Rei sat beside her window lost in thought, softly tapping her fingernails on the windowsill. Her face was marred with a frown across her beautiful mouth, while her eyes spoke of unbridled anger. Her planetary symbol for Mars could be seen shining on her forehead between her brows in a brilliant red glow. Rei was holding her anger in check about her parent's sudden decision to arrange her marriage to a member of the Prince of Earth's royal guard. She had never even met the man and she was told that she was to attend a meeting that night for them to be introduced.
According to her Mother and Father, the arrangement would mean a great deal for their political stance among the treaties with the inner planets and those that make up the outer system as well. The planet of Mars specialized in the training of combat warriors and battle strategies. All of the political leaders of the Alliance considered the arrangement to be beneficial to every planet so that they would be able to create powerful armies to defend the solar system. Rei felt she could run the kingdom alone without a man interfering, but her parents disagreed, specifically the king.
Her father was well known throughout the galaxy as being the best warrior ever born, but the man was never a gentle soul. His cold demeanor towards his daughter gave her an increased hesitancy towards anyone of the male gender, feeling as though they would never respect her. Her mother was also difficult to deal with because she thought her daughter should be refined and educated. While neither quality is bad to the young princess, she felt that even when she tried the most, it was never enough. This arranged marriage was going to be hell and she knew it.
Sighing, she stood from the window and ran her hands across her dress to smooth out the wrinkles from sitting and began to walk out of the library to the meeting hall. Gazing out of the windows, she could make out the brilliantly lit stars hanging in the sky. Not too far away from her planet was Earth and that is where her future husband was arriving from. Pursing her lips, she silently admitted to herself how beautiful the blue crystal hanging in the sky was, but was still reluctant to be forced into an arranged marriage with a man.
Soft heels clicking the stone floors could be heard as Rei made her journey to the meeting hall. Her black hair was floating behind her all the way down her back, framing her body, and her violet eyes were staring ahead of her with fury in the depts. Opening the door to the study, she saw a few figures standing at the table in the center of the room. Her mother was seated at the table with her perfect and immaculate dress. Her mother, Queen Bellona, was sitting with her hands crossed in front of her on the table. She was a beautiful woman with shorter hair than Rei's that had waves cascading down around her back. She was looking to her left at Rei's father who stood in his royal armor.
Her father, King Remus, was standing with his arms crossed while he was glaring intently at the visitors that were standing in front of him. Rei began to near them with her head held high and a look of indifference on her face. The sound of her heels is what made everyone turn their head to see who had entered the room. Rei came to the table and bowed to her parents and proceed to sit in the chair parallel to her mother. After a short while of her father having a discussion with the visitors, the door opened and in walked four men dressed in a light gray battle garb with gold accents on the breast and shoulder pads. The four men stood proud and tall in the room and had an air of authority surrounding each man.
The man on the left had long, light blonde hair held behind his back in a low pony tail. He had an unreadable look on his face, but otherwise stood stoic and stiff. To his left was a man who was a little bit taller with platinum blonde hair hanging just below his shoulders. His bangs parted on his forehead, hiding over one eye and gave him a mysterious, yet standoffish aura. He stood with his feet shoulder width apart and his hands clasped behind his back. Next to him was a man with long wavy brown hair and he was about the same height as the previous man. His face was set in a hard and angry look that made him look very powerful and aggressive. However, the last man had short, wavy blonde hair that curled around his ears and the back of his neck. One hand was on his hip as he stood there staring at Rei with a look of interest on his face. Once their eyes met, he smirked and winked at her. Rei scoffed when she saw this and turned her head away with a blush on her cheeks. A much shorter man entered the room and walked around the four imposing characters and proceeded to introduce them to the royal family.
"Your majesties, this is the shitennou of the royal court on the Planet of Earth." Motioning from left to right, he introduce them. "This is Lord Zoicite, Lord Kunzite, Lord Nephrite, and Lord Jadeite. My prince has informed me that the man you wish to see is Lord Nephrite."
Rei widened her eyes a little as she realized the man known as Nephrite was none other than the brutish looking brunette located next to the one that winked at her. She dared to take another glance at the young man to the far right and noticed that, once again, he was staring at her with a small smile playing upon his luscious lips. Unable to look away, she felt her cheeks flush again and decided to look down at her hands instead. Nephrite moved forward and placed his right fist over his heart and bowed at the waist.
"Your majesties, it is an honor to meet you. I cannot speak the gratitude I feel knowing you find myself to be worthy of your daughter in marriage."
King Remus uncrossed his arms for the first time since Rei entered the room and came closer to the man.
"Lord Nephrite, it is nice to meet you. I hope you understand this is formality that I didn't think I'd ever have to take, but I am reassured that you will be the right man for my daughter. She is a special girl and I need to know there is a strong man there to protect her."
Nephrite's face never faltered as he stared at the King with a look of concentration on his face. "Thank you, your highness. I'm eternally grateful that you find me to be the man for your daughter. I will protect her and take care of her just as you wish."
King Remus and Nephrite clasped hands and nodded to each other, affirming their agreement to the marriage arrangement. Queen Bellona cleared her throat and stood from her chair and walked around to speak to Nephrite directly.
"Nephrite, it is nice to meet you and I welcome you to our family."
Reaching her dainty hand out, Nephrite took her hand in his and lightly kissed the back of it, showing his respect for his future mother-in-law. Softly smiling, she returned back to her seat while continuing to look towards the two men. She softly coughed and Rei knew that was her mother's way of saying she should introduce herself to her future husband. With an inward sigh, Rei stood slowly, pushing herself with much needed resolve, and walked slowly to the brute.
With a bow, she kept her eyes down and said, "Lord Nephrite, it is nice to meet you and I welcome you to the planet of Mars. I hope to find the opportunity to get to know you a little better before our betrothal."
She quickly glanced at the man in the back with the short hair and couldn't shake the feeling that this was a mistake. She held no attraction for the man in front of her. She did, however, feel her heart pounding in her chest whenever she caught even a glimpse of the man known as Jadeite.