"Mother, are you sure about this?"
The dainty Moon Princess chewed on her bottom lip, revealing uncertainty and fear. Her long silver hair flowed down to her knees, fixed in the royal customary twisted buns. Her bright blue eyes were downcast. Her mother, Queen Serenity, smiled at her heir with a calm confidence she hoped to one day possess.
"Yes, sweetheart. It is time that the Silver Alliance offer an open hand to the Earth Kingdom and try to make peace."
"But Mother, our universe is in peace! It has been in peace for decades! Must we extend such friendly invitations to those...barbarians?! Is it not true that they see our magic and power as witchcraft? They've called you names I cannot even repeat! And I can only imagine what they've called me..."
The Queen winced as her daughter struggled to keep her demeanor under control. Princess Serenity was raised by her, after all! Whatever notions she had of the Earthlings between less than civilized was in due part to her Mother's influence.
"You are correct in stating that we are in a period of peace, but that will not always be so. You were still in my womb when the last attack occurred..."
Princess Serenity felt a stab of guilt at her questioning. She knew that her Father, the King of the Moon, had died at the last battle where the creatures of the Black Hole had attacked under the Dark Lord's control. Her Mother's regal appearance now appeared tired and exhausted, and she knew that it was because of this attempted Moon-Earth truce.
"Princess, the Queen of Mars has revealed to me that she has sensed a dark energy forming...it is faint, and she cannot put a finger on where or how it started."
Princess Serenity gasped and her eyes widened. She had never heard of this up until now.
Queen Serenity continued, "But we must be ready. Last time, we weren't ready and that is why your Father passed. We cannot afford the same thing to happen this time. We underestimated the power of those in the darker parts of our universe. We may need all the help we can get. Do you understand?"
Gulping, the Princess nodded and then bowed to excuse herself. She had to prepare herself for the arrival of the notorious Earth Prince and his Heavenly Generals, who would be arriving the next morning. The Earth Prince was notorious for his good looks and charm. But not only that, he was an extremely skilled fighter and won many wars, which was obvious from his chiseled physique. Diplomats also praised him for his intelligence and tact when discussing politics and plans for his kingdom. His Heavenly Generals were also equally handsome, in their own ways, and were his best friends and assisted him in battle. The Princess silently pondered the information she had gathered about these men. She was intrigued by the reputations these men built for themselves. If she hadn't known that they were used women like they were toys to play with and throw away, then maybe she would have anticipated their arrivals! On Earth, women were subservient to men and were not educated. They weren't even able to own property or work on their own. Princess Serenity wrinkled her nose in disapproval, betting her life even that they thought she would just be a pretty thing to look at! She grinned and thought about her specific skill set as a princess. Every day, she would meet with her best friends, and they would go about certain tasks together. Led by Princess Ami, the princesses would study and learn knowledge for hours in their library. Later in the day, they would meet in the kitchen and be skilled at baking and cooking, led by Princess Makoto. While this was seen as an inferior job for the maids to do, the princesses considered that nonsense and decided to learn despite protests from their parents. And then Princess Rei would bring them to the temple and teach them to meditate and focus their minds on a particular task. It was very important for the Princess to control her emotions and not display weakness in front of her kingdom. And last but not least, Princess Minako would lead them to the fortified training room, where they would learn to fight with swords and arrows or just with their bare hands. While they all had magical powers from their own home planets, it was still important to know how to defend one's self from the enemies.
The Princess walked down the grand hallway toward her bed chambers with her head held high. 'Prince Endymion, if you think I am just a weak-willed woman who will fall to your charms, then you've got another thing coming...'