Surprise
Rini Tsukino gazed at the palace and sighed; it was her ball, her honorary
sweet sixteen and she didn't have a date. You would figure that a princess
would at least have one boyfriend, but no, she hadn't ever had one. She
walked inside the ballroom that she had practically lived in as a child and
sat in the corner, refusing to feel sorry for herself. The people around
her called her a freak, because she had pink hair, they thought that she
couldn't possibly be the heir, but someday, she'd show them. Her crown was
a plain gold piece, but in the center lay the pink crystal, the only real
thing that proved her heritage, but still people didn't believe her.
They all thought that she would have her prince by now, like so many of the
other princesses of the galaxy, but truth be told, the only reason was her
appearance, because she had light pink hair and deep wine colored eyes.
People called her spore, and demon child, because she had odangoes that
apparently looked like horns, but none of them really knew her. If they
knew her, they wouldn't do any of that, and there was more than enough
proof that she was her mother's daughter. All one had to do was know that
Rini had traveled back in time to see her own birth, just to make sure that
she was who she said she was.
Even at her party, people would stare and laugh at her, but Rini decided
that was going to change tonight. Tonight, she was going to let the silver
and golden crystals out of their bond in the pink crystal, and she was
going to change her appearance, or at least her hair. She actually liked
her eyes; they reminded her of what her great grandmother's looked like in
the pictures. Her hair though, it was time for a major change, one that
would set her apart from the rumors, because if she had the same hair as
her mother, she would be considered the true heir. She stood in her white
dress, which was velvet on her chest and satin all the rest of the way down
with little diamonds shining on it, and walked to the throne, where she
knew her mother would be waiting for her. Carefully, she stepped up on the
platform and stood by her mother, who motioned for the music to stop.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to my daughter's sweet sixteen. At a normal
party, this would be a nice speech about her accomplishments, but a moon
princess has other things to do as well. She must first swear to protect
her kingdom until the day she dies, second, acknowledge her true powers,
and last, choose a prince. Rini will have the next twenty-four hours to do
all three deeds, and if she should fail, she will be disinherited." Rini
hadn't heard about this, and her eyes widened when she heard the last
thing. "What? Mother, I." She was hushed, and the crowd didn't say a
word. "Serenity the fourth, do you solemnly swear to protect the Earth,
Elysian, the moon, and the entire galaxy from this day forth?"
"I do, and I will as Sailor Eclipse." The words came out, but she didn't
know from where. "You have twenty-four hours to complete your quest, but I
have complete faith in you." Rini looked wide-eyed at her mother. "I
cannot find a prince mother, no man will go near me for as long as I live."
Her mother smiled sadly and waved her hand, making a portal appear in
front of them. "I have a feeling that one will." She saw the temple of
Elysian and gasped when she saw Elios praying with light radiating around
him. "Go my dear, you have twenty-three hours and forty-nine minutes to
claim your power and the man you love."
