to
everyone's disbelief. They had all rallied against his form of punishment, but
to no avail. It was at this point that everyone knew that there was more to the
story than just punishment for a crime that he wanted to commit. Yet, they were
helpless to do anything about it.

He was about to pull the final two inches, when a staff hit his head, and the
lever swung back up. He looked up, and to everyone's surprise, Queen Serenity
was there, holding that staff on his head, and she was shaking in anger, with
the angriest look that she could possibly give someone.

"LET HER GO, OR I'M GONNA KILL YOU," she said, without thinking twice. Reinheart
didn't know what she was doing, nor why.

"QUEEN SERENITY!! What in the world do you think your DOING?!"

"You know damn well what you did to me, you fucking bastard."

"NOW WAIT A MINUTE!! I didn't do anything to you."

PEOPLE MADE YOU OUT TO BE!! YOU'RE SUCH A BASTARD!!" Serenity started to have
tears rolling down her face as everyone got startled by her sudden change in

Serenity continued, "Take her off of that chair right now, you son-of-a-bitch,
and I will NOT tell everyone what you did to me. Casto already knows. I TOLD

With that, she pushed Reinheart to a wall, and lifted him up on the wall by his
chin with her staff.

"Now, are you gonna let him go, or am I gonna have some fun tearing you up into

"CASTO, tell her to LAY OFF!! She's gone totally INSANE!!"

Casto just looked on in happiness. "Do it, or I'll HELP HER!!"

"Help her do what," Reinheart asked, and as he was saying this, neither Casto
nor Serenity saw him pull out a knife. The next thing they saw was him sticking
the knife right into Serenity's heart. Serenity screamed, and fell limp to the

"MOTHER," Casto screamed to the top of his lungs, as he exited the witness room,
and entered the execution room. He held Serenity's body up, to see the paleness
of her face. It was too late. She was murdered by Reinheart.

ARE YOU THINKING," he screamed, looking straight at him with a cold stare.

Reinheart was ready now to kill Ashley. "Now, to you, Ashley," he said.

Melissa, however, was using the distraction to get the restraints off of her.
She was done with the arms, and now she could get the rest undone.

Serena entered the execution room, only to see Serenity's dead body. Within a
blink of the eye, Serena had enough of what was happening, as well. Any person
who has saw Serena's temper flare up could tell you that it would rarely do so,
and it would happen if you hurt someone she really cared about, and Serena cared
for her mother. So it was to no one's surprise that Serena started to flare up
again, this time to Reinheart. She wasn't going to forgive Reinheart now, not
after everything that he tried to do. In a quick move, Serena went after him in

great rage, which was unsuccessful, as Reinheart quickly slammed her to the
ground, with no way of getting up quickly enough. Both Serena and Casto were
helpless to stop anything, even the events that were taking place.

And what would be the most hellish thing that would happen, in the witnesses'

As Melissa got the last of the restraints off, Reinheart did something that
would stick in her mind forever.

He pulled the lever.

And this time....IT WENT DOWN!!

in pain and agony.

"OH MY GOD, NO!!!! AAAAASHEEEELY!!!!" At that moment, Melissa took her staff and
smashed the glass with it. She launched herself over the wall.

"DON'T DIE, ASHLEY," Melissa screamed. This was the loudest she had ever gotten.


Melissa then broke the chair in which Ashley was in. Ashley's now limp body fell
to the cold ground. Melissa then went to her and held her daughter close to her.

"Ashley," she screamed as she let out a loud sob, "DON'T DIE!!" Melissa then
took a pulse, and afterwards...she found that there was nothing there. She then
checked for breathing, but, to confirm her worst fears, she wasn't.

It was at that moment that Melissa's greatest fear had come true. Reinheart had
gotten his wish, as Ashley was dead, killed by the electricity from the chair.
Her face was so pale, and Melissa felt the cold skin that was coming to her. And
then Melissa started to cry.


But it was no use. There was no use in telling her anything now, and the entire
audience was stunned in firm disbelief.


Then, she took a cold, hard look at her executioner. And then, one word that
Melissa had said told the entire story for her.


That was the only word everyone else needed. No one dared to stop the dark queen
now. No one wanted to.

Reinheart has a smirk on his face. To everyone there, it was the most sickening
display could laugh at to, and there he was, laughing.

Melissa came up, and now she was breathing heavily, her whole body shaking, and
her voice, albeit shaky, uttering the words she was speaking.

"I HATE YOU, REINHEART!!" Those words stung in people's hearts, because everyone
knew she meant those words. "I FUCKING HATE YOU!! YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!! NOW,

No one wanted to stop her, either. So Reinheart had to beat it before she
carried out her promise.

"As this is where I make my exit. I've served my purpose. Farewell, criminal,"
he said, and with that, he was gone, out of the door and had escaped from the
room. But he had gotten his wish. Melissa had suffered a great loss.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU FUCKING COWARD," she screamed, followed by a loud yell of
anger. She then swung her staff angrily at anything she could break. The lever
was broken. Next, she almost tore apart the wall separating the two rooms.
Everyone hurried out of the room. Melissa then fell to her knees, weakened by
the sadness, and then she ended up crawling to Ashley's limp, dead body.

"No, Ashley. You can't be dead. You can't be dead...." She repeated that last
sentence for about a minute, and then she picked the body up, and hugged it,
like she was asleep, and, Indian style, she sat down on the ground with her, and
put her on Melissa's lap. Then she stated to rock her, like she was rocking
Ashley to sleep. This site was so sad to see for everyone, as Serena buried her
head in Casto's shoulder, avoiding looking at that site.

However, what Melissa did next was a earful. She started to sing to Ashley, like
she would do to put her to sleep when she was a baby. No one knew exactly what
she was singing, or made out what words she was singing, but they figured she
was singing something to Ashley. She didn't want to believe that she was dead.
And no one could move her, get her attention, or anything. She stayed that way,
rocking, singing, and sometimes kissing her limp daughter, the only one person
that she showed this side of her to. Melissa didn't care who saw her now. She
didn't even realize what she was doing. She was only thinking about what had
happened. Over and over again, people tried to get Beryl's attention, to no such
avail. Beryl looked more and more like hell itself as the time went along.

What was surprising was, no one saw this side of her before. They had seen the
most evil side of her that anyone could see. They saw her happy side, but they
have never seen anything like this coming out of the dark queen, of all people.
Everyone was in tears over this. They then decided to just let her go. Let her
grieve in the only was she knew how to do so. She ended up doing that all night,
not getting even a wink of sleep. She had stayed wide awake all night, just
singing and rocking Ashley. Her voice was to a hum now, and when it came to
morning, she was just holding that cold body, rocking it still, not wanting to
believe that Ashley was actually dead at all, and that she was only sleeping.
Serena woke up the next day, hoping that what had happened the night before was
just a bad nightmare. That she would see Ashley, alive and well, and that Beryl
would be as happy as can be.

When she went down to the cells, however, she saw Melissa, still sitting in the
exact same place she was the night before, rocking Ashley.

"Uhh...Melissa...I'm so sorry."

Melissa then finally woke up from what was like a trance to her. She had heard
Serena's words. 'I'm so sorry' was what she said to her worst enemy.

Melissa couldn't find the strength to acknowledge her, though. She just uttered
the words, "please don't be," very softly, and left it at that.

Sanikite came in a few moments later, and instantly, he was shocked to see what
had happened.


Melissa somehow found the strength to look towards him, but only to say, "They
took her away from me. They took my baby away from me. MY GOD, SHE'S GONE!!"

Sanikite came over to her, and sat down next to her, once again unsure how to
express his emotions. "Melissa, I don't know what to say. No words can express
the anger, the sadness, the guilt of what I'm feeling right now."

The next three words that came out of Queen Melissa Beryl's mouth shocked both
Serena and Sanikite.

"My life's over."

Sanikite want to make sure he heard that right. "WHAT?!"




Serena tried to calm her down. She was ready for this. She knew the stages of
how a person will deal with such a death. First sadness, then came the anger.
She was at her second stage of dealing with the tragic loss.




"MY LOVE, PLEASE...," Sanikite cried out.

Serena stopped him. "Sanikite, let her go. She needs to get this out of her
system. I guess that's the only way to express her anger towards what happened

He let Melissa run outside to wherever she was running off to.
She ran and ran and ran for about twenty minutes, as far as she could go, until
she stopped, and broke down crying again. A few minutes later, Sanikite
appeared. Beryl knew who it was.

"Sanikite, I'm sorry I acted that way. I'm sorry I told you to go to hell. I'm
sorry for everything."

"My love, you don't have to apologize to me. I understand why you said those
things. Personally, that's what I want to say right now. Not really in that way,

but that's basically what I'm feeling right now."

Sanikite held Melissa tightly. Melissa felt like she was gonna sink into
Sanikite's chest. She did, too. But she didn't feel like sleeping. She just
wanted Sanikite to hold her, to comfort her. To tell her how he felt.

The dark queen then had something come to her head. "Sanikite, tell me
something. Was Ashley the only reason why I turned good?"


"Was Ashley the only real reason why I destroyed the Dark Force?"

"No, she wasn't. You destroyed it to start a new life. You wanted to put your
past behind you. It was for Ashley. She was only one of the many reasons you
turned your life around."

Although the Dark Force statement he said was a complete lie, and he knew it, he
felt that saying it that way would comfort her, because he feared that she might
turn back into the cold-hearted woman she once was because of all of the events
that had taken place.

"Thanks, Sanikite. I needed to hear that. Please, I must do something. Don't
come after me."

She broke his hold and went off. Sanikite heeded request not to follow her.
On a table was a gun that someone from Earth on a visit there left there by
mistake. One bullet was remaining in the magazine. Melissa was staring at the
gun. She then wondered a lot of things.

"Sanikite," she said, "I am sorry for what I want to do. Ashley is dead, and my
life is though because of it. I don't want to live my life without Ashley with
me. She was my princess, my little baby. I want to join her. I want to rock her
to sleep again. I can't do that now. I can't live with that pain inside of me. I
love you, Sanikite, but this is too much for me. I want to join Ashley. I would
die for her. When I sung that song of mine to her, I knew that I wouldn't be
able to do it ever again."

She looked at the gun, and picked it up, cocked off the safety, and pointed it
to her skull. It would kill her the minute she pulled on that trigger. What was
scary, though, was that she had that look in her eyes. That she didn't care what
that thing would do to her. She had enough of everything that was going on
around her.

"Ashley, I'm coming to comfort you once again, in Heaven, Hell, whatever. I
don't care where I go, as long as I'm there, holding you close to me. You have
to be scared by not having me there. And, to my kingdom, I'm sorry. Please,
everyone, forgive me."

And with that, she pulled the trigger right to her brain.
Sanikite was near the Kingdom when he heard a gunshot go off.


He ran into the Moon Kingdom as fast as he could. As soon as he went into the
room in which the gunshot echoed from, his mind just went blank of all other

Melissa had committed suicide with that gun.

"Oh God! MELISSA," he screamed.
The next thing that Sanikite remembered was everyone gathering around the limp
body of the dead queen. Some people knew why she did it, while some people still
questioned it to this day.

The answer was explained to everyone from Sanikite. He told them that because
her daughter was dead, she didn't think she had a life anymore. Her daughter was
her light. It was her star shining bright. Ashley was not just the Princess of
the Dark Kingdom, but Queen Beryl's personal princess. Her little pride and joy,

and when she saw her dead before her, she thought that there wasn't anything
left that she could do to ease the pain. Sure, Sanikite loved her, and she knew
that she still had him, but she would be damned if she had forgotten about
Ashley's death. She couldn't live with it. In her mind, the only way to ease the
pain was that permanent solution. The shot to the head was all it took, a quick
second for her to kill herself.

And she was in heaven, Sanikite hoped, with Ashley.
Somehow, some kind of message came to him that Melissa had actually made it into
heaven. Ashley was her star. It was her light. Melissa, after years of belonging
in Hell, had finally did something right, and had made it. Sanikite knew that
when his time came, he would meet her again, and their daughter. But for now, he
had a new mission. Find Reinheart, and kill him.
Reinheart disappeared after that day, and hasn't been seen since from anyone.
Casto was named the new High Judge of the High Crimes Court. He never has
executed anyone to this very day. But he swore to God that if Reinheart ever
showed his face there again, he would suffer the same fate as Ashley did to show
him how that felt the hard way.
But for right now, that electric chair is still in shambles, and no one will be
ever allowed to repair it to make it work again, to make sure that the horrors
of that day stick in everyone's mind, and to teach a lesson to everyone. That
lesson was that life is a precious thing, and someone else's life shouldn't be
treated like a toy. And, in a way, it was in memory of Princess Ashley, to say
that it didn't have to happen that way.

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