"Nonsense; here, touch my wrist—feel that? That's a heart beat. We're not as different as you claim!"
"The difference between our people is that you would share such evidence without fear that it will eventually be used against you."
The morning was hot and humid, with a dewiness that lingered from the vestiges of spring. They arrived early at Earth's court in an entourage of twenty to meet with a newly appointed consul, and Minako Aino headed them, collected and self-assured. This was the first time she'd traveled with Queen Serenity and her Moon court under the guise of Princess Serenity, the moon queen's daughter. She was older than her daughter, but held such a striking resemblance that she passed as the Moon's princess with ease.
Beryl had held reputation as being a competent sorceress even at her early years, and indeed, even standing before the woman who manned the crystalline throne with such confidence made Minako's skin prickle. She remembered what was said about Earth's sorcery, and their communion with demons, the rituals involved, and grotesque blood sacrifices that were important components of their work. They were rumored to steal ripened girl children for their chastity in ritual use, as propulsion for their spells. It was also supposed that most sorcerers mutated in time to match the work they did. Minako couldn't help but to expect such mutations.
But Beryl did not meet up with the stereotype. Her hair, a long collection of burgundy, was magnificently groomed and spilled to the floor in glossy ringlets, not much shorter than Minako's. Her figure was full and attractive, and she dressed in a purple gown that adhered to her chest but flowed easily from her legs—a style that was the same as Minako's gown, except hers wasn't quite as provocatively shaped at the breasts.
This was supposed to be Princess Serenity's introduction to Earth's politics, and thusly, Queen Serenity took a backseat to the proceedings to stand tall with her men. Minako, by herself, approached the throne, trying by virtue of stature and poise to seem older than she was, pretending as though she'd done this all before. She bowed low with her gossamer gown gripped delicately between her hands, and waited to be formally announced by name, title, and purpose.
Beryl sat solemnly through the unmemorable introduction and interrupted at the end to speak over Minako's head to Queen Serenity directly. A few comments were passed back and forth in a mostly neutral exchange. Minako, collected as she was, couldn't recall afterward what had been said exactly, but remembered very clearly the grim look Beryl had for her when her golden eyes fastidiously affixed to herself. She held both arms of her throne and said, "In the name of Earth's righteous King, Lord and Warden of this blue planet, I do welcome you to this court and recognize your role and influence within the Moon's Kingdom, and how it relates to your eventual future dealings with the residents of Earth. Ours is a very intimate relationship, and has been since conception of stars. It seems our planetary fates are to be forever interwoven."
Minako rose. As she did, Queen Serenity spoke behind her, "Such a gracious reception. We wonder, though, why Earth's Lord and Warden is so indisposed as to be absent?"
That was when Minako had the chance to observe Beryl without being concerned with whether or not she was technically staring. Beryl was a younger woman, but she had a strong alto voice. Her beauty, while not obvious, was striking, and doubly so when she smiled as she did at the queen's question.
"The King's indisposition is not a topic for either of us to discuss, in public or in private."
"And the prince?" Queen Serenity persisted, "Does he care nothing for his role?"
At this, Beryl sucked a breath between her teeth before answering. To Minako, it sounded like a hissing snake. "I'm afraid I must claim responsibility for his absence. I am protective of my own. I'm certain you must understand such sentiments. Fear not. I act as both eyes, ears and mouth, and what I've discerned with my eyes and ears is that there is clearly a matter of import you wish to discuss. We shall see if it's of import to Earth. Shall we take our discussion to a more private chamber, or shall we continue pretending otherwise?" To Minako, Beryl added curtly as she stood to her full height, "Earth's surface is habitable to a host of living growth foreign to your rocky Moon, and as Earthlings, we stake a certain pride in that-so much so that we spend with reckless abandon to keep our gardens in order. Kunzite can show you our very own court garden."
It was not an unkindly made suggestion, but it was a dismissal all the samel. Minako looked first to the queen, uncertain in this regard which lead she should take; however, Queen Serenity did not look at her, but walked straight forward, following Beryl's lead from the throne where they could speak in private. With her went a few members of her own court, and with Beryl went three men dressed in the same style as Kunzite's uniform. And Kunzite, himself, approached Minako without bowing.
"Princess Serenity," he began, unsmiling, "if you would do me the pleasure of following."
To Minako, he had the air of a king. A silent calm lingered on his body like a fine cologne. She met his gaze eye to eye but it took willful determination afterward not to immediately glance away under the intensity of his harrowing tawny stare. She accepted his extended arm, demurely saying under breath so that the speculating court men behind could not hear, "But you're the only person since I've arrived who hasn't smiled at least once—I was watching, you know?" As they proceeded to walk with her delicately glove laced hand held tight between his arm and waist, she feigned a laugh, bringing a light hearted air of jest to her words, "So I'm unconvinced that this should bring you any type of pleasure."
"It doesn't," Kunzite admitted without apology. He glanced behind to watch the remaining fifteen of the moon court file behind them in a paired line. It was evident he despised them. Everything about his countenance delineated that. They kept their distance, allowing for a faux sense of privacy.
"What?"
"Hush now, and walk faster." He inhaled deeply as they entered the garden.
Minako had been born a Venusian, and belonged to her own neighboring kingdom on Venus. The vegetation there had been full of annuals and perennials. Fluffy hedges of flowers and cascading amaranth along ivy coated walls. Golden barked trees that dappled along streams and glittered with light from the boiling sun, and colorful birds that drank nectar from the blooming trees, the scent of which flavored the air thick and sweet.
Earth harbored a different sort of vegetation. It was less natural and more organized, and very, very green. Three acres of hedges preened for thousands of years that winded together in what seemed to be a miniature maze, the verdant green a stark contrast against the white brick walls of an equally clean kept castle. It smelled of moist grass, and lacked any other discerning sweet scent. Poking up from the hedges like sentinels were trees, armored at the bark in dark chocolatey, ridged browns and flowerless green leaves. Their wide bases were covered in ample mounds of dirt, where their roots could wrestle and grow misshapen beneath. It was a place of silence and sunshine, and to Minako, seemingly impersonal.
Her distaste was further amplified by Kunzite. She'd been distinctly snubbed, and proper societal etiquette declared that she treated the man as though he'd been a pinnacle of genteel hospitality. She failed to simply 'let it go' without feeling a lingering resentment, and it lead, eventually, to her second attempt to speak with him, her voice a hint more grated than would be deemed appropriate.
"You really don't want to be out here? Your brothers in uniform went in with your witch. If you long to join them so badly, then do it. I think I can manage a maze just as well without you."
"Be quiet."
Minako ripped her hand free from his grasp, and held it to her chest as though being in contact with him had been burning her skin all along. She could fill the blood filling her face. "Why are you acting like this? You're... You're being-"
"Rude? Inconsiderate?" Kunzite suggested.
She glowered back, then gathered the longer panels of her front skirt in hand to charge forward through the hedges.
He followed. She could hear the sneer in his voice. "You shouldn't run on grass in heels, little girl. Should you fall you'll stain your gown, and then what pretty gown shall you wear for the evening?"
"Don't follow me!"
"An impossibility, I'm afraid. You see, these hedges run for miles upon miles, and while I have no doubt that eventually you would see fit to go over top rather than around, I wouldn't want the blame for your scratched and disheveled appearance upon your return. Come now, be reasonable and still."
"You're unpleasant, you're rude, and I don't want to spend a second longer in your presence than I already have to; so either you leave, or I leave you, and-"
He had caught up to her. He grasped her elbow in his firm grip, and reigned her back to his side. The unexpected force he exerted raised a red flag of panic. Her large blue eyes flitted to the space behind him, hoping that one of the court had caught up, but they hadn't. Worse, Kunzite delighted in the brief uncertainty that struck her expression, and gripped both her arms just as firmly to hold her still in front of him. He bowed his head toward her and spoke secretively for her ears alone, his words in his excitement far more animated than he'd appeared capable of being moments before, "You know why you're here, don't you?"
"Let go of me! Let me go—I'll scream!"
He shook her. Not harshly, but enough to jar her from the all-out struggle she'd dedicated herself to. "No you won't. You'll listen. Be quiet and still. Yes. Like that. You can be a good girl, can't you? Now stop scowling and listen. Your mother and Lady Beryl are negotiating your imminent betrothal to Prince Endymion. You do understand that, don't you? You were here to get appraised."
"Wh-... What?" Minako finally stilled completely, though her nails and fingers remained clawed onto his forearms in a rebelliously tight grip. Just in time for her court to find her wide-eyed and speechless beneath Kunzite's consuming gaze.
"Princess?" the word was spoken with uncertainty by the first of the moon court to catch up with them. He was a broad-shouldered thing with blonde hair and a smoothed face, the lack of facial hair seemingly iconic for men that served the Moon Kingdom. "Sir, it is inappropriate conduct to-"
At once, Minako found herself released, if not thrust from Kunzite's grip. He spoke for both of them, leading her forward as he had before, but this time by holding his hand low on her back, the warmth of his palm reaching through the barriers of fabric in between. "All is fine. We've almost reached the center. A luncheon has been, undoubtedly, prepared for our arrival and awaits us, getting ever chilled by the second the longer we dawdle. After all, we understand how your people enjoy your snacks."
While uncertain, the entourage all murmured in unison their approval of a snack, and the women within the crowd hoisted their dresses to their ankles so they could walk a little quicker along the plush carpet of grass. Minako, who was not as fond of snacks as the people of the Moon, kept her eyes down as she was guided into, at last, a clearing with stone benches, tables, and garden variety flowers that were neatly contained in pillar-shaped bird baths. She knew Kunzite was studying her with hawkish eyes, and outwardly, she couldn't protest such an arrangement, at least not without knowing Queen Serenity's decision on the matter. For now, she was to be a blank state, but the trouble the news brought her was troubling from within. Kunzite, if no one else, surely picked up on it.
It was afterward, as they shared a blood red punch chilled on ice in crystal glasses that Kunzite leaned over her, carefully tucked her styled hair away from her ear and cheek to hiss intimately in her ear, "Our fates are interwoven."
For the rest of their luncheon, Minako could scarcely hear else other than the thrumming of blood in her ears. Her thoughts went to Princess Serenity.
She had met the princess once when she was younger, but she remembered more about the formality of the meeting than the princess herself. She had never been to the Moon Kingdom before, and before then, the old Venusian oaths to the celestial queen who, with beauty and grace, coaxed the white craggy surface of a barren surface into a magnificent kingdom of stars were only words. As her mother had been, Minako was sworn into the protection of the princess.
She remembered kneeling in front of Princess Serenity, and she remembered that, even then, they could have passed as twins. Their resemblance not unnoticed by others, Minako's role of servitude within the moon princess's life quickly came to being her doppleganger. She was reared, trained, and taught within the kingdom itself the proper etiquette expected by Queen Serenity and her royal family, but separately from Princess Serenity, for reasons Minako had never quite understood. There were times when, on occasion, she would spot the princess in her courtyard, alight with warmth and laughter as she conversed with those that kept her company. She even remembered such an instance where the princess had met her curious gaze and waved her over in open invitation.
Minako's instructor had ushered her along with formal apologies and excuses as to why they hadn't the time, but it was an invitation she had not forgotten. She thought, now, about how Princess Serenity would react upon hearing the news of her engagement. Would she accept it with the same bubbly warmth she exuded at a seeming constant, or would it trouble her, and cause he lips to traverse the foreign territory of a frown?
It was only after they'd been lead back to the castle, and Kunzite excused himself to rejoin his brethren in uniform, that Minako's thoughts crossed back to him. Why had he told her about the betrothal? Why had he been so upset? Her attention was brought back to the present only when Queen Serenity approached her, fingers interwoven on top o fher thighs. With a careful smile, she announced, "It seems we have much that needs to be discussed."
AN: Admittedly, watching the first episode of Sailor Moon Crystal stroke an old note of fondness within me for writing fanfiction. I've never been very good at it, I'm afraid, and I've always hated my own writing. Never the less, I wanted to visit back to the Moon Kingdom and the relationships that were formed even then that extended beyond time.
I think at some point everyone comes to have a fondness for a certain scout, and for those who have been in the fandom long enough, they have a period of time where each scout is their favorite for one reason or another, whether it's a particular fanfiction they read or just a newer appreciation for different perspectives provided in the series through its numerous revivals. For me, my first favorite scout was Sailor Jupiter, who I still refer to as Lita rather than Makoto in my head. After a time, it became Minako. Then Rei. And even Ami, after watching PGSM. Last, but not least, was Usagi. My appreciation for her as a character came fairly late, though I was very invested in every her storyline, more so than any of the others. I remember actually crying along with her when Darien (I still think of Mamo-chan as Darien!) broke up with her in R. Previously, I remember watching with held breath, and just /hoping/ that Alan (Ail) would forcefully kiss her and make her forget all about Darien. Then sometime long after, I desired for Prince Diamond to do the same.
Long story short, there are so many storylines and arcs that affected me as a child, and revisiting on them from time to time is like revisiting the periods of my life for when they were first played on TV. Which arcs were your favorite? Which acts were your favorite? For me, the first season / manga series were the best. I loved the romanticism of a Moon Kingdom, and I loved the budding romance between Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. I can't wait for Sailor Moon Crystal to be fully aired.