Disclaimer: I don't own it baby!
Rating: PG, just to be safe.
Pairing: OC/OC! Holy Moly!
Summary: Tori, Princess of the Neo- Moon Empire, finds herself vastly different to her family. She doesn't want to be a princess of Moon; she wants to be a normal person from Earth. When strange things start to happen to her planet, she finds herself trying to save it with the help of someone so different they might as well be the same.
A/N: Wow. I have never written SM fanfic before, so please, be gentle. This story is in the Neo Moon Empire setting, but if some of the facts are awry don't worry, its an AU. I haven't watched SM in a while, so if my memory is whack please feel free to review and tell me what's what. This setting comes with the idea that Serena, Darien, whatever you want to call them, and the others all live for quite a while and are now living in a time where they have once again established the moon civilization and are living in Crystal Tokyo, just because that's what I always thought was how it goes in the show. If I'm wrong, deal with me, it's an AU and take it as they now live in Crystal Tokyo but are still the same people from the series. Also, in this we have the return of a now peaceful dark moon family. Plain crazy whack, but that's the story I'm going for. This first chapter is dedicated to the point of view of Mamoru/Darien, a character we'll be seeing a lot more of and whom was the best to introduce the setting.
I hope you enjoy this short prologue, and feel free to review!
Comparing a Bird to a Bunny
Mamoru sighed, raising a champagne flute to his mouth and taking a long sip. Beside him, the princess of Mars was clutching his arm and babbling on, laughing shrilly at her own joke and digging her red nails painfully into a cloth covered bicep. Mamoru just nodded along and took another drink, trying hard to hide his relief as the princess of Venus came over, apologizing to them both and dragging their friend away from the king.
When both were out of ears reach he let out a long sigh, before taking a much longer drink from his glass.
"Was she really that bad?"
Mamoru turned, surprised, smiling when he saw whom it was.
"Worse than usual," he admitted. "I'm afraid I have a low tolerance for parties such as these, and Rei with a wine loosened tongue makes it doubly so."
Ami, the Princess of Mercury just smiled, taking up said friends place as she linked her arm with her kings. "I understand what you mean," she agreed sympathetically. "Fortunately, everyone else doesn't seem to mind it so much." She gestured to the party, and Mamoru smiled as he watched Mina and Rei drag protesting ambassadors onto a small dance floor, the couples and others around them all laughing and clapping them on.
"Fortunate indeed. I'd hate to insult anyone here," he pointed out dryly, and Ami made a vehement noise that showed her agreement easily.
On most normal occasions, the king was tense enough at royal gatherings, careful not to step on anyone's over pompous toes should they, as Makoto had put it once so gracefully, wig out. When said royal gathering was a formal ball to celebrate a peace treaty between the last vestiges of the Black Moon family and the Neo Moon Empire, Mamoru was so tense it was, as Makoto had told him cheerfully earlier, like someone had stuffed a pole up his bum and told him to do the rumba.
Mamoru had preferred to call it painfully uncomfortable.
As if sensing his mood, Ami gave a gentle squeeze on his arm and flashed a smile up at him. "Relax," she told him soothingly. "Everything is fine, so don't look so worried."
"I am worried," he whispered. "A lifetime of fighting your dinner guests does that to you."
"Relax," she told him again as he took another long drink out of his rapidly emptying glass. "It's been years since anything like that had happened," she reminded him. "Besides, the treaty has been signed, the drinks have been laid out, and I, personally, have no worries about it at all."
The king raised his eyebrow at her, suspicious. "Really? This from the person whom was the first to give her suspicions to the matter, that's fascinating."
Ami blushed slightly. "Its true," she confessed. "But just take a look around. This hardly seems conducive to hatred and rivalry, now does it?"
Mamoru followed her gaze, sighing as he realised that she was right. Away from the dance floor were the Four Sisters, all split up and chatting away happily to people he didn't know, making polite comments and acting charming as they sipped their drinks and laughed to bad jokes.
The eldest daughter of the Black Moon family could be seen waltzing across the dance floor gracefully with her younger brother, and he stifled a smile at the irrepressibly bored look on the young mans face. They clashed rather horribly together in soft pink and maroon red, but the problem was soon fixed as Haruka and Michiru cut in, the princesses graciously dancing away with their royal counterparts. Next to the large windows that led to the balcony he could see Makoto walking outside, happily latched onto the arm of the eldest prince as they talked, before disappearing from his sight.
All in all, he had to agree with Ami, and let out a sigh. "You're right, but that doesn't make me any less nervous."
He continued to talk with Ami a bit longer before she left him to go and talk with the young prince, and he sighed in the few moments' peace he was spared. It was all broken once again as he was called over by his wife mere moments later, and he sighed deeply once more before picking up a new drink, settling his empty glass on a tray carried by a waiter. Steeling a smile on his face he turned round, walking over to his Bunny and placing a gentle hand at her waist.
"Mamoru, darling," she cooed. "I don't think you've had the opportunity to talk to our guest yet, have you?"
Mamoru smiled, reaching out to press a kiss against a slim hand. "My apologies, fair lady."
"No apologies needed at all," the other Queen laughed, waving that slim hand again. "Although I have kept your marvelous wife from you, so perhaps it is I that should be apologizing?"
The king smiled and laughed, fazing out slightly as the conversation continued on about the treaty, his well-being and the splendor of the ball. A tedious conversation to be sure, but the two Queens seemed happy enough on the subjects, and so he was content to simply sit back and listen in. The Queens name was Pearl, and he wondered why it was that everyone in the Black Moon family seemed to focus on a particular treasure for their names. Rather strange, actually.
Pearl herself was not a direct ascendant to the throne, he had learned, but one of the offside families that had only risen to the throne by way of marriage. Her husband had been the man to replace Diamond at his fall, and had only recently passed away. The entire peace treaty had been proposed before his death, and it had seemed to Mamoru that with his passing the treaty would go with him, but the Queen hadn't let it go. It was with her work that it had all finally come together, and it was her signature written in gold ink on the piece of paper.
She was rather elegant, he noted. His own wife still looked young and vibrant, but powerful at the same time. This other Queen had the face of someone whom had seem hard times, marked by the small lines at the corners of her mouth. Her hair was purple and her dress was silvery grey, and as tall and slim as she was it gave the impression of ethereal beauty. Her children seemed to follow in the tall and graceful genes, but he wondered if, like his own children, they were all complete klutzes in the comfort of their own home.
Speak of the devil, Mamoru thought, as Chibi-Usa walked up to them, arm in arm with the solemn young prince.
"Usagi, darling! You've found the prince Casper, how excellent!"
Both queens were smiling brightly at their offspring, and Chibi-Usa smiled back whilst the Prince just looked sulky.
"More like he found me, actually. I was just coming in from a quick walk in the gardens and he ran headlong into me." She smiled at the younger boy, and Mamoru watched interestedly as a flush spread across his cheeks. "He seemed to be rather in a rush, actually."
As the prince tried to explain his reasons for escaping the party Mamoru just smiled, once again fazing out. Judging by the way Bunny's foot was angled subtly over his own, he knew it would be quite a while before he'd be able to make his own excuses and escape back into solitude. The conversation once again continued, this time directed at the Prince and Princess, and he blinked and tried not to make too much noise as his wife's heeled foot suddenly came slamming down on his own.
He'd been caught out.
"P-Pardon?"
The Queen laughed. "Your other daughter," she repeated with a smile. "I haven't seen the princess Tori all night."
"Erm," Mamoru blinked, his head turning slightly as he did a quick scan of the room. "How strange", he said with a half laugh. "I was certain that I'd seen her only a while ago…"
He trailed off at the curious looks on his guests' faces, whilst his daughter and wife gave the same uncomfortable laugh he had.
There was a moment of silence, and then his Bunny laughed, waving it off with a careful wave of one gloved hand. "She's probably just gone out to get some night air," she told the other Queen with a smile. "Our Tori has always enjoyed the gardens at this time of night."
Pearl nodded with a smile of understanding, but the Prince was looking at them suspiciously. He was about to open his mouth to say something when Chibi-Usa swept him off to the dance floor once more, and Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief.
"Think I might go find her and get some air myself," he excused himself to both ladies. Pearl nodded and smiled, but the look in his wife's eyes read something along the lines of "you better".
Hurrying away quickly he took a long draught of his champagne, wishing that he had something stronger on hand.
It was going to be a long night indeed.
I hope you enjoyed it! As you can see, our protagonist wont be introduced until next chapter, so please review if you wanna see her!