The string quartet was softly playing; all around her were happy people, some paired off, others in groups. Chatter was light, airy, and happy. This was the Moon Kingdom's annual masquerade ball- they had a few a year, sometimes more, but this was one that everyone knew of. That everyone came to. Across the room, the princess spotted her mother, settled upon her throne, talking to a few well dressed nobles. She was laughing, her head thrown back, her twinkling laughter carrying along the room. She sighed, turning her eyes away from the throne and instead to the dance floor, where yet another dance was beginning.

At the center was a couple; a well dressed man, his tux the softest of blacks and a woman in a gown of aquamarine. As the music began, all eyes fell upon the couple, who's obvious skill and grace took all by awe. The princess straightened her spine, her eyes widening as she watched the dancing couple, the woman's gown swirling as her partner swung her gracefully around. She blinked, awestruck, wondering who this handsome couple happened to be- they seemed unfamiliar to her, and yet... Something about them called out to her. She could not pull her eyes away from the two, from the golden-haired man to the beautiful woman with her aquamarine hair piled into a knot atop her head. The princess found she longed to be between them, to be noticed by them, to speak to them. All of the court watched them dance, all as equally wonderstruck as their crown princess was.

As the dance came to and end and the couple bowed to one another, the court erupted in a chorus of cheers and applause. Both lifted their hands to acknowledge the court, their smiles merry, eyes hidden behind the masks they wore. They went their separate ways and the princess felt her heart plummet- she had hoped to see more dancing. But, it seemed as if they were both strangers and would not dance again. The woman headed past the court, who had begun to pair off as another dance began, and then she was gone, heading back down the corridor that housed the royal living quarters. She turned back to look upon her mother, only to discover she had disappeared from her throne. Serenity was surprised, it was unlike her mother to rush off in the middle of a ball, but she then saw her, disappearing down a hall that lead back towards her own chambers, the very same one the woman had gone down. She did not have long to think about what that meant because a moment later, she felt the presence of another, and a soft voice was speaking to her.

"Princess, may I have this dance...?"

Turning, Princess Serenity was surprised to see the male dancer standing before her; feeling the heat rising to her cheeks, the smiling princess nodded, extending her hand for the stranger to take. The gloved hand took hers, lifting it towards his lips and she could not help to notice his lips were soft against her knuckles. She allowed him to lead her away from her place and out amongst the dancers. A soft murmur was washing across the ballroom as the princess took to the center with her partner, though she might have argued against it, she certainly had the grace to match his previous partner's. Adjusting his hands to their proper placement, her partner fell into step with the music, taking her along with him. As they danced, Serenity could not help but to scrutinize the man; his touch was soft, gentle. There was something familiar about him... Something she could not quite place. But as they danced, she felt it was less like a man's touch, it was much to gentle to be a man. She raised her eyes to find his and the cyan-colored gaze was penetrating. "Who are you..." She found herself whispering as they dipped her low, applause sounding around them, momentairly blocking out the music. "You aren't..." She trailed off, shaking her head, extending out one hand as she was twirled away and then back again. "You're not a man." She murmured, not accusingly, more surprised than anything else.

The woman, realizing she'd been found out, chuckled softly. "I am not," she confirmed, amused by the princess' bemused expression. "But it must remain our little secret," she continued, leaning down, speaking directly into her ear. Stiffening slightly, the princess mulled this over and then nodded, the brightness of her smile blinding. Unbeknownst to either, the queen and the woman had reappeared, the latter smiling as she stood beside the queen, who was watching her daughter as she danced. "I hope you can forgive me lying, but I merely wished to dance with you. This was the only way." Tilting her head, the princess opened her mouth to say something, but the music was dying and her partner was stepping away. "I will never forget this, Princess..." The woman's soft vocals barely reached her ears, but she caught them and nodded, suddenly feeling as if her heart was being torn into two. Why did it ache for this woman to leave her side? "Goodbye." Before the princess could say a single word, the tuxedo clad woman had disappeared into the crowd, leaving the princess standing alone in the middle of the dance floor, feeling as if she had just lost someone important.

Out on the balcony, the two women came back together, the aquamarine haired woman unable to help but to chuckle. "You're so reckless, Uranus," she chided gently, shaking her head in loving exasperation. "The queen was not pleased we left our posts, but she understands..." When the golden-haired woman turned to face her, she could not stop herself from offering a smirk, her eyes flashing as she pulled the mask from her eyes. "She is beautiful though, is she not?" Both pairs of eyes turned to look back into the ballroom, to where they could both see their queen and princess standing together, a mirror image of one another, their eyes the only thing setting them apart. In an instant, their costumes were gone, replaced instead with the fuku of a soldier; soldier who's task it was to protect their precious kingdom from outsiders, from the evil that longed to destroy it. It had been many years since the princess had been born- they remembered that day well, when her bright, shining light lit up the entire galaxy for the briefest of moments. From that moment on, they had watched her grow from afar and both felt her warmth from time to time.

"She is..." Uranus replied with a sigh, her lips twitching with a smile. "Come on, Neptune," she murmured, forcing her feet to drag her body away from the glass. As she turned to go, she swore she caught the eyes of the princess, but forced herself on. In the blink of an eye, both of the senshi had gone, disappearing into the gardens below, heading towards the fountain that would transport them back to their home planets. Neptune slipped her hand into Uranus' as they approached the fountain, offering it a gentle squeeze; Uranus turned to her and smiled, before she turned to give one last glance back to the palace, where she could see the princess who had slipped out onto the balcony, looking this way and that way.

From the balcony, Princess Serenity was looking everywhere for the senshi she was certain she had seen. There was no mistaking that fuku, she knew it well, considering her four guardians wore it as well. But the coloring... It had been different... And those eyes... She blinked, shaking her head, wondering for the briefest of moments if she had truly imagined it. But then she saw them. They were at the fountain, their backs to her, but there was no mistaking it. The pair stepped into the fountain and in an instant they were gone, leaving her to wonder if she would ever know the truth of them. After several long minutes, the door to the balcony slid open and her four guardians were there, drawing her back inside, back into the party... But Serenity swore, she swore that she would never forget.

[ x x x ]

It was dark and she woke with a start, panting as she pulled herself free from the grasping hands of the dream. Sitting upright, she raised up a hand, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she came back into reality. Beside her, little Chibiusa slept on, snoring softly, her pink locks spread out across her pillow. She had her own bed, but the girl hardly used it. Untangling her limbs from hers, Usagi moved gently, careful as to not wake the sleeping girl. That was not the first dream she had had of the mysterious senshi, although that had been the most vivid of them all. Rising from her bed, the blonde padded across her room to her balcony, which she slipped out onto, despite the chill of winter outside. Shivering against the cold, she wrapped her arms around herself, thankful for her flannel pajamas; leaning against the railing, she stared out into her quiet street, the darkness thick, the sky above full of clouds so dense she couldn't see a single star. Only the moon could be seen, bright against the dark backdrop of the night sky, giving off a soft glow that warmed her more than any blanket or coat would.

Across the way, in a parked car on the street, sat two females. They, like the girl above, could not sleep, and had chosen to take to the night. She was drawing them closer every night, too close for comfort really. It was still too early for their meetings, but one of the women in particular could not help but to get close to her. "You're reckless, Haruka." The chiding voice of her partner brought a laugh from her lips and the blonde turned to her, the aquamarine beauty smiling despite her somewhat disapproving tone. "She's bound to notice us one of these nights." Haruka lifted her shoulders in a shrug as she turned back to her window, eyes searching for the girl, but she had disappeared from sight, apparently retreating back into the warmth of her home. Now that she had gone, both women took notice, her presence warm despite the distance, her aura strong and inspriring even from afar. "We should go..." Michiru's soft voice broke into her thoughts and for a moment, Haruka wanted to say no, but she sighed and nodded. Returning the key to the ignition, she started the car, and they drifted off into silence as the radio took over. Speeding off from the spot, both could not help but to spare one last glance at the window where they knew behind it was that girl with the warm, brilliant aura. One that was reminded them so much of... No... It was too good to be true.

From within her room, Usagi heard the car engine start; she rose back from her bed, making it to the window in time to see the car as it drove off, no headlights, no nothing. She watched as it turned the corner and then disappeared completely from her sight. Strange, she thought as she returned to her bed, that a car would be going someplace this late at night in her neighborhood. Climbing back beneath the covers, she gently pushed Chibiusa aside, who still slept soundly in the bed. Turning onto her side, she snuggled close to the sleeping child, who mumbled something in her sleep, probably about Usagi's cold feet, which she often complained about in the mornings. As she drifted off to sleep, Usagi could not get the image of those cyan-colored eyes from her mind, nor the soft sound of the woman's vocals as she called out to her...

"My princess..."

[ x x x ]