Setsuna felt very out of place, sitting in one of the finest restaurants in Crystal Toyko, sipping wine and chatting merrily about her life with the queen as though they were two, average, middle-aged women. Obviously, being the guardian of time made her not only out of the ordinary, but also literally as old as the universe.
All of the soldiers were, really, but she'd always felt older than them. Maybe it was her lipstick. None of the other girls wore lipstick. However, her transformations were never complete without it. It was her staple. So if it made her look five to ten years older, it wasn't a big deal.
"Are you all right, dear? You look distracted," said the queen, speaking clearly while still managing to shovel noodles into her mouth at an alarming rate. Setsuna was amazed that her long blonde hair wasn't getting in the way. She smiled to herself. Usagi had gotten exponentially more mature over the years, but some things just never changed.
"I'm so sorry, my queen," she said, feeling like a major narcissist at all the thought she'd just given to her lipstick. "I guess I'm just…not used to this."
"Used to being normal?" Usagi smiled.
Setsuna laughed. "I guess. If this is 'normal'. For so many years, sitting around and guarding the gates of time was considered 'normal' to me. It just makes me nervous, having them unprotected."
"But they are protected, Miss Setsuna," replied the queen. "It's all part of Small Lady's training." She stabbed at her noodles particularly hard at that statement.
"She is only sixteen."
"Nine hundred and sixteen."
"Same thing. She is only sixteen and I worry about her, all up there on her own. She's not used to having such a big responsibility."
"Well, it is for her own good," replied Usagi, stabbing at her noodles again. "She needs to be out and away from…..everything."
"Everything meaning….Helios?" said Setsuna, trying not to giggle. She was more than sure that Neo Queen Serenity had sent her daughter to the gates of time to get her away from her boyfriend of four years, Helios—not because she needed "training".
"Yes," said the queen. "Exactly."
As protective as she was of Small Lady, Setsuna did not see anything wrong with her and Helios being so close. Sure, it hurt a little bit when she first caught them kissing in the princess's bedroom, but just because she had a hard time accepting that the little pink haired girl who called her "Puu" for much of her life was growing up so quickly. Actually, she was more than certain that Helios was at the gates with her. And who knew what they were up to. But she kept her mouth shut.
"So," said Usagi, with an edge in her voice that made it sounds like she was digging for information. "Do you have any…ah…..love interests, Miss Setsuna?"
Setsuna's throat tightened. She hated this conversation.
"Sorry to disappoint…but no." Such a lie.
"This is ridiculous," said the queen. "You are a beautiful, intelligent woman, and there is no reason why you should not have a man."
"There is just...no one here for me, that's all."
That was half true. Hey, maybe she was making some progress.
"But you know what, Setsuna?" Usagi smiled broadly. "You have the ultimate tool."
"What do you mean?" she replied, perfectly aware of where this was going. Usagi, although a great ruler, could be read like a book for toddlers, completely void of rhetorical devices.
"Time. Some women have to just deal with what their generation has handed to them. But you? You could find someone in the past, or in the future, and it would be so easy."
Setsuna smiled back at her, but the smile was very strained. This was partly because of Usagi's naïveté….and partly because she had already done just that.