Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely borrowed them for a short while.
A short little piece written for the 9th theme challenge: Disguise for the LJ Community SMMonthly.
Crescent Moon Power
'That girl,' Sailor Venus thought with exasperation as she hurried through the corridors of the Moon Castle to her chambers. 'She'll be the death of me! Why does she always have to go and do dangerous things like this?' She pushed open the door to her reception chamber and hurried across its golden carpet. 'Of all the planets in the system to go to, why pick Earth? They're so... so... barbaric!'
She opened the door to her bedchamber and moved quickly to her dressing room. 'It's also the single most dangerous planet in the entire system.' She shuddered as she began to flip through her dress selection searching for something simple that didn't scream rich, powerful, ransom here. 'Wild primitives in the south, pirates in the east, wild animals in the west, and up north...' Her face grew pale as she remembered the stories of dark, bloodthirsty, magical creatures that had begun to appear in the northern section of the blue-green world which filled up the Moon's sky. 'Even the people of the Golden Kingdom won't go to the north, and they're only a little more civilized than the rest of the world!'
Quickly, she turned her attention away from that fear and considered the simple, long, dark blue gown she had found. With a frown and a shake of her head, she put it back and continued to dig. 'Wore that last time. The guards might remember it,' she thought, 'especially that cute, tall, white haired one. I swear I bought a new dress just for this purpose...'
"Ah!" she exclaimed out loud as she drew out a long, dark brown dress. Quickly, she hurried behind a decorative screen and began to change outfits. 'When I catch her, I'm gonna use that beautiful, long, white hair of hers and tie her to her throne. No, I'll lock her in her room. No, I know. I'll loose her afternoon snacks for a week. That'll show her!'
And yet, she did understand Serenity's motivations. Earth was the one planet in the entire system where most people did not know or care who she was. It was the one place she could go and not have to watch her every word and action for fear of destroying months of painstaking negotiations and politicking. Even the all powerful Crown Princess of the Silver Millennium felt the need to escape the pressures sometimes. 'We need to find her a better vacation spot, she mused as she jerked the new dress over her head. 'Now that the Mercurians have taken over her favorite retreat for a rehabilitation spa, she really doesn't have any place else to go and escape.'
Sailor Venus bustled out from behind the screen, carefully, and studied herself in the full length mirror. Ignoring her messy hair for the moment, she analyzed the fit of the dress as she smoothed her hands over it. She had never had a chance to try it on, either before she had purchased it at the local bazaar or after she had smuggled it into her room. The bust line was a little bit tight, but not uncomfortably or indecently so. The waist was a little loose, but she spotted a pale yellow sash in the mirror that was hanging on the rack behind her. That would do. The length, however, was a problem. She frowned as she looked down at the hem of the dress which didn't just drag across the floor, it folded under at least another palm's length of material. She would never be able to run, much less fight, with that much material by her feet.
Frantically, aware that every minute wasted was another minute that her precious princess was alone and unguarded on a foreign, dangerous world, her blue eyes flew around the room. 'Scissors! Pins! Something, anything! I don't have time for this!'
A flash of light on top of her dresser made her freeze. Wide eyed, she lifted her skirts and hurried to look at it. A metallic, crescent moon shaped box decorated with stars and a bejeweled crescent moon had appeared out of nowhere. Momentarily distracted, she picked it up and studied it. It appeared to be made out of pure gold, except for the pinkish ruby that decorated the carving of the crescent moon.
She noticed a latch and opened it curiously. A small, folded note on white paper fell out and landed on the dresser. She ignored it for a moment and admired the mirror that had miraculously appeared between the two halves of the box. It looked a little like a small silver moon surrounded by two golden crescents. Finally, she closed it and picked up the slip of paper.
"Crescent Moon Power Transform?" she whispered curiously. The little crescent shaped compact began to glow in her hands. Startled, she dropped it onto the dresser. "Is... Is this something for Princess Serenity?" she asked softly. She shook her head slowly. "Transform... Sounds like something to use for a disguise." Her eyes widened at the thought of all the trouble her mischievous princess could get into with a piece of jewelry that would disguise her. "Oh no. No. I definitely need to keep this away from her..." A smile grew on her face as she suddenly thought of all the neat things she could do with a piece of jewelry that could disguise her.
"Disguise... Disguise!" All thoughts of pranks and secret rendezvous flew from her head immediately as she looked at the crescent-shaped compact again. Dropping the slip of paper, she snatched up her skirts and flew back behind the screen again. Quickly, she changed back into her fuku. She took a few more precious seconds to run a brush through her hair, and then snatched up the compact.
"Crescent Moon Power... Transform! Disguise me as a nice looking soldier of the Golden Kingdom!" Gold and silver light flowed around her. When it faded, she stared at herself in the mirror. A slim, good-looking, young soldier with brown hair and brown eyes stared back at her. He wore the standard military issue beige jacket and pants and shiny black boots of the Golden Kingdom, and on his arm a patch declared that he was a member of their army.
"Yes!" she said and clenched her white gloved fist. Her voice came out lower than usual, but not quite as low as a man's. "This will work perfectly!" Quickly, she snatched up her transformation wand. "Sailor Teleport!" With a flash of golden light, she disappeared from her chambers.
On the balcony off her sitting room, Queen Serenity sighed and looked up at the blue, green, and white world that floated overhead. She had felt the surge of power, and knew that Sailor Venus had found her gift. "Bring her back safely, Venus," she whispered softly into the late afternoon air. "And return safely, yourself."