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The door on the far wall whined on its hinges. It swung open a few feet, just enough to allow for the lithe frame of a woman to pass into the chamber. Long panels of fitted purple velvet draped down a pale-skinned frame, masking the heels on her feet that echoed in sharp clicks across the hard stone floor. The black nails of her left hand pressed into the dark wood of the door. Just as quickly as it had opened, she shut it once more, sliding a heavy lock into place.

This was not a time for her to be disturbed. Frankly, the Queen of the Negaverse had become less and less receptive to interruptions in recent times than she perhaps ever had been before. The kingdom that sprawled out all around her, that had been with her in the past, was changing. There were days when the thought of those changes made the final goal that much closer... and others when she found herself glaring at those who fought beside her with doubt and paranoia.

These were annoyances for another time.

Queen Beryl turned with a regal ease, curling one hand to rest in front of her chest. She did not smile at the man in her chamber. She watched him carefully, quietly. It would never be easy for her to look at this man. It would always be eerie, off-putting. But it was necessary, and Beryl knew how to sacrifice.

"Elysion should have been a victory. Chibimoon is still protected, and Helios holds the Golden Crystal," she said. "This is unacceptable."

Queen Beryl was not in the field at Elysion. The work that she did was at a distance. It almost always was. In the past, getting her hands dirty meant compromising her position. In battle, someone had to lead and others had to carry out those orders. Beryl subscribed to the former. It didn't make her frustration at failed missions any less aggravating.

"I had my generals clamoring to tell me that you could not even take the Golden Crystal away from a young girl." It was truly an inspired sneer on her face, the look practiced in her mirror for an hour every day. Someone should probably have told the Queen of the Negaverse that such things gave you wrinkles, but she seemed confident that she would forever remain in this beautiful, youthful body. "The Great Prince Endymion -- he commands the once-General Tanzanite and then throws Princess Chronos into the path of danger. Even without the crystal, the senshi don't know what to make of you."

The hand hovering over her chest slipped to her side. Beryl took slow, long strides across the tile. She stopped just in front of the dark-haired man eying her empty throne. Beryl followed the line of his gaze and then smirked. "You have not changed much. Still lusting after thrones that are not yours," she said, a bite of arrogant power slipping in. "Our goal is the same. Let's not be overreaching. It did not serve you well in the past." A flicker of memory burned across her mind: this man trying to force sovereignty onto his own shoulders. The purpose was noble, but the execution was laden with folly. He died for it.

This chamber was hers, the throne, the power -- but Beryl regarded the lower-powered warrior with a certain strange cadence, a familiarity. This man was no stranger to her, but their relationship was old. And even then, it had never been particularly close. "You really look so much like him," she said lowly. "But you are not Prince Endymion. And I received reports from the General-Queens on the battlefield that some of the senshi doubted you too. I expect more from a Negaverse captain, especially one with your knowledge and skills."

Her mouth fell into a hard line. "I need more from you, captain. The Negaverse needs more. You are filling a role that no one else is able to fill. Your capacity for victory is great," she said, taking the few short steps up to the dark chair that served as her official place of prestige. Beryl took a seat, smoothed out her skirt, and then caught the false prince's eye. "And the penalty for failing me is staggering." Her nails gripped the edge of her throne.

The clawing grip on the arm of her throne loosened, but still held its rigid posture, elbow poking out and shoulder squared. "The General-Queens know, of course. The generals will be informed soon, but it is paramount that the lieutenants remain in the dark, captains too. I will not have this opportunity lost because of an idiot child bragging in public," she said. There was a low hiss in her voice. It spoke of those that had died before her, by her hand even.

But this man was not one of them.

His undoing had been by other hands - and his rebirth here? Not even Beryl could explain its purpose. But she knew that face. It was burned into the tissue of her heart, even if the man before her only bore a striking resemblance to Endymion. It was close, too close really, for her to forget about their likeness for too long. Bloodlines could be a funny thing.

Beryl had known from the moment she saw him, a blur of color running through the rain-wet streets of London. General-Queen Laurelite had not known him for who he was, and the false prince still had his memories locked beneath the webby haze of rediscovering his powers. It took many conversations with the Queen of the Negaverse to awaken the soul that was sleeping within him. It had taken considerably more effort to keep his identity and special relevance a secret, even from his fellow Negas.

Now it was time to make good on six months of preparation, a focus that had seen him grow from a lieutenant to a captain, all without arousing suspicion.

"Win the love of the girl. Convince the senshi. Bring me the crystal. Do these things, and you will have a throne. You will have respect. All of it - you can have it in this life time," she said. "Let no one learn who you are. Not even another Captain. Be careful of Helios. Avoid anyone who might know how to test your abilities." Her eyes narrowed to points. "I will not watch another Elysion come and go."

A tumble of bright orange hair fell over one shoulder as Queen Beryl turned to summon an empty glass orb from a hidden compartment of her throne. It was too bothersome to maintain eye contact with her guest. It brought up too many feelings that made her weak. Right now, Beryl could not be weak; there were other rulers waiting in the wings for her to falter.

Rulers, perhaps, like the one who had been eying her throne just then.

"Captain Phenakite," she said suddenly. She waited for him to turn to face her before she continued. "You are reborn in a way that no one else in our faction has so far been reborn, save me. This will not keep me from killing you if you fail me. There are no thrones for the dead."

Her eyes fell back to the churning orb of purple-black energy stationed before her. The conversation was over. Queen Beryl had already moved on to her next challenge.

"Leave."

When the door closed, Queen Beryl looked up, sharpened nails freezing over the glowing orb. He looks just like him, she thought again. Her memories were long and winding, and even someone as determined as she was could grow lost in them.

"Endymion is dead," she said to the empty room.

Then, a moment later, again: "Endymion is dead."

None of it helped get the image of Captain Phenakite out of her head. It was a long time before the dark ruler of the lost throne of Earth was able to return to her energy transference once more.






(( The contents of this RP are not general shop knowledge. The only members of the Negaverse who have been made aware of the true identity of the false prince are the General-Queens currently serving as the heads of the faction. This event is not a component of the meta event that is about to start, but is a continuation/tangent off of the close of the Elysion plot. Stay tuned with MoonKitsune and GMs for plotting opportunities!

Note: some of you may have read another version of this RP posted earlier today. There was a slight mix-up -- our apologies. This is the correct IC thread. ))